The Christmas Picture

Merry Christmas, everyone!
Merry is sitting on Dave's lap, and Pippin is on my lap.

Final Collaboration Reflection

In the end, it worked out well. That is not to say that there were not some bugs and glitches along the way, for there surely were. However, by the end of the unit, most of the students said that they saw a connection between English and Social Studies, so I felt good about that.

My partner Chris also liked having students who had read and understood "Sinners in the hands of an Angry God" while they were working on the First Great Awakening in Social Studies. Requiring the students to include an historical element in each chapter of the graphic novel was another way to forge the connection between English and Social Studies and the students came through with flying colors. Occasionally they needed a little assistance, but for the most part they made the connections easily and on their own.

Chris and I checked in with each other during the unit, but we were not in lockstep with each other. We both trusted that the other would be able to use and build on the schema learned in each class.

A side benefit was that I ended up collaborating with another Social Studies teacher, also named Chris. Most students who take Pre-AP English also take Pre-AP US History, but some don't. However, Chris 2 was also teaching Puritanism at the same time Chris 1 and I were, so it worked out great. He thanked me for teaching that, and said that his kids were getting some of the same benefits that the Pre-AP USH students were getting from the collaboration.

All in all, I feel it was a successful collaboration.