• Nov142009

    POSTED AT 05:19 PM

    We have been enjoying a pirate interdisciplinary unit, and during language arts class we've been reading Robert Louis Stevenson's classic Treasure Island. So far, so good.
     
    The students have made Jolly Rogers from felt with real stitching! They are due Monday. I can't wait to see them!
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    Oct042009

    POSTED AT 02:53 PM

    How many years have you learned the parts of speech? Enough, you say? Well, it's true that you have learned these things a number of times before. Nouns, pronouns, verbs, conjunctions, prepositions... however, you still get tested on these things in a big way. You just need a good "refresher." So the way we'll do that this year is with student-taught grammar. Yay!
     
    When you teach a classmate--let's say you're working together on something your friend has missed in class, but it's something you know pretty well--it is actually good for both of you. You (as the "teacher") end up with a stronger understanding of it, because you have to understand something pretty well to be able to teach it. Then your friend's learning is made easier by something that teachers call "the zone of proximal development." What that kind of means is that you and your classmate are at a similar place in your learning of a concept, and so it will be easier for you to relate to it in the same way. If you understand the concept thoroughly, it will be quite natural for you to be able to explain it to your friend in a way that he or she can understand easily.
     
    Enter student-taught grammar!
     
    You need to do enough preparation in advance so that I can be assured that you'll know what you're doing when you get up in front of the class. I will go over everything you have to do for planning, check that you understand the grammar, teach you a "model" lesson (pointing out the things that you need to think about), give you a checklist and work closely with you in the few days before you teach. It's very important that you are well-prepared, because your students will be expected to do the homework you assign, and they will also be tested on these review topics.
     
    Start thinking about how you can make your grammar lesson exciting! Make your lesson how YOU would like to learn. Consider fun grammar games or activities you've done in past classes.
     
    After you've planned, don't forget to practice. Perhaps teach your lesson to your dog, your grandma or your baby sister.
    When you teach, you may kindly keep your students on task, but don't fret too much about classroom misbehavior--your students are expected to behave as good audience and participants, and I will be there to make sure they do.
     
    After you teach, you will also write a reflection about your experience. See the assignments link (on the left side of this webpage) for a copy of  the reflection handout and the rubric with which you will be graded.
     
    Good luck, and bienvenido a the world of teaching. I hope you like it!
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    Sep052009

    POSTED AT 06:54 AM

    Our first week of school was great. We already have our persuasive writing unit rolling, and though I gave an assignment every day, every single student had his/her work done on time. Good job!
     
    Next week we will be presenting "Words to Live By" projects and beginning to write our own persuasive essays.
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    Sep012009

    POSTED AT 08:04 PM

    It was our first day today, and I am exhausted!
    I think things went well with the students, but behind the scenes, every technological thing I touched fouled up.
    Oh well--things will get worked out!
     
    Here are some sites that you might want to try out for our "Words to Live By" project.
     
     
    Don't forget to get the name of the person who said it.
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    Aug232009

    POSTED AT 07:43 AM

    Hey, kids!
    Get off on the right foot with some language arts extra credit. I don't usually offer any, so this is a rare chance.
     
    If you came to my "class" in the spring, and most (if not all) of you did, you will probably remember me showing you my website and telling you about the extra credit word puzzle. Well, the website looks different, but the word search is here as promised. Click on it in the blue left column.
     
    I will ask for those on the first day of school.
    Gear up!
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    Aug152009

    POSTED AT 03:39 PM

    OK.
    This will be my first blog, at least on this website.
    I am not sure how I will like doing it, how often I will do it, how useful it will be.
    I may discontinue it after a time, but on the other hand, if it feels effective, I may decide to use it as the home page.
    Let me know what you think.
     
    It's almost time for school to start.
    In addition to updating my website, I am getting ready for my new students by preparing seating arrangements (my incoming 8th graders completed a seating survey in June!) and planning the first few days of school. We will be having open house on the Thursday before school starts. I am anxious to see my classroom again, get it geared up and all my houseplants moved back in. It's exciting to look forward to the fresh new school year, but at the same time, dreadful to think about the end of summer. *sigh*
     
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