Be Our Guest
Right now, I am teaching ratios, proportions, and the relationship between fractions, decimals, and percents. To keep the kids interested, we are doing a side project that connects to this type of math. The kids are in charge of making a product (decorated pencils, goodie bags, bracelets, etc.) and then selling it on the day before we leave for Christmas break. Every 7th grader is doing it (250 students), which means on that day we will have a mini mall of stores. We are inviting the other grade levels, school staff, and parents and families to come shop. It is going to be huge! The kids are all excited about it. I keep getting comments from other teachers that the kids won't be quiet because they are talking about the project all the time.
The only glitch so far is that some students thought it would be cool to start selling things now. I don't want them selling things other than on our shopping/sales day. Students were making duck tape wallets (yes, wallets out of duck tape!) and selling them from their lockers or on the bus. I identified the 3 students guilty of pre-selling and scared them to death about what would happen if I found them selling on any other day other than our mall day. A day of in school suspension, a 0 on their project, a meeting with the principal, a parent conference, and they would be no longer able to participate in the project. That got them good! They've been perfect angels for me since.
I know I'm creating memories for the kids and giving them a reason to be excited about math, but the stress of planning this event and regulating it is giving me gray hairs. I had to work with everyone in my school to make it work (TAG teachers, foreign language teachers, administration, 6th and 8th grade, and my group of 7th grade teachers). For all my trouble, these kids better like it!
The only glitch so far is that some students thought it would be cool to start selling things now. I don't want them selling things other than on our shopping/sales day. Students were making duck tape wallets (yes, wallets out of duck tape!) and selling them from their lockers or on the bus. I identified the 3 students guilty of pre-selling and scared them to death about what would happen if I found them selling on any other day other than our mall day. A day of in school suspension, a 0 on their project, a meeting with the principal, a parent conference, and they would be no longer able to participate in the project. That got them good! They've been perfect angels for me since.
I know I'm creating memories for the kids and giving them a reason to be excited about math, but the stress of planning this event and regulating it is giving me gray hairs. I had to work with everyone in my school to make it work (TAG teachers, foreign language teachers, administration, 6th and 8th grade, and my group of 7th grade teachers). For all my trouble, these kids better like it!