Thursday and today

I had the 9th graders do another proof reading/correction exercise on Thursday. They need to get into the habit of proof reading their work before they turn it in. Their homework was to look through 4 articles on Edgar Allen Poe, and choose the one that they would like to write about. I arranged them into groups by articles and told them to read and discuss the articles. I gave them a graphic organizer to record their information. It was interesting to see the groups that wanted to work hard to get an A. This one group comprised of students who did not do very well in previous groups. I felt bad for some of the other students in that group.

Today, as a Halloween treat, we got into a circle and I had them read their spooky stories out loud. One particular student wouldn't read his, yet he is always the first one to talk or make comments. Basically, he's disruptive. So I gave him and the class and ultimatum: if he even makes one rude comment while others are reading, I'm going to stop the fun and assign classwork. I reiterated that his actions were going to ruin it for the rest of them (Yes, peer pressure works very well.). I couldn't believe how quiet he was for the rest of the period. I handed out candy to everyone, with two big prizes for the best stories.

With the 8th graders on Thursday, we continued to read "Too Soon a Woman," and I had them work on conjunctions. The story, about a poor family in the early 1800s, has peaked their interest. It's sort of a coming of age story, but I think some of the students can relate to the children and how they're trying to survive.

Today, we watched The Birds. At the end, we discussed the main points of the story in regards to protagonist, antagonist, conflict, plot, basic situation, climax, and resolution. We also included minor characters and if they were either flat or round, and the subplots. It was interesting to see how many of them remembered these aspects, but when it comes to reading stories and trying to figure out the same elements, many of them draw a blank. I just might be able to use the movie and refer back to it when we're reading, perhaps they'll be able to see these elements much better.