For one hour a day I am covering the planning period in a high school classroom for students with behavior issues and emotional impairments. I am really excited, but this is a particularly 'tough' position to fill. The students with be with their 'main' teacher for the rest of the day (many of the students have been in this room for 2 years already), and I come in to teach math one hour a day. We are starting school tomorrow, and I keep changing my mind on what to do. The main teacher is teaching no content the first week, he is setting up the room. Any last minute suggestions on good first day activity (really any subject) to do with this age level? Thanks!
I am incredibly out of my element here!!! But it seems to me as though this one hour a day is a real gift to these kids-- time with a teacher, but no set curriculum. I think, off the top of my head, that first thing tomorrow I would give them a job application to fill out. Then, in the days and weeks to come, we would talk about getting a job. By Junior year, lots of kids are getting jobs. But you need skills to get a job, even one at McDonalds-- you need to dress right, to fill out the application neatly and completely and accurately. You need to interview well. And you need to have the skills to keep the job, even when the customer or the manager is wrong or on your back or just plain annoying. If you link it into what a job DOES for you-- financial security and all that "Stuff" kids want, it might be a huge success. OK, so to extrapolate a bit (I told you I was out of my element ) maybe tomorrow is all about all the "stuff" they want-- where to they see themselves in 10 years? Where will they live, what jobs will they have, what stuff will they have? Then you can backtrack to that first job at McDonalds. Does any of that help at all???
Yes! I did goal setting today. I think having them fill out a job application would be perfect. Thanks so much!
Also- see what they want to learn. Do they get art? Maybe you can do some art or drama therapy once a week. I always have the kids brainstorm what they want to learn and they we go about learning it!
