Short Days and Long Nights

I don't have anything in particular to blog about at this time, so I will share a few snippets of scenarios that my days short and the evenings away from my kids long.

Finally, I have two computers working in my room. I love it and so do my kids. So far, we've typed Business Letters and played on FunBrain.com. Having the working computers helps my classroom management because it gives those students who finish early something constructive to partake in. Best of all, the family atmosphere is strong and my kids are disciplined enough to work two at a time on the computer. In my highest tiered group, a few students are able to work three at a time. Things are really coming together.

Also, I just had a screen for my projector installed. It has really enhanced my instruction. Now, there is so much more marker to paper action with the entire class involved. However, I did realize with the installation of the screen, that I made it work before the screen. I never jeopardized my kids' education because of lack of resources. Like any sincere educator, I always did whatever I needed to for my kids to understand. The same applies to the computers. Now that I have them, they're a great asset to my classroom management, but I never had any major issues with management anyway. Complaints were more like fantasies in my mind: even though they were incredibly wonderful, I knew the reality of them was far in the distance and that I needed to take care of the present to move further.

It was Turkey day Long on Tuesday. The Gentlemen's Club prepared dinner for the staff. The guys were super excited. Even though all of them are 8th graders, most of them know me through their mentor, Mr. Bryant. (I digress) The guys come to my room during the middle of 7th grade lunch and inquire in an innocent face, which completely contrasts their normal behavior (I still love them), and say, "Ms. Crawford how come you ain't came to eat yet?" I told them my normal potluck response, "I'll be there in a minute." Normally, I wouldn't have eaten at all, but I couldn't turn the GC's down. Then one of them said, "We'll watch your class for you." I said, "No thank you Tony," with a chuckle and then "Can't you see I'm reading with my babies." It warmed my heart like never before when these guys who pretended to be anything, but innocent sat down amongst my kids and chimed in on our reading and discussion, in the middle of their big day. After about 7 minutes they said, "Ms. Crawford we gotta go now, Mr. Bryant probably looking for us." Then one of my students shouted, "Yeah go so you can leave her babies alone." All of sudden, Tony turns around and responsds, "I'm her baby too, I just don't need as much attention as yall." His peer Marcus says, "Yep, yep." This is what makes time away from school long. I love them like they are my own.

Sound Bites

Last Wednesday my students and I were going over our letter writing exam. Some kind of way I stumbled upon two vocabulary strategies. They both rely heavily on rthym. The first one simply involves students spelling the word as they clap to each letter. When we do this strategy, we usually only do 8-10 words. I think it works so well because we don't many words and so it's easier for students to remember, at least an estimate, of how many times they clapped to each word. It's like memorizing anything else. For instance, if you read song lyrics, you are less likely to remember them and than if you hear song lyrics on top of a rythm. We match the rythm and the way the music sounds with the word pattern. Think about it. You hear a song on the radio for the first time and you learn the words. In fact, even if you don't care for the words or the song, the lyrics or at least some parts of them, become a part of your memory because the beat makes it catchy and so memorable. Then the next time you hear the song, you find yourself singing the words you remember without knowing you remembered them, and making up the most appropriate words for the parts you don't remember. This is what happens when we clap to the spelling of words. Students remember how it sounded to clap off the word and approximately how long it took. This helps them remember most words or most parts of the words and it easier to fill in the blanks of the letters you can't remember. Hence, The Alphabet Song.

The second stategy is simply a parody of an old call and response saying most popular in the hip-hop genre. It goes like, "When I say _____, you say _______. " If we're spelling the word signature, I will divide the room into two groups and group 1 will say: "When we say 'S', you say 'I'. Then group 1 says, "S" and group 2 replies "I". Then group 2 says, "When we say 'G', you say 'N'. Group 2 says, "G" and group 1 replies "N" and so on and so forth. This one works extremely well too. I think it has to do with the call and response nature of the activity.

What may be just as important as the fact that my kids are getting vocabulary quicker and easier, is what these two strategies have in common-rthymn based intsruction. As educators we must reflect on what we can take from this? The obvious- rythm impacts memorization and learning. What we really need to figure out is the unobvious? What is it specifally about music and rythmic sounds that causes humans to retain information better when presented in a rythmic form?

Until I figure it out, I will just go with what I know. So don't be surprised if you enter my classroom and we're singing away!

I almost forgot to mention...evidently I'm not the only person who thought it was a good strategy. My principal walked in to observe me and after school asked me if she could send another teacher in my room to observe direct instruction with vocabulary. What else can I say, but :))