Each week Ruth Ayres extends an invitation to share and celebrate events, big or small, from our week.
Today, I celebrate a glimpse into my school year.
It is hard to believe that October is here, and we are in our last week of the first grading period. The sad part is that I have been so wrapped up in my home life, that I have not celebrated my school year since our first week of school. And there has been so much to celebrate.
The first week of August Kate Roberts, the co-author of Falling in Love with Close Reading, tweeted asking for teachers who had already started school. I tweeted back, and she wanted to know if I was interested in piloting a few lessons for her new book. After several emails back and forth and picking my confidence up off the floor, (I mean, this is Kate Roberts for crying out loud!) I taught the lesson and submitted photos of our work, including student writing. I have seen the "unedited-rough-draft-email-version" of the our pages and my kids (along with their teacher) are so excited about it. Not sure when the book is to be published, but I will certainly be writing more about it!
My 100 students have read almost 400 books so far this year. It has been so much fun talking about books and sharing books with them. When I decided to change grade levels, I knew this was my dream job, and they are certainly making this teacher's dream come true.
Last week I wrote a post about a former student who I had the privilege of teaching for two years. I received an ineffective on my evaluation the first year because of his behavior in my classroom. But he has come such a long way. After I showed him the post, he got teary-eyed. I later learned that while he was in study hall, he Googled my blog and found it. He left me a comment and then I got teary-eyed! You can read the post here if you would like. He makes me proud to be a teacher (although his grammar still needs some work!)
So this is a quick glimpse into my school year. Writing is slowly making a much needed entrance back into my life, and I hope to continue sharing it with you.
Have a great week and may you find many celebrations along the way!
It's wonderful to hear about your year so far & the wonderful things you're celebrating, Leigh Anne. That is so exciting to think about you and the class being in Kate Roberts' book! Lovely story there at the end, too. Have a happy Sunday!
ReplyDeleteI love your celebrations, all of them! Can't wait to see this book with you and your students in it. I love that you have your students reading. I love Dante's response. Sometimes it's not what we've taught them, it's who they've become :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the glimpse into your year!
ReplyDeleteIncredible celebrations!
Wow! 400 books already!
Wow! What a great opportunity to be involved in piloting lesson for a book by Kate Roberts. It'll probably be amazing!
ReplyDeleteI had to chuckle when you said "picking my confidence up off the floor". How is it that we underestimate ourselves? I'm so excited for you to have your work shared in Kate Roberts' new book. Also, I read your post about your student from a few years ago. An evaluation or a standardized test will never the relationship that you have established with this kiddo. Hats off to you! You have succeed in a way that will enrich his life. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteGreat post on celebrating the positives, especially working with Kate Roberts.
ReplyDeleteWhat an honor to be in Kate Roberts' new book! I loved your story about Dante. Thank you for sharing your celebrations! We need to celebrate more, don't you think?
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