Day 1:
For Day 1, I first explained to them what the objectives of the lesson were, what they were going to encounter for the next few days. Then I went into a lecture model where I actually set up a little slide show on my Smart Board, which I’m fortunate enough to have. The lesson dictates that I come up with four scenarios which I explained to them in terms of predictability and unpredictability. I found four locations, and we discussed the concept of “predictable” and “unpredictable” in terms of built space, clothing, food, and how people act in these different places. I went over slide by slide to show them the location and then I reviewed through lecture first to explain the terms and the objectives to them, but then that led into a whole class discussion. You’ll see them having a whole class discussion.

Because of the size of my classroom, I’ve had to work on whole class discussion the entire year. It doesn’t lend itself to a traditional “raise-your-hand.” You’ll see in the video that the kids are free to express themselves, like almost a conversation. They really think that they’re talking to me one-on-one when there’s 40 other kids in the room, and that has worked out very well. They love to make personal connections. When we’re having a discussion and I throw in a little anecdotal story, or I allow them to do it, that works well with them. When I pose a question to the entire room, I check for understanding by asking open-ended questions where there is flexibility in their answer, and I can tell if they really understand my objective. Do they really understand what I just asked of them? I’m always gauging where they are from the room observations. Do I see a kid that’s a little confused? Did I hear a wrong answer and then we’ll address it again.

The closing of Day 1, in preparation for Day 2, was to activate a little prior knowledge in terms of currency systems. I found that that was a difficult concept for me to understand, so I wanted to make sure that they understood it well, and I guess the mode that I used at the end of Day 1 was to initiate just a very informal discussion/conversation with the kids about their personal experiences with other countries and the use of currency. I happen to know that some of my students have traveled internationally, so I was able to let them lead the discussion and say, "Well, when I went to Punta Cana, I spent such-and-such rate." And then you’ll have other students in the classroom relating their stories, and then we start to compare and realize, “Wow, there’s a huge difference in how you would spend money in different areas,” and that was a little real-world connection and a little prior knowledge in preparation to the next day, Day 2, which will lead us into actual currency conversion and the exchange rate.