Mini Gwammar Workshop

I had a conversation with a friend last night and in this conversation I very vividly remembered a Language Arts lesson from my elementary school years. I remember a teacher telling us that wow was an example of a homograph...

Here is a brief refresher course for anyone who is a little shakey on their word forms:

Homonyms are words that sound alike but have different meanings like fair (just) and fair (festival). (Homophones are a type of homonym that sound alike and have different meanings, but that also different spellings like pair and pear.)

Homographs are words that are spelled the same but have different meanings like bow (and arrow) and bow (as in curtsey). Heteronyms are a type of homograph that are spelled the same and have different meanings, but that also sound different like tear (rip) and tear (crying).

Soooo, wow is an example of a homonym generally and a homograph more specifically. Wow prounounced with a long o is used in the "Wow...you better slow down!" sense and wow with the o prounounced as if in "Ow, hurt!" is used in the "Wow! You're feet are dirty."

Get the distinction?

Yay v. Yeah, Whoa v. Wow

Did anyone know that there was a difference between them? I always thought that the above words were interchangeable. I recently discovered that whoa (as in “Whoa... I can’t believe you didn’t know there was a difference until now”) and wow (as in “Wow! That cheeseburger is huge!”) are different. Likewise, I just found out today that yeah (as in “Yeah, I can re-do my TPS report) and yay (as in Yay! I am so excited I found a place to live!) are also different. You certainly do learn something new everyday.

After countless craigslist searches, I have finally found a place to rest my head at night after a long and arduous day of teaching 7th graders. I am going to live in Weymouth, Massachusetts which is conveniently located 10 miles from my place of work but a little farther from Boston than I would have liked. That’s okay because the glass is always half full and friends’ couches are always clear on the weekends. Though I am not sure what type of social life I am going to have as all of the first-year teacher websites I have found describe 365 days of eating, sleeping, drinking, breathing, and dreaming about curricula, methods, classroom management techniques, committees, grading and parent-teacher conferences. So if I don't return your phone calls and emails, its certainly not because I don't love you.

I am moving mid-august and am very excited about my new home and new roommate. YAY for craigslist! What would us twenty-somethings do without it?

(By the way, does anyone have an extra bed lying around [no pun intended] that I could use?)

Knowledge is Power

The concept of me being an actual classroom teacher is still sinking in. In less than 2 months I will be planning daily lessons, grading homeworks and designing tests, assigning group work and projects, meeting with parents, other teachers, and my principal, staying after school with misbehaved children, and trying to maintain some level of order in a room full of 12 AND 13 YEAR-OLDS.

Breathe, breathe, breathe. To better equip myself for this very exciting and equally as daunting "next step", I did what my sister and I do best- checked out a plethora of books from my local library. I now have in my possession some of the quintessential teaching books on the market: The Essential Conversation, Discipline with Dignity, The First Days of School, and Waging Peace In Our Schools. I really enjoy reading these texts; they give me great ideas and inspire me to begin my work in the classroom.

I have read through The First Days of School a few times, but I want some very practical, concrete pointers for the first day of school. My advantage is that I have 7th graders in a 7th and 8th grade middle school. Because they are new to the school, they won't necessarily know that I am also new. That said, if any of you out there are teachers, feel free to pass on some words of wisdom to this rookie...

Is today my birthday?

(Actually, July 4th is my half-birthday.)

Spread the good news, friends. I have a job!

The woman who interviewed me on Monday called about 15 minutes ago to offer me the position.

I am (officially - when I sign the contract they are sending me) a real teacher. I no longer have to say "I am certified to teach middle school Social Studies in Massachusetts". From this day forth I can tell the world, "I am a teacher". Wow, what a great feeling. I have been working towards this for sooo long and it has finally paid off.

Not to mention, this blog can remain in existance.