(no subject)
Sorry about the delay... been sort of busy.
Sean
Day 21 - October 5th, 2005
For Geography today, I wanted to do something a little more fun, so I found a review game about Japan where there were 50 different questions about Japan. I broke the class up into 6 groups (by row) and for each round, each group was given a different question. If the group was able to come up with the answer for the question, they got a point. If they were unable to come up with an answer, I put the question up for grabs, with the person who had their hand up first, getting the first shot for their group.
The kids seemed to like the activity, and it got everyone involved. If they didn’t know the answer, then we learned it as a group. I think it was a good way to go through a lot of information about Japan, and make it worthwhile to the students by putting it into a competition.
For History it was test day. My test consisted of 10 multiple choice questions, 2 pages of short answer questions, and one essay question. I wrote the entire test, so it was tailored to the lessons that I taught. For that reason, I don’t think it was too hard, though it required the students to put forth effort and think about what they learned. In the end my one class had a 78% average on the test and my other class had a 68%. Part of that reason is because a few folks got really bad scores and brought the average down. I am letting the F’s re-do part of the test to bring up their score. It also took really long to correct the tests, but that’s what I get for trying to get students to think and put forth effort.
I get to sub tomorrow afternoon and all of Friday. That means no 10th graders for me, and 7th graders all day. That should be interesting.
Day 22 - October 6th, 2005
Today I got to sub for my Geography teacher in the afternoon. So for me it was a full day of 7th graders. For my usual kids, we did a lesson on Mongolia. I had 4 different sheets with a bunch of information on them. One was about the games the Mongols play. One had to do with making jerky. One was about playing a game on ice where you shoot at sheep ankle bones. One was about dinosaur bones being found underneath the Gobi Desert. It got a bit boring when the kids were expected to sit back and listen to me talk on as I looked for things to bring out and talk about. I also had a website that had some things about the Gobi Desert. We looked at desert animals and Mongol houses, and ways to not offend a Mongolian. I gave them an assignment to think what would happen if they were in the desert, and the 3 things they would need to bring with them to the desert. It wasn’t that interesting, but I thought it was a little bit informative, as none of them probably knew anything about the nomads of Mongolia.
4th hour was now my lunch, with the Junior High folks. 5th and 6th hour were my teacher’s usual classes. They were reading “The Breadwinner,” which is about the Taliban and the things that they made people go through. We were to read 2 chapters and the kids had questions for each chapter to finish after they read. I read a chapter to the kids 5th hour, and I let them read the second one in partners, while I read it aloud to a small group of kids. When we were through, we had like 30 minutes left of class. I had to think of something to do, so I told the kids to come up with 2 questions each so that we could do a trivia activity tomorrow after we were done reading. That didn’t take very long, so we started playing Breadwinner hangman. We kept that up till the bell rang, so I didn’t feel too bad.
6th hour was the same way, though I read the first chapter, and one other student read the second chapter. We once again needed something to do, so I asked the kids if they wanted to play hangman. I had them come up with questions, as well, but they had another idea for the rest of the hour. They wanted to play “Mumball.” The teacher across the hall sometimes plays this game. I requires everyone to stay quiet, while a ball is thrown across the room. If you drop the ball or talk, then you’re out of the game. My teacher had a ball in the room, as well, so we used two balls. I found that better, as it kept things moving and made kids always pay attention. They didn’t break anything, so I was pleased.
Both classes seemed to enjoy my attitude, and I think we got enough accomplished in the day, at least we did all that my teacher wanted us to do. At least those 7th graders think I’m funny, so if I need a pick-me-up, I could always look them up next year.
Day 23 - October 7th, 2005
Today was an almost all-7th grade day. I subbed for my Geography teacher all day today. I had a prep 1st hour and yearbook 3rd hour, but otherwise I had 7th graders all day today. For 2nd hour, I gave the students a chance to turn in some more of their assignments before they received their mid-term grades and reports. This was slightly problematic for them because the students who had nothing to really turn in had nothing to do. I tried to call people up one by one and let them know the big assignments that would be nice for them to get in. The classroom got kind of loud and after a while I decided that the kids needed something to do, so I brought out a magazine that had to do with North and South Korea. The reason I didn’t have a full lesson planned for them is because my 7th hour kids had a pep rally for Homecoming.
3rd hour was pretty boring, as most of the kids had places to go as they went around selling ads for yearbook.
5th and 6th hour were pretty much the same as yesterday. We got through our two chapters and then we played Mumball or did a game with the questions I had them come up with the day before. I hope the kids got all their questions done and did them well, so at least we got that much accomplished.
7th hour was the pep rally in the gym. The whole Jr. High/High School was there and they did things like an egg race, and a pie-eating contest. It was a loud thing, but the students seemed to enjoy it, with the band providing a little bit of music. They also introduced the court and queen and king contestants. I’ll be in Marquette during the football game, so I won’t see any football all year.
Day 24 - October 10th, 2005
I was back to pretty normal today. 2 hours of 7th grade and 2 of 10th grade. For the 7th graders, we had their first test. It was over East Asia, and I tried to take a few minutes out of the start of the hour to review. I had made the test pretty easy, just generally over the lessons that we did. I went over the countries of East Asia right before the test because we never really went over them in depth, and I put them on the test. I made the 2 tests slightly different. For 2nd hour, the questions on which I wanted a certain number of things, or ways, or whatever, I tended to lessen their amount by one. I made both tests worth the same number of points, so I gave 2nd hour a few more fill in the blanks to make up the difference. I think that made the test a bit easier for them, and they didn’t need to beat themselves up thinking. My 7th hour still did better, with most kids getting A’s. I told them that the next test would be harder for them, so I need to do that.
A few kids had missed a certain lesson, so I re-did a question or two on their test on the spot. I didn’t want to make it too unfair to them. I didn’t have anything for them to do after the test, so they colored or did other homework that they had.
For the 10th graders it was back to me after 2 days of their real teacher. We went over tests. Then we delved into Chinese exclusion. I had some pictures ready with various personal documents and the words that are found on the Statue of Liberty. I think that started the lesson out well because it shows what America is supposed to stand for. I had many political cartoons that made the Chinese look bad. They were from a magazine in San Francisco named the Wasp. The kids thought many of them were funny and I think they showed well the attitude that the white folks had towards the Chinese. At the end of the hour, I handed out a sheet about the Chinese and told the kids to summarize it for me. I wanted to make sure they got some of the background of the situation and I wanted to assess them somehow.
Day 25 - October 12th, 2005
Today in Geography we got down to some actual skill work. We made climagraphs to show the difference in rainfall and temperature between Manistique and Asia. This also is something they will need to know how to do, and be able to recognize. I think it’s a good thing for them to do, and I was pleased with doing it.
I started off 2nd hour by showing them their test grades. After that I had them get books and we read a bit about the climate of South Asia. I then had them turn to the page in the book that talked about climagraphs and we set down to work. I had handed out sheets that had the average precipitation and climate for a variety of countries, and Manistique. I put one up on the white board, to show what they needed to do, and I tried to explain the best I could, but some kids just didn’t want to do anything. Many kids had questions, but I think it went ok.
7th hour went better because the kids seemed to understand the idea better. We went through everything good, and by the time I looked up there was only 10 minutes left in class. They were nice and quiet for me, which was especially nice after the 6th hour I had… For an assignment, I had them do 2 more climagraphs on their own. Tomorrow is back to more information, maybe with some notes about Gandhi.
4th hour, for History today I dealt with Prohibition. I had articles for everyone, with everyone having a partner. I really like propaganda so this was right up my alley. I had a sheet that went along with it, where the groups would choose 3 articles, and answer questions about them. After that, I had a packet of review sheets for them to do for tomorrow. Tomorrow is a review day and Friday is the test. I have to write that, probably tonight.
6th hour was absolutely awful. For both hours, I started the hour off some general discussion about the section before we got into groups. They had no intention of listening to anything I said. I gave up after awhile and just put them to work. They did their work, and calmed down after that, but I had had enough of their disrespect. I didn’t have any intention of yelling today, but it is certainly nothing that can continue. I had an assignment for them that was just to summarize an article. I had 3 out of about 30 who turned it in. Then many asked if they could turn it in later. I usually let them, which is what caused this in the first place, but not this time. As an added bonus I think I will quiz them on the reading tomorrow, and quiz them on Channel One, just because I can. If they don’t have their review packet done, that is also their problem. They will see that indeed I am the leader in the classroom. Like I said before, 7th hour made me feel much better, so the day was ok.
I corrected my first 7th grade test last night. 7th hour did really well, and 2nd hour did alright. My problem was that I think I made the first test too easy. Next time, now that the kids know to keep their handouts, I told them that they would have harder questions, that would make them think. They will have the basic information in front of them, and then they will be asked to do some serious thinking during the test. I hope this works out better when I grade the next test. The thing is, do I leave the test like I had it for 2nd hour so they do well, and then make the 7th hour test harder? I think that’s what I’ll do, and then the smart kids will be challenged and it won’t leave many kids “behind.” If I make it too tough, then I lose the slower kids, and keep the other kids interested. Yet another interesting predicament I have to deal with. 2 months to go. We’ll see what I learn in that time. Probably more than some of my 10th graders. One of whom won’t be in school for a month. He wanted all his work to be sent to the office. I laughed, though my cooperating teacher put together 4 chapters worth of sheets for him to work on. I don’t think he’ll do any of it, so it won’t matter. Oh well.
Day 26 - October 13th, 2005
Today was the come back attempt. Everyone once and a while, there is a bad day. The next day will be better, and this day was better than yesterday. For Geography, I had some country presentations, and then a little powerpoint on Gandhi. Because Gandhi spoke out against the salt tax and made a march to break the law, I thought the kids should kind of see the reasons behind those actions. I made a scenario where the US just created a milk tax. All milk had to be taxed, even milk used by farmers, that they had gotten from their own cows. If you broke the law by drinking non-taxed milk, or getting milk from the black market, you could be put in jail for 6 months. That was more or less the way it was with India and salt. They were forced to buy taxed salt, even though Indians could make their salt many other ways. If they had untaxed salt, they would be put in jail for 6 months.
Both hours got into the activity because they could see how unfair it would be to tax milk, because it is such a necessity, and it can be pretty easily procured. Almost all of both classes said they would break the law if they could. I think that let them into the mind of Gandhi a little bit. We talked about how the tax would hurt the poor the most.
Even 2nd hour was into the discussion, and I think they understood it.
I also had some pictures and some quotes from Gandhi. I tried to let them see how he changed and some of what he believed in. If nothing else, I wanted them to know he led India to independence and believed in non-violence. We’ll see. I think I’ll quiz them on a thing or two tomorrow. I gave 2nd hour another day to finish their climagraphs. I also gave 7th hour an assignment that I didn’t give to 2nd hour.
For History it was a review day, so we corrected our sheets and did another competitive review. Both hours were pretty much all taken up. I checked both classes to see if they were done with their review sheets before we corrected. For a bit of revenge on 6th hour, I gave them a quiz on the assignment that only 5 out of about 30 turned in yesterday. I figure if I make the original assignment and the quiz worth a decent amount, they will learn to complete their assignments.
I had fun today, and I’m pretty well set for tomorrow. Tomorrow is castes and marriage. It should be ok. I don’t know if I’ll talk about religion with 2nd hour, and just not do the marriage activity with them. I have a fun story for 7th hour that we might get to if they stay on task well tomorrow. Monday is my supervisor and Pakistan.
Day 27 - October 14th, 2005
Today for Geography we looked at Indian religion and castes. Since I didn’t give them a homework assignment, we looked at South Asian religions together, and answered questions. This took up some time, so after we were done with that, I did a caste activity with them where each student chose a colored piece of paper, and each specific color put the student into a caste. Each caste then got an “assignment.” The top caste got a 2-question assignment, while the bottom caste, the “Untouchables,” got a full page assignment which included a task that said “Make me a sandwich.” The top caste also got candy when they finished their assignment. Each caste had to stay away from the other castes as we learned that castes couldn’t marry and rarely interacted with people outside of their caste.
For 7th hour, we had already done the religion sheet, so we did a sheet on marriage where the kids had to write their own personal ads. Marriages in India are often arranged by parents, so I think this helped the kids see how different that was. Then we read a story from India about a mouse that wanted the carpenter to pare down his ribs, so he talks to the king, the queen, a snake, a stick, a fire, the river, an elephant, a vine, and a scythe. I like the story and it had a few questions with it, so I think it was a good thing
History test today. Not much else going on. I came up with a sheet for them to do after the test, even though we are going to be doing papers for the next chapter. Something to keep them occupied.
Day 28 - October 17th, 2005
Today was the day for my University supervisor. He came during 7th hour. I did the same thing with both 2nd and 7th hours. I started the hour off with a quiz about the things we went over in India. In both classes, I also had a presentation on Pakistan. After those things were done, I had a lesson on Kasmir, and the dispute between India and Pakistan. I had a sheet on the background of the dispute and a sheet about the possibility of the use of nuclear weapons by either India or Pakistan. The rest of the lesson was mostly lecture/discussion, with the use of a small timeline on the board. I talked about why the dispute began (religious difference, etc.) and how nuclear weapons could impact us today. I talked about what would happen if Canada tried to help the UP secede from the US and how the US might feel about it. 2nd hour went well, and I think they understood it. 7th hour went just as well, except for some reason I had about 15 minutes left over. Because the school had my InFocus machine (projector), I could have used pictures of the region to fill up the extra time, but I didn’t.
My supervisor suggested that I call on specific people to cut down on classroom noise, and that I have things just in case I run short on time. He suggested that I had the students read their paragraphs. I had them write what they thought should happen to Kasmir.
History class was going over tests. More specifically, it was having the students do test corrections. A very scant majority of students passed my last test. I put things on it that were mostly from the book, since I had only taught 2 of the 4 sections. Given the fact that I allow them to take any notes that they want to, I wouldn’t think the test would have been so hard. Instead, they were lazy and many/most of them failed. They did corrections, and then we went over the paper I was going to have them write for this week. Hopefully the paper will work out.
Day 29 - October 18th, 2005
Today in Geography, I had an article about Tibetan monks escaping China and going to Nepal to get to India. In 2nd hour, I had the students do their Kasmir paragraphs because like 2 had them done. After that we made it most of the way through the story and the questions that went along with it. During 7th hour, we made it all the way through the story, and had a good day.
For History, we went down to the library to start research on the papers. Problem was that when I signed up for the lab, someone had signed up for 5th hour. Since 5th hour is not 4th or 6th, I failed to see a problem. Of course, the 5th hour was a Jr. High class, and their 5th hour overlaps with my 4th hour. So the class came in and expected to have an empty lab. Their teacher said she could come in 6th hour, so that meant that my 6th hour class no longer had a lab to go into. So for 6th hour, my teacher managed to get me into the CAD room, where we could use 9 computers with Internet. Because of that, half the class stayed in the History room, and half went to the CAD room. They did their best, but it certainly wasn’t as good as it could have been if they would have had a full lab. I think I’m done with using the lab this year, as it seems to be more trouble than it’s worth.
Day 30 - October 19th, 2005
Today with the Geography kids I had a split sort of day. For 2nd hour, we finished up our story about the escape from Tibet, and the kids finished up their questions. I had printed out new grades for them, and I had them come up 5 at a time to see what they were missing. Some of the kids wanted to know what they were missing so they could make up some work. They had received their mid-term reports and parents must not have been pleased. That helps me out and it lets them not fail. I don’t think any of my assignment for them was too hard. While they were checking out their grades, I had a 2-sided sheet for them to do on India and South/Southeast Asia. That kept them occupied for the hour, and I don’t know what I’ll even do with the sheet, as some started on one side and some started with the other.
For 7th hour, we talked about Afghanistan and some of the rules that the Taliban made. I connected them to Core Democratic Values. This made them see how bad people, especially women, had it under the Taliban, and how good they have it here in America. I had them choose 2 values and talk about how people under the Taliban didn’t have those. I was kind of hard for them to understand, and it would have helped me to write it down or have it clearer for them.
For History we were in the computer lab again, but this time I had done something wrong and scheduled lab time 4th hour, but someone else was in there. Since it was Junior High kids, we still had the lab for 30 minutes, with the kids in the library for the first part. At this point, I don’t think the librarian likes me, or at the least, thinks I’m a moron. I told my 6th hour that if they don’t turn in a rough draft tomorrow, I’m going to throw them out of the room. Some people didn’t get down to business, so I’m going to see what I get from these kids. I think I’ll look at each one and make comments for them. We also have to go over in-text citations to make sure they get it. I think I’ve had enough of the computer lab for quite a while. The kids were ok, but I could have been tougher with them.
Day 31 - October 20th, 2005
Today for 1st hour I sat in with the math class as they went over adding and subtracting with positive and negative numbers. I walked around, but none of the kids would ask for help, no matter what problems they were having. The sheets that they do often answer questions and then fill in letters to form a punchline to a joke. Some of the kids were having problems finishing, so one would tell the answers to the other one. Since it was relatively quiet in the room, I was able to hear and see this happening. They knew they were caught, and they asked me if they were going to get green slips. I said it would be up to their teacher. I wonder what he’ll do with it. He tends to sit back and finish little errands, so I don’t think the kids are used to someone walking around and paying attention to what they’re doing all the time.
For 2nd hour, the kids got out their textbooks as the hour began. I hadn’t planned to have them finish their sheets from yesterday, but since they took the books out, I decided to let them finish them. So I walked around and helped, and the kids who were done got to read the story about the mouse and answer questions. Once they were done with that, they could finish other work, color, or look at some of the magazines we had around. After nearly everyone was done, I handed out what I had planned to do, which was a packet on Islam, to get them acquainted with it, and try to dispel some myths they might have. We didn’t get very far on it, but that’s ok, the day was productive. 7th hour had a reward movie during our time, so I watched the end of that Will Ferrell soccer movie.
For History, we stayed in and exchanged rough drafts. I told each kid they had to look over 5 drafts during the hour. That took most of the hour, and then I went over in-text citations a little bit. It wasn’t very stressful, and the kids behaved reasonably well. Tomorrow we are in the lab to type, and hopefully I’m in there for fully two hours.
Day 32 - October 21st, 2005
Today was a pretty laid back day for me. 1st hour was map coordinates and graphing points. The kids did a group activity where they took out maps of the area and found places. The teacher said he likes it because it makes it an important thing to learn in the real world and it allows other people to be stars, if they know where things are around town. I sat back and watched.
2nd and 7th hour had their South Asia test. For 2nd hour, when they got done, I told them to pretend they ruled a country. They then were to write 10 rules that they would enforce in their new country. For 7th hour, I had them do the sheets I had 2nd hour do Wed/Thurs. They stayed mostly quiet during the tests and it gave me time to have 2 kids make up their other test, so I didn’t have to give them zeroes.
US History was in the lab today to finish papers. I told them if they didn’t stay on task, they could go back up to the room. They stayed on task, and got working, because they knew they didn’t have any more time, and the paper is due Monday. I took a few photos of them working.
Another week down. Now it’s on to SE Asia and the Spanish-American War.