Lessons....

OK...so as many of you know, I have undertook a rather large and looming project that is due on the 31st...besides having to appear on camera (ICK!) I also have to type approximately 100 pages of support about how "wonderful" I am as a teacher. Well, I don't know how wonderful I am, but I try hard to do my best...

In order to accomplish my goal of putting my box of stuff in the mail by my deadline we (candidates) are given 4 professional development days... Thinking ahead, I chose tomorrow (Friday) and Tuesday as 2 of my days...why not Monday? well, it was already a workday as it was the end of the marking period so I already had it off to complete my grades.

Unlike other jobs where if I wouldn't report to work the work would sit nicely on my desk and await my return...when I don't go to school I still have 105+ students show up looking to be educated....so, if I take a day off, for whatever reason I need to leave them something to do...

We have been studying India for the past few weeks and are in the process of wrapping it up, so I had some choices for my lessons that I was going to leave:
1) Book work
2) Video
3) art project
4) Test
5) Group work
6) Worksheets
7) Test skills
8) Start new content

There are problems with each of these ideas has problems...
1) book work is boring and some will refuse to do it, therefore creating "idle hands"
2) the only video I could find was a travel video on India...would be engaging, especially the carvings of Karma Sutra.... ;-)
3) This particular group does NOT like to draw...and actually enjoys throwing art supplies around the room and chasing each other with open markers
4) Friday especially this would be a problem as they are already spending the morning in testing in preparation for the end of grade tests...
5) Would work in keeping them occupied - but no content would be done...SOCIAL studies, however, would prevail...
6) rather boring and repititious...
7) Same as #4 with the added bonus of being multiple choice and therefore suseptible to "connect the dots" and "I'm done..."
8) Not sure I want to start new content as I don't feel comfortable having them do work on Ancient China and then going back to India on Wednesday to talk about Gandhi and/or Mother Theresa...

So, what to do???

This is what I decided...
Friday - Use an Indian version of Cinderella and create a character sheet....then read a Western version of Cinderella and complete a Venn Diagram (compare/contrast) exercise.

Tuesday - Openbook/open note test using chapter review questions from text book...

that will still keep us in India (sort of) and I still do the lessons on Gandhi and M.T with out them being out of place...


So...now that the kiddies are taken care of .... I will see them NEXT WEDNESDAY!!!! (Boy, am I looking forward to this nice long break...even if I DO get to spend most of it looking at my computer screen....)

Wish me luck!