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Nina
Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Location: Ulsan
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 Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2006 6:10 pm Post subject: Middle school students - ARGH |
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| Any ideas of things to do for a class of middle school students? There are only 4 of them, but my lord, do they drive me nuts with their constant apathy for anything I try to do that might be fun. |
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K-in-C
Joined: 27 Mar 2003
Location: Heading somewhere
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| Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2006 6:27 pm Post subject: Cha Ching |
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Can you get a hold of some catalouges? Put together a lesson plan for the students to pick out a wish and gift list and then they can share it with the class.
Teens do love to shop.  |
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ilovebdt
Joined: 03 Jun 2005
Location: Nr Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2006 6:52 pm Post subject: Re: Middle school students - ARGH |
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| Nina wrote: |
| Any ideas of things to do for a class of middle school students? There are only 4 of them, but my lord, do they drive me nuts with their constant apathy for anything I try to do that might be fun. |
When I taught middleschoolers they loved word games.
Like you write a long word on the board such as Encyclopaedia and then they have to make as many words from that one word as possible.
Another game is a version on the British quiz show Countdown.
You have a set of vowels and consonants.
Each team takes it in in turns to choose 5 consonants and 2 vowels for the other team. The other team then has like 2 minutes to make a word useing thier vowels and consonants.
Have you tried card games?
Here is a link to some children's card games:
http://www.usplayingcard.com/gamerules/childrenscardgames.html
Also, Bogglesworldesl has some printable board games for differen levels.
I envy you and your small class!
ilovebdt |
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Grotto
Joined: 21 Mar 2004
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| Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2006 8:53 pm Post subject: |
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| There should be no middle school/Jr high! Salt mines and field work for three years...then the little buggers would be thankful to be able to go to school! |
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gochubandit
Joined: 29 Jul 2004
Location: under your bed... with a marker
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| Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2006 4:17 am Post subject: |
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actually i like middle school kids, the mimes that they are.
just gotta sell yourself more. they're at that age, and they're pretty much indentured servants to the educational system, so their lives suck until they graduate, and they're in puberty to top that all off.
girls are cool, but quiet. well-behaved and if you screw up, expect all of them to band together against you. but if you're good, you can eventually get them to crack a smile momentarily. then you know you've gotten somewhere.
boys are different. you've got class clowns, the rebels, the mutes, etc. just gotta be able to deal with the different kinds, but break the alpha wolf. once you do that, everyone else'll fall in line.
and don't make em feel like an idiot in class when they respond to a question. or they'll clam up forever. i talk a lot of sh*t to them, but it's only to get them all hot and bothered. plus it makes the others laugh and laughter is the best medicine. stoop down to their level and you're all the better for it. |
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Hotpants
Joined: 27 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2006 6:22 am Post subject: |
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Try my site below for ideas. (I know I'm plugging my site a lot on here, but I think it provides a clear list of resources which are practically and inspirationally useful for those new to teaching.)
I also wonder how teachers handle the middle school girls in Korea. I have so many absolute psychotic middle school nutters in my gym, I just couldn't imagine having to teach them! |
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gochubandit
Joined: 29 Jul 2004
Location: under your bed... with a marker
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| Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2006 8:24 am Post subject: |
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| i taught a majority of middle school girls for awhile. not so bad. quiet class, but u work at it slowly. like i said, a simple smile or giggle is all u need to know that you got em. takes a while, but they open up. and once one does, the others follow suit. |
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Nina
Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Location: Ulsan
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| Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:37 pm Post subject: |
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| Thank for the advice, glad to know Im not the only one with this problem. Worse still, one of them is my directors daughter! |
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gochubandit
Joined: 29 Jul 2004
Location: under your bed... with a marker
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| Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 8:33 pm Post subject: |
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hahah that sucks. never had to deal with that. don't ever let her think she's got you under her thumb.
they're like sharks. once they smell blood.... |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 11:16 pm Post subject: |
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| gochubandit wrote: |
| i taught a majority of middle school girls for awhile. not so bad. quiet class, but u work at it slowly. like i said, a simple smile or giggle is all u need to know that you got em. takes a while, but they open up. and once one does, the others follow suit. |
They're great to teach - not as pleasant as academic high-schoolers, but they can be great fun- the larger the class, sometimes the better. Get them into a good routine, get the majority on your side, be entertaining but strict, have a good mix of the boring-but-necessary and songs, games and fun stuff while always letting them know you have the upper hand, be totally positive and hand out heaps of praise and encouragement for even the simplist things, and you should be left with 30+ plaid, uniformed bundles of joy.
... unless you work at a crap hogwan where the owner only wants their parents' money, in which case you're fucked. |
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crazylemongirl
Joined: 23 Mar 2003
Location: almost there...
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| Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 5:22 am Post subject: |
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| boys are different. you've got class clowns, the rebels, the mutes, etc. just gotta be able to deal with the different kinds, but break the alpha wolf. once you do that, everyone else'll fall in line. |
Or put another way boys are like dogs, if they sense fear they will eat you up. Once you have established that you are as mean as a snake, they will be fine. |
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ajuma
Joined: 18 Feb 2003
Location: Anywere but Seoul!!
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| Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 8:10 am Post subject: |
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OP: You didn't say what the class mix is. All girls? All boys? 1-3? 2-2?
With 1-3, as long as the 1 isn't the lowest level student, have games that are G vs B. The 1 will have to work harder to prove that his/her gender is best. The other 3 will work hard to prove that THEY are best.
If you have to use a book, try to make things relevant to their lives: music, cellphones, friends, computer games, food. If you DON'T have to use a book, games are great! WordUp is great, as is Scrabble, Boggle, Jeopardy-style games, Wheel of Fortune type games, crosswords, making their own conversations (for example, they're a reporter asking a rock star/drama star/soccer star) questions....
Don't let their silence get you down. They WILL talk...you've just got to find the right buttons! |
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Nina
Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Location: Ulsan
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| Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 4:45 pm Post subject: |
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Oh, and they are completely different levels of ability ie two are fantatstic and two are quite limited.
Grr. |
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guangho
Joined: 19 Jan 2005
Location: a spot full of deception, stupidity, and public micturation and thus unfit for longterm residency
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| Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 4:49 am Post subject: |
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I just finished a summer camp in the UK which had several Korean middle school girls. Their faces aglow with boredom as they whined "can we go shopping?" However, I also had middle school boys from Hong Kong.
They.....and this is unwriteable.....
SLEPT THROUGH MY CLASSES!
The outrage. |
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