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sunshine - Well, I guess I'll try and start a chat. I teach fourth grade. I have low, average, and high ability students. I find it difficult to teach to the middle. I'm trying centers, but they are running me ragged. Any ideas?
Christa - sunshine, what type of center activities are you doing?
sunshine - I'm not even sure if it's centers that I need. I just need to keep all ability levels busy, instead of me being run ragged!
Christa - sunshine, I know what you mean. I seem to do way more work than my students.
Mo/WV - what kind of centers do you have and how many?
Mo/WV - I don't have centers - we all do the same work and I just walk around the room helping individual students
sunshine - I have math and language arts; whatever we're working on for the week. Many of my students are ESL, so some still need basic skill practice like making sentences, capitalization and punctuation.
Christa - I don't use centers either, but right now my class seems boring.
sunshine - I also walk around the room but there seems to be too many students needing me at the same time.
Mo/WV - teaching ESL students must be very hard - I don't have that problem in WV
Christa - I find that when I walk around the room the students seem to think that it is time for them to talk.
Mo/WV - could you possibly get some of your better students to help the slower ones?
sunshine - I accept it; it comes with the territory. Maybe it's procedures I need.
Mo/WV - I don't seem to have that problem christa
Mo/WV - if the students finish early they know to get out a book and read - they are competing for AR points, or they write in their journal
Christa - Do you have any suggestions?
Mo/WV - I got a wonderful book this summer from newmanagement .com to help with procedures - and of course the harry wong book
Christa - What is the title of thye book?
Mo/WV - one thing I got this summer was a poster of a class pledge - we say it every morning after the pledge
Mo/WV - let me go find it christa - brb
Christa - Thanks! Mo/WV
Mo/WV - sorry it is at school, but go to the website and it is the big book they have
Mo/WV - I have used a lot of the techniques in the book and it has really helped my pitiful organization skills
Christa - I am a newer teacher, how do you plan to cover all your curriculum?
Christa - I am really having trouble with planning and pacing.
Mo/WV - it is hard with fourth grade especially to cover everything - I stick to the basics first - reading, creative writing, spelling, math . Afternoons are devoted to social studies and science or health
Mo/WV - you can only get done what the students can learn - if they don't get the basics - then they can't learn the other stuff
Christa - I have the same schedule. By the time the kids have the slighest understanding of the lesson, it is time to go on to another subject.
Mo/WV - then don't go on - stick with the lesson they are just catching on to - no body says you have to finish the book
Mo/WV - I would rather them learn something good than to just touch base with it and go on
Mo/WV - listen to my language - learn something good LOL
Christa - The school seems to be focused on covering all the required curriculum. It kind os makes me scared that I will be in some kind of trouble if I don't cover all the objectives.
Christa - It is all I hear about at most meetings.
Mo/WV - we have IGO's that we have to cover - that are supposedly on the SAT 9.
Christa - We have QCC's.
Mo/WV - christa is having problems trying to cover all the material in her curriculum
Mo/WV - IGO' - instructional goals and objectives
Christa - QCC - Quality Core Curriculum
mamatb - hi. i am a future elementary teacher. I am trying to interview someone.
Mo/WV - what grade do you all teach? I amin 4th
mamatb - i want to teach k-2
Mo/WV - it's a wonderful profession mama, but you have to be cut out for it
mamatb - I know i love kids and I work with them very well
Mo/WV - I taught 2nd for 24 years, this is my 5th year in 4th
mamatb - Can I interview you on morals in the classroom?
Mo/WV - what about them?
mamatb - Which moral values do you teach and how?
Mo/WV - respect your fellow students and above all respect yourself
mamatb - how do you do that?
mamatb - Is it through rules and class procedures?
Mo/WV - we say a class pledge every morning - it refers to being the best you can be, respecting others, and we are here to learn all we can
Mo/WV - rules and procedures play a big part - kids like to know what is expected of them and when they do, they usually follow through
mamatb - Are there any moral values you would like to teach but are inapproipiate for school?
Mo/WV - I don't take time to sit and grade papers when the students are working, I am up walking around all the time and on top of them - I have found that if I try to do something where I am not on top of them, that is when the classroom can get out of hand
Mo/WV - we talk about smoking and drinking and drugs and show how they are bad for your health
mamatb - Have you ever had support from parents for stressing moral values and issues of character
Mo/WV - I don't feel it is my place to put my morals on to them, that is the parents job
Mo/WV - we talk about appreciating differences in people and that we might gain from getting to know people who are different - they may teach us something new
mamatb - What is a serious ethical issue with which you have been confronted with in the classroom?
Mo/WV - haven't really faced a serious ethical issue - maybe if you gave me an instance, I could go from there
mamatb - Student confidenciality
Mo/WV - I only talk about a student to their parents, no one else unless it is a previous teacher
mamatb - Do other teachers talk to you about the ethical and moral aspects of their students?
Mo/WV - if I have a particular problem with a student and I need to talk to another teacher about it, I refer to the problem, not the student's name
Mo/WV - we have discussed problems and how to deal with them, but again no names are involved
mamatb - Do you feel encouragement from your adminstrators?
Mo/WV - not really
Mo/WV - I only hear when I do something wrong
mamatb - Last question: What advice do you have for me on moral values?
Mo/WV - pure gut and instinct
mamatb - Thank you so much
Mo/WV - get the problems while they are still little and solve them then
mamatb - I am going to have to go. You have been so helpful.
mamatb - Thank you
