Blog 3..The Beginning of the end

"When life hands you lemons, make lemonade" is what they say.  However, what happens if you don't have sugar, ice, a cup, etc.?  That is exactly how I was feeling the day that Dr. Mortimore decided to stroll into my classroom.  The class she decided to observe was the one that I thought I could make a differnce in.  As my placement started, I thought I could make this class relevant to the students and they would enjoy coming to class everday.  Needless to say, I feel as though that would all be fine and dandy had I been given the resources to make this a success.  I should mention that is an elective intro. to film course that any student from 9th to 12th grade can take.  Therefore, you can see that there are many different types of students with different bakckgrounds and have been given different amounts of tools to be successful in an english class.  Shannon decided to come in towards the end of the first class and just in time for the intro. to film students to file in.  As they walked in I had a polleverywhere poll on the board for them to vote what type of movie they would like to watch.
I thought long and hard about doing this because cell phones are a HUGE issue in this class.  So far, they have been permitted to have their phones out at any given time in class, except during a test.  Coming in as a student teacher I knew I had my work cut out because they were too far along for me to implement no cell phones in class.  Therefore, I decided to use it to my advantage...or so I thought.  Over half of the students did NOT even partake in the poll as they walked in.  Some stated they didn't have phones while others just didn't do it.  Did they know that I couldn't tell who took the poll and who didn't?  Did they simply misunderstand my directions?  Were the testing me? 
     This was the first thing that did not go to plan that day.  How is it that I tried to turn something negative into something positive in the classroom and it didn't work out?  This is where I stand with this class and what to do.  How can I turn something that I cannot change into something that will benefit the class?  Another situation that is not in my favor is the seating arrangement.  They can sit wherever they please.  Therefore, the ninth graders gravitate towards each other and so forth.  They sit with their friends and can be on their phones all at one time.  This has been ongoing struggle and I can't seem to figure out how to fix it.  I could simply assign a seating chart; however, I don't think that that's going to stop the problems in the class.  I have been spending a lot of time trying to figure out who to fix this situation so that the next three weeks run smoothly.... (suggestions are welcome!).
     As for the actual instruction. I decided to show them a parody of Les Miserables that was a song that used the tune from a popoular song.  This went over quite well and I was pleasantly surprised.  Everyone seemed attentive at that point and it was a good way for me to address problems that I have been seeing with them identifying character traits.  All was well with this and I got some feedback but not as much as I would have liked.  The rest of the class they were asked to create a facebook page for any fictional character in a tv series, a movie, or a book.  This was an assessment to see if they could identify characteristics of characterizations.  I wanted them to use the character's dialogue, relationships, emotions, actions, motivations, and traits to depict this character in their facebook page.  The students, once again, seemed responsive to this and worked quite diligently.  The only issue that arose was staying on task and listening to directions which is a struggle every day.  Most of them didn't finish and I collected them to work on the following day.
      Although my content and instruction seems to be evident, I am simply having a struggle with behavioral management.  I need to get them to stay on task, follow directions, and to listen to one another.  Dr. Shannon luckily had suggestions that I am working with.  Perhaps I could set up expectations at the beginning of class.  I could move seats and follow through with the things that I say.  It seems as though this is an exact science that needs careful planning and proper implementation.  What can I do for an elective class with all grades to be successful and work in a way that makes the class structured?  Right now that is where I am and I am constantly thinking about the best way to approach this.