Shaddup Already!





















2004-08-25

School House Rock

Does anyone out there remember School House Rock? There is a song that I use with my students to teach them about complete sentences. It's called "The Tale of Mr. Morton." I love this song and have been known to sing it even when there isn't an apparent reason. So I subject my students to it each year and they get the bonus of my singing and dancing around the classroom. Aren't they lucky?

Okay, so fast-forward to a week or so ago. I get a phone call from someone on campus named Mr. Morton. I freaked out, I mean Mr. Morton is at my school! It turns out that is the name of the new guidance counselor who I hadn't met yet.

The next day I was in a meeting and Mr. Morton happened to be there. I kept going back and forth in my mind as to whether I should tell him about the song or not. After hearing him laugh quite a bit and seeing that he is one of those people who seems to always be wearing a huge smile, I decided to tell him about it. He hadn't heard of the song and was floored that he had a song out there.

I told him I would get him a copy of it so he could hear it and then I told him the story of the song. He was very amused. See, in the song, Mr. Morton is too shy to talk to a girl, so the girl asks him to marry her instead of the other way around. It's really a cute song.

I got him the copy of the song, plus a copy of the Skee-lo cover version of the song that was made in 96. I can't wait to see his reaction. I hope I can be there when he listens to it for the first time.

The Tale of Mister Morton

This is the tale of Mister Morton

Mister Morton is who?

He is the subject of our tale

and the predicate tells what Mister

Morton must do

Mister Morton walked down the street

Mister Morton walked

Mister Morton talked to his cat

Mister Morton talked

(Hello, cat. You look good.)

Mister Morton was lonely

Mister Morton was

Mister Morton is the subject of the

sentence, and what the predicate says,

he does

Mister Morton knew just one girl

Mister Morton knew

Mister Morton grew flowers for Perl

Mister Morton grew

Mister Morton was very shy

Mister Morton was

Mister Morton is the subject of the

sentence, and what the predicate says,

he does

The subject is a noun,

that's person, place or thing

It's who or what the sentence is about

And the predicate is the verb

That's the action word

that gets the subject up and out

Mister Morton wrote Pearl a poem

Mister Morton wrote

Pearl replied in the afternoon

Pearl replied by a note

Mister Morton was very nervous

Mister Morton was

Mister Morton is the subject of the

sentence, and what the predicate says,

he does!

The cat stretched,

the sun beat down,

a neighbor chased his kid.

(come here kid - come on!)

Each sentence is completed when

you know the subject did.

Mister Morton knocked on her door

Mister Morton knocked

Mister Morton sat on her porch

Yes, he just sat and rocked

when she opened up the door he ran.

Mister Morton climbed up his stairs

Mister Morton climbed

Mister Morton rhymed pretty words

Mister Morton rhymed

Mister Morton was lonely

Mister Morton was

until Pearl showed up with a single rose.

Who says women can't propose?

Now Mister Morton is happy

and Pearl and the cat are too

They're the subjects of the sentence

and what the predicate says, they do

I don't feel like figuring out if that is going to post correctly, so if it doesn't, you'll just have to deal with it.

Help end world hunger