Thanksgiving Play Gone Wrong

Each year, my class puts on a Thanksgiving play.  I didn't create this, and I can't take credit for any of it.  I just teach it to my students and help them to perform it for their parents.


This year, I'm a little more nervous about the way the play will go off.  This year I have "Tommy" in my class.  


Will he remember his one and only line?  
Will he act silly during the songs?
Will he jump out of the Mayflower?
Will he flail around while waiting (impatiently in his case) while the play goes on?


So many things can make this a Thanksgiving play to remember...and NOT in the good way.


I want his parents to have a good experience.
I want the other students to have a good experience.
I don't want the other parents to talk.


I'm honestly scared it can go so terribly wrong.


How have you ever dealt with a student like this?  What did you do?


Alexis

Teaching Tommy...Another Day, Another Way

I am mentally drained at the end of each day.  Tommy continues to require all of my attention. 

For example, today we were working on one of our first writing assignments.  This is a typically difficult assignment since writing with first graders is tedious to say the least.  Take this process with a child who has problems with letter/sound correlation and phonics in general, and I am spent!  Many of the students in my class can independently sound out words, but there are a handful that still need me to say the word slowly and stop at each sound so they can write the letter.  While I'm at one child's desk, Tommy becomes a behavior problem.  Then when I'm with him, he has such issues that I end up spending the bulk of my time with him.  This isn't fair to the other children who need and/or want my attention.

I think I will assign him a "buddy" to help him s-t-r-e-t-c-h his words.  I will train one of my higher leveled students who work at a quicker pace.  This way he won't have too much time in between my attention and he won't get into too much "trouble" alone.


I'm willing to try ANYTHING!

Teaching Tommy...A Journey

The names in this post, and every post hereafter, have been changed to protect the innocent...

The school year has begun and my classroom is filled with 15 excited first graders.  All are eager to learn and to please.  Tommy is one of those students.  


Tommy loves his friends.  Tommy loves to laugh.  Tommy is having a hard time at school.

You see, Tommy is a second language learner.  He repeated Kindergarten because of language.  He also has a speech impediment.  The cards are stacking against Tommy.  Throw in an issue with the sounds of letters, simple addition and a label of ADHD, Tommy is truly struggling in first grade.  


That's where I come in.  I am his teacher.


At first meeting, Tommy seemed like a lot of other students I've had in the past.  A challenge, but nothing I can't deal with.  Now it's only been 3 weeks and I'm reaching for ANYTHING that will help him to succeed.  


I give Tommy his homework ahead of time in order to get a "jump start" on his learning.  I also give him all of the math lessons before I teach them so that he can achieve some success during class time. 


I'm laying a lot of trust in Tommy's parents to work with him.  He has a tutor, but he really needs more.  I'm worried. 


I will follow my journey with Tommy weekly and hope that I can dig deep in my educational bag in order to Teach Tommy.

Alexis