I’ve been testing some new material lately. We finished Outsiders last week, and since S. E. Hinton managed to cram an example into the book of pretty much every single literary term we’re supposed to teach, I finally made a worksheet. And some new literary terms questions based on The Outsiders. (One, two, three) (Advertising: I updated my Outsiders CPS clicker database to include the three new quizzes about literary terms (30 new questions based on the book), AND three 20-question Challenge Boards. The CPS database is the only place you can get the answers to all the Outsiders quiz questions on the website. Hint. Hint. Go to clickers.mrcoward.com.) We played Jeopardy last Thursday as a finale to The Outsiders. Actually, now that I have the clickers, I’ve been using the built-in feature called Challenge Boards. (Here’s a screenshot.) You get four categories with 5 questions each, with game point values from 10 to 50. You take previous questions you have used, and drag them into the categories and amounts. Since I have waaay more than 20 questions, we do multiple rounds. I use this as a quiz grade instead of having a final exam (they also do a project).
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…I’ve been a little laggy about posting (again) because I’ve been revamping my school’s website. Check it out: http://lams.slcusd.org. …While I was checking out the sites for other schools in the district, I happened across a feature that Charlie Perryess, one of the English teachers at our sister middle school (about 1/2 of our 730-something students), has on his site. I think I may have to steal it. He only updates his site every three weeks (!?) so he gives a rundown of the activities and such for that time. At the end he has a section he calls, “Questions parents might ask their wonderful,yet not terribly forthcoming kids.” That’s the 8th grade version. The 7th grade version is, “Questions parents might ask to get a little more of an answer than ‘everything’s fine.’” (This guy also has to teach home economics and drama! The curse of diminishing enrollment.) The questions are beauty. Designed to check to see if the homework is done, in a non-confrontational, encouraging way. My wife is sooo good at talking to our son this way. I have a little more trouble with the proper…tone. Example: 1. Which character from Beowulf have you chosen to make
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I usually spend about 8-10 days each year in the computer lab. First, I like to do at least one on-line type project. Most years lately, it’s usually the Langston Hughes WebTrack (through TrackStar, a beauty service I should probably talk about later). And until last year, I usually also got in wikis or a web page of some sort. (Aside/Tip: Web pages and wikis (a type of reader-editable web page) are great ways to get kids to expand and revise their writing. By making them start with a 600 word word essay, and then requiring 5 links of at least 100 words each, I am getting them to add 500 words to their essays, and they hardly notice that they’re now writing over 1000 words. Many do more than 5 link pages. As long as they can also add pictures and graphics, you won’t hear many complaints. More on this later too.) Secondly, I usually try to STAR test their reading at least three times a year. That takes the slowest ones at least 25 minutes or more, not counting log-in issues: “You forgot your password again? You misspelled your name. Your CapsLock key is on. Not your student
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Friday is quiz/test day. That means mental floss. Here’s todays batch of brain teasers… What do reindeer have that no other animals have? A house painter paints numbers on all the new houses in a neighborhood from 1-100. How many times does he have to paint the digit 9? (Not a trick. I’m just betting you can’t count.) It takes three days to go from A to B, but it takes four days to go from B to A. Why? A man is holding a bucket of water (not ice) with no lid. He turns the bucket upside down, but the bucket remains full of water. How come? He is not spinning the bucket, nor is he in space. Which doesn’t fit. Seven, Button, Which, Battery, Run, This, Bounce, Is, or That? A pen and a bottle of ink cost $1.10. The pen costs exactly $1.00 more than the ink. What does each cost? (Not a trick. I know some of you have math issues.) If’n you want the answers, you have to go to Brainscramble.com and send me an e-mail.
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Already missed a day. Dang. Tuesday was big day. I introduced KBAR and our first Show not Tell assignment. First KBAR. You can read the KBAR page for yourself, but during the first part of the year, while we are reading The Outsiders aloud in class, I try to use my mutation of our school-wide independent reading program to show them how to read and respond to literature. So as we read live in class, I can demo what they should be doing at home with their books. Show not Tell is one of me fave ways of getting 7th graders to think writing can be fun…and of getting their writing to be a whole lot less boring to read. After all, I gotta read 140 of whatever, and if they’re not interesting, it’s going to be a slog. More on both of these later, but I just have to tell about this one before I forget. I think I already have a fave class this year. I know you’re not supposed to pick faves, but…some classes are just more…fun(ny). Today, reading The Outsiders, we were getting to the end of chapter one, and I’m asking them why they think
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We had an open mouth quiz on chapter 8 today. One class has several boys who have a new phrase they’re trying out. Personally, I sort of like it. 4) On p127, we get an example of what seems to be foreshadowing. What is it? a) When Two-Bit says that Darry will kill him if Pony’s really sick. b) When Two-Bit says Darry could be a Soc. c) When Pony says he has a helpless feeling. d) When Two-Bit calls Pony chicken. e) When Pony says he’ll be well by tonight. “OK, number four. What’s foreshadowing?” The class takes care of that one for me. Most of them laugh, and one says, “I was wrong.” (Pony’s line at the end of chapter three, and a beauty example for them of foreshadowing.) “Oh yeah. Ok, so it’s C, right?” “True that.” “Number six. Darry, I mean Dally (they always mix up those names), right?” “True that.” (me, doing some “refocusing” of a gentleman off to the side) “‘Clark,’ could you focus your comments on the questions? Open mouth only applies if that mouth is talking about the questions.” “True that.” “And I think we’re done with that line, for today at [...]
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That reminds me of those great SNL skits about the Sofa King. You know, how the prices are "Sofa King" low, the deals are "Sofa King" great, etc. (You obviously have to say those phrases out loud to get the joke.)