Seize the Dark Chocolate

I got a big smile on my face when I found this on my desk.  Here's why.  I always teach my students the "i before e except after c" rule and have them recite it along with me.  But then, because it's English, there are always exceptions to the rule.  So, I teach them some way to remember each exception.   Your skin can be beige.  We are weird, and I see the chocolate and I seize it.  

I also happened to mention that I would especially seize it if it were dark chocolate, and my thoughtful student even gave me dark chocolate.  And, of course, she spelled the word seize correctly on her spelling and vocabulary test.   Things like that make teachers happy.  

 

Everything Got Cancelled Because of Covid So I'm Using My Time to Make Over a Thousand Vocabulary Slides

Sleep in -- check
Relax -- check
Catch up on sewing -- check
Creative time -- check
Read -- check

Plant garden for the first time in five years -- check

Make vocabulary slides -- check

I've spent the last several weeks working 4-12 hours a day (depending on whether or not my children are home or out working) on all of my vocabulary slides for next year -- four grades' worth.  Combined with the three years of work I've already done, I'll have about three thousand slides for a full year of vocabulary lessons for seven different grades when I'm finished.  These have saved me much time during the school year, and the students' grades improve when I use this method for spelling and vocabulary.  

It's hard work, but once they are done, I have them FOREVER and all I have to do is to click a button and my students can see the word, a definition, a sentence, and a picture to help them remember the word, all on one slide.  I first used this method with my sixth graders a few years ago, and it worked so well that I've done it for grades 6-12.  (I've also shared these with a teacher who doesn't have a projector in the classroom, and she printed them out on 8.5 x 11 pieces of paper and hung them in the classroom.)

I am not a computer genius, but I can easily use Google docs, and that is SUPER easy.   I try to use history topics as part of the sentences as often as I can, and fine art and scripture as often as I can. 

I have found this to be one of the best uses of my teacher prep time because I can use them again and the results have been well worth my efforts.  My students' grades skyrocketed when I began using these three years ago.  

Happy summer teacher prep time to you!  

May I Draw on My Spelling Test? Of Course!

When we were doing fix-ups on our practice spelling tests recently, I told my sixth-graders to not just write the words, but to draw something along with them to help them remember.  Here is what we drew.

  
There are four "s"s in repossess.  The dot on the "i" is a pillow to help them remember that it is not an "a".  They kept misspelling the second syllable in exclamatory -- so we drew a clam.
   
We are always happy when we renOvate a room.  And, if you stand in a grate, then you are an ingrate.

Do they remember this stuff on the test?  Almost always.  In fact, they can usually still remember it a year later.  
 
If you look closely, you can see the ant on the fire hydrant.


   

Silly Stories and Secret Codes for Spelling

It is after 10:00 p.m., and I just finished grading the 6th graders' spelling and vocabulary tests.  I was thrilled with their grades which ranged from a 91 to six 100s.  WOW!   When the lowest grade in the class is in the nineties, I know that something worked and I begin analyzing, and here is what I've figured out that has worked with this class over the past few months.  I believe that any teacher could use these techniques and see marked improvement in their class's spelling grades.  (These pictures are all from the students' last spelling tests.)

1.  Finding words within words, drawing pictures, and telling silly stories really help them learn "tricks" which enable them to spell the words correctly.  
Examples from above:  
"prayer" is the root of "prayerful",
"spectacles" begins the same way as "specify",
"flu" is in the middle of the word "affluent",  
"point" is at the end of "disappoint",
"Ana" sat on a "log",
and it is a shame to have a house repossessed for only owing $4.00 (the four "s"s make the $4.00).

NOW, I NEVER say these stories or reminders during the real test, and I will rarely say them during even a practice test.  We just practice them that way in class, and I explain them that way, and the students remember them when it is time for the test.

Certain students remember different things, so I usually show them a few different ways.  What works for one student may not work for another, but one of the ways I show them usually will work with their brains and they will remember.  

This student remembered that an Indian had "grat-i-tude" and did "spec-i-fy" (thus the "i" in the middle); and that made sense to her.  She also used my silly sentence for "analogy" -- "Ana has a log, why?" to remind her of the "y" at the end.

And here is the other column on the test.  Balaam's "ass" did make "sure" that Balaam wasn't hurt by the angel.  Besides using the "I am an electrician" sentence (i - an) which helped them learn the last three letters of this one, they then missed the "tri" in the middle.  So I told them my electrician showed up at my house on a tricycle.  We laughed, and they remembered it for the test the next day even though I didn't review it with them.  

And, when you disembark from a ship, the captain will give you one M&M.  (Several of them were spelling it "disenbark".

I also told them that someone could "die" if they were disobedient, and that there is a "rope" in "European".

2.  Secret codes really work.  We were having an awful time with our vocabulary words.  First I made a slide show with pictures of each vocabulary word along with the definition.  I also printed these out on a sheet of paper for them. This helped a lot. Here is an example of one.  

dehydrate - to remove water from

But the problem was that the tests aren't always matching the vocabulary word with the definition.  Sometimes just the definition is there and they have to pull the word out of their heads.  Often much of the class had problems doing this, so two weeks ago I began using the secret code method.  

Here is the secret code from this last test.  

No A, 1 B, 2 C, 2 De, 2 F, no G, HI, MP3, RR (railroad)

Once they memorized the secret code (which only took about two days) they could easily recall all of the vocabulary words.  They asked me if they could write the secret code on their tests from memory.  Of course, I said "yes".  They asked if that was cheating.  I told them that if they memorized the secret code and all the vocabulary words and wrote the entire list from memory (without any prompts, hints, visual helps or reviews before the test from me at all), that that was called studying, not cheating.  

The entire class got every single one of these correct on this last test.  It has worked so well we're on our third secret code.  The students think it is fun and it certainly helps their grades. 

3.  I've also learned that if the students are expected to memorize the Greek and Latin roots, (thanks for really pushing the 6th graders, Abeka) then secret codes work for those, too.  And I know it works because several of the students easily remembered this one also and wrote it from memory on their tests.  And I don't do those "quick reviews" right before the tests either.  I expect them to remember it on their own from the days before. 

Here is how this one worked.  We had a  "FGHI mit".  

"F" was for "flu", "g" was for "grat", "h" was for "hydro", "i" was for "inter", and "mit" was for "mit", obviously.

If any of you are using the 6th grade Abeka curriculum for spelling and vocabulary, I will gladly share my vocabulary slides (pictures) and secret codes with you if you are interested.   My email address is littleflock7 at gmail dot com.   

Crossington and Cockrotches

Amy Zimmerman, the fifth grade teacher next door, and I have been collecting humorous written sentences from our students.  We will share the brilliance with you here.  These are direct quotes from students' writings.  

"The largest flying bird is the cockrotch." [sic]


"Crossington washed the Delaware." 

"Land dries faster than the sea."

"Lord willing, an epidermic will not reach us." 

 The definition of militia was given as "call only in a emergency".

"My sister did lament when her tooth fell out because she thought it died." 

Definition of the spoils system (in which the president awards positions to those who helped him gain office):  If the president doesn't want to eat spoiled food, he can give it to his cabinet.