Here are a few examples of work that the students completed in some of the assignments that I gave to them.
These two stories were from my Fourth Lesson Plan, which was to get the students to creatively write a story, but with the twist that after a few minutes they would pass their papers to the next person and continue on the new story. I picked these two examples because I think that they really capture the essence of the classroom that day: students being very silly, but allowing their minds to expand to heights that they may not have imagined possible. That day was a lot of fun, and I hope to be able to continue to encourage joy, laughter, and even silliness in my classrooms in the pursuit of learning.
These two examples were from my Fifth Lesson Plan, which had the students filling out a worksheet to find out more about how the Plains First Nations lifestyle revolved around the Bison. The first example is of a student who, I believe, really understood the impact of the loss of the Bison, and that the First Nations were forced to find different sources for food, shelter, and many other things that had at one point been satisfied by the Bison. The second student was one who had a lot of difficulty with the assignment, but with some help and guidance was able to complete the task set before him. He was not only able to complete the worksheet, but actually understand what was being taught.