Diseases

I had no idea how interested my students would be about Ebola. It has made teaching this unit so easy because they are super interested in all things disease right now but frustrating because literally every class I have to answer Ebola related questions. We can be talking about dangers of fungi and the next question be "is that like the symptoms of Ebola?" No, an itchy rash on your foot is not like Ebola. This age/grade level/community historically has not been the most empathetic group. With Ebola starting to hit closer to home, it has made students realize that, to a certain degree we do need to concern ourselves with the well being of other countries. The once popular student opinion of "letting them die" is not only a very harsh stance to take but also not always in our nations best interest. Many are beginning to appreciate just how interconnected our world has become. It is terribly unfortunate that it is taking something as destructive as Ebola to get them to realize it.

Backchannels and movies

A "backchannel" is a method of communication that is happening under the surface of the regular classroom discussion. Students are experts at the backchannel as they are listening to you while snapchatting their friends about how bored they are. You are simply taking a structure they are familiar with and harnessing that power for good. I am a fan of todaysmeet.com . It allows them to post to a window while limiting their characters (like twitter). Others use twitter, padlet, or just a simple google doc. 

We watched episode 2 of Cosmos with students paired up on a chromebook or ipad. We combined with Mr. Cooke's class so there were ~50 students or so all with the capability to communicate. As the movie plays we are all keeping an eye on the todaysmeet page looking for comments and questions. This provides students the chance to ask questions without stopping the movie or talking over each other. Everyone's voice can be heard and some of the quieter students really come to life on it. It is kind of crazy to think how often we encourage questions during a class period but then want them to be silent while watching a 45min. video. At the end you can print a transcript of the conversation (which I am kicking myself for not doing) to go back and highlight certain posts for further discussion or grading if you are into that.

Evolution Game

Pretty fun game. Who can survive the longest. I will keep a running top 3 on the board and will post the top 3 for the day on here for all of the world to see!

http://www.sciencechannel.com/games-and-interactives/charles-darwin-game.htm

Change over time

One of my goals is to update once a week and I missed last week so I am trying to make up some ground. We are looking at how technology, the earth, and living things have changed over time. Discussing  evolution is one of the highlights of the year for me, not because of any personal convictions, but because the students are really engaged. Whether they are very much in favor of, or against the theory, nearly every student falls on one side or the other. Very few fence sitters which leads to some great conversations. One more week and then we will be taking our first major test of the year.

Field Trips

This is how all field trips should be! I took a small group of interested in students into the field to conduct a river health analysis. It was open to all students with the stipulation that there would be extra work and part of that work would be a small public speaking segment. The trip was free and the Patterson School was kind enough to provide some shelter for eating lunch. Mr. Lail also took a group of social studies minded students to Fort Defiance. Neither of us had any issues whatsoever. The students were engaged the whole time and were able to get the attention and assistance they needed. How many times do we go on a field trip and just herd cats the whole time. Not much learning is done, students are upset because they paid for a trip they didn't want to go on, and teachers are annoyed because of the extra running around. It's a lose-lose situation. Instead, offer multiple, customized field trips that the teacher and some students are interested in. Offer it to the students. If they don't go on this one, maybe they will go on a math or english trip later in the year. Maybe they will do a different science or ss trip. This style of trip allows unparalleled opportunities. Because you are taking smaller groups you have a more flexible schedule and can get places you can't go with 100+ kids. Here were the (informal) steps I took to make this happen. A) Have an idea "It would be cool if ____  B) Informally ask students in class and hallways if they would be interested in this. C) outline a plan, including assessments and commitments from stakeholders D) offer it to the students. E) take the trip. This opportunity was granted with a supportive admin and a ridiculously awesome group of students.

Sandwich Stratigraphy Lab

Sandwich Stratigraphy Lab

This week we are wrapping up relative age dating with the Sandwich Stratigraphy Lab.  We were going to do a quiz but shockingly the class voted on a lab instead. In this lab students are creating a statigraphic cross section using slices of bread, hot magma jelly, bean fossils, and scissor induced earthquakes. Good fun all around. Next week we are getting into climate change and our first quiz. They will be using a some of what they learned in Mr. Walker's and Mrs. Hubbard's english class on opinion writing. Climate Change: Nature or Man.

First Day jitters

In 12 hours I will be in the middle of corralling students, going over endless amounts of paperwork, and doing my best to show the students it's going to be a good year. There will be 185 days of instruction this year, however there is only 1 first day.  This will be my 7th "first day" of school and I can assure you, I am jittery now, on the drive in it will be worse, there will be a slight calm before the storm where I assure myself I have everything together, then I will hear the incoming rush of feet pattering down the hall and it will all go out the window. I almost wonder why I meticulously plan for the first day, since it has never gone according the script. Which come to think about it, is how most of my days are.