Contest: Dismaying class assignments

It’s the end of the school year and it’s time for a new contest. In honor of Mike Schmoker’s classic Crayola Curriculum article…

• What’s the most dismaying / inane / worthless class assignment you’ve seen or heard about?

Last October I blogged about my son’s assignment to write down all the numbers between 1,000 and 2,000. Here’s another dismaying class assignment:

State Floats

• should be the size of an inverted shoebox
• basic box should be covered (paper, paint, tissue, etc.)
• do not have to have wheels
• should include state name prominently displayed
• should represent your chosen state - should have 2 or more items of importance from your state (ex: famous landmarks, crops, products, natural resources, state flowers/birds, etc.)
• should be colorful (may use such items as crepe paper, construction paper, giftwrap, plastic figures, silk flowers, popsicle sticks, cotton balls, foam, styrofoam, cardboard, foil, paint, clay, felt, etc.) - be creative!
• must be accompanied by a 5 x 8 card listing
• state name
• student's name
• geographic region the state is in
• 3 important things the state is known for
• 1 "interesting fact" about the state

Floats must be completed and ready for “parade” on Friday, May 23.

Presentations

Students will be presenting their floats to all of the other 4th graders. They will be shoring the information from their 5 x 8 cards (listed above), and they will need to give a brief explanation of their float.

The floats will also be on display at the [school name] State Fair.

Your turn. What you got? Deadline for submissions is June 10. Please either comment below or link back to this post from your own blog. Winner gets everlasting fame and a CASTLE mug!

Update: See the winning entry!