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If only I would use the textbook...

I have been sitting at the table drowning in a pile of grading and lesson plans for the last 10 hours. All my grading is done with the exception of 25 or so poetry books. I have plans to do them tomorrow during my planning. Bahahahaha….I don’t know when the last time was that I had that 90 minutes all to myself. Lately, it has been spent with students or in meetings. I don’t have a choice about the meetings and I am there for the students. Therefore, work comes home. Only I have reached my limit tonight.

After break, students come back to school ready to start their summer. I understand this sentiment. As soon as we came back to school, discussions of EOGs began. I was given a 200 page manual that I need to read cover to cover before administering the test. Add to that the meeting going over all the rules and my planning time for that day was gone. The other planning periods were given up in a more enjoyable way – with students.

So, here I sit trying to figure out what to do with my 7th grade classes. I know half of the class will be spent on EOG prep. But what to do with the other half. Some days I wish I was the type of teacher who could just follow what is in the textbook. The students would quietly sit at their desks, pretend to read, and answer the questions. However, I find that almost as boring as they do. Whatever I do with them, it will involve reading and writing. BUT WHAT TO DO?!

I took some time to research the possibility of doing some oral history about Benson. After reading up on it, I realized it is a unit that needs much more preparation to do it the way I envision it to be. Back to the drawing board. A mystery unit would be a lot of fun. The students would have mysteries to solve before we even began reading one. But it takes time to gather the materials and resources. And then I go back to flirting with the idea of using the textbook to guide my lessons this week. It is quickly rejected even as I sit here writing this blog instead of planning something else.

I think of the 7th graders. Why do they come to school? Is it because they find what we are teaching them so important and exciting? NO! They come to see their friends. And there it is. My unit to end the year. An inquiry unit asking the question, “What makes a good friend?” There will be narrative writing about memories with friends, persuasive writing on when to tell a friend’s secret, an extended definition on the types of friendship, along with other writing. Reading will include both fiction and non-fiction, along with poetry, memoirs, and letters. It is beginning to shape up in my mind. It will be a work in progress, but I have enough to get me going this week.

In the end, I will never be that teacher that follows the textbook. Each class is different; therefore, my approach will be different for each.

PS….If any of my past or present students are reading this and have some feedback on what holds the attention of a 13-year-old at the end of the school year, I would love to hear it! 

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