end-of-the-year catch-up

[sommerwind410@aol.com]

Hi all,

I have not received any middle-lit email in months.  Have things been slow?  I imagine most of us have concluded another school year (or are very close to being finished at this point.)  I'd love to know how everyone's year went.  Did you try anything new that you might be willing to share with the rest of us? 
I didn't have much time to post in recent months as I have been wrapping up my master's degree.  (Took two classes per semester to try to bang it out as quickly as possible.)  I'll know in about a week whether or not I passed the comprehensive exam taken this past Saturday.  

As far as the school year, I had an absolutely fantastic year - my second in a new district.  This group of students is quite possibly the best class I've ever taught.  Hardworking, respectful, sweet, funny. They will be missed.

Last week, I found out I am moving to a new team/classroom.  The admin decided to shake things up, and they certainly did.  This past week was a frenzy of folks packing up their rooms. I wasn't thrilled about it at first since this marks my fourth move in six years, but I've accepted that this is part of the profession, and it will likely happen many more times before I retire.  It's hard to part with my current classroom, which I privately call the luxury suite as it is clean, bright, and spacious with plenty of storage.  But I'm keeping it all in perspective.  There was a time when I taught on a cart, so I'll consider myself lucky to have a room at all!

To answer my own question, I'd have to say the best thing I did this year (not a new idea, but new to me) was to incorporate monthly poetry recitations.  I assigned classic poems from September through April, and the students chose their own for May.  Throughout the year, the students gained confidence, poise, and stronger delivery skills.  There were a handful of times when a student would tell me excitedly that he was able to answer a Jeopardy question about a particular poet or that she was able to help an older sibling study for an exam.  And the poems helped them make connections to other lit pieces were reading.  But the kicker -- perhaps the most glorious moment of my career to-date -- was the girl who chose to recite "The Raven," which we'd read earlier in the year.  She did it perfectly, she did it with feeling and expression, and at the end, the rest of the class jumped to their feet and gave her a standing ovation.  I almost cried. :-)  If anyone is interested in doing something similar, I recommend www.poetryoutloud.org as an excellent resource.

I hope there are still folks participating on the list. Would love to hear from all of you!
Cathy :-)







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