Day 6

Two quick and helpful things about today: 1. The Literacy strategies book. 2. Modeling. I have struggled with modeling. The strategies book provides great clues as far as how to do that. I guess this is part of why I have seemed so lost in the classroom and it explains the disconnect between my plans and the actual execution of my lesson. I am glad that I finally have a "how to" guide for that particular area. I really like the strategies guide. Getting the kids to read has been an uphill battle and I feel like I finally have a tool to turn the tide back in my favor. While I do not fully understand the jigsaw method, it intrigues me. I tried some cooperative learning this year with mixed success. Some groups simply deteriorated, some wanted to play around, but many kids who sat in my class completely clueless all year got it together and did phenomenal. Gonna read more on jigsaw, because I think it could potentially be a game-changer. Art session is proving to be very therapeutic. However, I feel a great deal of anxiety about it. I guess it's because I feel a great deal of anxiety period. There is so much I want to do and it seems that I have so little time to do any of it. You get to a point where you just say "to heck with it" and do nothing. The art is helping me work through that in some ways.