The 8 Parts of Speech Poem
Every name is called a noun
As field and fountain, street and town;
In place of noun the pronoun stands,
As he and she can clap their hands;
The adjective describes a thing,
As magic wand or bridal ring;
The verb means action, something done –
To read and write, to jump and run;
How things are done the adverbs tell,
As quickly, slowly, badly, well;
The preposition shows relation,
As in the street or at the station;
Conjunctions join, in many ways,
Sentences, words, or phrase and phrase;
The interjection cries out, Hark!
I need an exclamation mark.
Maybe this mnemonic device will help my kids nail this concept. The chief keeps reminding me that language is very abstract and hard to grasp.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
belle of the ball
My faculty Christmas party happened last night. We met at a locally owned steak house and proceeded to gorge ourselves. The chief arrived stylishly late because I was tempted not to go. But when I arrived home and the Chief yelled, "I'm out of the shower," and I knew we'd be going.
I crawled into my bed with my clothes on and slept for twenty-thirty minutes. (There had been two wrecks on the way home, I'd stayed at school to check kid's IQs, grade, write a test and watch one of my boys wrestle.) Then, I got up and rubbed the smudges of mascara out from under my eyes, went downstairs, and said, "Let's go." The chief scurried up the stairs and put on her outfit and changed out her workhorse purse to her fancier pocket book (her Brahmin not her Ferragamo).
When we arrived at the place, the Chief made quite an impression on everybody. The Chief was on Sparkle mode. That's what my sister and I refer to her playing at the height of her game. The chief sparkled: she unruffled all the feathers I flustered, she carried the conversation at the table while looking exquisite. Everyone came up to tell me how beautiful my mother is. Everytime I responded with "You don't have to sound so surprised!" She did look lovely, sophisticated, and an understated festive. She more than made up for my slept-in look and I'm-exhausted mood. She earned her filet mignon. I was very proud of her.
I crawled into my bed with my clothes on and slept for twenty-thirty minutes. (There had been two wrecks on the way home, I'd stayed at school to check kid's IQs, grade, write a test and watch one of my boys wrestle.) Then, I got up and rubbed the smudges of mascara out from under my eyes, went downstairs, and said, "Let's go." The chief scurried up the stairs and put on her outfit and changed out her workhorse purse to her fancier pocket book (her Brahmin not her Ferragamo).
When we arrived at the place, the Chief made quite an impression on everybody. The Chief was on Sparkle mode. That's what my sister and I refer to her playing at the height of her game. The chief sparkled: she unruffled all the feathers I flustered, she carried the conversation at the table while looking exquisite. Everyone came up to tell me how beautiful my mother is. Everytime I responded with "You don't have to sound so surprised!" She did look lovely, sophisticated, and an understated festive. She more than made up for my slept-in look and I'm-exhausted mood. She earned her filet mignon. I was very proud of her.
bad move, good move
I shopped for Christmas gifts today. My motivation this morning ran along these lines: "it's only going to get worse." I'm not sure what the "it" is, but that was my pessimistic beginning. I drove to Charlotte and treated myself to "a healthy lunch". Then, I strolled over to the new Barnes & Noble. This was a bad move because I spent over an hour tooling around buying books mostly for my students and me. Books are my downfall; if I ever do a budget cut-- the books get nixed. I'm a moth and the rows of literature, kid lit and theology are the flames of my ruin. I was supposed to be shopping for other people for Christmas not looking for nifty reading comprehension exercises and (oohooh) what Peterson and L'Engle they had. But, I started a theme gift for my aunt that I continued throughout the day. I also found a present for my spiritual director.
I was tempted to leave the mall right after walking into it. I found all the stuff, the people, the bright lights, and the chirpy music revolting. Good move: I soldiered through the urge to vacate. It's hard to shop for clothes when you're buying for yourself; it's even harder when you're buying for somebody else. But, I found groovy gifts for my siblings. And, I found a top and pants for my professional life. My size was a little snug; this isn't a convenient time for sizes to be feeling snug. Clothes snug is different than boyfriend snuggle; in some circles, they're mutually exclusive. I started getting depressed then I realized that this something that I have control over. It's difficult to exercise and eat well with my work schedule, but I can make health a priority. I can be conscious of what I'm stuffing into my mouth so that I want look like a stuffed sausage in my outfits.
I was tempted to leave the mall right after walking into it. I found all the stuff, the people, the bright lights, and the chirpy music revolting. Good move: I soldiered through the urge to vacate. It's hard to shop for clothes when you're buying for yourself; it's even harder when you're buying for somebody else. But, I found groovy gifts for my siblings. And, I found a top and pants for my professional life. My size was a little snug; this isn't a convenient time for sizes to be feeling snug. Clothes snug is different than boyfriend snuggle; in some circles, they're mutually exclusive. I started getting depressed then I realized that this something that I have control over. It's difficult to exercise and eat well with my work schedule, but I can make health a priority. I can be conscious of what I'm stuffing into my mouth so that I want look like a stuffed sausage in my outfits.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
yippee
I got another email from the university department head I've been communicating with for over a year now. It looks as if I'm closest to an adjunct position as I've ever been! Woohoo. I'm still a long way from a contract, but it's nice to start discussing details. Nights of the week. One night a week for the summer or a two night a week gang-busters course. Syllabus. Et cetera. This job would be a very cool summer gig-- I'd be teaching stuff I love and "classroom management" won't be so insane! I hadn't heard from the lady in a while, so I was starting to right off the chance. But, wouldn't this be fun!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
unexpected
Today's Language Art journal topic was "Describe how your family decorates for Christmas (Christmas tree, stockings, colored or clear lights, etc.)."
A girl raises her hand and asks, "Indoor or outdoor?"
I paused to consider the question. I answered, "Either or both." (That kind of answer gives insight into why I teach language instead of math. Messy is good. Messy is real.)
Several of my kids really got into the topic: I heard color schemes and description of the emotional states of the various reindeer. Nativity vs. Santa Claus? They lit up as they discussed the themes their families incorporated in their decorating. This odd conversation reminded me how endearing my students are and how charming and unique my county is.
A girl raises her hand and asks, "Indoor or outdoor?"
I paused to consider the question. I answered, "Either or both." (That kind of answer gives insight into why I teach language instead of math. Messy is good. Messy is real.)
Several of my kids really got into the topic: I heard color schemes and description of the emotional states of the various reindeer. Nativity vs. Santa Claus? They lit up as they discussed the themes their families incorporated in their decorating. This odd conversation reminded me how endearing my students are and how charming and unique my county is.
palindrome this
Once upon a time clairvoyants used bird guts. Nowadays, I use restaurant bills. My dinner ended in a palindrome: 23.32. Coincidence? Surely not. It's bound to be some significance to that lovely number. The Chief was explaining the palindrome to our waitress who was trying not to look bored. Such signs are for those who have eyes to see... the nerds, the geeks, the odd, the freaks. It is I, Lord.
My day slid by at a remarkable pace; I was a busy bee. The faculty meeting got cancelled, which made my day. It doesn't take much, folks, just numerical palindromes and cancelled meetings. Some people need true love and obscene salaries. Me, not so much.
I should have exercised tonight, instead I curled up with Peterson's "Eat This Book." It is fabulous. Next, I need to finish up my homework for my small group; it's not like I had two weeks to complete the task. Procrastination is a nasty, nasty addiction/habit.
My day slid by at a remarkable pace; I was a busy bee. The faculty meeting got cancelled, which made my day. It doesn't take much, folks, just numerical palindromes and cancelled meetings. Some people need true love and obscene salaries. Me, not so much.
I should have exercised tonight, instead I curled up with Peterson's "Eat This Book." It is fabulous. Next, I need to finish up my homework for my small group; it's not like I had two weeks to complete the task. Procrastination is a nasty, nasty addiction/habit.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
ta-da
It turns out that I was dreading returning to school for no reason. I haven't been bitten or even yelled at yet. Granted, I've worked two 11.5 hour days, 23 hours, which would punt most people into Wednesday afternoon. But, not me. I'm staring Tuesday night in the eyeballs. Interims go out on Thursday; so, I have been wading through all the tall paper-clipped stacks of paper on, under and around my desk. The collected, alphabetized, graded, entered, and maybe piles. And, then there are a lot of random, I have no idea what this is piles. My room is an arson's dream and a neat-freak's nightmare.
My brilliant lesson plan went splendidly in my first class and TANKED in my second class. It was dire, but I was at the point of no return: all the supplies were out. My second class were cutting the glue sticks with the scissors. Um, pay attention and do what you're supposed to do. "Ms. M, this is so hard!" "I can't do this!" In parenthesis: I think I'll launch paper at my classmates instead... or chase Joseph with scissors... or start singing. Seriously, some of my kids avoid thinking at all costs. Point of pride: I only yelled once during the entire fiasco, but served an ample dish of sarcasm. Sarcasm isn't helpful when dealing with seventh graders.
And, I'm having to meet with a lot of parents to sign students' personalized plans because they made poor scores on the state standardized test. Needless to say, that means a lot of paperwork and meetings for the lowly teacher. Their performance in last year's class creates a lot of hassle for me.
This is all to say, when I picked up my book to read, I was too wasted to concentrate. So, I thought I'd blog instead! And, three cheers for yummy yet inexpensive shiraz!!!
I woke up at 3:30am this morning and couldn't fall back to sleep. When I told my mom, she offered to make me a doctor's appointment. This year, I've been having little trouble falling asleep but waking up in the middle of the night wide-awake. I wonder what the difference is: stress, age, etc?
My brilliant lesson plan went splendidly in my first class and TANKED in my second class. It was dire, but I was at the point of no return: all the supplies were out. My second class were cutting the glue sticks with the scissors. Um, pay attention and do what you're supposed to do. "Ms. M, this is so hard!" "I can't do this!" In parenthesis: I think I'll launch paper at my classmates instead... or chase Joseph with scissors... or start singing. Seriously, some of my kids avoid thinking at all costs. Point of pride: I only yelled once during the entire fiasco, but served an ample dish of sarcasm. Sarcasm isn't helpful when dealing with seventh graders.
And, I'm having to meet with a lot of parents to sign students' personalized plans because they made poor scores on the state standardized test. Needless to say, that means a lot of paperwork and meetings for the lowly teacher. Their performance in last year's class creates a lot of hassle for me.
This is all to say, when I picked up my book to read, I was too wasted to concentrate. So, I thought I'd blog instead! And, three cheers for yummy yet inexpensive shiraz!!!
I woke up at 3:30am this morning and couldn't fall back to sleep. When I told my mom, she offered to make me a doctor's appointment. This year, I've been having little trouble falling asleep but waking up in the middle of the night wide-awake. I wonder what the difference is: stress, age, etc?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)