Tomorrow is Always a Better Day!

Hello. Today was not a very good day in this classroom for many reasons. It started off this morning with A LOT of side conversations and giggling during lessons. Then we went to the gym for a multiplication math game and kids were missing a ton of their basic multiplication facts, as skill I have devoted a ton of time and energy into and begged you to do as well at home. Then we did a practice oral States and Capitals test and many, many were missed or not known. The study list has been on the blog for a week now. The test is this Thursday. Finally, the students were given their 10 question test for Social Studies Chapter 4. It was open book, and we discussed as a group that when a test is open book it will REQUIRE them to use their book. I alloted a half hour period for this and I started noticing many students done within ten minutes. So, I began grading. This is when the day became pretty bad. Kids were making up off the wall answers that made NO sense at all to the question. They obviously did NOT use their books. So, I started calling them up one by one after grading their tests to have them prove to me where they had found these answers in their books. Of course they could not. I was VERY, VERY frank with them and sent them back to redo their assignment again USING THEIR BOOKS this time. Some of them tried to turn in guesses again, and they were sent back for a third time. At any rate, these kids saw a different side of me today. They saw the no, no, no side. The one that is a teacher of fourth grade students in their 3rd quarter before they are fifth graders. Today, they tried to go backwards and pull first quarter work. No! My expectations are high, but not unrealistic for where they are right now. I will not allow students to just 'skate" by with the minimum anymore. I asked quite a few of them if they had read the comments I wrote on their report cards. It is time to get serious. Third quarter is by far the hardest work for these kids. The review is over and so is the easing in. It is go time. Students need to get their stuff done, and do it in a 4th grade quality manner. When they slip, it is my job to get them back to where they need to be. Today, I had to be a little bit stern and frank with them. Tomorrow, kids will be tested on their 6 flashcards and will need to re-turn in their social studies test if they were asked to redo it. They may not have help, as it is a test. ALL the answers are in their books. I also told kids to share their Ch. 5 Math test with you. This is their first grade for quarter three. It should be in their take home folder. I hope that this helps clarify that I take my job very seriously, and that I absolutely love your kids as if they were my own. There is not one minute in here that I am not thinking, "What is best for this kid" and each kid in here is completely different and is pushed and challenged in their own way! Please, please sit down at the kitchen table tonight and practice their multiplication facts and their states and capitals with them. These are both life long skills that we all use every day. I appreciate your support, and so do they. Have a nice evening.