This is the last week of the semester for elementary students, and I decided to do a fun activity. It ended up being very successful with a class that has been difficult this semester, to my pleasant surprise.
Here is part of the activity:
Here is part of the activity:
"Writing Cartoons" End-of-Semester Lesson, August 2013. [Click to Enlarge]
I stole the two strips you see from here and here.
As you might guess, the activity was first reading and discussing the comics, then asking them (in pairs) to think of possible new dialogue for the pictures. I pretended these two strips were connected. On another page, they were supposed to continue with nine more boxes, all totally empty. They were to draw, write the dialogue, and caption each box. Groups that were most advanced I had finally write the comic as a narrative ("One day, a boss had a meeting with a worker..."). At the end were half-hearted, giggly presentations and candy prizes. Most groups had fun.
My apologies to Scott Adams for using his Dilbert comic without permission, but on the positive side for him, this activity exposed two dozen students to Dilbert. None of them had ever seen it. One or two said it looked like the "Wimpy Kid" series they use in class.
As you might guess, the activity was first reading and discussing the comics, then asking them (in pairs) to think of possible new dialogue for the pictures. I pretended these two strips were connected. On another page, they were supposed to continue with nine more boxes, all totally empty. They were to draw, write the dialogue, and caption each box. Groups that were most advanced I had finally write the comic as a narrative ("One day, a boss had a meeting with a worker..."). At the end were half-hearted, giggly presentations and candy prizes. Most groups had fun.
My apologies to Scott Adams for using his Dilbert comic without permission, but on the positive side for him, this activity exposed two dozen students to Dilbert. None of them had ever seen it. One or two said it looked like the "Wimpy Kid" series they use in class.
[Warning: Negativity Below]
The success of this activity, which I came up with in only fifteen minutes, and the success of an MI class at the end of the day in which all the kids were enthusiastic, contrasted sharply with my rising anger toward Management, whose hostility increases by the day. I mentioned in post-140 the issue of back pay for about 50 essays I did months ago. I was accused of "lying" about doing them. Argh....Really. Well, I took the time this afternoon to carefully take screenshot evidence proving beyond any sensible person's doubt that I did, in fact, complete those essays and submitted them into the system. The parents paid this institute, but the pay never got to me. I presented really knockout evidence. I gave Stringbean the paper with the evidence. An hour later, the paper appears back on my desk marked up with ways she still "thinks" I am "lying". If one untangles the logic of the implied continuing-accusation that I am "lying" despite evidence from the online system (which I screenshotted and explained exactly how she can check directly, herself), then the implication from Manager Stringbean is that I have hacked into that website and manipulated evidence, a theory so wildly implausible as to be laughable.....if it weren't happening to me.
See post-138 for an artist's rendition of Manager Stringbean's appearance.
The success of this activity, which I came up with in only fifteen minutes, and the success of an MI class at the end of the day in which all the kids were enthusiastic, contrasted sharply with my rising anger toward Management, whose hostility increases by the day. I mentioned in post-140 the issue of back pay for about 50 essays I did months ago. I was accused of "lying" about doing them. Argh....Really. Well, I took the time this afternoon to carefully take screenshot evidence proving beyond any sensible person's doubt that I did, in fact, complete those essays and submitted them into the system. The parents paid this institute, but the pay never got to me. I presented really knockout evidence. I gave Stringbean the paper with the evidence. An hour later, the paper appears back on my desk marked up with ways she still "thinks" I am "lying". If one untangles the logic of the implied continuing-accusation that I am "lying" despite evidence from the online system (which I screenshotted and explained exactly how she can check directly, herself), then the implication from Manager Stringbean is that I have hacked into that website and manipulated evidence, a theory so wildly implausible as to be laughable.....if it weren't happening to me.
See post-138 for an artist's rendition of Manager Stringbean's appearance.
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