The Giver

The Giver

SSI

November 6, 2008

Since we’re reading The Giver, we’ve been talking about euphemisms. We’ve also been talking about the low scores on our Friday tests. Since the tests are largely made up of reruns of the warm-ups and pretests and pink sheets (grammar/mechanics) we’ve been working on (and copying into notebooks) all week, it seems like… “Well, I’m pretty much giving you almost all the answers to the test. Umm. How much easier could I make it?” A litany of what you’d expect. I should know by now. It’s like the robot Hymie, on Get Smart, or the one that parachuted onto Gilligan’s Island. They like to take everything literally. Knock yourself out. “”No, I can’t take the test for you…or just give you all A’s…or…You all know what I mean. How many of you actually study – even a little – for the Friday tests?” Two or three sheepish hands go up. All but one are probably lying. “Hello? My sympathy level for you is zero.” So. Finally I am fed up. Some of my best experiments emerge (academic word this week) when I am fed up. This is last Friday as we are looking at the scores from the test. (The

The Stirrings (snicker).

October 30, 2008

By mrC

We’re reading The Giver now. “This book is weird.” “Duh. I told you that before I handed it out. For you guys, if it isn’t weird, it’s ‘boring.’” I was waiting for the, “It’s weird and boring,” but it didn’t come. Phew. Last year was the first year I taught it, and I didn’t even finish it out, because I had a student teacher last year, and she took over after chapter 6 or so. So, this is virgin (snicker) territory for me. It’s kind of fun figuring things out for the first time, and I really like this book. I love blowing their minds. (If you have any groovy ideas or suggestions, I’m all ears, as they used to say.) Related aside: If you have time and the inclination, check out We by Yevgeny Zamyatin. It was supposedly the inspiration for Orwell’s 1984, Vonnegut’s Player Piano, and The Giver. I really enjoyed it. But I’m a sucker for those crazy Russian writers. Tuesday, we had read where Lily was wishing she could be assigned to be a Birthmother. After the sadness that nobody got to be with their “real” parents, the giggles started in about Lily’s vision of the

“Do you love me?” (Also: Weird “Week”)

Wotta “week.” Considering how tired I am, I can’t believe it was only a three-day week – for some reason we had a 4-day weekend for Veterans’ day. And I done clean forgot that I was supposed to give the “District Benchmark Test #1″ (that’s a whole ‘nother post) by Friday. So we spent Wednesday darkening ovals to generate data for the district, AND there was a “multi-media” assembly that, amid the rock and rap, touted the beauty of trust and honesty (also: don’t do those things which I obviously can’t mention, because ads for them started appearing here). AND, yesterday was “parent visitation day.” Whole lotta scare quotes today too. Usually I get a pretty good turnout for these parent visitation days (it sounds like a Catholic holiday). Our previous principal (our present principal is an FNG, both to the job of principal AND to our school) instituted these as a sort of PR for parents. Many parents of ms’ers are more than a little leery of sending their little angels to the big bad junior high. (You should have seen the reaction a few years ago when the district proposed making our school 6-8. OMG. You’d have thought [...]

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mrC commented on State Testing–Tips for Teachers… Interrupted@ Heather - Ouch. 'nuff said.

mrC commented on State Testing…and etc.@ Kelli - Texas. 'nuff said. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Heather commented on State Testing–Tips for Teachers… InterruptedRequired. Every department does one, usually the released test from the previous year, so by the time the school year is over the students have actually taken 8 standardized tests.

Mrs. M~ commented on State Testing…and etc.Standardized testing is one of the banes of my existence as a teacher. We each give our own subject's state test during our class time, so by the time we are done with all subject areas, the kids have been testing for about three weeks straight. (But we all prefer this method--we have

Kelli commented on State Testing…and etc.In Texas, 5th and 8th graders can be held back if they fail their state tests... this year, however, we have a fancy NEW test, so they've given us a reprieve on that requirement for this year. (Oddly, the new test looked just like the old test, but with a different logo on the

Meg commented on State Testing…and etc.I will say that testing is a great time to get caught up and lesson planning done. AMEN! We do SAT 10 at our school for K-8th and it's a nightmare. Especially since the Social Studies part is about 1/3 US history, and we're an international school in China that doesn't teach US history

mrC commented on State Testing–Tips for Teachers… InterruptedI'll bet if you were at the high school, you'd hear kids joking about that acronym, especially AFTER scores were released. Did you just say that your practice tests are required. Ouch. Good call with the change in plan.

mrC commented on State Testing — Tips for Teachers IICali tests spelling like I do: pick the wrong one or say they're all correct. Your approach is fine. I use spelling lists as a way to talk about roots and origins and use analogies. The actual spelling of the words is sort of secondary, and a small part of the grade.

Heather commented on State Testing — Tips for Teachers IIFor the spelling section of the California tests, do students have to provide the spelling from scratch or choose the best spelling from a list? Our spelling questions are multiple choice and there are usually only a few; I spend a little class time on spelling rules, make sure they know how Spanish letters

Heather commented on State Testing–Tips for Teachers… InterruptedSOL = Standards of Learning. Clearly, the department of education did not think the acronym through. For high schoolers, the "real" meaning of the acronym is appropriate - they have to pass, I believe, 6 of the tests to graduate. Totally with you on this post topic - I worry that the required practice

mrC commented on The Titanic Finally Really Sinks! (Also: Sidekicks.)@Mrs. M- I had forgotten all about those. I just spewtubed them...hahaha. Luv it!

mrC commented on The Titanic Finally Really Sinks! (Also: Sidekicks.)@Anna- Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

Mrs. M~ commented on The Titanic Finally Really Sinks! (Also: Sidekicks.)Those "psychic mediums" would be great to research, right?

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.)

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