English class is TOO an adventure!
I so totally love teaching English class.
Today, I was all set to read James Thurber, Columbus' home-town humorist. I started in on "The Night the Bed Fell," and noted that EVERY ONE of my students had rested his head on his desk, prepared to doze their way through my rendition. (Heh, heh, heh.)
Thurber's story is chock full of thrown shoes, breaking glass, flipping furniture, rattling doors. The first the class knew about it, I was chucking my my shoe across my room, hitting the AV cart with a large CLANG! and my left shoe against my neighbor math teacher's wall. Every boy was bolt upright in his seat, and stayed so as I shouted the shouted lines. I flipped folding chairs to approximate the sound of the bed flipping over. I threw Checkers against the window to simulate breaking glass. Howled like a dog when the dog was supposed to be howling. Rattled my classroom door to simulate the stuck attic door. Knocked on everyone's desk in a row to emphasize trying to get to Father through that stuck door.
The boys' eyes were out on sticks. They didn't quite know what to do with me, but they sure paid attention! The story discussion/question and answer section went fantastically well, though; so well, that I just had to do it over and over for the next classes, too! A successful day, all-around.
And today, when I was hollering "Get it off me! Get it off!" and making choking, gagging sounds for Briggs Beall, the youth leaders outside my room trusted that I was in full drama mode rather than busting in. (I hope that this doesn't mean that my future is going to be like the boy who cried "Wolf!" though, and that someday, when I need someone to help bring order to my room that no one will take it seriously...)
And best of all, when my boss asked me what was going on in my room, he laughed in approval!