Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Objectives:
After this class, students will be able to:
a. identify an allusion in education literature.
b. describe the causes and effects of teacher absenteeism.
c. read for comprehension and analysis.

Agenda:
1. Warm-up: Students should answer the following questions in their notebooks: What happens in a school with a high rate of teacher absenteeism? When a teacher is out, what is the effect on the students? What is the effect on other teachers? Why do you think teacher don't come to work? What can prevent teachers absences? Students will share their answers for EC.

2. Today's Vocabulary:
a. Allusion: a reference to some common story or item in popular culture
b. Authentic: for real, something true to life

3. Reading Activity: "I know what you did last math class" from the NY Times - students will read article, answer questions below, and discuss the issue of school-to-parent communications.
a. What is this title an allusion to?
b. Describe the way that teachers at our school get in touch with your parents. Is this effective communication? Why or why not?
c. What method of parent communication is discussed in the article? List 4 things that parents can check/monitor using this method?
d. What are the consequences or results of more stringent parent communication? Describe 1 positive and 1 negative.
e. Is this new communication method biased or prejudiced? Which parents would be left out?
f. List 4 words you don't know from the article.
g. Write a 5 sentence opinion about the issues in this article.

Homework: There is no homework assigned for this class tonight.