What did I think was missing from a 7th grade general agriscience class's unit on FFA? If you thought the answer was rules from our man Bob then you were right! Today I taught a 7th grade class how to adopt or fail a main motion. Here are some life hacks on this educational experience!
1. Middle schoolers are just as excited as you are! When they took control of their own learning they were eager to learn more! I had them match the basic definitions of Main Motion, Second, Debate, Vote and Vote Results. They did this super fast and wanted to try it out!
2. Excitement leads to students talking over you and getting each other round up sometimes. For example, I had them race to match the words and they ended up fighting over the winner. This allowed me to capture their attention by call and responses! The teacher I was shadowing loved it and couldn't believe how fast I got her kids attention!
3. Be specific! I cannot stress this enough. The teacher I was working with helped lead a mock meeting! I love doing mock meetings, but guidelines are needed. She had them write a motion down. " write the first 2 words as I move and then add a place for a field trip" were her directions.
By the end of class we passed motions to go inside a vending machine at a YMCA, inside a Nintendo switch, the bronx zoo and taco bell. These motions were helpful because the students wanted to discuss (well informally discuss) these motions, but it was hard to keep them on track and remember the meaning behind the prompt!
4. Never underestimate your kids. I went in thinking I would do main motion and they would never understand and it was going to be a complete flop! Well these guys learned main motion, division of the assembly, amend and previous question!! They learned basic of what they do not the full bob version, but they knew when to use them!
This all started because someone said the voice vote was a tie and tried debating that with me. So we showed division of the assembly. Other students thought the debate was "dumb", so we did previous question. It shows how the students can pick up on small details and ask the right questions for an opportunity to grow their knowledge.
5. Teaching middle school agriculture is actually pretty sweet! They get their discovery degrees and basically and learn how to care for plants and animal and get to build projects in wood shop. Never have seeing a middle school class and their excitement makes me want to teach middle school and advocate for middle school ag!
At the end of the day I had a ton of fun working with these younger kids on a topic I am so passionate about. They asked good questions and really got into debate and making motions. If nothing else every student was able to tell me what a main motion was, what a second means and how to word main motion and amend.
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