Gearing it All Up...

Hello Argumentative Writing Unit/Novel Unit. So nice to see you. How are you doing so far?

We begin reading tomorrow. My 7th graders will be reading in class. I'm not sure how I feel about that but I've filled my bucket with some out-loud, in-class reading strategies that I'm going to be trying out within the first few days:

- I'll read out loud while students follow along and complete an assignment while I read.
- Students will popcorn read (I was going to nix this, but the students actually requested it.)
- I'll get my hands on an audio book for the novels I've chosen and play chapters from that.
- I'll have students read individually, giving them a certain amount of time to read a certain amount of pages.
- Students will read in groups (not my favorite idea since it's so hard to hear when 6 people are reading throughout the classroom in different parts, but it's an idea. Maybe I'll have them find their own spots and report back at a certain time with an comprehension assessment activity).
- Cold call reading. Keeps them on task with a certain amount of motivating anxiety to follow along.
- Reader's Theater - Choose a student to be a certain character or narrator. They read those specific parts. I can change around those casted students after a certain amount of time.

We'll see how these turn out.

My 8th graders, on the other hand, are reading at home. We're still going to read Chapter 1 tomorrow in class, and do an introductory activity, but I'll be assigning chapters to be read at home. Another English teacher gave me a good idea for motivating students to read: establish a procedure of quizzes where, at the beginning of class, you pick on a random student and ask a quiz question. The student, if they read, would answer the question to the best of their knowledge and I would give them a score - FOR THE WHOLE CLASS. That way, if a student did NOT read, there are some social consequences rather than just my grading consequences. Granted, I will offer 1 second chance opportunity for the class to get some points back if that were the case, but this is a great way to motivate my 8th graders to actually read.

Again, we'll see how this turns out.

Today, we had a classroom debate based on the anticipation guide I gave the students yesterday. They decided whether they agreed/disagreed about some tough issues, and I put an "AGREE" and a "DISAGREE" sign on opposite sides of the classroom. Students went to the side they decided on and they attempted to "persuade" the individuals on the other side to change their opinions based on specific evidence. Those students responsible for persuading other students to change their minds, got a treat.

7th grade. Worked great. Even my 2nd period 8th graders did well (other than some unnecessary chatting). But (CAN YOU ALREADY GUESS WHERE MY "BUT" IS GOING?)... 4th period was less than stellar.

The movement around the classroom was far too much for them, evidenced by their incessant talking, their lack of respect for the expectations THEY set at the beginning of class, and their behavior while moving (some students were purposefully trying to trip their friends, some students were going through other students' backpacks thinking I wouldn't notice, some students were moaning and groaning about having to stand and participate). Finally, I just said, "Go sit down please." Again - completely unemotional. Quiet voice.

They sat, and I just proceeded with the debate from there. Less of a debate, though. More like a large classroom discussion.

And that worked fine. Not great. But fine. Didn't make it a big deal. Didn't lecture. Just adapted and moved on.

That's a Drop of Awesome for me. Just sayin.

What went well today:

- 7th grade: Really got into the issues. Shared personal experiences and examples. Ate up the chance to persuade their classmates to move over to their side. Asked some difficult questions and made some interesting predictions for The Outsiders.

- 8th grade: Totally got the point of the activity (almost to the point of "DUH, as if it wasn't obvious!") Made predictions for the novel. Participated in class. Ate up the chance to SHUT-DOWN someone else's argument with the justification of "YOLO." Sparked a discussion about the "YOLO" mentality which was perfectly related to some of the issues and attitudes from the novel Downriver. Now didn't that play out nicely?!

What I'm worried about:

- Killing the novel, The Outsiders, because we have to read it in class and won't have tons of time for discussion, other text complements, and exploration since I want to be done with it before mid-February.

- My 8th graders NOT reading outside of class.

- Parents getting a little worked up about other students getting grades based on one student's answer.

- Vocabulary instruction. How can I make it fun without feeling like it's just another thing to do? Like one more reason to stop and talk?

- Differentiation. How can I see to the needs of each of my students while trying to progress through this novel, stick to the schedule, and get my 8th graders prepped for the DWA test?


Well, I'm off to prep for tomorrow. Putting 60+ books in ziploc bags, creating a book-sign-out agreement for my 8th graders to sign, publishing tomorrow's assignments to student iPads - all that jazz.

Let the fun begin!