Science Lesson on Cells

Today I got to sub for my Master Teacher. It was a lot harder than my sub jobs in the past. I have higher expectations for myself, and teaching was exhausting! One of the lessons I taught was a science lesson on cells. It is the first lesson of the year, and hopefully I generated some interest. There were really no interactives :( But we managed. I started the lesson by asking students what they have learned in the past in their science class. Then I began to introduce the idea of cells and how we are all made up of cells. Also I gave the example of a piece of hair cut into it's smallest unit, that is called a cell. Somehow we got off topic, and I mentioned that muscles are cells, but we eat muscles. I asked the lone vegetarian in the class to close her ears, while we discussed this. When introducing DNA we talked about the various applications of DNA in the real world: solving crimes, determing biological parents, learning about diseases. It was a full day, and hopefully the kids learned something. I will get feedback from my Master Teacher on Monday. As far as management goes, there were no behavioral problems. Some students became fidgety, but they were quickly and gently reminded to stay focused. All of the students showed me respect and kindness throughout the day. Image from: Stock Xchange

High-Low - a math game

Last week, Wednesday, I got to teach a math game to the students in class. I learned it from my math course the previous night. I passed out half-sheets of paper with place value slots upto 100 million. Each student received a dice. Each student was to roll his/her dice and place the value in a slot to create a nine digit number. The goal was to see who could come up with the highest number. Then we did the same with the lowest number. The students were engaged, and read out their numbers accurately. It went quite well. Although, it fizzled at the end. I didn't have much of a closure. My master teacher gave me some feedback. She said that I needed to set the standard that they were to keep their dice on their desk after they were done, and not keep playing with it. Also, for closure, it would have been a good idea to ask the class what strategies they used when they were forming their numbers. I get to do the same game next Tuesday, so hopefully, it will be better the second time around. It was a fun learning game that my master teacher allowed me to do.
Image from: Stock Xchange

Student Teaching - A track

This week was the first day of school (again). I started A track with my on-track Master Teacher. It was neat to see the first day of school, and all of the getting-to-know-you activities the kids did. Also, my Master Teacher was amazing; she knew all of the students' names by lunch time. I am about 95% there. Tomorrow, I start the day off by playing a place-value game to start off the math lesson. My Master Teacher loves to teach math. I hope some of her enthusiasm will rub off onto me. Besides student teaching, this was the first week of Fall classes. It's been really hectic so far, because we go to 3 different school sites. There is a ton of reading and homework already. I hope I can survive! What intimidates me the most is the lesson planning. I feel like my brain is empty when it should be brimming with innovative and creative ideas. My Master Teacher introduced me to two sites that will be helpful in lesson planning. I have posted them on this blog for anyone who is interested. Check "Power Points" and "Open Court Resources." Until next time!
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Summer Session Is Over!

Today was the last day of class in our EED 749. Yesterday marked our last day in EED 701. It's been a tough summer session. Lots of papers and projects. The last assignment I completed was in EED 749 where we we had to complete a full lesson plan using the template that was provided, and using all of the elements of SIOP. I worked with one of my classmates, and we presented a 6th grade lesson on the topic of the Indian Caste System in Ancient Indian Civilization. We used many scaffolding techniques, and interactives. For a final grade we received an A! So I'm excited about the grades that we will be receiving as a result of our hard work. Classes restart on August 17, 2009. There are several books that I have ordered successfully from Amazon.com. I'm hanging in there! Image from: Stock Xchange