You're back from vacation, facing some of the problems that you'd already solved last semester. You're teaching a different level, and may even have a new AP. The kids are restless, not happy to be in class. Sometimes the adjustment takes two days, sometimes more. It always took two weeks before my mind and body adjusted.
So here's a goodie...a practical and highly engaging lesson opener. You'll reap the rewards from this technique throughout the semester. There are multiple applications including use in teaching the novel and dramatizations.
Point of View
The point of view lesson enables students to become part of the story. In the process, they're forced to translate it into their own words, and achieve better understanding. This writing technique can be used to help illuminate themes, character's motivations and feelings.
The sample dialogue that follows is an example of prewriting. It starts the flow of ideas in a simplified manner.
Remember the story of the three little pigs. Rather than telling it through the eyes of a third person, observer or narrator, let's look at the story from another point of view. Write an imaginary dialogue between you and another character in the story, for example the wolf. Ask him questions. Try to find out as much as you can about his problem with the three little pigs. How does he feel about what happened?
Maybe the dialogue would start something like...
Me: Where did you get enough to blow those houses down?
Wolf: I work out at the gym.
Me: Why did you do it anyway?
Wolf: What's the difference? They were insured---and I'll bet premiums on
wood and straw houses cost plenty. Never mind huff and puff; all I did
was sneeze and they blew away.
Ask the class to write a dialogue and then select students to read aloud. (10 minutes)
More to come--------------
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Building a Better Teacher
How do you get and hold students' attention?
It's always struck me that if a student is totally engaged in classwork, she will come in every day anticipating a new surprise. Involved students respond spontaneously, and will go well beyond what is asked of them.
What does this mean?
Attention! That's an important word. You can ban cell phones, I pods, I pads, etc. from the classroom, but you're still left wondering: What's the secret of gaining and holding teenage attention? The teacher who moonlights as a stand-up comic may be able to exchange quips with students, but really won't hold them for very long.
Look at what's on TV:
American Idol
Dancing with the Stars
The Bachelorette
The Bachelor
The Greatest Race
The Greatest Loser
As we all know, kids can become greatly fascinated by the contestants' public and private lives on American Idol or Dancing with the Stars. Each of these programs has short segments about the participant's background and effort in preparing for the show. The kids know and cheer for them, calling in their choices by the hundreds of thousands. For them, it's the selection of the next president.
How can we adapt this student enthusiasm and involvement to the classroom?
Teaching English gives us that opportunity, and in the next blog, we'll explore how to involve students to the maximum, building natural enthusiasm....for your lessons.
It's always struck me that if a student is totally engaged in classwork, she will come in every day anticipating a new surprise. Involved students respond spontaneously, and will go well beyond what is asked of them.
What does this mean?
Attention! That's an important word. You can ban cell phones, I pods, I pads, etc. from the classroom, but you're still left wondering: What's the secret of gaining and holding teenage attention? The teacher who moonlights as a stand-up comic may be able to exchange quips with students, but really won't hold them for very long.
Look at what's on TV:
American Idol
Dancing with the Stars
The Bachelorette
The Bachelor
The Greatest Race
The Greatest Loser
As we all know, kids can become greatly fascinated by the contestants' public and private lives on American Idol or Dancing with the Stars. Each of these programs has short segments about the participant's background and effort in preparing for the show. The kids know and cheer for them, calling in their choices by the hundreds of thousands. For them, it's the selection of the next president.
How can we adapt this student enthusiasm and involvement to the classroom?
Teaching English gives us that opportunity, and in the next blog, we'll explore how to involve students to the maximum, building natural enthusiasm....for your lessons.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Rapport
Early one morning, not generally a good time for students, I was teaching A Streetcar named Desire to an average junior class. Robert walked in ten minutes late, interrupting the lesson. He sat down, talking loudly to a friend in the next seat. I stood silent, waiting until I could make strong eye contact with him. "Please open your book," I said. His response was sudden and shocking, in one swift move jumping up, shoving over his desk, books and all onto the floor, screaming an expletive, and stamping out of the room slamming the door behind him. Jaws dropped and all heads turned toward me. I hesitated, looked at the class and finally said, "That's what happens when you don't eat breakfast." The class laughed; I breathed a sigh of relief, and continued with the lesson.
Robert was angry when he walked in; anything could have caused his strong reaction. Why had it happened? When Robert returned to class the next day, he immediately came up to me and apologized. Of course, by that time I had weighed alternative responses and I asked him first to write a journal, explaining what happened to provoke his outburst.
Within ten minutes, his journal was in my hands. A series of incidents had occurred before class, including working late the night before, oversleeping, a screaming argument with him father, and the final straw---missing the bus. The last place he wanted to be then was in an English classroom.
Trying to soften his frustration, I responded briefly in writing to his explanation, opening a door to reducing tension and anger in the classroom. Listening to all students through writing (not every day or every assignment) helps reach them quickly.
As a teacher you might say, "How can you get an angry, possibly unstable kid to write anything about his behavior? If that happened in my class, he or she might simply have crumpled up the paper and thrown it at my feet.
It's all about rapport--a key ingredient in reaching students. Rapport must be developed slowly over time in many different ways including some journal writing every day about personal subjects. Anger and irritation can build in any classroom. But once most students recognize that their personal thoughts and ideas are important, that they can speak honestly without being judged and have a way of dealing with grievances, they will respond positively to the writing assignments and the class.
And I found out, as I suspected, that it really wasn't about me.
Rapport didn't guarantee that Robert would always behave, but it is a preventative, and discourages other students from joining the disruptive bandwagon. Also, I made sure Robert knew there would be a penalty for his behavior. His classroom participation/cooperation mark, averaged in with all the others for that marking period, would be lowered.
How would you have handled this situation?
Robert was angry when he walked in; anything could have caused his strong reaction. Why had it happened? When Robert returned to class the next day, he immediately came up to me and apologized. Of course, by that time I had weighed alternative responses and I asked him first to write a journal, explaining what happened to provoke his outburst.
Within ten minutes, his journal was in my hands. A series of incidents had occurred before class, including working late the night before, oversleeping, a screaming argument with him father, and the final straw---missing the bus. The last place he wanted to be then was in an English classroom.
Trying to soften his frustration, I responded briefly in writing to his explanation, opening a door to reducing tension and anger in the classroom. Listening to all students through writing (not every day or every assignment) helps reach them quickly.
As a teacher you might say, "How can you get an angry, possibly unstable kid to write anything about his behavior? If that happened in my class, he or she might simply have crumpled up the paper and thrown it at my feet.
It's all about rapport--a key ingredient in reaching students. Rapport must be developed slowly over time in many different ways including some journal writing every day about personal subjects. Anger and irritation can build in any classroom. But once most students recognize that their personal thoughts and ideas are important, that they can speak honestly without being judged and have a way of dealing with grievances, they will respond positively to the writing assignments and the class.
And I found out, as I suspected, that it really wasn't about me.
Rapport didn't guarantee that Robert would always behave, but it is a preventative, and discourages other students from joining the disruptive bandwagon. Also, I made sure Robert knew there would be a penalty for his behavior. His classroom participation/cooperation mark, averaged in with all the others for that marking period, would be lowered.
How would you have handled this situation?
Monday, March 15, 2010
Website Review: Flocabulary.com - Ways to use Hip Hop in the classroom.
Here’s a web site you’ll like which uses hip-hop in the classroom. You may have come across it in your search for new material. If you haven’t, you’re in for a treat. www. Flocabulary.com is a knockout..
It can be used to motivate, teach an entire lesson or summarize one previously taught. It can also help understanding. In Hip Hop reading closely is necessary for rhyming—and as well as a tool to improve vocabulary. But best of all, you’re on your way to creating a happy better managed classroom.
Students may work alone or together in groups. Competition between or within groups might be another energizing activity. What you’re doing is cashing in on the built-in energy of kids in your class. There’s a good reason why American Idol and Dancing with the Stars are hits, commanding huge audiences.
I like the idea of using hip-hop in a lesson, but was really sold when I looked at the videos and sample songs. They are dynamite. For example, a lesson on the five elements of a short story: character, conflict, climax, theme and setting uses lyrics with a hip-hop beat. At the end of each stanza, the five elements are repeated so the kids won’t forget.
The nail biting video of The Pit and the Pendulum which follows accompanied by a rap of Poe’s suspenseful story, should hold your class’s interest. The Pit and the Pendulum can easily be combined with Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado, which doesn’t have a rap so that the kids can create one themselves.
In my experience, the five elements of a plot can be reinforced by using current or recently popular movies as a follow-up. Start with plotless one character movie; for example, you might say: A few months ago I saw a movie in which the main character did nothing but sleep throughout the entire performance. The character snored, turned over, stretched, etc. The camera panned the sleeping figure, moving in and out, but nothing happened.
Then, ask the class if any of them have seen it? (Questions will follow such as: “Why bother? What a bore .”)Ask them what they would do to make it more exciting without awakening the main character? The idea is to encourage the class to create a storyline using the five elements of a plot. Then draw the storyline in a line on the blackboard, demonstrating the highest point of the conflict. The plot also works with the addition of other characters.
The Flocabulary web site sells a Writing Academic rhymes Package which includes “everything needed for students to write, perform, and record their own Flocabulary style raps. “
For other ways to use this toe-tapping plus motivator; click onto the Flocabulary web site and look at the videos, songs, and text. Have fun.
It can be used to motivate, teach an entire lesson or summarize one previously taught. It can also help understanding. In Hip Hop reading closely is necessary for rhyming—and as well as a tool to improve vocabulary. But best of all, you’re on your way to creating a happy better managed classroom.
Students may work alone or together in groups. Competition between or within groups might be another energizing activity. What you’re doing is cashing in on the built-in energy of kids in your class. There’s a good reason why American Idol and Dancing with the Stars are hits, commanding huge audiences.
I like the idea of using hip-hop in a lesson, but was really sold when I looked at the videos and sample songs. They are dynamite. For example, a lesson on the five elements of a short story: character, conflict, climax, theme and setting uses lyrics with a hip-hop beat. At the end of each stanza, the five elements are repeated so the kids won’t forget.
The nail biting video of The Pit and the Pendulum which follows accompanied by a rap of Poe’s suspenseful story, should hold your class’s interest. The Pit and the Pendulum can easily be combined with Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado, which doesn’t have a rap so that the kids can create one themselves.
In my experience, the five elements of a plot can be reinforced by using current or recently popular movies as a follow-up. Start with plotless one character movie; for example, you might say: A few months ago I saw a movie in which the main character did nothing but sleep throughout the entire performance. The character snored, turned over, stretched, etc. The camera panned the sleeping figure, moving in and out, but nothing happened.
Then, ask the class if any of them have seen it? (Questions will follow such as: “Why bother? What a bore .”)Ask them what they would do to make it more exciting without awakening the main character? The idea is to encourage the class to create a storyline using the five elements of a plot. Then draw the storyline in a line on the blackboard, demonstrating the highest point of the conflict. The plot also works with the addition of other characters.
The Flocabulary web site sells a Writing Academic rhymes Package which includes “everything needed for students to write, perform, and record their own Flocabulary style raps. “
For other ways to use this toe-tapping plus motivator; click onto the Flocabulary web site and look at the videos, songs, and text. Have fun.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Guidelines that Work for the High School English Classroom
I’ve discovered that one of the best ways to communicate confidence is to be prepared with a list of guidelines which are distributed the second day of school. Gaining control and stopping interruptions for bad behavior is helped by giving a Cooperation/Participation mark.
I’ve given other rewards out to students besides marks. I’d become frustrated by student lateness in several classes. Teaching would be interrupted any number of times by students walking in late to one of my early morning junior classes. Finally, fed up, I announced that any student who was in class on time would receive a surprise. Thoughts of a reward filled their heads; behavior changed so much that by the end of the month, I was able to give 75% of the class lollipops. No kidding, lollipops! (Kids of every age like them.)
Above all, a positive and caring relationship with students, along with involving lesson plans are the best way to minimize the need for discipline. You can’t, overnight, make up for years of bad habits including rude behavior and poor academic skills. You can, however, insist on appropriate classroom behavior and a higher level of learning. Demonstrate by enforcing the rules you’ve established. Your persistence will be rewarded.
The English Class Guidelines described above evolved from years of teaching and observing students.
- Make sure you do not interrupt others while they are speaking.
- Make sure not to call out. Raise your hand (not while someone else is speaking and wait to be recognized.
- Do not have private conversations.
- Listen to your classmates and teacher. Do not be disrespectful of their opinions. Wait until your turn to disagree.
- Acceptable language is expected when you do disagree. No cursing of any kind is allowed.
- Participation counts. We want to hear from you, and you will be given credit every time you take an active part in the class.
I’ve given other rewards out to students besides marks. I’d become frustrated by student lateness in several classes. Teaching would be interrupted any number of times by students walking in late to one of my early morning junior classes. Finally, fed up, I announced that any student who was in class on time would receive a surprise. Thoughts of a reward filled their heads; behavior changed so much that by the end of the month, I was able to give 75% of the class lollipops. No kidding, lollipops! (Kids of every age like them.)
Above all, a positive and caring relationship with students, along with involving lesson plans are the best way to minimize the need for discipline. You can’t, overnight, make up for years of bad habits including rude behavior and poor academic skills. You can, however, insist on appropriate classroom behavior and a higher level of learning. Demonstrate by enforcing the rules you’ve established. Your persistence will be rewarded.
The English Class Guidelines described above evolved from years of teaching and observing students.
Book Review: Hook your students with Ron Clark’s The Essential 55
One of the best books on the market that might be of help in hooking your students is Ron Clark’s The Essential 55.
Clark, an award winning, Teacher of the Year, first taught in rural North Carolina and then made a major move to New York City and a Brooklyn middle school. His ideas and teaching techniques have received much attention, including an interview with Oprah after he received the Teacher of the Year award. But he wanted more personal control, so he opened his own private academy and is presently raising money to open others.If you want more information, check out The Ron Clark Story
Life’s Lessons, his 55 rules, cover nearly everything from student behavior in the school cafeteria, in a hotel room, on a bus, at a movie theater, answering a phone or riding an escalator. They’re a combination of rules for everyday situations and for the classroom. Each rule is followed by an explanation of its necessity, and, in most cases, his follow up.
Although Ron’s rules are primarily for junior high school, many of them can be adapted to a forty or eighty minute high school class session. His approach to rewards and punishments won’t always work with high school kids, but can be adapted. One outcome of Clark’s sensitivity to his students’ needs is a section that includes a discussion on four universal truths which you may already know:
Here’s a. rule I like, # 8: Do not smack your lips, tsk, roll your eyes or show disrespect with gestures.
First, Clark discusses the rule with the class, and asks them to role play by exaggerating negative actions. Once they learn what not to do, a student caught smacking lips, rolling eyes, or tsking, will be asked to write his/ her name on the blackboard. Then, finally, many tsks, and eye rolls later, detention will be given. The kids will quickly learn what is expected of them as well as the consequences, so they’ll tread carefully before crossing the line.
He also rewards students for good behavior.
Rule #16, Homework will be turned in each day for each subject by every student with no exceptions.
A banner with the names of the students and their homework records is hung in Clark’s class. If a row of students completes homework for a month, each student in the row might receive brownies or other goodies, which in his free time this all around teacher bakes himself. (A tough act to follow)
Will his rules work for older students since they’re for a sixth grade class? For that answer, look at my next blog: Rules that work in the High School Classroom
Clark, an award winning, Teacher of the Year, first taught in rural North Carolina and then made a major move to New York City and a Brooklyn middle school. His ideas and teaching techniques have received much attention, including an interview with Oprah after he received the Teacher of the Year award. But he wanted more personal control, so he opened his own private academy and is presently raising money to open others.If you want more information, check out The Ron Clark Story
Life’s Lessons, his 55 rules, cover nearly everything from student behavior in the school cafeteria, in a hotel room, on a bus, at a movie theater, answering a phone or riding an escalator. They’re a combination of rules for everyday situations and for the classroom. Each rule is followed by an explanation of its necessity, and, in most cases, his follow up.
Although Ron’s rules are primarily for junior high school, many of them can be adapted to a forty or eighty minute high school class session. His approach to rewards and punishments won’t always work with high school kids, but can be adapted. One outcome of Clark’s sensitivity to his students’ needs is a section that includes a discussion on four universal truths which you may already know:
- Kids need and like structure.
- Kids will work hard for you, if they like who you are as a person.
- Kids like to know what is expected of them.
- Kids like to know they are cared for.
Here’s a. rule I like, # 8: Do not smack your lips, tsk, roll your eyes or show disrespect with gestures.
First, Clark discusses the rule with the class, and asks them to role play by exaggerating negative actions. Once they learn what not to do, a student caught smacking lips, rolling eyes, or tsking, will be asked to write his/ her name on the blackboard. Then, finally, many tsks, and eye rolls later, detention will be given. The kids will quickly learn what is expected of them as well as the consequences, so they’ll tread carefully before crossing the line.
He also rewards students for good behavior.
Rule #16, Homework will be turned in each day for each subject by every student with no exceptions.
A banner with the names of the students and their homework records is hung in Clark’s class. If a row of students completes homework for a month, each student in the row might receive brownies or other goodies, which in his free time this all around teacher bakes himself. (A tough act to follow)
Will his rules work for older students since they’re for a sixth grade class? For that answer, look at my next blog: Rules that work in the High School Classroom
Website Review: Teachersfirst.com
Even though I no longer teach on the high school level, old habits die hard. I now run workshops for English teachers. I still find myself drawn to UFT newspaper, the New York/City Edition. Recently, the October 29, 2009 issue referred to topnotch lesson plan web sites, and I checked some out. Teachersfirst.com is a very good resource for lesson plans, units, and other web material. Lesson plans can be searched for by subject and grade level, calendar, keyword and holidays. In addition, there are blogs about teaching, technology and education in general.The writer of the NY Teacher article suggests that you “make sure to tailor the lessons you find online to the needs of your students, and try to reshape them to match your teaching style. But even an excellent lesson plan can earn an unsatisfactory rating if you do not perfect your delivery of the topic.”
Nowhere on this site was there any information about communicating with your classes effectively so that they will listen, and then becoming involved in what you’re teaching. How do you perfect the delivery of your topic? I was a drama, speech, English major, and trained speaker, but it took me several years, and many observations of the best teachers in my school to realize what communication was all about.
A passionate, energetic teacher with a good lesson plan can involve students, but that’s usually not enough. Teaching is a two way street: There’s you and then there’s THE CLASS, and if you can’t hold their attention, as you know, you’re in big trouble.
In this blog we’ll combine everything that involves the teacher and teaching with tips on classroom management as well as my own insights on the topic.
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