Laura Gonzalez's Posts - Classroom 2.02024-03-28T23:45:01ZLaura Gonzalezhttps://www.classroom20.com/profile/LauraGonzalezhttps://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1950236975?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://www.classroom20.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=0khisv3kcrcye&xn_auth=noMeltdownstag:www.classroom20.com,2010-03-07:649749:BlogPost:4443412010-03-07T02:00:00.000ZLaura Gonzalezhttps://www.classroom20.com/profile/LauraGonzalez
Way back when, a long time ago, I was a first-year teacher. I had been hired to teach bilingual/ESL in a bridge (k-2) class.<br></br><br></br>My first vice principal took me aside one day and told me, "One of these days, it's going to be too much for you. It'll be too much stress. When that happens, call me. I will come to your classroom and give you a fifteen-minute break to pull yourself back together."<br></br><br></br>Not having been in the classroom before, I had no idea what she was talking…
Way back when, a long time ago, I was a first-year teacher. I had been hired to teach bilingual/ESL in a bridge (k-2) class.<br/><br/>My first vice principal took me aside one day and told me, "One of these days, it's going to be too much for you. It'll be too much stress. When that happens, call me. I will come to your classroom and give you a fifteen-minute break to pull yourself back together."<br/><br/>Not having been in the classroom before, I had no idea what she was talking about.<br/><br/>Teaching means you have 20+ children, your children, depending on you, pulling on you, arguing with you, and otherwise needing you. If it were such a great and easy deal, parents would have sleepovers, slumber parties, and parties for all the kids in the class every weekend. It's not. It's hard work. It's draining work. It's not unusual for a teacher to go home and fall into an exhausted sleep before even taking off her shoes.<br/><br/>And some days it's too much stress. A teacher has a meltdown. Tears. Angry explosions. The desperate need to escape all these needy children.<br/><br/>I am so grateful for that first vice principal. When she told me that, she showed me that it was natural for a teacher to feel like that sometimes. When I melt(ed) down, I didn't have the added burden of thinking I'm a freak for being impatient with all these takers of my energy.<br/><br/>Meltdowns happen to teachers. It's ok. We'll be supported by our colleagues and peers. No one judges harshly. We've all been there.<br/>Books Made into Moviestag:www.classroom20.com,2010-03-06:649749:BlogPost:4443402010-03-06T02:28:15.000ZLaura Gonzalezhttps://www.classroom20.com/profile/LauraGonzalez
You know you have students hooked on a book when they complain because the movie isn't as good as the book. You know they "get it" when you hear someone responds with "the movie is <span style="font-style: italic;">never</span> as good as the book!"<br></br><br></br>One of my goals as a teacher is to instill a love of reading in kids/teens while I can. <a href="http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=7517">Studies</a> show that kids don't read for pleasure. I want to hook them on…
You know you have students hooked on a book when they complain because the movie isn't as good as the book. You know they "get it" when you hear someone responds with "the movie is <span style="font-style: italic;">never</span> as good as the book!"<br/><br/>One of my goals as a teacher is to instill a love of reading in kids/teens while I can. <a href="http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=7517">Studies</a> show that kids don't read for pleasure. I want to hook them on reading.<br/><br/>So I use <a href="http://www.mcpl.lib.mo.us/readers/movies/">books-made-into-movies</a> as a hook. <br/><br/>For ESL classes, I used to show the movie, read the book, then watch the movie again. Students gained depth of understanding with the multiple modalities and the repeated exposure to the material. <br/><br/>In my 7th grade class, students read the book, watch the movie, and learn how to compare the two using t-charts, double bubble thinking maps, etc. They become more critical of movies when they already know the book. <br/><br/>In my reading improvement class, I use the movies as bribes. If 80% of the class passes the Reading Counts! test, they get to watch the movie. A movie day is a powerful motivator to read, pay attention, reread and review, take, and retake a test when necessary. They learn it sometimes takes more than one reading to "get it." Most importantly, they learn that they aren't the only ones who need more time and practice to pass.<br/><br/>Two years ago, <span style="font-style: italic;">Coraline</span> by Neil Gaiman was popular with kids at my school so I was excited by the prospect of a new book/movie tie-in appropriate for pre-teens and teens, one which doesn't patronize my students. Omigod! There is no way I'll be showing that movie to my class!<br/><br/>Each year we have a parent protest because <span style="font-style: italic;">I Know What You Did Last Summer</span> by Lois Duncan is on the literature circle reading list. The movie is nothing like the book. There is no way we'd regard the movie appropriate for 12- and 13- year olds.<br/><br/>Probably the most effective book/movie tie-in has been <span style="font-style: italic;">The Outsiders</span> by S.E. Hinton. On its own, the movie is good. In comparison to the book, students find it lacking. Their favorite scenes aren't in the movie; characters they wanted to see aren't there (Sandy).<br/><br/>Children who have watched the movie before find it a different experience when they're with peers who are going to be critical of the movie. It's just a different experience from watching it at home alone. Neither compares, though, to reading the book with friends.<br/>