5/7/09

SHOWTIME!!!  I was glad to have the opportunity to meet the families of two of my students who were present tonight.  I bragged on them and told them how much I appreciated their presence.  Sadly I had to leave early because I had an award dinner in Albuquerque.  I was glad to see those who were present and see how hard the students all worked.  Great job to the students in Mrs. Bradshaw’s class!

4/30/09

Today was film day! Unfortunately Isaiah was absent.  However Chelene and Anthony filmed their Chautauqua today.  I was soooo proud of Anthony he did great.  I know he struggled with this and he did great.  Chelene always does great work so I knew she would do an awesome job.  I was proud of all the students and their hardwork reflected today.  I reminded them to practice because next week was showtime!!!

4/23/09

I knew that my students were not ready today.  I had to wait and make sure they were comfortable today with performing.  They admitted that they had not practiced.  I told them that it did not matter because these were their stories to tell and nobody will know any different.  That put them at ease but not entirely.  We practiced, practiced, and practiced.  We performed for one another as a large group before the filming of the remainder students next week.

3/19/09

Today was great because they know that it is getting close to the time that they will be performing their stories.  I can tell they are excited.  We worked on looking over the work they have done outside of class with the suggestions that were given last week by their peers.  Chelene and Isaiah were all over it.  They had their stories ready to go.  I was disappointed in Anthony and Iet him know. I told him that I look forward to our time once a week together and it is hard when he does not complete what I have asked of him for his Chautauqua.  He says he understands but continues to be less than productive than the others with our time.  I ask him if he needs help but back off a little when I feel that I am becoming more annoying than helpful.  They have the assignment of learning their stories. We will see what happens during our next meeting.  It will be later due to spring break and testing.  They know that filming will take place during our next meeting….I’m excited!!!

3/12/09

Today the students worked with Ami’s group on peer conferencing.  The students all had a copy of one another’s story and were able to give feedback to one another.  It was a great experience for them because they really listened and took note on what their peers had to say.  They loved hearing what they were doing well on.  I feel that Ami and I were happy with what they accomplished today.  It was a great way to see who has been working on their story a lot outside of our time together.  Chelene has a great personality and I can tell she works on this outside of this class. 

3/5/09

Today we wrote drafts of our story.  They were given homework to begin their first drafts.  All but one student brought theirs in.  I took this opportunity to work with him one on one.  The other students were able to work on an artistic poster of their character while I worked with Anthony.  Anthony would not open up today.  He selected his character but did not know what to say about it from that point on.  I tried several strategies with him but he would make an excuse to get up from the table.  I would refocus him and direct him back on task.  I tried having him tell me general things about the character but he would just begin and say that he forgot. Next, I had him use a tri-fold paper to develop his story with a beginning, middle, and end.  Finally, I asked if he wanted to draw something that represents his character.  He tried and then just said he didn’t know.  Rather than have him sit there doing nothing I asked Frances if she would assist me..time was of the essence.  He was able to work with her and they developed a great story. My other two students were all set and now it was my turn to type their stories.

2/26/05

Today we worked on character development.  It was easier for all but one of my students to decide what character they wanted to take on.  We talked about the various characters that the UNM coaches portrayed.  They loved our performances and each commented on all of them.  It was nice to see and hear them talking about our performances because it showed they listened.  We spent our time getting to know a little more about one another and deciding what character they wanted to select. 

2/19/09

Today I did my Chautauqua performance for Mrs. Bradshaw’s class….(look under the Chatauqua performance tab)  I did not work with my students today.

2/12/09

Today I was able to meet with the three students that I have the pleasure of working with this semester.  I am working with Anthony, Chelene, and Isaiah.  We started off the day by getting to know about one another.  I know that this will be great because they definitely have an interest in what I will be doing.  I can tell that they are wondering what will be happening in the future for them.  I assure them that all of the UNM coaches will be modeling the Chautauqua next week for them.  They cannot wait to see what it is…