Whale Rider

Yesterday, I had students write paragraphs, with topic sentences and all, about how Ms. L could be a better teacher, and I got some brilliant suggestions. I discussed their ideas with them today, and I promised to try some of them, including weekly progress reports, giving more examples of expectations, book clubs, field trips, etc.

I'm starting a new unit with my students; we're reading Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera, and today, we started with exploring maps, examining where the story is set and the migratory pattern of the whales that are featured in the story. The unit has been taught by previous teachers, so it's a chance for me to relax from trying to reinvent the wheel. I imagine I'll be doing some tweaking, but for the most part, I'll enjoy learning with my students the similarities between the Maoris and the Apaches (both groups appear to have many similarities). Despite groans and grumbles that the book sounds boring, most students loved working in groups and exploring the maps.