I observed independent work Friday October 22nd for both International Baccalaureate senior classes. Several students were absent the first period for various reasons, and with many assignments due, it was decided to utilize this class time as a an opportunity for independent work. Originally, this class period was to be allotted towards beginning a new chapter regarding Jimmy Carter's presidency. However, with numerous absences it seemed unfair to begin a new topic with so many students not present. Another teaching observation and skill I continue to learn is being  flexible when teaching, as I have learned not everything always goes as planned in the educational world. Consequently, at the beginning of the class students were instructed to either: catch up with past assignments within the class, any potential important assignments in other classes, or access their Schoology course page and complete the graphic organizer for Jimmy Carter's domestic policy. Some previous assignments that were due included:

• Nixon OPEC Oil Crisis 
• Ford Obituary Questions
• Ford Pardon of Nixon
• Ford Political Developments in the U.S.

The only requirement was that students remain in their seats and keep their voices low to limit distractions. Students were permitted to use their headphones as well. From my observations about 75% remained on task and were working on school work, whether by hand or on their school-provided Chromebooks. Many finished the graphic organizer assignment within the class period, even though it was not due until the next class. However, I also noted some students playing games, such as solitaire, or looking up Dungeon and Dragons die with their given independent time. 

GRAPHIC ORGANIZER: Miller Center "Jimmy Carter: Domestic Policy"

Students are familiar with the routine of creating a graphic organizer correlating to the Miller Center article, as they have done this with several previous presidents. My mentor teacher has already established the routine of designing a graphic organizer, so there was limited time spent giving guidelines the day for independent work. Students were instructed to create a graphic organizer, by hand, creating three categories: 'POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, and SOCIAL.' For every event described in the article pertaining to domestic policies under President Carter, students are to place that event in the appropriate category, which for some events may fall into multiple categories. Students completed this activity individually within class while utilizing their school provided chromebooks reading the article via Schoology. Students had the option to read the article as a paper copy as well, but only one student from both classes requested a paper copy. However, students are required to complete the graphic organizer by hand; this is that students do not simply copy and paste material, but actually remember and retain the new information.