I'm so grateful that this week is over! It's been a crazy and busy week where I never quite felt balanced. Weird frustrations kept popping up, computers were acting funky, and I had to make a mad dash to my hometown for a family event mid-week. All in all, I'm ready for a low-key weekend of grading, shopping, friends, and general relaxation!
But through it all, my kids were troopers - we had some really fun lessons, some great discoveries, and I was reminded yet again that I work with some great kids, staff, and admin. :)
So now on to this week's favorite moments...
My Favorite Mindset Moment of the Week:
Sometimes I wonder if students listen to me at all, then I see a note like this one :) I really do love the way I'm checking homework in Geometry this year and I really enjoy having a place to have a personal conversation with students each day.
This particular student has had struggles in past math classes, yet has one of the best examples of growth mindset I've ever seen in a student! Just the day before, I had overheard this kiddo explaining how to use a protractor to a groupmate (and doing a fabulous job!), so I was a bit surprised when the student didn't do the nightly homework - until I read the note left for me. Notice the "yet" and the note (which is cut off) says that the student chose not to fill in the answers when we went over the homework because they wanted to try it on their own first, then check our online LMS later. Be still my heart... this kiddo GETS it! :)
My Favorite Lesson of the Week:
In Forensics this week, we were on to Trace Evidence. Last Friday, our campus police chief came to talk to the students about his experience as a CSI (prior to coming to work for our district), which was a *perfect* lead-in to this week's lesson plans! My co-teacher had already had her aide (one of our previous Forensics students) dirty up the socks, so after our lesson on how to collect and package evidence, we sent the kiddos outside to find their "crime scene". Co-teacher had planted 15 socks around our building in various locations, so our students had to find one, photograph and sketch the scene, collect the evidence and turn it in to the "Evidence Locker" for safe-keeping and to preserve the chain of custody. Then, the next day it was time to analyze the evidence. We did macro and micro investigation, talked about oblique lighting, doing a tape pull, and various ways to watch for contamination. Some of the groups had ants, hair, grass, sticklers, and other various outside things attached to their socks, which led to some REALLY interesting explorations, especially under the microscope! :) One group even clipped off part of the really dirty heel area and under the microscope was able to see some pollen spores!
My Favorite "Why I Teach" Moment of the Week:
Sometimes, things happen that just make your heart happy and it's so hard to keep the silly smile off your face! One of my students had some struggles on last week's quiz. On Tuesday morning, this student came to class early, so I was able to speak privately to them about wanting to work on the objectives and asked if they might be available to come in during our Homeroom time on Wednesday. When this student came in, we briefly went over some of the struggles and we were able to pin down the root cause. To make sure things were better, I gave the student a few independent practice problems and before I knew it, the student had used up every single whiteboard at the table, just filling them over and over and over again with math problems! At the end of our time together, the student was confidently solving problems and had worked SO hard! I love when a student is able to see their own progress and realize that they really are a math person!
My Favorite Student Comment of the Week:
I'm not sure this one needs much explanation... :)
On Fridays, our exit ticket is a #5things Friday, as I try to get them to reflect on the week and just get to know them a bit better. This student chose to share a few compliments for #5things. When I read #4 to my aide later in the day, she agreed and asked how I'm able to always be in a good mood... it's easy! I love what I do, I love the kids I work with, I truly enjoy the classes and students that I teach and honestly, it's a "fake it until you make it" thing. I make the choice every day to "choose joy" :)
Have a blessed weekend, my friends and Happy Friday!
1 comment:
Hi, I use a blank 5 column template patterned after Sara's first week Name Tent. Would you mind sharing what you use to communicate with students? I liked the bits I saw in your post.
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