Midterm, noun. The middle of the school term, a time of tests and essay writing and textbook requisitions, signaling the coming close of autumn. Momentary panic is bound to set in. How can six students in my class of nineteen be failing? What book do I teach next term? Will I be given another class to teach? More importantly, how did my hands get so chapped? I am constantly asking myself these questions, and yet, the panic hasn't closed in. In fact, I ain't even nervous. This time last year, man, was I a wreck. At risk of sounding too much like "The Yellow Wallpaper," I have a "nervous condition." I'm a worry-wort; stress affects me badly. But this midterm, I feel much like the boy from The Alchemist (our class book)--I feel like all the omens are pointing me down the path to my Personal Legend. (Look it up--it's on Sparknotes .) Everything has its time: a time to write midterm tests, a time to grade essays (stifle your groans), a time to ...
Okay, so we didn't write that kind of classification in class today. (Congrats, Memory, for, ah, remembering all of those science-y words.) Halloween is LITERALLY my favorite time of year. So today I gave my students a great 8:00 AM start to their crisp 31 October--we wrote a journal exercise about horror films. (And ate Halloween candy. I couldn't resist!) Horror films just beg to be used to learn about classification essays! Film nerd that I am, I think I gave my students a pretty comprehensive viewing experience. Take a load off for a few minutes and enjoy that tingling sensation crawling up your spine! (Clips from Nosferatu (1922), Psycho (1960), The Shining (1980), Scream (1996))
Ah, yes. "Lady in Red," brought to you by forgetful students who neglected to bring their own set of lyrics into class for the day's grammar activity. I gave them fair warning: "If you forget your own lyrics, I will be happy to provide you with some , and you will not like it ." (But of course--I secretly love this song!)
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