On Thursday 1st period, I had this group called HIFY come in and do an anti-homophobia workshop. I've scheduled them so they come to every class. This was a great presentation that was really well done. The pyramid of oppression they created was great. At the base of the pyramid were how people were treated and oppressed in everyday life, i.e. pejoratives, . The next level was institutional oppression, and the top level was violence and murders etc. Their final idea was that the top was built on the base and if we change the base we can change the top. Great stuff.
At second period we read "Things Fall Apart" and I asked them basic "Are you alive, paying attention, and getting it" questions while they raised thumbs up and thumbs down. Just getting some to participate at all is like pulling teeth. I'm really happy that we studied Erik Erickson's psychosocial development because this really gives me a framework and developmental structure for analyzing the character of Okonkwo. When we got to the last 10 minutes, I told them to work on coloring and making their bookmark look nice. Instead they just packed up and started talking. That totally didn't work out.
3rd period: I let students prepare for their presentation on Friday. My friend that works in the office doesn't have enough help and the place is totally old school.
Friday 1st period & 2nd period: We did a short read along to "Disposable People" and then we played an I-message communication building activity. I had students get into a circle and we briefly reviewed I-messages vs. You-messages. Then, they took a piece of paper that I gave them and made 4 boxes. From there they all wrote a You-message in one box. Then they crumpled it up and tossed it in the center of the circle. Next, students picked a new paper and wrote an I-message version of the You-message. They did this to fill all 3 boxes. When this was done we had a brief discussion about it. With the remaining time, I had an auction and participation points went for 30 tickets on average in 1st period. Surprisingly, in 2nd period the participation points went for much lower. And that's the class that needs more points... but perhaps it's because 1st period has more tickets out and so there's inflation.
Friday 3rd period: We had the historical figure press conference on the ideal form of government. My pair that played Queen Elizabeth were both absent. How coincidental! Students seemed to have fun with it and there was student acting and character knowledge ranged from well studied to "Are you just going to try to look up the answer on the paper after I ask it and I'm supposed to wait for you?" So next week I have to recap it and give the proper information since some students didn't answer the question that I told them I was going to ask all week long. Holy fucking shit I'm an idiot. This would have been a perfect project to do metacognitively. What the fuck was I thinking??? Well then I'm going to have to apply this to everything else.
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