To add a bit of extra spice to our H.M.S. Spirit Week (a.k.a. dress up in crazy outfits and act like fools week) we had a school dance. Awesome. For the most part, all went well- aside from the part where the D.J. accidentally unplugged all of his equipment… twice, but I still can’t wrap my head around the dance moves these kids are pulling out. It’s enough to make you go blind. Today’s most popular move, “stand in a blob of 4-10 people, and do music-pulsing knee bends while you rub your butt on one another.”
Because our students lack common sense when it comes to what is appropriate at a school dance, I have decided to teach them the following acceptable routine:
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Words that start with O
I spent most of last week at a professional development conference in Atlanta- hence the absence of recent postings- but I'm sad to say that, upon my return, it didn’t take long to get back into the swing of middle school life... especially when I overhear conversations in the hallway like this:
Administrator: “So, do you think you can do that?”
Student: “No.”
Administrator: “No? You don’t think you can do that?”
Student: “No.”
Administrator: “Really? You can't? You can't make sure that in your science class you say ‘organism’ instead of ‘orgasm’?”
Student: “Hee hee hee. No.”
Ah, it’s good to be back.
Administrator: “So, do you think you can do that?”
Student: “No.”
Administrator: “No? You don’t think you can do that?”
Student: “No.”
Administrator: “Really? You can't? You can't make sure that in your science class you say ‘organism’ instead of ‘orgasm’?”
Student: “Hee hee hee. No.”
Ah, it’s good to be back.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Snooki called... she wants her hair back
Lately, I have been fighting my desire to walk around smashing all of the Snooki bumps the girls have been sporting. Today, a girl walked into my classroom with a towering bump on the top of her head. I wasn’t the only one to notice its majestic height.
Student 1: “Wow. What’s with the lump on your head? That’s ridiculous.”
Me: “Actually, when it’s in a girl’s hair like that, it’s called a bump. I’ve noticed a lot of Snooki bumps lately.”
Student 1: “But man. That’s huge. That’s a huge lump.
Me: “A bump. It’s a bump.”
Student 2: “No, it’s okay Miss Lewis. It was a bump, but then I snagged it on the door and now it’s huge and I don’t know how to get it to go back down.”
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Playing Monopoly and renting prostitutes
One of my teaching highlights is reading out loud to my students. I usually pick a novel that I know they have not read, and read a little bit to them each day after their warm up, or while we wait for the dismissal bell.
Currently I am reading Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin. It is the story of three kids, who fight to be rescued from the life they live with their crazy mother. Today we learned that wackadoo mom had hooked up with her new boyfriend, for the sole purpose of getting him to beat up her last boyfriend.
“Emmy, there was no possible way to protect you from hearing that our mother had hooked up with and seduced a stranger, a large man, intending to get him to do physical harm to her ex-boyfriend.”
One particular word got the attention of a young male student which lead to the following debacle.
Student 1: “What? Now Miss Lewis, what do you mean ‘seduced’?”
Me: “Well, it means she used her sexy ways to get her boyfriend to do things for her.”
Student 1: “Man, that’s messed up. She be using her sexy business like that.”
Student 2: “Sexy business? Was she like a prostitute?”
Me: “No. Mom is not a prostitute. We know from what we’ve read that Mom likes to party a lot, and she has a lot of boyfriends, but none of them last very long because she is crazy.”
Student 1: “Oh like that movie Milk Money. Those boys all ride bikes a lot and collect money so they can rent a prostitute. That movie was tight.”
Me: “No. Not like that movie. No one in our story is a prostitute. Mom meets people that she can manipulate, and a lot of the time those people are men. She met this guy, then used her sexy ways to get what she wanted, which in this case, was for him to beat up her ex.”
Student 3: “Oh I know what you mean. It’s like when my aunt and uncle play Monopoly. My aunt... well... if my uncle lets my aunt win then she...”
Me: “STOP TALKING!”
Student 3: (Whispering) “She lets him have a little something.”
Me: "I SAID STOP TALKING! NOW!!!"
Currently I am reading Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin. It is the story of three kids, who fight to be rescued from the life they live with their crazy mother. Today we learned that wackadoo mom had hooked up with her new boyfriend, for the sole purpose of getting him to beat up her last boyfriend.
“Emmy, there was no possible way to protect you from hearing that our mother had hooked up with and seduced a stranger, a large man, intending to get him to do physical harm to her ex-boyfriend.”
One particular word got the attention of a young male student which lead to the following debacle.
Student 1: “What? Now Miss Lewis, what do you mean ‘seduced’?”
Me: “Well, it means she used her sexy ways to get her boyfriend to do things for her.”
Student 1: “Man, that’s messed up. She be using her sexy business like that.”
Student 2: “Sexy business? Was she like a prostitute?”
Me: “No. Mom is not a prostitute. We know from what we’ve read that Mom likes to party a lot, and she has a lot of boyfriends, but none of them last very long because she is crazy.”
Student 1: “Oh like that movie Milk Money. Those boys all ride bikes a lot and collect money so they can rent a prostitute. That movie was tight.”
Me: “No. Not like that movie. No one in our story is a prostitute. Mom meets people that she can manipulate, and a lot of the time those people are men. She met this guy, then used her sexy ways to get what she wanted, which in this case, was for him to beat up her ex.”
Student 3: “Oh I know what you mean. It’s like when my aunt and uncle play Monopoly. My aunt... well... if my uncle lets my aunt win then she...”
Me: “STOP TALKING!”
Student 3: (Whispering) “She lets him have a little something.”
Me: "I SAID STOP TALKING! NOW!!!"
Monday, November 8, 2010
Thanks for being awesome... or not
On the back wall of my classroom, I have a “Wall of Awesome.” This is where I post work containing written responses to short answer test questions that reflect my expectations for my students. These responses A. actually answer the question being asked, B. are written in complete sentences, and C. make sense.
These are some of the responses that did not make the cut.
Q. What are two things that Charlie does after the operation that show he is a genius?
A. What are lood think that he show after the operation that show that he a genius he is think and showing his feelts.
A. He approves on his reading.
A. He win to the mouse, and starts to speel right.
A. He proves his writing.
A. He read a book in 4 days. It was a big fatty.
A. He remember and a think.
A. starting to use big words, and
Q. How does Charlie’s understanding of his past cause him to feel sad or ashamed? Use two details from the story to support your response.
A. He feel that he didn’t like he mad good choses because he not starmt it make him fell bad about himself.
A. He rliza how people mad fun off him.
A. He was made fun of hes made fun of when hes a genius.
These answers came from the first few tests I graded. After reading these, however, I had to set the rest aside and not look at any more for a couple of days –I didn’t think my brain could take it. Tonight I plowed through the remaining 70 tests and I am proud to say, that after that first batch, they showed great improvement.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Miss Lewis, you got served... detention
Yesterday the unthinkable happened. I got a detention. Yep, it’s true. I felt just like I was in Middle School… oh wait… I never got a detention in Middle School. In my entire lifetime, I have received three detentions; one in 2nd grade, one in 4th grade, and now one as an 8th grade teacher.
In 2nd grade, while I was standing in line at the drinking fountain, one of my friends playfully stepped on my foot causing a foot stepping game to immediately ensue. As I raised my foot to step on his toes for the third time, I was quickly snatched out of line, by my ear I might add, while my teacher yelled in my face, “No toe stomping!” I was slapped with 30 minutes of recess detention. I remember going home and having to face my parents. They rolled their eyes at me.
In 4th grade I was playing a vigorous game of freeze tag at recess. I tagged a kid, but he didn’t freeze. I chased him down, yelling, “You can’t escape me!” and slapped him square on the back. Still, he didn’t freeze. Now I was mad. I caught up to him again. This time I pushed him to the ground, sat on him, then proceeded to bounce up and down, while yelling, “I tagged you and you know it.” At this point, the recess monitor looked over and made me “sit on the line.” I had to spend the next fifteen minutes sitting on the blacktop, with at least one of my body parts touching the yellow painted line that ran the length of the building. I got an additional five minutes for trying to hit a kid with my shoe for taunting me. My parents had a hard time keeping a straight face when I explained this one.
And now, in my 10th year of teaching 8th grade, I have received a 3rd detention. This week I had early morning supervising duty. Yesterday I was late… for the third day in a row. As I was making my rounds through the cafeteria, shooting the breeze with my kids, my principal called me over.
Principal: “Miss Lewis, we really need you here at 7:15.” (I had arrived to school at 7:22)
Me: “Yea. I know.”
Principal: “So we’ll see you bright and early tomorrow.”
Me: “Ok. No problem.”
Principal: “And we’re going to need you to come early next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday as well.” (What??? Did I just get assigned three days of detention?) “So, no more hitting that snooze button.”
Me: “I’m working hard to reprogram my last 33 years of not being a morning person.”
Principal: “If you want, I can give you a call in the morning?… No?”
This morning I got to school at 7:05. I went to my classroom, straightened my desks, wrote the agenda on the board, and made sure I waited until 7:17 before reporting to the cafeteria. What can I say? I like living on the edge.
Please don’t make me call my parents.
In 2nd grade, while I was standing in line at the drinking fountain, one of my friends playfully stepped on my foot causing a foot stepping game to immediately ensue. As I raised my foot to step on his toes for the third time, I was quickly snatched out of line, by my ear I might add, while my teacher yelled in my face, “No toe stomping!” I was slapped with 30 minutes of recess detention. I remember going home and having to face my parents. They rolled their eyes at me.
In 4th grade I was playing a vigorous game of freeze tag at recess. I tagged a kid, but he didn’t freeze. I chased him down, yelling, “You can’t escape me!” and slapped him square on the back. Still, he didn’t freeze. Now I was mad. I caught up to him again. This time I pushed him to the ground, sat on him, then proceeded to bounce up and down, while yelling, “I tagged you and you know it.” At this point, the recess monitor looked over and made me “sit on the line.” I had to spend the next fifteen minutes sitting on the blacktop, with at least one of my body parts touching the yellow painted line that ran the length of the building. I got an additional five minutes for trying to hit a kid with my shoe for taunting me. My parents had a hard time keeping a straight face when I explained this one.
And now, in my 10th year of teaching 8th grade, I have received a 3rd detention. This week I had early morning supervising duty. Yesterday I was late… for the third day in a row. As I was making my rounds through the cafeteria, shooting the breeze with my kids, my principal called me over.
Principal: “Miss Lewis, we really need you here at 7:15.” (I had arrived to school at 7:22)
Me: “Yea. I know.”
Principal: “So we’ll see you bright and early tomorrow.”
Me: “Ok. No problem.”
Principal: “And we’re going to need you to come early next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday as well.” (What??? Did I just get assigned three days of detention?) “So, no more hitting that snooze button.”
Me: “I’m working hard to reprogram my last 33 years of not being a morning person.”
Principal: “If you want, I can give you a call in the morning?… No?”
This morning I got to school at 7:05. I went to my classroom, straightened my desks, wrote the agenda on the board, and made sure I waited until 7:17 before reporting to the cafeteria. What can I say? I like living on the edge.
Please don’t make me call my parents.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Now that's what I call embarrassing
“BINGO!” A student calls from the back of the room as he holds up his vocabulary bingo card. I let him choose his prize: a high five from someone in the room, a joke from someone in the room, or see a dance move from someone in the room. Naturally he chooses to see a dance move… from me.
Before I can even finish my move, which can only be described as AMAZING, another student says, “Miss Lewis, please stop. You’re embarrassing yourself.” To which I respond, “Don’t be a hater. It’s okay to be jealous of my mad skills; most people are. Besides, it would take a whole lot more than this to embarrass me.”
That afternoon, I gave a little more thought to what she had said, and to be honest, I don’t really remember a time that I was truly embarrassed by something that was school related. Oh wait… there was that one time…
Setting: Polk County Convention Center, Downtown Des Moines.
Occasion: Professional Development for the entire Des Moines Public Schools District.
Upon arrival, teachers had to check in with their building administrators. My father, who was a high school principal in the same district, was sitting at his table checking in his staff. I stopped by with a few of my coworkers to chat with him for a bit. We then left to get coffee, but headed back his direction on our way to our first session. This time we walked behind the row of tables. As we discussed which session we were going to attend, I thought, “Oh, I should probably say goodbye to my dad.”
The next thing I know, I reach out my hand, rub his shiny bald head and say, “Have a great day…” As my hand makes contact, I instantly realize- wrong bald head. Yep. I had just rubbed a complete stranger’s bald head. My dad was two chairs over.
Trust me. I’ll take dancing in front on my students over that experience any day.
Before I can even finish my move, which can only be described as AMAZING, another student says, “Miss Lewis, please stop. You’re embarrassing yourself.” To which I respond, “Don’t be a hater. It’s okay to be jealous of my mad skills; most people are. Besides, it would take a whole lot more than this to embarrass me.”
That afternoon, I gave a little more thought to what she had said, and to be honest, I don’t really remember a time that I was truly embarrassed by something that was school related. Oh wait… there was that one time…
Setting: Polk County Convention Center, Downtown Des Moines.
Occasion: Professional Development for the entire Des Moines Public Schools District.
Upon arrival, teachers had to check in with their building administrators. My father, who was a high school principal in the same district, was sitting at his table checking in his staff. I stopped by with a few of my coworkers to chat with him for a bit. We then left to get coffee, but headed back his direction on our way to our first session. This time we walked behind the row of tables. As we discussed which session we were going to attend, I thought, “Oh, I should probably say goodbye to my dad.”
The next thing I know, I reach out my hand, rub his shiny bald head and say, “Have a great day…” As my hand makes contact, I instantly realize- wrong bald head. Yep. I had just rubbed a complete stranger’s bald head. My dad was two chairs over.
Trust me. I’ll take dancing in front on my students over that experience any day.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Mad Libs Gone Awry
I have recently come to the realization that a Mad Lib is more powerful than a Klodike Bar when it comes to 8th graders. My students will do anything if it means they get to do a Mad Lib at the end of class… and of course I milk this for all it’s worth. Transitions between activities have never been more smooth, silent reading time has never been more silent, answers written in complete sentences have never been so… well we’re still working on this, but my little gems really seem to kick it into gear if they see the Mad Lib tablet resting on my desk.
After a successful class period, I slap the word list on the projector, and the creativity starts flowing.
Me: Give me a noun, and make it a good one.
Students: a boot, a booger, a potato, a donkey, jumping… (clearly we still have some work to do when it comes to parts of speech).
Then I hear it; the most creative answer of all, an adjective noun combination, two words for the price of one.
Student: A blue waffle.
Me: Ooh. I like that. Look how we can add an adjective in front of our noun to make it be more creative.
As I start writing, the snickering begins and I to hear things like, “Oh my God, who said blue waffle?” and “I can’t believe she’s really putting that.” Then there is a horrified gasp from a group in the back, while a student up front asks her neighbors, “What’s a blue waffle.”
At this point, I know something is not right. My pen stops and I start to cross out my words.
Me: You know what. I can tell by your reactions, that this is not appropriate. I think we need to stick to something that is more suitable for class. How about a “park bench”?
Student: That’s probably a good idea. A blue waffle is disgusting.
This of course causes a barrage of, “What’s a blue waffle?” “I don’t get it.” “Miss Lewis, can you whisper to me what it is?”
All I can say is, “I don’t know what it is, but you can sure bet I will Google it when you leave and make a few phone calls to parents.”
Student: Just don’t hit Google images.
During my next class, I find a minute to sit in the corner, with my computer turned against the wall, crossing my fingers that nobody walks in or comes over to my desk and I Google “blue waffle.” I knew it was a bad sign, when most results were blocked from my school computer. I was able to see a partial link that read: Blue Waffle [bloo-wof-uh l] : A battered or infected lady cake of blue or green colouring, often brought about by extreme rammage to the female taco with …
Fantastic.
After a successful class period, I slap the word list on the projector, and the creativity starts flowing.
Me: Give me a noun, and make it a good one.
Students: a boot, a booger, a potato, a donkey, jumping… (clearly we still have some work to do when it comes to parts of speech).
Then I hear it; the most creative answer of all, an adjective noun combination, two words for the price of one.
Student: A blue waffle.
Me: Ooh. I like that. Look how we can add an adjective in front of our noun to make it be more creative.
As I start writing, the snickering begins and I to hear things like, “Oh my God, who said blue waffle?” and “I can’t believe she’s really putting that.” Then there is a horrified gasp from a group in the back, while a student up front asks her neighbors, “What’s a blue waffle.”
At this point, I know something is not right. My pen stops and I start to cross out my words.
Me: You know what. I can tell by your reactions, that this is not appropriate. I think we need to stick to something that is more suitable for class. How about a “park bench”?
Student: That’s probably a good idea. A blue waffle is disgusting.
This of course causes a barrage of, “What’s a blue waffle?” “I don’t get it.” “Miss Lewis, can you whisper to me what it is?”
All I can say is, “I don’t know what it is, but you can sure bet I will Google it when you leave and make a few phone calls to parents.”
Student: Just don’t hit Google images.
During my next class, I find a minute to sit in the corner, with my computer turned against the wall, crossing my fingers that nobody walks in or comes over to my desk and I Google “blue waffle.” I knew it was a bad sign, when most results were blocked from my school computer. I was able to see a partial link that read: Blue Waffle [bloo-wof-uh l] : A battered or infected lady cake of blue or green colouring, often brought about by extreme rammage to the female taco with …
Fantastic.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Clearly Confused
Never assume an 8th grader has any idea of what you are talking about. Example:
Me: So in a way, it was like she was making her own kind of Frankenstein.
Student: Oh, I know Frankenstein. This guy went to a party and he dropped his cocktail in the weeds. Then the weed caught on fire, the guy got high, and he invented Frankenstein.
Me: What? I guy got high and invented Frankenstein?
Student: Yea. When all the weed caught fire.
Me: Wait. What are you talking about? A guy was leaving a party and he dropped his cocktail.
Student: Yea
Me: And he dropped his cocktail in some weed that caught on fire causing the man to get high?
Student: Yea. There was weed all around and it caught on fire because he dropped his cocktail.
Me: Jamil, are you talking about a Molotov cocktail? Like the bottle with the cloth in it that you light and throw?
Student: Yea. A guy threw his cocktail in a bunch of weed and it caught on fire. Then he discovered Frankenstein. He was up in that tower, ringing that bell, with the big ‘ol lump on his back.
Me: Are you talking about the Hunchback of Notre Dame?
Student: Yea. Wait. What? I’m confused.
Me: Clearly
Me: So in a way, it was like she was making her own kind of Frankenstein.
Student: Oh, I know Frankenstein. This guy went to a party and he dropped his cocktail in the weeds. Then the weed caught on fire, the guy got high, and he invented Frankenstein.
Me: What? I guy got high and invented Frankenstein?
Student: Yea. When all the weed caught fire.
Me: Wait. What are you talking about? A guy was leaving a party and he dropped his cocktail.
Student: Yea
Me: And he dropped his cocktail in some weed that caught on fire causing the man to get high?
Student: Yea. There was weed all around and it caught on fire because he dropped his cocktail.
Me: Jamil, are you talking about a Molotov cocktail? Like the bottle with the cloth in it that you light and throw?
Student: Yea. A guy threw his cocktail in a bunch of weed and it caught on fire. Then he discovered Frankenstein. He was up in that tower, ringing that bell, with the big ‘ol lump on his back.
Me: Are you talking about the Hunchback of Notre Dame?
Student: Yea. Wait. What? I’m confused.
Me: Clearly
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Current Events: Chilean Miners
So I’m sitting in my room getting ready for Parent Teacher Conferences, and a student decided to hang out with me to make some signs for our yearbook sales. While he was working I suggested we turn the TV on so we could follow the rescue of the Chilean miners. I turned the TV on, and the following conversation (and I use that word liberally) transpired
Me: Let’s see how the rescue is going. When you guys got out of class, they had just pulled out number 17.
Student: 17 what?
Me: They had pulled out 17 of the miners who were have been trapped underground. Don’t you know about the miners?
Student: Oh. No. I didn’t watch the news today.
Me: These guys have been trapped for 70 days.
Student: Oh yah. I know now. My brother texted me about that.
……
Student: So, why do they keep calling them minors? Why don’t they call them kids.
Me: They work in a mine. They are miners. M-I-N-E-R-S not O-R-S. 33 men were working in the mines and the entrance collapsed and they’ve been trapped underground for 70 days, and last night they started to pull the men out.
Student: Oh. I know what you mean now. Like that Sandra Bullock movie with Bradley Cooper and she fell in that hole.
Me: No. Not like that movie. That movie was stupid.
……
Me: Oh, you spelled lobby wrong.
Student: L-O-B-B-E-Y…Lobbeeee.
Me: Nope. Still wrong.
Student: Miss Lewis, do you like Twilight?
Me: Nope.
Student: Well I watched New Moon at my aunt’s house and it was like (He proceeds to reenact the scene where Bella starts bleeding and get’s thrown into the bookshelf… while talking so fast I couldn’t possibly understand him, then finishes with) and then I laughed. It was stupid
....
Student: Have you ever heard of the Die Hard series?
Me: Yep. Those are old.
Student: How old are you?
Me: 80. My subway diet keeps me looking young and fresh.
Student: Wow.
Me: I’m kidding. I’m not 80. I’m 32.
Student: Oh, I was going to say 80? You don’t look like you’re over 20.
....
Student: I want one of those. (in reference to the motorized scooter commercial) I want to run it down the stairs. Duh, duh, duh, duh, duh…
....
Student: Look at this poster. It’s my second goodest one.
Me: Oh kid. Goodest? Your goodest one?
Student: Oh. I mean, my second one from being my best.
……
Student: How do you spell dodgeball? I need a drink. My throat’s dry.
Me: Let’s see how the rescue is going. When you guys got out of class, they had just pulled out number 17.
Student: 17 what?
Me: They had pulled out 17 of the miners who were have been trapped underground. Don’t you know about the miners?
Student: Oh. No. I didn’t watch the news today.
Me: These guys have been trapped for 70 days.
Student: Oh yah. I know now. My brother texted me about that.
……
Student: So, why do they keep calling them minors? Why don’t they call them kids.
Me: They work in a mine. They are miners. M-I-N-E-R-S not O-R-S. 33 men were working in the mines and the entrance collapsed and they’ve been trapped underground for 70 days, and last night they started to pull the men out.
Student: Oh. I know what you mean now. Like that Sandra Bullock movie with Bradley Cooper and she fell in that hole.
Me: No. Not like that movie. That movie was stupid.
……
Me: Oh, you spelled lobby wrong.
Student: L-O-B-B-E-Y…Lobbeeee.
Me: Nope. Still wrong.
Student: Miss Lewis, do you like Twilight?
Me: Nope.
Student: Well I watched New Moon at my aunt’s house and it was like (He proceeds to reenact the scene where Bella starts bleeding and get’s thrown into the bookshelf… while talking so fast I couldn’t possibly understand him, then finishes with) and then I laughed. It was stupid
....
Student: Have you ever heard of the Die Hard series?
Me: Yep. Those are old.
Student: How old are you?
Me: 80. My subway diet keeps me looking young and fresh.
Student: Wow.
Me: I’m kidding. I’m not 80. I’m 32.
Student: Oh, I was going to say 80? You don’t look like you’re over 20.
....
Student: I want one of those. (in reference to the motorized scooter commercial) I want to run it down the stairs. Duh, duh, duh, duh, duh…
....
Student: Look at this poster. It’s my second goodest one.
Me: Oh kid. Goodest? Your goodest one?
Student: Oh. I mean, my second one from being my best.
……
Student: How do you spell dodgeball? I need a drink. My throat’s dry.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
I have seriously failed you as a teacher. Please dock my paycheck.
This is why I am strongly against teachers pay being based on student performance:
In Language Arts we are currently in the middle of our Tolerance and the Holocaust unit. We have been reading articles about the Holocaust, watching videos about the Holocaust, talking about the Holocaust, writing about the Holocaust and... well you get the picture.
Last week we read and talked about Nazi Propaganda. One of our articles mentioned the 1936 Olympics which lead to a brief discussion about Jesse Owens. Today we went back to that article and I had my students do an independent comprehension check over a reading on Jesse Owens. Before I gave the kids the article, I showed them power point slides of Jesse Owens running in the Olympics and of Jesse Owens on the podium with his medals. We talked about the racism that was prevalent in the US at the time, and how, although he had limited rights in the US, Jesse Owens was selected to compete for the 1936 US Olympic team.
The students then read a short bio on Jesse Owens, completed a timeline of events from the reading and finally answered some multiple choice questions. When the students were finished, I reread the article to the kids, and we went over the timeline. We then corrected their papers discussing each of the multiple choice questions. All seemed well.
Ten minutes later, a student gets a very puzzled look on her face and says, "So, Jesse Owens was German?" and the following conversation transpired:
Me- "Where did the article say Jesse Owens was born?... Yep, it says here he was born in Alabama."
Student-"So he was German?"
Me- "No. He wasn't German. He was born in Alabama. Alabama is in the United States."
Student- "Oh. So why did he go to Germany?"
Me- "Did you read the story?"
Student- "It was confusing. Did he move to Germany?"
Me- (while pantomiming each word)- "He-went-to-Germany-to-compete-in-the-Olympics. He-ran-really-fast, won-four-gold-medals, then-flew-back-to-the-United-States-because-this-is-where-he-lived."
Student-"Oh. So why did he go to Germany? I thought the Olympics were in Canada?"
Me- "This year they were in Canada, but the Olympics are held in different countries each time. In 1936 the Olympics were held in Germany."
Another student- "Wait! This was in 1936? They had Olympics way back then?"
Skip ahead to several minutes later with I'm pretty sure everything has been cleared up. The first student, gets that confused look on her face once more. And when she can't take it anymore, she blurts out, "Miss Lewis... E- just told me that Jesse Owens was black!"
In Language Arts we are currently in the middle of our Tolerance and the Holocaust unit. We have been reading articles about the Holocaust, watching videos about the Holocaust, talking about the Holocaust, writing about the Holocaust and... well you get the picture.
Last week we read and talked about Nazi Propaganda. One of our articles mentioned the 1936 Olympics which lead to a brief discussion about Jesse Owens. Today we went back to that article and I had my students do an independent comprehension check over a reading on Jesse Owens. Before I gave the kids the article, I showed them power point slides of Jesse Owens running in the Olympics and of Jesse Owens on the podium with his medals. We talked about the racism that was prevalent in the US at the time, and how, although he had limited rights in the US, Jesse Owens was selected to compete for the 1936 US Olympic team.
The students then read a short bio on Jesse Owens, completed a timeline of events from the reading and finally answered some multiple choice questions. When the students were finished, I reread the article to the kids, and we went over the timeline. We then corrected their papers discussing each of the multiple choice questions. All seemed well.
Ten minutes later, a student gets a very puzzled look on her face and says, "So, Jesse Owens was German?" and the following conversation transpired:
Me- "Where did the article say Jesse Owens was born?... Yep, it says here he was born in Alabama."
Student-"So he was German?"
Me- "No. He wasn't German. He was born in Alabama. Alabama is in the United States."
Student- "Oh. So why did he go to Germany?"
Me- "Did you read the story?"
Student- "It was confusing. Did he move to Germany?"
Me- (while pantomiming each word)- "He-went-to-Germany-to-compete-in-the-Olympics. He-ran-really-fast, won-four-gold-medals, then-flew-back-to-the-United-States-because-this-is-where-he-lived."
Student-"Oh. So why did he go to Germany? I thought the Olympics were in Canada?"
Me- "This year they were in Canada, but the Olympics are held in different countries each time. In 1936 the Olympics were held in Germany."
Another student- "Wait! This was in 1936? They had Olympics way back then?"
Skip ahead to several minutes later with I'm pretty sure everything has been cleared up. The first student, gets that confused look on her face once more. And when she can't take it anymore, she blurts out, "Miss Lewis... E- just told me that Jesse Owens was black!"
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