January 15th: I Survived!

I made it through another week of middle school and found Friday at the end of it! And as far as Fridays go, this one wasn't too bad. Normally Fridays just drag on and on. But today went surprisingly well. Perhaps the prospect of a three-day weekend kept us all, teachers and kids alike, saner than usual!

At recess today, two of my eighth grade girls came running into my classroom. They were obviously excited about something. The eighth graders watch the CNN Student News every day, but they were caught a bit off guard when Samantha started screaming "That's my comment!!!" Turns out, she had written a comment on Carl Azuz's blog and he actually mentioned it during the show. Needless to say, Samantha was beside herself!! The best part? She couldn't wait to come into my classroom and tell me about it!!

How cool is that!!

January 11th: Identity Crisis in Middle School

I began eighth grade history class today with what I thought was a simple question: "How would you define 'American Identity'?" I asked them to take a few minutes and write their thoughts down in their notebooks. As I started to wander around the room I noticed that no one was writing anything. Even the students who are usually three steps ahead of me were staring at their papers.

I had stumped them. They had absolutely no idea what I was talking about. And that stumped me! I thought even if they'd never heard the phrase before they should be able to figure their way around the phrase...right?

Well...we tried. I had an entire lesson that I was leading into with that one question, but there was no way I could move forward with it without them understanding "American Identity." So I was faced with that awful teacher moment...the one where you realize, "Um, an entire class period just opened up because I have no lesson."

Now what?

Well, it used to be that I would absolutely panic or get completely irritated with myself or my kids. My response today: "Alrighty. I guess we'll talk about something else." And I moved right along to the next topic I could come up with. It wasn't the most productive morning for us, but I got through it with my sanity and my nerves intact.

My favorite part of my day was in the morning with my seventh graders. I asked them for some suggestions on how to convince a reluctant reader to keep trying, and they had some really great ideas. We also came up with a good list of suggested titles for Lee Kolbert's fourth graders! My students are adding comments to my blog with their ideas tonight. You can see them here:

Miss McMillan's Loopy Blog (so named by her students!)

I do so love blogging!

January 10th: This Post Has No Title

Sundays are often very long days for me. It takes me most of the day to get my lesson plans written. Any "free" time I get is spent completing the other "getting ready for school" tasks like laundry and a trip to the supermarket to stock up on peanut butter and jelly for the week. I wasn't really sure where I would find a positive moment today; I certainly wasn't expecting it to come in the form of a tweet!

I shared with you yesterday how proud I was of my students who had commented on Lee Kolbert's blog post, Warning! Don't Let This Be You! This morning Lee commented on my post and then sent me a message on Twitter about it. Then she asked me a question that really got me thinking: "Why don't you title your posts?"

Um...well...uh...I...uh...have no idea.

I hadn't really thought about it. Until Lee asked the question and then reminded me...the English teacher...of the importance of The Hook. The words or idea that grab your reader's attention and make them want to keep reading. It's one of the things I've always admired Lee for...she writes the best titles!!! Here are a few examples of her title-writing expertise:

• We Interrupt This Blog for This Public Service Announcement
• When The Shift Hits The Fan!
• Are You A Wimpy Whiner?
• Are My Private Parts Showing?

And it's also something I am ALWAYS talking to my students about! So, why is it I hadn't given it a thought?! You may also be wondering, "And how exactly is this today's positive thought???" That might be hard to explain. You see, for some reason, I took great delight in receiving a lesson from another teacher, especially one that I admire as much as I do Lee. And the best part was that I received the lesson well. I didn't perceive it as a personal attack as I might have in days gone by. No...seriously! The slightest critique or question would have sent me into a tailspin; that's how little I valued myself and my work.

I guess I'm finally growing up! Thanks for the lesson and the help, Lee!

Oh, if you're wondering why there's a picture of Haagen-Dazs ice cream at the top of this post, it's because I've posted to two blogs every day since New Year's Day and I think I deserve a treat. Chocolate!!

January 9th

I've been working with students for the last two years on creating their digital footprint. While they've only started blogging this year, they started writing comments on my blog last year. It was an interesting process, getting them to remember that they shouldn't push "submit" until they were absolutely sure it was a comment even Grandma Gertrude would approve of. [No, my grandmother's name is not Gertrude; I don't even know anyone named Gertrude. Let's just move on, shall we?]

Anyway...let's get back to today's positive moment. It wasn't really the kind of day that was filled with positivity. I woke up with a migraine which didn't exactly enhance my mood in any way. I managed to get through the day and even to get some work done (school doesn't stop for a migraine). I still got out there and took my 365 photo of the day, and was thinking that it would have to also be my positive moment for the day. You know...despite the migraine I still managed to get one picture taken! Woo-hoo.

Let me back up just a moment. Earlier today, Lee Kolbert sent out a message on Twitter and Plurk about her latest class blog post, Warning! Don't Let This Be You!. In her post, Mrs. Kolbert asks for book recommendations that might encourage her fourth graders to read more. I could only think of one possibility, The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. I don't often read books geared toward ten-year-olds. And since they were still etching books onto stone tablets back when I was in fourth grade, I thought it might be a good idea to ask some of my students for their help.

I sent an email to a small group of students - those I know who love to read - and asked them to comment on Mrs. Kolbert's post. Just a short while ago I discovered that two of them have left comments! Well, I'm just feeling so proud of my kids right now, I can't even tell ya!! But I'm trying!! It's a good thing it's Saturday, Jack and Makenzie, or I might just have to hug ya!!