Flip-book

I have officially survived my first two full days of full time teaching in middle school!  I have to say teaching middle school is a drastic change from teaching first grade, as expected.  I believe I have finally made most adjustments and switches needed to adapt with the changes. It is great to give the students a little more freedom and independence, as at this level students are able to handle more independent work.  I have been working on creating and building student-teacher relationships and building a productive, yet positive community atmosphere where students are engaged, having fun, and learning!  I love being able to delve deeper into the science realm and release a little of my science nerd personality. 

Today, I was able to incorporate a ‘flip book’ idea I gained from my education classes at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.  My class was a little ahead of schedule and something needed to be used to fill time.  Thinking on my feet, I quickly came up with creating flipbooks of the vocabulary words we were studying for our new unit on Force and Motion.  I was extremely ‘proud’ of myself for referencing an old (but good) idea, as well the quick thinking which produced an engaging review/study tool that the students will be able to reference! :)

Force and Motion Flip-book

Force and Motion Flip-book: Term, Definition, Sentence

We are currently beginning a unit on Force and Motion and will start our Trolley lab tomorrow in class.  This lab, will take us a few days to complete as we need to create a problem statement and hypothesis, gather data, calculate averages, create graphs, and answer conclusion questions!  It is great be able to see students interacting, using inquiry skills and engaged in activity; this is one of the many reasons I absolutely LOVE science! 

Trolley :)

Lastly, through my placement, I have been introduced to Twitter.  However, it may not be the way you are thinking.  Twitter is an exceptional tool to use as a professional learning network.  I have created a Twitter account to help me stay informed on new and upcoming teaching techniques including science, literacy, common core, technology and overall education related topics.  It is amazing how with technology so many great ideas can be shared with others, which of course directly impacts the learning experience of our students!  I am very excited to continue to learn more about using Twitter as a professional learning network and of course contributing my ideas to others as well! :)

Middle School

Hello Readers...

I am so sorry it has been so long.  I have been busy and to be honest kind of forgot about my blog for awhile.  I would like to post and update you on my current status.  I have begun my 2nd placement in middle school!  I am currently in an 8th grade science placement and it is going very well!  It is quite the change from first grade, but the kids are great and so far so good...

I am just finishing my spring break.  During break, I studied up by reading blogs and browsing pinterest for new ideas to incorporate into my middle school classroom.  I created a new seating chart for my classes, made a magnetic sign for daily targets, created a class-starter 'Riddles' power point, developed/formatted an idea for class breaks, and of course, had time to enjoy my family and friends!  I was also able to go and visit my little first-ies from my last placement.  I miss them so much and it was great to see them again!  I look forward to getting back to the middle school world tomorrow and incorporating my new ideas!  Only a few weeks till graduation and moving forward with future endeavors!

"Today's Targets": This magnet will hang on the white board and I will write the daily targets on the board so the students are aware of what we are going to accomplish each day!

These two magnets will be placed on the white board (one female scientist, and one male scientist).  Each day, one female student and one male student may take the magnet off the board and place it at their desk.  Throughout the class period they may choose a time when they would like to take a 'science break'.  That particular student will then have brought in a science article they will share with the class.  The student will share a brief summary on the article and explain why it is important or why we should care.  That student will then earn extra credit/participation points for the day! (This idea was adapted from the 'poetry breaks magnets' that were introduced to me by Dr. Ford from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh!)

Here's to a productive 8-weeks and looking forward to my future! :)