The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and Spring Break will arrive in just one more week. The upcoming holiday means I’m going to take a break from the blog series and have a little fun in the sun with my family, but don’t worry – I’ll be back soon, ready to board the bullet train known as Fourth Quarter.
This week’s plan:
Monday – No school
No official reason for this holiday was given by my school district, but I’m guessing it’s because this is the Monday following Easter. Odd timing as we could’ve instead been given Friday off leading into Spring Break, but you’ll hear no complaints from me.
Tuesday
Open with a five-minute M.U.G. Shot (Mechanics, Usage, Grammar) mini-lecture/bell-ringer. (Normally, we do these on Mondays, but yesterday’s holiday bumped this to today.)
Review answers to this past weekend’s Analogies worksheet, which students should have completed as HW.
Complete the “Does Odysseus Suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?” Activity where students will become clinical psychologists as they learn about PTSD and dig back through the text to find evidence to support their diagnosis of our protagonist.
For HW, students should review their notes on The Odyssey, as the unit exam will be given on Thursday.
Wednesday
Open with a ten-minute Words on Wednesday vocabulary mini-lecture/bell-ringer.
Play The Odyssey Flyswatter Review Game.
In teams of two, compete in an Odyssey Quote Race.
For HW, students should continue studying for tomorrow’s unit exam.
Thursday
Give the unit exam on The Odyssey, which will take most of the class period.
Complete 20Time planning session exit tickets.
For HW, students only need to remember to bring their 20Time materials to class tomorrow.
Friday (This is 4/1, April Fools’ Day. Note to self: MUST remember to prank my students.)
In-class work session for our 20Time projects.
For HW, students will be encouraged to work on their 4th quarter S.S.R. reading assignment, but no other homework will be given over the holiday break. Vacations should actually be a time to rest, not a time to stress over big projects. In support of this, the unit exam on Thursday will be a ZipGrade experience, easy to grade with a scan from my phone. No end-of-unit essays this time around because this teacher needs a vacation, too.
“What I’m Teaching This Week” will return the weekend of April 9 with my plans for introducing students to the man, the myth, the legend…William Shakespeare. (Audience roars its approval!)
Teach on, everyone.
Would you mind sharing your Odyssey Unit exam or is it available on TPT?
Hey Jennifer,
Thanks for checking in with me. Sorry, but I don’t have this exam available online because many of my students are aware of my TpT shop and, well, let’s just say I don’t want to give them a pathway to get themselves in trouble. You know how “resourceful” teens can be, right?
🙂 Laura
I was looking for your Odyssesus PTSD activity on your TPT store and did not see it. The link in this post just takes me to your store home page.
Hi Julie,
So sorry about that broken link. I actually completed a major store update/overhaul this past summer and decided to discontinue most of my Odyssey materials, including this PTSD one. Those curriculum pieces were built many years ago and don’t reflect the caliber of my current work, so they are no longer being offered. When time allows, I hope to return to the epic poem and rebuild stronger curriculum, but I’m really not sure when that will happen. Time isn’t my friend these days, as I’m sure you can relate. Sorry to disappoint. I’m hopeful you’ll be able to find other teacher-authors on TpT show have strong Odyssey materials to share.
Thanks for your understanding,
🙂 Laura