it's almost been a week since last i wrote... well, work began again, and you know how that is. actually, i've been feeling pretty good about work. i spent the last weekend of break trying to re-do my room. i moved furniture around and cleaned out a bunch of junk. i also went through a lot of my resources, including my library, and it sort of inspired me to rework how i do things. one improvement i've made is to incorporate an "independent reading" segment in my rotations, and sort of force students to read different sets of differentiated books for them, one based upon sight words (dolch library), another based upon reading a-z level, and a last "open book" day which still recommends books based upon level. i've also been re-working the aquaponics station. i think i've sort of fixed the problem of the drainage issues by increasing the flow of water exiting the grow bed. i think a successful fill-and-drain cycle requires balancing out the inflow of the water being pumped up from the fish tank to the outflow of the water being drained. if either of these is off, then it eventually leads to a situation where the grow bed is not effectively or efficiently being drained. so what i did was drill several more holes into the bell siphon to increase the out flow. as i was doing so, i noticed a lot of the same brown gunk that had been clogging both the motor and some of the drain pipe components, and had to clean a lot of that out. i've also been trying to adjust the pH of the system, which, for some reason has been tending towards acidity. they say that the water becomes acid due to the conversion of ammonia, but it seems as though the plants are the one visible victim of these water conditions: they are either dying, or have some "poisoned" leaves.
i appreciated that the kids seemed to fall into the routines i had established pretty quickly. my goal is to wipe out the phonics deficits that all of these kids seem to have. that's my first big goal, anyway. once there is sufficient evidence that the students are phonetically proficient, then it's my next big goal to address vocabulary and comprehension deficits, as i'm doing with one particular student.
with regards to math, i think i'm making pretty good progress, all evidence notwithstanding. the few students that i address directly have made gains in terms of computation. i've decided to start a rotation. we address straightforward computation on one day (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) as well as word problems; then on the next day, we address fractions, and a lot of the things we do with them, including comparison and conversion between mixed and improper forms; and finally we address decimals. my hope is that once we address a lot of the "mechanics" of math, then we can tackle some of the conceptual understandings or the missing parts.
i am also tackling a lot of science project stuff. i'm feeling relatively confident about our robotics pH reader. the kids yesterday had the idea of "sprucing up" our stem video, and incorporating more drama and a theme to it. we'll see if it pans out, but at the very least, the kids were really excited about it. the other big thing i'm worried about is the history day project. i don't think "ella fitzgerald" was particularly an evocative topic, but that's the one that was chosen, so i just have to make sure that it's the best project we can make it.
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since i've taken a big break from a lot of my routines, it's hard (and somewhat daunting) to jump back into things. i often despair that i don't have a lot of stories in me. or i don't pay attention to details (or am impatient of them) to incorporate into a story to make it come to life. i've been reading hamlet because at one point in time, i wanted it to be a resonant element to the kipapa story. but hamlet in itself is a very complex play. there are issues that seem to echo what i wanted to say. for example, ophelia's madness (she is a very father-centric figure). or hamlet's meditations on death. if we did turn this into a kipapa-play, then horatio would be me (the one true friend). other things that are interesting: the play's the thing to capture the conscience of the king. there are a lot of legacies in the play. things passed on from fathers. there are two fathers essentially: polonius, and king hamlet. how would erica's relationship with her own father mirror that of ophelia's with her own controlling, scheming father? the madness of hamlet...
i recall trying to write the kappa story from the point of view of the kappa. but it really hasn't been fleshed out. it has been more of an episodic thing. it's almost as though the kappa only "awakens" in the presence or in the mind of the boy (me). i really struggle with finding the flow of that story. maybe i do need to get into the mentality of just regurgitating or flowing out the fucking story. like really truly blind outflow, not concentrating on editing so much. just saying what happens, or what i would like to happen, not being so fucking careful. it should be left for the other to meditate and pick up the pieces.
also, i will try to write using my hand. my right hand. as in handwritten pieces.
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