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First Week is in the Books!

In 7th grade English, we did some activities to help get students get acquainted with their new lives in junior high. On the first day, I challenged the students to work together.  We did this activity.  It was great to observe how each student approached the challenge and helped their team out.  My favorite part of class this week was talking about the Genius Hour project. I didn't have a much time to talk about it as I would have liked, but we were able to brainstorm a few ideas to think about over the weekend.
Genius Hour brainstorming
"Seventh Grade" activity
Most of the students I have in Public Speaking had not previously had a class with me, so I think we got to know each other a little better this week.  We did a speaking and listening activity where one student had to describe a picture while the other student listened and tried to draw it. Students also worked in small groups to brainstorm all the different ways we communicate and wrote definitions of communication.  The class was super excited to start their first speech where they will introduce a classmate next week.

Great ideas about the roles of speakers and listeners
We kept each other entertained in 12th grade English this week. I challenged the class to write a six-word memoir on the first day of class, and they rose to the challenge.  We took our memoirs and created a slideshow. Students "led" a heated four-corners debate where I think they learned some things about each other they didn't already know.  We did a lot of writing about what we believe in, and I'm excited to guide the students through their first essay next week.
Analyzing writer's voice
In Google Docs, we learned some new things about Google Search.  Many students "googled" themselves for the first time.  Students created surveys using Google Forms and sent them out to classmates.  I showed them two ways to look at the results of their surveys.  To top it off, students fumbled through Google Sites and created their personal pages that they will use as a portfolio for the creations they make using Google apps.



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  1. AnonymousSeptember 12, 2014 at 2:27 PM

    Thanks for sharing, Lindee! Good information and ideas!

    ReplyDelete

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