Today I returned back to school. It was tough waking up, since I was not used to waking up so early. Today I gave a lecture using my Powerpoint presentation on the Civil War. After the notes, I was going to show a video, but I remembered an old activity that I used to do a few years ago – History Trading Cards. What I did was pass out a blank 3X5 card to each student. On the front of the card, the students were to draw a picture of a person or event that we have studied. They were to include the name and a description of the person or event. For example: U.S. Grant – Union General. On the back, the students needed to pull 7-10 facts from their notes and write them neatly. I told them that it has to be quality work – no pencil and no white space. The students spent about 25 minutes working on it. I assigned a second trading card for homework. Some finished early, but the majority of the students took the whole time. Those that finished early could either sit quietly or start working on their other card. I will use that card for another fun activity that I’ll post tomorrow. Today’s cards are already stapled to the bulletin board.
Today’s advice: It’s OK to change your plans at the last minute. Sometimes you get to school, and the plan you had prepared all night just won’t work for one reason or another. Don’t feel bad if you have to throw something together at the last minute. If this happens too often, however, it may be time to re-evaluate your planning sessions. : ) I came to school today with one plan, and ended up modifying it when I got to school. It worked out OK. See you tomorrow.
Sam
