Well....This has been quite a week and it is only day 2! I have been discovering some of the trials and tribulations of being a third grader. One of them is walking in line.
During fire drills and earthquake drills I have seen the beautiful perfect line with no talking, straight as a board, and no gaps in it as we walk. However, this perfection quickly disappears during regular times. We then get into arguments about people supposedly "cutting" in line. This is a big deal. I have dealt with this issue several times (to say the least) during these few weeks of school. I did not give my class a line order because as third graders they can be trusted to walk in a line the correct way. (Today they lost that privilege though as I had to put them in a line order...they behaved beautifully because they knew the line order would last for the rest of the week if they didn't....;) )
Anyway, as I was saying "cutting" is a big deal. However, I had a conversation with a boy yesterday who was very upset that someone "cut" in line. He was upset because the other boy got behind him....Yes, behind him. Not in front of him. I looked at him very confused like when he first "tattled" about this...
Now I need to say that this boy was the 2nd to last in line before the other boy "cut" him in line by getting behind him. He was so upset by this! I tried to make him see that it wasn't "as bad" as "cutting" in front of him and that in then end we all made it to the same spot, but he just couldn't see that. He was so upset that the other boy got behind him in line. The other boy was just getting in line, there was no cutting going on at all. I'm still a bit confused by the situation but found it slightly amusing that we would discuss someone getting behind him in line.....Oh the trials in life as a third grader!
I haven't had time to read this yet but I too (I have K-3 in labs, and reading groups) and I struggle with cutters (or as the K's say he cutted me) and in line up time, I do several things, walking from the back, I say low "if you hear my voice (insert some action) then the ones at the front who are talking usually do it then have to explain why...or say I am standing in line, facing front, hands at my side, my mouth is closed (for the talkers I make them zip and hand me the key) or others use perfect 10. In the hallway it should be 1 straight line (hence the number 1 in the 10) and 0 voices (the zero in 10) Here's the link to read http://pinterest.com/pin/327565959/
ReplyDeleteThat IS funny! Are 3rd graders great! ;) When we are traveling in the hall, it is Zone "0". Do you have your kiddos numbered? I have my students line up in their number order {either 1-18 or 18-1}, birthday months, etc. I don't walk at the front of the line. I walk where I can see everyone all the time. Our hallways are long, so we have certain stopping points, so they know where to stop to make sure everyone is caught up before we move on. Hope you have a great rest of the week!
ReplyDeleteHappy Teaching!
I teach 3rd as well and we have a number order. You are always in number order unless you're the line leader or door holder. Even with number order there are still issues of "cutting"! I have to explain to them that there is no cutting...the student was just getting in their spot in line! Hope the rest of your week goes well! Tomorrow is my Friday so I am super excited!
ReplyDeleteLiving A Wonderful Life