Found Poetry

While all of you amazing teachers are having orientations and teaching your first lessons, I'm still wandering around my empty classroom wondering where exactly to start.  In fact, here's a photo of my current recycling box - I've just gone crazy and tossed a bunch of stuff...

Anyway, as I was emptying shelves, and drawers, and filing cabinets, I made a pile of books that were really just beyond repair, there is a split-in-half To Kill a Mockingbird, a duct-taped Les Miserables, a Lord of the Flies with the cover completely missing, and a yellowed and falling apart Jane Eyre...

I was contemplating what to do with these books (because throwing them away would absolutely hurt my heart) when I remembered an idea that I had seen this summer on Pinterest...Found Poetry.

These particular pieces are for sale at deviantart.com, but I thought it would be a really cool project for my creative writing class to work on.   I could also have my Freshman and Senior Lit students create a poem using a page from one of the novels that they have read (Freshmen read TKAM and LOTF, Seniors read Les Mis and Jane Eyre).  I would love to have them create a poem from a page of the novel that relates to one of the themes of the novel.

I have plenty of ratty books in my classroom, so let me know if you have any other ideas as to how to use old books? I'd love to hear your ideas!

Building Vocabulary

So...I love vocab.  I know there is a lot of criticism out there for the way that vocab is currently taught, and many teachers have eliminated structured vocabulary lessons altogether, but I personally think it's incredibly beneficial for students to continually be increasing their word-knowledge.  I also think that a broad vocabulary helps with standardized tests, not to mention a better understanding of what the students are currently reading.  Here is my basic Freshman vocab work for a typical week:

Monday:
Hand out vocabulary word list with 10 words.  Students work with a partner, and each partner group finds the definition for 1 of the word.  They must also come up with either a drawing or a sentence that accurately demonstrates the meaning of the word.  Once each group is finished, they share their definition and example with the class.  This takes about 15 minutes.

Tuesday:
Students have been asked to correctly use 3 of their vocab words in their Monday personal-response journal.  They are also given a homework assignment to practice their vocab words for 10 minutes using Quizlet.  This takes no classroom time.

Wednesday:
Vocab review day.  I alternate weekly between the following review games, and each one really takes no more than 15 minutes:
1. Vocabulary skits - Students in groups of 2-3 create a 30 second skit demonstrating the vocab word.  All students in the group must have a role in the skit, and they must actually use the vocab word aloud.
2. Vocabulary "Win-Lose-or-Draw" - students in groups of 2-3 take turns drawing a picture on the board that corresponds with one of the vocab words while the other students attempt to guess the answer.  The group that gets the answer right has to then explain why and how the picture corresponds to the word in order to receive a point.
3. Vocabulary stories - Students get into groups of 2 or 3 (again) and have to come up with a short (10-15 sentence) story using all of the vocab words. When they are finished, they trade stories with another group for reading.  Students peer edit the use of each other's vocab words.  1 or 2 of the stories are read in front of the class if there is time.

Thursday:
Quiz Day!! All of my vocab quizzes are context quizzes - no multiple choice or matching here.  Students are given 10 sentences (usually based on their reading for the week) and they are asked to match each vocab word to the sentence that best correlates.  The first time they encounter this type of quiz it usually throws them for a loop ("What do you mean we don't have to just memorize the definition?!") But they get the hang of it pretty quickly.

Well, this is how I do vocabulary...how about you? Any other thoughts or ideas?  I'd love to hear them!

Mrs. V.

Movie Mayhem

I know there is quite a bit of controversy out there about movies in the classroom...some schools have even banned movies altogether (what do you do the day before Spring Break?? Kidding...Sort of.) Our school hasn't totally banned movies, but we do have to fill out paperwork ahead of time regarding each movie we are going to show, and it has to go through an approval process with the curriculum committee before being shown...this includes YouTube videos (which really ticked of the Social Studies department) and any other video-based clips (this is what happens when the French teacher shows French movies that show naked breasts and lesbian love scenes...yes. that happened.)

So anyway, here is the list of movies that I am putting together for the curriculum committee...

Romeo and Juliet, 9th grade: I've taught R & J for 7 years now, and although in the past I used clips from both the Franco Zefferelli and Baz Luhrman versions, I've found that students much prefer the one by Zefferelli.  First of all, Romeo looks like Zac Efron, and frankly, that kind of makes all the difference.  I do use a clip from the balcony scene of the Luhrman version...but mostly because I like to see Claire Danes in her wings.

The Odyssey, 9th grade: I use just a few clips from this one, including Scylla and Charybdis eating the men, and Odysseus killing all of Penelope's suitors almost single-handedly.  I always skip Odysseus on the islands of Circe and Calypso, because frankly, as much as I appreciate Vanessa Williams, no 15 year old boy needs to see that much of her body while sitting in my classroom...awkward (*said in high pitched, sing-song voice)

Madagascar, 9th grade: This one is my favorite.  I usually end freshmen year with a study of Lord of the Flies, and we usually finish it right before exams.  I have the students watch it and make a list of all of the similarities between the movie and the book...once you watch it again, you will be amazed at how many similarities there are (a dead parachutist, a "fun" side of the island, a fire that burns out of control, Alex the Lion returning to his basic primal state.)  I always award a prize to the person that has the most, legitimate similarities.

Dead Poet's Society, 12th grade Brit Lit: I love this movie!  I don't show it every year, but when I have the time, I make sure to get it in during our study of Romantic Poetry.  Even if I don't have enough time for the whole movie, I make sure to show the clip where John Keating bashes the traditional textbook study of poetry and tells his students to just listen to the beauty of the words...powerful.  I also like to pair this with a reading of Emily Dickinson's "Much Madness"...basically a "go against the grain" type of lesson.

Macbeth, 12th grade Brit Lit/AP Lit: I use Roman Polanski's version.  It was Rated R in 1972, but every time I tell my students that it's a bit graphic they start laughing, a prop-like ax stuck in the back of Fleance does nothing for them in this day and age of horror and bloodfest movies.  Either way, I usually skip the naked-witches scene (because really, who wants to watch 100, naked, 80-year old hags (Shakespeare's word, not mine) dance around a cauldron...umm...not me.) But in truth, every student really needs to watch Shakespeare acted out in order to actually understand the play...it alleviates the "I have no idea what's going on" comments, and often, I show each act of the play in movie form as we go along, instead of reading the whole thing and then watching the movie.

Pride and Prejudice, AP Lit: Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy...'nuff said. Sigh.

Oh, there are a few more movies and YouTube clips out there, Les Miserables for one, my AP students read it over the summer, and now that Hugh Jackman is in it, I'm sure we will try to watch it at some point this year, but in general, the 6 movies above are ones that I continually show year after year...now if only I could get the curriculum committee to approve The Notebook...that would pretty much make my day!

What movies are you using in your classroom? Any other suggestions? Let me know!

Blessings!

Mrs. V.

Summer Reading: Freshman Edition

This is the first year that our school has required summer reading for incoming Freshmen.  Because we are a private high school, we get incoming Freshmen from a variety of area middle schools, some with strong reading programs, some without, so we decided to get all of our newbies started on the right foot with a unified reading requirement.  We debated (like every other English department in America) whether to require a specific book for reading or let students choose their own, but in the end we decided to do both.  We assigned one required book, Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris, as well as a list of novels to choose from that cover a variety of genres, lexile levels, and subject matter.  Below is the list of required reading:

Required Text:

Do Hard Things - Alex and Brett Harris (click here for the authors' amazing blog called the Rebelution)

Choose one book from the following:

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
A Voice in the Wind - Francine Rivers
Tears of a Tiger - Sharon Draper
Eragon (or another title from the Inheritance Cycle) - Christopher Paolini
The Lost Hero (or another title from the Heroes of Olympus) - Rick Riordan
The Lord of the Rings (of another title from the Lord of the Rings series) J.R.R. Tolkein
Same Kind of Different as Me - Ron Hall and Denver Moore
Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to get Back on Board - Bethany Hamilton
42: The Jackie Robinson Story - Aaron Rosenburg

One of the hardest things about teaching at a Christian school, is that all parents have strong opinions about the type of literature that we should be teaching in our classrooms.  Some parents feel that we should only teach "Christian" books (another blog post on that later - that can get quite lengthy...sigh), while others approve of any and everything.  Our department felt that the list above gave students (and parents) a wide choice with options that (hopefully) appeal to everyone.

Baby Girl is going to be a Freshmen this year, check out her book choices below (don't you just love when that Amazon.com box shows up on your doorstep!)

I'm planning to use NCTE's "50 alternatives to the Book Report" to start the school year.  Students will have to choose 3 of the options for their "choice" book as their 1st project of the year.  I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out.  Any others assign summer reading?  What's on your list? What assignment do you give in the fall?

Why now?

Like all good teachers, I always (most of the time) write the homework for each of my classes up on the board every morning; in fact, I have a whole white board dedicated solely to the daily schedule and the daily homework...and if you teach at a small, private school like me, you know why I need an entire board...I have 5 preps (yes, 5).  English 9, English 9H, English 10H, AP Lit, and Creative Writing.  About once per trimester I have a breakdown that sounds something like this, *high pitched and whiny* "I can't do this anymore! I am in the middle of reading 4 different novels, and sometimes I can't remember whether or not Raskolnikov found a pig's head on an island, was one half of Dr. Jekyll, or is a psychopathic murderer...wait, every character is a psychopathic murderer right now! Ugh!"  To which my curriculum director pats me on the back, whispers, "There, there," and plies me with dark chocolate. Sigh.

But I digress...the homework board - 5 different classes, with 5 days of homework, each in a different expo color (love the rainbow brites package) each neatly labeled, So imagine my surprise when one day, about 2 years ago, I walked into my classroom to find my AP Lit heading erased and scrawled (unneatly, may I add) with the title "Hangin' with Hekken."  Rather than being upset, I was forever endeared to the goofy and amazingly lit-savvy Andrew P., who let me know that AP Lit was more than just a class, it was a time to "hang out and discuss major works of literature with *ahem* the best teacher around." Now, I'm not naive to the fact that he was in the midst of a major moment of B.S.  In fact, it's more than probable that he had forgotten to turn in a literary analysis paper that was due, and he was hoping for a little grace; however, grace is rarely shown in an AP level class, but his point was made, and my seniors have taken "Hangin' with Hekken" instead of AP Lit ever since.

I'm not a perfect teacher.  In fact, I read blog posts and scour Pinterest and teacher message boards all the time which clearly remind me how imperfect I am (I mean, have you seen some of these amazing binders? Who has time for that!!)  But I love to teach, I love my students, I love my school, and I am blessed to have a family that lets me commit most of my waking hours to my job. (Actually, they get Taco Bell at least once a week because, really, who has time to cook? They feel that it's the perk of having a working mom). So anyway, I thought I'd take the chance and see if there are others out there who I can inspire, encourage, partner with, and learn from as we navigate this ever-changing, common-core, hands-on, technology-laden, read-and-write-across-the-curriculum world of Education.

The aforementioned Andrew P. on the right (and let's not forget his buddy Devin K.)

An AP Lit debate table

My Taco Bell-loving kiddos