Today was like a giant slumber party as children snuggled up in blankets with books, and it was also like a giant slumber party when rain forced an indoor recess and the blankets became forts while children played with abandon--that's a lot of play for 25 students in one room on a humid day.
After lunch we cleaned up and had tech choice to calm everyone down and complete the transition from test prep/test mode to project base learning.
Tomorrow we'll set the stage. We'll spend the morning reading about biomes and the afternoon turning our now dull bulletin boards (we had to take all content info down for the tests) into biome displays. Next week we'll create the infographics. Then the review, and at last, independent endangered species research, writing, and project work.
The tests tired us out--both teachers and students. We did a lot of prep, and the tests themselves take a lot of stamina. I get tired just watching the children labor during the assessments, but as I've mentioned a zillion times (and to cheer myself on) we're now embarking on the PBL. Onward.
