tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89339526134547757092024-02-07T20:32:35.081-05:00Reinventing a Language Arts ClassroomLet's share some ideas about adolescent literacy.The Teacher Next Doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429547999927338845noreply@blogger.comBlogger163125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933952613454775709.post-6481315131981133912015-04-30T16:54:00.000-04:002015-04-30T16:54:26.238-04:00Where I'm From, 2015 extended dance mix
Another poetry month has come and gone. In spite of state testing on the horizon, we spent some time creating our "Where I'm From" poems in order to get a handle on free verse techniques. I asked that children go heavy on the sensory imagery and gather facts from at least one family member of a different generation.
There are at least two other postsThe Teacher Next Doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429547999927338845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933952613454775709.post-71603220950587926362014-12-22T19:04:00.000-05:002014-12-22T19:04:11.156-05:00Brown Girl Dreaming
One of my Christmas gifts to myself was to read Brown Girl Dreaming from cover to cover. I read about a quarter of it when it first arrived in the library, but I wanted to wait until the winter break and after my Longwood classes were finished. I wanted a clear space in my head to fill with Woodson's poetry. I wanted to binge on everything I love about the South.
I am taking a break on page The Teacher Next Doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429547999927338845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933952613454775709.post-71481549141429409612014-12-06T06:10:00.000-05:002014-12-06T06:10:59.412-05:00Zen and the Art of Shopping for Books at Ollie's
Zen and the Art of Buying Picture Books
for Older Children and Teens for the School Library:
1. Familiarize yourself with respected authors and artists.
2. Think about all of the classes offered at your school
and the curriculum needs.
3. Keep an eye out on the web and in trade journals
for what's new in picture books.
4. Win the lottery.
5. Buy all the booksThe Teacher Next Doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429547999927338845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933952613454775709.post-35053672729822030312014-12-05T16:44:00.001-05:002014-12-05T18:04:01.895-05:00"If you are overwhelmed by the size of a problem, break it down into many bite-sized pieces."
Chuck Close said that.
CBS This Morning has a series, Note to Self,
that featured the amazing Mr. Close in 2012.
Take note that his "disability" is the lens through which he sees the world.
And this lens is directly reflected in his art.
And his art is mind-blowing.
If you have the pleasure of seeing his immense portraits in a gallery...
Get as close as you can without The Teacher Next Doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429547999927338845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933952613454775709.post-85706820230575496172014-12-04T19:01:00.002-05:002014-12-05T16:17:46.523-05:00Comfort and Encouragement
I have some good news to go with all the bad news. It's not enough, but it's something.
We talked about Irene Morgan, Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin this week. Our main focus was on 15 year-old Claudette. Months before Mrs. Parks made headlines, Claudette made a similar decision on a public bus. She was pulled off of the bus, insulted and humiliated before being put in a jail cell.
Phillip The Teacher Next Doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429547999927338845noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933952613454775709.post-79062572513848896972014-09-14T12:32:00.000-04:002014-09-14T15:17:53.433-04:00"...I contain multitudes."
On the best days, teaching is all about hearing children sing their own songs. Some may need a little tune up, but all of the songs are reflections of who they are. I'm not talking about those kids who cling to the five-paragraph essays until they sweat the structure to the point of echoing an educator or text, stifling their voices in the details.
But maybe I am talking about those kids. MaybeThe Teacher Next Doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429547999927338845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933952613454775709.post-37829486922931290232014-06-12T18:44:00.000-04:002014-06-12T18:44:09.993-04:00Ain't No Thang Like a Chicken Wing
In today's episode of The Diet Starts Tomorrow, I attended a funeral that featured the recurring themes of family, music, compassion and fried chicken. KFC chicken wings, to be exact.
I could go on and on about the amazing life of Rev. Don Ambrose, but perhaps you did not have the pleasure of knowing him. If so, it would only make you feel like you missed out on a singular sensation. WhatThe Teacher Next Doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429547999927338845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933952613454775709.post-47480674122307655422014-04-01T18:06:00.000-04:002014-04-03T16:47:33.979-04:00Gotta Go Back in Time
Poetry Month has arrived again.
My poster came in the mail today. Thanks, Penguin.
This year I asked my friends and colleagues
to consider this question:
I know what Ponyboy Curtis would choose.
So far, I have posted the following answers in our hallway:
"The Bagel" from Grace
"And Your Soul Shall Dance" from Susan
"The Girl Who Loved the The Teacher Next Doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429547999927338845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933952613454775709.post-14299390038875395562014-03-26T19:43:00.001-04:002014-03-26T19:43:10.123-04:00Namaste, Y'all. For Real!
I just twisted the head off of a bunny, a hollow Godiva chocolate bunny. Last week our school, which contains all 8th graders for the county and no other children, took our state writing tests. I don't know about the kids, but I'm still recovering. Mercy. That was something else.
While I just read that tequila helps with weight loss, it's Miette's Bedtime Stories that I want to share with you The Teacher Next Doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429547999927338845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933952613454775709.post-49790234697603062312014-03-25T16:44:00.003-04:002014-03-25T16:44:49.623-04:00Spring Sprang Sprung
It's snowing as I type this, but spring did arrive last week. In a rare turn of events, it was also sunny that day. If you are reading this from pretty much anywhere in the South, you know how wacky our weather has been.
On February 25th, I was getting a hankering to see something besides all of this gray...it's in my hair, it's the color of my cat, it's in the sky, it's the carpet and walls ofThe Teacher Next Doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429547999927338845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933952613454775709.post-924620992372751942014-03-13T20:46:00.000-04:002014-03-13T20:46:00.489-04:00In Support of Strasburg High School's Young Adult Literature Elective (and John Green)
March 13, 2014
Dear Members of the Strasburg School Board,
I am writing in support of the materials chosen for Strasburg High School's proposed elective in young adult literature. I am also posting this letter on my personal blog as censorship is a topic that I am currently exploring in a Longwood University class. The book I chose to re-read, research and discuss for class is on the syllabus The Teacher Next Doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429547999927338845noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933952613454775709.post-17224121520939071312014-03-10T19:03:00.000-04:002014-03-10T19:03:59.818-04:00YOU get a car!
As you already know, Ollie's is a great place to buy discounted books.
You can find your nearest location here.
The last time I was cruising through, I found one lonely Hot Wheels car from the 1940s. I walked by it the first time, but I backtracked once I decided that I really did need that $1.99 toy.
We're wrapping up The Diary of Anne Frank in my advanced language arts classes. The Teacher Next Doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429547999927338845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933952613454775709.post-50335092743434328182014-02-20T18:45:00.000-05:002014-02-20T20:56:21.166-05:00Eliminate passive voice...with zombies.
Zombies are always butting in where they aren't welcome. Now they are working their way into the unassuming passive sentence.
Here's a simple test to help student writers determine if they are using the passive voice. (I learned this one on Pinterest.)
If you can add "by zombies" at the end of your sentence, it's passive.
The cookies were eaten as quickly as they were cooked...by zombies!
The Teacher Next Doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429547999927338845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933952613454775709.post-29481013333034594762013-12-21T20:32:00.001-05:002013-12-21T20:33:31.831-05:00What are YOU reading?
Here are some of the free choice independent reading books
from my class of 27 (23 are boys).
We hope that you are enjoying some lit-tra-ture over the holidays too.
Visit the public libraries, but don't forget local thrift stores.
Sometimes you can walk out with a winner for 50 cents!
The Teacher Next Doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429547999927338845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933952613454775709.post-66273177564349582152013-12-20T21:51:00.000-05:002013-12-20T21:51:17.182-05:00Holiday!
It's the last 45 minutes of the last class before holiday break!
May I recommend some colored pencils and mandalas?
That is all.
The Teacher Next Doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429547999927338845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933952613454775709.post-3294915311100471952013-12-19T20:49:00.000-05:002013-12-21T20:24:23.624-05:00You Might Be a Writer
I keep "mission control" at the back of the classroom near a window. The inside walls of my room are gray, so's the carpet. Even the sky's been gray this week. That's what made this writing opportunity just about perfect.
I was at my desk and some kids were nearby turning in papers and chatting. At the exact moment I turned towards the window, a huge black bird The Teacher Next Doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429547999927338845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933952613454775709.post-10257551481258095652013-12-19T20:16:00.000-05:002013-12-19T20:58:04.101-05:00Capers, Part 1
You may remember when I saw how to make a simple superhero cape on Pinterest last year. All it takes is an old t-shirt and a pair of fabric scissors. You can fancy it up, but that's optional.
SCA never took me up on a spirit day for cape wearers, so I forgot about it for a while. This year I floated the idea by one of my classrooms full of dreamers and musicians. &The Teacher Next Doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429547999927338845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933952613454775709.post-17115216066579360592013-12-18T21:45:00.001-05:002013-12-21T20:23:49.308-05:00Where Tanner's From
If this post's title sounds familiar, it's probably because you remember an entry from a while back, Where Malik's From. See the original writing assignment here.
I'm just stopping by to remind all of us that writers bloom throughout the year. I get a whole lot of flowers in September, but I also get some children who are seeds, bulbs and tubers...and planted at different The Teacher Next Doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429547999927338845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933952613454775709.post-73955890331861071222013-10-27T09:54:00.000-04:002013-10-27T09:54:54.545-04:00Think.
Here's something to ponder.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike
than those who think differently."
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
I found this quotation on Literary Jukebox, a cool site that pairs quotations with songs.
Follow this link to hear The Beatles sing "Think for Yourself."
You may alsoThe Teacher Next Doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429547999927338845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933952613454775709.post-65080205653889429262013-10-19T13:23:00.002-04:002013-10-19T13:23:57.541-04:00They've Got the Eye of the Tiger
I've mentioned them before, but here they are again!
It's Mr. B's chorus students for the 2013-2014 school year.
Magic. Magic. Magic!
Watch and listen as they perform Katy Perry's hit, "Roar."
Thank you, Mr. B, for sharing your classroom with the world!
Don't you feel energized by watching children expressing themselves through song?
Yes.
You The Teacher Next Doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429547999927338845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933952613454775709.post-41807194028886255812013-10-18T21:48:00.000-04:002013-12-21T20:26:00.366-05:00For those about to write
This year has been tough, but enough about that.
One benefit to our schedule is that my two fourth block classes are smallish. This means 10-15 students most days. Today I was enjoying myself so much; it almost felt like summer. Almost. We were down to 12 kids today because two of my students were on a band field trip; one was somewhere else. All eighth graders The Teacher Next Doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429547999927338845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933952613454775709.post-43768574286569821092013-09-05T21:04:00.000-04:002013-12-19T21:01:45.730-05:00The Novelty of Reading
There's something about the novelty of chance that's always appealing, so why not let it work for you?
Remember that Christmas ornament swap game? It can get downright cutthroat, always a fun scenario around the holidays.
Here's how it goes:
Everyone brings a wrapped ornament and tosses it in a community pile.
Everyone draws a slip of paper with a number.
The person with the number The Teacher Next Doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429547999927338845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933952613454775709.post-85411819692067468932013-07-02T20:38:00.000-04:002013-10-19T13:00:11.183-04:00Zzzzzzzz
We don't have nap time in 8th grade. If we did, I would be the first one with my head on the desk, thinking my happy thoughts. For real.
Will some kids try to nap in your classroom anyway? Yes. What should we do?
WAKE THEM UP!!!
Why? They got on the big, yellow bus. When it dropped them off at school, it wasn't a surprise. Why would they expect The Teacher Next Doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429547999927338845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933952613454775709.post-65994604160332548092013-07-01T15:26:00.000-04:002013-07-01T15:26:00.411-04:00The Writing Process and Projectile Vomiting
Hi there. You probably know all about projectile vomiting at this point in your life. If not, YouTube will help you visualize that concept.
Don't you just get all cranky when you give children a writing activity to complete, and some of those whipper snappers think that their ideas flow from their brain to their hand with the speed of an involuntary airborne stream of baby formula?The Teacher Next Doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429547999927338845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933952613454775709.post-41237420110936800382013-06-14T15:24:00.000-04:002013-06-14T15:24:18.271-04:00Summer Vacation Craft: Magnets
Happy summer vacation! Isn't it relaxing? Now you have all of this "free" time to notice the way you left your home fall apart during the school year!
I'll bet you can't sit still too long before cleaning the kitchen...again. Funny how that place never seems to stay straight for long. Are you wiping down the fridge, the handles, the switch plates, the cabinets and thoseThe Teacher Next Doorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12429547999927338845noreply@blogger.com0