9-Presentation Day! Going to elementary schools...

Today was the day.

I was nervous. I was excited.

They were nervous. They were excited (possibly just to miss school, but excited none the less).

By the time the 8:25 bell rang there was a staggering stack of permission slips piled on my desk. It was an oversight on my part, and I had to rush these all out yesterday afternoon. After sorting through and checking off names I was relieved to see that everyone remembered their slip. Note to self: don't accept an more excuses about forgetting homework.

First, second, and third period flew by, and as soon as I was able to scarf down some lunch it was time to go. The bell for fourth hour rang and kids rushed to meet in the cafeteria carrying posters, markers, files folders filled with papers, even a bag of stuffed animals (and of course lots of candy for bribery).

As I reviewed expectations, reminded them about rubrics, and upholding these character values we were going to teach, we boarded the buses and I sent Ms. Tillman off to Akron. We headed for Mentone.

I could hear students rehearsing, discussing last minute plans and details, and talking about what they might expect once we arrived. When we got there we put on name tags, announced room numbers, and headed for the classrooms.

The next hour passed so quickly, especially since I was bouncing around from room to room.

The kids did great! As I visited classrooms there were kids speaking up, taking charge, and stepping up as leaders or working with kids individually that I've seen nothing from all year! This is what I truly love about PBL is seeing the kids in a totally different environment. I believe I wrote about this after the Baker Youth Club project/visit. Seeing students who don't normally excel in the classroom engaged, involved, and communicating is so exciting. I so truly believe that PBL really engages those students we might normally lose. They get to see this project that they've worked so hard to create actually being applied, and they're making it happen!

I received a lot of positive feedback; I'll post their rubrics/evaluations that the teachers gave them later. For now here is a slideshow of pictures!