Friday, October 25 - AM Fluency

Opening discussion for today: Reflect upon the following quote from Stephen Hawking: Science tells us that humanity “is just a chemical scum on a moderate-sized planet, orbiting around a very average star in the outer suburb of one among a hundred billion galaxies.” Nearly every student agreed with this quotation. Some thought it was important to heed because it keeps us humble. 

We then read a horror short story I wrote entitled, “The Campsite,” a story based on a true story. We got into the Halloween spirit as we turned off the classroom lights and lit candles as I read. We followed that by listening to two Halloween songs: “Somebody’s Watching Me,” by Rockwell and “Thriller,” by Michael Jackson. 

Practicing our notetaking learning objective, I then gave a brief lecture on the Vietnam War while students took notes. We will review notes at the beginning of next Wednesday’s class.

Wednesday, October 30, 2024

This week, we indulge in Halloween-themed activities. Opening discussion: Share any memorable Halloween experiences: Halloween parties, trick or treating, horror films, etc. 

We then reviewed notes from the Vietnam War lecture from last week. Students practiced one of their learning outcomes. 

We then read an article explaining the history of Halloween: where it comes from, how it has changed, etc. 

Katherina then gave us a presentation entitled “Hard German Words.” She introduced us to the German language and analyzed some ridiculously long German words. We took notes, then compared our notes in preparation for the exam on Friday.