classroom job applications

I keep running across articles talking about teaching kids life skills in school. What if students had to apply for jobs in the classroom? Write a cover letter, fill out an application, answer basic interview questions and then get hired or hear feedback for why they didn't get hired. Also, science offers a unique place where you can write an abstract, which is basically telling people why they should read your article.... easily equatable to a cover letter where you spell out why you should be hired. Additionally, it adds to classroom culture and student ownership of their learning

6th Grade Science:
Note-taker for students who are out sick

Science in an alternative classroom

The second term I taught Science,  I framed the class around lab experience. My intention was to hone and strengthen lab writing skills. For unforeseen reasons, that didn't exactly happen. The first part of the term we did two different labs: a virtual lab (an activity I came up with in college and really liked using in practice) and then a chromatography lab. Here was what I wrote about the chromatography lab:

"Did not go well. They hated it, even though they got to do the lab themselves. I think they liked the idea of doing the lab portion, but some of them didn't even like that. I would only do this lab again if I had a group of kids that was really into hands on stuff."

I think this sums up what science looks like in an alternative science classroom MOST of the time for MOST students.