Awesome!

So there's a blog of 1,000 Awesome Things that has now been turned into an Awesome book.   What a great idea.   What would your eighth grade self identify as awesome enough to celebrate in writing?

I have to admit that I gave out homework over a weekend, but it was merely for students to ponder on the awesomeness of their world.

Together we examined Neil Pasricha's  Picking the Perfect Nacho Off Someone Else's Plate, Old, Dangerous Playground Equipment and The First Scoop Out of a Jar of Peanut Butter.   I also rattled off a few of the other topics featured in the blog that would be accessible to teens.

We focused on tone, voice, point of view, sensory imagery and audience.   Keep your tone positive and your voice conversational and upbeat.   Use second person point of view to pull your reader in.   Rely on sensory imagery to recreate the awesomeness of your chosen topic to your reader.   And your choice should have broad appeal.   When the majority of people read your entry, they should be able to connect with your topic.

Yes.   Some folks got right down to it when it was time to write.  

And some people sat and sat and sat and sat.   If you are in the latter group of writers, I expect you to have paper on your desk and a pen/cil in your hand.   If after a reasonable amount of time you are still in the latter group of writers, I want you to list the five senses and start brainstorming some favorites.   Usually this does the trick.   Usually.

In giving feedback on the first draft I found that writers needed the most help with crossing over into second point of view and creating a meaty snapshot of their experience.   This is the first year I've tried this activity, so I'll be able to add in more supports for next year.   We had so much fun.   This lesson is a keeper.  

It's also something that I had willing students submit for immediate publication.   I mean, who doesn't want a Wall of Awesome in their classroom?   And that's the thing about trailers ..it's pushpin heaven.

Teaching The Blues

I decided to put together a short lesson on writing blues songs.   Silly me--I thought most 8th graders had something to complain about.   I was wrong.   Many of them are pretty content and often happy.   The kids are alright...which is great news.   But, I still wanted to make this lesson work.  

I added a variation that has seemed to work better for eighth graders-- writing a blues song from the point of view of a character in the book they are reading.   It's a fresh way to identify the main conflict of a book as well.   If we are reading a class novel, I try to encourage them to use characters from another book that they've finished recently.   (Now, if you want to read 100+ papers worth of "Old Major's Blues" from Animal Farm, be my guest.   That book is full of working for the Man.   Two legs bad!)

For a model, we use Jimi Hendrix's "Red House."   We look at the format of the lyrics on a handout before we listen to the song.   We talk about the line breaks, rhyme scheme and repetition.   And, yes, you will need to point out that a blues song contains some sort of complaint.   I know.  

You will then need to play the song for them at least once and enjoy the beauty of Hendrix together.   If you play the guitar, bring it!   If you are like me, you will have to be content with helping the kids figure out the rhythm of the bass line by tapping it out the desk and hoping for the best.   I usually let the song play through once without any teacher talk; I play it a second time through, so I can pick it apart a little for the kids to see inside. 

Some writers get it right away.   It's like they've been waiting their whole short lives to rock a juke joint with the band.   Others just can't seem to hammer out the rhyme scheme.   Ask permission to share some of the successful student samples with the class to help other songwriters craft their work.

There are lots of great blues songs out there; "Red House" just works for me.   It is short and easy to pattern...and most kids have some knowledge of Hendrix.   When you are teaching something new, it always helps for kids to have any trace of background knowledge on what's being taught.

If you want an intricate and lovely lesson plan regarding this topic, please see this PBS website.

If you want to relax on Sunday with a blues radio show, Johnny Horn starts broadcasting live at 9 A.M. in Seattle.   That's noon here on my front porch.   You can also listen to archived shows using the links on the website.   I subscribe to some of the play lists via e-mail, so I don't have to run to the computer every time I hear a song I love.   Go to kexp.org ,"Shows" and "Preaching The Blues."