I love tangents in class. Yes, you heard me correctly: I love tangents in class.
Sometimes I learn more about my students in these situations than in any other, and sometimes we all learn a bit more about life than we could have done during the normal lesson.
Today while discussing the scene in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn where some townspeople exhume a body, students began asking unusual questions.
"How bad would the body be when they dig it up?"
"Is it true that the hair and nails grow when you die?" (I enjoy watching the kids' faces when myths are debunked.)
"What is left when a body is cremated?"
"How much is left after cremation?"
"Where did cremation start?"
(Oddly enough and maybe eerily enough, I just watched a program about cremation a few weeks ago on The History Channel, so I could answer many of these questions.)
This led to a discussion about why people choose burial over cremation and vice versa. Also, we discussed how (sub)urban myths begin and what a few are. Finally, we discussed how the exhumation scene could become a part of a CSI episode and how the frauds (the king and duke as the Wilks brothers) could be exposed today and how they could succeed in conning a family. All this in the final 30 minutes of class!
What a great day! The kids were engaged, they asked questions, they bounced ideas back and forth, and we all learned about one another. While we may have strayed from my intended discussion items, the kids thought critically, explored deeply, and decided to research the topic some more.
I wish I had inspired them myself, but I'll take true and honest curiosity any day.
Showing posts with label Lessons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lessons. Show all posts
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Final Projects
I finally decided to give my final projects to my students in my Sophomore Honors class. They are going to choose three of the following four options for their A Tale of Two Cities project:
1. The students must choose a moving or critical quotation or passage and create a visual representation based on it. Paintings, drawings, and the like are acceptable, and the selected quotation or passage must be a part of the representation. In addition, the students must compose a short explanation about color choice, images, and so on.
2. This option requires the students to select eight literary devices from the class list and to create a graph/chart. On the chart the students must have a column for the devices, a quotation showing the device's employ, and the effect of its use.
3. Here, the students recreate a key scene from the novel and film it to play in class. Clothing, backgrounds, and dialogue must be authentic, and the students must have excellent film work.
4. This final option allows the students to compose a 300-400 word eulogy for any character from the novel.
My American Survey class will finish Fools Crow this week as well. They will select a 100 word passage and will compose a diction analysis. For now, this is all they will do since they have written three essays on the novel already. Besides this, I'm excited to start The Crucible.
My Mythology students will choose two of the following options (though I stacked the points, so the sonnet is a desirable option):
1. A Shakespearean sonnet where each of the first three quatrains summarize three different myths and the final couplet explains the connection between the three myths.
2. An original myth which must include eight mythological figures. The myth must either explain the creation of something, follow two lovers overcoming obstacles for their love, or teach a moral or lesson. These three types mirror the myths we've covered thus far.
3. A comic book summarizing one of the tales covered in class.
4. A picture book aimed at children teaching kids about mythological figures.
I look forward to these finished projects!
1. The students must choose a moving or critical quotation or passage and create a visual representation based on it. Paintings, drawings, and the like are acceptable, and the selected quotation or passage must be a part of the representation. In addition, the students must compose a short explanation about color choice, images, and so on.
2. This option requires the students to select eight literary devices from the class list and to create a graph/chart. On the chart the students must have a column for the devices, a quotation showing the device's employ, and the effect of its use.
3. Here, the students recreate a key scene from the novel and film it to play in class. Clothing, backgrounds, and dialogue must be authentic, and the students must have excellent film work.
4. This final option allows the students to compose a 300-400 word eulogy for any character from the novel.
My American Survey class will finish Fools Crow this week as well. They will select a 100 word passage and will compose a diction analysis. For now, this is all they will do since they have written three essays on the novel already. Besides this, I'm excited to start The Crucible.
My Mythology students will choose two of the following options (though I stacked the points, so the sonnet is a desirable option):
1. A Shakespearean sonnet where each of the first three quatrains summarize three different myths and the final couplet explains the connection between the three myths.
2. An original myth which must include eight mythological figures. The myth must either explain the creation of something, follow two lovers overcoming obstacles for their love, or teach a moral or lesson. These three types mirror the myths we've covered thus far.
3. A comic book summarizing one of the tales covered in class.
4. A picture book aimed at children teaching kids about mythological figures.
I look forward to these finished projects!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
The First Day
Since my school corrects schedules during the first week of school, it is quite difficult to begin teaching until the second or third day. This means I don't go over the classroom expectations until the third day of class.
Last year I decided that the first day would just be a fun day to help me get to know the students. I set a game show in my classroom with which some of you may be familiar.
We played The Match Game.
I loved that show as a kid. I used to laugh and laugh until my sides hurt listening to the banter and the answers to the crazy clues. The host, Gene Rayburn, really made the show what it was. His wit and rapport with the celebrities made this show just plain fun.
I collected actual fill-in-the-blanks from the show and had the students in teams. We competed against one another with some modified rules. It was great! We bonded a bit, I learned names, and the kids left feeling positive.
Before we played I showed them a five minute clip where insanity ruled and hilarity ensued, but what really blew the kids' minds was that I downloaded the 70s theme song and played it while they came up with their answers. Of course, they thought I was a nut but what a blast! They talked about it all semester.
Plus, they had to think! Imagine that on the first day. The answers they provide have to be clever and usually humor is encouraged. Here are a few examples of sentences they must complete (keeping in mind they have to match their classmates for points):
"Hey, did you hear about Carla the Cannibal? She went to McDonald’s and ate ____________________."
"In the delivery room when Ugly Edna was born, she was so ugly Edna’s mother asked for a _____________________."
"Sid said, “I’ve got the world’s toughest banker. Last time I asked for a loan, he wanted my _______________ as collateral.”
This year I want to try a different game but am not sure what to play. It doesn't have to be from a game show, but I want something fun.
Any suggestions?
Last year I decided that the first day would just be a fun day to help me get to know the students. I set a game show in my classroom with which some of you may be familiar.
We played The Match Game.
I loved that show as a kid. I used to laugh and laugh until my sides hurt listening to the banter and the answers to the crazy clues. The host, Gene Rayburn, really made the show what it was. His wit and rapport with the celebrities made this show just plain fun.
I collected actual fill-in-the-blanks from the show and had the students in teams. We competed against one another with some modified rules. It was great! We bonded a bit, I learned names, and the kids left feeling positive.
Before we played I showed them a five minute clip where insanity ruled and hilarity ensued, but what really blew the kids' minds was that I downloaded the 70s theme song and played it while they came up with their answers. Of course, they thought I was a nut but what a blast! They talked about it all semester.
Plus, they had to think! Imagine that on the first day. The answers they provide have to be clever and usually humor is encouraged. Here are a few examples of sentences they must complete (keeping in mind they have to match their classmates for points):
"Hey, did you hear about Carla the Cannibal? She went to McDonald’s and ate ____________________."
"In the delivery room when Ugly Edna was born, she was so ugly Edna’s mother asked for a _____________________."
"Sid said, “I’ve got the world’s toughest banker. Last time I asked for a loan, he wanted my _______________ as collateral.”
This year I want to try a different game but am not sure what to play. It doesn't have to be from a game show, but I want something fun.
Any suggestions?
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Say It Ain't So
My wife asked me the other day (paraphrased): "Isn't it just sad that Avril Lavigne could be the poet laureate of the current generation?"
Fortunately my wife was not standing in front of me when she said this because, first, I had to clean up the pop from across the room and next had to endure a sting in my nose for a few moments. Then, I had to sit and think: who really is the voice of this generation?
I did an activity with my kids this year (not totally mine, but still a good one) where they created a list of all of the current people who would be included in the history books from the 1990s and 2000s. They came up with the Clintons, the Bushes, Dick Cheney, Paris Hilton, Brad Pitt, Stephen Hawking, Angelina Jolie, Condoleeza Rice, J.K. Rowling, Harry Reid, and then local Washington politicians and some top 40 musicians.
We then compared and contrasted this list with the famous names in the history sections of the literature book. What did the kids discover after complaining that history is composed primarily of rich, white people? Their list was comprised primarily of rich, white people. It truly shocked them. They didn't see this result coming.
Granted, they included more actors and musicians than the history sections but the point was made: they view history much like the writers of their textbooks and as Americans have for generations.
Now comes my task: what do I do to help them find the voices of their generation? How do I help them find a diversity of voices while still completing the assigned curriculum for the courses I teach? How do I help them to foster an understanding of what is image and what is substance in contemporary literature?
Over the course of this year, as I learn the new course I'm teaching, I want to identify where I can include contemporary voices or how I can help them discover voices of substance on their own.
Fortunately my wife was not standing in front of me when she said this because, first, I had to clean up the pop from across the room and next had to endure a sting in my nose for a few moments. Then, I had to sit and think: who really is the voice of this generation?
I did an activity with my kids this year (not totally mine, but still a good one) where they created a list of all of the current people who would be included in the history books from the 1990s and 2000s. They came up with the Clintons, the Bushes, Dick Cheney, Paris Hilton, Brad Pitt, Stephen Hawking, Angelina Jolie, Condoleeza Rice, J.K. Rowling, Harry Reid, and then local Washington politicians and some top 40 musicians.
We then compared and contrasted this list with the famous names in the history sections of the literature book. What did the kids discover after complaining that history is composed primarily of rich, white people? Their list was comprised primarily of rich, white people. It truly shocked them. They didn't see this result coming.
Granted, they included more actors and musicians than the history sections but the point was made: they view history much like the writers of their textbooks and as Americans have for generations.
Now comes my task: what do I do to help them find the voices of their generation? How do I help them find a diversity of voices while still completing the assigned curriculum for the courses I teach? How do I help them to foster an understanding of what is image and what is substance in contemporary literature?
Over the course of this year, as I learn the new course I'm teaching, I want to identify where I can include contemporary voices or how I can help them discover voices of substance on their own.
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