I hate the week grades are due. It's always a crazy week; for some strange reason, everything that the school needs to get done or needs you to get done happens during that week. Scoliosis screening. Vision screening. Field trips for random clubs, groups, etc. Trainings for peer mediation. Trainings for SAFE Ambassadors. Half the stuff that's going on makes no sense to me... someone calls on my phone, and asks for a specific student. That student leaves, and comes back seemingly hours later, of course missing the entire lesson or the entire test. No one ever wants my kids when we're doing fluffy stuff, or review. Just new stuff or tests.
Plus, the kids go a little stir-crazy, maybe knowing grades are coming, but most likely just because the teachers are a little distracted, and therefore unable to totally focus, causing chaos.
I wanted my grades done a little early this time, so I worked hard last week to get all my grades into the computer, and all set to go. And it worked! Mostly. I still had to adjust some grades, and I still had to add a few more assignments here and there, and I still had to physically hit the little button in the grade program so it will port the grades over into the right spaces, but still... I got to leave almost on time today, which is a low-level miracle.
So while the kids were with me today, I attempted to give them assignments that would enable the kids to work alone, with just minor assistance from me, so that I could do the last little bit of my grade stuff. It's a great thing, watching them work all on their own, doing what they need to do. They got into their groups, got started on their work, and it worked beautifully. To start with.
But, alas, this did not work for long. They still had to ask 1,000,001 questions, mostly ridiculous questions, of the type that is really annoying when you're busy and almost humorous when you're not.
Oh, well. I did it, and I'm glad it's over.
Before I got them started on their group work, we did our third musical journal. It went just as wonderfully as it has before. I am really thrilled that I thought of this idea; a sneaky way to get them to write and not whine about writing.
Today's song was "Everything" by Michael Buble. They enjoyed it! Honestly, if you know what type of songs he sings, it really is a strange concept that 12-year-olds enjoy it... but they did. (He sings jazzy, old-style music, vaguely pop, I guess... very enjoyable).
So far, I only have done it with 2 of my 5 classes, so more on Monday, but they liked it, and they're my 'tough' kid class, so that's great.
Of course, there is always one or two who didn't enjoy it, but that's to be expected. The ones who didn't like it this time were both boys, and the reason they didn't like it? He said, "La, la, la, la" at the end. I'm not kidding. This is why they didn't like it.
The funniest part? The boys were not in the same class.
The decided it was a man singing passionately to his wife/girlfriend (I asked if he was singing to both, but they adamantly said one or the other), on a beach, stage, or in a coffee-house, and he just loves her to pieces.
Even the boys wrote things like love, beaches, etc. It's very endearing (and hilarious) to hear a little 6th grade boy talk about true love, and how much this guy loves his girl.
So on Monday I have the rest of my classes to look forward to sharing the song with. It'll be nice, since I'm dreading the release of Report Cards, as parents always go crazy, seeing their child has an F. It's amazing (at least to me) that they're surprised at report card time that their child is failing, since they were failing at progress report time. What did they think would happen? A magic fairy would come and make their child suddenly an ideal student, instead of one who turns in nothing?
Oh! Something else I'm dreading? Halloween. I like candy as much as the next person (maybe even a little more than the next person, to be perfectly honest), but the kids don't need more energy! The day after Halloween (and sometimes Easter) is a terrible day to be a teacher. They are wired, crazy, loopy, energy, and quick to get really, really feisty. There will be fights over the candy, which is not supposed to be on campus at all. (They're allowed to bring a few pieces in their lunch boxes, but they're not allowed to be munching on it throughout the day).
So with report cards and Halloween in the same week? This ought to be a lot of fun.
Help?
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Thursday, October 4, 2007
More Musical Fun - The Return of Trouble - SS is a High Level Student?!
The kids have all been begging to do another one since we first did musical journals, and yesterday I finally gave in (or at least they saw it that way... I had it planned out in advance).
This time, I wanted to do something that was completely different than the Josh Groban song we did before, both to give the kids who didn't like it a chance to enjoy the song, and also to just vary the type of music I play for them. Again, I'm teaching them many important things this activity, such as writing, analyzing mood, tone, etc, the ability to write short and long analysis of a given piece of text or multimedia, and many other high-falutin' stuff. Mostly, though, it's fun for me, and gives the kids a no-pressure way to work on their writing skills, which frankly stink.
So this time, I played "Must Have Done Something Right," by Relient K. This is a cutesy song, high energy, in which a guy is thinking about his girlfriend and how happy he is, and how she is way out of his league, but they're both still happy. The kids really enjoyed it, and seemed to identify with it more than the last song, which only makes sense. Some of the comments included silly things, like "I love it because I can understand it because it's in English this time," "I like it because my cousin likes it and it reminds me of her," and "I didn't like it because he repeated himself too many times." (I did remind that particular student of a lovely thing entitled a "chorus," but he didn't seem to get it...)
Of course, the second it was over, they begged for another one. They really have no sense of delayed gratification. Oh, well... by the time they leave me, that'll be much improved!
Now, one of my students I mentioned earlier, Trouble, really is in trouble. He spent 2 days in ISS (in school suspension) for property destruction and other things that were a bit worse. I worry about that boy. We had a parent conference, but mom never showed up, so we're not sure what the support is like at home. He has actually turned in work for me, though, so that's an amazing difference. I think mom wasn't happy with progress report grades, so maybe she has kept an eye on him. Whatever it is, I hope it works, and I hope he returns from ISS in a much more school-oriented state of mind.
And remember our little darling SS? The one I lamented over her wardrobe choices? Well, she still wears things I wouldn't allow my 12-year-old wear, but she's coming to school with a lot more clothing on lately (mostly because I have her 1st thing in the morning, and I check her as she comes in and send her down for dress code violation if it's needful, and they make her wear huge old nasty t-shirts or stuff from the lost and found... effective deterrent for many of the kids.)
We're also working on her attitude, because she can be quite a little spitfire. She's really quick to jump from doing something I'd like her to stop (like talking instead of working) and intense anger. I really like her, and I am worried about her, so I try to work especially hard to develop a relationship and show her how to react without losing her temper. She's doing better, but it is a slow process.
I did find out something today about her, though, that shocked me, and will make her life much more uncomfortable. I thought she was low... I mean, I thought she wasn't reading on grade level, because she is in my class of kids who need remediation. Well, it turns out that she is not only on grade level, she received a 0% on one part of our standardized test. So for her to have still scored on grade level, the her performance on the rest of the test had to be really, really high. She is so busted! I was working with her, coddling her, thinking it was the best she could do... no more! I am going to have a little chat with her, and tell her that, while I love her, she is going to be working much harder for me, since she obviously can do it.
This ought to be a fun conversation!
This time, I wanted to do something that was completely different than the Josh Groban song we did before, both to give the kids who didn't like it a chance to enjoy the song, and also to just vary the type of music I play for them. Again, I'm teaching them many important things this activity, such as writing, analyzing mood, tone, etc, the ability to write short and long analysis of a given piece of text or multimedia, and many other high-falutin' stuff. Mostly, though, it's fun for me, and gives the kids a no-pressure way to work on their writing skills, which frankly stink.
So this time, I played "Must Have Done Something Right," by Relient K. This is a cutesy song, high energy, in which a guy is thinking about his girlfriend and how happy he is, and how she is way out of his league, but they're both still happy. The kids really enjoyed it, and seemed to identify with it more than the last song, which only makes sense. Some of the comments included silly things, like "I love it because I can understand it because it's in English this time," "I like it because my cousin likes it and it reminds me of her," and "I didn't like it because he repeated himself too many times." (I did remind that particular student of a lovely thing entitled a "chorus," but he didn't seem to get it...)
Of course, the second it was over, they begged for another one. They really have no sense of delayed gratification. Oh, well... by the time they leave me, that'll be much improved!
Now, one of my students I mentioned earlier, Trouble, really is in trouble. He spent 2 days in ISS (in school suspension) for property destruction and other things that were a bit worse. I worry about that boy. We had a parent conference, but mom never showed up, so we're not sure what the support is like at home. He has actually turned in work for me, though, so that's an amazing difference. I think mom wasn't happy with progress report grades, so maybe she has kept an eye on him. Whatever it is, I hope it works, and I hope he returns from ISS in a much more school-oriented state of mind.
And remember our little darling SS? The one I lamented over her wardrobe choices? Well, she still wears things I wouldn't allow my 12-year-old wear, but she's coming to school with a lot more clothing on lately (mostly because I have her 1st thing in the morning, and I check her as she comes in and send her down for dress code violation if it's needful, and they make her wear huge old nasty t-shirts or stuff from the lost and found... effective deterrent for many of the kids.)
We're also working on her attitude, because she can be quite a little spitfire. She's really quick to jump from doing something I'd like her to stop (like talking instead of working) and intense anger. I really like her, and I am worried about her, so I try to work especially hard to develop a relationship and show her how to react without losing her temper. She's doing better, but it is a slow process.
I did find out something today about her, though, that shocked me, and will make her life much more uncomfortable. I thought she was low... I mean, I thought she wasn't reading on grade level, because she is in my class of kids who need remediation. Well, it turns out that she is not only on grade level, she received a 0% on one part of our standardized test. So for her to have still scored on grade level, the her performance on the rest of the test had to be really, really high. She is so busted! I was working with her, coddling her, thinking it was the best she could do... no more! I am going to have a little chat with her, and tell her that, while I love her, she is going to be working much harder for me, since she obviously can do it.
This ought to be a fun conversation!
Friday, September 21, 2007
Music Soothes the Beasts? Not Today... (Plus Trouble's Introduction)
Well, after the wonderful, joyful, perfect lesson using music, I was thrilled to go into work today, ready to introduce my kind of music to my students, and see if they enjoyed Josh Groban as much as I do.
But then, as it always does, reality crashed in.
After the perfection of the previous day, I should have known that it wouldn't work. My first class of the day, which is an advanced class, were wound up as they came in, and they didn't ever really settle. They listened to the music, made their comments, and gave the song a title, but they mostly were silly. (When asked to describe the pictures that formed in their minds, they mostly said things like, "A man eating a taco," "a woman walking down the road in Mexico, with tacos," and "a man dumping his girlfriend after she shot him." They all did enjoy the music, though, so that was a good thing. The only one who had anything negative to say was one boy who told me he didn't like it because it sounded so sad it made him feel depressed.
Then, during the next block, to add insult to injury since I was already feeling a little down about how I didn't really get the responses I wanted, the Internet, computer network, and phone system went down. No Internet (which is how I was playing "The Nutcracker" for my example), no projector to show them the journal prompt, nothing. So I couldn't even do it with them, so my remaining lesson was short, which is always frustrating.
Then the air conditioner broke, which just had the effect of making me really grouchy, since it was hot, I wasn't able to do what I wanted, and the kids were still wound up for whatever reason.
Suffice to say, it wasn't the joy-filled day I had anticipated.
I will try again Monday, though.
In response to the person who commented and wanted to know what the kids had thought and said about the song:
-A girl said: I really like this song because it's so peaceful and calm, and it sounds like the man singing is really passionate about something or someone (this is exactly what she said, because when she said passionate, it made me want to laugh at her. I didn't, though, I was good).
-One of my boys created this whole story to go along with the song. It was hilarious! The other kids wanted to hear the song again while they thought of his story, to see if it fit. His story was about a man strumming a guitar while singing in a boat going down a river, then the same man is singing to a woman in a house with a candlelight dinner nearby, while the woman looks on "lovingly" and smiles, because she has forgiven him for "forgetting her birthday."
-I don't like this song, because I think the man has just lost his girlfriend, who he loved very much, and he's so sad and lonely sounded, it makes me sad.
-I love this song! Who is the singer?
-I know who sings this! It's that guy... you know, the one named Santana. (Nope, I said, sadly. Not quite.)
-One of my students (one of my favorites, just because she's such a sweetheart) and I had a little giggle-fest about him, because she did know who he was, and she wanted to know if I thought Josh was cute. I said, oh, yes, I do. And he's the perfect age for me (because for some reason, my kids really want me to marry one of the twins from the Harry Potter movies. More than a few students have told me that. I keep telling them I'll get arrested because they're so young...) My co-teacher (a male) told both of us that if he didn't have such a gorgeous voice, neither one of us would give him the time of day. We both looked at each other and shook our heads sadly at his ignorance. I said, "Um, he's hot, regardless of that voice. Add in his voice, and Josh Groban is perfection." He just shook his head sadly in return.
-It's a song full of hope, and this one man is hopeful his girl will come back to him.
The titles they gave the song were almost all silly, stuff like:
But then, as it always does, reality crashed in.
After the perfection of the previous day, I should have known that it wouldn't work. My first class of the day, which is an advanced class, were wound up as they came in, and they didn't ever really settle. They listened to the music, made their comments, and gave the song a title, but they mostly were silly. (When asked to describe the pictures that formed in their minds, they mostly said things like, "A man eating a taco," "a woman walking down the road in Mexico, with tacos," and "a man dumping his girlfriend after she shot him." They all did enjoy the music, though, so that was a good thing. The only one who had anything negative to say was one boy who told me he didn't like it because it sounded so sad it made him feel depressed.
Then, during the next block, to add insult to injury since I was already feeling a little down about how I didn't really get the responses I wanted, the Internet, computer network, and phone system went down. No Internet (which is how I was playing "The Nutcracker" for my example), no projector to show them the journal prompt, nothing. So I couldn't even do it with them, so my remaining lesson was short, which is always frustrating.
Then the air conditioner broke, which just had the effect of making me really grouchy, since it was hot, I wasn't able to do what I wanted, and the kids were still wound up for whatever reason.
Suffice to say, it wasn't the joy-filled day I had anticipated.
I will try again Monday, though.
In response to the person who commented and wanted to know what the kids had thought and said about the song:
-A girl said: I really like this song because it's so peaceful and calm, and it sounds like the man singing is really passionate about something or someone (this is exactly what she said, because when she said passionate, it made me want to laugh at her. I didn't, though, I was good).
-One of my boys created this whole story to go along with the song. It was hilarious! The other kids wanted to hear the song again while they thought of his story, to see if it fit. His story was about a man strumming a guitar while singing in a boat going down a river, then the same man is singing to a woman in a house with a candlelight dinner nearby, while the woman looks on "lovingly" and smiles, because she has forgiven him for "forgetting her birthday."
-I don't like this song, because I think the man has just lost his girlfriend, who he loved very much, and he's so sad and lonely sounded, it makes me sad.
-I love this song! Who is the singer?
-I know who sings this! It's that guy... you know, the one named Santana. (Nope, I said, sadly. Not quite.)
-One of my students (one of my favorites, just because she's such a sweetheart) and I had a little giggle-fest about him, because she did know who he was, and she wanted to know if I thought Josh was cute. I said, oh, yes, I do. And he's the perfect age for me (because for some reason, my kids really want me to marry one of the twins from the Harry Potter movies. More than a few students have told me that. I keep telling them I'll get arrested because they're so young...) My co-teacher (a male) told both of us that if he didn't have such a gorgeous voice, neither one of us would give him the time of day. We both looked at each other and shook our heads sadly at his ignorance. I said, "Um, he's hot, regardless of that voice. Add in his voice, and Josh Groban is perfection." He just shook his head sadly in return.
-It's a song full of hope, and this one man is hopeful his girl will come back to him.
The titles they gave the song were almost all silly, stuff like:
- Mi Amor (is this spelled correctly??)
- The River (the boy who had the man boating)
- Hopeful Days
- Love Stinks
- Please Forgive Me
- The Taco Man
And many more.
As I mentioned yesterday, I have a student that is just pure trouble. He actually might be almost redeemable, because he still can get excited and participate in the classroom assignments. For example, we were illustrating our portfolio covers, and he drew a car, and had to show me all the details as he added them, telling me how much each one would cost. I would say things like "Wow! People are crazy to pay that!" and "Looking good, Trouble!" But this is involvement on his part is rather rare, and mostly he's just a pain in the rear.
The first day of school, I had to get on him for tripping another student, a teeny-tiny one. He likes to make sound effects constantly. I don't think I have made it through one lesson without calling his name. Not a single one.
Plus, he's Mr. Sound Effects. He must constantly whistle, sing, make cat noises, and bird noises. He's enough to drive anyone insane.
If you ask him a question, he will just sit there and stare at you defiantly, and refuse to answer.
Trouble has already had to meet with my entire team of teachers to discuss how he needs to change, but it hasn't really made a difference. Next step will be a parent conference, then I know there'll be trouble for Trouble. When mom's are called to the school, it rarely goes well for anyone.
Oh, joy.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Music Unites Us All
Today I did a mini-lesson with 2 of my classes (I have 3 left to do it with tomorrow) that just went so well, I felt pure joy.
It was a simple idea that I had, and it came to me while I was listening to strange, old songs on my computer that I had downloaded way back when, before Napster was illegal. (Yes, I know it was technically illegal then, too, but it was before they had to worry about music piracy, so it wasn't a big deal). I wanted to expose the children to songs they wouldn't normally hear, with the junk they listen to these days.
Yes, I know that does make me sound ancient.
Knowing 12-year-olds, I just knew that if I wasn't careful in how I presented it, it would just be a teacher-sanctioned time for kids to go crazy, and put down music styles, and insult others who might enjoy that music. Plus, it had to be an actual learning experience, or why bother? It's not like I could just say, "Okay, listen to this, and be quiet."
They might frown on that in adminstration, and I can't say as I'd blame them.
So I decided to do a musical journal, where the kids have to listen to the song, and while it's playing, they have to write the story of the song. If it has words (not all do), they can use those to help them figure out what is happening. If not, they have to think about what their mind is picturing.
We practiced first, and I played parts of "The Nutcracker Suite," since many of the movements are very distinctive and have an easily recognized mood, and easily inspire pictures to form as you listen.
Then, I played the first song. It was "Alla Luce del Sole" sung by Josh Groban. Now, if you know what type of songs Josh Groban is known for, you can probably imagine what my students were thinking as it started playing.
They are hyper-critical at this age... everything is "stupid," "retarded," "ugly," and so on. But I had prepared them, warning them about what would happen if I heard a single negative thing without it being backed up, and not even my toughest kid (not Stubborn, either, but one who is even more trouble; I'll have to tell you about him soon) had anything negative to say.
It was great! They listened carefully. They wrote earnestly. Then they all vied for the chance to share their title and what their story was. The only ones who didn't like it said they didn't like that it wasn't in English (it was in Spanish, so some of my kids knew what he was saying.) Some admitted they liked the song, but it was "Not at all to my taste."
They got so excited about it, they wanted to do the next song immediately. I told them we'd do one every couple of days, and they groaned. They actually wanted more work!
I absolutely love my job when everything goes perfectly. It's such a gift to be able to share something like a Josh Groban song with my students, and talk about it honestly and fairly.
I am very happy... and I get to do it with three more classes tomorrow... and two of them are my advanced classes, who tend to get more involved and excited about stuff like this.
I can't wait to see what they have to say about the song tomorrow. Plus, I can't wait to get to some of the songs. I have the strangest collection of songs planned. Oh, well. It should be interesting, if nothing else!
TGIF!
*Update 9/21/07* Apparently, the song I used yesterday (and will use today) is not in Spanish, but in Italian, as per a comment I received. Thanks for helping me clear it up! I did tell the kids I knew he sings in Italian and Spanish, so I don't know which this one was... but it's nice to know the truth!
It was a simple idea that I had, and it came to me while I was listening to strange, old songs on my computer that I had downloaded way back when, before Napster was illegal. (Yes, I know it was technically illegal then, too, but it was before they had to worry about music piracy, so it wasn't a big deal). I wanted to expose the children to songs they wouldn't normally hear, with the junk they listen to these days.
Yes, I know that does make me sound ancient.
Knowing 12-year-olds, I just knew that if I wasn't careful in how I presented it, it would just be a teacher-sanctioned time for kids to go crazy, and put down music styles, and insult others who might enjoy that music. Plus, it had to be an actual learning experience, or why bother? It's not like I could just say, "Okay, listen to this, and be quiet."
They might frown on that in adminstration, and I can't say as I'd blame them.
So I decided to do a musical journal, where the kids have to listen to the song, and while it's playing, they have to write the story of the song. If it has words (not all do), they can use those to help them figure out what is happening. If not, they have to think about what their mind is picturing.
We practiced first, and I played parts of "The Nutcracker Suite," since many of the movements are very distinctive and have an easily recognized mood, and easily inspire pictures to form as you listen.
Then, I played the first song. It was "Alla Luce del Sole" sung by Josh Groban. Now, if you know what type of songs Josh Groban is known for, you can probably imagine what my students were thinking as it started playing.
They are hyper-critical at this age... everything is "stupid," "retarded," "ugly," and so on. But I had prepared them, warning them about what would happen if I heard a single negative thing without it being backed up, and not even my toughest kid (not Stubborn, either, but one who is even more trouble; I'll have to tell you about him soon) had anything negative to say.
It was great! They listened carefully. They wrote earnestly. Then they all vied for the chance to share their title and what their story was. The only ones who didn't like it said they didn't like that it wasn't in English (it was in Spanish, so some of my kids knew what he was saying.) Some admitted they liked the song, but it was "Not at all to my taste."
They got so excited about it, they wanted to do the next song immediately. I told them we'd do one every couple of days, and they groaned. They actually wanted more work!
I absolutely love my job when everything goes perfectly. It's such a gift to be able to share something like a Josh Groban song with my students, and talk about it honestly and fairly.
I am very happy... and I get to do it with three more classes tomorrow... and two of them are my advanced classes, who tend to get more involved and excited about stuff like this.
I can't wait to see what they have to say about the song tomorrow. Plus, I can't wait to get to some of the songs. I have the strangest collection of songs planned. Oh, well. It should be interesting, if nothing else!
TGIF!
*Update 9/21/07* Apparently, the song I used yesterday (and will use today) is not in Spanish, but in Italian, as per a comment I received. Thanks for helping me clear it up! I did tell the kids I knew he sings in Italian and Spanish, so I don't know which this one was... but it's nice to know the truth!
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