My Summer School Packer Class: (Long)

[Dinger]

I am teaching this class to upper elementary aged students. Just wondering what y'all think.


It is a 5-week course, beginning June 13, 2005. The components of the class are as follows:

1) One activity we are involved in is creating a classroom/Packermania web page, which will include the following (so far):
-A main page, with a slide show of our class activities
-Links to: Our weekly newsletter, Packer schedule, other Packer links,
Packer art, "Traning Camp" (Phy Ed activities we do),
a teacher link with my lesson plans, . . . (more to come)
We begin the day with an hour in our computer lab. Our website will be online by July 15th, so if you want, check it out : ) 60 minutes

2) After our time in the lab, we go outside for "Training Camp," where
students have punt, pass, & kick drills, where they measure their
results. We also run through tires, and students are timed, as they are
in the 40-yd. dash. We will do other football-related activities as well.
On a related note, there is a retired NFL player (Bernard Holsy) who
now lives nearby, and for several years has held a free football camp
here for local kids. He has invited our class to observe or take part in
his foorball camp on June 25, 26. I think that's pretty cool. (My football
skills suck). 30 minutes

3) After "Training Camp," we come inside and view a brief Packer video
which relates to the these of the week (The first week's theme involves
the Packers' early years, up to the Lombardi Era). I have prepared a
video guide for the kids to use to guide them through the video. I call
this part of class "Packer History." 30 minutes

4) After "Packer History," we do Packer crafts. Some things we are doing
include tie-dyed t-shirts (guess what colors?), Packer cards (special
occasions, blank cards), Packer pet rocks, Packer jewelry and
beadwork, Packer ornaments, etc. 30 minutes
- break for lunch/recess 30 minutes
5) BTV - Packermania Sports newscast - In this section, we prepare for
a sports newscast (video - with parent permission of course). The first
week, the kids have made a large drawing of "The Play" in the Ice Bowl,
to be used as the backdrop for our weekly production. Kids write the
scripts, which mainly come from the newsletter. Deadlines are on
Thursdays, and taping is on Friday. 30 minutes each day

6) Newsletter. During this time, students work on their assigned parts
of the newsletter. In the newsletter, we have a front page with
Packer news, news from Packermania Class, and a weekly biography
section, which includes two Packer people,. one from the past, and one
from the present. 30 minutes

7) The last part of the day is for finishing up projects, getting notes home
to parents, and prize drawings (Tickets are awarded for participation,
behavior, etc., and if a students name is picked, they can choose a
Packer prize - I have some good one too!)

I had 5 field trips planned to Green Bay, but due to budget cuts, I had to reduce this to one. We have a Lambeau Field tour and a Hall of Fame tour
planned for the same day. I have been to the Hall of Fame, and created a
scavenger hunt book for the kids to used to guide them through the Hall of Fame. This can be used to stimulate discussion, and obviously can be used
in many different class projects. I had to cancel tour of a local news station and newspaper - I had some great trips planned with a reporter you know well, and a local t.v. sports guy. The local t.v. sports channel contacted me, and there is a possibility they might come here to talk to the kids about what goes into a t.v. sports production, and on reporting on teh Packers in the newspaper. I also had a tour planned of local Packer points of interest (City Stadium, Lombardi's house, Nictshke's house, etc.), but I had to let that go as well. I wonder if I should go for broke, and ask Fuzzy or Harlan (who I have spoken to several times by phone) if they'd like to come and talk to my kids????
I got some unbelievably good news the other day. Someone who works at my school has season tickets to Packer games. He asked me how the class was going so far, and I said "Great!" He then told me that he would like to donate 6 tickets to a preseason game for my class! I couldn't believe it!
Anyway, that is what Dinger is up to this summer. Thanks for takling the time to read this. I respect your opinions a lot.

[sybylla]

1. What a fun thng to do for a summer class

And it appears to be about so much more than the Pack. I can't believe all the things you are teaching your kids while using the Packers to get them involved and interested.

That's what good teaching is all about. I know a few armchair quarterbacks who could use a class like this.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

2. This is the same curriculum that Bush had for his MBA

Just kidding! This sounds very fun and educational. Your students must love you!

[RevCheesehead]

3. You must be related to Mrs. McGinn, my 2nd grade teacher.

Her classroom was plastered with posters of Packers players (these were in the "glory years"). On the first day of school, she announced "This is Wisconsin, and you will all be Green Bay Packers Fans - no exceptions. You can root for other teams, but you must be loyal to your home team."

God, I loved her. :)