Classroom Management... (sigh)

Another week commences at North Marion, and what a week it has been! Monday was unlike anything I had experienced thus far. Not only was it a club day, which alters the regular schedule, but also there was a freshman assembly and memorial service for 9/11 in the gymnasium. We were informed of all of this last week; however, between Thursday and Monday the office sent out two revised schedules for the day. Initially, first period was planned to last an hour and fifty-minutes. My host teacher and I planned accordingly, providing a variety of assignments and even allowing for some free time and bathroom breaks. Unfortunately, we ended up staying in first period for over two hours and surprisingly, sitting in a classroom for two and a half hours with a group of anxious 11th graders isn't as exciting as it sounds. All joking aside, the students did work well for the time they were in there. All of the assignments given were completed and most of the students volunteered to share answers and responses for the activities. The remainder of the day was pretty crazy, too. Each class period was shortened to last 20-25 minutes, so not much could be done in regards to introducing new material. This wasn't too bad though, because the short block served as an introduction to Tuesdays lesson.
The rest of the week has gone pretty smoothly. My host teacher and I have begun to discuss different ways of managing the classroom. My two afternoon classes are extremely talkative and she has been helpful in giving me suggestions for bringing them back to the lesson and keeping them on task. For example, as opposed to saying, "Okay, I'll wait until you all finish talking to start" she suggested I directly state my expectations by saying something like, "When I begin speaking, you all stop!" This leaves no room for interpretation or misunderstanding.
Next week we will begin Senior Research. Wish me luck!