Happy Friday

I'm afraid to jinx myself, but so far, my classes seem to be starting off on a positive note.  It has been several years since I've taught younger students, and I recall classes as lively and rowdy and many times difficult.  (Then again, I was new.)  Unlike the seniors I've taught for several years now,  most of my sophomores complete homework.  All students have the best intentions in September, but I am impressed with their enthusiasm.  One of the ELA standards the sophomores must master by the end of November is  the poetry standard.  When a teacher mentions poetry, many tend to shut down, but these guys are hanging in.  Monday, we will look at imagery in a Phillip Booth poem, "First Lesson."  In the nonfiction classes, we've read some interesting profiles, one called "Quiet Depravity" about the comedian Sarah Silverman, in The New Yorker and a superb piece entitled "The American Male at Age Ten" by Susan Orlean.   A Writing Project colleague gave me an edition of The Best Teen Writing of 2009  and we read a moving piece by 18 year old Lauren Youngsmith that combined the profile with a narrative about a family tragedy.  The idea behind this unit was to allow the students to interview each other (a nice way to begin the year) then write a profile.  I encourage them to think about the overall unique quality of their subject, but some of them draw a blank.  I also emphasize to find the humor in their partner's responses.  Ideally, I want them to mimic some of the pieces we read.  I'd like to follow up the profile with having them interview someone outside of the school, perhaps create a documentary or podcast, but I'm not sure if we have time.  Today, I learned that one of my senior students really hates writing.  The ed tech accompanying him couldn't help, so I suggested he drag images from Google that represented his partner.  He knew that his partner had a "creepy little sister," so I typed the exact words into Google and came up with some great pictures.  This seemed to be the trick to get him working.  I want him to include captions for each image.  I suspect once the rest of the class learns of what he is doing, creating a scrapbook?  A collage?  They will want to create one also.