Freaky Friday
So before I disappoint anyone you should know this post won’t be an analysis of the 1976 original or 2003 remake of this movie. Sorry. Freaky Friday was an idea I had at the beginning of last year because I wanted to have something on Friday’s that would interest students and be a “cool” way to tie together whatever we were talking about that week. When students walk in on Fridays they see a powerpoint slide with the organism’s name, Binomial name, pictures, and then facts about them. We then discuss that for a minute or so and then I have a 2-5 minute video clip about that organism too (it is hyperlinked on the powerpoint in the organism’s name). I tried to make the organism relate to what we were talking about in class. Sometimes that worked out, other times it didn’t.
Of course this wasn’t revolutionary or anything but I did have over 25% of my students respond (unprompted) in their course surveys that they Freaky Friday was one of their favorite things about class this year.
So, here’s my plug to the community: Most of these were made quickly which means that there could be factual errors or oddly worded sentences in these, feel free to revise them. ALSO, I would LOVE for others to ADD more organisms in the same format with their name, facts, and pictures (and video too if you have it). I only came up with 27 weeks worth but I know all of you out there have more organisms with great biological stories. It would be cool if we could revise/build this to become something others can use too if you’re interested. [Attached below is the powerpoint file]
one more… I have always been fascinated by these things…
http://blog.nature.org/science/2014/02/11/babirusa-conserving-the-bizarre-pig-of-the-sulawesi-forest/
the mola mola is a totally freaky fish you gotta use this one….
http://blog.nature.org/science/2014/04/02/mola-mola-the-weirdest-fish-in-the-ocean/
Michael: Normally, if I needed extra time I just told students that we need all of the 50 minutes today and that I would promise to give it to them Monday or Tuesday. They generally understood why I had to do that and that Freaky Friday was a reward so it doesn’t get to displace whatever we need class time to do.
Eric: I unfortunately for the 2nd year in a row won’t be able to make it as it overlaps with my first anniversary (last year of course was my wedding). However, I’d love to see notes or write-ups about what happens at the Field Trip. I hate missing it!
Are you coming on the KABT Field Trip? We will be introducing you to a few animals that could be added to your list.
This is a clever idea. I’ve heard several others do things on Fridays as a sort of special event, and my concern is always that I will get to a spot where I need all of the day’s time for the lab or activity we’re scheduled to do. How often did you run into issues where you had to choose between this small time investment and making a larger activity fit into your class period?