Homeruns

You can’t hit a homerun every at bat.

I was feeling self-satisfied because I had invigilated a few successful, popular lessons.

Yesterday, the History class was not such a big success.

I teach two levels simultaneously.  Both levels were assigned web-based research activities.  The younger group had to complete a worksheet based on information from this website, Mysteries of the Catalhoyuk.

The older group had a similar activity, based on Renaissance Time Machine Adventure. Personally, I think this website represents a great deal of effort by its author, Russel Tarr, and it is well done. I thought that the students might find the game to be interesting; however, they became bogged down by the text.  One student commented on his blog,

today, i didnt like the course because the work was boring and it was hard but its nedd to be boring somethimes next i hope its going to be fun.

For a moment or two, I felt lost.  How was I supposed to teach about Sedentarization and the Renaissance?  Other than the aforementioned websites, I could find no activities dealing with these topics.  Then, I reminded myself that there are generic online activities that can be accommodated to any subject matter.  I just need to think creatively.

For example, students can use Brainflips to create flash cards based on the subject material.  They can use VoiceThread to find historical photos and comment on them.  The possibilities are endless.

Play ball!