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Poetry Corner
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Testing and Assessment
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New Teachers
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EC Ning Book Club: "Book…
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ECN Book Club: Comprehen…
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Marie G.'s Discussions
Teaching Irony
Replied Dec. 31, 2009
Are too many kids taking AP classes?
Replied Dec. 22, 2009
Starting a Library
Replied Dec. 10, 2009
Marie G.'s Page
Latest Activity
They must still be on vacation!
I feel your pain. I teach 8th grade Reading. Each school year there is a Social Studies and Science Fair research project 6-8th grade. You would think that they would have a pretty good idea how to research by the tim…
Political cartoons are a good way to go. Often the irony is a contrast between the words and the visual. It makes it a little more concrete for my 8th graders. I also explain how sarcasm is a type of irony---8th graders are already experts at that b…
I'm an 8th grade teacher at a school that is demographically diverse. I teach reading to all levels of students from students needing serious remediation to gifted readers (in different classes based on standardized reading scores).
In the Spring,…
Many of my most reluctant readers hate traditional novels, but will read a nonfiction book on a topic of interest and magazines. Given your population of students they will probably also gravitate toward nonfiction too.
Also, the classroom library…
The anthology I Never Saw Another Butterfly is a collection of poetry and artwork written by Jewish children in the Terezin Concentration Camp.
I use a viewing guide with guided viewing questions very similar to guided reading questions that we do when we are reading in class. We go through the same process of viewing/reading, writing, and discussion. I think that it heightens their critica…
Ending with a reflection on the themes of the unit and how they relate to students personally provides nice closure to units and is a good discussion starter.
Begin new units with something that gets the kids thinking. A photo, object, cartoon, or…
Kids may be earning credit, but no learning is taking place even if the correct student is on the computer. I always say that if a kid can do it without any instruction or help from me what is the point of the assignment?
What you are describing sounds more like a jigsaw activity where cooperative group members have a particular role and each goes to an "expert" group and them explains what they learned back in their "home" cooperative group. Socratic Circles in an i…
One way I resolve the conflict is requiring students to still complete the assignment during homeroom or during their elective period in order to "earn" that 50%. They soon learn that it is far better to turn in the assignment on time than have to d…
R.E.V. it Up is a wonderful choice based on the research and work of Isabel Beck. The lessons are interactive and fun! I am using it in a vocabulary tutorial for struggling readers in my 8th grade class, but it can be used with all students.
Get to know what motivates those kids. If acting isn't their thing find out what is. Video games maybe? I think it was Jim Burke who shared an idea about having students turn the plot of a novel into a video game. They have to think of the levels, o…
I tell my 8th graders the very first day of my Reading class that I promise that I will never make them read in front of the class unless they 1. volunteer or 2. have time to practice. We are doing a Reader's Theater this week based on The War of th…
My Left Foot....Daniel Day Lewis is great in this one, and well, lots of other movies too!!!
The Hobart Shakespeareans is good....makes me feel inferior though!
My Left Foot, the story of Christy Brown, works to motivate writers though it does have some 'rough langauge' at times. A wonderfully inspirational film that, if you have not seen it, should be previewed before showing.
Profile Information
- Where do you work?
- Middle School
- What are you reading?
- The Audacity of Hope
- How do you define your role/work?
- Teacher, Department Chair, Curriculum Coordinator
Comment Wall (4 comments)
- At 12:47pm on October 3, 2009,
Marianne Wright said… - Thanks Marie,
I need all the tech help I can get!
Marianne
- At 3:40pm on July 14, 2009,
Steph said… - Thanks for the comment! I think I'm going to adapt a lesson plan that I found online that deals with the ideas of copy right and taking credit for your own work. Then, in October when we do research, I'm sure there will be reteaching. But, that way it's less of a "MLA and plagiarism is something we talk about once a year" and it kind of opens up a little more discussion throughtout the year. Thanks for the suggestions!
- At 10:35am on April 26, 2009,
Larry Ferlazzo said… - Thanks for the nice note on my blog!
- At 8:25pm on February 21, 2009,
Teresa Bunner said… - Marie, welcome to the Ning! Make sure you check out the groups section. There is a group there for department chairs and lots of other great groups to join! How are you doing with The Audacity of Hope? It's on my bookshelf. I've started it a few times,but I have to think way too much when I read it, so I think I'll have to save it for a time I can really concentrate.
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Latest Activity
Thank you so much everyone! I definitely have a better feel for how essential questions work. I've been able to brainstorm a few and included a few here. Feel free to tell me if I am way off base.
What does it mean to be an “Outsider”?
What makes…
Judith--
One opportunity is Teen Ink (http://www.teenink.com). This is a publication for teens only, ages 13-19, to submit and publish their work. The one draw back I found is that once accepted, Teen Ink keeps all rights to the work. This means ki…
Bill,
You have it wrong. I didn't say the theory has not had wide influence. I never said anything like that. I agree that it has had wide influence. What I said was I've never heard of teachers labeling themselves as constructivists or nonconstruct…
The Ugly Truth is that my number one goal for my students right now has to be to raise their 2010 standardized test scores.
I find it disturbing, off-base, heart-wrenching, and almost something shameful to admit. However, NCLB has my entire school'…
I am in search of a novel set during the Great Depression/Dust Bowl era. It will be used in a 10th grade history class; most of the students are struggling readers. The teacher would like to stay away from the "big name classics." He wants something…
Yay Doug! He was one of my teachers in pre-teaching grad school (itp.nyu.edu), and I'm a huge fan of his work. Thanks for posting this, Frank. I'm really excited to see what these guys have come up with this time.
I am looking for opportunities for high school students to publish their writing. I am in VT. We are part of the NWP and can certainly offer that to our students. I know about the Mountain Review, but I would really appreciate other venues where stu…
Oh, a marvelous poem, Carol -- by one of my favorite poets. In graduate school far back in the 60's, I took a creative writing class from Bly at the University of Kansas, and have never forgotten it. Thanks for the connection.
I actually do have a plan (I also have a yearly book filled with objectives). I just can't say I have a detailed plan. I found it easier to plan for 90 minute block lessons than the 45 minutes we have at this school which makes me feel like I am in…
Oh I do! I just had a tutorial with a final year student, who thank me for introducing her to philosophy. It's just that the rest of it sucks up so much time.
Andy,
The fact that you have not heard of it doesn't mean the theory has not had a wide influence. Nearly every school of education in America now promotes "constructivist" ideas, and it is why many of our student teachers are not receiving some of…
How about this for a poetic connection to your posting, Hamilton?
Gratitude to Old Teachers by Robert Bly
When we stride or stroll across the frozen lake,
We place our feet where they have never been.
We walk upon the unwalked. But we are uneasy.…
I really think that PDFs kick SOOO much butt compared to .mobi Kindle Books or any other text with DRMs.
... and xboxes can make lovely computers if you know how to hack them. But that's also illegal. ;)
My husband has a bebook, which will read PDFs and some other formats... I don't know if it does text files or not.
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