Reading Workshop week two: controlled chaos..or something like that..

Where do I even start? haha..oh what an experience Ami and I had this week!

Things I learned on Tuesday:
1. 8th graders are not like what I remember from my own middle school years.

2. I do not have a problem disciplining students from my cooperating Teacher's classroom. Especially when the teacher doesn't look up from her computer while guests (us) are present.

3. something Ami and I are rusty on, two words: classroom management

4. two college white girls do not pick out the "right" books for colored children (according to a student)

5. be prepared for random questions at any time...(such as.. "do you like Chipotle?" when asking the student if they have a question about the reading)

Things did not go as smoothly as I would have liked to hope, but it was not a disaster! Looking back at it, it was quite humorous. I'm sure we looked like we didn't know what we were doing. And I got laughed at for butchering names..(how do i know what they are?? Parents seem to use their imaginations for names anymore...)

This classroom is one which is noisy and contains very busy kids. While a few kicked back with their book, others, as my mother would say, "shoo-ed and blowed" the whole time he was supposed to be reading...

Upon walking out of the classroom; I followed Ami out, closed the door behind me, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, while Ami collapsed against the lockers behind her in a fit of laughter. I'm sure we looked crazy to anybody watching. Our laughter and talking continued the whole way back to Wright State, and I even (subconsciously) took the longer scenic route back to school to de-stress some. (driving helps calm my mind)

This is certainly going to be a long ride! I think it will get better as the weeks move on, and hey, at least my purse didn't drop in the trash can this week! ;)

Reading Workshop, Week One: Introductions

[so to say the least, I've been away from Blogging for a while..its been way busy to say the least. But with everyone around me doing some sort of series, why not join in? not that I'm succumbing to peer pressure mind you... ;) So here starts my (hopefully) weekly blog on my 'adventures' working with 8th graders and their reading at Dayton View Academy here in Dayton, Ohio.]

To say that things went entirely how imagined would be a bold face lie haha. Starting off, all the kids in grades 6-8 came from an assembly, so they were wound up! Number two; alllllll the 8th graders were together in a classroom on this particular day. (our plan is two of us WSU students working with a classroom, and the other three students working with the other). I am in the group of two, with a fellow Senior named Ami. So here comes 5 students from Wright State University who have no idea what exactly to expect. For all we know, these kids are man-eating tigers! haha We finally got things worked out, and started to make our introductions to the entire 8th grade class. Somehow I managed to get myself first in the line-up and had to make my intro first..

"hey guys, I'm Andrea! I'm a Senior at Wright State, and eventually I want to teach High school kids! Something interesting about me is..."

at that moment, my purse, which I had set on the table beside me, decided to jump in the trashcan. (Ok ok, it didn't jump, it just fell.) And of course laughter came from all over the room. Ami jumped in at that time with a "welllll that was pretty interesting.." So I continue on with my 'interesting' fact..and stupid me, says...

"I've never worked with 8th graders before, so don't intimidate me too much!"

wow..way to tell them about your insecurity Andrea! what a winner! Ami and I had a laugh about this on the drive back to WSU. After we got the class split up into their regular classes, Ami and I did our 'trust building activity'. This involved a neon colored note card and a marker. Name, Age, Favorite movie/TV show, What do you like to read, Something interesting about yourself. after everyone got this finished, we all shared.

It was a fun experience really. It was just a 'wow' day. Not a lot to say about it, and a lot to soak in. In the first 10 minutes of being with the kids face to face, Ami and I got two hugs, an invitation to a track meet, and an invitation to their 8th grade graduation "since cause like, you're kinda like our Mentors now, ya know." (according to a 14 yr old Maddie). It's definitely going to be a crazy ride! But I am certainly looking forward to every Tuesday! :]