Scoop.It

I am constantly on the lookout for useful websites when it comes to education and science. My most recent favorite is Scoop.It which allows you to bookmark sites in a magazine format. As a Twitter-lover I am a big fan of Scoop.It. You can follow topics such as "Science Education" or "Inquiry-Based Learning" or if you're looking for a personal bookmarking site it's great for that too.

You can check out my page here.

Keep it up for your PLC (Professional Learning Community).

Yesterday the Astronomy class I am working with was covering the phases of the moon. I suspect that a lot of people in society don't really understand why we have phases of the moon. Contrary to popular belief it is not the Earth blocking out sunlight from the moon. In fact, it is just where the moon is in relation to the sun and the Earth. Basically, half of the moon is always light and half is dark, there are phases because from our vantage point on Earth we see only a certain amount of the light or dark sides at any given time. To get a visual:

{image}

Notice in the inner circle each moon is half lit by the sunlight (coming from the right side of the picture). You can see the phases we see at each location of the moon though. This is a good time to clear up any misconceptions your students have about the moon!

Faculty In-Service

Yesterday I went to my first faculty in-service. Basically for the students it was a day off from school and faculty all had a PD day. All the teachers in the county went to a local high school and went to different sessions throughout the day. My schedule consisted of one 'just for fun' class (glass blowing) and classes in differentiation, technology, working with students who have emotional disorders, tree identification (hello science teachers!) and the new teacher evaluation model. All in all it was a great experience for me as a first timer. It was very nice to meet so many other teachers in the county too.

First Observation Tomorrow

Tomorrow I'm having my first observation in a high school practicum. It's not high level - I'm basically given instruction on a teacher-created lesson but it still makes my nerves tingle.

I apologize for really not having many posts up recently but practicum has kept me decidedly busy.

Right now our College Prep kids are recording the weather each day for two weeks making note of the high temperature, low temperature, whether the humidity is high or low, air pressure (high or low), any precipitation we may have, and whether there is wind or not. They each also have to create three weather stations depicting the weather.

I'm also currently planning a year's worth of curriculum for one of my classes and three full lessons to teach in my practicum in one week based on astronomy (star formation/classification, creation of the universe, etc.)

Weather Website

We're using this website by NOAA for a class lesson about learning to read weather stations. 

HS Practicum: Day Four

{the textbooks still sitting in a stack because we don't use them}

Well, it's day number four of practicum and I'm already behind on catching up with posting on here! Oh no. I think it'd be easier if I wasn't also trying to do homework and go to class. Hah. I promise that I'll get better at keeping up with info about the classroom, what we're learning right now, labs, and the like. It's been a good first week so far with only one day to go and I want to remember my experiences.

Of course, right now I haven't started teaching too much but rather have been an active participant. Well, I have class in 20 minutes so I need to grab some coffee and head out the door!

HS Practicum: Day One

{first day of high school practicum}

The Schedule:
This morning I went into a local high school for the first time as a practicum student or a teacher. I woke up at 6:30 and left around 7:50 to arrive by 8am. The classes at this school begin at 8:15.

The first period is a College Prep Earth Science class which was relatively calm. The students were working on a density lab using triple beams, graduated cylinders, and objects to figure out Volume, Mass, and Density.

After completing the lab (in groups) we reviewed before their test on density and hurricanes.

Then I had a planning period with my host teacher which I can easily see being valuable in the future. We visited the copy room, stopped by the library, and she gave me a quick tour of the school building.

After the planning period we settled in for fifth period which is a shorter class period (and they meet every day). The students are much louder that period than during 1st. We went through a density worksheet and the class is about two periods behind where the 1st period class was today.

All in all it was a great first day and I'm looking forward to going back tomorrow morning!

The Funnies:

• "Why do dead bodies float in water?" - Where did this come from?
• Students trying to trick me into learning the wrong names by switching seats (I caught this in both classes)

The Frustrations:

• Students talking excessively - Host teacher had to say "stop talking", "I'm tired of talking over you", or "Don't talk when I'm talking" countless times during class period

Host Teacher: Practicum

Yesterday I went in to a local high school with a decaf pumpkin spice latte in hand to meet my new host teacher for the fall semester. When I say 'host teacher' I mean the teacher who runs the classroom that I will be working in for my practicum or student teaching experiences.

The high school is about ten minutes from where I live which really is a close placement. I'm still awaiting my placement for student teaching next semester which is making me anxious because most people already have their placements! I'm sure it's all fine, sometimes it's just nice to know.

Anyways, yesterday I went in for second block which lasted an hour and a half. We talked in their Mac Lab (how cool is it that they have a Mac lab?) and then we went and checked out her classroom. It's gigantic! It's much bigger and with a higher ceiling than just about any high school classroom I've ever been in. My host teacher is very nice and much younger than I was expecting. I'm hoping we'll get along really well because I'll be spending hours from 8am until 1pm with her. It should be a great experience and I'm excited (and a little nervous) for Monday morning!

Teaching in Style

Thrifting

Yes, you can go to thrift stores and find some teaching-appropriate clothing! Most of the thrift stores I go to don't have professional clothing at all but eventually you find one that works. Yesterday a friend and I went to the local Goodwill and found quite a number of pieces that we can wear when Practicum starts. 

For this trip, I already owned the red top but all the dresses and skirts are new!

In the end I spent $26 for 7 items. That is less than $4 an item to be sure so, while I'm always bummed about spending money like that, it was a good haul!

If you're like me and need a total overhaul of your wardrobe to make it professional after being a student your whole life (or even if you want a fresh look) a local thrift store is a great option!

Engage: Methanol Cannon

Here's an engagement activity you can do with kids in science class. You use methane and a spark to force a cork out of a plastic bottle.

Teaching in Style

As I walk this journey there is something that keeps nagging at me that I normally have no use for - what do I wear as I make my way? I am by no means a fashionista! I care 10 parts comfort to every 1 part style. That being said, I barely have a professional wardrobe at all. Wouldn't you know it that this is something that is not easily googled?

So, with this in mind, I may periodically take pictures of what I wear to school or outfits in stores even that would be nice. This blog is partially for me, as a personal diary of sorts of my journey, and partially to help other middle school science teachers one day. If you're like me and never think about these things maybe this blog post (and more to come in the future) will help you out.

To begin, my biggest concern of all when it comes to a teacher's style is the shoes. Out of everything fashion-related shoes are my least favorite. Lots of women love them but I do not fall into that category. I have a fairly high arch that most flat shoes don't support well and I don't like walking in a heel for half an hour much less all day while in school! I'll say that one of my favorite brands is Earth Spirit because, so far, they have not let me down. I recently discovered that they have a Classics line that is totally workable in a school setting too!

Along the shoe-related line, this morning I made a sacrifice monetarily in order to (hopefully) gain comfort in the classroom. I bought my first pair of TOMS shoes. Fortunately, the part of my heart that pushes me to be a teacher is also satisfied since another soul somewhere in the world also gains a pair of shoes from this purchase. I'll definitely update you when they come in to see if they're as comfortable as everyone says they are. I hope it's good news!

If you're a teacher or you stand on your feet all day, what brand of shoes do you like? How do you manage a professional style?

Ed Tech

{taken on my Ipod}

I'm a big believer in using technology in education. We can utilize many resources to make our world a smaller space.

Mac
Currently I use my computer for many, many things. Whether it's writing a paper, browsing, the internet, or skyping with someone many miles away I find the use of my Mac to be of upmost importance.

Kindle
Along these lines I also value my Kindle highly. I read PDFs assigned in class on my Kindle so that I'm not wasting paper printing them out nor am I stuck reading an eighty page article with a backlit screen.

Ipod
My ipod has been a very interesting tool for me to work with! I actually made a website on ipods and applications that can be useful teacher tools as part of a project. You can check out that website here.

GPS
My main reason for having a GPS is geocaching. I'm still working on a way to use this in a classroom although it could be useful during space (satellites) or during mapping activities.

In summary, I am always looking for ways to include technology in my classroom. I'm putting together a portfolio right now that includes all my technology work that I can use in the future whether it be a list of apps or a teacher website.

Do you have any technology that you like to use to enhance your (or your students') learning experience?

The 5 Es

This will be a place to explore science and education for me. I'm a student teacher this year so I'll be sharing my experiences in a classroom as well as plans for the future. General science facts that I find interesting may also show up here.

The name of this blog Science Engagements is based on the idea of using the 5E inquiry-based method in your classroom.

Engage
Explore
Explain
Extend
Evaluate

I hope to share my experiences with you and I'm always looking forward to feeback!