Fun in English Class?

What do you remember about your 6th or 7th or 8th grade English class? Do you remember clearly that argument essay you wrote? How about the informative essay? The book report you did even though you didn’t finish the book? Sigh. I clearly remember two things: in 7th grade, we read Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes, and I thought Cilla was fabulous; and in 8th grade, we read Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, and I cried. That’s it. Oh, I do remember that my 8th grade English teacher’s mouth formed a rectangle when she yelled at our class, which happened often. But that has little to do with what we actually did in the class. Do you remember your 6th, 7th, or 8th grade English class as fun? I surely don’t.

As we head back into school this January, I challenge you to put yourself in your students’ seats. Can you honestly say that your current classes are fun? Memorable? Exciting to go to? I believe that English in room A-7 is actually fun. Really. I have heard this from my students. A number of times. And fun things are memorable.

In my blog post on March 25, 2021, I wrote this: ‘”’…you make English actually fun.’ This particular excerpt comes from a thank you note written by Zack, one of my seventh-grade students from a couple of years ago. The word ‘actually’ did cause me to raise an eyebrow, but that is fodder for a different post.” This is that different post.

Apparently, Zack had not thought of English class as fun before. I wonder how many Zacks are out there, going to a class, and not truly enjoying it. Even one of these students is too many. Our students don’t get a choice. They all have an English class in their schedule. If this period each day is not fun, what does that say about their day?

On January 1, 2023, I wrote a blog post called “Try Something New.” In it, I suggested a few possible ideas to try as we enter the new calendar year. “As everyone else is setting goals, making resolutions, and feeling a fresh start, we continue. But we don’t need to simply continue. We can take this opportunity to begin again. We can try to find the energy to start over, or at least start something. What if each of us decided to try something different, something new, in the new calendar year? What if we made a conscious decision to actually have a new year?” What if, indeed.

Maybe it makes sense to try something new that will make your English class fun, memorable, and exciting to attend. Give yourself permission to laugh with your students. Give them permission to laugh at you. Much of the laughter in my classroom comes at my expense. And I am OK with that. I may even encourage it.

There are a lot of times that I have a plan in mind, and it goes a bit sideways, because our conversation takes us there. During these impromptu times, some sort of magic happens. Everyone lets down their guard a bit. We say what we think. We respond with little or no filter. And often, this results in laughter. It happened when my 8th graders read “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment.” It happened when my 6th graders wondered what is inside of things. Let me give you another example. Before Winter Break, my 7th grade class read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. At one point in the book, guests at a party play some games. My students did not know what these games were, and I tried to explain them. My explanation was not enough, so we decided to try them. The game of “Yes and No” felt a lot like “20 Questions.” It was fun. My students laughed a bit, mostly at me. The game of “Blind Man’s Buff” was totally new to them. Wisely, I decided to try it using rounds of girls only and boys only. We used a Santa hat as our blindfold, since we didn’t have anything else available. The game was more than fun. It was hilarious! One girl identified another girl by nearly squishing her face to name her correctly. A blindfolded boy exclaimed, “Why is it so crunchy?” as his hands reached out for the hair on another boy. Did we laugh? Yes, we did. Will my students remember it? Absolutely. Did it put us behind a bit in our reading plan? Of course, it did, but it was worth it.

Look at your classes through the eyes of your students. What will they remember when they are adults? I’ve heard it said that laughter is memorable. And it is. So, whether it is a silly question to answer at attendance each day, a message on the board like “Hurray! Hurray! A quiz today!” an impromptu game session, or a candid discussion, try something new. Try something fun. Give yourself permission to have fun too.

Happy new year.