24 January 2010
Overwhelming...
Even though I have been in the classroom for 3 weeks, I just had my student teaching seminar yesterday, which outlined what our work sample is to look like. I was prepared for a lot of work, but oh boy, it's going to be a rough couple of months. In a way, my nerdy side is excited to get into the work sample. It includes a lot of analyzing of data and pie charts and what not and I enjoy doing that kind of stuff. But, this is the time of year where I have a ton of family commitments (8 birthdays, our 10th anniversary and the upcoming birth of our niece all between Jan 13 and March 20!! Aye ye ye!). Anywhoseys, there is a lot going on this time of year and now I am going to have to be very good at my time management so I don't miss out on anything. So, on this wet and gray Sunday seems like a good time to start, to get ahead of the game. And, if anyone has any ideas on teaching the American Revolution (which is what my work sample is on), I am taking suggestions!
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3 comments:
What grade are you teaching? I can give good suggestions for elementary school, and some of those would transfer into the upper levels as well. I've already done one work sample and I'm going into #2 so we can be cranky and miserable together! ;) You can dooo it!
5th grade. And I am SO jealous that you have one down already.
BTW, I think one of your classmates (you're at Willamette, right?) student teaches next door to my class.
Hopefully we'll end up at happy hour together soon and can vent!
Ok first, I remember being Sooooooo bored by that in 5th grade that I barely learned enough to pass the tests at the end. I learned way more about the Revolution many years later when I read the fascinating book "Don't Know Much About History."
That said, here's what might have made it a lot more interesting for me back then. Just an idea for ya:
First, Assigned each student a personality/character from the Revolution. Have them learn about their person's background, point of view and motivation for their actions, and their ultimate role in the Revolution.
Next, bring these characters to today. Have students interview each other, for example a student named Amy would pretend to be on the news or a talk show like Oprah and Paul Revere is a guest. Benedict Arnold could write an editorial column for the newspaper. George Washington could debate John Adams. You could come up with other scenarios that might happen today if the Revolution was happening in modern times.
Heck, at the beginning, every day when your students come into class, they could be greeted with a modern-style protest against the Sugar Act, The Stamp Act, etc.
And that's my 2c worth.
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