Journal 1-4

English 11
Today was the first day we tried peer editing. The students were really good! In the past, I've had a lot of problems with kids trying to write "good job!" all over the essay and calling it a day, but this year was different. This time, I provided some parameters and actually guided them through editing as a class before turning them loose to make a couple more comments. We also talked about some comments that would be appropriate/inappropriate on papers. I've noticed that I've become a lot more proactive this year about showing the students how I want things done. All four 11th grade classes wanted a little hand-holding, but I was good and instead of providing the students with the answers, I redirected them to the notes they took at the mini-lesson on Wednesday and asked each students to "think out loud" as they checked their peer's paper. It only took two or three kids doing this process in each class for the kids to catch on. I'd forgotten how much time high school kids spend looking at their peers and measuring what they do. DETOUR: I also had a visitor today! One of my former students came back from college to visit. My current students are still so intimidated by the class that they were acutally shocked when a big college guy came in, hugged me and then lectured the class about paying attention and doing their homework. I have to laugh because this same kid had trouble paying attention and doing his work when I had him! There was an essay due today, and I tried something new: I put six questions on the board and asked the students to write their answers on the back of their essay. I was very clear to the students that I wanted their feedback to help analyze my own teaching and NOT to give them a grade. I asked the following questions: Why did you pick THIS prompt to respond to, Did you plan your essay (why or why not?), Did you follow the requirements for this essay, What do you think you did well, What was difficult for you, and Did you proofread? I haven't had a chance to look at their responses, but I can tell that I need to give more time for this in the future. Some students responded in one or two word answers, but others wrote me a paragraph for each question! We then read "Hunting Song," a Navajo ritual song and discussed how we might memorize a new song or poem without using writing. I wanted students to understand why Native American ritual songs sound the way they do. Once we had our discussion, the little lightbulbs came on all over class, and students seemed a little more aware of why some cultures adopted certain behaviors/traditions.

reflection
As I mentioned above, the peer editing went really well - the best first effort ever. I do think it's because I spent a little extra time teaching them what I expect instead of giving directions and then expecting them to get it. I also got the higher than usual return on homework today. Usually, there's three or four students in each class that won't have work; today it was one or two in each class and NONE in once class! I'm also very curious to see what students wrote on the back of their essays in response to the questions on the board. We had a short discussion in one class about spell-checker vs. proofreading. The students wanted to count using spell-checker as proofreading, but I refused. Once I explained that typing "them" instead of "then" is not something a spell-checker will see, the lightbulbs came on. It had never occurred to the students that they could simply type the wrong word and it wouldn't be picked up as a misspelling! We also talked about my essay policy (as many rewrites as needed, as long as the essay is on time the first time) and whether or not they'd use it. I've never really had students take advantage of the policy, but maybe with a little reflection, they will. While filling out their reflections, students in two different classes asked when they could have their essays back so they could fix things that they now know are done incorrectly. We'll see how long their resolve holds.

English 12
We did peer review in this class too, and only one student didn't have their work. Ironically it was a student from last year who always had his work. I promised to have it to me by Monday, though. I decided to go slow with these guys also because a lot of them were the kids from last year who were consistently lost in peer review. It seemed to help. Two students asked why I'm going slow now when I didn't last year, and I made the lame excuse that we don't have the Regents, so speed isn't as important. I really like being able to really take my time and teach these kids instead of being a slave to the calendar. It doesn't matter if I get a little behind because I don't have anywere I need to be. We can really dig in and look at stuff at their pace. Students also had their teacher recommendations due today. I had several teachers stop me in the hall and ask if I wanted the truth or the slanted truth on the forms. I shrugged and explained that the purpose of the assignment was for students to practice asking for recommendations when they graduate and not actually being sent anywhere. The teachers seemed to relax, and I got a lot of recommendations marked "Average" or "Below Average" but with great comments. I'm really glad all these kids have some teacher who thinks their great! I also assigned their first college application essay - rough draft due Monday.

reflection
I had expected a lot of foot-dragging and complaining from the students when it was time to peer edit their journals, but they dove right in. A couple of kids commented that they liked doing peer review led by me instead of being left to their own devices. It reminded me of a comment Mohawk Boy made the first day of school: he asked if 12B was going to be a team effort like it was in 11th grade. He wanted to know if we would be able to work together for everyone's success, or if he was on his own. I reassured him we were all in this together, and he relaxed. There was that sense of relaxation again today. The kids felt like they knew what was expected of them, but at the same time I was there to make sure they were doing their work correctly. They're very nervous about the upcoming college application essay, but I got them sharing stories about their childhood escapades and suddenly everyone had a topic! Most students chose to write about the adults that influenced them (negatively and positively), but one boy wrote about September 11. He's decided to "join the army and get revenge on the terrorists." Then he looked at me! It's bad enough as a teacher to be torn between saying "That's a noble sentiment, follow your heart young man," and "NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!" I can't imagine what his parents are thinking. (I hope they're patriotic people, so they can at least feel good about his decision, no matter how scary it is!) I took the high road and said, "You have to do what you think is the right thing to do." Most students had at least started to fill in their graphic organizers before the bell rang, so the odds of having a lot of essays on Monday is pretty good. I'll have to try the reflection process with this group also.