My reading group is progressing through the book nicely. Sounder is a hard book for students at this age to read, due to the content including poverty, sharecropper lifestyle and death. Because I didn't get to choose this book for them, and it is quite dry, I have chosen “How to Eat Fried Worms” for their next project. They will be working on that book after I leave under self-direction.
Today is the day after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and my day off. Monday was spent shopping for gifts for my family and friends, checking out downtown, and relaxing with my family. Today is also my first day teaching the science unit with the 5th graders. A common known fact about elementary teachers as a whole is that they don't really like to teach science. So here I am, teaching science to 5th graders. It is amazing to see that their level of readiness for scientific thinking is so low. I hear that science is something that the teachers don't really “get to”. This makes a lot of sense as to what students know when they get to me and what they do not know.
In science, we went over the basics of variables and experimental design. The level of chaos and learning both were high in the room. It seemed to go well, but we will see how the lessons progress on Thursday and Friday when I continue.
My reading group has grown from five students to six, with the addition of Carlyle, who is probably one of the most mature and positive 5th graders in the class. He approaches everything with honesty and earnestly, and is a positive role model for the whole class. I am so glad to have him join our group. This brings the group to just about the same ratio of cultural diversity in the school: 1 African American girl, 1 Hmong girl, 1 Russian girl, 2 Caucasian boys and 1 Samoan boy. I am learning a lot about culture, but mostly I am learning a lot about these kids.
It is heartbreaking to see some of the struggles that they go through each day. My group is the top readers and some of the smartest students in the 5th grade. Two of the group participated in the spelling bee last week.