Sunday, November 5, 2017

Halloween Shift

I teach high school.   Let's face it, it can be a tough crowd.  Especially at Halloween.   Teaching on Halloween is interesting.   You have a unique population on this day.

For example... you could have:
A.) A normal day
B.) Students who already dove into the candy stash at home
C.) Students who are not focused because they can't wait to go trick-or-treating
D.) Students who are bitter because they want to go trick-or-treating but someone has told them they're too old for such things

I was wondering what on earth I could do for my students for Halloween without violating any wellness policies by sugaring them up and without looking like the corniest teacher they have ever met.   As the wheels turned, I decided what point is Halloween if I can't freak the children out a bit?

Mu hahahaha

The link above is to a Pixar Short called "Alma" - this story completely bugged the students out.   It's a bit freaky.   It's up to interpretation.   And oh my gosh there are NO WORDS!?!?!   Oh, the horror!

A few weeks ago we had discussed the difference between making an inference and making a prediction.   We talked about how similar these reading skills are but we drove the point home that typically a prediction is confirmed or denied once a story ends.   An inference, however, is open to interpretation.   What I had planned to be a forty minute lesson ended up spinning into TWO class periods filled with partner shares, discussions, a lot of "what ifs" and fact-checking.   The students completely took control.   And what's funny is my intention was to freak them out a bit.   I never expected for them to freak me out in return.   

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