mechanics

Traies?

February 15, 2011
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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

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Snnkkkttt! (Also: Adjectives)

September 10, 2009
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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.”

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Mailbag: Vocabulary and Grammar

August 5, 2009
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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

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

December 11, 2008
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“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

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Random Featured Post

Three-Word Phrases

Seventh graders “communicate” mostly in three-word phrases. If the phrase isn’t really only three words long, they can usually pare it down. “What’d I miss?” It sounds like  “Wuddeyemiss.” And it always comes right as you’re starting class. Raise your hand if you have had this happen in the past week. Past three days? Today? AAAAAARGH.  They want 54 stellar, well-planned and executed minutes of instruction summarized for them in 30 seconds as the class bustles in.  What did you miss? “Absolutely nothing. You might as well take the rest of the year off. CHECK THE WEB PAGE! COME BACK AT BREAK!” “Oh yeah. I forgot.” LOL (These days, they’re getting it down to three-letter phrases.) “What’s my grade?” This one is usually from the kid whose grade is in the bottom 15% , and s/he finally turned something in, and wants immediate gratification. And it always happens right in the middle of something else, something totally unrelated.  Yesterday we were talking about how Charlotte is finally seeing Captain Jaggery for what he really is. (Aside: If you haven’t read The True Adventures of Charlotte Doyle by Avi, I highly recommend it. I picked it up a few years ago [...]

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

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  • mrC commented on It’s Go Time!@Sarah-Most excellent! Keep up the good work, and don't let any of them talk you out of it. Glad to hear your kids recognize the value too. Fight the good fight!
  • Mrs. M~ commented on Illin’Feel better soon! There is nothing worse than being at school and trying to be "on" when you feel like death.
  • Sarah commented on It’s Go Time!I just came across your blog...I am a second year teacher and I am currently reading The Outsiders aloud to my seventh graders. I read it to them last year, too. I catch a lot of criticism for reading it to them...but they LOVE to have me read to them. I actually had a group
  • joan commented on Illin’I'm on day two of out-with-the-crud. I needed the rest. Hope you're in tip top shape by Monday!
  • mrC commented on “The Sub Used One of Your Sticks!”That one oughta be strung up like they used to do to horse thieves.
  • Heather commented on “The Sub Used One of Your Sticks!”The last sub I had left no note at all and broke the arm of my spinny chair by leaning back in it so far that he fell in the floor. The kids all said he was the best sub ever. I politely asked the school secretary to never have him sub in
  • mrC commented on The Future of Space Travel@Heather: Gawd I hate that. I think I even posted about it awhile back. @Kelli: This reminds me of high school. I went to a Jesuit high school (all boys) and for our Friday football rallies, we would import cheerleaders from other schools to be a part of the rally. And the girls would always begin
  • Heather commented on The Future of Space TravelMy eighth graders just have the habit of prefacing every question with, "I have a question." And announcing "I'm done" when they complete an assignment.
  • Kelli commented on The Future of Space TravelIs it bad that I sometimes start my stories with "Okay, so...."...? I guess the kids have rubbed off on me. Sigh.
  • Kelli commented on Blogging the Scoring Session (Part I)Ugh! Been there. I have been to those "Scoring and Rubric" type meetings in two different states now... Not fun, and not entirely informative, either.
  • Meg commented on No Groove Yet (Also: The Giver and No Homework Returns)There was a district I student taught in that hand the no fail policy. I child could not be held back a grade, even if they did absolutely nothing the whole year, until they were in high school. It took most of the middle schoolers about 3 seconds to realize they didn't have
  • Kelli commented on No Groove Yet (Also: The Giver and No Homework Returns)You know, that whole "no-zero" policy goes hand-in-hand with the "no-failure" or "no-retention" policy, and my school district is a definite contributor to this madness. I can understand the desire to stop giving zeros and MAKE the kids do the work (giving countless opportunities until successful), but I have been in a situation where
  • commented on Obligatory Santa VideoWe have an unofficial "no zero" policy. It takes a little extra effort on the teacher's part to get all of the students to complete their assignments but we have made it work. The thing that was most helpful was instituting a "homework detention" that is separate from discipline detention. If a

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