The Happy Learning Den: "Why do we have to do this?"

Sunday, December 8, 2019

"Why do we have to do this?"

Student: "Why do we have to do this?"
Me: "Because one day in the future you might choose a career that right now you don't see yourself doing."

I have high expectations for all of my students, and while not every student is where they should be academically, I do expect each student to work hard. I expect each student to think about what they are writing, and to make sure their answers "make sense." The assignment that I am sharing with you today came out even better than I expected.

I assigned my students a math and science writing activity. Oh, yes. You read that right... they needed to write in math class! My fifth graders wrote 2-3 paragraphs explaining how they would use math in their future career, and another 2-3 paragraphs explaining how they would also use science in their future careers. It was a lot of fun!

Many of my students were insistent that they wouldn't use science in football, soccer, or basketball. (I have many future NFL, NBA, and World Cup superstars in my class this year!) However, once I kicked, dribbled, and threw my imaginary balls around the class and asked them what I was doing using scientific terminology.... I started hearing works like gravity, force and motion, and friction. Ahhhhhhh, so they do need science to play sports.

Of course I took a few photos of their final copies to share with you. I hope you enjoy reading them!