My Nerdy Goal for This School Year

Each year I try to bring a bit more of myself into my classroom. Since finally embracing what I had been pushing away for so much of my life, I want to use it to my advantage as a teacher. It enhances my enjoyment in life and allows me to connect with students.

This year I chose to focus on my reading units in my classroom. My decision was inspired by a change in the subjects that I teach. I am first and foremost a Literacy teacher. My position, though, only covers 4 hours and not the required 5 hours (a total of 7 with 1 prep hour and 1 "team time" hour). So I always end up teaching one additional subject. My very first year I taught Science, but that was a rough year. My second year I picked up a 7th grade Literacy along with my 6th grade Literacy. Then I taught Social Studies and, in my sixth year, I am back with Science. Luckily our district just picked up a new program, so I am fully immersing myself in learning it and understanding it. We have all the resources and went through training and I am feeling really psyched. The only drawback is that my room is primarily a Literacy room, but that's my own issue to work through.

And yet... maybe it wasn't going to be an issue. I've always been drawn to Science Fiction. It is something that I absolutely love to read. Now, don't get me wrong, I do enjoy Fantasy, but I have found I am way more enamored with Science Fiction. In previous years I have catered to young adult realistic fiction, but with the flooded market and the rehashing of the same old things with new skins, I have a tendency to draw away from the market. Sadly, I found it very difficult to find Science Fiction directed at young readers that didn't just use the skin of Science Fiction as a vehicle for a different genre.

That got me thinking. . . how do we really define Science Fiction. I was shocked with what I learned. . .

Oh my goodness... no... absolutely not! Talk about pigeonholing an incredibly powerful genre of writing! Which got me to thinking. . . what if I gathered together a variety of different Science Fiction novels. . . I mean. . . all sorts of different types and let the reading groups pick what they wanted, but THEN they'd have to define what Science Fiction is. As a class we would do our own investigation into what makes Science Fiction Science Fiction! Let's say, too, that I'm straying away from the Post-Apocalyptic/Dystopian Science Fiction, because the kids have either read it or they have lost interest (primarily due to the movies being out).

The other benefit of this is for the girls. STEM is really being pushed in schools right now, because that's where the jobs of the future are. I am a woman teaching Science in Middle School, which leaves me with the position of fostering a love of Science and inquiry in my students. This is especially important for the female students, because research has indicated a sharp decline in an interest in Science once girls are in middle school. Having a daughter of my own, I want to help her understand all areas of life that are open to her, including all the amazing opportunities the field of Science can offer her. I especially love that The Girl Scouts of America offer STEM badges to really encourage girls to at least expose themselves to the field. I really hope I can reach some of our future Scientists with this unit and with my Science class!

So great! I have my unit. I am ready to go... oh wait... I don't have any books! I have some books, but... not enough for a group or enough for two classes! Even if I have copies borrowed from other school libraries I cannot find enough for my classes! I am going to need to seek funding.

Let the tears flow like Niagra Falls. I made a campaign on GoFundMe, because I really need these books. I also wanted to raise the money so I could purchase the books myself. See... when you're given money for your classroom, it's more a donation to the school and not to you, the teacher. That means all my books are checked into the school system and belong to the school. So let's say I leave the school for another position or, for whatever reason, I am just no longer at that school... I lose all of the books I used to create this unit. The unit materials would not follow me and I'd have to find all new materials! It seems minor, but I hate the thought of losing an investment like this.

I'll level with you... I am a very broke teacher. My household lives paycheck to paycheck just above the poverty line. I sink hundreds of dollars into my classroom and my students every year. Pencils, post-its, glue sticks, extra paper, project supplies, books, etc. I also teach a Tabletop Game Unit as a culminating unit with costs me a great deal out of pocket, but the burden is worth it for the experience of the students.  

Now, I hate begging for money. I always feel there are people out there more in need than I am, but right now... well... I care a great deal and am trying my best. I even asked authors whose books I have on my list to help me get the word out. Donate or don't, but please at least help me spread the word! It is honestly a worthy cause! Many of the messages in Science Fiction actually focus on society! Think about how that could impact our world!

So here I am... a week and some change for the doors to my classroom open to all the beautiful young minds eager to learn and I have nothing... $25 from my mom... what a nerdy thing to admit, but there it is. 

As my heart breaks... I make a plea to help me... please help me... to make this happen... spread the world, offer a wee donation... offer up copies of the books... anything helps...

CLICK ME TO HELP!

Meet Me at the Table: December Game-a-Day Challenge - Day 13: Steam Park

Steam Park (2013)

Steam Park had caught my eye a while ago. It might have to do with reading Something Wicked This Way Comes, but I added it to my want list. Then we went to GenCon 2014 and I saw it set up and I was just awed by how gorgeous and magical it looked. So once again, I mentioned it to my husband and got it for St. Nick.

Essentially, you are rolling dice hoping to roll the symbols that will help you to create the best theme park. You want to make sure you keep it clean and that you attract lots of patrons. The tricky thing about the game is knowing when to expand and how to expand, because you have to place your rides in a very specific manner. Also, you want to focus on matching up the colors so that you can benefit from having locked-in patrons.

The game plays in rounds and we found the rounds went really quick! All of a sudden we had to play our last moves and collect our final winnings. The key is really to keep the dirt down, because it'll hinder you in the end. To win, you want to have made the most money. Final collections are done at the end and you also collect money at the end of each round.

It was really a lot of fun and I enjoyed the game a good bit. The artwork is wonderful, but we had some problems with punching out the pieces on the game. They weren't cut very well and some of our pieces ended up ripping slightly, despite our tender touch. We've never had a game punch out with so much difficulty before.

But once it was done, it was fun to set up and has several options for game play in the future. We played two players with the two player rules.

We made some popcorn when we played and the smell was perfect. You would also splurge and make cotton candy, or just buy some awesome fair food, like hot dogs and sugared nuts. As I mentioned earlier, there is always Something Wicked This Way Comes and it's a Disney movie. Silly, but a great trip down memory lane for the 80's generation. Another fun connection right now is to tie it into watching American Horror Story Freak Show, but that's just carnival related. Either way, theme out your game night for this with some fun carnival memories.

Happy Birthday, Ray Bradbury!

This entry is slightly hard for me to write. It is my father's birthday. I pulled the entry where I talk about the loss of my father, but I still miss him frequently and the horrible events that couple his death as still incredibly raw. Every year I try to do something extra special around his birthday to keep his memory alive in a positive way. Right now I put out a trackable through my hobby of geocaching that is in honor of him and is meant to keep his spirit going. It just recently came to rest in Mississippi after having left from the Harley Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, WI.

As I thought about my father, I also remembered that another inspirational person was born on this day in Waukegan, IL and I want to take a few moments to recognize him. Not only does this person connect to my own love of film (Truffaut's Fahrenheit 451), but he's written work that has influenced generations! Heck, Fahrenheit 451 is even on my bookcart at school for one of our units on Human Rights!

I'm not going to say much about it, but I just wanted to have a little moment where I could recognize an author that I love and enjoy. I am currently reading The October Country and The Halloween Tree. Another funny moment was when I first started dating my now husband, he would always talk down the Martian Chronicles and talk up the Martian Tales by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The joke is that the Martian Chronicles was sometimes known as "the OTHER Martian Tales." Ray (the husband, not the author... yet) always made sure to point that out to me. I love Bradbury's dark spirit and haunting imagery. My students had their first encounter with his work when I read to them All Summer in a Day at the end of the school year. Intense stuff.

So happy birthday, Mr. Bradbury!

"All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury

A long time ago, during my college days, I read a good deal of Ray Bradbury. Most notably I read Fahrenheit 451. Not because I was pursuing some sort of connection to the Sci-Fi genre of literature that I frequently stumbled upon, but because I was studying the films of Francois Truffaut.Yes, it was during my Truffaut phase where I wanted to know more about his films that weren't The 400 Blows. Why did he go more Hollywood? What compelled him to work in a more mainstream way? Why abandon the style that Jean-Luc Godard and others carried on with their films? And so I watched Truffaut's futuristic take on the already futuristic Ray Bradbury.

So as I was trying to find a meaningful lesson to combine literacy and Science (sort of) to fill an extra hour that I had to teach outside of the Amazing Race (an end-of-year whole grade level competition ala the TV show), I stumbled upon a list of "Great Short Stories for Middle School." I thought it might be interesting to use some Sci-Fi short stories and encourage the students to think about Sci-Fi and how it relates to our world. As I looked through the list, I came upon "All Summer in a Day" by Bradbury. I quick found a .pdf and read it. Wow! What an amazing story! And the ending. . . oh the ending and it's teachable possibilities!

So I taught it! I  used it in my Science class the Friday before the last week of school. I gave the students some questions to fill out that accessed concepts we had learned in previous classes throughout the year, such as a question about discrimination, creating similes and metaphors, and comparing and contrasting Earth and Venus. I performed a dramatic reading of the short story for the students, as they followed along or sat-back and listened. When I was done, one of my students raised their hand and asked, "So is this how you planned to torture us?" Confused, I asked "what do you mean?" "Why didn't you give us the whole story?" "OH! Well, I'm sorry to say, hun, but that's it. There is no more to the story. It ends here. I am not withholding information or pages or anything. No torture meant, except to inspire you." Whispers and frantic talk started to break out in groups. Another student spoke out, "But what happened to her?!?!"

Seeing the excitement on the faces of my kids prompted me to add an additional activity. They could either draw a picture to show me what they think happened after the door was opened or they could write me an ending AFTER they finished the worksheet. An assignment come down from heaven. With the exception of the six students who have decided to already check-out and make classroom life miserable, my other 18 students talked in their groups, reread the story, and offered up some pretty interesting ideas. One said she went on a Carrie-type rampage. Another said that the kids were so embarrassed they ate Margot to destroy the evidence (this particular student enjoys Battle Royale and The Hunger Games). Some students just drew pictures of what they pictured in their mind while listening or rereading the story. I've included pictures below.

What an amazing moment for myself, for my students, and for my journey. I love giving my kids classic literature to read and this was a great suggestion for my middle schoolers who were able to understand the concepts and it totally engaged them. Thanks Bradbury, you brilliant writer, you.