High School Halloween Costumes

Does your high school celebrate Halloween with a dress-up day? Ours does, with contests (sponsored by Student Council) for the best costumes. We finish the day inviting the elementary to our gymnasium to parade through in all their costumes. Our principal gives them each a bag of treats as they exit the building. 

Deciding what to wear is always the hardest part for both teachers and students. Here are some of our favorite costumes from the last couple of years. 

Cards Against Humanity teacher group costume: What made this one even more fitting is that our mascot is a Cardinal. ;) 

Cards Against Humanity Teacher Group Costume

You can download a FREE editable template to make this costume here: FREE Cards Against Humanity Parody Costume

Characters from To Kill a Mockingbird teacher group costume: It depicts the characters as they were dressed on Halloween night in the novel.

To Kill a Mockingbird characters from Halloween night

We have Aunt Alexandra, Scout (in her ham costume--made with chicken wire and paper mache), Jem, and Miss Maudie. Unfortunately, Boo, Atticus, and Bob Ewell all wimped out on us. 


Pokemon couple costume: It's Ash and Pikachu.

Pokemon Ash and Pikachu Halloween couple costume.

Oreo Cookie costume: Use two pieces of black poster board and white paint or marker.

Homemade Oreo Cookie Costume

Darla from "Finding Nemo": This cute costume is easy to make, especially if you have a goldfish. 

 Homemade Darla from Finding Nemo Costume

"Napoleon Dynamite" group costume: The characters from "Napoleon Dynamite" include Deb, Pedro, Napoleon, and Uncle Ricco.

Halloween group costume: Characters from Napoleon Dynamite

"Mean Girls" group costume: There's always at least one group that dresses up from the characters from "Mean Girls."

"Mean Girls" is always a favorite each year.

Wilson from "Home Improvement": This is a really easy costume to make for a guy. Just glue some popsicle sticks, wear a flannel or plaid shirt, and throw on a fishing hat.

Wilson from "Home Improvement" homemade Halloween costume.

Snapchat Filter costume: It's usually pretty easy to find animal ears for this one.

Snapchat filter Halloween costume

Donald Trump costumes: We had a couple of these last year. I think they won for "Scariest Costume."

Donald Trump costumes.

Fork in the Road costume: Puns, idioms, and other figurative language examples are always clever and usually easy to pull off.

Halloween costume: Fork in the Road

Kermit the Frog "But That's None of My Business" Meme: For a funny costume, you can always count on meme characters. Pair it with a caption that relates to your school. 

"But that's none of my business" Kermit the Frog Meme costume.

The brothers from "Step Brothers": What made this couple costume even better is that these two are actually step brothers.

These step brothers dressed up as the characters from "Step Brothers."

I hope you have a great Halloween!
Don't forget you can .

You can find additional costume ideas on these old blog posts: Halloween at the High School, Hunger Games Favorite Costumes, and Favorite Pins of the Week 

Laptop or Tablet? Transitioning from MacBookPros to iPads (and the frustrations of using Google Classroom)

Laptop or Tablet? Transitioning from MacBookPros to iPads and the Frustrations of Using Google Classroom

For almost seven years my school was a 1:1 MacBookPro school. We loved the laptops, but the expense for repairs and replacing new ones for all students in grades 6-12 was becoming too costly.

Students writing poems on MacBookPros.
Photo: ©Tracee Orman, 2011

Normally schools would upgrade from tablets to laptops. And here we were last spring being told we were going to downgrade from our MacBookPros to new iPads. Teachers would keep their laptops and have a new iPad; students would only have iPads (with the exception of our computer instructor, who has a lab of laptops for his classes).

Questions We Asked
Of course, we had a lot of questions, such as:

• How will our students type essays on an iPad?

• How will our students use websites that use Adobe Flash Player?

• Will our students be able to make movies using iMovie?

• Where will students store all of their Pages files, Keynote presentations, and other documents?

• Will they be able to back up files onto a flash drive?

• Will all of our online lessons, quizzes, and tests open on their iPads?

• How will we monitor their use?

• Will students be able to print?

• How many apps can we get? How will the students get those apps on their devices?

and so on...

Google Classroom Launch & {FAIL}
We had already been using Google for Educators for several years. Our students all have Gmail accounts, which comes with a Google Docs/Drive account and unlimited storage. So one of the deciding factors for our administration was the launch of Google Apps for Education (GAFE), which includes Google Classroom. They *hoped* it would make it easier for students and teachers to exchange digital files, collaborate, and communicate. We were assured that Google Classroom would work seamlessly with the iPads. And last Spring, it seemed to be working just fine.

Sample Google Classroom stream of announcements
and assignments from www.traceeorman.com.

Well, it hasn't been as easy as promised. Hardly any of my students could watch an introduction video I linked from YouTube, nor could they open documents I attached and assigned. Google Classroom is still working out kinks, but it's getting a little better. At the beginning of the school year at least half of my students could not access anything from Google Classroom. Now, I have about five or six students who continue to have the problem. It's better, but still frustrating. This means I have to share content with them in alternative ways, including having a print source.

Error message when students try to access files in Google Apps.

Docs is Back...But Drive Is Still Here?
In addition to the Classroom problems, Google's relaunch of "Docs" while maintaining "Drive" is causing much confusion with students. One feature Docs now offers is the ability to work on items offline. We are not sure if this feature is the root of the problem or not for our students, but we know there are several who will try to locate their documents and they will not show up. Sometimes they appear when they click out of the app and go back on, but when they try to share it via Classroom, *poof* all their documents disappear again. Again, we were told Google is working on fixing the kinks.

Students use iPads for a video parody project.
Photo: ©Tracee Orman, 2015

One of the biggest frustrations as an English teacher is the lack of features in Google Docs. Students are unable to add a header or footer in the iPad app (either I have to provide them with a template--which defeats the purpose of them learning how to format a paper themselves--or they have to find a laptop to create the document on first). So much for assessing them on how to create an MLA-formatted document!

The Pages app is much better for typing papers, but it is glitchy and does not work well with Google Docs and Classroom on the iPads.

So Which Is Better: Laptops or Tablets?
Having laptops also had its fair share of frustrations. Those problems have not gone away with the introduction of iPads. For example, these continue to be a challenge:

• Students play games instead of staying on task.

• Students communicate answers from tests via screenshots, messaging, or logging into a friend's account and taking the test/quiz for him/her.

• Students are easily distracted with social media and constant notifications.

• The internet is never fast enough.

• Printing from the device is not always reliable.

• Students are impatient with the devices and easily frustrated when they do not work properly.

We have only had the iPads since August and we had our laptops for almost seven years, so it's hard for me to recommend one over the other at this point. I see a lot of potential with the iPads and have really been impressed with some of the apps our district has purchased. 


Favorite Apps, Coming Soon
I plan to post a series of articles featuring some of these apps and what they can do. (Surprise: one is even about GAFE and Google Classroom.) Check back for my posts, which will be tagged with this image:

Is It Worth It?
Is technology even worth it? The Wall Street Journal reported on this topic recently, citing a study that disproves using technology increases scores in math and reading.

That said, we still need to prepare our students for an ever-changing world in technology, so, YES, I think it's worth it. But it's important to use technology in moderation; going 100% paperless isn't realistic.

There are times when students need to write with paper and pencil.

There are times students should read from a book.

There are times when your students need face-to-face interaction with one another.

And there are times when your device will fail for one or more students in your class and you better have a paper back-up ready!

Five Ways to Use Memes to Connect With Students

Students love funny memes. Here are five ways you can bring that humor into your classroom (and school) to connect with students:

1. Class Rules, Expectations, and/or Procedures: Instead of your traditional class rules poster, use memes to deliver your message with humor. Better yet, have students create what they think proper rules and regulations should be. In memes, of course. You or your students can use a website like http://memegenerator.net/. You can also download full-quality already-made prints HERE.

2. Ice-breaker or "Get-to-Know-You" Activity: Memes are perfect for getting to know your students better. Break the ice with a "What I Do" meme or funny eCard. For a full lesson with printables and digital templates you can share, click here.

3. Promote (and Reinforce) Your Curriculum: Generate excitement with memes or use them to spark discussions. Posted around your room, they are sure to catch your students' attention. You can find hundreds of images on Pinterest.com with a search in your subject area. Or create them yourself.

4. Creative Activity: Students will practice both creative and critical-thinking skills while creating a meme related to the unit you are studying. It seems very simple, but coming up with appropriate wording to convey the right tone is definitely a higher-order skill. Then students have to make sure they use the right meme correctly. Without even realizing it, they will be making connections with the material while having fun. To read a more detailed post about making memes a class assignment, read more here.

5. Freshmen Orientation (or Open House): One of my colleagues came up with the brilliant idea to have our current students create memes for next year's incoming freshmen for orientation. The meme content varied, covering advice, warnings, and plain old high school humor. The eighth graders and their parents perused the memes during their orientation in March. The images always seem to generate questions they may not have asked otherwise. You could also use this for an open house discussion-starter. Graduating seniors can also leave legacy memes with words of wisdom for future seniors.

However you use memes in your classroom or school, one thing is certain: your students will love it!

You can find high-quality teacher meme prints for your classroom (or to place in presentations) here: Classroom Memes Posters for Classroom or Presentations

Try my End of the Year Advice Memes - Students create "advice memes" for your future students.

Enjoy!

The following images are from our most recent freshmen orientation, created by students:

Classroom Organization Update: Make-Up Work

My biggest challenge with staying organized is paperwork. Even though my students have laptops and we do much of our homework/classwork online, I still have several students whose laptops are "in the shop" or they have lost their privileges, so I must provide paper copies of the work we do. This includes copies of presentations, bell-ringers, MLA cheat sheets, etc. And students who are absent for online quizzes, tests, and journal prompts have to use the paper copy because our online program locks them out.

It gets to be overwhelming keeping it all straight.

I finally just started using my magnets (click HERE to see how I made all my classroom whiteboard magnets) on top of different stacks. But you all know what happens next: a student lifts the magnet to grab a copy and the rest of the papers fall to the floor. Some students had the foresight to set the magnet aside and hold the papers with the other hand, but—based on their furrowed brows—this was such an inconvenience.

I have stackable trays and paper organizers that I can put on my counters or a table. I've tried this method in the past and have found that I really don't like them. They take up a lot of room and don't have a prominent place for a label. I need a label that shouts to my students so loudly they don't have to ask me every. single. time.

Clearly, I'm doing this wrong.

Epic label FAIL on stackable trays.

So as I saw another stack of make-up work fall to the floor, I thought, I need a strap to hold those papers in. 

My first thought was to use a magnetic curtain rod (I use one for my daily bell-ringer signs* and I love it), but they are not close enough to the papers to keep them flat.

Love my magnetic curtain rod for my bell ringers, but knew it wouldn't work to hold make-up work handouts*.

Then I tried taking a folder and cutting it in half so the papers just go right in the pocket.

It was okay until...

That was okay, but they still flapped over, so students couldn't read the labels on the pocket.

Prototype #1 FAIL!

To combat the flapping, I folded a piece of paper lengthwise in threes and secured it with magnets on the sides to keep the handouts from flapping.

Prototype #2 FAIL!

It worked, but it looked like overkill. Like the folder pocket wasn't even necessary. And it wasn't. So I ditched that and just used the paper.

Finally! Third time's a charm.

How easy is that? And cheap.

Why did it take me three attempts to figure this out?? 

And I really like how "clean" and uncluttered it looks. Much better than the trays. What do you think?

I am making progress with my classroom disorganization problem, my friends. But I still have a long way to go. Thanks for following me on my journey to organizing my classroom!

*Bell ringer signs are found in my Bell Ringer Bundle. "Motivational Monday" quote signs are found in my bundle of Inspirational Quotes Classroom Posters.