Second Week - Stay Seated!



 

How we get by.... speaking different languages and neither of us really understanding the other -

Because my students have varying levels of English ability, and I have even fewer Arabic skills, communicating and getting things done is a great and collaborative affair.  I have some students who pre-tested identifying only a few letters of the alphabet and a couple who read the first 20 sight words and beyond.  Some students speak very little English independently, only communicating their basic needs, while a few others understand more of what I'm talking about and act as translators.  (They suddenly pop up out of their seats, talking enthusiastically to the class, passing on the news or instructions that I have just shared, Charades style.) During all of this my students are constantly learning, and my teeny-tiny knowledge of classroom Arabic is improving - the students are always excited to help me in my attempts to learn or properly pronounce my new words correctly.  And so, the days pass by...

WBT School Week #2
I introduced a simplified Rule Number 3 - "Stay Seated!"  It took a few days for the students to learn how to say the two words correctly, and I suspect this will be the rule we will need to practice, practice, practice, all year long.  The students can be incredibly mobile, especially when they have finished their assignments.  Wherever I am, and whatever I am doing, they will jump up from their seats, come right over and push their papers in front of me (sometimes even into my face) repeating,  "Miss, finished...finished Miss....".  The (pictured) modified rule card featuring a model student helps me to address that behaviour with only the two words and a simple gesture.  My own professional challenge this year is to be clear (in my own mind and with them) about what needs to happen when their work is finished, and then to have the right activities easily available for them to use.

We are just two weeks into the school year, and I am still scaffolding Teach/Okay.  We practised a little more handling yellow and red counters, taking turns speaking.  And, as recommended in the WBT Instruction Manuals, I now have seating arrangements for the students so they can pair up easily on the mat as well as at their desks.

My biggest achievement at the moment is that I have finally completed reading pre-testing for both classes, organising students into pairs for SuperSpeed 100.  At the moment half of the students in each class will begin reading SuperSpeed Letters/Phonics, and the other half will begin at Level 1 of SuperSpeed 100.   How I'm going to pull this off in my classroom is still a bit of mystery.  But, how can I lack confidence with the Coach Biffle videos handy and all those WBT free downloads?