Learning #AND Fun

I have always had students tell me that they enjoy my class. I even have parents tell me how much their kids enjoy class. I know my students learn as well. I always try to tell jokes and frequently make fun of myself. Most of the time my jokes are so lame that they laugh at how lame they are rather than the punchline. But are my students having fun?

I started thinking about this while I attended OETC and OETCx. While listening to a good friend's FREd talk (Forging Real Education) I really thought about my approach. My kids laugh and say they have fun, but are they learning while they are having fun, and vice versa?

Armed with this new question, I decided to plan something that was both; learning AND fun.

My 6th graders are currently reading The Cay by Theodore Taylor. The main character loses his vision and must trust a complete stranger while they are both stranded on an island. I had started a discussion with then about what it would be like to be blind. Then I realized that they could actually experience blindness.

A couple QR codes and a few blindfolds later, they were laughing and bumping into each other. They were using technology, discussing the book, learning what it is like to be blind, AND having fun.

I'm not writing this to tell you how great this activity was or that I am an awesome teacher that plans great lessons like this all the time. I am writing this to show you that no matter how you feel about your teaching, you can always get better. To quote Ryan McLane, "I'm not trying to change the world. I'm just trying to get kids to hate school less."

It's a great message that we all can learn from. Now, how are we going to learn AND have fun next week?

A Christmas Carol - 7th Grade

I'm a little late with this post, but I need some help. We recently read this classic novel as a part of our seventh grade curriculum. As a building we are looking at reviewing and revising our book list for grades 6, 7 and 8. I am stuck. I like this novel, but I'm not sure if we should keep it. It seems that I have as many questions as answers for this task. I have some pros and cons for reading the book as a class at the 7th grade level.

Pros:

• The book is full of figurative language that can be dissected and analyzed
• There are many play and movie versions that offer many opportunities to compare and contrast different writing styles and viewpoints
• There are many themes, but they really don't dwell on one singular theme of Christmas

Cons:

• The 1800's. The language is so different and is really tough for the students to get through at times
• The chapter length makes it hard to divide it into equal parts
• Dickens. I love the guy, but students, not so much. The lexile is about right for middle school, but it seems like it is challenging at times for students.
• Timing. Do we have enough time between Thanksgiving and Christmas to read it all and teach it effectively?

So that is where I am with this novel. I can't decide what to do here. So, I'm crowd sourcing this thing. Let me know what you think. I you read it or have read it at the middle school level let me know. Thanks.

The Day the Dictionary Died

September 24, 2013-Dover,OH- the evans edition was first on the scene at an apparent wordicide at Dover Middle School. The alleged incident happened in Mr. Jeremy Evans' classroom. According to reports from the scene, Mr. Evans claimed that the dictionaries that reside in his room, were effectively dead. Students were working on defining key terms for their novel that they are reading. Apparently instead of using the Meriam-Webster antiques, the students were instructed to use BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology) and google the definition. Students were surprised that the teacher instructed them to ignore the dictionary, but were more than willing to whip out their ipods, tablets and smartphones.

Mr. Evans was available for comment. When asked about allegedly killing the dictionary, he had this to say. "I wouldn't call it murder. I didn't kill the dictionaries, I just told them to use BYOT. The dictionaries in my room were printed in 1963, that's means they are 18 years older than me. Why would I make them use antiques, when they have the latest and greatest technology in their backpacks?" Mr. Evans neither admitted nor denied the charges. He did add this "The internet is a powerful tool and we need to find ways to integrate it into our rooms whenever and wherever we can. Using google to define terms just makes sense to me. Call me a murderer, but I think it is just too powerful to not use. When was the last time you used a dictionary? I can't remember the last time I did. I do use the internet to define words all the time. Wordicide or not, it just makes sense." the evans edition will have more on this developing story as more details emerge.