Pytash- Chapter 6

In the second sentence of this book Jago states that she is a free spirit who makes lessons as they go along. As I read that, I was like AHHH. I realized that I am too much of an organizational freak to do that. However, it will be something that I will learn to do because my lessons won't always go as planned. One of the points Jago stated that the Writing Project helped her see, which is something I am dealing with is "being a teacher means being a learner." I relate to this because sometimes I beat myself up about not knowing an answer or not being able to help my sister when she asks me for help. However, I am still a learner myself and I am not going to know everything.
I wish we had a lesson plan fair like in Japan. It would especially be beneficial to new teachers. Developing lesson plans off a list of books will be horrid, but if there was some way of getting together with other teachers to discuss lesson plans, it would help take the pressure off. In the end, all teachers are after the same goal, so why not share insight with one another.

The Odyssey lesson plan was very helpful because it could be used for more than one text. In addition, the worksheets could be used too. I think the worksheets will help those students who are visual learners and it will help students have something to reference to. Especially in The Odyssey, characters can get confusing. Character charts and maps are a great way for students to lay out information. Also, I liked how Jago said she displays the state standards around her classroom. I believe this will show students what they have to know and gather from texts. And it will help eliminate the questions "why do we have to know this?"
Getting used to the language of Homer is another issue. By having students analyze epithets, it will help them understand his style of writing. They will soon realize it isn't as confusing.

I think quizzes are an important way for not only teachers, but students to see what they have learned. I am not a fan of plot-based quizzes, but it does show if students have read. I think surprise reading checks are also effective. By surprising the students with quizzes, hopefully they will learn they need to read every night in anticipation for a quiz. However, the one fault is you don't want students to read for a quiz; you want them to read for the learning process.