There is nothing like settling into a good book. That is why all of my ELA students from grades 9-12 have the opportunity to read for the first ten minutes of every class. While there were a few groans and complaints the first day, I can tell that the students are really enjoying this time. In fact, today I wanted to get started as soon as the bell rang on course work, and there those groans were again. Success!
Not only are all of the students in ELA reading their own selection of a novel or non-fiction book, each class is also starting to work on a piece of longer fiction as well:
ELA 9 - The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
ELA 10 - Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
ELA 20 - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
ELA 30 - Mirage by Gwen Ringwood
I find that the students love to sink their teeth into something more substantial at the beginning of the year. Instead of just doing "a bunch of poems", they can feel like they are accomplishing something. So, parents, maybe your dinnertime discussion can be about gangs in the 60s or racism in the deep south? No? Well, an English teacher can dream...
Another controversial attempt taking place in my classroom right now is surrounding handwriting. I mean real, old-school, loop-de-loop handwriting. Apparently, and this was first brought to my attention by the grade 10s, kids don't handwrite anymore. They couldn't read my handwriting on the board (which IS legible) and 'forgot' how to since grade four. Sooooooooo new rule in my ELA classes, all work done by hand must be written, not printed. Can you hear the groans? I'll let you know how it goes.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to give me a call or stop by after school.
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