On The Fly

Today flew by on an air of determination. The school community is absorbing their latest dose of tragedy (see 02/24/09 post) with resolve. Students and teachers are emotionally exhausted but they continue to strive for the sense of community that was so important to their late colleague- a trust fund is being set up and students will be invited to submit cards and donations.

Mr. Banks was busy hosting a staff development conference today and I was responsible for all three of his classes. My grade tens and twelves were fantastically co-operative as expected but it was the infamously stubborn grade elevens that made my day. I haven't had a lot of exposure to the elevens but my few interactions have been very frustrating. I was nervous about how they would respond to my authority without Mr. Banks nearby and was pleasantly surprised (read utterly shocked) by their co-operation today. I am drowning in self satisfaction as I type this: it wasn't a miracle, it was good planning!

As I mentioned, today was fast paced and I didn't have a lot of time to plan a lesson on story elements that Mr. Banks warned me about well in advance (read 20 minutes before the class started). I assumed that the elevens would be relatively familiar with story elements as they are a curricular mainstay from elementary school onward. Before I plunged them into a short story and paragraph response I decided that I would do an elements review. WELL. Blank stares all around! For this group every free moment is an opportunity to drift irreversibly off topic so I had to modify my lesson on the fly. I decided that we would do the assignment together so the students would have a chance to see and discuss story elements as they encountered them. I abandoned my theoretical approach and explained the elements in terms of video games and blockbuster movies. Some of the students drifted off but I chose not to nitpick and focused on keeping the lesson moving so I wouldn't lose the whole class. Results! The students were "slightly" engaged but the small victories eventually add up.

Conflict: Teacher (character) vs. Boredom
Rising Action: Students don't connect with my lesson.
Climax: I modify the lesson on the fly!
Resolution: Students understand content and interact.
Theme: A dynamic classroom requires a dynamic teacher.