Unit 6: The Age of Exploration…Revealed!
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Everything you need for a unit on Exploration. It covers European Explorers, Muslim Empires, Native American Empires, and China and Japan.
Only six more to go (for that course). These things are time consuming to create but a pleasure to implement.
Students cut, paste, draw, write, analyze, and keep it all in one place.
So how is it going after 11 weeks?
On the plus side: students are still keeping up with their notebooks, bringing them to class each day, taking pride in their work, and using them as study guides.
On the downside: it does not solve all of your classroom woes.
Take last Wednesday, for example. I was giving a lecture (if you’ve used any of my notebooks, you know I don’t lecture long, and I break up the block with transitions and variety). My students were not having it, though…no, not at all.
You know what I mean, talking and laughing. No amount of redirection worked. I stopped the lecture right there and had them use their books to fill in their cloze notes.
That evening, I called several parents, and the next day, I met sudents at the door with all of their assignments and directions typed up on a handout. I call it “going on strike.” I type at the top that if they are on task and working quietly and they raise their hands, I will go and help them.
It’s a boring, boring day.
I don’t do it often, but when I do, it’s pretty effective. The point I want the students to get is that there’s an entertaining way to do things, and a not so entertaining way. The entertaining way is a privilege.
Most of the students get it, and we can usually return to class as usual the next day, minus the behavior issues.
Thankfully, it worked well last week, and we were back to interacting with our notebooks by Friday.
How do you “rein” your students back in when they get out of control? If they never get out of control, be sure to give me your secret :). Leave a comment below.
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