Science in the front of the room

            This week my group got to teach the sixth grade science class at Sacred Heart, and what an experience this was. I loved every minute of being in front of the class. It was nerve racking while the students were walking into the class, but once they all sat down and calmed down, it was not that bad. I had butterflies until I stood in front of the class and spoke. I was excited and ready for the students questions. It was hard to divide our slides up evenly among six people, but I think that we did a fair job at it. Those who didn't speak much during the first day teaching had bigger parts during the second day teaching. Although, the second day we ran out of time so my closure got cut and another team member had to step in because my group wasn't done and needed guidance through the lesson. I really was sad that I didn't get to close the lesson because I was really looking forward to it. The first day of teaching was smooth and there were no big problems besides having to borrow Mallory's computer. That would have been a disaster if she didn't have it. We had thought that we had all angles covered because we backed our power point up on a flash drive just in case, but we didn't think the projector cord wouldn't fit. That was a really bad scare, but thanks to our awesome colleague she came to the rescue.
       The second day teaching was what our group had been looking forward to! The entire group was much more relaxed with the students as we got to know them and work with them. I know I was excited about Dr. Granite and his adventure in Hawaii! I couldn't wait to tell the students all about how he got stuck and he was unable to get to his research material and how he really needed their help! I had a lot of fun writing this script and practicing it out with my group members. I really liked how the class reacted to the phone call, half were in complete belief and the other half didn't believe us one bit. Although, Dr. Granite is a real life person he is not stuck in Hawaii due to a Volcanic eruption he is however in living in the dorms on campus. I think that the students really enjoyed the activity we had planned for them both days and they seemed so involved in making rocks. I know my group did not want to leave, and was sad that they had to go. I could see the light bulb click on for the students in my group who didn't understand the rock cycle at first, and this was the best thing ever! I could see it click in their heads and they finally understood it and that was just amazing to me. I don't think anything can compare to that. I really liked that the students were so engaged during the rock cycle process and that they wanted to do it. I think that overall the lessons went well , but I know that there is always room for improvement. I know for fact that I could have been louder, although I did try to be my loudest. I know that the first day we skipped a slide that we could have really used due to time shortage. Also, during the second lesson we had to skip the groups presenting because of time and this made me very sad. I was so interested in seeing what the other groups came up with and what data they collected to back it up. I am sad that this had to be cut out of the day. I think in hindsight I would have shortened the beginning before we started the groups. I would have put the crayon maker somewhere so more than two students could go up at a time, but more like two groups. That would have saved a lot of time. I would have gone on with the making of the sedimentary rock while the rest of the group was looking at the rock, that really took a lot more time then I would have thought. I would not have rushed their metamorphic rocks, but because we were running out of time I had to, and they didn't work completely. 
       One thing we didn't get to tell the class which made me sad was that the story they were writing we were going to make it into a book for the entire class to have. So everyone's story would be put together for the class to read and hold on to. I am excited to get the stories back so that we can do this for them. I do think that they are going to like it and I can't wait to read them. Overall I would say my group did a good job. We spent a lot of time together practicing and going over each slide and each lesson. I think that we were prepared but we were not ready for the time to go that fast.

Second week of observations.

This week we are observing the second group of my co-teachers teach sedimentary rocks and igneous rocks. This group sounded smooth and their content was great. I loved being able to see them teach the class , because it helped my group know what we need to touch up on and what we don't need to talk about during our lesson. I think that they have done a great job.  I like that they were engaging to the students and that they were open to the questions that the class asked. 

The second lesson this group did was one that I thought was very fun and the students LOVED it! They made rocks out of play-doh. The kids were excited to be using their hands and getting to be creative while still doing science. Knowing that some students learn from doing, some from touching and some from writing , and some from seeing this was a great way to address all of those needs. The students got to pick if they wanted to make a sedimentary rock or igneous rock and then they created one, and a clue for the person trying to guess which rock they created. They also used the scientific method to hypothesize  and figure out another students rock. I would have liked to see some modeling on how to figure out which type of rock it was or how to make the rocks, but the students didn't seem to need that and they did great. It was wonderful to see the students getting up, moving around the classroom and yet still being on time and being quiet. It was well prepared and the timing was dead on. I thought that it was well thought out and well executed. I hope that my group does as good as a job. I thought that there was a lot that worked for the group and they stuck with what they were strong at. There were some things I would have changed. I would have explained the entire activity before handing out the play-doh, because the students lost all focus at that point. I would have liked to know what they were making a rock for, and the end product of what was expected before I started. The students didn't seem to notice or mind so it worked great for them! I think that the play-doh was great and it will tie into what my group has in store for the class with metamorphic rocks.

Meeting with my group

Co-teaching
As future teachers we were asked to collaborate on lesson plans and teach them to a sixth grade science class. This at first seemed like a difficult thing do, because we had all be assigned groups in school and had that one member who did nothing or didn't show up. This could either be really good or really bad and I was nervous! I was excited when I found out who was in my group and I knew that it would be a good mix of ideas and excitement. We had met a lot to work on the lesson plans and each time we ended the meeting with all agreeing upon the same thing and this I think is important. Co-teaching with four other people is difficult enough so I think that the saying to agree to disagree but find a compromise fits this perfectly! We were able to compromise with each other and we had a blast meeting and go over and practicing the lessons.

The best part of the lesson planning was when we got to do the experiments to see if they worked in the classroom. This was a lot of fun and not everything we thought would work worked. It took us all thinking together to figure out how we could change things to make it work better. 




Each member of the group brought something different to the table and I think that we did a good job of including every ones talents and ideas. As the time winds down to us teaching the pressure is more and more for it to be perfect. We are meeting more and more and practicing and going over the slides and what we will say and how we will say it and where we will stand. I am glad that we reached out to another professor on campus and had him watch us present our slides. He had a lot of great ideas of what we could do to make it better and ways to improve our information. I am so grateful that he took the time out to help us.

First week observing

This week was our first week observing the other aspiring teachers teach their section of the unit plan. This was nerve wrecking not only for the aspiring teachers but for us watching them as well. I think this is a great thing to do because it gives you opportunity to see what works and what doesn't work. It also gives you ideas of how to form your lessons so the students will respond to them. The first group going always has the toughest job, they have to get the class ready to learn from us instead of from their normal teacher. This group of scientist seem like they are willing and ready to learn from us. Every student looked engaged and was hands on during the lesson and that was great to see. I like that the students have a passion for science it makes it easier for us as teachers, because we now don't have to reach inside every student and make them want to put on a white lab coat and do experiments. 
I thought that the first group did a great job with their lesson plans and that they were engaging and brought a lot of knowledge with them to the classroom. 
    I am excited to start teaching with my group. It is going to be a blast this group seems excited to learn about all rocks and how they form and why they form. 

I think what worked in the first group teaching was that they gave yes/no paddles for the students to communicate if they understood or if they didn't. I also think that the inquiry lesson they chose was great for this group of geologist. The students really seemed to be into the scratch test and finding out which mineral they had. I loved that they added Ms.Mineral into their presentation. The students enjoyed that a lot. 

I really like to sit back and watch other people teach, because it gives me ideas that I could include in my classroom someday. It also gives you the opportunity to see what works and what doesn't work. The things that don't work you as the observer can think of ways of how to make it work or work better. I thought that observing the other teachers was a great learning tool and I think that they did an awesome job!