12th grade government. The teacher left them a movie, and then she did the genius thing of leaving them a "questionnaire" for after. That is, she left them a sort of/kind of quiz to make sure they didn't sleep through or talk through the whole thing.
Because I have had way too many instances of ignored movies, I enforced the "individual" part of the assignment rigorously.
Question one asked: Who was the attorney for the plaintiff?
I had gotten most of the papers turned in. One boy handed me his. Stopped and did a double take. Asked for his paper back. I assumed he had forgotten to write his name on it (a common occurrence).
He turned to me and pointed out question one. His was blank. I expected the "what is a plaintiff?" question. (It wouldn't have been the first time I'd gotten that question that day.)
Him: "It was either..." (he pointed to all four of the choices).
Me: "Yes, it was one of them."
Him: "His name was..."
Yeah, clever. He tried three versions of this, expecting me to fill in the blank for him. I kept dodging the question. I know this game. And he was on his own.
But in the end, I did help.
Me: "Who was suing? Right, and her lawyer was...?"
He made what sounded like a guess. Except, it was the right answer, and he seemed to sort of recall it. However, I did not confirm nor deny it. ("That's what you think? Then put that answer down.") Nice try, though.
Have you ever seen Runaway Jury? What sort of movie would you think a government teacher would leave for her class when she was out?
Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter...
hope you are doing well
ReplyDeleteI am, thanks. And you?
DeleteI remember those questionnaires after movies when we had a sub. Everyone hated those, but we couldn't deny that our teacher was clever for doing it.
ReplyDeleteLast year, I won one of those cute little holders. I picked Z to symbolize winning A to Z. :) I have it on my bookshelf and love it!
Yes, I remember.
DeleteOn the other side of the watching-the-movie thing, I can tell you I love having something to keep the students accountable.
I haven't seen Runaway Jury; sounds interesting. How funny how the students use any tricks to try to get someone else to do their work!
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to think of movies with a government theme.....none are coming to mind right now.....
betty
Yep. It's really blatant on spelling tests...
DeleteMr Smith Goes To Washington would be my choice for a government movie. Have never seen Runaway Jury. That's Purrfect
ReplyDeleteThey try to be sneaky.
ReplyDeleteI'd have them watch The Distinguished Gentleman. Hey, at least they would enjoy it and actually watch the film!
Liz, Nope I can't say that I've seen Runaway Jury. I don't know what a Government teacher should leave in his/her absence, but a movie is just about as good as anything and it makes the subs job a lot easier...or at least I think it would. That kid deserves a few points for effort on trying to pull the answer from you, though.lol Nice try on his part! lol
ReplyDelete~Curious as a Cathy
All Things Vintage: Flapper era #AprilA2z
I haven't seen the movie but I did read the book by John Grisham! Good book
ReplyDeleteAh. So, that's where it came from.
DeleteI think I liked the movie, if I remember correctly.
ReplyDeleteI don't blame him for not wanting to pay attention. It sounds like a boring assignment. But sometimes there's nothing you can do about that.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the movie but the book was fab. I can definitely remember doing much worse things at school than watching a movie and then doing a multiple choice quiz!
ReplyDeleteDebbie
It was a nice, easy assignment.
DeleteTricky students!
ReplyDeleteYup
DeleteGreat F Liz. I liked that movie...WAs it a Grisham?
ReplyDeleteApparently. I had no idea, but since others in the comments have said they read the book, I'll take it that it was.
DeleteRunaway Jury? I haven't seen it, but just based on what little I know about it, it seems like an odd movie to show in a government class. I probably would have showed Philadelphia with Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington instead. Or The Rainmaker, if one was really partial to Grisham.
ReplyDeleteLOL trying to be so slick. ::snort::
ReplyDeleteI read the book but never saw the movie. I didn't even know it was made into a movie.
ReplyDeleteIt was well done. What I saw of it, anyway. (I missed day one. They had another sub.)
DeleteNice theme! I subbed once for a 8th grade history class...I think I prefer elementary age :)
ReplyDeleteTo each their own. Elementary scares me ;)
DeleteMaybe the boy should be a lawyer. He certainly has interrogation skills. Couldn't fool the clever sub though :)
ReplyDeleteNah. If his interrogation skills were good, he would have gotten the answer out of me.
DeleteI'm old (and old school enough) to say - leave a movie? I didn't read all your commenters - hope this isn't a repeat - how about Twelve Angry Men, starring Henry Fonda. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't think that one's come up. I think they read it in English, though. As for leaving a movie, it happens. Not as often as it used to (funnily enough).
DeleteWow! Smart kid! Tough sub! Good for you for not giving him the answer though. That wouldn't have been fair to the other kids.
ReplyDeleteI remember hating when teachers would do the video/quiz thing. It was much nicer when they would show the video and let you sleep. I never got anything out of class videos anyway.
If the students just slept, I wouldn't mind so much. What usually happens is the room becomes party central, where the movie is like background music--the thing to be talked over while the group "chills". Loudly.
DeleteHave to keep these kids on their toes. I have seen this film and it's an interesting twist. I would show 12 Angry Men
ReplyDelete