Another Halloween has come and gone and this teacher/mom is exhausted.
Whoever thought it would be a good idea for Halloween to be on a Monday should be locked in a room with 20 sugared-up eight and nine year olds.
This year, students who exhibited good behavior for the month of October were given a pass to be able to dress up as their favorite storybook character.
I had 15 students able to participate, but only 2 brave souls did it. I'm so proud of these ladies!
Of course my team had to get in on the action! Here we are as characters from Harry Potter!
Professor Snape (Yes, that's me!), Professor Trelawney, Harry, Hermione, and Angelina Johnson.
My hubby asked me why I chose Snape. I told him, "I have the hair for it, and I can be mean all day and just be in character!"
We're almost done with Part II of Teach Like a Pirate! These are the final 3 chapters of Part II.
Some reminders-
1. For my CHES people, this book study
is voluntary (and fun!). You are in no way required to read this book,
but if you participate you may count this on your PD form for next
year.
2. There will be discussion questions
during the study. Your answers and comments will be the accountability piece of the
PD. All you have to do is leave a comment at the end of the post with
your addition to the discussion.
3. To quote my Momma, "If you can't say something nice, don't say
anything at all." Let's not get snarky. (That goes for me as well. I'll
keep my sarcasm to a bare minimum. Lord, help me.)
4. Have fun! This book is all about how to become a better, more energetic, more joyful educator.
Some parts may resonate more with you than others and that's OK. Take
what pieces of information work for you and use them. The rest, you can
toss overboard
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Stand & Deliver
Did you know that more people are afraid of speaking in public than they are of dying? That means more people would rather die than give a speech!
The Hooks found in this chapter focus on you, the teacher, and how you present the topics and interact with your class.
Burgess begins the chapter by asking: Do you consider yourself a public speaker? Do you know most teachers would say that there were not?
I remember having to assist in a presentation in front of my fellow teachers at CHES. It wasn't a big thing, just presenting a list of reading strategies that my small group camp up with. Imagine my surprise when one of my partners absolutely refused to join the group up front. She completely froze and said she hated being in front of people.
I was in total shock. This wonderful, competent, talented teacher who commands her classroom day-in and day-out was freaked out at the thought of speaking in front of her peers.
Weird.
Well, on the plus side, you became a teacher because, while you might not be fond of speaking in public, you aren't worried about speaking to children! These 6 Hooks are easy ways to improve your performance in front of your captive audience.
The Storytelling Hook: 5 total
How would speaking in character, using accents, changing intonations, and varying volume for effect (even whispering) have an impact on the class?
For you elementary teachers, you understand that when reading a story to the class you absolutely must do the different characters' voices. Honestly, you know that you must over-do the voices and make the story larger than life. Mothers and fathers learn the same thing while reading stories to their kids. There is power in a well told story. (Seriously, it worked for Jesus didn't it?)
In my class, I've used a British accent when teaching new "proper" vocabulary to my students. We no longer say 'yes' and 'no'. We use proper words like 'affirmative' and 'negative'. Why say, "We're fixin' to go to lunch", when we can say, "We are preparing ourselves for luncheon"? My students ATE. IT. UP. They loved it so much it turned into the thing to do with new vocabulary words. Can't do a British accent? Watch the BBC's rendition on Pride & Prejudice. It's 6 hours of awesome. You'll have an accent in no time!
The Swimming With the Sharks Hook: 5 total
Can I participate in the activity?
"Don't get stuck presenting every lesson from the same spot." (Burgess p.119)
Use the room like a stage. Enter stage right, move to the center, round to stage left... you get the idea. Remember Robin Williams in Dead Poet Society? Oh Captain, my Captain! Carpe Diem! Use the desks, use the chairs, walk to a different beat, a different pattern.
Mingle with the students during the lesson to let them know that you are coming to them. You're in the middle of the lesson, just like they are.
As an added bonus- one of my favorite scenes: about conforming (or not!)
How can I position my topic so that it seems like a little known secret?
"Obviously, you need to adjust your taboo hook for the age and maturity of your students, but even a kindergartener will be drawn in by the possibility of learning a secret or something their friends or parents don't know." (Burgess p.120-121)
Would you like to know a secret about our Assistant Principal? Mrs. O has a magic mailbox that can send letters to anyone! She uses it every year to send letters to Mrs. Clause. Mrs. Clause then chooses the best letters, and the authors of the letters are invited to attend a hot chocolate and cookie party! It's magic!
So, when we studied persuasive writing, along with letter writing, we used the magic mailbox to get letters to Farmer Brown. Farmer Brown, in turn, wrote back. It went back and forth all week! At the end of the week, Farmer Brown came to us!
The Mime Hook: 5 total
Can I use mime techniques and gestures to get my point across?
I purposefully use this technique when teaching different foldables that we use during our lessons. I start by passing out paper, then quietly holding my piece in the air. My students close their mouths and do the same thing. I use my ELMO and Promethean so everyone can see my folds. After every fold I raise my paper in the air. When my students are ready for the next step, they raise theirs in the air too. If a students needs help, he or she will raise a finger in the air and I will come to their desk. It's all nice and quiet.
The Teaser Hook: 5 total
How can I spark interest in this lesson by promoting it ahead of time?
"Promote, market, and sell are three business practices that belong in the classroom." (Burgess p.122)
Burgess states that he will end a lesson by telling his students that the best is yet to come! You must come to class tomorrow to see what comes next!
When I taught counting coins to my first graders, first I introduced them to Miracle Money Grow!
The Backwards Hook: 3 total
Can I tell them the end of the story and let them figure out and discover the beginning and middle?
Burgess likens this hook to a CSI episode. Now, I've never seen the show, so I'll liken it to my favorite crime solving team: Castle and Beckett.
In crime dramas we are introduced to the victim, then we have to out together the who, what, when, where, and why. We must work backwards.
Another example I can think of is the Sideways Stories From Wayside School series by Louis Sachar. I can't remember which of the books it was in, but I remember the title of one of the chapters was "Purple". The entire chapter was written backwards. I'm not going to spoil it for you. Let's just say, it was a memorable chapter.
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Advanced Tactics: Not for the faint of heart!
The Mission Impossible Hook: 7 total
Can they be provided a treasure map or sent an a scavenger hunt through your content?
When I taught 2nd grade, one of my favorite lessons was on the Oregon Trail. My students were lead on a treasure hunt through the school looking for golden tickets with clues on them. At the end of the hunt, all the students had tickets that invited them to a cowboy campfire at the end of the week.
The Reality TV Hook: 4 total
How can I design my lesson to take advantage of the popularity of reality TV?
It helps if students are familiar with reality TV. Truthfully, it would be helpful if I were. I don't watch a lot of reality shows, but I do enjoy Project Runway. When we studies Kwanzaa, I brought in different types of clothing and fabrics to study the culture and celebrations. We had a good time dressing up and modeling!
The Techno Whiz Hook: 9 total
How can technology be used to bridge gaps between school and the real world?
Um, hello? Have you ever heard of blogging? My students love seeing themselves through pictures and videos on the blog! We use our ipads to aid in research projects and classrooms use skype to talk to people all around the world! Technology is a wonderful thing!
"When used correctly, technology can enhance the effectiveness of your lesson, increase engagement, and even strengthen the relationships between the humans that comprise your class." (Burgess p.128)
What type of review game can I design to ramp up the entertainment level of my class?
Burgess writes about many different games he has played in his class, but I'll tell you about something simple. My class loves earning tickets. We play "Review for Tickets" before tests and quizzes and my students love it! The questions are worth different amounts and the tickets can be turned into Cub Cash (our school's reward system) or into prizes from my treasure chest.
Students love a good competition! Sometimes we play teams, and sometimes we play girls against boys. I have to say, playing girls against boys is always a crowd pleaser!
The Magic and the Amazing Hook: 3 total
Is there a magical effect that could help to deliver this message?
I don't think this is what Burgess is talking about, but I do have a bit of magician in me. Well, my Promethean does. If you don't know what a Promethean is, it's a type of Smart Board. Mine can be connected to my laptop or an ELMO (fancy over-head projector). It comes with a remote with a freeze buttton. That freeze button is pure magic... at least until my students figure it out. :)
The Chef Hook: 4 total
How can I enhance this lesson by adding food or drink?
I feel the need to point out that any lesson can be enhanced by food and drink. I find that most professional developments can be enhanced with food and drink. Chocolate in particular.
Let me give you some examples from some of my lessons.
At the end of my Oregon Trail lesson, students attended a "camp out" with real cowboy food- cold beans, beef jerkey, and crackers. I've never seen kids get so excited about cold beans. (baked beans out of a can)
Studying Kwanzaa we celebrated a feast of first fruits. We made vegetable soup in my crockpot and my students loved it!
When we studied different countries and cultures, I brought in California rolls to go with our study of Japan. Watching my students eat veggie rolls was hilarious!
The Mnemonic Hook: 7 total
Does a mnemonic exist for the material?
The most famous one I can think of is the one that teaches the planets.
My Very Earnest Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas.
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto
The Extra-Credit Challenge Hook: 3 total
What intriguing mission can I send students on to allow them to extend their learning in a unique way?
The 5th grade teachers at CHES to an excellent job at this every year. It's an Underground Railroad challenge. Students are placed into teams and are to navigate the halls of the school as if they were runaway slaves. There are classrooms set up as stations and each station has clues to get to the next. The students love this challenge and students in other grades look forward to it.
Congratulations!
We've made it through Part II! Join next week as we finish this book!
**Discussion Question: Out of all the hooks mentioned in Part II, which do you look forward to implementing in your classroom?**
Welcome back! We are still working through Part 2 of Teach Like a Pirate!
In this post we are looking at What's in it for Me? and All the World is a Stage. Some reminders-
1. For my CHES people, this book study
is voluntary (and fun!). You are in no way required to read this book,
but if you participate you may count this on your PD form for next
year.
2. There will be discussion questions
during the study. Your answers and comments will be the accountability piece of the
PD. All you have to do is leave a comment at the end of the post with
your addition to the discussion.
3. To quote my Momma, "If you can't say something nice, don't say
anything at all." Let's not get snarky. (That goes for me as well. I'll
keep my sarcasm to a bare minimum. Lord, help me.)
4. Have fun! This book is all about how to become a better, more energetic, more joyful educator.
Some parts may resonate more with you than others and that's OK. Take
what pieces of information work for you and use them. The rest, you can
toss overboard.
********************************
"A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil to learn is hammering on a cold iron" - Horace Mann
This chapter drives home a point that I think we can all agree upon: Humans are vain creatures.
Think about why social media like Facebook and Twitter are so popular- so people can share EVERY SINGLE detail about their mundane lives with others in order to make themselves feel more important.
At least, that's why I use them. :)
It's with this in mind that Burgess shares these Hooks.
Student Hobby Hook: 3 total
Do I even know the hobbies and outside interests of my students and, if not, how can I find out?
Why do you expect your students to buy into your lesson if you haven't taken the time to buy into their lives? Find out about your students! Use what your learn to add spice and excitement to your lessons.
In my class, I started the year finding out about their Big Plans for the future. We read the book Big Plans, you can see the post {HERE}.
After we made our Big Plans poster, we found people to interview! You can check out the Big Plans label at the top of the blog to see all the people we got to talk to. The point is- in my class we talk about student hopes and dreams, then find people who can tell us how to make them happen.
Real World Application Hook: 4 total
How can I show my students why learning this content is important in the real world?
In my class, my students quickly become accustomed to hearing stories about my sisters and I growing up.
We call it Story Time with Mrs.Delk. Not every lesson gets a part in Story Time, but I do it for an important some important reasons: 1. My students need to know that I was once a student (aka: young) and 2. My students can use Story Tome to make connections with my past, their present, and the lesson.
This being said, it's hard for me to teach geometry. I never touched geometry past high school until I started to teach to my students. So, in my whole life I have never found a use for geometry outside of a classroom. Unfortunately, I have no real world application for geometry to share with my students. It won't stop me from teaching it, but I do find it sad. So, please, if you have an application that will thrill my 3rd graders, please share it!
Life- Changing Lesson Hook: 3 total
How can I use this lesson to deliver an inspirational message?
How old would you feel if I told you that my students last year weren't even a twinkle in their parents' eyes when 9-11 happened? That makes me feel wicked old, ya'll. Does that mean I'm going to skip that day and not talk about it's significance? Oh no! My students are living in a post 9-11 world and they need to know how we got here. We used this book:
We also watched a 10th year anniversary video done by Nick News, you can watch it {HERE}. It's a tough lesson to teach because I remember exactly where I was on September 11, 2001. (in college at Tennessee Tech Univ. I was about to walk to class.) There are other "tough" lessons to teach, but that's all the more reason to teach then, and teach them well. They're called Life Changing lessons for a reason.
Student- Directed Hook: 3 total
Can I allow student interest to dictate our direction and learning while still covering what we need to address?
The real question should be, "Can you, as the teacher, get past your OCD tendencies to allow your classroom to deviate from your lesson plan?" *Ouch* Burgess puts it this way: Which professional development would you prefer? 1. Everyone attends the same PD with a generic topic that may or may not pertain to what you teach, or 2. A PD where you are given choices of break out sessions and speakers so you can choose which best fits your needs. If you chose #1, just slap yourself and move on to the next hook.
Of course you'd prefer the PD where you were given options! You don't want to waste your valuable time in a PD that is in no way going to improve you as an educator. So why not give your students options and choices in the classroom? You know that material and you know how to steer the conversations in such a way as to guide their learning to where it needs to be. I have done this, on a minor scale, in my classroom. I will preview a topic the day before the formal lesson using a KWL chart. I want to see that students "Know" before I go into the lesson. After I ascertain their prior knowledge, I will use their questions from the "Wonder" section to guide my lesson the next day. After the lesson we fill out the "Learned" section. It's not hard, and my students feel important that they got to help in creating my lesson. :)
The Opportunistic Hook: 5 total
What aspect of pop culture can I tie into this lesson?
This goes really well with the Arts post from last week. Pop culture is all around us! Why not use it?
When studying figurative language, we used this video to find similes and metaphors! My students ate it up!
"Associating your curriculum with current events not only increases engagement because it shows relevance, it also helps students become more globally aware and connected." (Burgess p.106)
**Discussion Question: How do you use geometry in everyday life? I'm seriously looking for a connection here.**
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All the World is a Stage
"I am the director, producer, stage manger, and lead actor for the 180 different performances that will take place in and around my room." (Burgess p.107)
When I was younger I was constantly running different scenes from movies and books in my head. I got to play all the leads and change the dialogue as needed. I was FAMOUS!...in my own mind.
In middle school I was an extra in the school play, I had one line. It was awesome.
In high school I played Lady Lucas in our school's production of Pride & Prejudice.
I was also on the speech/ drama team and sang soprano in girl's choir. I loved performing so much I joined the drama team in college and the improv team with my church. (we performed for different youth groups in the area)
So, when it came to deciding on a life-long career, it was a no-brainer! What other career provided a captive audience for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, and 180 days out of the year?! Better that Broadway, baby! (which is really fortuitous since I am in no way a triple threat on stage)
If you feel the same way, these hooks should be no trouble for you! Start working!
The Interior Design Hook: 10 total
How can I transform my room to create the ultimate atmosphere for this lesson?
Now, Burgess teaches in a high school setting, so I am going to re-word what he's trying to say to reach my elementary school colleagues: Lay off having themed rooms.
I'm not trying to knock the cute owl/ bumble bee/ safari/ barnyard decor you've got rockin' the classroom so far, but really. How are you going to incorporate the theme into each lesson? Less is more, my friend. Less is more.
Burgess goes on to explain that in his room he doesn't have lots of clutter around. Boards and charts are easy to cover or take down, and put back up. You need a room that is transformable. Moldable. Workable. Filling your class up with brightly colored stuff you bought cause it was just so darn cute isn't going to keep your students' attention. YOU need to do that with a room that allows for movement and easy presentation changes. (p.s. I really do like the owls. We should do lunch later so we can talk all about their cuteness. No hard feelings?) :)
The Board Message Hook: 5 total
What can I write on my board or have projected on my screen that will immediately spark curiosity and interest as the students enter my room?
This is NOT a morning work message. For my elementary brethren, this is NOT having a "fix the letter/ sentence" daily message. I guess it could be on occasion, but not daily.
The purpose of the board message is to reach out and grab student interest, not inform them of their starting busy work. It can be a statement, quote, picture... whatever. Make it relevant to your lesson and worthy of a conversation.
For example, I used this as a creative writing prompt. Students were to pretend they were reporters for the local paper and they had to caption this picture.
The Costume Prompt: 5 total
What can I wear as an outfit or costume for this lesson?
In elementary education this hook is a little easier. The younger the student, the more crazy they can handle. Let me share just a few examples of how awesome adding a costume to a lesson can be.
Dr. Cox and Dr. Delk performing Contraction Surgery
Mr. Russell as Crazy Wacky Scientist- studying types of matter and chemical and physical changes
Second grade team dressing as famous African American cowboys for one of their units
Mr. Ritchey (Mrs. Ritchey's husband) dressed up as Farmer Brown for my class during a lesson on persuasive and letter writing.
"If you're concerned about looking foolish in front of your students, the best advice I can offer is get over it." (Burgess p.112)
Who cares if you look a little ridiculous? They're kids! They're going to be impressed with your bravery!
My mom once told me, "Maturity is being able to occasionally act immature without getting embarrassed." If that's the case, I'm the most mature person I know.
The Props Hook: 5 total
What physical item can I bring in to add to my presentation?
OK, so you're not comfortable with costumes. Well, try a prop! In a previous hook we discussed using students as props. This time we're going to use items from somewhere else. I'm going to share with you my FAVORITE. PROP. EVER. My copy of the Constitution. I only pull it out once a year for a very important lesson on the Bill of Rights.
I let my students know that this document is much older than they are and has been in my family for years. (That's all true. I got it over spring break in college 12 years ago. I can't be blamed for where their imagination takes them.)
The document is so important that I'll only allow them to touch it with their pointer finger.
I've also used postcards from far off places, items from other countries, toys (when appropriate), milk jugs and bottles (studying sound). The sky is the limit, people! The next time you're on vacation, take pictures of everything and go to as many weird souvenir shops as possible. Or just visit the closest rest area on the interstate and pick up some maps and brochures. One can never have too many maps and brochures.
The Involved Audience Hook: 5 total
How can I consistently keep the audience feeling involved?
Improvisation. Have you ever been to an improv show? Audience members are brought on stage and they have to act out different scenes. You never know what's going to happen! Now, obviously you can't your classroom like one giant improv, but your students don't have to know that. During my Bill of Rights lesson I have my students act out different reasons we have our Bill of Rights. My students love becoming a "Red Coat" (that would be a British soldier). They turn into soldiers, farmers, newspaper reporters, and ole' King George himself. Good times. The students still in their seats are responsible for explaining different situations and carrying on good discussion on the issues.
The Mystery Bag Hook: 7 total
What can I put into the mystery box or bag that would tie to my lesson?
Working on inference? Try playing What's In My Teacher's Bag? I got this idea from the Inspired Apple blog.
In my class, my students inferred that I would have chocolate because I need it to survive and books because I love to read. They were right on both counts!
**Discussion Question: Which of your favorite lessons lends itself best to using either a costume or a prop? Are you already using one or the other, or both? Tell me how!**
