"I'm Working in a Sweatshop!"

My wonderful Belaruz student saw me in the hall after class and said, "Thank you for your teaching!  All your energy."

It's true that at one point my face was all wet (and not just because I was overdressed for a building in which the custodians get paid only if they turn the hit on), so as I wiped my face, I said, "I'm working in a sweatshop."  I was looking over the very insightful summary written by my Italian student, who's never met a verb form she hasn't mutilated but who has excellent comments.  Today she and an equally bright Latina had a debate from opposite sides of the room about who is responsible for keeping kids away from McDonald's Happy Meals. 

We began with an reading activity (NOT a test!)  on "The Pioneers" from Chew On This.  They had to fill in each blank space with one of the words provided .  Then we went over a page of questions and they discussed some of them in groups.  After the brief break, we talked about the meaning of "Fearsome Flashes" and how the ultraviolet lights coming from power lines are perceived as much more frightening by other mammals than by us and is causing animals to stay away from their habitat.  Then they took a quiz (one I'd already put online) on four of the topics.  Our discussion of animals segued into NorthStar's "How Smart Is Smart?" It also got us back to the summary patterns I gave them.  We worked on a one-sentence summary.

No wonder I was sweating!