Oh yeah...I'm also here to work!

Of course, I'm also here to work, you know! So I suppose I should relate some of my classroom experiences too. My history class is moving along.  I now have three students, as Jeffrey, who was initially in B group, needed to be challenged more.  He's a great addition--even spent a summer at Space Camp in Alabama! Yesterday we talked more about why perspective is so important when thinking about an historical event.  We are still using the Native American experience as our platform for discussion.  I shared this quotation from Adam Smith: "The discovery of America was one of the two greatest and most important events recorded in the history of mankind."  We then read a poem by Native American poet, Hazel Gay Lee, who offers a different account.  Here's an excerpt:

From here, we looked at the cultural differences that may have contributed to European-Americans' treatment of the native peoples, taking time to particularly look at videos of what life in a Wampanoag village might have been like (thanks, Plimoth Plantation!).  Today we will jump ahead and look at the Trail of Tears from multiple perspectives. I'm not entirely sure how much the kids are getting, but they are engaged and definitely have a good understanding of three terms and their connection--history, identity and perspective. 

And then there was my topics class.  This is a 90-minute class in which all 14 students are with me and I am tasked with teaching something that they all can understand, regardless of english ability.  I chose to talk about folktales and the West African character, Anansi the Spider.  We all sat in a circle and I would tell a story, and then play it on the whiteboard.  We then discussed the idea of values and brainstormed what values were being emphasized. The kids drew pix of Anansi. Here are a few of my faves: