The commercial unit is a nice break for the students, but it's a nice break for the teachers, too. Creating a silly product from a bunch of gadgets and producing a commercial to sell it is fun for kids and encourages them to be both creative and playful. As for me, I like to play during the unit, too.
Circulating from group to group, trying the product, and helping out with slogans, and props gives me a chance to show my own silly, creative side. So this morning when a group was using a tape dispenser to play the part of a mouse in the trap they were imagining from their gadget, I turned to my arts and crafts supplies, which are extensive after 26 years in the same room. A little brown felt, some pipe cleaners, facial tissue stuffing, and a stapler yielded an unsatisfactory product, a little on the abstract, lumpy side.
But I was not to be deterred.
When the next class was working just fine without me, I searched up a pattern for a little felt mouse. Digging through my desk drawers, I found some straight pins and a needle and thread. Over the course of the day I was able to cut out a few felt pieces here and there, but it was when the last bell of the day rang that I was able to sit at my desk and start my little project.
Threading the needle? Was a little challenging, but once that was done, I began whipstitching away, even as my colleagues and I discussed the specifics of revising our rubric into one that was aligned with the IB. I took a brief break to attend an IEP meeting, but was back at my desk piecing and sewing when one of my teammates came in.
"May I ask what you're doing?" she inquired.
"I'm making a mouse!" I answered.
"May I ask why?" she continued.
I paused. "Well," I said, "right now? It's therapy!"
Circulating from group to group, trying the product, and helping out with slogans, and props gives me a chance to show my own silly, creative side. So this morning when a group was using a tape dispenser to play the part of a mouse in the trap they were imagining from their gadget, I turned to my arts and crafts supplies, which are extensive after 26 years in the same room. A little brown felt, some pipe cleaners, facial tissue stuffing, and a stapler yielded an unsatisfactory product, a little on the abstract, lumpy side.
But I was not to be deterred.
When the next class was working just fine without me, I searched up a pattern for a little felt mouse. Digging through my desk drawers, I found some straight pins and a needle and thread. Over the course of the day I was able to cut out a few felt pieces here and there, but it was when the last bell of the day rang that I was able to sit at my desk and start my little project.
Threading the needle? Was a little challenging, but once that was done, I began whipstitching away, even as my colleagues and I discussed the specifics of revising our rubric into one that was aligned with the IB. I took a brief break to attend an IEP meeting, but was back at my desk piecing and sewing when one of my teammates came in.
"May I ask what you're doing?" she inquired.
"I'm making a mouse!" I answered.
"May I ask why?" she continued.
I paused. "Well," I said, "right now? It's therapy!"
Nice work! Much better than using an old cat toy.
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