That Crazy English Teacher

I've been called that before.

Now I think I wear it a bit like a badge of honor.

Yep, I'm that crazy English teacher your children warned you about. I am always doing some kind of project with one or another of my classes.

My junior English III class got to experience this first hand. Or should I say hands on?

We had just finished reading one of my favorite short stories from their textbook: Outcasts of Poker Flat. And one of my favorite activities to do with this story is to experience life from the viewpoint of an outcast. This meant going outside (gasp) and walking around in the sunshine (gasp) while using our imaginations (gasp gasp).

They soon discovered this may be one of the most memorable activities of class this year. And I look forward to sharing even more of our adventures in the future.

Reading for Class Assignment (and for fun)

I am really enjoying my grad class this semester! I'm taking Children's Literature, and although there is a lot of reading involved, I am having so much fun!

I'm enjoying the lively discussions with other classmates from around the state, via the college discussion boards. One particularly lively discussion centered around The Giver by Lois Lowry. I enjoyed reading the book, and its sequels, and I relished the responses given by other students about their interpretations.

I also had to read a couple of books from this year's Sequoyah reading list (available here: http://www.owasso.k12.ok.us/webpages/stcmedia/index.cfm?subpage=554878)
I read Strange Case of Origami Yoda and reread Moon Over Manifest. Comparing the main characters in each, and then creating cross-curricular lesson plans, was an enjoyable task!


We also had a couple of great assignments that involved writing. Each assignment involved reading something from a selected list, and then writing about it by following the course rubric. The hardest thing about these assignments is learning how to pare down my writing. For example, one assignment called for a ONE-PAGE paper about an illustrator; however, the instructions also called for us to become an expert on that illustrator by reading several of his/her works and research him/her on the internet! Let's just suffice to say that my paper was actually 2 pages, not one. I used Chris Van Allsburg as my illustrator, and discovered so much about him and his unique books.

Another assignment asked us to suggest a poem for class study and for a detailed plan to teach various skills (not just poetry) in a cross-curricular format. I really enjoyed that assignment! I used the book Whiff of Pine, Hint of Skunk as the basis for my lesson, since there are so many ways to connect it to science curriculum (and much more)!

Most recently, we were given an assignment to read two different children's books that re-imagined a fairy tale. There are so many great ones out there, I had trouble deciding. I ended up going for a Gingerbread Man retelling, by using The Sugar Child and The Stinky Cheese Man. These two books are roughly based on the same story, but are polar opposites in reality. It made the writing so much easier, and the reading so much more fun! (Of course, this paper was supposed to be 1-2 pages, and ended up 2 1/2. Proud of myself for keeping it that short!)

Can't wait to see what the next assignment will be!







Reading suggestions? Well, any of the above, obviously. And dive into the above assignments on your own! You never know which book will spark your enthusiasm until you try!

A Book to Read

Wow.

I just finished a powerful, wonderful book. Maggie Stiefvater's Scorpio Races. Please, do me a favor, and read this book!

The plot is a beautifully crafted work of art. The story weaves together two main characters and the mystical legend of water horses. The key here is "horses". This is such a creative twist on the Scotch/Irish mythology, that the reader somehow forgets anything she might have read before about water horses. Somehow, the plots twists and turns enough that the reader is forced to concede that the story might not end in a "happy ever after". And then -- it does. Masterful storytelling at work here.

The teacher in me loved this book, as well. I found myself wanting to underline passages, leaving yellow sticky notes tucked in the pages, going back to reread periodically. Many literary elements combine to make this a teacher's dream! If I was still teaching Pre-AP English, I'd be using this powerful book with my sophomores.

How about this example of powerful setting (and the English teacher-voice begs me to add "simile" and "imagery"):
"There's no one on the second floor of the tearoom at this time of day. It is only me and a herd of small, cloth-covered tables, each bearing a purple thistle flower in a vase. The room is long and narrow and low-ceilinged; it feels like a pleasant coffin or a suffocating church. Everything glows in slightly rose hues because of the pink lacy curtains in front of the small windows behind me. I am the darkest thing in the room." (Chapter 22)

Or this sampling from Chapter 10:
"It's been a long time since I've been in Skarmouth after dark, and it reminds me of the time that Dad cut his hair. For the first seven years of my life, Dad had dark curly hair that was like me -- in that he told it first thing in the morning what he wanted it to do and then in went and did pretty much whatever it wanted to do. Anyway, when I was seven, Dad came back from the docks with his hair close shaven and when I saw him walk in the door and kiss my mother on the mouth, I started to cry because I thought he was a stranger. And that's what Skarmouth has done, after dark: It's turned into an entirely different Skarmouth from the one I've known my whole life, and I don't feel like letting it kiss me on the mouth anytime soon."

But then, sometimes, the story moves so quickly and powerfully, I forget that I want to underline or sticky-note anything. I just read, gobbling up the words on the page, running the races with the characters beside me. There are times I can't put the book down, even though I need to!

The best thing about this book is that it doesn't let up. The author keeps the reader guessing right up until the end. The denouement is perfectly written -- we don't feel let down after the race ends. We feel the need to know more! And the author gives us just enough more at the end that the reader feels satisfied at the end of the story.

Chapter 65 is the best denouement chapter I've read in a long time. And it's not even the last chapter of the book! I'd like to share the entire chapter with you, but I think I'll just share this tidbit:
"I stand up, leaving the notes sitting untouched on the table, and head out into the yard. The breeze runs long and low across the ground, sweeping up the sea and the island grass and the hay and the horses. I think it's the best smell in the world."

If you pick up no other books this next year, please try this book!