**Note from Kate: I have changed the names and details to protect the student’s identity. This story does not specifically refer to one student or situation and therefore is fictitious. Although the significance of the account was taken from persons or situation that I encountered in the years I have been teaching.**
Part of the second grade curriculum is a Rocks Unit. My team does a Rock Rotation so each of our classes are divided into four groups and these groups rotate. This is wonderful for two reasons. First, it reduces the class size, therefore reducing behavior issues and the kids get to experience different teachers. However, the best part is that it greatly reduces the work load on each teacher by having us each teach only one lesson. There is so much prep for these lessons, it’s ridiculous. This way, we only have to prep for one lesson and we also have our rocks unit done in one day!
We are not talking little cute lessons here, like we love rocks, draw a picture of a rock. No, no. We teach them things about rocks that I didn’t learn until I was in high school, I swear. The lesson I teach is about the rocks’ hardness and streak. Other lessons include figuring out if the rock is igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic and not only the fact that rocks are made up of minerals but also examining rocks to attempt to identify different types of minerals in each rock.
Anyhow, I was walking the kids in from the lines outside to their classroom in the morning when a girl from another class told me she was so excited about the Rocks Rotation today. I told her I was excited as well. She said she was SO EXCITED that she couldn’t sleep the night before. I told her I wasn’t that excited.
