#TEDEdChat

This week I co-hosted a #TEDEdChat with @TED_ED.  It was super fun and served to stretch me as an educator, a leader, and a techie.  While for some responding to people (and a lot of them at once!) is old hat, to me, it was a new experience.  I always encourage my students to take healthy risks and to stretch themselves, and this was an instance where I was doing so myself.

Here's the basic review of what happened:

1.  A few weeks ago, I participated in a #TEDEdChat on twitter.  I just happened to be checking my twitter feed as I was making dinner (5pm CST) and saw this tweet:

I thought "Hmmm...that's interesting.  I want to see what this is all about."


***********One hour later***************

My family be like:


WHERE DID MOMMY GO?!

So....I'm not advocating ditching your family and being on social media all through dinner, BUT YOU SHOULD JOIN A #TEDEdChat !


2.  The best way for others to follow along (either your followers or people following the hashtag #TEDEdChat) is to retweet the question with the QUOTE TWEET option.

Like this:


Be sure to use A1, A2, A3, etc to coordinate with the question being asked (Q1, Q2, etc)--and MOST IMPORTANTLY: add the hashtag #TEDEdChat


3.  At the end of the night, @TED_ED posts this tweet:
Educators! If you've participated in #TEDEdChat, you can co-host! Email dan@ted.com if interested.


4.  So, contact Dan I did!  He was super nice and encouraging.  We scheduled the date of my co-hosting event, and off I went....

5. To: A) select a TED Talk to use, B) Pull quotes from the TED Talk, and C) create questions based on those quotes.


6. I selected Rita Pierson's Every Kid Needs a Champion.    This talk is very popular--but had never been used for a #TEDEdChat ! 

https://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion


7.  On the #TEDEdChat night, @TED_ED posts some questions and info, and I, the co-host/moderator, was responsible for tweeting some information  and responding to other educators participating.

8.  It was super fun, and there were A LOT of teachers on twitter participating (probably due to the popularity of the talk).  So, and here's where the stretching comes in, I had A LOT of people to respond to.  I tried my best.  It was harder than I thought it would be, but it was fun and rewarding. 

If you are an educator, I highly recommend reaching out to dan@ted.com to give it a try yourself.  You'll be glad you did.

Literary Devices with Toys

At the beginning of our time together in the AP Literature course, students engage in an activity that is purposeful for three reasons:

1.  Students practice (solo) speaking and listening skills
2.  Students introduce themselves and an aspect of their personalities (so we get to know a bit about our classmates)
3.  We review literary devices


Here's what we do:


1.  Students select a toy from a bin (items cultivated from cast-off toys at home and garage sales) that they think is reflective of their personalities in some way.
2.  Students select a piece of paper that has a literary device printed on it (they are not to share the device with anyone).

NOW:

3.  Students are tasked with introducing themselves (and explaining their connection to the toy) while using the literary device.


Example:

Student: Carrie
Personality trait: friendly
Toy: sunshine squeeze ball
Literary Device: Simile


"Hi, I'm Carrie, and I'm as friendly as the sunshine on a warm spring day."


Admittedly, some of the literary devices are more challenging than others.  Even I wouldn't want to be the kid who draws synecdoche, but students are always surprising me with their ability to come up with fun, creative, and precise sentences.


FINALLY:

4.  During the presentations, the rest of the students try to figure out what device the student is employing.  They take notes, and it serves as a great review for literary devices overall--and it helps us get to know each other.





Here is a student presenting (his toy was very small). You can also see the box of toys in the foreground.

Banned Book Week 2017

During the ALA's celebration of Banned Book Week, we take the time to celebrate our Right to Read.  In doing so, we spend time reviewing books that have been challenged and completing some research that focuses on book banning, censorship, and the like.  Last week, students created posters using programs like Canva to promote Banned Book Week.  Our classmates selected their favorites, and the finalists were sent on to the librarians to choose which ones would be posted in the library as part of the week's celebration.


Here are some of the finalists:

   

Grouping Students: Purposeful & Random

There are many instances when my students are placed in groups to work on a particular task.  Sometimes those groups need to be purposeful in terms of students' needs; sometimes those groups can be random.  For the random groups, I sometimes use a Group Selection Picker created using Excel Formulas.  The program randomizes students into groups of 4 for me.  However, sometimes I want the students to be in random (or not so random groups), and then I want them to join a second group in a way that ensures they will be will all different students in the second group.  My Excel randomizer does not do that.  So, sometimes I use these cards:



Students receive a card with a number, a letter, and a sticker on it.  They get together with people who have the same number, letter, or sticker--depending on the type of group I want them to have.  This allows me to do a few things:


1.  I can make purposeful groups for the first round.  For example, I can place all students struggling with a particular concept in the "A" group.  Students struggling with a different concept can all be in the "B" group, and so on.

2.  I also have the ability to make sure they meet with a wider variety of people throughout the class time.  If they first meet with all of the "A's," and then they meet with all of the "1's," I know that they are seeing any of the same people in their second group.


It's a simple form of jigsawing, but it's one that I use often.  I'd love to hear if you create groups in a different way--especially if you use technology to do so.  Share your ideas and methods with me at englishschmitt@gmail.com !

Back to School (and all its glory!)

I've been meaning to post since school has started, but I have not yet carved out the time.  However, I did want to share with you some of the efforts of my students' current learning and work.  Junior Honors students have been studying Transcendentalism and literature associated with this era (think: Emerson and Thoreau).  But they have also taken time to consider how these ideas are still present in today's society.  In doing so, they created poems that were reflective of:

1.  The style of another Transcendental poet
2.  Transcendental ideals


Here is a brief selection of their creations:

I don’t want to be you

I only want to be me

So what if I have attitude

Your influence too strong, I have to flee

They say the best cure is solitude

So off I go to find myself

To the wonderful world of loneliness

To find out what I’m all about

To find myself my own new route

I see it now so clear as day

What I am and where I’ll stay

To be who I am, is all I want

To create myself, my own font

Sometimes all i need

When i'm feeling kinda down

Is to let my brain feed

On the trees that are nice and brown

All alone in the forest

No one to be seen

There is no room for tourists

I don't want to be mean

Do what you want

Or else it will haunt

Don't let your memes

Be your dreams

The endless Chase is draining

Miles ahead of me and slowly fading

Overtime the Gap is slowly decreasing

This long Pursuit is not yet pleasing

Grinding and Pushing to the end

Traveling with just me and my friend

Overtime the Gap is slowly decreasing

This long Pursuit is not yet pleasing

So many obstacles forming all around Me

Distractions Stopping me from what I should be

Overtime the gap is slowly decreasing

This long Pursuit is not yet pleasing

I go through every day

With my own struggles

But sometimes I think I should say

That I should change

Instead of staying inside

I should explore nature

Take more bike rides

And enjoy solitude

Sometimes I think I’m glued to my phone

Indeed it is true

It’s not too late to atone

And enjoy the world

Alone, attuning myself with nature,

Suddenly I happen upon an astral being:

A projection of myself.

I asked him to teach me,

But he already had.

Do you recognize any of these poets?  Any thoughts on their messages and the language they used to achieve them?

Playing Along

At times throughout the year, I will read aloud to my students.  Yes, Junior Honors English students need to be read to, too.  It's good for them to hear the rhythm and voices of a skilled reader.  I also find that reading aloud to students gets them more interested in reading in general.  Around prom time, I usually read Jean Shepherd's Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories and other Disasters out loud to my students.  It's a silly story, and we have fun with it.  The goal for the reading varies depending on the group in front of me.  This time around we focused on: part to whole.  How do parts of the story (setting, characterization, literary devices) help support the overall message of the story.  I read all parts of the story out loud--except for one.  There is a part at the dance when the band playing (ah...a time before DJs played bump and grind music) features the "band's romantic vocalist" who also doubles as the drummer.  I always request a student volunteer to read the parts where he sings.  It's fun to see the personalities of the classes come out.  I can usually predict which classes are going to need a bit more coaxing to get a volunteer.  This year, I got an volunteer, but he would only do it with a pal--a backup singer, if you will.

Here they are, prepping to "moo," as the text requires them to do:

As you can see, one of our warblers is not too thrilled at the prospect of being filmed/photographed during his singing--but they rose to the occasion.  Thanks for playing along, gents.  And for showing that reading is more fun the more you get into it.

#ReadingChampions

When a student in our class has finished reading a book on his/her own, the student shares a brief synopsis and review of the book with everyone.  Then, he is awarded a Reading Champion Ribbon to tack up on the wall--and we add to our book count.  We are working really hard to reach the 100 mark before the end of the year.  C'mon, readers!  Let's finish strong!

Book review in progress:


Ribbons and book count in background of photo.

Bulletin board title: Readers are Leaders