Well...we thought state testing was over. And then we participated in field testing today. Lovely. But NOW testing is over. Probably.
As our end of the year countdown extravaganza continues....and we pop a balloon each day and read the fun event for the day...today we discovered that our FUN COUNTDOWN EVENT was...
The Reading Marathon!
My students are not big fans of reading this year. 2/3 of my class are boys...and they just don't get into the reading for pleasure idea. So, I was PLEASANTLY surprised when they cozied up in pajamas with their Reading Marathon trifolds (containing questions for our "checkpoints") and water bottles. It was an awesome day! Very relaxing...and I read a lot, too! A little with each kid and a little for myself. It's good to be a role model in the classroom!
I love the book Wonder by RJ Palacio. My last read aloud for the year, with our 13 days left, is the Julian chapter of Wonder! It's a special chapter written from Julian's perspective. For those of you who haven't read this book, Julian is the bully. He torments August, a boy who was born with severe facial disfigurement, and is going to regular school for the first time in fifth grade. The story is quite moving, and really teaches the kids empathy.
Anyway, I was skeptical about hearing from the meanie pants, Julian. And I won't ruin it for anyone who wants to read it, but let's just say that I was moved by this final chapter. Like, to tears. It was emotional and lovely.
My class notoriously does not do well with substitutes. They love testing the limits. They love calling out subs for not doing things "the way Miss C. does it." And they like taking advantage of newbies in our classroom. Not nice. Anyway, as the year closes down, I have to be out of the classroom all day on Tuesday for state science test scoring. And so, our end of the year countdown balloon activity? A movie afternoon! I know, it's kind of letting the kids off the hook....but we read all day today! And Tuesday is...10 days until fourth grade graduation. So, movie afternoon it is.
In other news, I've recently requested a grade level change....just to shake things up! I'm switching to second grade next year! Any words of advice?
We have a reading marathon coming up soon - glad to hear it went down well in your class!
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