The more hands on the better

This past week I really tried to step out of my comfort zone. I tried a prezi and tried to do more hands on note taking with my students.

We also had another FULL week! Woo hoo!!!

First up are my 7th graders, they were learning about plants! We learned about the parts of a plant, the parts of a flower, the parts of a seed, seed dispersal, and seed germination. I thought class started out really strong in the beginning of the week with my hands on notes. Monday the students created a flip book for the parts of the flower and Tuesday (with the idea/inspiration coming from Dr.McLean) I created a flower in which the students would write down the name of the flower part and the definition of that part on the back of the petal.  This way they have an interactive way to study their flower parts. I must say my 7th graders are VERY artistic!  Wednesday I gave them fill in the blank notes, everything went really well except I had a tiny brain malfunction and forgot that they were 7th graders and not college students and  had a part for them to take notes as I was speaking. (Ooopps!)The blank looks on their faces were indication enough for me and the next day I made sure that I did not do that to them. This is also something that I am going to work on this upcoming week as well.

(Parts of the Plant)

(Parts of the Flower)

(Even one of my life skills students had fun with this :) )

CASE AFNR it was all about water! We learned about precipitation and how it creates run off and streams and lakes! We used blue food coloring and small mountain like diagrams! Pretty cool stuff! The kids had a blast with it and were using their iPads to record what was happening as they were doing it so they could go back a rewatch their results! We also wrote stories as if we were water droplets. As you journey through the stages of the water cycle you got to come up with your own way of how you got to where you were and how you will get to where you are going next. Some of them are very creative for example we have one water droplet that ended up as Lebron James's sweat and another that has ended up as horse manure. I cannot wait for story time on Tuesday when we get to hear the stories and see some of the visuals that they students came up with. I cannot wait to share those this week too!

In 8th grade we talked about animal diets and I used guided notes for them. They seemed to become a little more interactive with this but things really took off when we talked about predators and prey. We made an interactive flip book! The students really seemed to enjoy it, especially those in my class of 9. They really got into the coloring and designing after they wrote down all the content. I hope to try some more things with them this week that are "out of the box" because they are such small classes I really want them to interact and get moving. In Ag 9 we also went to the media center to create out Wildlife Fact Pages. Each student was able to pick an animal that interests them and they had to create a one page fact sheet about the animal and include components like a food chain, the habitat of the animal, what their young are like, etc. We used a new type of technology called Doctopus. I know funky name right? It is just like google docs and sends the project directly to the students. It allows for easy grading at you can monitor your students progress throughout the class. It makes for an easy way to remind students to stay on task because you can have eyes on everyone at once! (Check back this week for a sample of a few of those projects!)

(Examples of the Predator vs. Prey Foldables)

And finally we get to the MAJOR excitement of the week HORTICULTURE EXPO!!!! This year we took 12 entries with us and 10 students (that was nothing compared to what the high school took!) and we loaded onto a bus and headed to Mercer County Community College. I saw first hand what it was like to be a Middle School Advisor at my first ever CDE!!! I also learned that it is always good to be prepared, I had a ziplock baggie full of tape, a glue gun, glue sticks, wire cutters, scissors, and extra price sheets, they definitely came in handy (shout out to Caleb for suggesting an ag teacher tool kit last semester!)  I think my favorite part of the day was seeing all of our FFA members wait in anticipation to see if they placed or not and them rushing up to Dr. McLean and I to tell us how they did and they kicked some behind! They compete against high school students and out of the 12 entries that we took 10 of them placed! We walked away with:
One 1st, one 2nd, two 3rds, two 4ths, four 5ths, and whole lot of comments from the judges! I was so proud of them and I could tell that they were happy because all their hard work paid off. Way to go Middle School FFA!! I also enjoyed myself throughout the day speaking with different teachers and advisors. It made me feel so special when someone would come up to Dr. McLean and I and say "How are you enjoying your experience? You really are learning from the best!" It made me realize how fortunate I am to be able to take part in this unique experience. At the beginning of student teaching I was sure that I did not want to go straight into the classroom that I wanted to have other hands on experiences first, now I am not so sure, who knows maybe I will wind up in the classroom right after graduation after all!?

(Dr. McLean helps students finalize their entry)

(my first attempt at a panoramic picture)

(The classroom with some of the entries)

(The entry that won 2nd place, he made this in an air filter)

(We have a girl who was wearing her mom's FFA jacket from Mississippi...so awesome!)

(So I wasn't in FFA but I can navigate my way around Official Dress and making sure everyone looks nice!)

(Attending a workshop)

(heading back after a long day)

(and last but not least the "advisor" shot, cameras, tool bag, and candy in hand)

Inspirational Quote of the Week: