How Zombies Saved My School Year

My first week of school was pretty disappointing for me.  I watched my colleagues to exciting things like Goosechase.com and rewriting hip-hop songs about reading and creating a viral video.  The teachers I follow on Twitter were all overjoyed about the magic that is the beginning of the school year.  I had great ideas.  I had participated in hours of professional development on technology integration and Writer's Workshop.  I did my own research as well hoping to find some tips on implementing personalized learning and standard based grading.  I was educated, trained and prime for my own magic.

But after a few staff meetings, PLC meetings and a grade level meeting I realized that my first week was not going to magical.  It was going to be boring and frustrating.  My school had to schedule STAR testing early in the year to free up computer labs and Chromebooks for real instruction and that seemed like a noble idea at the time.  The problem came when we realized that someone (don't you love it when they say "someone" and you know that means you) will have to teach the students how to change their passwords.  "Hey, while you're at it - have them sign up for all of our Google Classroom accounts - and their Remind accounts now that I think of it".   I wanted to be the good sport and honestly I had forgotten the pain of teaching 30 students Chromebook procedures.  My students from last year came so far that I could just throw out an app and they'd figure it out and I know these kids will grow the same way - maybe faster because I've grown.  Yet, on those first few days I found myself grumpy, cranky and impatient.  This was not the magical first week I wanted - or that 6th grades venturing to middle school the first time deserved.

So,  I had to get quiet and reevaluate.  The good news was that the students were flying around the chromebook like experts by Friday - the bad news is they hadn't really learned much else.  I pulled up my Social Studies lesson plans and began to review them - ugh - The 5 Themes of Geography Loupe Collage - BORING! So I  started Googling for ideas and playing around with apps.  I stumbled across a lesson where students had to determine the survivability of a given location in the event of a zombie apocolypse using the 5 themes of Geography.  The teacher had provided the handout for free on Google and I totally ripped it off, added to it and edited for my purposes and planned on implemented it the next week.  *I jokingly say, I've never had an original thought in my life - I beg, borrow and steal most ideas I use in my classroom*  I always give credit when I can - if this is your lesson please let me know so I can give you credit and thank you for sharing!*

 The kids were stoked, they were engaged, they collaborated and they presented.  *sigh - I found my happy place once again and it was all thanks to zombies!

And since I ripped the whole thing off- here's my version!  Zombie Geography Lesson