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[CCBC-Net] OT (I think) A Solution To The "Lucky" Oral Reading Dilemma!
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From: Gerry O'Brien <gobrien>
Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2007 17:36:11 -0400
I, too, am a teacher and an avid oral reader and here's how I intend to handle the scrotum/oral reading problem. Whoops, maybe 'handle' is not the best choice of words here but you know what I mean. Anyway, the day before the big read I would bring a dog into the classroom ... a big [but very docile] short haired male dog
[perhaps a Whippet or maybe a short-haired pointer]. The idea is to get a dog with a highly visible scrotum. I'd stand him up on my desk or maybe put him on a Lazy Susan, if you have one, and announce ,"Today boys and girls we're going to play a special word game. This lovely dog you see here is my friend Balzac and he's going to help [give him a little spin on his Lazy Susan]. The game is called "Pin the Post-It on The Pooch". I'll write a word on the post-it and you attach it to that part of the pooch. Doesn't that sound like fun?"
"Sure does!" chimes the class.
"I thought it would be fun if we had a little competition!" I say.
"Hooray!" shout the students.
"Boys vs girls!"
"Cool!" holler the boys.
"Bring it on!" whoop the girls.
"Okay then. I'll write the name of a dog part[can you see where this is going?]on the post-it and you have to pin it on the pooch. If you get it right, you score a point for your team. Perhaps we'll let the girls go first." I write the word 'snout' on a post-it. "Okay. Edwina, would you put the post-it on the pooch?" Of course, she gets it right. You let this go on for awhile ... paw, tail, ear, leg etc.[not too long as even the most docile pooch will get a little ticked after 40 or 50 post-it notes are stuck to him]. Remember to give the dog a little spin on his Lazy Susan now and then. Next comes the big moment! Wait 'til the boys' turn as they're more likely to get this right.
"An the next word is 'scrotum." Watch the class carefully and you'll be able to tell who knows where this post-it is supposed to go! The student who tries to shoot his hand through the roof is your boy!
"Okay, Zack, would you put the post-it on the pooch?" Problem solved! Everyone now knows what a scrotum is! The next day when you're reading to the students and you get to the biting of the scrotum part the kids won't even flinch [wince, maybe, but hey, you get past the scary part]. Unless,of course, Balzac bites Zack's arm off! In which case you'll be tied up in court for the next five years when Zack's parents sue you for everything you've got and you won't really care about the still raging scrotum-debate anyway. I'll keep you posted on how it works for me. Gerry PS If this isn't really your style, take Monica's advice below. Simple and brilliant! www.GerryOBrien.ca
"Bubba Begonia, You'll Be Sorry!" Acorn Press PEI, 2006
----- Original Message ----- From: "Monica Edinger" <monicaedinger at gmail.com> To: <ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu> Sent: Sunday, February 18, 2007 10:41 AM Subject: [CCBC-Net] OT (I think) Scro#*&
> I'm a teacher and would just read the damn (oops, another bad word:)
> book aloud. I tend not to interrupt my reading much; I prefer to have
> the kids just listen to the author's words not mine or theirs.
> However, sometimes when I sense that they need a quick explanation for
> something, I'll slip one in. Here's how I can imagine reading the
> problematic word to my fourth graders:
>
> "....when he saw a rattlesnake on the passenger seat biting his dog,
> Roy, on the scrotum..... (a few confused looks....'It's something only
> males have so I'm sure you can now guess where the dog got
> bitten"....a few giggles...a grow-up-sort-of-look from me causing them
> to refocus and....)"....Luck balanced herself with a hand...." (and
> so we'd move on).
>
> Monica (who also wrote a post about it here:
> http://medinger.wordpress.com/2007/02/18/what-i-do-with-discomforting-words-scrotum-not-being-one-of-them/)
>
>
> --
> Monica Edinger
> The Dalton School
> New York NY
> monicaedinger at gmail.com
> my blog educating alice is at http://medinger.wordpress.com
> _______________________________________________
> CCBC-Net mailing list
> CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
> Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe...
> http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
>
Received on Sun 18 Feb 2007 03:36:11 PM CST
Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2007 17:36:11 -0400
I, too, am a teacher and an avid oral reader and here's how I intend to handle the scrotum/oral reading problem. Whoops, maybe 'handle' is not the best choice of words here but you know what I mean. Anyway, the day before the big read I would bring a dog into the classroom ... a big [but very docile] short haired male dog
[perhaps a Whippet or maybe a short-haired pointer]. The idea is to get a dog with a highly visible scrotum. I'd stand him up on my desk or maybe put him on a Lazy Susan, if you have one, and announce ,"Today boys and girls we're going to play a special word game. This lovely dog you see here is my friend Balzac and he's going to help [give him a little spin on his Lazy Susan]. The game is called "Pin the Post-It on The Pooch". I'll write a word on the post-it and you attach it to that part of the pooch. Doesn't that sound like fun?"
"Sure does!" chimes the class.
"I thought it would be fun if we had a little competition!" I say.
"Hooray!" shout the students.
"Boys vs girls!"
"Cool!" holler the boys.
"Bring it on!" whoop the girls.
"Okay then. I'll write the name of a dog part[can you see where this is going?]on the post-it and you have to pin it on the pooch. If you get it right, you score a point for your team. Perhaps we'll let the girls go first." I write the word 'snout' on a post-it. "Okay. Edwina, would you put the post-it on the pooch?" Of course, she gets it right. You let this go on for awhile ... paw, tail, ear, leg etc.[not too long as even the most docile pooch will get a little ticked after 40 or 50 post-it notes are stuck to him]. Remember to give the dog a little spin on his Lazy Susan now and then. Next comes the big moment! Wait 'til the boys' turn as they're more likely to get this right.
"An the next word is 'scrotum." Watch the class carefully and you'll be able to tell who knows where this post-it is supposed to go! The student who tries to shoot his hand through the roof is your boy!
"Okay, Zack, would you put the post-it on the pooch?" Problem solved! Everyone now knows what a scrotum is! The next day when you're reading to the students and you get to the biting of the scrotum part the kids won't even flinch [wince, maybe, but hey, you get past the scary part]. Unless,of course, Balzac bites Zack's arm off! In which case you'll be tied up in court for the next five years when Zack's parents sue you for everything you've got and you won't really care about the still raging scrotum-debate anyway. I'll keep you posted on how it works for me. Gerry PS If this isn't really your style, take Monica's advice below. Simple and brilliant! www.GerryOBrien.ca
"Bubba Begonia, You'll Be Sorry!" Acorn Press PEI, 2006
----- Original Message ----- From: "Monica Edinger" <monicaedinger at gmail.com> To: <ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu> Sent: Sunday, February 18, 2007 10:41 AM Subject: [CCBC-Net] OT (I think) Scro#*&
> I'm a teacher and would just read the damn (oops, another bad word:)
> book aloud. I tend not to interrupt my reading much; I prefer to have
> the kids just listen to the author's words not mine or theirs.
> However, sometimes when I sense that they need a quick explanation for
> something, I'll slip one in. Here's how I can imagine reading the
> problematic word to my fourth graders:
>
> "....when he saw a rattlesnake on the passenger seat biting his dog,
> Roy, on the scrotum..... (a few confused looks....'It's something only
> males have so I'm sure you can now guess where the dog got
> bitten"....a few giggles...a grow-up-sort-of-look from me causing them
> to refocus and....)"....Luck balanced herself with a hand...." (and
> so we'd move on).
>
> Monica (who also wrote a post about it here:
> http://medinger.wordpress.com/2007/02/18/what-i-do-with-discomforting-words-scrotum-not-being-one-of-them/)
>
>
> --
> Monica Edinger
> The Dalton School
> New York NY
> monicaedinger at gmail.com
> my blog educating alice is at http://medinger.wordpress.com
> _______________________________________________
> CCBC-Net mailing list
> CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
> Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe...
> http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
>
Received on Sun 18 Feb 2007 03:36:11 PM CST
