Ditching the Desk

After reading this article: Ditching the Desk , I thought about its implications in my classroom. 

1) I sure could use the extra space.  #FunFact: my classroom used to be a book storage room #FunFact2: my classroom only has 4 outlets #FinalFunFact: heating and cooling in a room that used to be a book storage room will keep you on your toes in terms of wardrobe selection. 

2) I don't sit at my desk all that much.  I probably wouldn't miss it.

3) I like the idea of it forcing me to move around more.


So....I did it!  I did find the need to still have a (student) desk available because I need it for when my laptop is connected to the projector (ahem, every day), but I have found I don't really need the desk or desk space (and my classroom partner was super cool about me Ditching our Desk.  Mad props to LB).  I am very happy with the outcome, and I don't think I'll ever go back to a "teacher" desk.

Student Buy-In

When getting students to "buy in" to a lesson, it helps to involve them and their interests as much as possible.  To do this, I try to encourage students to bring in their own ideas and passions to the work we are doing.  For example, when working to discover how authors establish mood, I invite students to bring in their own books.  In this way, they share their own "moody literature" and have sense of what the book is about in the first place.  In addition, they typically choose to share something they like, so then they are more invested. 

In the photos below, you will see students sharing their "moody literature" with classmates and working to 1) identify the mood present and 2) discuss how the author establishes that mood.  This is also a good way to expose them to literature recommended by their classmates, and thus, they are more likely to be interested in reading it.
 

Love at First Line

In an attempt to entice students to pick up new books, I had them complete a Love at First Line assignment.  They randomly selected books, read the first line, and when they found one they found particularly titillating, they emailed me with the:

1. Book title
2. Author
3. Line


It looked like this:

Title: Afterparty

By: Ann Redisch Stampler 

First sentence: "It is not the ending I expected." 

In the end, we have a bunch of lines that are compelling (and hopefully will draw more readers to the stacks).  I plan to make a display outside of our classroom that highlights the selected lines--and feels Valentiney in some way.  😍

Here are some of my favorites that they sent me:

My whole Life, I’ve never been brave.

"The world was smoke"

"Today I have made a major decision: I am never going to die."

"It is not the ending I expected." 

"Saving the human race is a frantic business."

I need to tell this story quickly, or we're all going to die.

I like to save things.

Sometimes you have to lie.

The calendar said early March, but the smell in the air said late October. 

“I liked hurting girls.”

"2031 doesn't seem that long ago to me."

When Michael woke up he had a not-so-pleasant taste of bile rising in his throat.