To Journal or Not To Journal?

I always had a problem with having to journal when I was a student.  I never knew what to write about.  Worse, I never understood what the point was.

This perception carried over when I started teaching.  I had the impression that having my students journal was simply busy work.  It was something that I could have them do while I was taking attendance, passing out papers, or talking to students individually.

Boy was I wrong.  Journaling can be an excellent tool for your students - 
IF it is set up right!

This summer while I was teaching summer school, I started to implement journals as part of the daily routine.  But my students weren't only writing about what they would do if they had $1 million.  They weren't only writing about which 3 books they would take with them if they were on a deserted island...

Yes this was my elementary understanding of journal prompts.

Instead, they were writing about their past experiences in writing classes. They were journaling about what part of the writing process was the easiest for them.  Which was the toughest for them.  Journaling became a reflective part of the learning process that was essential to their learning.  

Better yet, their final exam turned into a reflection of their overall growth in the semester.  They were able to look back through old journal entries and see where and how they were struggling.  They were able to scan through their challenges and triumphs.  

I compiled a list of 14 Journal Prompts along with the Reflective Collage Essay for you to try out in your classroom.  You can utilize these prompts every day in class for 3 weeks or have them done once a week for an extended-writing project.  Either way, they promote reflection in the writing classroom.  

I don't know about your experiences with journals before.  But I do know that journaling has been a way for my students to truly reflect, both short- and long-term, in ways that I hadn't seen them do before in my classroom.  Try them out and let me hear how it goes!  I look forward to reading your reflections of their reflections!

Reflection in the Classroom

As teachers, we know how important it is to reflect.  We reflect every time a lesson goes good, bad, terrible, or horrendous.  But how often do we have our students reflect?

Typically we set aside time for our students to reflect after they've written an essay, right?  This is usually part of the peer review process where they think about what they did well in their essay and the areas that they struggled in.

But what if I told you that our students should be reflecting all of the time?!

What if I told you that having our students reflect before our units would enable them to succeed?

It's true.  Having students reflect on their past experiences, what they expect out of a situation, or what they hope to get out of a learning experience teaches them to frame the learning process in a different light.  It also allows them to buy into the learning. If they have already invested time and energy into reflecting on the unit before it begins, chances are they will be more engaged throughout the unit.  

I suggest that you start the school year and every major unit off with reflection. Remember, reflection doesn't end when you call time.  It is something that students should be readdressing throughout the learning process. When "problems" come up, have students look back at their expectations.  Have them imagine what they were thinking then and how they would've expected to handle these "problems".  After the unit, have them look back at their reflections to see how accurate they were.  In what ways?  There should be a constant cycle of reflection during the learning process.

To make your life a little bit easier, I created Reflective Window Frames. These window frames are set up to have students reflect on what they want out of their teachers, partners, and group members.  Better yet, they're Copy & Go.  No work required! 

Print 'em off and hand 'em out! 

Adventures with Doctopus

Today I discovered Doctopus. Apparently I'm a year behind but it's better late than never, right Brownbaggers?  Doctopus is a Google Sheets Add On and, according to its description, it was designed with "teacher workflow in mind - taming complexity and unlocking the power of Google Apps for differentiation and collaboration."  Quite a claim!  You all already know that I am a HUGE FAN of using Google Apps in the classroom.  In fact, I have revamped my entire writing curriculum to be entirely online through Google Drive.

So when I heard about an Add On that could essentially make my life easier by "passing out" my documents, storing them in one place, and allowing me to grade with a rubric... I was down!

Thus far my experience has been a little murky though.  I don't know if it's just me but I found that the explanations of Doctopus could have been a little bit clearer.  Maybe they could have hired a technical writer?  I wonder if the directions make sense to people who have used Doctopus over the past year, but as a newbie I was confused.

It starts off by asking you to import or create a new roster including names and emails.  Simple enough.  
Check!

Then it goes through the different types of folders that can or should be created.  As a newbie, I didn't know the difference.  I suspect that the longer I toy around with it, the more familiar I will become.  You'll see in the picture below that just one assignment for one roster created all of the folders under "July - Summer School Students".  That's 11 folders.  I only have 7 students for this section so imagine a full-sized class!  That being said, I hope and assume that additional assignments will be filed under the same roster.  Time will tell.  But, folders created!
Check!

Next it asks you to choose the assignment template.  I had a difficult time choosing one because it didn't give me access to other folders on my Drive. Maybe that's a glitch with my computer.  Anyhow, I just resaved my assignment template in the folder that the roster had just created.  I could then upload the assignment template from there. I did like that it gives you options for how the students view the document.  For example they can view only, comment, or edit (nothing new) but you can also set it up for them to view each other's or only their own.  That's a cool feature!  It also allows you to send it to groups or to individuals.  There's where a new level of collaboration comes in.  I sent the assignments and checked what they looked like on the other end - meaning I snooped over a student's shoulder.

Check!

Finally it allows you to do Add On's with grading.  I have yet to use those but I look forward to exploring them.  Goobric, an interactive rubric tool, can be added on to the Doctopus sheet so that they interface together.  As I typically grade holistically, I haven't tried it yet. All in good time!

Check!

My thoughts so far?  It seems difficult to use and easy to use at the same time.  As a beginner, I feel like I have no clue what's going on or how to truly utilize Doctopus yet.  It's not super user friendly.  At the same time, I know that it has much to offer. I'm excited to see what opportunities for innovation and collaboration it will bring into my classroom.  

I'll keep you all updated as I become more familiar with it, of course.  Have any of you used it before?  I'd love to get some tips from you all! Comment below or tweet me @mac_ker1.

Learning from a Veteran: An Interview

I had the pleasure of working with my girl Steph for the first three years of my teaching career.  During that time, she was supportive and challenging and encouraged me to be a teacher that really stuck to her guns.  She taught me that it was okay to challenge my students in a new way and she always urged me to be a collaborator.  During our last conversation, I thought this teacher has so much wisdom to offer!  So I decided to interview her.  Below are some little nuggets of gold to take with as the school year begins.

1.  What is the most important thing that you have learned that student teaching didn't prepare you for?

Student teaching is a time of life when I was definitely in survival mode. I was trying to lesson plan well, teach well, grade well, know my students as best I could, and to sleep a bit here and there. During this time, I was so focused on my classroom, that I saw little outside of those four walls. Therefore, student teaching did not, in any way, prepare me for the variety of teacher personalities and agendas that I would come in contact with.

It did not occur to me that collaboration would be incredibly difficult at times; that small groups of teachers are resistant to change and therefore growth. Student teaching did not warn me that some teachers would forget why they got into this profession in the first place. Their self-centeredness and stubbornness was shocking in the early days of my career. Honestly, after twelve years it is still surprising at times.  Student teaching did not show me the disappointment I would feel at times in my colleagues, and undoubtedly the disappointment they sometimes feel in me. It also did not show me the personalities of those who constantly go above and beyond, of those who can reach students unreachable in other classrooms. I was unprepared for the lengths some teachers are willing to go for students, for their schools, and for their communities.

What I have learned during the last twelve years, no thanks to student teaching, is to align myself with teachers, administrators, and staff who inspire me and to stay away from those who create drama or who drag me down. I have learned to seek out those who are like minded and to learn from and grow with them. Only in this way, can I become the absolute best version of my teacher self.

2.  When was the first time you realized, "wow, I'm really a teacher"?

I did not have my first “Aha” moment in which I felt like a real teacher, until a few years into my career. I came into teaching from the publishing field and have always felt that improving student writing is critical. During one class period, I was having students revise pieces of their own writing, as well as other student pieces of writing. We were making sure statements were supported with textual evidence and we were eliminating wordiness. Any changes that helped improve writing flow or increased clarity were celebrated and witnessed by the entire class. Students began complimenting each other on changes being made, and started thanking each other for the help they were receiving. I knew they were improving. They knew they were enjoying the activity. At the end of the period, one student came up and thanked me for caring about their writing and for trying to make them better. That was it! I knew then that I was a “real teacher.” When you can get students to thank you for making them work, you have made it!

3.  What's one activity that you did during your first few years of teaching that you will never do again and why?

During my first few years of teaching I wanted to work a creative project into my Shakespeare unit. I also wanted to have student-produced work to display in my classroom. I remember assigning the License Plate Project. Students were to create a license plate that related in some way to Julius Caesar.  They were meant to be clever and to reveal an important part of the play. Many of the plates simply had phrases such as: E2BRUTE, or SEASER or STABSTAB. They were colorful or cute and the right size or shape, but in my reflection of this activity I realized the students got nothing out of doing this. They were not asked to analyze or critically think. They were asked to be cute and to color nicely. I have learned since those early days that my creative projects must always contain a written explanation of the creative piece. When doing creative projects now, my students must incorporate a discussion of why they chose certain colors; the symbolism of their piece; any allegory or allusion they have included, etc.

4.  What role does creativity play in your classroom?

Creativity plays a solid role in my current classroom. I am very aware that not all students learn in the same way, and that many cannot express what they have learned in the form of multiple choice tests and formal essays. In my classroom we stand up, we move around, we sing, we chant, we play, we color, we paint, we write, we read, we laugh, we share. My opening day activity with seniors in Honors World Literature is a finger painting activity. They must describe the role of a griot in Africa, but do so on butcher paper using finger paints. Later in the year when we study cuneiform and hieroglyphics, they create their own symbols and alphabets related to modern day and write a brief story using their designs.  Anyone without an assigned reading part during Oedipus Rex becomes part of the chorus and must help chant those lines while walking in a circle in the middle of the room. Hector and Achilles have had their arguments on top of desks and they have spilled out into the hallway. Odysseus and Penelope have had heartfelt discussions lying next to each other on the floor of my classroom, and many a student has taken the risk to show us the video she created at home, because she was just a bit too nervous to be creative with us watching in real time. Creativity is noisy and messy. It means the teacher has to let go a little bit, but it makes learning fun and it is engaging.  And, it can create amazing results.

5.  If your teaching style was an animal, what would it be and why?

This is a difficult question. After much deliberation I have decided that my teaching style is that of a wasp. Much like the wasp, I attempt to keep stinging (read as motivating) my students. Their flailing hands and attempts and shooing me away, are useless. I buzz around their heads and near their ears so that they hear my voice and understand my expectations even when they are away from my classroom. I buzz near them and attempt to make them move, and only really sting when necessary.                                                                                                                 

Field Trip to the Art Exhibit

To change things up in the 4-hour long summer school class that I teach, I took my students to the art exhibit on campus.  After visiting and observing, students were to write a back story on a piece of art of their choice.  It was, in a way, a multi-modal essay because it included both text and photo.  They were to include a photo of the artwork that they chose and reference it in their essay.  Aside from that, there weren't too many restrictions.  This was an opportunity for them to be creative!

The exhibit, called Plop Art by Erik L. Peterson, was interesting to say the least.  I'm not an artie by any means but I would assume that this would be considered contemporary art... I know that only because I Googled it. It seems to only be defined by the time period that it is produced in.  In reading the Peterson's description, he mentioned that the art was to serve as commentary on various norms in our culture including narcissim and ADHD.

While I won't tell you about all of the art work we saw, I'll mention a few. We saw a Reflecting Pool which at first we all thought was a pile of sand...Then we realized that it transformed colors as you looked at it.  After realizing what it was, the iPhones popped out.  Everyone wanted a shot.  It was hard to capture the rainbows on film, though.  As you can see, mine looks a little bit more ghostly.

We also saw a tapestry created out of the two billboards.  It took us quite a while to figure out what it was but, once we realized, we understood the large amount of time and painstaking attention to detail it must have taken to create.

We saw another piece known as the Cooler.  It was just as you would think. It was a cooler with two ice cream cones inside.  I'm not quite sure what the purpose was but I'm sure it's ironic in some way.  Students joked about it being a "grab-and-go" and not a piece of artwork.  

And then we saw my favorite.  The neon plop cone with spilled ice cream (it had no name).  Isn't it amazing? Surprisingly, we had a lot of conversation about it.  I say surprisingly because this isn't an art class and none of us have any idea how to discuss art.  Students argued about the focal point - "It's the cone.  It's on the wall.  How could it not be the focal point?" - "No it's the blob of ice cream.  Is it melted or did it fall off?  I think it melted because it's so much bigger." - "It's neither.  It's the light that catches your attention. The light and the color."  I was impressed with the amount of conversation that they had.  They enjoyed it, observed it, and didn't take the art viewing process too seriously. 

So what did I learn from this experience?  Take your students out of the classroom!  We all need a change of pace.  It doesn't have to be serious!  It can be fun and enjoyable but still educational.  While there, students took notes on the art work of their choice and later they wrote an essay on the back stories for how the art came to be.  Perhaps taking our students out of the typical classroom fires up their creative impulses.  One thing's for sure though, they were able to experience something new and creative, use a different part of their brain, and interact with one another in a way that encouraged discussion and collaboration.

So where to next?  Maybe the Student Center Coffee Shop?  Maybe the lake in the courtyard?  Perhaps even the observatory!   I'd love to hear any suggestions that you may have!

Changing It Up

Hi Brownbaggers!  I'm sorry for the week-long hiatus!  I was vacationing in Lake Geneva with Mi Madre.  It was a lovely, much needed vacation.  3 days of pure bliss that included horseback riding in the rain, laying poolside to catch some rays, and eating a caesar salad that I had my eye on since day 1. After I got back, I had to quickly prepare for my second semester of summer school teaching.  The week has already started and we are doing some really fun things!

One thing that I'm doing this semester is changing up the content and the environment everyday.  4 hours is a long time for a class solely dedicated to composition.  

That's right - you read that right.  

No grammar

No reading

No discussion

It's JUST FOR WRITING!  Not surprisingly, that can get boring.  

So, we like to change it up!  Here's what we've been doing.

1.  I let the students create the content:  

I never really saw myself as a teacher that let students determine the content of the class, but I decided to give it a go this semester.  The first day I had them write an essay describing their best and worst experiences with writing and one suggestion for an essay that they would be interested in writing. From that point forward, I have been and will continue to use their ideas. 

They have LOVED it.  

They're writing about things that they truly care about. And what's better? They have been creative in what they suggest!  Some offered ideas on reflections, some on research, and some on theoretical scenarios.  It makes for interesting content to say the least.  

So what holds this all together?  My prompt decoder (<--- CLICK the LINK so you can check it out!).  I created a document where I just slip in the student-generated prompt and then we, as a class, determine the requirements, type of essay, pre-writing strategies, drafting ideas, etc.  It's been great to have them think deeply about a prompt and learn about the process more than the product.

2.  We write in different locations:

This has been so fun!  Everyday, we start off in the classroom, do pre-writing outside, and then finish with drafting in the computer lab.  It has been BEAUTIFUL out so that's obviously a plus!  However, I plan on taking them to more locations.  There is a coffee shop on campus, mini-living rooms, lakes, gardens, etc.  Taking them to different places breaks up the 4 hours but more importantly, it gets the creative juices flowing.

I'd love to hear more about the ways you change it up in your classroom.  Are there certain places you take your students?  Different pedagogies you try on? Comment below or tweet me @mac_ker1!

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Tutorial: Collaborating with Students Using Google Drive

So I've been raving about Google Drive all week!  I can't get enough of what it has done for me as a teacher and for my students as they are working on their essays!  One of the things that we talked about last night in the #ELAChat (English Language Arts Chat) on Twitter is that so often teachers are not given opportunities for professional development.  We're told to implement this and that technology with no real training.  That being said, I thought I would put together a quick tutorial for how to set up and implement Google Drive in the writing classroom.

Here is a video tutorial on implementing Google Drive:

If you don't have time for the video, here are a few screenshots to get you started:

1.  You and the students NEED a Google Account.  Login to your Gmail account.  Click the "apps" button in the upper right-hand corner and click "drive".  Once you're there, click "create" and "document".

2.  Click Share.  I like to have my students share the document with me.  When they click share, they will be prompted to rename the document.  Once they have, they can enter your email address so that you will have access. This is the most important part!  There are 3 options: can edit, can view, and can comment.  

>"Can edit" means the person they are sharing the document with can edit original content.  

>"Can comment" means the person they are sharing the document with can comment on the document but cannot change any original content from the owner. 

>"Can view" means the person they are sharing the document with can only view the document - meaning they can only read it. Nothing else! 

Depending on the assignment, each of these options are useful.

 3.  Interact with students on their document.  Once given commenting rights, you can comment and chat with students while they are working.  To comment, highlight a section of the essay and right-click on it.  Once you've done that, you can type in a comment that they can see, respond to, or resolve.  You can also chat. To chat, click the chat icon in the top right and write to your students.  A chat conversation will not stay with the document forever but the comments will.  I prefer to use the chat to talk to  students about their work and to send them links to pages that will help them.  The commenting I use to discuss specific sections of the essay.

Below is an example of an interactive document that me and two other students were working on today!  

I have loved using Google Drive in my classroom and would love to hear some more ways that you have implemented it in your classroom.  Please share your ideas down below!

Wordless Wednesday: The Calm Before the Storm

Today I'm linking up with Miss DeCarbo for the Wordless Wednesday Weekly Linky Party!  This picture is the calm before the storm!  Research papers for summer school are due TODAY! 

 

What are you doing today?

What They Don't Tell You About Grad School

I'm very thankful for the opportunities that have come my way.  Being a full-time graduate student was always a dream of mine.  Even better, I was offered an assistantship to teach while studying.  The best part - tuition remission.  How amazing is it to continue your education for free?!  I'm incredibly grateful and don't want to down play that.

However, there are some things that they don't tell you about being a full-time graduate student.  

Sometimes it feels like you're on pause.  As someone who left a position teaching full-time, it doesn't feel like I'm working.  Don't get me wrong, I AM working.  But when you're taking classes and only teaching 1 or 2, it feels like you're not doing anything.  I'm ready to get my life going again!  I never in a million years would have thought that I didn't want to always be a full-time student. However, I've come to learn that.  My initial plan after my M.A. was to pursue my Ph.D. full-time.  I now know that there is NO WAY! I'm ready to get a job, start working, and begin developing my life.  

Sometimes it feels like you're behind.  You see everything that your Facebook "friends" are doing and it makes you feel incomplete.  Everyone and their mother is now having a baby.  Everyone is now engaged.  Everyone is out and about loving their lives.  Don't get me wrong, I quite enjoy my life.  But, I am now single and still in school.  It sometimes feels like the life marks are way out of reach.  But that's okay, our culture needs to value singleness.  After all, right now is the time when I can do anything I want with no repercussions.

Sometimes it feels like you're ahead.  This obviously isn't bad, but it is true. You realize that you really have accomplished a TON in your life... but what do you have to show for it?  You were up for tenure.  You received numerous scholarships.  You were offered an assistantship.  You presented at conferences. You even worked on a book published by Oxford Journals.  I don't know.  It just seems like all of these accomplishments should work toward something.  In the future they will, but right now nothing is a brewin'.

With all of that aside, I'm 100% confident in my decision to leave my job and pursue my M.A.  If you can swing it financially, do it!  You will definitely dig deeper into your content area.  And hey, you'll probably find out what you like and don't like.  And that's really what every experience is about.

Chatting with Students: The New Form of Raising Your Hand

I used to be slightly afraid of technology.  Not of technology itself.  After all, I grew up on technology.  I hardly remember not having a cell phone.  I was afraid of the trouble it could get me into.  There are so many things that can go wrong with technology in the classroom.  The least frightening, it just doesn't work.  The most frightening, students writing something inappropriate online directed at myself or another student.

Recently I stopped giving into the fear and decided to embrace technology.  I'm currently obsessed with using Google Documents in my classroom.  I have the students open up a document, share it with me, and give me commenting rights.  I do this for two reasons:

(1) I can see what they're writing about.  I don't have to constantly walk around the room looking over their shoulders.  Instead, I look over their shoulders from the comfort of my own seat.  I'm not lazy but it is way easier.  Plus there isn't that frantic switching of tabs when I walk around.  Now, I can watch them type like a stream-of-conscience.

(2) The chat feature is amazing.  About 1-2 paragraphs into their writing, I start asking them questions.  I will either write it in the chat box or directly comment on the essay.  However, it's not my questions that I love.  I love that they respond back with their own questions.  I really enjoy seeing the tab of their page blinking.  There's a nice little inquisitive question just waiting for me to unwrap.  

Using the chat feature on Google Docs allows students to ask me question without having to raise their hand and embarrassingly call me over.  Even better, I can put links in the chat box to direct them to webpages that will help them specifically with the problem that they're having.  For example, a student of mine couldn't figure out how to get started.  I let him brainstorm for about 5-10 minutes before I asked him how his progress was going.  He was honest and said not well.  So I sent him a link to a page talking about summaries.  I also created a sentence frame for him and typed it directly in his document.  It was instant differentiation without having to prepare.  I saw the problem and I helped him address it.  Later on, I asked him how he was progressing and he wrote back that he was doing much better.  He never had to raise his hand.  He never had to call me over. 

The fact of the matter is, sometimes students don't ask questions because they're embarrassed or there is too much rig-a-ma-role (is that how you spell it??).  Using the chat feature allows us to help students by eliminating both of those steps.  I implore you to try this in your class.  If you feel the need, set some ground rules.  Your students will love the opportunity to connect with you without... well, connecting with you.

Should We Be Teaching Phonetics in K12?

Phonics you say?  Nope.  Not phonics.  I'm pretty sure Hooked on Phonics screwed me over for life.  To this day I read aloud in my head.  I literally cannot read with out hearing my own voice say the words out loud in my head.  It's kinda sad actually.  I know many people who just read, without hearing voices, and understand the information.  It's magical.  I cannot even begin to understand what that would be like.

But we're not talking phonics here.  We're talking phonetics.

What is phonetics you might ask.  Phonetics is the study and classification of speech sounds.  There are two major phonetic alphabets, the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and the American Phonetic Alphabet (APA).  The difference between these alphabets and the alphabet we teach in school is that each symbol only represents one sound.  

How is that different you might ask?  Well, for our traditional alphabet, the letter k can represent several sounds.  It might be silent... it be be vocalized. Don't even get me started with the vowels.  The vowel a can be long and short... and I still don't understand the difference.  Depending on what word it is in and where it is placed within that word, it would be pronounced differently.  With the phonetic alphabet, each symbol represents one and only one sound. It's a simpler system to learn.

Even better, the article "Texting Improves Children's Spelling and Grammar" discusses a study that found "Texting may improve children’s spelling and grammar because using abbreviations such as ‘gr8’ makes them think about language phonetically."  While texting itself is not using the phonetic alphabet, it is more centered around sounds.  By using abbreviations in texting, students and adults are thinking more deeply about language and it's patterns.  Isn't that a good thing?

So why not allow text lingo in school?  Why not teach the IPA alongside or even before the traditional English alphabet?  Obviously others argue that it is not as practical.  These people would say that it doesn't prepare them for the Standard American English that they need to use in college and the work place.  True, but is that a legitimate argument against teaching IPA in addition to the traditional English alphabet?  Probably not.  We should encourage deep, critical thinking not just memorization.  When students are learning and using the IPA and/or text lingo, they are examining their knowledge about language and learning the patterns that exist in their language.  More so, it's an equalizer between native English speakers and English Language Learners.  If all the IPA does is focus on sounds and their patterns, native speakers and language learners should be on more of an even playing field.  Both can examine sounds in any language.  After all, that's one way they know the difference between their language and another.

Perhaps we do need to start teaching the IPA in American schools.  It seems as though the cognitive, social, and academic benefits outweigh the cons. Well...we should at least start with allowing text lingo in our classes.

Reflections & Collages

I've never been one to use journal entries in class.  I thought it was just a time killer - something the teacher could use to fill time while they took attendance. However, this year I've been using journal entries to prepare students for a final reflection.  Surprisingly, it's been going well! 

It's been sparking a ton of debate in my class!  Today, the journal prompt was "In five years I will be...." and the students got to write about whatever they wanted. 

Afterwards, we discussed the responses.  Sad to say but some of them were a little bit depressing.  One of my students said, "In five years I plan to be paying off student loans..." Another said, "In five years I plan to be working two jobs so that I can pay off my college debt..."  

At least they're being realistic??  It created a real honest conversation about college, finances, and the reality of the world that we live in.  We even got into the inequality between professor pay and administrator pay.  The students, as you would imagine, had quite a lot to say.  Much of it was well founded too!  

Regardless of how outrageous it is that those were their genuine responses, I quite enjoyed utilizing journal prompts.  I'll continue to do so moving forward too! So, I put together a unit of 14 journal prompts and 1 essay prompt - all of which rely on one another.  

Feel free to go check it out by clicking the image above!  I'd love to hear what kinds of journal prompts you have all used in class.  Which were the most effective?  Least effective?

Hot Secrets: What I've Noticed From Teaching Summer School

I'm already half way through teaching my first of two semesters for summer school. I can't believe at how slow and quick it has gone.  Four hours and fifteen minutes is a long time to do anything, let alone sit in a class. 

So here are the 5 things I've learned so far:


1.  Everyone is just biding their time.  We hate to think it as teachers but, yes, they're there because they have to be.  More often than not, they're there because they have failed.  All of this means that they want to get in, get out, and get gone.  That's fine!  Design your summer school curriculum that way.  It doesn't make you a bad teacher! 

2.  Students like the leeway.  Teach only what they need to know and find a way to give students autonomy.  For me, that's pretty easy.  Autonomy is almost synonymous with composition.  Regardless, I let them pick their partners, topics, sources, etc.  If I can give them choice and guide their learning, that's an efficient and effective way to spend my 14 days.

3.  My students respond well to routine schedules.  I have the same schedule every day.  Grammar - Journal - Research - Writing - Revision.  Students know what to expect when they come in.  They get straight to work and are able to become better at each task the more frequently they do it.  By the third or fourth day, you won't have to explain directions on how to do something... such as writing a basic paragraph.  Instead, you can spend time helping individual students at their own level.

4.  Don't give out homework.  Like I said, they're biding their time.  In my opinion, if we can get the work done in class, then that's what we should do.  Instead of having them write an entire research paper outside of class, I have them write it in chunks during class time.  We're already covering an entire semester's worth of content in 14 days.  Don't make this harder than it already is.  

5.  Give extra credit.  I give one extra-credit worksheet each day.  It's only worth 6 points and it ties into what we're working on with each unit.  Not everyone will do it but it's nice to give them the option.  Remember, this is a credit recovery summer school course - they need and want the choice.

These are just 5 of the many things that I've learned in the past 6 days.  Have you ever taught summer school?  If so, what have you learned?  Comment below.

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Top 8 for Summer Break Linky

Welcome to the Top 8 for Summer Break Linky!  Here are the only two rules:
1.  Post the Top 8 To-Do's for your summer break
2.  Include the Brownbag Academics logo with a backlink to this blog so your viewers can see everyone else's posts

Summer is here whether we are ready or not.  After a long school year, it's time for some much needed R & R.  This year I'm trying to make the most of it.  Wait, scratch that... I'm GOING to make the most of it.


I have lots on my to-do list:

1.  Lounging Poolside: Normally I like to bring school work and grade some papers (since I'm teaching summer school). This year I plan to bring some books to read to prepare me for my Comprehensive Field Exam in Linguistics.  And... of course snacks. Nothing beats a string cheese wrapped in a little Buddig turkey meat.

2.  Stand-Up Paddleboarding:  If you haven't done it, try it.  Who wouldn't want the opportunity to quite literally walk on water.  The first time I did it, it took me about 45 minutes before I could stand-up.  For those of you who have done this before, don't hate.  I was doing it for the first time of the rough waters of Lake Michigan.  I'm sure there's a lesson here about falling down and learning to get back up again...

3.  Freelance Writing:  Excited about some new freelance writing opportunities that have come my way.  I've never had that opportunity before but I'm looking forward to the challenge!  Among the opportunities, writing a chapter on "Onomastics" for The Year's Work in English for The Oxford Journals.  Don't worry!  A post on this will come soon I'm sure.

4.  Summer School: Yup!  That's right!  I'm taking my summer off to teach some Pre-College Composition Courses.  This summer has been quite a different experience but it has certainly been a growing one!

5.  Vacation:  Who knows when.  Who knows where.  But I AM going on vacation.  It's necessary.  I have the itch to travel and the need to get away.

6.  Strict Money Diet: I'm obsessed with Dave Ramsey.  His book The Total Money Makeover is a God send. I used to follow it strictly.  I used his methods to help get me out of debt!  Now, I have a new job and a vastly different lifestyle.  It's time to be wiser about the way I handle my money.  Envelope system -> here I come!

7.  Run a 5K:  Enough said.

8.  Professional Development:  I plan on reading quite a bit this summer.  While many of the books are academic, I'm currently finishing up BRIEF.  I highly suggest that we as teachers read about what successful business people do.  If it works for them, it will work for us!  It's all about becoming efficient employees and effective service-providers.

That's what's on my agenda for this summer.  I wonder what everyone else will be up to?  

Click the "An InLinkz Link-up" button below to add your link to this linky party :)

An InLinkz Link-up

The Breakfast Club, The Truman Show & Summer School

This summer I'm teaching a summer school course called Pre-College Composition. I was under the impression that this course was to help students get ahead.  To help them prepare for collegiate writing and the expectations of English departments at major universities.

Turns out... I was wrong.  The majority of the students are credit recovery.  The dreaded credit recovery.  How one can be in a credit recovery course to prepare for collegiate writing is beyond me.  It sounds a little oxymoronic.  I felt like I was walking into The Breakfast Club... 

I haven't taught high school in a year and haven't taught summer school in four years so it has been a bit of an adjustment.

Anyway, I came in with the grand plan to show students what it is like to take a college English course.  They were going to collaborate and explore writing in ways they probably hadn't in high school courses previously.  Needless to say, that didn't happen as planned.  

It took me a little while to wrap my head around the concept of what I needed to do versus what I wanted or hoped to do.

So today I tried something different.  I played a movie.  No, not for the sake of watching a movie (which I secretly wanted to do) but for learning purposes.  You see I was assigning them a critical analysis essay anyway.  Initially they were going to research a few articles and compare/contrast rhetorical devices that the author employed.  I figured, hey let's have just fun learning these skills and do something interesting!

So here's what I did:
1.  We watched The Truman Show but beforehand I had students journal about three important quotes from the film: 

• We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented.
• For God's sake, Chris!  The whole world is watching.  We can't let him die in front of a live audience!
• We've become bored with watching actors give us phony emotions.  We are tired of pyrotechnics and special effects.  While the world he inhabits is, in some respects counterfeit, there's nothing fake about Truman himself.  No scripts, no cue cards.  It isn't always Shakespeare, but it's genuine.  It's a life.

2.  Students filled out a worksheet during the film.  The worksheet asked questions that would lead to their essay.  Basically it was a way to jot down information so that they wouldn't forget specifics come essay time.

3.  I had students begin drafting their essay using Google Docs. The essay required them to turn the quote of their choice into a question. For example one of the quotes could be phrased as: "But do we really have to accept the world with which we are presented?". Students then chose two examples from the film that answered the question for Truman.  They followed those two analysis paragraphs up with a conclusion on what they had learned... a "Perhaps Statement."  Since, each student was writing their essay on Google Docs, they shared their essay with me.  While each of them was drafting I would read and write comments on their drafts... simultaneously... yes on all 18 students' essays at once.

So what happened??

Unbelievably it went well!  They really enjoyed it.  I would write comments and questions on their drafts and highlight corresponding areas.  If students had questions, they would reply on the comment.  I ended up having several chats on student essays without them having to actually ask me for help.  Most importantly....

Students felt more comfortable asking me questions online.

None of them called me over to take a look.

Instead, they said, "Hey, Miss.  Can you check mine?".  I would read their question, that particular section of their essay, and type a response.

So should you try it??

Absolutely.  I highly suggest doing this in your classroom.  It's especially good for differentiation.  I have various levels in this course: seniors who are preparing themselves for college, seniors with credit recovery, sophomores preparing themselves for American Literature, and juniors with credit recovery.  I also have quite a few ELL students.  With all of this combined, this synchronous collaboration and discussion on Google Docs allowed me to help each individual student at their own level...and I have an electronic record of what we discussed so I won't forget!

Please give it a try and let me know how it goes.  As always, if you found this post helpful or enlightening, please like and share!