Managing my classroom

I have not written for a while. Just getting to know my kids and spending quality time with the new lot.Setting classroom rules and making sure they work before I attempt to get down to brass tacks.

Being a PYP teacher, with 24 kids in the class and no intern, is no easy task.There are times when I raise my hands, pull my hair and feel like the figure in Edvard Munch's 'The scream'!
There are children with different demands, learning styles and the problem is that I am keenly aware of this. Needless to say I feel miserable. However, stress and frustration can easily be felt by the students and so I have to find ways and means of getting around this problem.

And that is why I love technology and yoga. The two together pack a mean punch:)
Early morning breathing and meditating to calm the kids (and um, myself) and then something as simple as google docs can make everything so easy.

Our school has assigned each teacher a task: Find a topic about our teaching practice that we want to research more about. I have opted to improve the way I teach reading and writing.
To start with, I needed to find out what my kids thought about reading and writing. What was the best way to go about it?
I have been using google docs to document my students progress in class. However, I found google forms ideally suited to my needs this time round. I created a simple reading form, which ask the students some questions. I embedded this form into the kids' blog. When their responses came in( quite promptly), all the data was immediately and systematically recorded in my google docs inbox.

Though google docs in not new and many use it, the ease with which work can be done never ceases to amaze me.

By the way, some of the student responses are the reason I want to improve reading and writing in my class:

"I write because my writing needs to look neat"
"I write because my teacher told me to"

I've had these kids for about 7 weeks now. My work is cut out for me. I shall try and work smart, plan ahead of time and read and write a lot in order to be excited and not frustrated about work.

Wish me luck!

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