Seventh Grade English.com

Be the Alpha (Tips Part I)

mrC — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 03:50:22 +0000

First in an occasional “series” of tips for teachers of junior high – sorry, middle school. Because we all know that middle school is different. From almost anything.

1. Be the Alpha. Middle schoolers in groups are, in many ways, like dogs in a pack; they are always looking for the Alpha, and there’s chaos if there isn’t one to be found. Or worse yet, one of the kids will assume the role. Remember, MS’ers crave structure (no matter how they protest that they don’t), and they hate the wishy-washy even as they take advantage of them. Don’t try to make them like you. They will anyway. Eventually. It’s sort of like how hostages sometimes fall in love with their captors after a long time.

2. Learn the word NO, and use it frequently. (This one is sort of a corollary to #1.) To paraphrase Huck: “becuz (they) don’t give a dern for a thing ‘thout it’s tollable hard to git.” Where I teach, for some of the kids, this class is the first place anyone has told them no.

3. Don’t make it too easy. Their biggest fear is boredom, not challenge. Huck’s words are true for this one too. But, it shouldn’t be a macho thing, as we’ve all seen in some (ahem) high school (and above) teachers – “I always give lots of homework…every mistake lowers you one grade…I never give A’s…”
Challenge them, don’t beat them down. (Though you might feel like it sometimes.)

4. Enjoy it. The kids know when you’re phoning it in. You can’t do this job right if you don’t like it. If it’s just a job, quit now. Really. I always tell my students, “You’ll know when I don’t enjoy this any more, because I won’t be here.”

I don’t see that happening any time soon.

(Originally posted @ teachingtheoutsiders.com.)

Raffle King

mrC — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 04:11:47 +0000

(Sung — way off key, and sort of warbley — to the tune of ”Oh Christmas Tree.”)

I guess we need to talk about the King.

On Wednesdays, after we go over the vocabulary homework, and discuss the words, I give them a vocabulary pretest. If they ace it (100%), they are exempt from the vocabulary portion of the Friday test. I used to have one of them flip a coin to decide whether or not I let them use their “cheat sheet” — the homework page we just went over and corrected — on the pretest. What they don’t believe when I tell them — even though it’s true — is that, on average, their scores on the pretest are lower when they use the cheat sheets, and fewer of them get an exemption. But they like to think it’s a security blanket, so I play along.

Then I discovered the King. I would give you the URL of his creator’s web site, but he has some other, shall we say, inappropriate shtuff. (You can do a Google search if you really want to check it out.) So I took the liberty of “cloning” the King. If you click the picture above, you too can experience decision making at its finest, without fear of filtering. Make sure you have the sound on, because that’s 3/4 of the fun. Projected 8 feet high with the LCD projector… Well, it’s just inspiring.

We now consult the Raffle King for all kinds of decisions. When we get to our 120 Seconds Presentations, the King decides who is next. He decides about cheat sheets on Wednesday. And today, he was to decide whether today’s quiz on chapter 3 would be open mouth or not. I actually wanted them to do it open mouth stylie, but the element of chance always makes it more fun.

In first period, he said si! (That Raffle King likes to think he’s bilingual.) But in the next class, he said no. So we tried again, and this time added “Please?” to the first box. Still no. Pretty please? No. Pretty, pretty please? Still no. And so, for the first time in recent memory, I had to overrule the King. Luckily, he was amenable to the idea for the rest of the day.

The kids are always trying to come up with ways to influence/appease the King.

“I brought an offering of Sharpie pens.”

“We love you Raffle King.”

Some bow down and suchlike.

Some sing. Badly. Desperately.

Every year, after the first time we consult the King, there’s always a whole buncha kids who go home and, well…

“I played with the Raffle King for an hour and a half last night.”

“Raffle King got me out of doing the dishes last night!”

“I used the Raffle King to decide what I should do to my brother for…”

“Lucky for you the Raffle King said I should do my English homework last night.”

No, it’s lucky for YOU.

(originally posted @ teachingtheoutsiders.com)

SmartBoard!

mrC — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 07:14:32 +0000

I have a SmartBoard in my room these days. When we were awash in grant money a few years ago, our site bought three. Two were mounted in classrooms, and we put the third one on wheels (just like the pic in the link) so it could be moved from room to room. The idea was that one would allow people to try out the idea and learn how to incorporate it into actual lessons. Then we might buy more. The reality was that when I got all the software dialed in and all the issues worked out so I could do tech support for the others (about a month), I passed it on to my then-BTSA mentee for his social studies classroom. I figured with all the maps and pics and suchlike, he might be able to use it more fully than I could in English. I mostly just doodled on it. He’s had it ever since.

A week or two ago, he asked me if I wanted it back. He said he hadn’t been using it that much, and he was going in the computer lab for a while, and then…etc. He wasn’t going to use it for the rest of the year. So my servant wheeled it over, and we’ve been doodling ever after.

We finally used the SmartBoard for more than doodling. I copy/pasted a few old sentence scramble exercises into the SmartBoard software. I made each sentence chunk a movable piece, so they could come up to the board, and physically drag the pieces around to show the sentences they’d put together. Since each sentence can go together in more than one way, it’s groovy to move the pieces around to change the rhythm of the sentence. (“Now you’re getting all Shakespearean on me! Nice.”) It’s like those magnetic poetry things, only with sentence pieces. And a few grand worth of equipment.

A lot of them had some trouble with the dragging. Their fingers would bounce and the board would think they had tapped or double-tapped, and a menu would open up, and they would flip.

: Click for full-size.

“AhhhUhhh.”

“Just tap somewhere else, and it’ll go away. You’ll be fine, try it again.”

“OhhhAhhh. What’s that?”

Still, it was pretty groovy, and the kids had fun, and I think I might do it again.

If’n you have a SmartBoard, here’s a copy of the notebook thing.

MadLib for The Giver!

mrC — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 02:22:18 +0000

Here’s a new MadLib taken from the pages of The Giver. It’s from chapter 3 when they bring Gabriel home.
The Giver – MadLib #1

1. past tense verb:
2. plural noun:
3. different plural noun:
4. adjective:
5. adjective:
6. present tense verb:
7. adverb:
8. past tense verb:
9. noun:
10. past tense verb:
11. noun:
12. adjective:
13. plural noun:
14. noun:

He had been 1)____________ by the newchild’s 2)_________. 3)________ were 4)___________ in the community; they weren’t 5)__________, but there was no real need of them, and Jonas had simply never bothered to 6)__________ himself very 7)__________ even when he 8)__________ himself in a location where a 9)_________ 10)___________. Now, seeing the newchild and its 11)_________, he was reminded that the 12)_________ 13)___________ were not only a rarity but gave the one who had them a certain look–what was it? 14)_________.

We had a lot of fun with this one.
More MadLibs can be found on the grammar page.

Academic Words

mrC — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 06:55:25 +0000

Here’s a link to the lists of academic words I use, along with pretests and exercises. I have have condensed the first eight of the famous 10 lists from 60 words each down to 20. A guy that works with the guy originated these lists of the most commonly used words in academic writing also has exercises. He does his cloze stylie, like mine, and they’re pretty cool, web-based style, but mine are printer friendly and aimed at seventh graders. If you want versions that are even more printer-friendly (with the answers), head on over to clickers.mrcoward.com.

I’ll update the list to include two more lists and corresponding exercises soon.

CLICKERS!

mrC — Sat, 30 May 2009 06:28:18 +0000

CPS clickers have transformed my classroom over the last three years. These days, I rarely grade anything but writing, I have more data about what the kids know and don’t know, and I’m able to move much more quickly in class.

Head on over to Clickers.mrcoward.com to find out how.

New Look!

mrC — Mon, 25 May 2009 06:55:59 +0000

Seventh Grade English is growing up. (Fat chance.) How do you like our new look? All the old links and bookmarks should still work, but I’m trying to make it easier to add new material. Enjoy.

75 Ways to Share a Book

mrC — Mon, 25 May 2009 06:42:49 +0000

I first discovered this all-time fave during my first real year of teaching. I was one of those who had to move from room to room, period by period. This handout was left behind by a student. I have used it many times ever since. I have also mutated it down to 55 ways suitable for my KBAR reading program.

75 WAYS TO SHARE A BOOK by Suzanne Barchers

Using the story:
1. Organize a panel to debate it.
2. Dramatize an incident from it.
3. Tell about it over the school PA system.
4. Condense it to 15, 50, or 100 words.
5. Write about it to a friend.
6. Make a map of where it takes place.
7. Make a story map of its main events.
8. Create a crossword puzzle, using its setting and plot.
9. Create a scroll or hand-rolled movie to illustrateit.
10. Tell Why it would (or wouldn’t) make a great movie.
11. Tell its funniest (or most exciting) incident.
12. Make a poster about it.
13. Pick five to 10 adjectives that describe it. Tell whyyou
chose them.
14. Describe an incident from it as though you were an on-the-sceneTV reporter.
15. Make a model of something in it.
16. Draw objects from it and make them into a mobile.
17. Draw a significant scene on construction paper cut to thesize of a coat hanger; attach it to the hanger; then suspend from the hangera report about the scene.
18. Choose an idea or scene from it as the subject of a collage.Use old magazine pictures.
19. Make up a limerick or haiku about it.
20. Put an important item from it into a shoebox. Giveclues
so your class can guess what theitem is.
21. Illustrate it with objects found at home or handmade, orwith photographs you’ve take of people, places and events.
22. Create a mural about it, using charcoal, crayons, cut paper,water colors, or another art form.
23. Compare it to the movie or TV version.
24. Make a time-line of its events.
25. Create a new ending for it.
26. Make a mosaic to illustrate one of its settings or events.
27. Make up a lost or found ad for something in it.
28. Make a peep-box of an important scene or event.
29. Rewrite one of its incidents for a younger reader.
30. Use sketches or photographs to recreate one of its actionsequences.
Using the characters:
31. The U.S. President has learned that you’ve read this bookand wants to know one thing a main character discovered about life thatyou think all Americans should know. What would you tell him? Why?
32. Describe the main character in 64 words.
33. Choose a character you’d like (or not like) to have as a
friend. Tell why.
34. Make believe you were one of the minor characters.How wouldyou describe a main character?
35. Role play one of the characters.
36. Plan an appropriate meal for a main character.
37. Do a cartoon strip based on a character.
38. Write a few pages in a diary as if you were a character.
39. Write a poem about a character.

40. Design costumes for some of the characters.
41. Dress as one of the characters.
42. For stories that took place in another time, tell how oneof the characters would act today, or would respond to a present day situation.
43. Tell why one of the characters should have a different role.
44. Tell what your home would be like if it belonged to one ofthe main characters.
45. Write a biography of one of the characters.
46. Write an interview between a character and the author, orbetween two characters.
47. Create paper dolls of the main characters.
48. Pick a book you think each of the main characters would enjoyreading. Tell why.
49. Prepare flannel board characters.
50. Develop a game of charades based on the characters.
51. Make puppets of the characters. Set up dialogue.
52. Pantomime a character and ask the class to guess the
book.
53. Guess what would have happened if a character had made an important decision differently.
Using the book itself:
54. Make a list of facts you learned from it.
55. Persuade an audience to read (or not read) it.
56. Tell why you would (or wouldn’t) recommend it to your
principal, a parent, or anotherstudent.
57. Tell what the book would say about itself if it could talk.
58. List its five most interesting or critical sentences.
59. Use its theme or setting to create a postcard or greetingcard.
60. Compare it to another book the author has written.
Describe common elements, style,theme, and so forth.
61. Write a song about it.
62. Demonstrate something you learned from it.
63. Prepare a list of its most unusual, difficult, or excitingwords.
64. Use its title and theme to write your own story.
65. Do a scientific experiment associated with it.
66. Present a review of it to a younger class.
67. Pretend to be the book and tell what you hold within your pages.
68. Make a bulletin board about it, showing the main
characters, the setting, and soforth.
69. Compare it with a book of similar theme.
70. Prepare a book jacket for it.
71. Have someone who has read it try to stump you with
questions.
Using the author:
72. Become the author and tell why you wrote this book.
73. Plan the questions you’d use in a conference call interviewwith the author.
74. The author has written to you and wants to know how thisbook would have been improved. How would you answer?
75. Write a letter of appreciation to the author, asking questionsand sharing thoughts.

Mr. Coward’s Site for Teachers

mrC — Mon, 25 May 2009 05:52:16 +0000

This is SeventhGradeEnglish.com. It’s the teacher version of my seventh grade class page. It’s the result of 16+ years of junior high middle school teaching and 11+ years on the web. Feel free to take and mutate, but give credit where credit is due.

Have fun always.

(Mr. Coward has been teaching on the beautiful central coast of California since 1989. He enjoys fruitbooting, rocking, and teaching seventh grade.)