Seed Bead Loom Bracelets

When I was a little kid....maybe 7 or 8 I had a small bead loom that was given to me for Christmas one year. I used it quite a bit but never got really fast at it or completed many projects. A few weeks ago I decided to give it another try and have had much more success.

My first attempt is the black and gold narrow one on the left of the picture. The weaving was a bit loose and a few ends of threads show. The way that I finished the ends are really rough. I left all of my extra warp threads on one end of the work so one side did not have much thread to work with to add any sort of clasp.

My second piece is the wide turtle piece. The weaving came out really good, its tighter and I surprised myself by being able to follow the more complicated pattern. I centered the work so I had warp threads on both ends to use to attach my clasp. Actually attaching the clasp was still a challenge, I didn't have any jump rings or crimp beads and trying to tie it all off just became messy.

So off to youtube I went and found a tutorial on how to end the weaving and attach a clasp without having it look cruddy. The problem being the directions were specifically for work with 8 warp threads so it limited my designs. I made two bracelets using this method and it worked well. One is a rainbow chevron pattern and the other sort a geometric design....I just forgot to take pictures of them.

Now I am onto my next piece. I really wanted to try out this ladybug pattern. I modified it from a peyote stitch pattern that I found and figured out how to work it on the loom. I have 12 warp threads and have come up with a plan to use the crimp beads and modify the plan from the 8 warp threads to end this one. I am going to do groups of 3 warp threads, cross two of those sets and crimp them together. Then the outer two sets of three will be ended just like on the 8 thread design I have been practicing. I'll come back and add some more pics and updates when I get more done.

Dealing with "that" student

We all have at least one! That student who can get under your skin and irritate you like there is no tomorrow.

This semester I lucked out and got three of them in the same class. Back in January I got my new class list, looked at it, looked up at our guidance counselor who does the scheduling and asked her if I had done something to tick her off and this was her way of punishing me. Since then I have endured weeks of 90 minute classes that feel like they take all afternoon. I have scoured the internet, tried everything in my bag of tricks, talked to colleagues, and put out pleas for advice in online forums. Some tips have worked wonderfully and some not so much.

We have just about 3.5 weeks of school left and I think I am going to survive. So looking back on these long weeks I want to share some of my tips, some advice I received from others and some tips from other bloggers.

My top 5 list for dealing with challenging behavior in the classroom.

1. Have a plan and be consistent. My set consequences are: warning, phone call home, study hall with me, detention, office referral. I wish I could say that I was perfect and always stuck to this but I can think of many instances where I have broken this. I know looking back that it has made things more difficult for me. So this piece of advice is as much for myself as for anyone else.
2. Don't yell or argue with an upset student. You are only adding fuel to the fire and in my opinion this encourages students to be argumentative with you. Back in the winter I had two students get into a physical altercation in the hallway just outside my door. One student marched himself right down the hall, the other I got to come in my room so as to keep them separated while I alerted the office of the situation. The individual in the room really wanted to argue with me when I said I needed to report the incident. I tried to keep my voice as calm as possible when I told them that I wasn't going to discuss it with them any further until the principal got there. By the time she got there he had calmed a bit actually managed to explain what happened in a fairly calm and respectful manner.
3. Speak to students privately about their behavior. Calling them out and making a big scene in front of the rest of the class will only embarrass them and often encourage them to act up more to get the attention from peers. That's not to say that you should ignore behaviors either...but if it warrants more than just a quick subtle reminder I try to have the conversation away from other students either in the hall or briefly after class.
4. Move on. Hand out the consequence for the behavior and move on with the lesson or activity. It seems some kids just look for any attention they can get, even if it is negative. Don't let one student become the focus of all of your attention. It is not fair to the other kids and only serves to encourage them to continue seeking attention through bad behavior.
5. Don't be afraid to laugh, smile, or share a joke. Teachers are human too and students need the chance to see that. We aren't there to be their friends but I don't think the saying of "never smile until Christmas" really helps to build relationships at all. You can't get anywhere if all of your students dislike you. Just this week a student was tossing his pencil up and down and catching it. I spoke to him requesting him to stop. A few minutes later he started in again, before I could get anything out of my mouth the pencil soared over his head and behind him, he swung is arm back to catch it and smacked his hand off the file cabinet with a loud thunk. Everyone laughed, myself included. Someone pointed out that if he had listened to me he wouldn't have hurt his hand. Another student looked at me still giggling and says "you must really hate this class". I shook my head, "nah...but you have given me a few grey hairs." To which someone threw in the comment that I could name most of them after him. The whole thing took about 1 minuet of class time away. Was it an interruption, absolutely. Would yelling at the kid to listen to me or getting mad at everyone who laughed have done me any good, I don't think so. At my prompting everyone settled back down and my pencil tossing student kept a tight grip on it for the rest of class.

I asked some fellow bloggers for their input on the best classroom management for difficult students. The following was submitted by "Common Core English with Ease"

Every student (and human for that matter) wants a safe environment to feel seen and understood. Difficult students will test boundaries to see if they can provoke you to frustration, anger or even apathy. It is your job to show them that you will continue to believe in them, and enforce consistent high expectations, regardless of their disrespectful or disruptive behavior. The only way to do this is to be consistent and caring.
How? First, make positive phone calls home and write positive, heart-felt notes to students (or parents). Do this as soon as possible (in the first few days of school)! Most disruptive students also show leadership skills so give them classroom “jobs” and report positive news back home. If a difficult student has one good day, call home immediately! Many disruptive students simply want attention so don’t ignore them when they are “good.”

Second, survey the class for the following: Birthday; favorite snack or birthday treat; favorite academic activity from previous year; Non fiction topic, event or person I am interested in learning more about; favorite hobbies or weekend activities; favorite sports teams; desired profession; year-long goal; life-long goal; One thing I wish my teacher knew about me…; If we go on a field trip, I wish we could go to…; if I was a teacher, I would handle misbehavior by…; If I was a teacher I would make time for…; etc. Then, follow up! Use the student’s Non-Fiction topics as the content for assignments, projects or even 5-minute bell ringers. Celebrate children’s birthdays, and incorporate any of their responses into casual discussions or classroom traditions!

Finally, if these proactive methods do not work, handle disruptions with emotional constancy. How? Do no react immediately to difficult behavior: Pause; tap the students desk during instruction; make (non-aggressive) eye contact with the student; Give a whole-class (anonymous) positive reminder of expectations; Say you are waiting for 1- students to follow directions or pay attention; Then privately whisper to student to change behavior or their will be a consequence for repeatedly disrupting the lesson. Then, and only then give a consequence. If a loud outburst does not allow you to follow this continuum, simply pause and say, “That was not appropriate, we will discuss your consequence after class.” Then have a calm 1:1 conversation discussing your concerns, expectations and goals. A weekly conversation to track goals and progress is a great way to manage that chronically difficult student. Find my “Collaborate Problem Solving” approach and behavior trackers to start effective conferencing today!

Be sure to also check out her Classroom Management and Behavior Solution Bundle. You get a behavior tracker, posters with expectations and consequences, and a protocol to follow to help change behaviors!

Have a great tip or resource on classroom management. Feel free to post in the comments and share with everyone else.

"Block" Scheduling: the good, the bad, and the ugly

My school works on a 90 minute block scheduling system. I see my classes every day for 90 minutes for half of the school year. In January we switch classes and begin again. Through a few different schools I have worked on a 45 and 60 minute period schedule as well and can honestly say that I do prefer blocks. That's not to say its a perfect system and there certainly are challenges.

Another school in our district is in the process of switching from 45 minute all year classes to the same 90 minute 1/2 year block system we are on. This has brought up a lot of conversation with staff from the other school and really got me to thinking about why we use this system.


Pros:

• Being a science teacher I love having the extended time with students on lab days. We have plenty of time to go over the task, do the task, and clean up.
• I love project based learning and assessments. The 90 minutes allows individuals or groups large chunks of time to work on projects in class.
• Writing papers is a time consuming process, having 90 minutes in the computer lab to work on a lab report, essay, or other writing task is awesome. Slower writers have time to think through the process and make some progress and the faster writers have time to do editing and proofreading.
• If you have that one class or one student who you just can't wait to be done with ... you only have them for half the year.
• When developing new lessons or curriculum you have two chances in the same year to work on perfecting a lesson.
• I have time to go over homework, do a lesson, do an activity about that lesson, and have students start their homework in case they have any questions.

Cons:

• A block of 90 minutes is a really long time for a student to be on the same task. Planning for this length of time requires planning in multiple different activities to break up the time and keep students focused.
• Only having students for half the year can mean making some compromises on what topics you cover - you can only squeeze so much into their minds at once.
• That class that is getting under your skin...yep you are with them for 90 minutes...aka the longest 1.5 hours of your day.

So what does a typical class look like for me on this 90 minute block??

5 minutes - students enter, get out their homework, complete a bellringer question, I do attendance and answer questions.
10 minutes - go over homework or questions that we left hanging from the last class
20 minutes - direct instruction...goes over a lab procedure, lecturing on a powerpoint, going over notes students need to take.
30-45 minutes - activity/game/reading/lab something student based where they are working and I move around the room to answer questions or guide the process.
10-15 minutes - wrap up and debrief from the activity
10-15 minutes - assign homework and have students start / exit ticket

This obviously isn't set in stone. Lab days can be almost the whole 90 minutes in the lab. Some days if we have a lot of content to go through we spend longer on direct instruction. If that is the case I do try to split it up into two 15-20 chunks of time with something in between to give them a break from listening to me.

My biggest piece of advice is to always plan to do multiple activities in one class period. If you think you are going to spend 90 minutes lecturing from a powerpoint and keep 16 and 17 year old kids focused then you have magical powers that I don't possess.

I'm curious what others think on the block vs. period scheduling debate. Feel free to comment and throw in your two cents!

Helicopters and Seed dispersion

 

During one of my first STEM workshop series classes we made these really simple, fun paper helicopters. We approached the task from an engineering perspective and were challenge to make them "better" in some way. I lost the original version of the template I had from class so I went looking online and found one that I could print from here.




Not the best picture but a completed helicopter is there on the table, it is the piece with the paperclip on the bottom.

Then a few weeks ago I was working on planning out a lesson that I could using during my elementary STEM special. Since it is spring I wanted to start doing some lessons that related to nature and would lead into us getting outside soon. It was still chilly and rainy so I needed a lesson for inside and went scrounging through my closet looking for ideas.

Last spring a small collection of rocks, fossils, and other items collected from nature was donated to my classroom by a local man. In the containers I also found a collection of seed pods and nuts that had been collected from around the country. I decided to do a lesson a plant adaptations for seed dispersal. I found some ideas online and printed some pictures of other types of seeds to go along with the samples that I had.

My dilemma was that I wanted more of a hands on activity - I had the sorting activity but I wanted something that they would make or build or model. Then BINGO...a light went off as I was looking at the seeds that fell out of a pinecone. Helicopters. The seeds were helicopters and spun the same way that the paper helicopters from my STEM workshop did. We could make those and use them as a model.



My seed helicopter inspiration.

The kids loved it! After we made and played with the helicopters we talked about a model. I asked them to tell me what parts of our model were like a seed helicopter. The paperclip was like the seed at the bottom and the paper wings were similar to the wings on the seed helicopter. I asked them why it was useful to make a model and got the answer that it was bigger so it was easier to see how it moved. The kids left with homework to take their helicopters and trying making changes to see how it affected their movement. They had ideas such as adding more weight or changing the shape of the wings to be more rounded like what we saw on the seeds.

This week we are starting the Egg Drop Challenge - I was excited to see one team sketching out wings for their design based on how the seed model helicopters traveled. More on that project to come after we finish it.

Setting up crafting page

Ignore this post .... I am trying to set up a page for crafting projects and need a post to link the label from ... I think .... I am not 100% sure what I am doing yet. Hopefully this will work!

May Currently

Since I wasn't blogging much I haven't participated in the monthly "Currently" link-up that I used to love doing. Yesterday was my birthday so I was out with my sister and friends for the evening. Tonight I decided it was time to jump back on the Currently bandwagon and see what everyone had going on in May.

I have been on a fitness and healthy living path for a while now. Since the weather is finally improving my goal is to get out and run at least three times each week. The last two weeks that didn't happen because the weather was so cruddy. Hopefully todays sun is a sign that this coming week will be better. I did 3.4 miles tonight in just under an hour .... ok so by run I meant jog....or walk.

I've always been crafty but had gotten into a funk and wasn't doing much. At my husbands urging I have taken on a new project to keep my busy and being creative. I bought a small bead loom and some supplies. The first bracelet was pretty rough but now that I have worked out the kinks the second one should be better.

My thinking, wanting, and needing are all pretty self explanatory....

Oh summer - only 6 more weeks of school until you are officially here. I love working in my garden I have tomatoes and peppers started inside to go out in a few weeks. Hubby and I are trying to plan a decent vacation for this year. It's still up in the air but I am really liking the idea of driving down to Virginia. And I have so many friends who now live far away I wish I had the time and money to visit them this summer.

Ok, that's it for me. Head over to Oh' Boy 4th Grade to check out other "Currently" posts for the month or to join in and add your own.

Weekly Sneak Peak and Secondary Sunday Linky

 

I'm a planner, when I fail to plan nothing gets done, I get discouraged, and things start to fall apart. Lists are my best friend during the school year, if I don't write it down it might as well not exist.

This past week was school vacation so getting back into the swing of things is always a challenge, especially the closer we get to summer.

MONDAY: I need to hit the ground running  with both of my high school classes. Physical science is making a smooth (hopefully) transition from focusing on velocity and acceleration to forces and more complex systems of motion. My forensic science class has moved rapidly and we are well into our biological evidence topics. This week we are going to be reviewing and wrapping up blood spatter patterns then moving on to DNA.

TUESDAY: We have bus evacuation drills in the morning, which is always so much fun! Hopefully all of the back from vacation kinks get worked out on Monday and Tuesday can be a fairly normal day. Afterschool I need to start working on my chemical inventory - one of the many joys of being the lab manager by default. It is a time consuming process but my storage area needs a clean-up so I will do that at the same time.

WEDNESDAY: In addition to everything else I am a Key Club advisor. This afternoon is our regular meeting and we have a lot to get done. The new Key Club year starts in April and my goal for this year is to be more proactive as an advisor and do better communicating with the officers of the club to make sure they are following through.

THURSDAY: I plan Thursdays to be grade-palooza. I try to grade things throughout the week and get them back to students as quick as possible. On Thursday I try to get caught up on anything that isn't done yet and get grades updated in our online gradebook. I slacked a little in the updating online last semester so I am going to try to do better for the last 7 weeks of school.

FRIDAY: Happy Birthday to me! My only day this week without something during study hall so I hope to get some cleaning and organizing done at the end of the day. It amazes me each week how much clutter I can accumulate in a week! I also try to make sure my plans for the next week are done before I leave school on Friday...this doesn't always happen but it makes the weekend easier when it does.

OK and now for the Linky part....I love Linkies and I haven't done one is ages. If you are looking for some great secondary TpT products or blogs to check out head over to Links and Lattes at the Language Arts Classroom.

I decided to share a product from a favorite new series I have created "Say What?". I love using these short print and go writing prompts with my students. They are great for the start of class, to fill in time when students are done early, to have them do when I have a sum....basically anytime I need something meaningful to fill in 5 or 10 minutes. Plus with common core I am trying to do way more writing in my classroom and this helps me towards that goal. Head over to the linky to see this and tons of resources from other teacher authors/bloggers! Have a wonderful week everyone.

Elementary Students have "stuff" ...

Yep, "stuff" and they insist on touching me! Last week I watched as the most adorable kindergartener stuck two fingers into her mouth then reached out and grabbed hold on a matchbox car we were using for an activity on motion. I cringed and made a mental note to take the Lysol wipes to the cars before I put them away. In that moment I understood why the elementary teachers were laughing hysterically with a workshop presenter about the "stuff" elementary teachers dealt with.

As a high school teacher I don't often have to deal with this sort of "stuff". But for the last 9 weeks or so I have been traveling down to the elementary wing to teach a STEM special in our K-6 classroom. I have a newfound appreciation for elementary teachers and what they deal with every day. Before I get into details on some of my favorite lessons let's run through some of the unexpected lessons I have learned myself.

1. Elementary students have "stuff" and they are going to share it. Pack the Lysol wipes and the paper towels and be prepared. They sneeze and drip and cough, I don't see how so much fluid could come out of a human that is so tiny. No amount of "wash your hands please" or "cover your mouth" is going to keep you safe from it all.
2. If you aren't an elementary teacher but spend any time in their classrooms you are going to become an instant celebrity. I get waved at from the opposite end of the halls, high fives as I pass by, they grab my hand to try to hold it, and more than a few try to get their arms wrapped around me to give me a hug on the way by. I feel like I need a red carpet every time I walk down their hallway now (and some Lysol wipes to deal with #1.
3. Time management skills mean nothing when it comes to planning for little ones. What I think will take 15 minutes ends up taking 45, and if I think it will take me the whole period to complete they are done in 10. I have learned a whole new meaning to flexibility and thinking on my feet!
4. Elementary teachers could probably very easily transition into being zookeepers. Like the ones that work with the crazy little monkeys! Teaching one 45 minute class to 12 1st graders takes more energy out of me then the rest of my morning does with 9th and 10th graders.
5. Teaching elementary is way more rewarding and fun then I could have ever imagined. They light up with each new activity and are so genuinely interested in what we are doing that it amazes me. I don't know that I could ever be cut out to be in an elementary class full time but my short snippets of time each week are pretty awesome....despite all the "stuff".

Let's Give This Another Go

I've taken another long hiatus from blogging. I've been focusing on my classroom and my family and have set aside some others things for a while. One of my goals for 2015 was to blog at least twice per week so that is going to be my goal starting this week. Plus I have so much to share about the STEM class I have been taking and the elementary STEM special I have been teaching. I also want to branch out and start blogging about other issues related to teaching, gardening, science in general, or whatever strikes my fancy. So, here is the last few months in a nutshell and a sneak peek at some of the post ideas that I am planning.

• STEM Class: I have been participating in a once a month STEM class hosted by a local education organization. There are around 40 teacher total who are completing the series of classes. The last one is coming up in May and I am going to be sad to be done. We have built helicopters, learned how to run 3-D printers, make stop motion animation movies and much more! A few of these ideas I have already tried out in my classroom and will follow with longer posts about them soon.

• Elementary STEM "special": By a freak scheduling arrangement I ended up with my first block free this semester. I filled it with a once per week class with grades K-6. With K-3 I have focused on activities that we could complete in one class and were fun while focusing on a science skill or topic. With 4-6 I have done a few projects that spanned a couple of weeks and focused more on engineering design. These have included straw rockets and recycled racers. Based on these I have begun to add elementary products to my TpT store.

Paper helicopters - this was an engineering design project with my 9th graders and then I modified it to make models of plant seed movement (some seeds are "helicopters" and travel in the wind).

Density column activity with 2nd and 3rd grade.

• UbD lessons: I did a ton of work on my physical science Understanding by Design lessons over the summer and have been teaching from them this year. This has meant a lot of editing and rearranging things as I have figured out what worked and what didn't.

 

• Aquaculture: This has been a big research project as I am hoping to one day convert the old family farm into either a hydroponics or aquaponics facility. I have experience raising trout and salmon in my classroom which led me to thinking along those lines. There is so much information online so I am in the process of shuffling through resources and trying to determine what would work best for our area. In the meantime I am making due with my minigreen house set up in the living room. I have microgreens ready to be eaten, about a million tomato plants started, and the pepper plants just went in today. They are a bit late but I am hoping they will catch up.

• Health: Back in October I started busting my behind with a Beachbody program and coach. It has been an up and down road but I am eating a lot better and being much more active. I've lost around 20 pounds and am planning to do a couple of 5K's in May. I am also looking into doing a charity 10K walk in July.

I'm glad to be back to my blog and excited to make some changes for the better. Stay tuned!

Teaching and Living Healthy

Since beginning teaching I have gained over 50 pounds, and I am not in the least bit impressed with that fact. Throughout high school and college I was much more physically active - I played soccer in high school and having a gym on campus I frequented there in college. I can't pin point one exact reason why my weight went so out of control over the last 5 years, I think it is a combination of a lot of things.

1. Being active - I am on my feet most of the day, but the extent of my physical activity is walking from one end of my classroom to the other. The closest gym is about 15 minutes from my home but in the opposite direction of where I work, its also a bit expensive.
2. Stress Eating - I eat when I am stressed. Between the stress of being a teaching during my first few year and the stress of being married I have certainly done my fair share of eating my feelings. Of course the treats that taste good when I am stressed are far from healthy.
3. Finances - besides money issues adding to my stress I have cut corners when it comes to buying groceries. At least where I live fresh food tends to be the more expensive so all to often I have passed on the fresh greens and fruits for less healthy alternatives.

Ok enough of the excuses! While I understand what has lead me to this point I don't think it is reason to justify and make it sound like I am ok with this. So, last week I decided to start doing something about it and went and bought this.....

This is my NINJA blender. I have been blending everything! I have tried sweeter combinations at breakfast times such as strawberry banana or today's creation apple raspberry. I have also tried veggie combinations for lunch on weekends or late night snack. I made a yummy apple carrot combo this week as well as a cucumber, ginger, celery. For liquid I have been using either a light white grape juice or coconut water.

I love smoothies and creating new combos has been a lot of fun. It is certainly helping me to include more fruits and veggies in my diet.

Stay tuned for more updates on my road to becoming a fit, healthy, teacher!

UbD Updates

Some time ago I mentioned that our school was undertaking an initiative to redo ALL of our curriculum following the Understanding by Design model. I have dragged myself through the required readings and discussion board posts - some of it has honestly been very interesting but by Thursday doing homework myself is usually the last thing on my mind. I am happy that I feel like we are finally moving into applying the skills that we are learning. Last week drafts of our Big Ideas were due to be shared with our colleagues. The Big Ideas are supposed to be overarching concepts that are necessary for students to develop transferable understanding.

I have decided that for my first unit I will focus on cellular energy (photosynthesis and cellular respiration). Cellular energy is something that I have struggled in teaching in the past. I have some great lab activities and inquiry projects but I always felt like there was a disconnect, like we were doing the lab work but the students were not really getting the big picture. I am hoping that looking at this unit under a microscope and reworking it following the UbD model will help me solve this issue once and for all.

Based on this topic I have reviewed the standards and settled upon the following Big Ideas for my unit. Warning! Much of the language here is not mine, it is pulled from the NGSS crosscutting concepts. We were told not to reinvent the wheel if we didn't have to, so I am taking the help where I can get it. The hardest part therefore wasn't writing the statements but figuring out which ones would apply to this particular unit for me.

1) Energy and Matter:
-All living things obtain and use energy.
- Energy cannot be created or destroyed.
- Energy drives the cycling of matter within and between systems.

2) Systems and Models
- Models can be used to simulate systems and interactions.

I believe that next up on our to-do list for this is writing essential questions and enduring understandings. Stay tuned for more progress.

Secondary Giveaway!

I am just so excited! I am participating in my first giveaway! I have offered up my product "If You Were The Ecologist" as part of a bundle of high school resources. There is also a giveaway specifically for middle school teachers going on at the same time!

Click on the picture above, it will take you over to the Teaching High School Math blog. From there you can decide to enter the high school, middle school, or both if that applies to you. There is a fantastic list of sellers who have donated to both giveaways! These are not math/science specific giveaways - there are resources for all different topics included in the bundles so there really is something that everyone would be interested it! Plus the middle school package includes a Starbucks gift card and the high school package includes a TpT gift card!

Good luck to all who enter. You have until Janary 17th to get your entries in!

New Classes Soon - Looking Forward and Reflecting

This week is my last full week with my first semester classes. Next week we have finals and then the following week semester two classes start up. With these new classes so close I have spent quite a bit of time the last week or so thinking about what is coming up - yet I am still feeling very unprepared at this point. I want to share what I have coming up, what some of my plans are, and what my concerns are. Please feel free to share ideas with me!

Students in Research: BRAND NEW CLASS for me...it has been taught at my school in the past by other teachers but has not been taught in a number of years. I am still working on rewording the class description and syllabus for this one. Basically the plan is that during the first few weeks of the class I will lead the students through activities that will introduce them to basic experiment planning techniques. After my introductory activities students are going to be designing and carrying out their own individual or small group experiments - much like an independent study. Their midterm and final will each be formal lab reports. I am most nervous for this because it is brand new and I am not sure how motivated the group of students I have coming in are going to be.

Biology: This is my comfort zone! I taught two sections of biology this semester and will have one section of bio during the second semester. The group coming in is "College Prep" level and hopefully are ready for a challenge. While I will probably modify a few activities I did during this semester there wont be any major changes to the class.

Physics: I have a very small group of students coming into physics (which is normal). Past years I have had anywhere from 1-10 students in physics but the normal is 3 or 4....crazy right! The students coming in are all very bright and are concurrently taking a college level calculus class so I am confident in their math skills. The challenge for me is that I have yet to really have a curriculum for physics that I am happy with. Each year it ends up changing in some way. Last year ran much like an independent study with just two students in the class. This year I am anticipating a similar format but I want to make it more interactive and hold the students more accountable for the information. I need to add lab activities that are meaningful and more real life applications. I also want to use interactive science notebooks with the group which I have not done in physics in the past but after my modest success with this in biology and chemistry I want to continue and see how it goes with physics.

When I began teaching I honestly thought that by year 5 things would be SO much easier. In some way things are - I have a bag of tricks that I can reach into and grab a lesson out of if I need to change something on the fly. I know the students and am much more comfortable managing my classroom. Yet I am still constantly reworking and changing my classes - I am never quite satisfied. Sometimes this leads me to success (like with the ISN this year) and sometimes it leads me to failure (two chemistry labs this year did not work out at all the way I had hoped and I wont be doing them next year!) I also find that sometimes I take off more than I can chew and after a few weeks call off some new effort (my element of the week bulletin board - carbon has been the element of the week for about 2 months) when I realize that I don't have time to do everything that I would like to. Maybe by year 10 things will finally be SO much easier!

January Currently

I  love the beginning of the month. I NEVER manage to complete the new Currently on the first of the month, but this month I am actually a bit ahead of my usual. So here it is...

Listening - You will notice a theme as I go through these. It has been very cold here in Northern New Hampshire so far this winter. We have already had a couple of nights that hit -20 F. This week we have been stuck in single digits or negative numbers. Paying for heating oil is so expensive when we have weeks like this so not only am I hearing the furnace kick on constantly but each time it does I also hear the sound of money leaving my bank account.

Loving - The new fleece I got for Christmas is getting well used already. With it so cold I wore it under my jacket today and have kept it on in the house. (Dressing in layers means I can keep the thermostat a bit lower and still be comfortable).

Thinking - I am all about organization right now! I am trying to figure out how to better keep track of stats for TpT, including how much I blog or Pin products. I am also trying to figure out a way to track monthly goals (I think I may have found a calendar to help me with that). Now to just get me next semester classes organized and I will be all set!

Wanting - Well between the time that I typed and saved the Currently picture and now I have fulfilled that one! Hubby got home a bit later because he had to make an extra stop on the way home and then had to wait for the person he needed to see. But it was worth the wait as he decided that we should just go order some food since I hadn't really started cooking yet.

Needing - Summer, see all the previous complaints about cold weather.

Memory/Tradition - Each year we do a Christmas stocking for our dog. She knew her stocking was hanging up, I think she could smell the treats. So when we got our stockings down she was very eager to try to help unpack them. It was very cute! Her stocking was last and she was not very patient. Now she is sitting on the couch just staring at one of her new toys that was in her stocking like she is waiting for someone to come pick it up and play with her.

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all have a warm and happy January!

New Year's Goals and Sale

I have taken a bit of a hiatus from blogging - right before the holidays was just so busy at school and the holidays are always busy with family. Today while I am waiting for laundry I decided it was time to get back down to business. With vacation almost over I am starting to get back into school mode.

First off I want to share some goals for the upcoming year - I guess teaching goals wasn't the best title since two of my goals are business related...but you all get the idea.

• Goal 1: UbD unit
• As some of you might remember from an earlier post our school has taken on a huge Understanding by Design initiative this year. We have been reading and discussing since September. In January we are set to begin writing our units which we are supposed to pilot in the spring. I am both excited to learn these skills and intimidated by the amount of work these units will be taking.
• Goal 2: Increase products on TpT
• I currently have 23 products (paid and free) on my store. I am hoping to both edit and improve existing product and to nearly double this number over the next year.
• Goal 3: Blogging and Marketing
• I am hoping to blog at least once per week and to vary between sharing about products and blogging about my teaching experiences. I find that often it is easy for me to blog when I post a new product but I don't want my blog to just be advertisement for products. I also want to share my insight into the world of education.
• Goal 4: Improve performance assessments and inquiry tasks
• This is sort of tied with the UbD efforts but has always been a constant goal for my classes. I am trying to push all of my classes towards being more student driven and goal oriented. One of the things that I having been working on this year is developing better and more frequent assessments for students to demonstrate their understanding. 

 Finally, even though I said I want to expand my blog to not just be about promoting my store I am going to do a bit of shameless promoting....

 

To ring in the new year I am hosting a two day SALE on all products in my store. The sale runs today December 31, 2013 through tomorrow January 1, 2014. I know I am doing some shopping today as I prepare to return to school so I wanted to offer everyone an opportunity to do so with a bit of a discount. Click the banner below to follow it to my store and take advantage of this limited time sale.
 

 

 

 

Secondary Sunday linky

Ok so I just realized that I typed this and apparently only saved it as a draft and did not actually post. SO, I am a bit late getting this up but....


This week I was so excited to come across a Linky specifically for secondary teachers. So many of the things I participate it are geared toward elementary and middle school that I don't know how much it really helps me...but they are usually fun and a good way to connect with new people so I do them anyways. I am looking forward to getting to participate in this in the future and hope that I can connect with some awesome secondary teachers.

Anyways, click on the picture below to head over to the Secondary Sunday Linky where you will find some awesome ideas shared by secondary teachers in all different subjects.

ISN success with genetics

This week has been very productive for using our interactive science notebooks.  I purchased a bunch of products during the TpT Cyber Monday and Tuesday sale and decided to make a change to my punnett square lesson after I had downloaded my new stuff. Using an accordion fold template from Mad Science Lessons,  (TpT store here) I turned my usual "Punnett Squares 101" lesson into a booklet that students would create and attach to their ISN. Students used 4 sheets of the large diamond shape accordion template to create enough pages for the booklets. The picture below shows the template page and the completed accordion.

First students cut out, assembled, and folded the booklets. Next I gave them a copy of the 7 steps to making a Punnett square, the cut the steps apart and glued one step to every other page.

The remaining pages the students filled in with an example as we followed the steps to solve a basic mono-hybrid cross. There finished products looked something like the one below - sorry you can't see much of the detail.

 

 

I think that this strategy worked really well. The students were more engaged in taking the notes because in their words "they didn't feel like notes"...but they got the same exact content and examples they would have if we had done my usual notes on this. The other benefit is that in this format they can flip step by step as they are working on a problem and just unfold the step they need to work on. For the students that have trouble focusing with a lot of information on the page this helps them isolate each step as they do them. After finishing the books students did a set of 4 practice problems that were very detailed and guided. They generally did well and most of the errors were just because those individuals didn't slow down and read the whole problem before they started working.

 

We are now working through my Martian Genetics Simulation (which is on TpT if you click on the picture below). This is a very time consuming activity but something the students always enjoy. It really drives home the difference between phenotype and genotype and heterozygous and homozygous. Plus is sets us up to talk about how traits are passed in families over time or with a simple extension activity we can branch off into natural selection. So far this week we have determined the genetics for our parent generation, drawn the parent martians, determined possible gametes from the parents and randomly selected partners for reproduction, and today we used those partners to determine the genotype and phenotype of our F1 generation. As I have been working through the activity this time I have come up with lots of ideas for improvements and expansions....I probably wont have time to do that until Christmas break but if I make big additions the price will go up some so if you are interested buy now and you will end up getting the updates for FREE!

 



Currently December

It is time for the December issue of Currently! As always I am a bit late linking up but not as late as usual. So here we go...

LISTENING: I can't function without music or noise in the background. I always have either the TV on or music playing on the computer when I am working, cleaning, cooking, even reading. So ever since I was cleaning the house up for Thanksgiving I have been listening to Christmas music. Some days this if from iTunes where I have the "Straight No Chaser" a Capella Christmas album and more than my fair share of Trans Siberian Orchestra. I also love my Pandora account and have at least 3 Christmas stations on there....yeah I'm kinda sorta a Christmas music fanatic. 

LOVING: Well, let's just stick to this Christmas theme. I put in and decorated my Christmas tree this weekend. It's a bit early but last year it was Christmas Eve before I had time to decorate and that was a real bummer. this year I am not taking any chances so I did it while I had the time. And as you may have guesses I listened to Christmas music while decorating!

THINKING: gah I am so behind on grading. I did so well the first part of the school year with keeping up. Right now I am a couple of days behind and grades close on Friday. This weekend is going to be grading palooza at my house. Maybe I should blog less and grade more....

WANTING: I have been very frustrated for basically the last two years about not being able to be back in school. I had everything in the works to start my Masters this summer but my financial aid fell through and I still have started. I want so badly to be starting this, my plan was always to teach for three years and then start my masters.

NEEDING: I think last night MAYBE was the end of this. The pie was gone within a day or two. The end of the turkey was finished off over the weekend. The salad is officially wilted and what is left will be bunny food tonight. I still have crackers and cheese, two cans of unopened cranberry sauce, and pickles galore!

FAVORITE CHRISTMAS TRADITION: My husband is the youngest of 5 kids. All of them are married and all except for us have 2 or more children. Most years at least 4 of the 5 siblings land at his parents house for Christmas and whenever possible all of them are there with their families. It gets very hectic with 12 + adults and 11 children, not to mention whoever for cousins that may pop in. I LOVE IT! We do a big secret Santa exchange where each child has a cousin to get a gift for and each sibling/spouse has another adult to buy for. We all gather in the living room and one by one open gifts and try to guess who was our Santa. It's so much fun and such great time spent with family! 

Cyber Monday Preview and Freebie Linky!

 

Be sure to check out the Cyber Monday preview AND Freebie Linky over at "An Educator's Life." I just went and linked up a couple of items and there are some great resources for both categories.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have finally gotten my product count over 20 so there is a good variety of things to choose from and everything will be 20% plus using the Tpt code of "CYBER" will bring you up to 28% off.

 

So for my own little preview....My highest wish listed items are:

 

This product is one of several flash card sets that I have. The product includes colorful vocabulary cards with cell structure and function vocabulary terms on one side and blank lines for students to write out the definition on the other side.

 

 

The lab rules card sort is my second most wish listed item. This is a set of fill-in style question cards that students match the missing word to the safety rule card to complete the sentences. This is great for a start of a science class or anytime during the year as a review of this important topic.

 

This last product is actually on very few wish lists - however that's only because people seem to just go ahead and buy this one. It has been my top seller for several months now. This is a mitosis card sort set that includes pictures of each stage, name cards, and descriptions of each stage. It is a great review or introduction for high school or middle school.

Be sure to click on the top picture to head over and check out lots of other wish list items and freebies.





TpT Cyber Monday Sale!!!

It's coming! The TpT Cyber Monday (and Tuesday) sale! I am so excited to be participating in a site wide sale for the first time. I have set EVERYTHING in my store to be 20% off on Monday and Tuesday only. To make this even better TpT is offering an additional discount if you use the code CYBER at check out that will make the total 28% off my store items. A better deal is not going to come along anytime soon. Click on the picture below to go directly to my store and begin shopping!

Now is the time to buy those items that have been sitting on your wish list and to check out some of my new products.

I also wanted to let everyone know that starting in December that I am going to be changing the name of my TpT store to match my blog "Diary of a Mad Scientist". I think it just makes sense to use the same name in both places.