Dear Teacher,

I am enthusiastic about looking after your class and continuing down the road you have mapped out for them.  I am committed to following  your lesson plans and honoring your classroom rules and procedures.    

HOWEVER...

I used to be a fulltime teacher myself and know there are emergencies and know that sometimes lesson plans get set aside or lost.  This being the case, I am prepared to teach any of the following with only as much notice as a phone call the previous evening.    These are subjects that I know very well and can use to augment your curricula and give your students a change of pace with out loosing discipline nor wasting class time.

Call me at 408-986-8020  (I have class two nights a week.  Leave a message if need be.)

Bill Harvey

Title: The HISTORY of the ENGLISH TONGUE
We all know the 'Romance Languages' come from Latin.  But what about English?  Why did Chaucer write the way he did and what about this Shakespeare guy.?

GRADE LEVEL:

 

Middle and High School.

 

RELATES TO....

 

English / History

(art / drawing,  logic)

ASSIGNMENT:

 

In-class note taking & diagramming practice.

TEST:

 

10 question short-answer quiz for HS level.

 

Link to 

LECTURE NOTES

etc. for the History of English

   
   
Title: WORDS & EXPRESSIONS from the SEA
My perennial favorite.  Why do we say "let the cat out of the bag" or  "three sheets to the wind"?  What is the connection between George Washington, rum, and grosgrain ribbon?

GRADE LEVEL:

 

All grades.

 

RELATES TO....

 

English 

 History

 

ASSIGNMENT:

 

In-class note taking.

TEST:

 

10 question short-answer quiz for HS level.

 

Link to 

LECTURE NOTES

etc. for Maritime lexicon.

   
 
Title: SIMPLE FLOOR PLANS:
I have the students use tiles on the floor to figure out how big their bed is, then figure out how big their bedroom is, until eventually they have drawn the floor plan to their entire house.  This was typically the first lesson class in my beginning CAD classes.  

GRADE LEVEL:

 

All grades,

-most rigorous @ Middle and High School.

 

RELATES TO....

 

Drafting 

Math and Measurement

 

ASSIGNMENT:

 

In-class drawing exercises.

TEST:

 

none 

Broad

GUIDELINES

I use for grading drawings.

 

Title: ISOMETRIC DRAWING:
Essential to draftsmen and engineers / architects etc., but everyone can benefit from being able to make a quick 3D sketch.  

GRADE LEVEL:

 

Middle and High School.

(maybe grade school)

RELATES TO....

 

Drafting 

Math / Measurement

Art

 

ASSIGNMENT:

 

In-class drawing exercises.

TEST:

 

none 

Broad

GUIDELINES

I use for grading drawings.

 

Title: PERSPECTIVE DRAWING:
Builds on the above for the younger classes, or may stand alone for the older students.  The beginning of real drawing skills.  And YES, anyone CAN learn to draw.  I also like to work in a little history in re. the Italian Renaissance.  

GRADE LEVEL:

 

Middle and High School.

 

RELATES TO....

 

Art

Drafting 

(History)

ASSIGNMENT:

 

In-class drawing exercises.

TEST:

 

none 

Broad

GUIDELINES

I use for grading drawings.

 

Title: RENDERING
Rather the final step in drawing.   This lesson deals with cheap and easy  techniques to make a drawing come alive.  It is sort of  'desert' for the students that have done well in the ISOMETRIC or PERSPECTIVE lessons above.

GRADE LEVEL:

 

Middle and High School.

 

RELATES TO....

 

Art

Drafting 

 

ASSIGNMENT:

 

Various in-class exercises.

TEST:

 

none 

Broad

GUIDELINES

I use for grading drawings.

NOTES RE. THE  DRAWING CLASSES ABOVE:
These four drawing classes (plus the lecture about Maritime Expressions) are my perennial favorites when I step into a classroom cold.  The students like this sort of stuff and usually stay on task. Admittedly it doesn't do much for the student STAR Scores etc. but it's good stuff to know and not taught elsewhere.  I particularly enjoy teaching drawing to the weird quiet boys that sit in the back of the classroom drawing pictures of whatever.  Oft' times these students absolutely come alive when taught how to draw with some precision.  

 

Title: Balance Sheets and Profit / Loss Statements
I developed this lesson for a U.S. History class.  We pretended to be contractors bidding on the cost of building a sod house.  Got some math, geography, and business worked in.  Even learned a little history. We sort of made up numbers as we went along and perhaps the most valuable lesson was one of common sense economics.  The students loved it, and I have applied it to other subjects with similar success. 

 

GRADE LEVEL:

 

High School

 

RELATES TO....

 

History, Social Studies, Business, etc.  (Haven't figured out how to do it for English or Science.)

ASSIGNMENT:

 

In-class note taking.

 

Homework assignment at your option.

TEST:  none

 

Link to Financial Reporting lectures and possible homework assignments.

 

Engineering Academy