Week Three at Cornerstone

This week marked the change of the afternoon time slot from Social Studies to Science.  Miss Dillon explained to me that there is only a one hour block open for both subjects in the afternoon. Rather than have half an hour of each, she opts to have a full hour every day for four to six weeks, then switch to the other subject. This method has some benefits and some drawbacks.  While the students are getting longer and more comprehensive lessons, they walk away from a subject entirely for long periods of time.  The class spent about fifteen minutes at the beginning of the period on Tuesday reviewing what they had learned in December in preparation for a new unit.  They are beginning a new “top secret” project to design an object that will travel the furthest distance when a force is added to it.  They seem to really enjoy the competitive and secretive nature of the project, and have come up with some really interesting ideas!

On Wednesday the class spent time working on publishing original pieces of writing. While the students seem to really like working on laptops, there are inevitably problems with technology. This is especially true of shared computers. Students seemed to be having trouble locating the documents they had started a few days before on the computers. We later broke into reading groups and I was left to supervise one of the groups for a few minutes while Miss Dillon went to get something from another teacher. A few students in the group, typically very well behaved, were out of control.  They refused to listen to me when I asked them to be quiet and finish their work; one even questioned  my authority by saying “you’re not a teacher, why do I have to listen to you?”  The other students in the group were getting frustrated because they couldn’t concentrate, so I gave them permission to move down the hall away from the group and split up the trouble makers near me.  When Miss Dillon came back, I told her there were four cards that I thought needed to be flipped and she gave me permission to act on that. I appreciate Miss Dillon giving me that ability, as it’s the only way to prove to the students that they do, in fact, have to listen to me. It also shows that she trusts my judgment.

I once worked with a cooperating teacher who told me that unusually boisterous behavior from students was connected to a full moon.  While this seems ridiculous, it always seems to hold true. I checked the calendar on Wednesday when I got home, and that night there was to be a lunar eclipse, followed by a full moon the following night.

Luckily, Thursday presented fewer behavioral issues. While the class was still talkative and energetic, we managed to get by without major issue.  I think that is is mostly because Thursdays are writer’s  notebook days, where students get twenty minutes of quiet time to work on  a reading response.  They have freedom to work wherever they please in the room. Being away from their desks and the structure associated with them must have been enough for them to get over their urges to act out, allowing them to do their work.

I’m looking forward to seeing their projects come along in the following days, and cant’ wait for the competition!