Like jumping in to a cold swimming pool. Classroom blues after a break.

Heading back to school after a break is always tough for both me and my kiddos. We are lucky to have a week off for Thanksgiving in my district, so yesterday was the first day back after a week of relaxation. By the end of the day, I could tell it was super hard for the kids to focus. I have three classes of kids - each for a two period block. The first core is always very well behaved. This is usually due in part to being tired. This year though, they really are a great group. The second core is like the middle child - kind of rowdy, and right before lunch. This year that group is very, very smart, but very, very social. The third core is after lunch and before the end of the day. This usually means they have the most behavior issues. Yesterday, they had totally checked out about half way through class. Even with the best lesson plan, the added challenge of keeping their focus after a week of being off is a pretty daunting task. Today is better, and we have a solid three week stretch before winter break. I'm planning to stuff as much in to these three weeks as I can. We're finishing up the Outsiders in class during these three weeks. My colleagues and I completely revamped our Outsiders unit to make it Common Core-aligned. So far, I'm really really enjoying the new unit.

And so it begins...

I have embarked on a great adventure in blogging about my classroom. I suppose an introduction is in order. I teach 8th grade core in the San Francisco Bay Area. Core at our school is a two period block of English and US history. I've taught the same thing since I started, and this is my 11th year. I knew when I went to get my teaching credential that middle school was the level I wanted to teach at. I have always been one of those crazy people who ADORES middle school students. I'm always amused by the common conversation I have when people ask me what I do:

"So what do you do?"
"I'm a teacher."
"Oh, that's wonderful! What grade do you teach?"
"Eighth grade."
"Oh my god, you are a saint/I don't know how you can do it/kids at that age are crazy"

Like many schools, our school is VERY focused on implementing the Common Core this year. Everything seems to revolve around that. My department has been working together to revamp some of what we do with that in mind. What I've discovered, however, is that a lot of what we already did fits the Common Core model. At first, I was worried that the Common Core would mean throwing out everything I had been doing and having to start fresh like a first year teacher all over again. However, now that I know a lot more about Common Core, I see that is not the case. I'm excited to incorporate a lot of the higher order thinking skills in to my curriculum. I also decided that since I was doing a lot of curriculum development this year, I'd try my hand at teacherspayteachers.com and see if I couldn't share my curriculum with other educators.

Right now, I'm on break for a week for Thanksgiving. I'm always so grateful for the fact our district gives us this whole week off. It's nice rejuvenating time, and it's given me an opportunity to sit down and get this blog off the ground!