6th grade Week 2

My final week of placement has been great. I am really starting to grow fond of the students even though they are a handful. I believe I have learned a lot about the kind of teacher I want to become and how students respond to various teachers. I think I have realized (one of the teachers is a first year teacher) how important it is to stick to the rules you make at the beginning of the year and have firm and clear expectations of the students.

We have been discussing imperialism and colonialism in sub Saharan Africa the last two weeks. They were also each given a country in sun Saharan Africa that they researched and made a brochure on. We had a trip to the library last week to do research and I think only one class used the research they gathered from that trip. The rest of them forgot or lost it and researched their country during class on Tuesday.

I taught my lesson today on the Rwandan genocide. I had made a presentation on slide rocket and could not access it because Facebook is blocked on school computers and that is how I log on to that program. Because of this, I lost my place several times and felt that my teaching was not what it should have been. I was able to make another presentation during their specials time and after that I felt the lessons went extremely well. I refreshed their memory of the Arab Spring (something they had learned about previously) and asked them about the role technology had played in those events. Then I explained the genocide and we compared and contrasted technology used now vs. 1994 and what might have happened if the same technology had been available during the events taking place in Rwanda. I know they haven't completely grasped how horrific the events were, but I believe it made an impact on them. 

I have been sitting with the teachers in the cafeteria almost everyday, which has been very noisy. The students have not had tutorials this week because the teachers need to prepare for STARR testings. I have missed being able to teach tutorials but I also have been enjoying the hour and a half break. I usually grade papers for my mentor teacher during this time. During their hornet time, or enrichment time, we were able to go outside for a little bit before it started raining. It was so sweet to see the kids who act touch in the hallway transform into kids again when they run around and play outside. 

I have grown a lot during this placement. I feel like I am more prepared to teach and am more tough than I realized. I can handle the students when they get out of control and really, truly do have a teacher voice. I was able to have good, adult conversations with the students that I think made them think. I loved it. I am so grateful I had this opportunity, though I do feel better suited for a lower grade. 

6th grade

I have been in the school consistently for about a week now and I feel as though it has been somewhat successful. My teacher teaches sixth grade social studies and has six classes a day and I have had the opportunity to teach almost everyday. It has been very exhausting and sometimes I feel like I am not able to handle it. The students are quite boisterous and speak their mind at all times. They love to argue. However, when I teach they do seem to behave a bit better than when their regular teacher teaches. I assume it is because they enjoy having someone new talk to them. 

I have also had the opportunity to tutor several kids during their tutorials, which occurs twice a week during specials. This has been a particularly rewarding experience for me because I have been able to see them actually try on their work. The students in this particular class have a hard time concentrating and openly and honestly admit to not caring about their work. It was extremely rewarding for me to help them as they did their best on their assignment (it is a reading tutorial and the students fill out quizzes like a practice STARR test) and work hard. The kids call me, Ms. T and it felt good to hear them thank me for helping and teaching them.

I also taught my first lesson which was exhausting but fun. The students are going over sub Saharan Africa, and needed to learn about the different regions of Africa. I had the room divided into five sections and the students, who had a map worksheet, walked around in groups and colored in their map using a key and also found information on each region. I think it went well for the most part, and I did have to adapt for different classes. I am excited to see what the rest of the week will bring and I teach my final lesson next Wednesday!

Paper Bag Book Fun

I think one of my favorite activities that I learned this semester is the paper bag book. This is such an easy and inexpensive activity that I think most kids would greatly enjoy. I have made three books for school purposes and two for personal. They are so versatile!

 Here you can see my science and two social studies books. You can really get as creative as you want with these?

I can't wait to make more of these... and spoilers alert, I'm making one for my mom for mothers day :)

Recent Activites

Hey friends!

I will soon be starting my second placement in a sixth grade classroom! I have observed once a week and I must say that am nervous to teach such energetic kids. I am up for a challenge so we shall see what happens. I am confident I will learn a lot about myself and how I want to teach, though.

Here are some of recent activities or cool things done in methods class!

Money puzzle! Doesn't it look cool? Would be a great "about me" first day of school activity. However, I think it would work well with any subject. 

I also learned how to color pasta/rice. I'm sure learning that will save me a lot of money someday! I don't mean that sarcastically either. People pay a lot of money for stuff you can make easily at home. All it costs is time :)

Great science experiment about blood. I will definitely use this in my classroom someday.

Cookies from Chickfila. These have nothing to do with anything. But they are my obsession. And they have gotten me through many assignments. SO. GOOD.

And....drum roll please...FLAIR PENS. My birthday present to myself. These are amazing. They have brilliant colors and do not bleed through the page.

I am pleased to say that I have learned a vast variety techniques and activities that have prepared me to be an engaging teacher. I believe that I have learned more this semester than any other time in my college career! 

More later,

Maria 

Kid Kit!

For those of you playing along at home, a kid kit is an activity box that students can use when they finish their work early and need something to do. The activities are intended for individuals and focus on a specific theme. We were instructed to pick a container that was small, easy to store, and stack because we would most likely have more than one kid kit available. I choose a clean pizza box. Yes, a pizza box. Mostly because a) they're free and b) they're free. I asked Papa Johns if I could have one, and offered to pay for it, and they graciously gave me two, free of charge. 

For my first kid kit, I wanted to pick a theme that was fun, but also something I had personal interest in. I LOVE Disney so my theme was decided quite quickly. My family lives in California and happens to frequent Disneyland pretty often, so I asked them to send me a map of the park and they graciously agreed.

Here's the front of my box:

 Don't let that beautiful red paper fool you. It's the devil of paper. It took serious coaking, sweet talking, rubber cement, and glue to keep on that freaking box.

 I also managed to make a gigantic mess. It's fine. I cleaned it up eventually...

The inside of the box empty and then packed with all my activities. 

Top left: Matching cards (princess and the frog...one of my favorite Disney movies btw), Fact and opinion cards on Disneyworld
Bottom left: Tinkerbell and Pirates of the Caribbean crossword puzzles, and a budgeting activity. The student has a $500 budget and must buy 2 adult tickets, 2 children tickets, food, drinks, snacks, and souvenirs. I printed out all the various restaurants from the Disney website and made up how much each place cost per plate. My family also sent me their tickets so I laminated those, the parking pass, and also put in 2 stickers. **Note** the back of the tickets which say my family's names on them and also the parking ticket turned black when I laminated them. I guess the heat mixed with the material in the paper caused a reaction which made the paper change colors.

Left side (strong side): Find the multiples of 3,5,7,11 and match them to the correct number, and a timeline activity using a park map and the entertainment (shows, etc) students plan out how they would spend a day at Disneyland and use the laminated pooh bear paper to write it out.

 Top left: Ride cards and the students uses them as inspiration to create their own ride, Captain Jack's guide to being a pirate...use it and then write your own guide. 

Bottom left: compare and contrast the temperatures of the Disney parks around the world, order the dates found in the mickey trivia in sequential order and then write the facts down after.

Here's a closer look of the pirate guide. It was free from: here
All the fonts I used were actual Disney fonts as well, which made me feel good about myself. Especially because they were free. The only things that cost me money was the paper (bought in a large pack for $6 at Hobby Lobby), the lamination (honestly, that was about $15), and the letters ($5 from Hobby Lobby). 

Here's where I got my fonts from: here and here.

I wish I was at Disneyland.

Maria

Melted Crayon Art

So I have finally decided to jump on the bandwagon and make my own "melted crayon art". I'm sure there's a more hip term for it, but as usual I don't know it. If you're one of the few who has not made this craft yet, you really should. It's SO easy! And I think it looks really cool too.

First start with some crayons.

I picked all the vibrant colors out of these 2 boxes of crayons. I didn't count how many I ended up using, but I think it was about 60-64. Of course you'll also need a 11x17 canvas. I got mine from my room mate for Christmas. 

Arrange your crayons the way you want. Then hot glue them to the top of your canvas.

For the next part, I moved into the garage. 

I used a heat gun to melt the crayons. My dad is melting them in this picture because he doesn't know how to use my phone to take the picture. I promise I did all the work though.

Word of Advice: Do NOT move the heat gun/ blow dryer back and forth in a "shaking" motion. This will cause the colors to mix. Unless of course, you want that to happen.

 

Andddd....we're done! Super easy. Painless. My other word of advice is don't move the canvas for a few hours. It cools very quickly but the "drips" are still fragile so make sure its completely dry before you move it.

I haven't completely decided how I'll use this in my future classroom. I am torn between putting my name or just "welcome". 

I hope this inspires you to make some melted crayon art if you haven't already!

Maria