Many Lessons to be Learned

We did it! We had a full week of school for the first time all month! No delays, no cancellations, a full 5 day week!  So much more can be accomplished when you see the students five full days in a row!  This week has been full of good moments, and some not so great moments, but with each comes the opportunity to learn and grow.

Monday morning began with my Introduction to Agriculture class.  We only had soil erosion to get through before we began working on our unit project.  I planned an activity that had the kids use their books to answer a question.  I wanted the students to see that their book would be a great resource to begin their search for information for their projects.  However, I under estimated how much time it would take the class to read the two pages of information I wanted them to read.  What I thought was going to take 10 minutes, quickly became 20 or 25.  I wrapped class up, and immediately started thinking about how I could make things better on Tuesday.  My FFA/SAE class spent the period working on debriefing from FFA Week.  I had them work together to make a list of things that went well, and what they would do different for next year.  I was pleased with their work and the information they came up with.  This class was followed immediately with my first section of Horticulture.  Monday was dedicated to reviewing the crossword puzzle they had been assigned as homework, and introducing the terminology that was needed to begin teaching the punnet square.  Both sections of Horticulture went pretty well on Monday, leaving me excited to teach the punnet square on Tuesday.

To bounce back from Monday, I planned an interactive activity for my ninth grade class.  On Monday they read about twelve specific things that can be done to prevent soil erosion.  On Tuesday, I had the class line up based on height, and then partnered students up.  Each group was given one of the twelve practices they read about, and asked to draw a picture representing that practice without using words.  After the groups were finished, we did a gallery walk around the room.  Students looked at each picture, and worked to identify which practice it was representing.  The participation from the group was good, and I think it tied in nicely with the previous days work.  My punnet square activity went over well in Horticulture as well.  I had students ranging in experience with the punnet square, from those who didn't know what it was, to students who were learning about it right now in Biology.  We spent the class working through scenarios, and ended class with each student writing their own scenario and completing the punnet square to go along with it.  I also picked up Veterinary Science on Tuesday, I took the whole period to introduce myself, get to know the students, and go over classroom procedures.  Overall, it was a good day.

Wednesday, arguably the most difficult day of this week.  The students were tired, the week was only half over, and, after all, this was the first full week in quite some time!  I provided first period with a rubric for their project and explained to them what I was looking for.  I asked if they had questions, and, seeing none, we went to the library to begin research.  I quickly realized that their was confusion, and not just from some, but majority of the students.  However, I don't believe it was a wasted day, because the students had time to learn about resources available to them from the librarian.  When third period came around, half of the students in my FFA/SAE class were absent.  The lesson I had for them was going to go over better if I had more students, so I gave the class the period to work on updating their record books.  Horticulture.  My plan was to go over the definitions that were covered in the crossword puzzle and make sure that they were really understood.  Instead of clearing up confusion, I created more of it.  As students questioned, I began to question myself.  My first section left, and I felt defeated.  I worked to improve what information I had before I had the class again eighth period.  Veterinary Science was a success, we learned the parts of the digestive system, and the class then worked in groups to create a model using play dough.  After they finished, we discussed the order they had the parts in and made sure that everyone had that correct.  My second section of Horticulture went better than the first, but we were able to spend half of our time in the hydroponic greenhouse taking care of some things that needed to be done. 

I began Thursday by working to further explain what I expected from the students in Introduction to Agriculture with their soil or water conservation posters.  I explained that I wanted them to focus on one specific issue and do more research on it.  Overall, their was less student confusion, and I was able to answer questions and help point students in the right direction.  I feel I also redeemed myself in Horticulture.  The confusion on Wednesday came from explaining scarification and stratification.  I decided to do an activity on Thursday where I provided half of the class with an article on stratification, and half the class with an article on scarification.  They were told to take notes, put things in their own words, and half the information ready to present to the other half of their peers.  The students took longer to read than I had anticipated, but after they finished, I think they really enjoyed teaching each other.  I had them partner up once, and then after they taught their first partner, I asked how many people took notes.  Seeing no hands, I had them rotate partners, recommending they take notes this time!  After they finished, I had two students stand up and explain the opposite of what they originally read about.  I was pleased with how well they did!  Veterinary Science was given a similar task.  After learning the parts the previous day, using a Go Get It e moment, they were each given a part to research and determine it's function.  They then shared with the class what they found.  Again, I was pleased with how the activity turned out, but realize how much quicker it would be if we were fortunate enough to be a one to one school.

Friday rolled around, and the kids were all dragging.  It was the first full week for them in a while, and you could tell.  The entire period was set aside for research for Introduction to Agriculture, so I spent time walking around clarifying any questions that came about.  FFA/SAE spent the period in a speech manuscript boot camp.  After reading their speeches, I decided to set up stations for them to go through to help them better prepare their speeches for the contest.  They responded pretty well, and either Mr. Steinfelt or myself was able to give each student one to one feedback on their rough draft.  We had a lot of maintenance to get caught up with in the greenhouse, so both classes of Horticulture spent about half the class out working on changing water, cleaning the tubs, and adding fresh water and nutrients.  The other part of class was spent on talking about the four things needed for germination. I wrapped up the week of the digestive system by assigning a project.  I groups of two, they were to create a digestive road map.  In this map, each part was to have an "attraction" that would describe the function of that part of the digestive system.  They were provided the example of a "saliva stop" water park for the mouth.  The attraction then needed to have a description to show that they understood the function, without just stating what the function is.  I got this idea from my ag teacher, Janine Stottlemyer, and absolutely love it!  The kids were able to use their creative juices to make connections to the parts and their functions!  I am really excited to see the completed projects on Monday!

As I look into the week to come, I will wrap up Soil and Water Conservation with Intro to Ag, and begin a mini unit on dairy judging.  I will continue working on Public Speaking with my FFA/SAE kids, and Horticulture will continue with plant propagation.  I will continue with Digestion with Vet Science, and add electricity with one section of Ag Mechanics I.  It will be a busy week, but I am excited to continue this journey!