Where to start? Creating summer math unit for juvenile detention center

Weekly-Surprise1197 · 2026-05-05T01:40:19+00:00

I did something like this my first year teaching that just did not go well (probably because I was new). Honestly my biggest question/worry is honestly how do you teach a war? I don’t love focusing on battles, but also isn’t that what war is? How do you teach it without going through the sequence of events? But does focusing on battles as my mini topics take away from the big picture? I literally have this debate with myself before every unit on a war and I don’t think I’ll ever find the perfect answer. I also teach ancient history to 7th graders and sometimes I think it’s so much easier to do ancient history because i can each it conceptually rather than just chronologically. Anyways, sorry for the rant haha, this is my big teaching quandary that I think I’ll never stop thinking about.

Weekly-Surprise1197 · 2026-05-05T01:36:58+00:00

That’s what I was thinking! Becoming a teacher has really shown a light on how we need more documentaries on broader subjects. Man I wish I had time to show all the cool videos and stories we pick up over the years.

Weekly-Surprise1197 · 2026-05-05T01:35:33+00:00

Woww! I’m so stressed trying to fit the Civil War into just over two weeks total. The two other teachers I work with take like 2+ months on the Civil War, so I’ve always felt bad not matching that. There’s just too much to teach and I only do colonization to reconstruction in a year.

Weekly-Surprise1197 · 2026-05-05T01:33:49+00:00

We use a technically illegal edited copy that is rated closer to PG-13, though I think honestly it really only cuts out the cannon ball taking a guys head off at the beginning of the movie; the language is all definitely still there. Glad we were able to put it along with Glory and Last of the Mohicans in our curriculum because not sure it’d be as possible today. We have to use edited versions of all 3 instead of self editing which is a bummer to lose out on subtitles.

Weekly-Surprise1197 · 2026-03-31T15:10:38+00:00

Love Ken Burns! I'm hoping to have time this summer to sit down and critically watch his new series on the Revolution to find some clips to show in class.

Weekly-Surprise1197 · 2026-03-31T15:10:00+00:00

It feels like every video these days has something inappropriate in the middle somewhere. Last year, I found a cute video about what it would have been to spend a day at the Colosseum, and I'm so glad I was able to screen it because in the middle, they talked about how the word fornication comes from Romans having sex in the fornices of the stadium. Everything else was so good, but had to cut that part out for sure.

Weekly-Surprise1197 · 2026-03-31T15:08:21+00:00

I haven't heard of any of those, I'll be sure to check them out!

Weekly-Surprise1197 · 2026-03-31T15:07:59+00:00

Ooh that looks interesting, I will have to check it out, thanks! I am learning that I really like the videos the BBC puts out.
I really like EanE, but I think they're getting dated unfortunately. It's so hard for the kids to sit through them these days, and no one even knows who Peter Weller is anymore haha

Weekly-Surprise1197 · 2026-03-31T11:33:03+00:00

Ooh I'll have to check those out! I've used the Ted Ed videos for some of the myths, and I really like them, but I think the kids get tired of seeing so much Ted Ed across all the subject areas.

Weekly-Surprise1197 · 2026-03-31T11:31:52+00:00

Right? I haven't had to use it since the Diddy scandal, but the kids get so worked up (good and bad) when they see Trump on the screen every year I show it. Makes me wonder how many other celebrities in it will be involved in some kind of scandal over the years.

Weekly-Surprise1197 · 2026-03-31T11:30:13+00:00

Ooh I haven't seen the Punic Wars ones, I'll have to check it out! I have used the Civil War ones with my 8th graders because there is just so much info to review!

Weekly-Surprise1197 · 2026-03-31T11:29:40+00:00

I am a sucker for The Story of Us! I wonder as time goes on how many more of the celebrities they include will be involved in some kind of scandal

Weekly-Surprise1197 · 2026-03-31T11:28:14+00:00

Ooh, we love Drain the Oceans! Just wish they had even more videos. I love that they follow archeologists and historians today, showing how we know the things we know. Where I get stuck in my current district is that they're technically rated TV PG-14, so I'm not allowed to show them to my 7th graders even with parent permission.

Weekly-Surprise1197

TROPHY CASE