I was teaching how to write sentences today and I asked the kids why punctuation isn't an important part of their writing? Basically, "Why don't you care enough to put punctuation?" Most of the answers were, "We're lazy," "Because texting doesn't need it," and "I don't know where it all goes." But the best one today was what one boy said: "I usually write without punctuation. Then I go back and just put periods in random places." I laughed and asked, "Why? Why would you do that?" He said, "The teacher never told me not to."
What is going on here? I told them that my little first grader is learning how to write complete sentences! What happens from first grade to middle school? I'm so amazed that punctuation wouldn't be an important part of writing. Then I asked the class if they think that employers don't look to see if a resume has full, complete sentences. They said they don't believe an employer would care about fragment sentences on a resume or not. Then they said, "McDonald's won't care!" I'm thinking, Is that as far as you are shooting here in life? WOWOWOWOWOW!
Ah the great question! How do we make students CARE!?
Teacher Talk
Monday, April 19, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
Keep 'em Moving
During a Master's Class discussion we were talking about different ideas for lessons. I mentioned that keeping the kids physically moving while learning really helps to keep the blood flowing to their brain. I mentioned a couple of games and got one back from a P.E. Teacher. Here are all of our games to share!
I love learning games. The only problem is that I don't have very many to go around. But these kids in Middle School, about to go to high school, need to keep their bodies moving so that the blood flows to their brains. We need to keep them interested by keeping lessons short and practice longer and more fun. The social interaction that the students have helps to motivate them to do well in front of their peers. A little competition never hurt, either. So here are some games you might be able to use in your class: 1. Name Game (or could be used to learn Vocab) At the first of the year I get them all in a circle with their knees facing the middle. A rolled up poster or newspaper is used to play tag. I call out a name and the person in the middle has to go tag that person on the knees. The person whose name is called needs to call out another person's name before getting tagged or s/he is in the middle. If they call the middle person's name then they automatically have to switch places and become "it". (Watch out for violent attacks, however. The game is fast-paced and can cause bruises.)
2. The Bang Game! (Used with Vocab normally, or short answers) Have students facing eachother in pairs. The teacher calls out the definition and the students write the word down and say, "Bang!" when they are finished. The winner moves up a seat and the loser moves down a seat. The goal is to get to the number one seat and win over the whole class. This one gets wild, too, but it is great fun!
3. Other than games I use center rotations so that students are not doing one activity or task for more than 15 minutes or so. They get up and move around the room which moves the blood and I have less sleepers in class. Centers also provide opportunities to use Gardener's different intelligences because you can plan activities that use each one at different times. Have them draw, play games, work sheets, study, use computers, whatever you want. It's great!
Active Alliteration 6th - 8th grade Language Arts.
Formation: Standing at desk with partners
equipment: Paper and pencil
Rules/Directions:
1. Teacher reads a story or passage that contains alliteration.
2. Whenever the students hear alliteration they jog in place.
3. Students begin activity and continue for 30 seconds or until teacher resumes reading.
Variation:
1. Have the students think of a physical activity that begins with the same letter of the alliteration.
Example: Samantha sat by the sea
Students begin to swim.
Here is another one.
Classroom Fables 7th grade Language Arts
Formation: Standing beside desks
Equipment: none
Rules/Directions:
1. The teacher reviews various sentence parts.
2. The teacher lists various sentence parts on the chalk board, along with corresponding physical activities for each sentence part:
> Article - hop on 1 foot 5 times
> Noun - walk in place 5 paces
> Verb - jog in place 5 steps
> Adverb - touch elbow to knee 5 times
> Adjective - 5 jumping jacks
> Pronoun - 5 squats
> Preposition - 5 knee lifts
> Conjunction - 5 toe touches
3. The student who sits in the first seat on the first row of desks says one word to begin a sentence (ie, "The")
4. All students complete the corresponding activity for that sentence part.
5. The 2nd student in that row then adds another word (ie,"green") and students complete the corresponding activity for that sentence part.
6. This continues going down each row so that the class creates their own silly story, each student adding one word at a time to form a sentence.
Variation:
1. Could also be used in foreign language classes.
I love learning games. The only problem is that I don't have very many to go around. But these kids in Middle School, about to go to high school, need to keep their bodies moving so that the blood flows to their brains. We need to keep them interested by keeping lessons short and practice longer and more fun. The social interaction that the students have helps to motivate them to do well in front of their peers. A little competition never hurt, either. So here are some games you might be able to use in your class: 1. Name Game (or could be used to learn Vocab) At the first of the year I get them all in a circle with their knees facing the middle. A rolled up poster or newspaper is used to play tag. I call out a name and the person in the middle has to go tag that person on the knees. The person whose name is called needs to call out another person's name before getting tagged or s/he is in the middle. If they call the middle person's name then they automatically have to switch places and become "it". (Watch out for violent attacks, however. The game is fast-paced and can cause bruises.)
2. The Bang Game! (Used with Vocab normally, or short answers) Have students facing eachother in pairs. The teacher calls out the definition and the students write the word down and say, "Bang!" when they are finished. The winner moves up a seat and the loser moves down a seat. The goal is to get to the number one seat and win over the whole class. This one gets wild, too, but it is great fun!
3. Other than games I use center rotations so that students are not doing one activity or task for more than 15 minutes or so. They get up and move around the room which moves the blood and I have less sleepers in class. Centers also provide opportunities to use Gardener's different intelligences because you can plan activities that use each one at different times. Have them draw, play games, work sheets, study, use computers, whatever you want. It's great!
Active Alliteration 6th - 8th grade Language Arts.
Formation: Standing at desk with partners
equipment: Paper and pencil
Rules/Directions:
1. Teacher reads a story or passage that contains alliteration.
2. Whenever the students hear alliteration they jog in place.
3. Students begin activity and continue for 30 seconds or until teacher resumes reading.
Variation:
1. Have the students think of a physical activity that begins with the same letter of the alliteration.
Example: Samantha sat by the sea
Students begin to swim.
Here is another one.
Classroom Fables 7th grade Language Arts
Formation: Standing beside desks
Equipment: none
Rules/Directions:
1. The teacher reviews various sentence parts.
2. The teacher lists various sentence parts on the chalk board, along with corresponding physical activities for each sentence part:
> Article - hop on 1 foot 5 times
> Noun - walk in place 5 paces
> Verb - jog in place 5 steps
> Adverb - touch elbow to knee 5 times
> Adjective - 5 jumping jacks
> Pronoun - 5 squats
> Preposition - 5 knee lifts
> Conjunction - 5 toe touches
3. The student who sits in the first seat on the first row of desks says one word to begin a sentence (ie, "The")
4. All students complete the corresponding activity for that sentence part.
5. The 2nd student in that row then adds another word (ie,"green") and students complete the corresponding activity for that sentence part.
6. This continues going down each row so that the class creates their own silly story, each student adding one word at a time to form a sentence.
Variation:
1. Could also be used in foreign language classes.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Shaunti Feldhahn Books
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Solution-Tree Conference - Phoenix
Last week I went to a conference in Phoenix, AZ with a few chums from work. I did not want to go at all. I have been dreading the day I would be forced out of my classroom to embark on a convention about Professional Learning Communities. For those who don't know what PLCs are, it is basically a way for schools to change their culture from isolated teachers teaching in solitary confinement and moving toward schools acting as one whole for the benefit of the students.
They threw out research and statistics that the way we assess students, give grades, provide interventions, and play all of the games with students that have been evident in the United States since World War I are not working. Instead of giving a letter grade based on a 100-point system, they move us towards more standards based grading. That means that we take the core curriculum and teach until each kid gets each point, or standard. There is no failure admitted, just proficiency.
Well, I was really overwhelmed and had a stress headache all week wondering how I was going to change what I have done for my whole life as a student and my many four (4) years of teaching. Ok, I'm flexible. I can work with new ideas that work. I got into the system hoping to change it anyway. Fortunately, Solution-Tree and all of their authors have done all the research for us to give us a point from which to start. So I have been designing some new assessment charts for the students to help me with their individual grading.
First, each student will get a chart/table that lists the curriculum for the quarter. Then, I figured that I could track it sort of like they do in Boy Scouts. When they feel they can pass off the requirement, they do. If they fumble, they try again next week and on and on until they get it. During that time we can work individually or get them the help they need until they get it. This just might actually work!
When I get a chance to tweak my charts, I'll post them. But until then, anyone can go to Solution-Tree online and get tons of information there. I really do hope that their way for education will catch on. It really is the best I've seen so far.
They threw out research and statistics that the way we assess students, give grades, provide interventions, and play all of the games with students that have been evident in the United States since World War I are not working. Instead of giving a letter grade based on a 100-point system, they move us towards more standards based grading. That means that we take the core curriculum and teach until each kid gets each point, or standard. There is no failure admitted, just proficiency.
Well, I was really overwhelmed and had a stress headache all week wondering how I was going to change what I have done for my whole life as a student and my many four (4) years of teaching. Ok, I'm flexible. I can work with new ideas that work. I got into the system hoping to change it anyway. Fortunately, Solution-Tree and all of their authors have done all the research for us to give us a point from which to start. So I have been designing some new assessment charts for the students to help me with their individual grading.
First, each student will get a chart/table that lists the curriculum for the quarter. Then, I figured that I could track it sort of like they do in Boy Scouts. When they feel they can pass off the requirement, they do. If they fumble, they try again next week and on and on until they get it. During that time we can work individually or get them the help they need until they get it. This just might actually work!
When I get a chance to tweak my charts, I'll post them. But until then, anyone can go to Solution-Tree online and get tons of information there. I really do hope that their way for education will catch on. It really is the best I've seen so far.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Kids' Answers
On a recent test I tested the kids on commonly confused words like they're, there, and their, etc. One pair of words was emigrate and immigrate. A few answers from my Hispanic kids made me laugh. (Spelling below has not been altered = direct quotes).
Kid #1 "Emigrate means liveing the Unid States and the other is coming to the united states."
Kid #2 "Emigrate: leaving your home country. Immigrate: not a citizen."
Kid #3 "Emigrate - away from home country. Immirate - taken away and put back to there country."
Kid #4 "Emigrate = move to another country. Immigrate = crossing the border Illegal"
Cute, huh? I guess I'll have to go over those two again. Emigrate is when you leave your home country and Immigrate means to enter into a new country
Class Blogs
If you would like to see what my students are doing for writing assignments online, go to pvmsroom211.blogspot.com. We just recently did a couple of writing assignments with A Midsummer Night's Dream. It is fun and interesting to see 14-15 year old kids comment on a five-hundred year old play.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
How'd I get Here!?
I started teaching in the fall of 2006 at an early college high school (charter school). I was recently divorced and had an English Literature degree in my pocket. It took me just one year to certify to teach and get a job. I was so excited to start my new life as a single mom and a teacher.
I encountered some horrible political circumstances that first year, though. The details are far behind me now, but at the end of that year I had secured a job in the next town over at a public high school and got to start over again! This move was wonderful because within six months I had met a wonderful man in my new town. By my third year of teaching I was married with four kids (one of my own) and a third school. I opened that school year at a middle school as ESL coordinator where I had to learn two new computer programs to run the class and to learn and to follow intense state and federal laws not too much different than those of Special Ed. (paperwork!).
It was rough, but I am now on my 4th year of teaching and 2nd year in the same classroom. (Whew!) I'm lucky to have a job and a family who loves me. What I think I need more of, though, is teacher talk. I am taking master classes online that give me opportunities to talk teacher stuff, but I wanted a place to do that after those classes end. I welcome any constructive comments that will help any teacher, including myself, with the challenges and successes of teaching.
I encountered some horrible political circumstances that first year, though. The details are far behind me now, but at the end of that year I had secured a job in the next town over at a public high school and got to start over again! This move was wonderful because within six months I had met a wonderful man in my new town. By my third year of teaching I was married with four kids (one of my own) and a third school. I opened that school year at a middle school as ESL coordinator where I had to learn two new computer programs to run the class and to learn and to follow intense state and federal laws not too much different than those of Special Ed. (paperwork!).
It was rough, but I am now on my 4th year of teaching and 2nd year in the same classroom. (Whew!) I'm lucky to have a job and a family who loves me. What I think I need more of, though, is teacher talk. I am taking master classes online that give me opportunities to talk teacher stuff, but I wanted a place to do that after those classes end. I welcome any constructive comments that will help any teacher, including myself, with the challenges and successes of teaching.
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