Week in Review 2/9 - 2/13 due 2/17
Time for your Week in Review posts.
Entries should be posted no later than the following Tuesday for the previous week.
Remember, it doesn't have to be long and involved just a snap shot and what you are learning.
Chris
posted by Heidi @ 9:57 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Another week flies by. I started a fun “seed germination inquiry” lab with my environmental science class. We hope to maybe eventually plant the seedlings outside the classroom. It was fun to see how excited people always get to plant things. In AP BIOLOGY we are covering the nitty-gritty details of photosynthesis and respiration, and we conquered the respiration lab on Wednesday with out too many problems. It is always a little nerve racking to lead labs that you have not done before. In Biology I still am watching my mentor teacher one period and then I try to do nearly the same thing in the second section of Biology. When we finish up the genetics unit this week or next I will take over complete control of Biology as well. The principal randomly stopped by twice last week to observe me. Fortunately all went well when he was there….I noticed my environmental science students seemed to be on their best behavior (they are all pretty high risk) while he was there. I am hoping to schedule my first official PPA with him this week or next.
I can feel my time here starting to speed up, it is mid February already! I have already learned that the excitement and success of teaching can immediately be followed by a frustrating class, period, lesson, or day. I feel like I am learning a lot just through trial and error. This week we will be covering serving sizes (hands on!), nutrition fact labels, and the new pyramid in health. The students get so excited wehn they understand that we are getting to measure out and play with food, that it is hard to reel them in for the actual lesson. A little organization can go a long way! I am learning that I need more sleep and I need to spend some more time on lesson planning. With that being said, I feel that my lessons have been going great so far. I am not looking forward to creating a unit exam, but I am sure it will be a learning experience as well.
From Katie:
Hi Heidi-
Here is my blog post for today. I wasn't able to get on the blog.
"It has been quite a week. It was Friendship Week in our classroom. We did numerous Valentine's related activities, as well as some Human Kindness projects. Every couple of weeks Mrs. Heit likes to send treats to the soldiers in Afghanistan. We made hearts, staples them together and filled them with candy. The kids got a kick out of it. On Thursday we made sugar cookies for our Valentine's party on Friday. Friday morning we decorated the cookies and did worksheets that were Valentine's themed as well as still were focused on our math and social studies standards for the month. Also on Friday the class performed in front of the Elementary school at a PTA end of Parents Week assembly. Mrs. Heit allowed me to take on this task. 5 of my students read words and definitions from the Water Cycle (precipitation, condensation, transpiration, collection, evaporation) while the others held up posters we made of the water cycle and pointed to the words as they were defined. After that we sang a song about the steps of the water cycle to the theme of She'll Be Comin' Round The Mountain. The kids did very well and were so proud of themselves. I was quite proud of them as well. I am still working on my lesson plans with Mrs. Heit. It has been challenging to schedule the morning for her since I have never actually seen her work in the mornings because I am with Mr. Daniels. She has been very understanding and supportive. As much as I love being at the school I am looking forward to this 4 day week!"
Thanks Heidi!!
Katie Corder
Hello again,
Well this was yet another great week in my neck of the woods. I have continued to greatly enjoy this experience , and I feel that I am growing as a teacher and a person. This week I have continued to get more responsibilities in the classroom. I am now fully in charge of block 6 of our U.S. history class and enjoying the challenge of teaching a class of receptive 8th graders ( yes I said receptive so far I am really enjoying the enthusiasm and participation that I have been receiving, I may still be in the honeymoon stage but I getting along great with these kids). Last week I taught 3 classes, mostly dealing with the Continental Congress, Shays Rebellion, and the Constitution. I found that even with these topics ( not what I consider the most interesting aspects of American history, or my area of expertise by any means) I have still been able to hold the students attention pretty well. At first I was a bit nervous with my delivery, which was weird to me because I thought that would be one of the easiest parts for me. However, as I have gone on I think that has gone better and my cooperating teacher Dr. Mills agrees although I will still be working on this. Oh that reminds me that another development is that I am now working exclusively with Dr. Mills. The decision was made cooperatively between myself and my two cooperating teachers who both thought that it would be a better experience for me if I could really settle in to one class. I was sad to say good by to Mr. Arron and especially the 6th graders who I greatly enjoyed ( a group of the boys who I had really started to bond with said that I was a “traitor” when I saw them in the lunch line the other day which made me laugh) but I do agree that this may be easier to work with instead of switching between World and U.S. history as well as the difference in ages every other day. Today was my best lesson yet when we began o talk about the bill of rights. Finely it seemed as if I was in my element and I was happy with the performance and the discussions that we had. There is so much to talk about with subjects such as freedom of speech and the right to bear arms that the conversation and ideas were flowing which I love! I hope that I can continue to grow and keep the experiences on a positive level. I will look forward to hearing how everyone else is doing and until next week good luck.
Colin Donovan
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