It sometimes seems almost too good to be true; the quiet, the eagerness and the joy the students find in the first seven minutes of class. You see, when the students first come into the room, they do so quietly, take out a book, and read. Almost any book is game, as long as it is age appropriate for them. No magazines, but I broke the rule about graphic novels for the classic, Maus. Other than that, they read what they want to read. I am careful to protect those seven minutes for them because, not only would they complain if we didn't have that time, but it helps them in many ways.
We know from large amounts of research, that reading for pleasure does several things for a student. First, it is the best way to learn new vocabulary, and the greatest indicator of success in school is a student's grasp of vocabulary. Second, as they read, they are exposed to worlds and places outside their place and time, giving them the base of knowledge they need to make larger, abstract connections in all the subject areas. But besides that, it is the magic that I love.
Middle school is a busy time. Oh, so long ago, when I was their age, I had far more time on my hands than they do. I had time to ride my bike to no where, read a book a day, if I wanted, and time to be bored, which, when you think about it, leads to creativity. Now, it seems, kids are busier, and at this age, they are making transitions quickly. The sixth grade is coming from a self-contained room, and the seventh graders are struggling to deal with all the wanting and not wanting that seems to define that year. To know that, when they walk into a my class, that they will have seven minutes all to themselves to retreat to some place they want to be, can work magic. That few minutes of relaxation, for which little will be required of them, may be one of their few quiet moments in their day. It might be the only time they have that day to dream and pretend.
It is hard to believe that something so simple and so pleasant can have so much research affirming its importance. And, as much as I love computers and what they can do for the academic success of the students, there will never be a replacement for picking up a book and reading even if all you have are seven sacred minutes.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Friday, November 14, 2008
So much more than grammar
Fridays I like to do something out of the ordinary, when we can. Since we had been doing the same drill for grammar for two days previously, I decided to see what they learned about teamwork when they were at the Marin Headlands. What I saw today was impressive.
I told the students that, if no one gets more than one wrong on the grammar page, the whole class gets a prize. Since, generally, the mistakes made are out of carelessness rather than not knowing what to do, I wanted to see how they could work together to eliminate those careless mistakes. I wish you all could have seen your students at work.
As soon as I let them start, groups formed. People who usually did well partnered themselves with students who needed help. I saw helpfulness and cooperation to begin with, then, when problems were found on the page, I heard music to a teacher's ears, arguments about grammar.
"Crossing is a noun."
"No, it is a verb."
"Ms. Grier, is crossing a noun or a verb?"
"It can be both," I said.
I smiled, because they were working out their own problems, and thinking them through together. Sometimes I can be most helpful by being unhelpful.
I saw students who usually didn't hang out together, being pro-active and making sure that their classmates didn't fall behind. I saw them organizing themselves, each one taking on a different task. I saw some students self-appoint themselves as the one to sit with students who looked confused and help, kindly. I saw kids who struggle with grammar getting up and sitting with one who usually does well. At the end, I saw smiles on the faces of all of them, because as a class, they succeeded.
Each one of the sixth graders is talented in multiple ways. Some have that grammar gene going for them, and some have different talents. What I loved about today was that everyone was included and no one was left out. Together, they all succeeded.
On Monday, we will go back to our usual method of learning grammar, but today was special. The prizes, well, I laugh when I think of them. Mostly trinkets left over from my bookstore and the days I taught second grade, nothing much, really. But they worked hard for a prize they don't know about. Today they each learned different lessons. For some, they learned that their talent shouldn't be only kept for themselves, but it should be shared. For others, they learned that they can depend on their classmates for help.
It was just one of those moments in time. Not a big deal, really, but one that made me smile. Parents, your kids are great, and I enjoy their company. I am glad we looked outside the box to try something different for a Friday.
I told the students that, if no one gets more than one wrong on the grammar page, the whole class gets a prize. Since, generally, the mistakes made are out of carelessness rather than not knowing what to do, I wanted to see how they could work together to eliminate those careless mistakes. I wish you all could have seen your students at work.
As soon as I let them start, groups formed. People who usually did well partnered themselves with students who needed help. I saw helpfulness and cooperation to begin with, then, when problems were found on the page, I heard music to a teacher's ears, arguments about grammar.
"Crossing is a noun."
"No, it is a verb."
"Ms. Grier, is crossing a noun or a verb?"
"It can be both," I said.
I smiled, because they were working out their own problems, and thinking them through together. Sometimes I can be most helpful by being unhelpful.
I saw students who usually didn't hang out together, being pro-active and making sure that their classmates didn't fall behind. I saw them organizing themselves, each one taking on a different task. I saw some students self-appoint themselves as the one to sit with students who looked confused and help, kindly. I saw kids who struggle with grammar getting up and sitting with one who usually does well. At the end, I saw smiles on the faces of all of them, because as a class, they succeeded.
Each one of the sixth graders is talented in multiple ways. Some have that grammar gene going for them, and some have different talents. What I loved about today was that everyone was included and no one was left out. Together, they all succeeded.
On Monday, we will go back to our usual method of learning grammar, but today was special. The prizes, well, I laugh when I think of them. Mostly trinkets left over from my bookstore and the days I taught second grade, nothing much, really. But they worked hard for a prize they don't know about. Today they each learned different lessons. For some, they learned that their talent shouldn't be only kept for themselves, but it should be shared. For others, they learned that they can depend on their classmates for help.
It was just one of those moments in time. Not a big deal, really, but one that made me smile. Parents, your kids are great, and I enjoy their company. I am glad we looked outside the box to try something different for a Friday.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
ran off to join the circus
Really, I did. Field day for the school, and we went to the circus training center. Limbs still shaking, I over did the fun and I am expecting to pay for it tomorrow.
You never know when something will come up that is just too good to pass by. I had no idea what today would bring, I was just along for the kids. But I saw that flying trapeze and I forgot my age. Today, I cheerfully proved that I was, indeed 48, but also 48 isn't time to call the exciting parts of life over.
The trapeze was first. All the kids done, they looked at me and didn't give me an out. Not that I really wanted it. The waist harness was tight, but not connected to a thing as I climbed up the ladder with sweaty feet and palms. Halfway up, I forgot my sense, and looked down. I assessed the fact that I was hitched to nothing, that there was no net below the ladder, I had little upper body strength, and that my sweaty feet could slip any moment. Yells of encouragement and a camera clicking its way toward me pushed me forward. A quick instruction on how to make that 30 foot drop was given to deaf ears.
"All the way up," the smallish, muscular young man said, without a hint of encouragement. I clambered atop and held on to what I could find. Buckled in, I felt, at least, that I wasn't going to fall to my death, at least, not if the young man on the ground held me tight.
"How you feeling?", the man on the platform asked.
"Scared."
"Too late now." He said. Easy for him to say.
"Other hand." He commanded as I reached waaaaaaayyyy out for the bar.
"You are nuts," I thought, "I am bigger than you, if I slip just a bit, I fall, and you go with me. And you don't have a harness on."
Obediently, I reached my other hand out in the impossible position of butt tucked, arms stretched, his hand holding my harness so I didn't fall. At least, in hopes that he could actually hold my weight.
I felt a foot in my knees to bend them, and I realized that short instruction on the ground was a joke, because he wasn't giving me any choice on how I would make the free fall. "Hip" he called, and gave me a push, well, a shove.
A free fall on arms that I wasn't sure could hold my weight long. Swinging, remembering to keep toes pointed, because if I was going to go down, at least I wanted to look as graceful as possible.
"Hip" the command was called, and I fell, making a landing that would earn me a "2" on a scale of "10" if it were being judged. Massive cheers from the kids, as well as the teachers. A graceful somersault off the net, and I was done.
Trembling legs, and a shaky smile as I walked off with as much dignity as my shaking body would allow.
The rest of the day? I gave myself a headache doing far too many somersaults off the mini-trampoline, and the bouncing on the large trampoline sealed my fate. I am exhausted. I have had more lactic acid running through my body today than I have in more than a decade. I will pay for that fun, I know. But life, to me, is far more about the experience than it is about collecting stuff or gathering security around me.
Today I reminded myself that I was 48, and that 48 can be an incredibly exhilarating experience.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Party with the Bard!
I hope you managed to make it this far without getting this awful bug that is going around. Usually healthy me got it, and I was in bed for a whole week. I don't ever remember being that sick. If you do get it, take it easy, this is a nasty strain!
We just finished a short story unit in the seventh grade, and finished reading a novel about an immigrant girl from Cambodia, Children of the River in the sixth grade. The seventh grade test will be tomorrow, and the test over Children of the River will be on Tuesday.
The best part of the year starts on Monday with our reading of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. As we read, we will act out, read aloud, and learn something of the times that Shakespeare lived. At the end of the unit, we plan on 'Partying with the Bard' and we hope you will help us.
I will be giving out recipes to volunteers to help us with our menu. I expect to have shepherd's pie, soda bread, cider and one more dish for lunch that day. In order to make this lunch happen, we will need an adult volunteer or two to help set up, as well as assistance making the food.
In addition to the food, those who wish to dress for the occasion may do so. Ms. McGillivray will teach us some appropriate vocabulary to help us all fit in with the Bard and his peers.
We just finished a short story unit in the seventh grade, and finished reading a novel about an immigrant girl from Cambodia, Children of the River in the sixth grade. The seventh grade test will be tomorrow, and the test over Children of the River will be on Tuesday.
The best part of the year starts on Monday with our reading of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. As we read, we will act out, read aloud, and learn something of the times that Shakespeare lived. At the end of the unit, we plan on 'Partying with the Bard' and we hope you will help us.
I will be giving out recipes to volunteers to help us with our menu. I expect to have shepherd's pie, soda bread, cider and one more dish for lunch that day. In order to make this lunch happen, we will need an adult volunteer or two to help set up, as well as assistance making the food.
In addition to the food, those who wish to dress for the occasion may do so. Ms. McGillivray will teach us some appropriate vocabulary to help us all fit in with the Bard and his peers.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Time line for the Holidays
We have covered so much ground so far with our writing! The students are in a routine now and are starting to internalize the writing process and they show this to me by being able to tell what the five steps of the writing process is, and why we do each one. So far, I can't say that they are clear about the differences between the revision and the editing process, but I am sure they will have that down soon.
The books that we are reading, The Giver for sixth grade, and Breaking Through for seventh, will be finished before the holiday. Those were put aside for a short time while we finished the compare/contrast papers, but now that those are done, we are concentrating on finishing the books so that we can start something new when we return.
As the seventh graders learn more about Francisco Jimenez, they are finding many things to be thankful for in their lives. Francisco grew up with very little, except a set of parents who loved him and a work ethic that pushed him into working hard enough to make his dreams happen. They are seeing a different side of California than the one they are growing up in.
The sixth graders are learning to be thankful in a different way. The Giver is a look at a utopian society that seems perfect, at first glance, but the choices that the protagonist is forced to make are daunting. As the protagonist makes these choices, we discuss them as a class which gives the students a chance to "make" these choices as well.
Once they come back from the break, we will start a literature circles, which means that three to five students will read the same book and discuss it among themselves. I will be moving from group to group to facilitate the discussions.
The books that we are reading, The Giver for sixth grade, and Breaking Through for seventh, will be finished before the holiday. Those were put aside for a short time while we finished the compare/contrast papers, but now that those are done, we are concentrating on finishing the books so that we can start something new when we return.
As the seventh graders learn more about Francisco Jimenez, they are finding many things to be thankful for in their lives. Francisco grew up with very little, except a set of parents who loved him and a work ethic that pushed him into working hard enough to make his dreams happen. They are seeing a different side of California than the one they are growing up in.
The sixth graders are learning to be thankful in a different way. The Giver is a look at a utopian society that seems perfect, at first glance, but the choices that the protagonist is forced to make are daunting. As the protagonist makes these choices, we discuss them as a class which gives the students a chance to "make" these choices as well.
Once they come back from the break, we will start a literature circles, which means that three to five students will read the same book and discuss it among themselves. I will be moving from group to group to facilitate the discussions.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Oral Narrative
This week we are finishing the oral narratives that we started last week. The stories the students have written have been imaginative and fun to read. I expect them to be even more interesting when they tell them to the class. A rubric will go home with them tonight, so if you are interested in seeing what I will be looking for, you can ask to see the rubric (the pink sheet). The next writing piece we do will be a compare and contrast paper.
About a week ago, our class acquired a mascot of sorts. A gopher snake found its way into the path of one of the students and they decided that it would make a great class pet. Ms. McGillivray has taken charge of Checkers and the seventh grade students are taking turns visiting with him.
The sixth graders have started reading the book, The Giver by Lois Lowry. This book was the Newberry Award winner in 1994 and deals with choices people make when they attempt to create a utopian government.
The seventh graders are reading Breaking Through by Francisco Jimenez. It is a true account of the author's life, from the time he crawled under a fence to enter the US to his graduation from college. Currently, Mr. Jimenez is a professor at Santa Clara University.
About a week ago, our class acquired a mascot of sorts. A gopher snake found its way into the path of one of the students and they decided that it would make a great class pet. Ms. McGillivray has taken charge of Checkers and the seventh grade students are taking turns visiting with him.
The sixth graders have started reading the book, The Giver by Lois Lowry. This book was the Newberry Award winner in 1994 and deals with choices people make when they attempt to create a utopian government.
The seventh graders are reading Breaking Through by Francisco Jimenez. It is a true account of the author's life, from the time he crawled under a fence to enter the US to his graduation from college. Currently, Mr. Jimenez is a professor at Santa Clara University.