Satire

Teaching humour is a pain.

It's also some of the most fun you can have with a class. Puns, comedic similes, malapropisms, double entendre, euphemisms...Oh, the joy that can be had!

One of my biggest personal challenges has been engaging the students with relevant humour. I mean, these kids have the same sense of humour I do. They love slapstick, parody and satire. They watch television shows that operate in these genre every night. The Simpsons, The Chaser, Summer Heights High, Kath and Kim, The Colbert Report and so on.

In an educational setting, the struggle with teaching humour is keeping it 'appropriate'.

You can't watch The Chaser skit that satirises A Current Affair, because it mentions 'fat kids'.

I can't show Summer Heights High because "puck you, miss" sounds a little too much like that other nasty phrase.

Now, don't get me wrong. I completely agree that we need to be mindful of 'inappropriate' material in the educational setting. But I don't know if completely avoiding it does any good for kids as they navigate through the 'real world'.

I'm pretty sure that a structured and monitored examination of how A Current Affair sensationalises weight issues might enable kids to be more critical of the 'news' being blasted at them every evening.

I'm lucky enough to be in a professional environment that encourages individual teacher developement. My ideas are met with open minds. Some are shot down. But that's probably a good thing. After all, I don't have the experience to say whether, in the long run, somthing will be a great idea or not.

In honour of my open-minded faculty and inspiring co-workers, here is the lesson I'm presenting to Year 8 English during Period 3 today.



After progressing from simple parody (in our last few lessons using 'Gangster's Paradise' by Coolio and 'Amish Paradise' by Weird Al Yankovich), we will discuss the concept of Satire.

First, show the following video clip. There is an accompanying worksheet at the bottom of the post.

Next, show the following video.

Students will be working in pairs to complete the Simpsons portion of the worksheet.

Then, we'll be viewing something a little more serious. But still funny.

Again, this will be contrasted with the following video clip from The Chaser's CNNNN.

During these videos, which may be played more than once (depending on how quickly students grasp what is actually going on), students work with their partners to answer the questions on the following worksheet.

I'm not claiming any of this is really revolutionary. I know I'm not using technology that will blow peoples' minds. Or even wow them a little. I just want a place to vent about my creative processes!

8 Good Reasons Why Educators Should Use Twitter

I went to a really good professional development session up in Deniliquin last week. It has completely changed the way I see myself in the wide world of education.

The session I attended was run by the HT of Maths at Deniliquin HS, Meagan Rodda. (You can find her on Twitter - @meaganrodda) Our two focus points were Twitter and Maang. Now, don't get me wrong. Maang is a nice idea. But Twitter... Oh. My.

Since the session, I've been connecting to educators all over the world and improving my own teaching practice. I even ran a Twitter session here at our school. Hopefully the idea will catch on.

Since last week, I've perused the internet for as much educational Twitter info as I could find.



Here are the top 8 reasons I could find that you, as an educator, should be connected through Twitter:




1. It is free professional development.

2. It is quick and convenient.

3. It is a free marketing tool.

4. It is eco-friendly. No need to send out paper notices to students or their parents. Have information longer than a tweet allows? Link to the school blog, where all information can be communicated at length, with relevant links and in colour.

5. It is a direct line of communication between the school and parents. And it’s instant.

6. It is the future. Our students need 21st century skills to thrive in the modern world.  As educators, it is our responsibility to teach them to use these new text types safely and effectively.  This means, if you’re interested, you can build a classroom twitter trend.

   For example:

   In class, I ask my students to tweet a statement reflecting on their    learning for the day. They must include the hash tag #norbseng.  A portion of their class work mark (the portion usually dedicated to student reflection) is generated based on their ability to successfully communicate in this medium in an appropriate form.

 7. It is a means of staying up to date with the Board of Studies, Teachers Federation, DET and any other important educational body. The news comes directly from the top, removing the middle-man.

8. Instead of relying on your own innovations, or those of teachers you have regular access to, you will be able to connect directly with leading educators and their resources from across the globe. Need a video to help demonstrate world biomes? Tweet, and ye shall find.

I'm sure there are more ways to use Twitter in the educational setting, and I'm keen to find out what they are!

Trust

Only in a town this small.

And I'm not just talking about the trusting sign out the front of the local drive-through bottle shop. I'm talking about things that really matter. 

For example, my students can leave their bags in the quad all day without a single incident. They can leave sport supplies on the quad racks for weeks and no one will touch it. 

Class sizes are small, and everyone knows everyone.

And if they muck up, chances are their parents will have heard about it through the grapevine before I get the chance to contact them that evening. And they'll have already strung them up.

My point is, the small community here breeds just that - community. And I'm starting to really feel a part of this one. I'm desperate for these kids to succeed. I see them on the streets when I'm walking my dog. I buy groceries from them. I'm friends with their family members. 

Maybe this idea of community can work with education. Maybe we can have small groups working together with teachers, mentors, friends and family to create a holistic learning environment. 

Just a thought.

Maths Brain

Now, I'm all for logic. But I think we could all agree - creativity is awesome.

Be the Change

So often I hear people complaining about them. You know them. Everyone does. Them doesn't care about you. Them doesn't support change. Them lose your paperwork, and them sure as hell don't accept your claim.

Well, I'm sick of hearing about them. I bet by now in the post, you're sick of hearing about them too.

The truth is, change is a grass roots movement. I can't think of a single time in history when the best changes were made from the top. Ordinary folk like us are the ones that call the shots. And I don't see why some people refuse to see that. Just take a glance at what is going on in the world right now.

As a young teacher, at the bottom of the education food chain, I still feel empowered. I refuse to let the man get me down. Or the woman, for that matter. In fact, I don't even believe in them. We're all here trying to make a positive difference. I change lives every day, and that's more than some people can say.

So, as 'the man' - used in a totally different sense -  once said:

"Be the change you want to see in the world."

QR Code Maths

Well, the Medieval Feast went really well. But I'll blog about that once I have photos.

I wanted to post something I'm trying today in my Year 9 Maths class. I was inspired by this:  Through a Green Lens - QR Codes in Maths Class

I'm having my kids use QR instructions to create their own QR worksheet. I figure the hardest thing for them to do on this will be to create their own Probability questions.

Essentially, they design one black QR coded question (using their laptop program QuickMark) for each sub-topic in probability (sample spaces, theoretical probability etc.). They then pass their working document on to another student, who generates blue QR coded answers with supporting work. They then hand this back to the first student, who creates red QR codes informing the second student if they were right. If they were wrong, they have to explain the process for solving the problem.

We might work through it a couple times today. The program is fast and efficient on their computers (which, as you all know, sometimes lag a bit). I think it will be a really interesting exercise to help them review all of the topics we have covered so far.

Essentially I'm using the codes as a sort of gimmick to get the kids interested (last period on a rainy day) and teach them how to use the program. I'll branch off to including videos and texts soon!

So, here are the sheets I handed out to the kids.

We'll see how we go!