Time Keeps Flying By!

Another week, another story to tell!  This week flew by, just like the rest.  I had two unit tests scheduled and a county public speaking contest quickly approaching.  The students all worked hard to review and prepare for all of these upcoming events.

Monday started with a catch up day in Introduction to Agriculture.  We wrapped up the Dairy Judging unit and worked to make sure everyone entered their placings the way they needed to on the entry cards.  We also had several presentations of posters from the conservation unit.  After students were finished they were given time to update their AET.  Horticulture worked through an activity to compare and contrast the needs of seed propagation versus cuttings in order to wrap up the propagation unit.  I worked through speech presentations each day with students in FFA/SAE in order to prepare for the contest that is this coming Tuesday.  Veterinary Science learned about the avian digestive system, and then compared and contrasted what happens in each of the different types of digestive systems.  I wrapped up the school day with agriculture mechanics.  We continue to work through calculations of Ohms law, as well as how to calculate kilowatt hours.  I wrapped up the day with an organizational meeting for the planning of an Athens FFA Alumni, which was a great experience!

Tuesday I introduced Soil and Hydroponics Management to Introduction to Agriculture by having them begin a two day lab completed on the computer.  Students worked through different activities and quizzes on websites in order to see where they stood on their knowledge about soil.  I believe the activity went really well.  I wasn't planning on it taking two days originally, but I am glad that I gave the extra time after seeing that not everyone was able to get as far as I expected them to on Tuesday.  From there I moved into a review day with Horticulture in order to ensure that they were prepared for the test on Wednesday.  Veterinary Science was a fun, interactive day as we worked to assemble particles of "food" to send through the digestive system.  Each student was assigned a part of the digestive system.  To review the functions then, we passed the particles of food down through the digestive system.  I was really pleased to see the activity unfold.  It lead really well into the review of the digestive system unit prior to the test on Friday. 

I facilitated the second day of the soils lab with Introduction to Agriculture on Wednesday, and tested Horticulture on propagation.  FFA/SAE continued to give their speeches to the class, and provide feedback for each student who presented.  I had intentions of reviewing the digestive system with Veterinary Science, however, I decided to facilitate an activity where the students worked through their notes and books to create questions to review the information from the chapter.  I wanted to see what they thought was important, not just tell them what was important.  Agriculture Mechanics continued to work through how electricity enters the house from the power line and the different types of cable.  We also spent some time reviewing classroom expectations and consequences to ensure that everyone was on the same page.

Thursday.  I can't believe how quickly Thursday came around!  Introduction to Agriculture discussed how not all soil is the same, and completed an activity to show how different factors affects soil.  Students worked to draw pictures to represent those factors.  With the weather warming up, Horticulture has begun to clean up the greenhouse in order to start planting seeds.  I designed a Jeopardy game to review with Veterinary Science using the questions they had created the day before.  I liked seeing what they thought was important so that I could reemphasize anything that they may have missed.  Agriculture Mechanics spent time learning about the difference between various wires.  Before I left for the day I made sure that everything was in order for Friday, as I was spending Friday in State College for a meeting.

Friday was a great experience.  The student teachers were all brought back together, and we were able to work in small groups to fine tune lessons that didn't go quite as planned.  We also worked through stations in which we were dealing with different scenarios that we may find ourselves in down the road.  Some of the scenarios were really thought provoking, and a great way to get us thinking about situations we may find ourselves in.  Overall it was a great experience!

This week should be another great one.  I am excited to continue working with each of my classes as we continue through this journey.