mechanics

Traies?

February 15, 2011
By

I know I have been a little sporadic lately in the posting department. I’ve been playing around A LOT with my new Nook Color, and only some of that has been reading. I don’t know if you’ve seen anywhere that the hacker community has really taken a hankerin’ to this groovy little device. They’ve made it pretty easy to stick in a micro-sd card and reboot, so that your Nook becomes an almost full-fledged touch-screen tablet. Whoa! So I’ve been doing a lot of experimenting and app hunting. More later. Anyway…on to today’s pearls of wisdom. We’re back from a three-day weekend, and I’m looking to start slowly, maybe give them a chance for some easy points, review something they should already have down cold. Hahahahahahaha. I put a list of 10 words on the screen and said, “Make ‘em plural.” enemy, stereo, knife, wife’s, child, sheep, tray, box, volcano, Simpson The fun begins immediately. “Does spelling count?” (Seriously? Yes. All. Day. Long.) “Only if you want to get it right.” “That’s not fair.” “Wha? IT’S THE WHOLE POINT.” I give them about three or four minutes, and then we trade and correct. And here it comes: the most misused

Read more »

Snnkkkttt! (Also: Adjectives)

September 10, 2009
By
Snnkkkttt! (Also: Adjectives)

Finally! I get to bust out the switchcomb. The groove is back. We finally had enough time to get a good start today. I managed not to accidentally show the switchblade comb too early, so it was a beauty when I clicked it open as I read the line… “The medium-sized blonde took a knife from his back pocket and flipped open the blade.” (I can’t believe I can quote that from memory – how close did I come? Well actually, I think I can believe it.) Snnkkktt! That’s the comic-book style representation of something metallic clicking into place. Like when Wolverine’s claws pop out. Snnkkktt! Like when a Soc flicks open his switchblade. When I flicked open my switchblade comb, they were so engrossed already that some of them actually jumped. “Don’t do that to me!” One girl actually said that. Teachable moment, as they say. “You didn’t even really know what that was, but it scared the heck out of you didn’t it? Mine’s a comb, but the sound is pretty similar, and that sound would’ve sent chills down Pony’s spine too. Ominous.” Snnkkktt. We’ve also been working on adjectives. Which means a lot of “Unpack Your Adjectives.”

Read more »

Mailbag: Vocabulary and Grammar

August 5, 2009
By
Mailbag: Vocabulary and Grammar

(Continuing a previous post, answering questions from a new teacher. The first question was about the KBAR independent reading program. Click here if you’re interested in that one.) Question: Pedagogically speaking, when do you teach grammar? Or is it something that simply presents itself at an opportune time? I was thinking of something like Grammar Wednesdays or something at the very beginning of the year, but I’m not sure what that would actually entail quite yet. “Something that simply presents itself at an opportune time?” As Nelson Muntz of Simpsons fame would say, “Haw Haw.” You do get a lot of what they call, “teachable moments” in middle school, but not many of them involve grammar. Do your best to connect to whatever else you’re doing (“Ponyboy is narrating in first person, so his PRONOUNS…”), but you also have to make it part of the routine. One of the few things I actually use that came with our anthology is the book of grammar worksheets. I write my own warm ups and pretests and quizzes and such for grammar, but the worksheets (we call them pink sheets because my student assistant a few years ago decided that “all grammar sheets

Read more »

“He did?” (Also -ism #9: Am I exempt?)

December 11, 2008
By

“Sometimes, I wonder why I even show up in the morning.” “It’s because you love us.” “Right now, not so much.” Among other things (The Midwife’s Apprentice, vocabulary therefrom, spelling, reading for information, and Latin/Greek roots), we’re working on possessive nouns this week. Or at least I am. During the week, I give them a series of pretests to practice, and to see who already knows what. Those that score high enough, get to be exempt from that section of the test. For example, this week they had a 2-sided “pink sheet” with a basic possessives lesson and some basic exercises. (These pink sheets, so called because I try to always copy them on pink paper, are the one thing that isn’t on the web site; I actually use the grammar workbook that came from our anthology.) Side one is due on Tuesday, and after we go over it and practice and explain, we have the first pretest. Wednesday, I give them a shorter one to review. Side two of the pink sheet is due Thursday, and then we have the last pretest. Usually the deal is 18/20 for the week, or 10/10 on the last one is the benchmark

Read more »

Random Featured Post

Twits

I just read a webnews headline that read: “Twitter is the New CNN.” Where are we going, and why are we in this handbasket? If Mr. Coward were to “tweet” his way through a typical day period (which is about as likely as, oh let’s see, Hell freezing over is too cliche, how about…Bill Gates going broke.) 8:21- the homies r screaming since vp said hand over your heart 4 the pledge – oh the pain! I left the door open: some poor late kid in the hall looks alarmed 8:22- I gotta put a switch on the speaker: more drivel from some underprepared kid talking 2 close 2 the mic…sounds like the bus station back in the day 8:26- blue slip. since it doesn’t say NOW, I set it next 2 the Popple…probly forget it later 8:30- finally!! “share” time is over and we can start – don’t remind me that I told Vero she could share first tomorrow about something she will have forgotten by then if we’re lucky 8:32- checking vocab hw, 1/4 not holding…”why is my grade so low?” it ain’t rocket science people 8:38- correcting warm up…let one of them try to write on the shmartboard …you [...]

more -->


Mr. Coward has been teaching on the beautiful central coast of California since 1989.

Archives

May 2012
M T W T F S S
« Apr    
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031  

Recent Comments

Links

Privacy Policy

Tags

cartoons Charlotte Doyle Class Activities clickers CPS CTEL Flashback grammar high school idiosyncrasies irony Mailbag Me mechanics middle school teaching Monsters on Maple Street Moodle online learning oral reading Outsiders CHapter 5 Outsiders Chapter 7 RaffleKing Ray Bradbury Reading Richard Cory Seventh Grade Behavior Stories of Seventh Grade substituting Teaching Teaching Tips teaching with technology teaching with technology teaching writing Technology techology testing The Earth Men The Giver The Midwife's Apprentice The Outsiders Tips Tips for teachers Tom Sawyer Wiki Writing