One week in officially with these kids and I can tell it's going to be a great year. As I mentioned last week, my ELA colleague and I like to do a slower start to the year and spend the first week getting to know our students and trying to build some community in each class period. I have to admit, this is something that was far easier in elementary school when you have the same crew with you all day long. As a result, we have to consciously pick activities that get them moving, talking to their classmates, and inadvertently sharing about themselves. We played games like this or that, choose three, and soup/ salad/ or sandwich. We did a lot of writing and sharing.
On Thursday we did one of my favorite lessons. Jason Momoa shared a video years ago advertising for Carhartt called Canvas of My Life. In it, he talks about what he values and what’s important to him. We watch it, take notes about what we learn about Momoa, and then they write their first essay for me. In it they share what their values are and often compare themselves to Momoa. I look forward each year to reading their essays.
And watching Momoa for several periods isn’t too bad either.
