On proper persuasive techniques and audience awareness

The context: students were discussing audience awareness and establishing strong positions in persuasive writing. We read some examples, and then students were responsible for creating their own persuasive arguments. They could either focus on supporting an action or arousing sympathy from their readers.

Student 1: Can we make stuff up?

Me: Well, it needs to be realistic.

Student 1: Can we say we have lots of babies?

Me: Do you have lots of babies?

Student 1: ... Can I say my mom has lots of babies?

Student 2: Man, I wish my mom would stop having lots of babies.

On appropriate hiking wear

Question: Suppose you are responsible for collecting supplies for hikers to wear. Provide two details from the selection that are examples of appropriate supplies.

Answer: ".... Otherwise, if it's hotter outside, you could wear a little less, but still be appropriate and not show too much skin."

Q: How did this text impact your thinking?

A: I trust this author because he takes a lot of shit for being so honest but it's the truth and I love that!
A: It has impacted my thinking by showing me there are more stupid people in this world than I thought.
A: Irritated me.

Because these things need to be remembered

I tend to record student work that I enjoy. One of the most important things about my job is finding humor in our classroom, and my students are, intentionally or otherwise, absolutely hilarious. People have encouraged me to create a blog or something, and after inundating my Facebook newsfeed with what I found were hilarious tidbits from student work, I decided to go for it.

Today's a doozie. We're prepping for our state standardized Language Arts exam. I gave my 10th graders a sample from the exam two (maybe three?) years ago, wherein they had to read a short literary piece on Jackie Robinson and answer a few questions. I also asked them to answer some questions about test-taking strategies. Here are today's Hall of Famers:

Q: How did Jackie Robinson's character influence the sport of baseball?

A: "he was black so that caught media attention and he had a very good hit and run average"

A: "Jackie Roberson was a Native American..."

Q: What was difficult about this test?

A: I was just too lazy to write.

A: Nothing. I saw the movie too.