Video Production - April 18, 2017

Video Production class is a highlight for many of our students.  They record our daily announcements like a television show.  They also record commercials for upcoming events and speeches for student council elections.  I was able to sit in on one of the class periods.  I'm not sure I would call it "guest teaching", however.  The students were teaching themselves!

Mr. Raaf, the teacher for the class, was in the room as a guide and a reminder to students of what needed to be done.  I was along to observe and offer some simple suggestions to improve the show.  I also recorded a commercial to promote our final all-school PBIS incentive for the year - lunch outside with free ice cream!

The students did amazing work.  They wrote the script, determined the background, edited images and captions, programmed the sound, and practiced as anchors.  At times it seemed like one person or team had more to do than others, but Mr. Raaf assured me that the roles switch each week.  So one person may seem to get off easy, but then will have to work hard the next week.  I was very impressed with the professionalism behind the cameras.  Students were working hard and working together to create a good show.

It was a great experience for me to see how things work in this class and go behind the scenes of the morning show.  I think it also made me realize how valuable this resource is.  We need to encourage more classes to use the video production room and equipment.  I need to get in more often to be on camera and to promote things that are happening in the school.  Could we also use it for parent news?  There are lots of possibilities.  We just need to get in there and do it!

Language Arts 8 - March 30, 2017

My latest adventure took me to 8th grade Language Arts where they were conducting lit circles around different books they have been reading.  I wasn't sure what a lit circle was, so I visited Ms. Williams' class the day before to watch her in action directing a circle.  It is basically a Socratic seminar about a book students have read with some specific requirements for students.

It seemed like an easy task to facilitate the circle.  The students would be doing most of the talking and I would just listen and moderate.  However, I was unable to stay quiet!  I violated the fidelity of the student-led circle.  I just couldn't help myself.  I wanted to help facilitate the questioning and the understanding of each particular book.  I had been an "outside circle" member the day before and knew that the inner circle members needed to speak up and be clear with their statements.  They weren't really doing so, so I stepped in.  It made for a more lively discussion, but probably not exactly what Ms. Williams was hoping for with a student-led circle.

The books seemed really fascinating to me.  One was Schooled about a boy who lived in a hippie commune, but when his grandmother falls ill he must move in with a counselor and start going to real school.  The students thought the main character was pretty weird.  The other book we discussed was Monster about a boy who was part of a murder that happened in a store.  It was written in play format from the boy's perspective in jail.  We had quite a discussion about his innocence (or guilt) in the circle.  You can imagine now why these two compelling books had me jumping in with questions, clarifications, and connections.

Another great experience getting to watch and participate in two days of literature circles with our fun 8th grade students.  Their insightful comments always inspire me.  And their desire to be heard and appreciated humbles me.  I can't wait to get back in the classroom for the next adventure!