The Arc Raiders are the basketball team E.S. Arc has, it plays different teams from other organizations from football and 4 of my trainees currently play on the team. This has been my first chance to make it out to the game and it was a blast! I'm proud to say at least one of the trainees scored 3 baskets and 2 others showed some amazing sportsmanship! I'll definitely be going to more games.
Class today was a learning moment for me. The menu math word problems which went over so incredibly well yesterday had some problems today. Today's word problems incorporated measurements by using foods like foot long sandwiches. I completely forgot to check for an understanding of yards, feet, and inches before I launched into the lesson and I ended up seriously confusing 2 people in the class. The bright side is now I know better for next time and it has opened my eyes up to the value of fact sheets. I've always used multiplication, addition, and subtraction tables, but I never considered measurements and math facts.
After math came a brief language arts lesson about how to combine 2 sentences with the same subjects. I give that lesson a solid 75%, I wish I had provided more build-up to the subject for some of the students. Deciding on how much support to provide is a juggling act I struggle with on a daily basis but I get better everyday and sometimes students defy expectations. My amateur mistakes have created some pretty cool results, my best example was when I didn't yet know that the workbooks The Literacy Alliance uses come in different levels starting at "E" and then going to "M, D, and A". At the time I didn't know about the levels of workbooks so I accidentally brought in "M" level workbooks in math and the trainees tackled the content very well despite the fact that for some of the trainees the book was a level above what they normally worked at.
I also discovered the power of British Broadcasting Company's Skillwise website! This website offers a plethora of worksheets and educational games. I could not have been more thrilled when I looked over and noticed one trainee was going to town sending me PDF after PDF of word puzzles and crosswords he wanted me to print out for him to have and fill in. The rest of the class became interested in what he was doing and it turned out that everyone loved the stuff he found and the last half hour before lunch became another "smile and pretend like it's on the lesson plan" moment.
After lunch was silent reading, half an hour outside to burn off some energy, and then conducting personal interviews with a partner. For the personal interviews trainees had to choose some one to work with, ask them questions to help earn a better understanding about their character including questions like, "What would you do with a million dollars?" and then turn the information they learned into a six sentence sheet. Two trainees really enjoyed getting to know each other and sharing about themselves, one other could take it or leave it, and the last resists any lesson which asks him to share information about himself. This last trainee can be a tough nut to crack, as a person he is very sociable, but he clams up when he is put on the spot to talk for an assignment. I'm trying very hard to figure out how to help him figure out when are the appropriate times to talk.
You may have noticed my class size in the last paragraph adds up to a total of 4 students and your math is correct, attendance is becoming a bit of a problem for the class. The class originally started with 10 people, 2 chose to go back to the workshop about 2 weeks ago, another recently got a job (yay!), one is usually absent at least once a week, another is on vacation this week, and the last trainee is dealing with some personal concerns.
I'm absolutely thrilled that one trainee got a job, this particular person has always been very bright but he was having some trouble filling out job applications and figuring out the correct responses to interview questions. Ever since the first outing I took the class on to collect and fill out job applications a fire was lit with this one trainee and he started filling out applications and turning them in on a daily basis. Obviously the hard work of the client paid off because he can now proudly say he has a job and is on his way to gaining more independence for himself!
Attendance has also been affected by the boyfriend/girlfriend relationships that I've had in the class. I completely understand the need and want to be around your significant other, but in the class this desire has affected attendance. I'm currently in the midst of trying to motivate a boyfriend/girlfriend couple to make the best choice possible for themselves and not allow their relationship to affect those choices. The boyfriend is the one trainee who recently got a job, and the girlfriend is afraid of being left behind. This concern for each other has nearly convinced the boyfriend on a few occasions to reconsider taking the job and has made the girlfriend wonder if she wants to stay in the class if her boyfriend is not in it. Myself and the Arc staff member are trying very hard to make the girlfriend still feel like she has people she can lean on and feel supported by, but ultimately this decision is going to be her's.
I've said more than enough for today though and it's 11:00 at night. I still need to make some decisions tomorrow regarding content and next week's lesson plan. Peace out!
No comments:
Post a Comment