Surviving Last Period on Fridays and Other Desperate Situations

by Cheryl Miller Thurston

What do you do when nothing seems to work? Turn to Surviving Last Period on Fridays and Other Desperate Situations . This popular book is full of language arts games and activities that are interesting, challenging, and educational―never busy work. Many teachers believe that two of the games alone are worth the price of the book. "Newspaper Scavenger Hunt" and "Holiday Challenge?" are lively learning activities that students love. They are just right for the two or three days right before a vacation. The two kinds of activities included that you can photocopy for your own personal use and pass out to your students; and activities that need some advance preparation, usually minimal. Surviving Last Period on Fridays and Other Desperate Situations is perfect for junior high/middle school, and most games are suitable or adaptable for high school as well.

73 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2003

About the author

Cheryl Miller Thurston is a Colorado writer, eidtor, teacher, and musician. She has published articles, books, poetry, plays, musicals, and music on a variety of subjects, but DEATH BY ACCORDION is her first novel.

An accordionist from the age of 4½, she is also the founder of Closet Accordion Players of America, a national organization that, with a sense of humor, encourages accordionists to come out of the closet and play proudly.

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit I'm reviewing this book before I even try any of these games, but I guess what's keeping me from giving this book more stars is two reasons:

1) The number of games the book provides you with is small
2) The author declares that these games aren't busywork, but I do believe that some of the games did have a busywork feel to them.

[Donalyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the games and activities are good, but there are too many with an outdated worksheet feel (newspaper scavenger hunt, anyone?). Use it for your emergency sub folder or a day when half your class is on the band fieldtrip.