Getting to Know You/Getting to Know Myself Day 1

This image belongs to Melissa Reese Etheridge.

Blogger 07.04.2015

Getting to know me/getting to know you!

The beginning of Middle School is an anxious time. Each of us worries that no one will like us or take us seriously. We wonder if we’re wearing the right clothes or if we will have anyone to sit with at lunch. Our school is a big building; we worry that we won’t find our way to each of our classrooms. We see the lockers and worry how we’re going to get to class on time if we have to go to our locker in between every class. Each of you is worried that your teachers are mean and will yell at you. I can’t promise that none of these things won’t happen. But I can promise that each of us is worried. That is perfectly normal. Your teachers are also nervous, anxious and worried on the first day of school. It is a normal human behavior to be anxious. You will learn your schedule and your way around the school. You will find someone to eat lunch with each day. You will learn what each teacher expects of you.

I am Mrs. Etheridge; I will be your writing teacher this year. Each class will have a particular routine, expectations, and rules. I will go over those in daily lessons. Today’s lesson is about getting to know each other. You will learn something about me, and I will learn something about you. It is important that we learn from each other so that we can become a community of writers. Communities work together. We will work together to learn and grow as writers. First I’m going to tell you some things about myself.

I have been a teacher for nearly thirty years. I always wanted to be a teacher when I was growing up. Teachers were my heroes. They were my role models. It is a blessing that I get to come to work and do what I love to do. I love to read, write and help kids become better writers than they were before sixth grade. I read every day. I might read a novel, a magazine, or your essays. I write every day, also. I write poems, bits of stories, articles, journal entries, articles, emails, to-do lists. Writing and reading are essential parts of who I am. I like to share my writing with my students. I work hard to create lessons that teach you to be a better writer. You will work hard in this class to become a better writer.

Both of my children attended this middle school and the high school. My daughter is a junior in college, and my son is a senior in high school. Three furry family members live at my house. I love animals. I have traveled to many countries. I have even experienced living in other countries. My dad died at the beginning of last school year. I am still very sad about it.

Here is a poem that a sixth grader wrote at the end of last school year. She gave me permission to share it with you.

Sixth Grade

By L. Barrett

There are hallways with lockers

Teachers with smiles

Students with binders

Held in their hands.

Eighth graders look scary

Seventh graders are okay

Sixth graders are confused

On the first day of school.

Middle School is a new world

With harder work and expectations

There is much more thinking

But the teachers really care.

Suddenly everything is easier

The work is okay

Teachers are familiar

The eighth graders are not so scary.

I realize that it’s just a new year

Sixth grade is just the beginning

Of a great adventure

Filled with learning and making new friends.

Before I know it

The school year will be over

Seventh grade is just around the corner

Look out, here I come!

Out with the Old

Julia had a habit of looking downward when she walked, concentrating on the angle of the curb, or counting cracks in the pavement. She knew precisely how many steps it was from her school to the front door of her apartment house. (1,745 if she took regular strides.) She was good with numbers, which was no big surprise, something she attributed to her parents’ influence. Back before they moved to America, her mother had been an accountant and her father had been a banker. The country that they lived in had not been safe. She was surprised one day when she came home to find her family packed and ready to move. It was so sudden; she was not expecting it. She was taken completely off guard.

Now, her dad drove a cab, and her mother stayed home while her English improved. Their life was so different now from the way it had been when she was little. Their apartment was small, just two rooms, no bigger than their old entry hall, and the floors were covered with plastic tiles, not with richly woven rugs. The furniture had been hauled in by her father, castoffs collected from wealthy neighborhoods. It included a reclining chair that let her sit at a 90° angle and an octagonal table.

She missed her old bed with the gold mesh covering and her collection of stuffed animals. But, still, deep down, she was happy they had moved. She loved the mix of people on the street, the different aromas from all the restaurants, the park just a few blocks (497 steps) from her front door.

Your Task:

Now that you have finished reading my text, you are going to do some writing. You have four tasks to complete by tomorrow.

1.      Write a paragraph response to my text. Tell me what you think of it. Is there something that I need to change or clarify for you? Is there anything that I can do as the writer to make it better? Your paragraph must be five sentences. It must include a topic sentence, three details, and a concluding sentence.

2.      Write a letter to me introducing yourself. Your letter must be three paragraphs. There must be an introductory paragraph, a body paragraph, and a concluding paragraph. Each paragraph must have at least five sentences.

3.      Write a response to each of the following questions. You must write your answers in complete sentences and include evidence from the text.

A.      Where does the story “Out With the Old” take place?

B.      Describe Julia's home before she moved.

C.      Before coming to her new home, what surprised Julia?