M/W/F
1
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I start my seven-period day with a class of about ten second-graders. We just finished "The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash" and are elbows-deep in "How I Spent my Summer Vacation." We discuss vocabulary and making complete sentences. Ricky's bottom shares a similar magnetic charge with his chair and as a result spends most of the 40 minute class running around the room. He tripped and banged his knee the other day, and the five minutes he spent crying quietly at his desk were the most productive the class has ever had.
2
Second period is a class of seven third-graders. Jack and Ben can work well if supervised closely. Hannah knows all the answers. One student refuses to work, disrupts class with fart noises, and cries when reprimanded. This is the slowest period of the day. We work on sentences and narrative style.
3
Third period is another ten-large group of second-graders. I discovered yesterday that they can be bribed with stickers to follow four rules: 1) Stay seated, 2) Don't interrupt, 3) Wait to be called on before speaking, and 4) Don't yell. An entire period of peace cost me only 400 stickers.
4-5
At this point, the first- and second-graders go home and the third-, fourth- and fifth-graders arrive. Fourth and fifth period I have three fourth-grade girls who move swiftly through the reading and writing lesson plans for the back-to-back classes. We often have about 30 minutes to play Scrabble.
6-7
Sixth and seventh period I have about seven third-graders. One of them is bright enough to complete all of the class work in his head as he reads the questions. On a good day, he buries himself in a Lemony Snicket book. Otherwise, he will write his answers backward on the board when called on, and generally be as disruptive as he can. He may need to be placed up. We work on grammar.
T/TH
1
Tuesdays and Thursdays I start with a four-student class of excelled second-graders. They barely speak even if you do call on them, and there are time and resources enough for them all to have as much attention as they could possibly need. We work on sentences and vocab.
2-3
Then, two periods with a class of nine first graders, most of whom are productive if chatty. One is disruptive and will only work when constantly and repetitively prompted, and even then only reluctantly. This is the slowest part of the day. More sentences, vocab.
4-5
Fourth and fifth period I have seven fifth-graders who are extremely bright and eager. The text is generally insightful and pragmatic, but still too remedial for them, and we frequently go off-book. I offer them extra credit for tasks I think will build useful skills. Today, Jinny got 15 "stamps" for finding a reference book and using it to explain how to write "1978" in roman numerals. Between periods, Alex inspects the wiring in the fire alarm and Anders asks geography questions. The other day, Sally played Vivaldi on a portable Mp3 player.
6
Sixth period I have five remedial fourth-graders. They work, albeit reluctantly, and we generally have a good time crawling through the syllabus. Tuesdays are writing, but Thursdays are debate & discussion, which we all respond to more enthusiastically.
7
Final period I have excelled third-graders. Tuesdays we work on writing, but Thursdays are discussion. Last time, we tallied what kinds of school supplies we had in pairs, groups of three, and as a class in order to understand the benefits of different sizes of teams. We then did the same activity using countries we'd visited instead of school supplies, and between the class had over 20.
Pre-established semester-long lesson plans take most of the work out of the job. The only preparations I make before class begins at 2:15 p.m. are to run off copies of any worksheets or tests for the day and grade everything I collect. I might spend the remainder of my 2-hour prep time eating delivery with other teachers, drinking instant coffee or reading Huck Finn from the YBM library.
The troublesome students stick with me. I'm not sure yet how to address the administration on moving students to higher placement levels, or to what degree I should rely on them for discipline. By the next month, I hope to understand the system well enough to take appropriate steps. I worry that there won't be any.
For now, I'm happy that I have at least one double-period of great students each day of the week, and excited that I'm slowly honing my less-focused classes.
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