Funny Grading Moments

On this wooooonderful snow day, I've been able to catch up on some much-needed grading and, as usual, it wasn't a humorless experience.

I started by grading some vocabulary tests; due to an illness last week that had me out for a day and a half, we only had two vocabulary words (exemplary and consistent), so it should have been ridiculously easy. The students were required to match the word to its definition and then use the word correctly in a complete sentence. Some kids just left it blank if they didn't know, but some were pretty clever in trying to disguise the fact that they couldn't use the word in a sentence:

DJ: "My teacher told me to use exemplary in a sentence."
DS: " 'I really don't understand the definition of the word exemplary,' Frank said."

Sure. Blame it on Frank.

Another student, AG, threw her best friend, J, under the bus.

AG: "J's consistent facial expression was making me mad."

After vocab land was done, I moved on to some poems that the kids wrote while I was sick. They were supposed to follow the ABAB CDCD EFEF GGGG rhyme scheme, but could choose their own topic. D's was by far my very favorite because 1) it is actually pretty good and 2) it's so out of character because he is far from a ladies' man. It's a bit racy, but what can you expect when the music he listens to talks indiscriminately about much worse? Nonetheless, I'm proud of his writing ability, it's a huge growth for him.

I had a dream about this girl,
And I can hear, hear her voice.
She dressed in nothing but pearls
And she gave one choice.

I thought that I was alone
But I didn't waste my time.
She made me feel at home,
I searched up and down each line.

She has the [sic] of a butterfly.
She will always be in my heart.
I told her don't never cry,
We can go back to the start.

She will always be my girl,
I will show her to the world.
You make me turn like a swirl,
You will always be my girl.