Thursday, August 25, 2016 (Day 3)

Post date: Aug 25, 2016 8:56:40 PM

Today seemed to go a little more smoothly for me in the area of planning. I guess this "old dog" needs to get back into the swing of things, and it just seems to be taking a little longer than normal.

In Literature 9 we started by using our comprehension clues to determine the origins of VELCRO. Then I introduced them to Kahoot. It was a wild hit. I definitely will have to play that with them again (and again.) We reviewed our homework 26 Letters of the Alphabet by indicating which we worked on by ourselves, with a classmate, with someone older, and finally going to the computer. Then the pods worked on some visual poes. Each pod could send out a "spy" to try and get additional information. These proved to be quite tough as some of them hadn't heard the phrases before. They were then given a puzzle on figurative language. We'll finish up soon, and move onto our first unit Short Stories.

In English 10 we started class by sharing qualities that we have in common. Some really had quite the extensive list. This will help us to understand we're all in the same boat. Then I reviewed the requirements for their vocabulary presentations with an actual presentation for helix. Then we used post-it-notes to identify qualities of a good speaker. Too bad the post-it-notes didn't have much sticky on them. Hopefully they'll remain "stuck" until Monday. Ashton Kutcher paid us a visit (via YouTube). We watched his Teen Choice Awards acceptance speech, and then we added things to our list of quality speech characteristics.

In American Literature we started out sharing our facts about the Mayflower. Then we attempted to do "Mayflower by the Numbers". Attempted is the key word as I made a lot of mistakes setting it up. My intention was good, and fourth hour had an easier time of it as I rectified some of the problems, but I still messed up a few times. It's a good thing juniors are an accepting and forgiving group. We made it work, and a few groups got all the way done. The strategy was great, the execution not so much. Good thing no one dies when a teacher makes a mistake.

I had fun today. I must be working hard as my feet are sore and I usually need a nap around 4:00. Who said teaching was easy!