2:3 - Things could have gone better

We're getting close to the end of the first month of school. The kinks are getting worked out, and I'm beginning to see just what the class of 2014 will be like. But this past week, my mind wasn't always on school. I bought a new car at the end of July, and on Thursday I hit a rock with my new car. Oops. So I have 2 flat tires, two bent wheels, and I'm using a rental until they give me a quote. EFF. That's going to cost me. At least the tires are covered under the Super Gold Star Extended Warranty that I bought. The wheels? Well, I hope it won't cost much to hammer out the two small dings.

I finally cleaned my room, which looked like a disaster up until yesterday. And I have my grading done from this past week. I still need to input it into the computer before I have to submit my grades by tomorrow night, but I can do that after school tomorrow. Now I need to plan for this week, which is one of those really weird weeks schedule wise. We have Stanford testing on Thursday and Friday, which means I will only see periods 3,4,7, and 8. So I can't teach new material... I have to do something supplemental. I'm thinking REVIEW since they have a test the following week.

And I had a meeting with my PD (program director) on Monday. He shared his thoughts on my class, and suggested that I integrate some sort of portfolio work into my class. I agree, this would be helpful and wonderful for the students, but I just don't know how to go about that. I have to  make EVERYTHING up from scratch: the rubrics, the requirements, the organization system, how it will fit into my Long Term Plan, how it will be graded, what PERCENTAGE of their grade it will be... It's a lot. Maybe I'll send an email out to the social studies teachers in KIPP and ask for some guidance.  I can do that now that they've created a list serve for all of us around the country. I might get some interesting feedback. But I don't want to piggy-back off of a woman who just sent out an SOS about 5/6th grade. I might wait a week.

This long weekend was a blessing for sure. It was great to relax yesterday and then spend today grading and planning. I hope the next week flies by.

Grades

Here's some big news: There are officially TWENTY class days left. Uh-oh.. I have a lot to do!

And as I'm entering grades, I'm listening to Josh Ritter

He makes great grading music, and is SO very romantic. Josh: if you need someone to sing to, I'm free.  

:)

Thanks to Andy, I've discovered the Avett Brothers. The Avett Brothers station on Pandora is full of all sorts of great music, and was PERFECT for grading. 

Perfect lesson planning music? Why, that would be Matt Nathanson, of course!

OK, back to grades...