Week 8: Lions, and Tigers, and Bears Oh My!

When Dorthy from The Wizard of OZ started walking down the yellow brick road she had no idea about the adventure she would have along the way. She encountered new people, went to a new place, and made discoveries about herself and others along the way.

In a way week 8 has been a similar experience for me! I was able to go on adventures with my students for FFA week, meet other teachers/ members of the agricultural industry and learn about myself/ my classes along the way. 

What did I teach this week?

Introduction to Agriculture: This week I tried out using Nearpod and Pear Deck to help engage students in my lectures. I found that my students really enjoyed Nearpod when doing parts of a cell. It helped engage them into the lesson and keep a "dry" subject interesting.

Guinea Pig autopsy with Current Topics in Ag

Current Topics in Agriculture: This week we had some sick Guinea pigs and one had passed. I used this as an opportunity to teach how to do a vet check/physical exam on the 2 still alive and how to preform an autopsy on the one that passed. We followed up the week by learning about using blood to spot illness and how to preform injections.

National FFA Week

This week was National FFA. Week which meant early mornings and late nights! We started this week off by attending a Reading Royals Hockey game and finished with a FFA Breakfast Friday. In between was filled with trips to the elementary school to educate them on the dairy industry and LDEs.

What did I learn?

Stand back and let the kids learn: This week I really tried to be hands off and let the students learn by doing and researching. I used the problem solving approach three different times this week and I struggled to sit back and let them take charge but, it was needed.

It is okay to change your plans to better the students: I changed my week to fit the needs of the students or the block. I changed the day we had the incident with the guinea pigs to provide a real life skill for the students. I adapted the week to help students with their LDEs or CDEs to allow for some class time to discuss these topics or to have time to teach these aspects. It was great to see the students engaging in content that they cared about.

FFA Week takes a ton of planning. This week ideally is planned by officers or at least I had thought so when I was in FFA but, it takes a ton of work on the teachers side. Sometimes it is hard to meet as an officer team so, I might have to pick the theme of what we teach to the elementary school or create ideas for the menu for the breakfast. I am the one who has tried things. I can give the officers options and ideas without picking it for them but, providing that guidance is important.

     Goals for next week

Teaching injections to Current Topics

I want to really focus on balancing that home/work life: Currently I go to school, come home and do work and then go to bed. My weekends revolve around school as well.

Think Time: I need to give more time for students to process my question before accepting an answer

Dealing with disruptive students in a class: How to properly discipline students in real time instead of after the fact. I cannot be afraid to have what we call the "Dutch Uncle" talk with them.

Questions?

1. How do you balance your home and work life?
2. How do you let students work on things but, check in on them without letting them feel like you are right next to them? I want to give my students time to process and attempt projects and activities but, sometimes feel like I am too much over their shoulder.
3. What system do you have for students who are not submitting work? What is your grading policy?