Freshman Academy/Theme

Hi,
This is my first discussion post and I'm really excited. I have fallen in LOVE with this forum. With the use of the search I've found answers to just about anything I'm interested in. . . this network is AMAZING! I couldn't wait to make a post of my own. So here goes:

1. This coming fall, my school district is mandating Freshman Academies at every high school. Right off, if feels like the team at my school has had weak start. Any suggestions on how to make it work? Things we can do right?

2. Do high classrooms/teachers create decorative themes anymore? I know that most elementary teachers do it & its really important to the environment. I was thinking that since Freshman Academy is special that there should be some sort of theme and it should blend into my classroom blog/website. I guess my questions are: Do any of your high school teachers have a classroom theme? Does it seem to motivate student? Does it help with instruction? Is it a waste of time? Would some one mind sharing their site if it has a theme?

Thanks for taking the time to read & respond.

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Permalink Reply by Kev on June 25, 2009 at 7:57am

Can't help you on the first question but on the second I say go for it. I themed my middle school classroom all around video games last year and I would say it was a huge success. Decorations were changed, assignments were renamed, etc. I didn't change anything in terms of content, just design. It had a huge impact. The kids loved it and commented on how different it felt from other classes as early as day 2.

I think far too often we toss things out for being too "kiddy" in secondary ed and that is just a huge mistake.