The following was originally posted by "jan707" at http://jan707.wordpress.com/2009/10/02/autumn/
Autumn
October 2, 2009 by jan707
Ahh, cooler days, the smell of crisp leaves and cold cider, the sounds of screaming and dragging chains, Yes, it is that time of year–my favorite time of year. Halloween is coming!
On October 1, I anxiously awaited the arrival of my students and their reactions to the “new” setting. My classroom decor during October is legendary in the junior high; I am the Halloween Queen. What student would not love a room the has creatures and critters that move, talk, drop down, and otherwise momentarily scare the bejabbers out of him or her. This year was no exception. First period when Ick the Spider dropped down the chalkboard just inside my door, poor Addie screamed and jumped backwards out of the room. It was a YouTube moment if only I had been filming! She loved it once she was over the initial scare.
So what is the point of decorating a classroom thematically and, I might add, dramatically? The decorations have a purpose: to engage my students. All of the “characters” have names: Bob the Talking Head, Thing the Walking Hand, Thing Jr. the Cauldron Keeper (otherwise known as the highlighter container–what fun that is trying to get a highlighter without Thing Jr. catching your hand), Frank the Talking Skeleton, The Bones Family (quaking chimes named Franklin, Frederika, Freddy, Francine, and Joe Bob), Boo the Pumpkin Ghost, and Rodney the Rambling Rat (remote-controlled), and our newest family member Witchy Witch Wilma. Any or all of the characters can appear in the culminating October classroom project: The Halloween Story. I provide the named characters so students who just cannot come up with a character or concept have a starting point. Friends and/or teachers may be included only with permission from said individuals. None of them may be killed off in the story. I am the only exception to that rule. My students are free to kill me off in their stories, and they do; however, I am always amazed at how many of them resurrect me before the ends of their stories.
The last two or three school days before Halloween, my students share their stories. We turn off the lights, turn up the sound effects CDs, and just plain enjoy ourselves. What could be better than that! Oh, if you see Rodney the Rambling Rat, would you send him back to my room? He seems to have wandered off somewhere. He is about nine inches long, has grayish coarse fur and glowing red eyes. You might want to check under your chair. He does so love to run around people’s feet.
On October 1, I anxiously awaited the arrival of my students and their reactions to the “new” setting. My classroom decor during October is legendary in the junior high; I am the Halloween Queen. What student would not love a room the has creatures and critters that move, talk, drop down, and otherwise momentarily scare the bejabbers out of him or her. This year was no exception. First period when Ick the Spider dropped down the chalkboard just inside my door, poor Addie screamed and jumped backwards out of the room. It was a YouTube moment if only I had been filming! She loved it once she was over the initial scare.
So what is the point of decorating a classroom thematically and, I might add, dramatically? The decorations have a purpose: to engage my students. All of the “characters” have names: Bob the Talking Head, Thing the Walking Hand, Thing Jr. the Cauldron Keeper (otherwise known as the highlighter container–what fun that is trying to get a highlighter without Thing Jr. catching your hand), Frank the Talking Skeleton, The Bones Family (quaking chimes named Franklin, Frederika, Freddy, Francine, and Joe Bob), Boo the Pumpkin Ghost, and Rodney the Rambling Rat (remote-controlled), and our newest family member Witchy Witch Wilma. Any or all of the characters can appear in the culminating October classroom project: The Halloween Story. I provide the named characters so students who just cannot come up with a character or concept have a starting point. Friends and/or teachers may be included only with permission from said individuals. None of them may be killed off in the story. I am the only exception to that rule. My students are free to kill me off in their stories, and they do; however, I am always amazed at how many of them resurrect me before the ends of their stories.
The last two or three school days before Halloween, my students share their stories. We turn off the lights, turn up the sound effects CDs, and just plain enjoy ourselves. What could be better than that! Oh, if you see Rodney the Rambling Rat, would you send him back to my room? He seems to have wandered off somewhere. He is about nine inches long, has grayish coarse fur and glowing red eyes. You might want to check under your chair. He does so love to run around people’s feet.
K.HirtI always liked the month of October because of the changing leaves and cooler weather, but I am sure that your students love it because of your class! Turning your class into a haunted house must really spook your students and more importantly give them a great writing prompt. I wish that my teachers would have helped me experience a prompt like you are doing. I was one of those students that had such a hard time deciding on what to write. Based on your classroom description, I can think of multiple stories to write. My favorite being, how you are such a great teacher!
Finally I think it is so sweet that your students kill you off in their story just to resurrect you! Oh, I saw a rat yesterday in the New York subway; however, I don’t think it was Rodney. The rat I saw was only about 9 inches (with tail) and definitely did not have glowing eyes.
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