Marriage, work, house....OH MY!: My Classroom!

Even though it was a short week, it seemed to be a slow week. Monday was a welcomed holiday as it was Labor Day. Tuesday was picture day and since everything is done through the English classes, I couldn't cover much material. Wednesday we touched on parts of speech. It was mostly a review for the students, but I think some of it was a little new to them. Thursday the classes took their vocabulary quiz. I give them the whole time because some students take longer than others. And then it was FRIDAY!

Friday was the best day of the week. I say that because of how the class went not because it lead into the weekend. We talked about the poem "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes.

Mother to Son

by Langston Hughes

Well, son, I’ll tell you:

Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.

It’s had tacks in it,

And splinters,

And boards torn up,

And places with no carpet on the floor—

Bare.

But all the time

I’se been a-climbin’ on,

And reachin’ landin’s,

And turnin’ corners,

And sometimes goin’ in the dark

Where there ain’t been no light.

So boy, don’t you turn back.

Don’t you set down on the steps

’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.

Don’t you fall now—

For I’se still goin’, honey,

I’se still climbin’,

And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.

The mother is basically telling her son my life has been rough and I never gave up. I kept pushing through and doing my best with what I had! Her advice to her son is to keep pushing on and to never turn your back. I turned this into a life lesson for the class. We talked about times they complained or questioned something in their life and their parents turned it into a lesson. I wanted to show them that not everyone has a smooth, perfect life. There are always obstacles to overcome. After our discussion, I had them write a letter to themselves giving advice on how to do well in class, in life and how they could handle a hard situation. I will give them back at the end of the year to reflect on.

For the last ten minutes of class, I held a small competition. The task was to see how many words you can make from the word ELEMENTARY. The winning class came up with 65 words. I told them I would bring in a prize for the winning class but I think I will bring something in for everyone!

I promised awhile ago that I would post pictures of my classroom! Well here they are finally!

*You can see that I don't use the overhead lights and have tons of lamps! I feel that it creates a home-y feel to the class and the students seem to really like it! It's also because I hate the florescent lights!