Week of the Snow Storm!

It is hard to believe that we have already completed week three!  The weeks seem to continue to go by faster than the last.  This week had several big moments, including picking up my second class, surviving my first Northern Tier snow storm (over 14” of snow, easily!), my first snow day which was followed by a two hour delay (hello short class periods), preparing my first set of sub plans, and my very first state record book contest.

 

Monday I picked up my ninth grade Introduction to Agriculture class.  We began a unit on soil and water conservation.  On Monday I introduced myself, got to know the kids, went over my classroom policies, and used the remaining time to simply define conservation and its importance.  I decided that as I observed that the class was pretty good, but there were a few groups of talkers.  So on Monday, I had the students fill in the seating chart where they were sitting, but explained that the right to pick their own seats was one they would lose if I felt necessary.  I debated this for a long time, and after talking with Mr. Steinfelt, decided it would probably work to allow them to feel that they had a say in where they sat as long as they were aware that it was a privilege that could be taken away any day.  I also decided to have the students write their bellwork and ticket out on one sheet of paper to be handed in on Friday’s for weekly participation points.  I explained to the students that it was important to take these seriously because they would be a great resource to study from.  Overall, the class went well.  I was excited to dive into the content on the second day!  My FFA/SAE class followed my Introduction to Ag, and we worked all week to plan FFA week activities.  Monday we worked as a class to determine the final list of events and then split up into committees to work on planning individual days.  I was really pleased with the ideas and discussion the students carried on throughout the course of the entire week.

Tuesday was the real test for my ninth grade class.  I planned an activity utilizing the “How Wet is Our Planet” activity out of the Project Wild Aquatic book.  I began the class by asking the students why Earth is referred to as the Water Planet.  This was a good way to lead into the discussion about how much water on Earth is actually usable for all of our needs.  I then turned the discussion to determine what all the sources of water are on Earth.  As students named off the sources, I handed them clear plastic cups that had that water source written on it.  After all of my cups were distributed, I had the students who did not have a cup partner up with someone who did.  I then posed the challenge to the class as a whole to determine what percent of water comes from their water sources.  I gave the kids 5 minutes, but had to extend that time frame because it took so long to log onto computers.  Once they had an answer or an educated guess, they were supposed to put the amount of water that would be if we put all of Earth’s water in a 5 gallon bucket.  After each group was finished, I had one person from each group come to the front table with their cup to place the sources in order from the most water to the least water.  As a class we then decided if the order made sense.  After they had them in an order that they thought made sense, we went through and each group told the class what percentage they found, and we then discussed whether that was correct or incorrect.  When we were finished with that, I began the discussion about which sources of water were actually usable for human consumption.  This led to the main point that I wanted to make, which is that even though over 75% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water, less than 3% of water is available for human use.  Overall, I think the activity was a good way to show the students how little water is usable, therefore showing the need for conservation, however, if I did the activity again I would definitely change a few things.  First, I would color the water with blue food coloring so that students could see it better.  Second, I would have the water in a five gallon bucket, so students had a better visual.  I talked through all of this with Mr. Steinfelt immediately after class, and he agreed that those both would have improved the activity, but that he felt the point was still made.

Wednesday ended up being my first snow day.  I had a full day to contemplate how I was going to better improve my instruction to fully engage my students.  First period is a very challenging class to teach, I believe, and I wanted to find ways to get the students really excited to be there.  My mission for the day quickly became revamping my lesson for Thursday so that my students would all be actively engaged.  I had a plan to take a problem solving approach to determine ways to conserve water, however, a two hour delay on Thursday resulted in a 30 minute class period that partially killed that idea. 

 

Thursday I spent the beginning of class revisiting the information from Tuesday.  I had two students who missed the class, and the rest lost the information they learned somewhere in the 12 – 18 inches of snow we had lying on the ground.  I believe that it was a good idea to review that information and clarify some of the information so that the students really understood.   I then challenged the class to come up with a list of all of the things they use water for throughout the day.  After they had a list that they felt was complete, we talked about it for a minute, and then I broke them into groups to come up with a way to conserve water for each of the things that were on the list.  My mistake this day was not realizing the clock was two minutes slow, therefore not raping up the class in time to hear everyone’s ideas, and discuss what was going to be expected from them on Friday when the substitute would be teaching them.  I am a little nervous to see what happened on Friday since I did not have that discussion with them.  My FFA/SAE class worked to develop a proposal of the week’s activities to get approved by the principal.  They will be meeting with her this week.  Before we left on Thursday, I talked through my sub plans with Mr. Steinfelt, which included a video on the water cycle with a worksheet for my Introduction to Agriculture class, and work time for a speech rough draft for my FFA/SAE class.   After making copies and getting everything in order, Friday was planned and in a folder easy for the substitute to find in the morning.

I ended my week by attending the state SAE record book contest.  I believe this experience to be beneficial for me.  I enjoyed the networking opportunities as well as the learning opportunities that this event offered.   My favorite part about the contest was honestly seeing the wide variety of SAE’s that students across the state complete!  It was interesting to see how different students made different projects work for them!

I am excited as I look into this coming week.  I will continue forward with my conservation unit with my Introduction to Ag class, begin leadership activities with my FFA/SAE class as they continue to plan FFA Week.  I will also pick up both sections of Horticulture by starting with a propagation unit!  I plan to continue to find ways to vamp up lessons in order to increase student engagement!