MISUNDERSTOOD:
A Thematic Unit for 9th Grade English

Hypothetical Students,

As we look at the world around us, we make snap judgments; it’s just what we do. As human beings, we see something and our brain forms an immediate response/opinion to it – good or bad. This unit is going to focus on things in the world around us (not just in English/Language Arts) that are misunderstood. I hope you will keep an open mind as we explore several different areas of misunderstandings in our world. I know that I, for one, am interested to learn things that I may have misunderstood about each of you, and I look forward to things we will learn together along the way.

-Mrs. Glover

Click here for an Outline/Overview for “Misunderstood”

Here is the link to the video if you are my mom or my fiance (those are the only two people I can think of outside our class who would check my blog) and you haven’t seen it:

Wow – no really, wow. I mean, I’m changed after watching this – I will be buying free trade chocolate from here on out (seriously – who knew?). And that last video killed me – “Don’t Laugh at Me.” I mean, I know I’m a girl, but I cried. Anyone out there with me? Anyone?

Dr. Tyson is simply a phenomenal speaker; he states things in a way that truly forces his listeners to reflect on the “why” of teaching. I love when he states that “Believe means you are living – be living.” I think he’s got a point here: we’ve got to aim higher for our students than to simply make good grades. Grades shmades – how do we make it matter to their hearts? How do we inspire them with more than fear of the dreaded red ink pen?

The part that really resonated with me throughout the whole video can be summed up by something he states towards the end when he mentions “that precious teacher in the classroom who collapses that distance between children and meaningful contribution.” This is so true – all we ever heard about in school was how our teachers had to “get us ready for next year,” which is all fine and well, but I agree with Dr. Tyson that it’s got to be about more than that. It just does – meaningfulness IS the product of connectiveness. Educators throw that word around so easily: “connectiveness.” But the connection is lost if the teacher isn’t willing to help show the students WHY IT MATTERS.

Bravo, in my opinion, to Dr. Tyson and his students. This is a truly inspiring feat he has embarked upon; I am even more excited, inspired and hopeful about the limitless possibilities there can be with technology, a little passion, and my future students. Awesome!

We were assigned a video clip assignment in one of my classes this week. We were to design a hypothetical assignment (which, by the way, I totally plan on using!) based on a video clip that we would show our students. Pretty cool! Dr. Crovitz wants us to include the actual lesson plan for the assignment (as students would see it), as well as our rationale for choosing the specific clip. I thought I would post my stuff here – feel free to leave feedback if you’d like!

Here is the actual clip:

Here is the actual assignment sheet that I would give to my students:

Video Clip Assignment

Here is my rationale for using the FRIENDS clip

Video Clip Assignment – Rational

Feel free to let me know your thoughts – would you use this assignment in your classroom? What works about it, and what needs improvement? Do you agree with the GPS standards that I have chosen? Does this assignment fit their criterion?

Yeah for technology in the classroom!

pEace,

Ash d.

This is (obviously) my first time blogging – no real clue what I’m doing, but I like it. I’m going to experiment with a few things here to give you a better idea of who I am…

A relatively fun thing to explore about me would be my second greatest love interest…my husband, Burch. If you want to know what my first greatest love interest is – feel free to ask (like the mystery there? It could be chocolate, could be my dog Zorro…it could be reading bad romance novels – the possibilities are endless). Anyway, I will divulge this much information to you, the rest you’ll have to figure out as we go along:

• I was born in Marietta, GA, and I graduate from Lassiter High School in 2002.
• I received my undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia in Communications in 2006
• I met my husband at a dude ranch in Colorado in 2005.  We got married on August 31, 2008.
• I received my master’s degree in the Art of Teaching in Secondary English from Kennesaw State University in 2009
• I absolutely LOVE my family, reading (only good books), writing, and anything involving chocolate or arts and crafts.
• I try to be active and athletic, but I’m not the most coordinated kid on the block…
• If I could meet one celebrity in real life, it would probably be Matthew Perry.
• I’m a huge sap.  I cry every Sunday night during episodes of Extreme Makeover:  Home Edition.
• I love my students – I learn more from you all than you could possibly ever learn from me!

Speaking of students, this is my favorite commercial of all time. I crack up every time I see it.

Live and Learn,

Mrs. Glover