Ms. Reynolds, at the beginning of the year, was "allergic to students". That made quarter 1 of 4b very funny. I still remember hearing everyone chanting, "bless you!" whenever she sneezed, then, someone (a boy) would say, "you're allergic to students!"
Ms. Reynolds also changed my point of view in science and social studies. She had really fun activities and chants that we would do. She also made posters that would help us learn, they were really effective. She also organized "team tasks" which is an activity we would do during science or social studies. Team tasks is divided into 3 groups, one group would go with Ms. Reynolds to become "experts" in a type of subject (like Navajo experts during the time we studied Native Americans) another group would go with the classroom aid, and do an experiment and record the results. The third group would stay at their desks with some other people from your table group and copy and draw posters explaining facts and things about the subject. Then, when we finish a subject, we would play Jeopardy! We stayed in our table groups and discussed and answered the problems she gave us.
Another thing I really liked about Ms. Reynolds was that she was strict but in a way that you wouldn't think that she was strict, whenever you didn't follow the rules or directions, she would give you some warnings, but if you crossed the line, she would take away a few minutes of your recess, I think that's pretty fair. Also, when she gets mad at you, she doesn't yell or scream at you, she just warns you in a serious, quiet voice, to stop doing that and to solve your own problems.
Read-a-loud was a time I really enjoyed during the day. Ms. Reynolds always picks a really interesting book, even though sometimes the cover of the book don't exactly attract us. But when she starts reading, we would just beg her to read more. We read 6 novels in 4b: Because of Winn-Dixie, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Esperanza Rising, Maniac Magee, Sing Down the Moon, and Holes. I remember during the first chapter of Esperanza Rising, we were all grouchy and uninterested because the cover didn't attract us. But when she started the 2nd chapter, we were all excited and anxious to hear more about Esperanza in Rancho de las Rosas. Another reading project I really liked was Knocking Off Novels, which was a fun and exciting system that would help us read more novels and chapter books. In Knocking Off Novels, Ms. Reynolds would set a time limit and a goal for the class, for example, during quarter 2, our goal was to read more than 50 books. So we were attacking novel after novel, soon, when we finished the more than 50 goal, we had a books, PJ's, pillows and popcorn party. We could plop down anywhere in the classroom with a favorite book and read while eating popcorn and drinking juice.
I really wish Ms. Reynolds would stay another year, then I'll be able to see her and talk to her everyday! But now she's moving to the U.S.A. I'll miss her a lot. Now that she's going, I should give her something.... Hmmmm.... I'm going to dedicate this story to her, so maybe after 1 year, or even 10 years I'll be able to read this again and remember one of my favorite teachers.
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