How to make 6th graders cry

[Mrs. Norm]

I had my students start reading "Where the Red Fern Grows" in January for a book study. At first, they thought it was entirely boring. However, the more we read it, the more interested they got. We finished it today. Most of my girls were bawling; believe it or not, my "tough guys" were tearing up. We are going to watch the movie next week. I had many kids ask if I would put Kleenex out. I forgot what a classic this book was!!

[BlondeSoonerGirl]

Excellent!

Make 'em read - we just don't do it enough nowadays.

Yay, Mrs. Norm!

[SicEmBaylor]

I can make 'em cry at any age.

I was a lifeguard, taught swim lessons, co-coached a little kids team, etc. back in HS.

Anyway, I was always the "bad guy" and would make most of the kids cry at various times except for the ones who I made my pre-determined pets.

For example, there was this one girl during the summer...I guess about 5 or 6 years old..with blonde hair, pig tails, and little floaties on her arm (please no Stanley jokes). Anyway, this girl kept going toward the diving board and I kept having to stop her. The second time she did it I told her if she didn't stop I was kicking her out of the pool and she wouldn't be able to go swimming anymore. So this girl starts BALLING and one of the other guards (an overly emotional girl no doubt) ran up and started comforting her.

Pfft. Kids are horrid little creatures.

[Mrs. Norm]

Excellent!

Make 'em read - we just don't do it enough nowadays.

Yay, Mrs. Norm!

When we first started it, the kids moaned and groaned. They asked me why they couldn't just watch the movie. I told them that it isn't the same. Around Chapter 5 or so, the kids were begging to read more every day. We would get in about 2 chapters a week; we did many activities with the book. When we finished it today, the kids who were really moaning about it said, "Dang, that was a good book!" I told them, "Now aren't you glad you read it?" Today was a good day. :)

[GottaHavePride]

Good for you on gettin them to read, Mrs. Norm. Start them on "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" next. ;)

[Mrs. Norm]

I've also heard they would love "The Bridge to Terabithia". Have any of you read this? I don't believe I have (one of the few I haven't read).

[BlondeSoonerGirl]

When we first started it, the kids moaned and groaned. They asked me why they couldn't just watch the movie. I told them that it isn't the same. Around Chapter 5 or so, the kids were begging to read more every day. We would get in about 2 chapters a week; we did many activities with the book. When we finished it today, the kids who were really moaning about it said, "Dang, that was a good book!" I told them, "Now aren't you glad you read it?" Today was a good day. :)

I remember doing the same thing in junior high with 'To Kill A Mockingbird'. We begged her to let us watch the movie but after a couple of weeks of reading in class we loved it. LOVED IT. We looked forward to that class - it wasn't like crappy, normal school - it was fun and imaginative and we really did like it.

One of my best memories of those days. Think about that Mrs. Norm - in a few years when these kids are older they're going to remember you..in a very fond way.

[SoonerBorn68]

or Old Yeller. Still makes me tear up just thinking about it. :(

[Mrs. Norm]

I remember doing the same thing in junior high with 'To Kill A Mockingbird'. We begged her to let us watch the movie but after a couple of weeks of reading in class we loved it. LOVED IT. We looked forward to that class - it wasn't like crappy, normal school - it was fun and imaginative and we really did like it.

One of my best memories of those days. Think about that Mrs. Norm - in a few years when these kids are older they're going to remember you..in a very fond way.

I hope that the kids learned to appreciate novels. Classic novels, at that. To get them involved in the beginning, I had to do activities to help them remember specifics. I put together a Scavenger hunt. The kids had to find sentence strips all over the school. Once all 40 strips were found, the kids got back together and they had to put the strips in sequential order. They loved this! Hopefully activities like this will remind them of the book and make them want to read something else.

[BlondeSoonerGirl]

I hope that the kids learned to appreciate novels. Classic novels, at that. To get them involved in the beginning, I had to do activities to help them remember specifics. I put together a Scavenger hunt. The kids had to find sentence strips all over the school. Once all 40 strips were found, the kids got back together and they had to put the strips in sequential order. They loved this! Hopefully activities like this will remind them of the book and make them want to read something else.

Excellent. That's awesome.

There's no way you're married to Norm. :mack:

[sanantoniosooner]

You meant besides putting their gonads in a vise.........gotcha........

[Mrs. Norm]

Excellent. That's awesome.

There's no way you're married to Norm. :mack:

I have to remind him of my brilliance every once in awhile. :D

[Viking Kitten]

Y'all remember "Island of the Blue Dolphins"? That whole watching her entire family die thing used to choke me up a bit.

[Boomhauer]

We just did the same thing in 6th grade but not quite that dramatic. We just finished up Tuck Everlasting. The kids were groaning before we read it but at the end they were all curious as to why the girl didn't drink the water of "eternal life". So I posed the question to them....Would YOU drink the water to where you could live forever????? It was pleasantly shocking because most of them said no. They said that there is a better place waiting for them after they die. And they didn't want to be alive to see their children and grandchildren die before them.

[SoonerObsession]

I've also heard they would love "The Bridge to Terabithia". Have any of you read this? I don't believe I have (one of the few I haven't read).

I've read it. You will need a good supply of Kleenex. It's a great book though! I've been teaching 1st grade now for 8 years. It's not always a great job, but some days I think there is nothing better than seeing a light bulb go off in a students head. I have one 8 year old that I have not allowed to go to all sections of the library yet. I've been keeping him from it because he has not been giving a really good effort towards reading. Now that he is interested in getting the "really cool books", he is trying much harder. Well, last week I rewarded him with letting him check out books from the "big kids section". He was thrilled! If you want to know anything about the planets, he's your guy. :D

[Sooner Born Sooner Bred]

I remember doing the same thing in junior high with 'To Kill A Mockingbird'. We begged her to let us watch the movie but after a couple of weeks of reading in class we loved it. LOVED IT. We looked forward to that class - it wasn't like crappy, normal school - it was fun and imaginative and we really did like it.

One of my best memories of those days. Think about that Mrs. Norm - in a few years when these kids are older they're going to remember you..in a very fond way.That is my favorite book. Therefore "chiffarobe" is one of my favorite words.

[Jimminy Crimson]

The 'new' version with Dave Matthews tore me up. It'd bring :dean: to tears.

I remember in 5th or 6th grade we read a book called Dicey's Song or something like that. We read aloud, and it talked about her bewbs and her cycle. Good stuff for budding young minds ;)

[Sooner Born Sooner Bred]

The 'new' version with Dave Matthews tore me up. It'd bring :dean: to tears.

I remember in 5th or 6th grade we read a book called Dicey's Song or something like that. We read aloud, and it talked about her bewbs and her cycle. Good stuff for budding young minds ;)Are You There God, It's Me Jimminy?

And where the f were you? You missed MM's. V asked about you.

[Jimminy Crimson]

Are You There God, It's Me Jimminy?

And where the f were you? You missed MM's. V asked about you.

yeah i did miss it. lo siento. i'll make it one of these days. maybe next wekk. v wanna have my baby or something? lol

[BeetDigger]

I had my students start reading "Where the Red Fern Grows" in January for a book study. At first, they thought it was entirely boring. However, the more we read it, the more interested they got. We finished it today. Most of my girls were bawling; believe it or not, my "tough guys" were tearing up. We are going to watch the movie next week. I had many kids ask if I would put Kleenex out. I forgot what a classic this book was!!


Good stuff.

My second grader just knocked out the entire Narnia series. It took her about six weeks to do it. She's one hell of a reader. She's about to pick up the dreaded Harry Potter. Though none of that makes her cry. However, if I turn off the TV at night, THAT makes her cry.

[Mrs. Norm]

Good stuff.

My second grader just knocked out the entire Narnia series. It took her about six weeks to do it. She's one hell of a reader. She's about to pick up the dreaded Harry Potter. Though none of that makes her cry. However, if I turn off the TV at night, THAT makes her cry.

Norm is reading Narnia to the boy. They read a chapter a night. He is loving it! Even though the boy is in Kindergarten, he is almost at a second grade level. It's amazing!

[Sooner Born Sooner Bred]

I am a big proponent of reading to your kids. When my niece was in Kindergarten, my SIL helped eith the Thursday folders. She said a lot of the parents didn't ever fill out the reading list.

At the beginning of 1st grade, my niece picked up a Harry Potter book and started reading it.

My oldest niece is the only kid who reads so much that once she got in trouble and her punishment was that my brother told her she couldn't read anything that wasn't a school book. It nearly killed her.

[Soonrboy]

Good job, Mrs. Norm! That was always the book I made sure I made my class read.

There's a couple of other books that my 5th graders hated, then loved...both by Scott Peck

A long way from Chicago and A Year Down Yonder...check them out

[fadada1]

good for you, mrs. norm. maybe you could invite vince young to class next time you read "pat the bunny" to your younger students.

[swardboy]

I can make 'em cry at any age.

I was a lifeguard, taught swim lessons, co-coached a little kids team, etc. back in HS.

Anyway, I was always the "bad guy" and would make most of the kids cry at various times except for the ones who I made my pre-determined pets.

For example, there was this one girl during the summer...I guess about 5 or 6 years old..with blonde hair, pig tails, and little floaties on her arm (please no Stanley jokes). Anyway, this girl kept going toward the diving board and I kept having to stop her. The second time she did it I told her if she didn't stop I was kicking her out of the pool and she wouldn't be able to go swimming anymore. So this girl starts BALLING and one of the other guards (an overly emotional girl no doubt) ran up and started comforting her.

Pfft. Kids are horrid little creatures.

I would suggest the "b-a-w-l-i-n-g" spelling derivative here:eek:

[Mrs. Norm]

I can't wait to see how my students react when I show them the movie. I might take my camera and use the pictures for my advantage!

[OhU1]

I loved the 'Red Fern" book when I was a kid. Stories about beloved dogs dying will always get me.

[Widescreen]

WTRFG is the only book that ever made me cry. Of course, the original movie did too. They both made me miserable. Good times.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by Mrs. Norm

I've also heard they would love "The Bridge to Terabithia". Have any of you read this? I don't believe I have (one of the few I haven't read).

I loved that book!!! It was a Sequoya Award winner(useless knowledge) and I have recommended it to young readers ever since. I also like the one about the little girl in the Aluetian Isles.

And yes I cried too on "Where the Red Fern Grows" both in book and movie form.

[Chuck Bao]

My fifth grade class read "Where the Red Fern Grows."

I had forgotten all about that. Maybe, I'll read it again.

Kudos to you, Mrs. Norm, for being such a great teacher.