March 6

Essay review went well. I almost think though that by going over the essay before it becomes a recall question rather than an analytical or synthesis question. I understand that we have to help walk them through the process of writing an essay, but at some point you have to believe that a majority of them know how to do it. Now it is important to work on their comprehension, study skills, writing abilities, and ability to analyze and synthesize information that they have learned throughout the unit and the course.

Students get really into the Jeopardy Review. I have fun with these types of things because the students are into it, so there is more energy in the classroom. Also, I don’t have to do as much work in the front of the classroom by myself; it is more of a class effort to learn/review the material. My only problem with this set up is that it seems that the same students are answering each question. I know that the students who always do well, will do well, I want to help the other students with this review. This is something that I will have to work on throughout the rest of the year. But how do I set it up so that everyone must answer, that way everyone benefits from the activity?

Block 3: They completed the party affiliation worksheet and came up with 17 Democrats vs. 5 Republicans. Five students are absent but even if they are all Republican we have a pretty skewed classroom, with it being overwhelmingly Democratic. I thought that it was very interesting however, that a lot of students were very middle of the road. Oftentimes they were Democrats or Republicans by one point; the majority of their points were in the middle, which is very typical.