#GratitudeSnaps: Giving Thanks All November Long!

I am a little late to hop onto Tara M Martin's #GratitudeSnaps challenge, as I discovered the challenge only a couple of days ago, but I figured that beginning the challenge late is better than never beginning at all!

During this chaotic season of the school year, we teachers are under a lot of stress, as we have been "on" since late August/September with almost no breaks! Thus, it is imperative that we take a moment to step back and reflect on all of the blessings that have been bestowed upon us.

In no particular order, here are my Gratitude Snaps (excuse the fact that it's more of a list than a series of pictures.)

Routine Vocab. Sentences: A Creative Writing Task AND Interactive Experience

A detailed student drawing from what started off as an assignment to merely write 20 vocabulary sentences.

In my 6th, 7th, and 8th grade literature classes, I routinely assign vocabulary words to my students. Vocab. is on a two-week cycle in my class: at the beginning of Week 1, we go over the 20 new words for the cycle. Then, students have until the end of Week 1 to submit 20 carefully-written vocabulary sentences (with context clues!), and I give them a vocabulary quiz at the end of Week 2, which includes ten student-written sentences from the week on the back (the vocab. word is replaced with a blank, and, as part of the quiz, students must fill in the blank with the correct vocabulary word.)

Three years ago, when I first began teaching at my current school, I never imagined that my vocab. assignments would explode into the cacophony of creativity that they are today. Vocabulary has even become the favorite assignment of some of my students, and a few students ask me to upload new vocab. lists early so that they may start on their next assignment. How did this happen?

Summer Reading Projects (ft. Jubby Jr.!)

Who is Jubby Jr.? Read more to see.

At my current job (fourth year here, hooray!), I have the benefit of teaching the entire middle school for all three years of their middle school career. One major perk of this setup is the depth of the relationships I build with my students; I watch and foster their growth from sweet sixth graders, excited and bewildered by their new status as middle school students, to confident, inquisitive eighth graders, leading the school (hopefully with a good example!)

As the middle school literature teacher, I give my students ample opportunities to display their creativity through a plethora of projects and writing assignments throughout the year.

The first major assignment I give them upon their return to school in August is the summer reading project. Summer reading is assigned in the last weeks of school in June. I inform each grade level of their required book, and I then tell the rising seventh and eighth graders that I expect them to read two choice novels in addition to their required reading, and the rising sixth graders read one choice novel.

On the first day of school, I give the students a basic comprehension quiz on the required novel to check to see if they completed it. (Yes, I'm that teacher - and I have no remorse!) We then embark on a 2-3 week book unit on the required novel, in which I introduce the novel's historical text and we analyze key scenes and characters and have structured debates and discussions on themes.

Then, of course, there are the choice books. I want the students to be able to creatively engage with their choice reading books because, hey, they chose to read them for a reason!