There's No Crying in Social Studies

That title comes from a line in a movie that we have used on PITA for years. Good grief, I need to get my (Light bulb moment...While typing this sentence it occurred to me that I just need to make a poster that says "There's No Crying in Social Studies") anyway....I need to get my 5th graders to understand that the work they do in my classroom, no matter how frustrated they might get, is NOT worth tears!!!!!

Now, I kind of understood when they got teary eyed about the quiz on how to take notes because they didn't study and they were worried they were going to fail and it was going to hurt their grade and....and....and.....Seriously, I could go on, but why. But today....it was a map. A MAP caused stress tears!!! ~sigh~ It is sometimes hard for me to remember that I am not with hardened 7th graders anymore and that I teach innocent soft hearted 5th graders. I have stopped being sarcastic (I was told it was more of a dry humor and not sarcasm by one of the other staff members). I really don't feel the need to be flippant with these children. They are sweet and generally want to please me in anyway they know how. They love what we are doing in the classroom and tell me how much more fun Soc. St. is now. (What a great compliment, right?!?)

So back to the map......I have this sheet that goes with our maps that I found this last weekend. I LOVE it. The kids have to go through and answer 9 questions about the map. Things like: What is the title? What in the range for latitude and longitude? What does the map aim to convey? (ok this question is just mean to ask 10 and 11 year olds. They don't have a clue what the word convey means much less how to pronounce it.) But I have worked hard to explain this sheet and today I even went over the whole sheet answering ALL of the questions that go with the map they were using today. Just to make sure they knew what they were looking for to keep their map skills sharp. I ask them to take time to read over it on their own now and put the answers (the ones I just gave them) on a sheet of paper, then they had questions on the back of the map in which they have to use the map. THEY HAVE ALREADY BEEN GIVEN THE ANSWERS TO HALF THE ASSIGNMENT!!! And yet, I had kids asked me like 15 times (ok more like 5-10) what convoy (remember convey??) meant and what the heck they were suppose to do with the scale question {all they had to do was tell me how many inches (measure the line) for 100 miles (the amount of miles shown on the scale)}. Seriously I didn't think this was an assignment that should bring on tears and yet in three classes I had students break down crying.

Me, being who I am, told them to cry over big things like lost pets, broken bones.....not my work in my classroom. It isn't life or death. It is a worksheet. ~sigh~ God love them.

Tomorrow should be a blast. They are making flip books on the 5 themes of geography.....and they have to construct the book. I know there will be tears at some point tomorrow, but hopefully I won't start 1st period with a headache. I would also like to add this....if the kids crying over the fact that they don't understand is my biggest stresser so far, I really have nothing to complain about. I have had no disrespect, everyone turns in their work, and life in general is pleasant. THANK YOU to the powers that be for letting me work in Green Acres!!!!

Peace out my peeps....have sweet dreams and don't let map skills bring you to tears.