New Book: Explain the Joke

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Here is some good news that I would like to share: Explain the Joke was published by D C Canada Education Publishing.

I began explaining jokes to my 4th grade students in 2013.  They were learning English and did not understand the jokes that other students were telling.  The explanations developed into a blog, and the blog developed into the book.  Working with DC Canada publishers was a wonderful experience, and publishing the book is a dream come true.

While the book was written for English language learners, it works for anyone who would like to better understand the multiple layers of these jokes in English.

Of course, I would encourage you to buy a copy, and then let me know what you think.  Thanks for reading!

Irish Soda Bread

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I seem to repost this a lot, yes, just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. It’s my mom’s Irish Soda Bread recipe… again. Enjoy!

MomsIrishSodaBread

If you live in Peru, or somewhere it is difficult to get buttermilk, plain (non-flavored yogurt) works great as a substitute!  The note in blue ink about using three (3) tablespoons of lemon juice plus milk to make two (2) cups also works, but not with powdered milk.

How We Learn

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As we returned to school-learning after a long break, I asked a group of middle school students, “How do you learn?”  They looked at me, puzzled.  I explained that I wanted them to think about a time that they learned something new, and think about how they did it; I asked them to tell a story about it.  The question turned out to be more difficult than I expected.  

Then, after talking about learning to ride a bike, speak a new language, play a new video game or an instrument… , we made a list of what these experiences teach us.  The stories of learning can be summarized in five key ideas:

  1. Watch and listen first.  Before riding a bike, they watched people ride bikes; before playing an instrument, they watched people play that instrument.
  2. Start out small.  It is said that the longest journey begins with a single step, and the same is true for learning.  Students first learned how to turn on the machine, or play one note, or ride with training wheels.  No one started out playing Mozart.
  3. Learn with others.  All of the students talked about getting better while practicing with friends, playing with others, and working with the teacher.  The others helped them get better, and encouraged them to keep working at it, not give up.  Learning with others also makes it easier to ask questions!
  4. Know that it takes time and practice.  Even the best players in the world have coaches, editors, conductors, and teachers.  We all need feedback in order to improve; applying and learning from that feedback takes time.
  5. When it gets too easy, move up a level. Yes, they started out with small steps, but then they added complexity, and kept getting better.  Staying at the same level did not sound like fun to anyone.  Part of the joy was getting good at something, something that was difficult to begin with, and then adding something more when it got too easy.

What are you learning now?  Do you share your learning with your friends and family?  We are all learners.  When we talk about our learning, it becomes normal to be on the road towards a goal, to be in process;  we make mistakes and grow from them in order to get better at what we do.  And in the process, we are thankful for the opportunity to learn, to grow, to be and to become.

Teaching Reading: Sold a Story

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soldastoryI have been teaching reading and writing for many years, mostly to 4th-8th graders.  By the time they get to me, in reading we work on developing vocabulary, understanding the text and text structures, and deepening comprehension.  Somewhere along the line, my students’ previous teachers taught them to decode the sounds, understand the words, and make sense of the text at their grade levels.  Apparently, in many places that hasn’t been happening.

The podcast series, Sold a Story, is a game changer, unless you already knew or have been changed.  The way many schools have been teaching reading has been mistaken, misguided, incomplete, because that’s how teachers were instructed to teach reading. In many places students were not taught to decode the words, to sound it out.  While the comprehension strategies such as predicting and understanding the theme are great, first students have to be able to read the words.

Please listen to the series, Sold a Story.  You won’t be disappointed.

Learning from Everyone

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Do you read The Marginalian?  If not, I would highly recommend that you do.  There are always ideas that make me say, “Hmmm…wow…interesting, I had not thought about that in that way.”  Here is a tidbit that was posted and sent to me (yes, you should sign up for the free newsletter and donate, too):

From a child you can learn

1) to always to be happy;
2) never to sit idle;
3) to cry for everything you want.

From a thief you can learn

1) to work at night;
2) that if you cannot gain what you want in one night to try again the next night;
3) to love your co-workers just as thieves love each other;
4) to be willing to risk your life even for a little thing;
5) not to attach too much value to things even though you have risked your life for them — just as a thief will resell a stolen article for a fraction of its real value;
6) to withstand all kinds of beatings and tortures but to remain what you are;
7) to believe that your work is worthwhile and not be willing to change it.

Hope for Humanity

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A few days ago, a new student arrived in my EAL class in Peru ( EAL- English as an additional language.). The new student speaks Korean and Japanese, and has studied a bit of English; all of the classes, though, are taught in English, except the Spanish class.  So, picture yourself in that situation: You are new to an English speaking school in a Spanish speaking country; you are about 12 years old; you speak two languages that have little to do with where you are now.  Difficult, to say the least.

To begin the class, I asked students to introduce themselves to the new student.  My students are very welcoming so this was easy for them.  They clearly tried to make connections with him as they mentioned music, games, and other cultural ideas that he might be interested in.  Then, one of the newer students introduced himself saying something like, “I am also new here, not quite as new as you, and I found it easy to make friends here.  I hope you also are able to make friends.  I will be your friend.”

I will be your friend.

Imagine the world if this is how everyone received new people, immigrants, refugees, the stranger, the unknown.  It could happen.

I will be your friend.  This gives me hope.

Reading-of

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Sitting down for the reading-of challenged my sense of balance.  The wobbly table in front of me offered no support for my arthritic hands. And I feared that any movement of the table would knock over the seven wax candles that flickered atop.  The high-backed wicker chair where I was to rest seemed to be held together with strings and rags.  Still, I sat.  Slowly.  Carefully.

Marcia entered cat-like, brushed her flowing robes aside and sat in front of me on a stool that I had not seen.  Her long white hair covered her eyes, but with her back to the candles I couldn’t have seen them anyway.

Without saying a word she reached forward and took my cold hands in hers.  They were warm.  The room was warm.  The room lit up, transformed, no, I was in a big city, on a busy corner.  Was this New York? I looked down at my hands and they were young again.  The pain was gone. I looked up at the kiosk and newspapers held a date years into the future.  

I reached my right hand up to inspect a magazine from the kiosk.  A stab of agony.  I was cold.  As suddenly as I had left the room, I returned to the age and the pain and the darkness and the flickering candles.

And Marcia. 

Slowly she whispered, “I have read-of you.  You have seen.”

As she rather floated out of the room the candles extinguished.  I slowly stood, in the dark, but I had seen a light.

St. Francis of Assisi

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IMG_4723October 4th is the day of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and ecology.  People the world over admire St. Francis for his simplicity and humility, along with his dedication to peace and the natural world.  Yes, the world would be a better place with more focus on of all of those virtues: simplicity, humility, peace, and ecology.  (The picture to the left is of the town of Assisi in Italy.)

A Franciscan once told me a story about Francis that I had not heard.  A young monk asked Francis if he could have a prayer book.  Francis thought for a moment and said, “The idea of prayer is important, and having a resource to help you pray sounds helpful. Having a book, though, means that you need a place to put the book or a way to carry the book.  Where then, will you put that shelf or bag that holds your book?  Will you be afraid of losing the book, or of the book getting stolen? Where do you want to focus your attention?”  I am sure you can guess the response of the young monk.

If you are interested in learning more about St. Francis of Assisi you could start with the Prayer of St. Francis, or watch Franco Zeffireelli’s Brother Sun, Sister Moon.  While the movie looks a bit dated, it is a classic.  There are also many books about St. Francis, such as St. Francis and the Foolishness of God.

Oral Rehearsal for Writing

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Do your students say what they want to write before they write it?  Whether it is a short exit ticket, the resolution of the conflict in a narrative, a lab report, or something else, there is a lot of power in oral rehearsal at every age. 

An easy way to do an oral rehearsal with your students is to do a think-pair-share.  You may have heard of this strategy where students take a moment to think about the answer to your question, and then turn to a partner who is near them to share the answer. To complete the cycle, have students write what they shared.

Another way to set up oral rehearsal is for students to have writing partners.  Before writing, partners can share what they will write about based on the instructions for the day.  After they write, they can share their writing and get some feedback from the partner.  I like to set up partners for the length of the unit so that students can build that friendship that good writing partners need.

Yes, all of this takes modeling and practice.

This week I did a small experiment with two of my students who are learning English.  I asked them first to write about a movie and I gave them five minutes to write.  Then, I had each one tell us about a book that they liked.  Here is a picture of their answers.  I added a word count to each text.Screen Shot 2021-08-25 at 3.39.47 PM

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Sure there is lots to work on with their English, but look at the difference in language production!  Oral rehearsal is definitely worth the effort.