When I Grow Up…

Today we looked backward and forward. Several students needed additional time to finish some of yesterday’s activities like the tests or the final draft of the Open Court writing assessment, so we found some time for them to work on that. But mostly we looked forward towards the next reading theme, “Dreams to Jobs.”

I like to introduce this theme on a negative note. I ask the students, “What would you absolutely hate to do when you grow up?” They like the vocational questions in reverse and their ideas about jobs can be interesting – if not always completely accurate.

Doctor 

          When I grow up I don’t want to be a doctor. I don’t want to be a doctor because I would see a lot of blood. I also don’t want to be  a doctor because I would have to work all day, every week. I would be very tired. Also , I if was tired I could do something wrong. I might puke if there was too much blood. Those are the reasons why I don’t want to be a doctor.

Teacher

          The job I would hate the most is to be a teacher. I would hate being a teacher because all the kids would yell when they’re supposed to be doing their work. The second thing is they would be sharpening their pencils. The third thing is because they get out of their seats and ask you questions. The last thing is when kids jump around in the bus! I WILL NEVER BE A TEACHER!!!

Actually, being a teacher is not that bad, at least at Third Street School.

The students did rough and final drafts of these paragraphs and worked on illustrations, too. This took a lot longer than I expected it would, but they seemed to be focused on the topic and having a good time, too.

In the afternoon, we had our first experience with Hands-on Equations. This is a nifty program designed to introduce algebraic concepts to students by using manipulatives. The first lessons in the program are pretty easy, but they get harder soon. Our students did quite well with it, and, as you can see, they were interested!

Homework:  (1) Do the Word Knowledge and Vocabulary from Context for the Eddie, Inc. story. This is a handout. (2) Do the math worksheet. There is a section on multiplying money and also one where the students need to solve an algebra problem for the value of x.

I look forward to seeing all of you tomorrow at Culture Day!