January 28, 2013
I survived my first day at Casa Grande! I am just so excited to be here and to start getting to know my students. Overall my day went fantastic! I had a couple bumps, but that was definitely expected for my first day.
+ As the day went on, I was more comfortable about teaching and slowed down.
+Found out I was coaching two soil teams and helping with Agronomy.
+ Started my one on one’s with my students, scheduling them for before school, lunch, and after school.
-5th hour is very talkative; they are definitely going to be my challenge class
-I went really fast, probably from nerves and I am going to have to get used to the bell schedule. I have to learn to pace myself talking and make sure not to go to fast.
+Found out I was coaching two soil teams and helping with Agronomy.
+ Started my one on one’s with my students, scheduling them for before school, lunch, and after school.
-5th hour is very talkative; they are definitely going to be my challenge class
-I went really fast, probably from nerves and I am going to have to get used to the bell schedule. I have to learn to pace myself talking and make sure not to go to fast.
January 29, 2013
+ Today was the first day that I started all my lessons with content. It was really exciting in general to be teaching what I wrote; to see what works and what doesn’t work.
+ I was supposed to do my introduction to plants song activity and we could not figure out why the speakers were not working. Since we could not get them to work I had to think on my toes and come up with a new activity. The activity still ended up being successful and the students enjoyed it.
+ My second hour was wonderful today, very engaging and interactive.
-I am starting to notice that my 5th hour really is going to be a challenge. They told me they did not want to work or have to do anything in class. I am going to have to be very patient and slow with them.
-I am starting to notice students handwriting, spelling, grammar is awful so I am going to try and work on that with them because it’s hard to grade when I cannot understand their answer.
-I have been super stressed with moving and getting everything ready so I have not been able to get proper sleep to be at my 100% for my students although I am trying very hard to be there.
- Proper pacing of my lesson
- Forgot to get everything ready for 5th hour after 2nd hour so I was running around trying to finish it before class which made me feel very stressed.
+ My second hour was wonderful today, very engaging and interactive.
-I am starting to notice that my 5th hour really is going to be a challenge. They told me they did not want to work or have to do anything in class. I am going to have to be very patient and slow with them.
-I am starting to notice students handwriting, spelling, grammar is awful so I am going to try and work on that with them because it’s hard to grade when I cannot understand their answer.
-I have been super stressed with moving and getting everything ready so I have not been able to get proper sleep to be at my 100% for my students although I am trying very hard to be there.
- Proper pacing of my lesson
- Forgot to get everything ready for 5th hour after 2nd hour so I was running around trying to finish it before class which made me feel very stressed.
January 30, 2013
+ I am starting to be more familiar with the bell schedule, but I need to get a watch to keep track of time better. + Talked about common core at teacher meeting and teachers were giving examples of what they were doing to incorporate activities and I had to giggle a little because agriculture education does this everyday even before it was “required”.
+ Finally got the trailer! I won’t be driving as far and will be able to get proper sleep.
-Teacher meetings are so boring! They need to be more structured, they were talking about so many different things and the teachers weren’t even engaged.
- 5th hour was being very obnoxious and Mr. Sipes had to step in. They do not respect each other, Mr. Sipes, or me.
- 5th hour was being very obnoxious and Mr. Sipes had to step in. They do not respect each other, Mr. Sipes, or me.
January 31, 2013
+ Had a student say that she was glad I was here, she liked what they were learning, and the activities we were doing. +Improvisation play dough activity that the students love to review leaves because a lot of students were absent so it was necessary to review before moving on.
+Students have worked really well in pair assignments and group work.
-I forgot my lunch this morning and had to go back, even though I made it back on time it just started my morning badly.
-Learned how fire alarms distract students and it is hard to get them back on track!
February 1, 2013
Well I survived my first week!! Overall it has been a great week, I am definitely more comfortable with the classroom and almost have all of my students names memorized. I am starting to put in grades, do attendance, and basically I am around and if I need something Mr. Sipes is there to assist me. They are also starting to become comfortable and starting to respect me more as a teacher. It was Mr. Sipes Birthday today!
+My second hour is fabulous, they are so good with the activities and usually are really good when it comes to directions
+ The students are getting used to the layout of the class, come in do bellwork then we start with the note sheets. I also require them to use the bathroom before class or use a ticket (they have five tickets for the semester, if they have them at the end they will receive extra credit)
+ I am starting to have quality conversations with my students, they are starting to come in and visit which makes me smile that they are enjoying class.
+The newspaper came in today to take pictures of my lesson while the students were creating the five soil forming factors with play dough.
+ I had a students today say wow this related to my biology class, I am actually learning, made me really happy!
+Its Friday! I survived and am still happy to be here!!
- Today both second and fifth hour had a hard time following directions with the activities so I had to give them a pop quiz to make them realize that paying attention and doing the activities are important because it helps them remember. I did not use them as grade, I had them partner grade and then put them in their binders for reference.
-Fifth hour is just a struggle everyday, I think they are going to be a struggle for the rest of the year. But one of my students who was very disrespectful has turned around and started realizing I am not here to punish him and that I do care about him, so I am going to keep on working with that relationship. I also have one student who continually turns around, loves to talk, be obnoxious, and do anything he can to disrupt the class, I don't know what to do with him, the rest of the class picks on him because he is so annoying. Mr. Sipes said he struggled with the group of boys that I have struggled with too so its not just me, they are immature freshman boys.
-I locked the keys in the office before my lesson so I could not get my lesson plan out to use as a guide during fifth hour, luckily I did ok but that kinda put a damper on the beginning of the hour.
February 4, 2013
Its a Monday!
+Classes that did the soil profiles went well, some understood it more than others. I realized that activities take students longer than you think.
+Reviewed xylem and phloem with my plant science class again. They were not quite understanding it on Friday so I thought taking time to review was necessary.
+5th hour actually did their work today! And were quieter than normal.
+Experienced 8th grade boot camp! What an awesome experience for 8th graders to go through to experience agriculture to hook them before they sign up for classes in high school. Great for recruitment! Also a wonderful opportunity for the officers and other members of the chapter to develop leadership skills by running the workshops. Yesterday they learned about parts of steer, sheep, and swine. This was also super helpful for me!
-Need to give better guidelines for assignments, write everything I expect on the board so they can see it, this causes less confusion and less questions for me.
-Today was just a long day!
-My 5th hour loves to push my buttons.
8th grade boot camp
February 5, 2013
+Soil Order books went fantastic, 2nd hour was on task and were so quite I couldn't believe it.
+Wrote specific guidelines on the board, this was definitely helpful!
+My students are starting to ask quality questions, if I don't know I have been looking it up otherwise we are discussing it as a class. My 2nd hour is definitely more comfortable with the layout of the class and asking questions.
+Bathroom pass process is going wonderful! Definitely a great idea for me to do. It has controlled that but I am lenient about it on somethings. With that i think they are starting to learn when the appropriate time is.
+Making changes to my lessons as I go, each day I alter, change, write-in what I would do or did different. I think this will definitely help me in the future.
+Mr. Sipes gave me some great ideas for enhancing my lessons with activities for ones he has done in the past that I did not have activities for.
+Osmosis and diffusion went fantastic! I could not have been happier with how the class went, I really think the students understood what I was teaching. The experiment made it on Instagram, so that was awesome!!
+Overall it was a fantastic day! Not too much went wrong, still learning but enjoying every minute of it!
-5th hour was mouthy about their grades but I explained to them if they participated and did their work correctly than they would get the grade they earned. I refuse to give students full points if they did not participate in the group work or just turn something in to get it done. If you want an A then you will earn the A.
February 6, 2013
+ Today has been a pretty good day, I had everything planned and ready to go before school and was all ready to teach before first hour!
+ Reviewed Osmosis and Diffusion with the sophomore class, they definitely enjoy doing the science portions if its hands on.
+5th hour was excellent today, they actually did their work and were quiet.
+Had one of my students take pictures today for me, hilarious seeing what I get back
+/- Mr. Sipes went home sick today which made me a little weary but it actually went really good. I had no problems and everything went really smooth.
-I have some students complaining about grades still but I am still going to be same and fair to everyone. If you deserve an A you will get an A.
-Testing for FFA is really hard when you have some students testing and others not, it would be better to do it after school with everyone instead of every class period.
-Had my first student smoking weed in the bathroom and had to go through incident report. I was all nervous and shaking because I felt bad but I knew I had to turn them in. What a day it has turned out to be!
Looking at Osmosis effect on eggs. When you put an egg in vinegar the shell is broken down. Then you leave it in vinegar and it starts enlarge because of the permeable membrane. Then you put another one in corn syrup and it sucks the water out the egg because corn syrup is 25% water and an egg is 95% water and to get it to equilibrium the water is sucked out of the egg. Then we weighed the different eggs to see the weight difference.
February 7, 2013
+ My second hour was wonderful! They learned about texturing soils and were so excited to be able to go outside and texture. We went into the river bed which is on campus and then down to the garden to texture the different soils. It was good to get them outside and not just sitting in the class. I love being able to do fun things with my students, even if its as simple as going outside.
+I helped 4th hour in the greenhouse because Mr. Sipes had stuff to do in the office.
+I am enjoying being at school, getting to know my students better. They say hi to me in the hallways and come to talk to me. Even with the negatives, I am still loving teaching.
-I didnt get to teach fourth hour because we had some stuff to do for FFA Career Development Events, my students had to take tests. So my flower kesson is moved to tomorrow!
- My 5th hour was awful. Probably the worst day yet. They are just continuing to be rude, obnoxious, and disrespectful to everyone in the class. Instead of going outside to texture soils they received a pop quiz for the rest of the hour. I hate being the mean teacher but I can't have students like that outside doing fun stuff when they cant control themselves properly. Tomorrow they are getting a new seating chart.
-I had a student attempt to steal play dough, I caught the student took the play dough away and then some students came up to me after class to tell me he took it again. Mr. Sipes took care of it. But really of all things to steal, playdough?!?
Febuary 8,2013
Its another Friday!!! Finally!
+5th hour actually went good today! Yahoo! We had a little trouble at the start but when we got into it, we went outside and textured and it went really well!
+ I had some one on one time with three of my students that really needed time to talk with me because they are students that have failing grades purely because they are lazy and dont do their work. I talked to them today and tried talking to them it is important to pass their classes and all they have to do in my class is participate. I mean I give them everything they just have to fill information in and participate. It is my goal to get them to at least pass the class and start giving some effort!
+My students that are learning soils are bringing in their soils projects Monday and my Plant Science students are bringing in flowers they made. I am really excited to see how they turned out, or if they actually remember.
-My flowers lesson went awful, I am not sure why but I think I had the wrong lesson plan printed out because I was confused with my lesson so I confused them which made class kind of a disaster. But we will review flowers again so everything is clear!
-You can only texture soils so long before it gets boring. So we were finished really fast. I am going to do some filler lessons because I will have free time.
My two students participating that never do! Texturing soils!
So many papers to grade! The life of a teacher!
February 11, 2013
I am learning quickly that students notice every little detail about you, I wore new boots that I have not worn to school and I must have been asked twenty times if I had gotten new boots. It just made me laugh!
+ Today has been an overall great day! Nothing went horrible today and everything is progressing forward fantastic!
+6th hour was actually really good today, we determined the plasticity and stickiness of a soil today. They all worked well and my students that don't normally participate were actually participating! I am getting there, I am going to have them start coming in during reteach which is basically study hall to help them get their work caught up.
+During fourth hour we watched a video called Silence of the Bees. It is a very interesting video that teaches about pollination, bees, population, agriculture and the declining bee population. If you would like to watch just type in Silence of the Bees on YouTube. They are going to write a response paper about the video tomorrow in class.
+We forgot to grab the copied bellwork sheets out of Mr. Sipes mailbox so I ran put. It was hilarious how used to bellwork the students are because when they didn't have a bellwork sheet it was a huge fiasco. But we got it fixed five minutes into class and it was dandy!
-There was no real negatives today, the day went by fast, the only thing I would say is during soils it is very difficult to texture or determine plasticity of a soil for 55 minutes. Somehow I need to put in more activities for those so that the students are not bored. Although today was the first day students did not completely work until the bell rang.
-Not many students turned in their soil profiles or flowers today so I extended the date, I am a little disappointed but I am willing to be flexible. Those that turned them in today got 10 points extra credit.
February 12, 2013
+Today has been a relatively good day!
+ Learning how to determine soil color and what each thing (hue, valu, chroma) meant went relatively well! Since I only had to do two Munsell Color Books we had to do a rotation of groups so I had to watch students in two areas but they did really good!
+My fourth hour plant science class did their essays (three paragraphs) on the Silence of the Bees, they look at me crazy because I am making them write! "This s not English class" My response, well we are going to learn and use proper formatting as if it was. We are going to reinforce all of it. You would think I was crazy! MLA format, seriously who has not heard of that?!? I feel like I am teaching math, science, english and agriculure!! Which is what we are suppose to do but it cracks me up when students say this is ag class...and what exactly does that mean to you?
+I am coaching Agronomy and the powerpoints were driving me crazy so I fixed those finally!
-Long day, I have just had a lot to catch up on so I stayed really late(6pm) but I felt that it was necessary for my students to be successful
-I have quite a few failing students; some because they are purely lazy otherwises don't care and some just don't turn their work in! So I printed off grade reports for those students today and highlighted each missing assignment and am planning on having a special meeting with them. It drives me bonkers when I know students can at least pass but they are just too lazy! I know I am going out of my way but I care that they succeed so I will do what I have to.
February 13, 2013
+ Today was a pretty relaxed day, all of my students were working on individual assignments.
+2nd and 5th hour researched about organisms in the soil. Each pair had an organism in which they wrote information about and their effects on soil in a folder. After everyone was finished the folders traveled around the classroom where each student wrote down facts from the rest of the class. Overall I think the activity went well but they did not finish.
+One of the slacker students is continuing to participate!
-I tried to do a fun activity with my students and they just didnt care to pay attention at all so I had them go inside and research the information about a cell instead.
-I graded 4th hours essays on Silence of the Bees, they finished really fast but the work was not quality so I am going to give them a chance to redo them for a better grade.
-Some of my students are not using class time wisely. It is hard when 85% of the class is focused and doing what they are supposed to while I have a couple students not wanting to do anything.
February 14, 2013
As a teacher I hate Valentines Day, such a distraction for all students. They are continuously talking about their valentines, what they got, who got it for them, what it said, ahhhhhhhhh! Not to mention all the balloons, stuffed animals, and pointless trinkets that student recieve.
+Students finished projects today-finished the filing folders, gave time to redo essay.
+Helping the Agronomy team is going fantastic! I hope they do great tomorrow!!
-Everyone was distracted by valentines day, it was just an off day.
-I had 4 students turn in leaf projects after having two weeks to complete which is so frustrating. Not many turned in flower projects as well! So frustrating!!
February 15, 2013
CDE Day!!
+It was a fantastic day! Seeing the student compete after working with them for a couple weeks was awesome! The agronomy and soils teams that I coached both got first! Yay! But we still have a lot of work to do before state competiton.
+I helped Mr. Sipes run the Agriculture Mechanics CDE; we had taken lots of hours to put together the district contest so it was great to see them participating in the contest. I was in charge of problem solving which is generally one of the hardest parts of the competition.
-Definitely a task keeping track of 40ish students all day making sure they do not leave campus.
-Back at school the substitute could not get the DVD to work so the students had free period which I am not a fan of but it all worked out!
Happy National FFA Week!!
+Today was greenhand day so everyone wore green to support the greenhands :) They also put their hand prints on the sign and got a green cupcake!
+One of my students gave me a handmade lotuc flower! It is really cool and so sweet of him!
+In fourth hour we looked at our seeds and how much they grew in a week, it was actually interesting. Than they made observations of each others and compared them, Some of the seeds rotted which was disgusting but the ones that grew really good the students could label the parts that we had discussed. Than we moved on to plant classification.
-Taking students out of class for FFA week activities is very distracting! But it is kind of what you have to expect as an ag teacher.
-I made a mistake on grades for my 5th hour and put their extra credit in as actual points instead of extra and it really affected their grades which made them come in and freak out. But after we got that solved everyone was okay. Although I still have a couple failing students whgich really bothers me but I am doing everything in my power to make them not fail but they are just not getting it. I will continue to do what I can but I refuse to hand out A's.
A couple good examples of our seeds that grew in 4th hour!
February 20, 2013
+I attended my first FFA meeting, unfortunately because of the storm we couldn't do much. But we did have a BBQ with hamburgers and hotdogs.
+2nd and 5th hour learned about soil erosion which wrapped up our soil unit into the project we are starting Friday.
+4th hour we learned about Dichotomous Keys which went surprisingly good, they were distracted but still did their work and did a really good job. They asked if they could make more, so they understand what they are doing and enjoyed it.
-A huge storm rolled in which is always distracting to students because in Arizona we dont get that much of a weather change and when we got flurries of snow it was like the world was ending.
-4th hour has been really distracted lately, I am not sure what is going on but I am working on focusing their attention better.
February 21, 2013
+4th hour we discussed Photosynthesis, they watched an interactive animation video on their computer and had a worksheet to go along with it. I also had some aha moments when we were discussing the equation and went over the elements and what they made up which was really awesome for me!
+2nd and 5th hour we started our soil filters which I have been excited to do the whole semester!
+I particpated in their Redneck Olympics which was hilarious! We spit sunflowers seeds into a bucket and did cart races, my knee was definitely hurting after I weaved a garden cart in and out of cones. But the students were ecstatic I did the relay with them :)
+Made it in the paper!! Read the article here :) http://www.trivalleycentral.com/casa_grande_dispatch/area_news/student-teacher-looks-forward-to-having-own-classroom/article_56adecf8-7c42-11e2-9fd1-001a4bcf887a.html
-My directions on the JOS were a little different than I wanted to do in class so I need to change that for future lessons.
-I had a student stab his hand with scissors and had to go to the hospital for liquid stitches. Definitely a first! And probably won't be the last!! It made me laugh because he was a student I would least expect to do this, he is a really good student but it was just an accident.
February 22, 2013
+Today was evaluation day! So I had the chance to see Dr. Knight which is always wonderful!!
+2nd hour was wonderful today, they were ready and on task to continue their soils projects. Today they textured, determined the stickiness and plasticity of their soils. They found as much as possible a sand, silt, and clay to put in each layer of their water bottles. This is what I love about 2nd hour if you give them directions for the most part all of them are ready to go and willing to work!
+Overall the day was a good one, Dr. Knight gave a me a good evaluation so I was pleased :)
-4th hour they learned about respiration, unfortunately the experiment did not work as well as it should have until the class is over so we will have to do that again on Tuesday. We were looking at how much each substance blew up the ballon but the yeast was not very fast and the balloons blew up after class and looked perfect at the end of the day.
-5th hour was pretty crazy today, although its a typical day, they just didn't want to work on their soil projects and were all over the place. I have a lot of males in this class so they are all trying to be the Alpha male but sometimes it just gets obnoxious.
February 25, 2013
Aims Day!
+I had time to schedule all my tests and finish all more homework for the week!
+Only taught 2nd hour today which went good, we just started running our colors through our soil filters. Although they take longer than expected to filter through when the students see them actually working its really awesome!
-There was nothing really to work on today because I only had one low-key class.
February 26, 2013
Aims Day Again!
+ I had time to clean up the classroom today which was nice but I felt like I barely made a dent in the cleaning but at least some of the important areas got cleaned!
+ 4th hour we watched the Bee Movie because they are my sophomores and had aims. Nothing would have been accomplished anyways and we have been talking about pollination so it was a perfect movie!
+5th hour we worked on our soil filters and everything went pretty smooth :)
February 27, 2013
+No more aims and back to a normal schedule!!
+2nd hour we worked through our soil filter. I had them redo texturing in order to fix their grades. For some reason even though we go over it before they still don't want to use their notes to texture.
+Soil team had practice after school and then I had time to finish up my sub plans and everythhing for Friday.
-We started reproduction in 4th hour and I think I need to do a better job at going over it because for some reason it was not clear. I think some of my lesson plans got confused so part of it was random information.
Febrauary 28, 2013
+Finished our soil filter projects in 2nd and 5th hour, some students were done faster than others and some got more out of it than others.
+Gave my agronomy team a pre-test, they did pretty good overall so I hope they do really good tomorrow!!
+I got to spend time and sit down with one of my students that really struggles in class, he is in special education and normally is in la-la land but he really likes the soil projects and hands on. Through this I have been able to connect with him and we even finished his project and questions today which made me super excited!!
-My 5th hour is so high strung, I always have to be on my toes. I feel like I need to glue them to their seats all the time, they drive me nuts but I still love them when they actually do their work.
-For some reason is just feels like a really long day!!!!!
February 29, 2013
CDE Day!!!!
+What a great day so very proud of all of my students!!!
-What a long day for a student teacher!!
2nd place: Ag Mechanics, Horse Judging, Soils,
4th Place: Agronomy
Other: Livestock Judging, Nursery Landscape
March 4, 2013
+Today was definitely a test of my teaching, Mr. Sipes was completely gone on a trip so I was all alone, especially after coming back when we were not here on Friday was interesting.
+The day went pretty smooth; 1st hour we actually cleaned the shop, 2nd hour we started plumbing and did an awesome water relay that the students really enjoyed, 3rd hour we harvested tomatoes, 4th hour went over worksheet from Friday and started Nutrients, 5th hour...well we will discuss that later.
+ I was so happy that 2nd hour had so much fun with the water relay, all they were doing was taking water from one bucket to another with broken cups, spoons, and plates and had to strategize as a team how to do it.
-4th hour got a report from the substitute that they did not do their work on Friday so I was a little upset and told them it was not acceptable and they need to finish their work and turn it in. They were pretty quite the rest of the hour because they knew I was upset that their class got a bad report of all of them.
-5th hour, well we went to do the relay and they decided that they were going to mess around not listen to directions and throw water everywhere so we came in and did notes. Lately they have been so rambuncious I dont know what to do with them.
March 5, 2013
+Started plumbing identification. The students caught on quick and it went really well, they even had a pop quiz they did really good on.
+I am excited to start Ag Communications with the junior and seniors tomorrow, Mr. Sipes just told me I was going to be teaching them!
-4th hour did not use their time wisely in class for their nutrient know books so I told them they were homework, they were not happy to say the least. I also gave them a dichotomous key quiz whihc should have been easy points and instead of thinking it through they just decided to not do it, which for me is frustrating because they all know how to make them and did them great before, they are just being lazy.
-5th hour has been getting worse, they do not listen and are just being obnoxious. Mr. Sipes and I are going to have a discussion about it tomorrow.
March 6, 2013
+We went over basic measuring in 2nd and 5th hour, it was hilarious to see them all over the shop measuring everything. I think they actually enjoyed it. The best part is when they would come up to me and ask if they could measure my height.
+ 3rd hour went fabulous today, we went over different types of communication with file folders and we had fun with it! I am excited to see what they do their projects on.
+4th hour I changed their seating arrangments and I am hoping this is going to help with the problem of not being on task.
+Mr. Sipes and I had a discipline discussion that if I need to start pulling students out, putting them in the shp or in his office to just sit and think than I need to start doing it because they are ridiculous. But he reassured me it was ok, he had the same problem with them, there are just a couple of them that create problems for the rest of the class.
+Pig Inspection Day!
-4th hour we talked about NPK calculation, I kept going over it and they were so "I don't care" that they werent actually paying attention to get it done or understand it so I am giving them a review worksheet tomorrow.
-5th hour I had to send a student out in the shop, he is a continuous problem so today I had it and told him to go in the shop, everyone was shocked and I think it worked because after I brought him back in he did not say one word to anyone.
March 7, 2013
+ I gave the students extra credit and time to do make up work. This made a ton of them happy and made me happy because they were diligently working.
+ We discussed memo's in 3rd hour, the students picked their research topic and are starting their projects
+2nd and 5th hour made safety posters!
-Had to discuss grades with all the students today, not a fun topic for a teacher
-Stayed late to work on everything for next week when I am gone. It makes me so nervous to leave
March 8, 2013
+ Today we discussed types of plumbing in 2nd and 5th hour, the students made a brochure on the information by creating a company that sells pipe, some of the brochures are very creatives.
+4th hour we talked about IPM and gave them time to do make up work
-I am really disappointed in my students grade, it just amazes me the lack of work these students are willing to put into their classes. I rarely give homework, everything I grade they do is mostly in class and I still have more F's than I would like to see.
-5th hour was talking so much today, Mr. Sipes came in and talked to them because he couldnt handle it and they were not listening.
- I am so nervous to leave for two days!!
March 11, 2013 & March 12, 2013
At the University of Arizona with my wonderful cohorts for a mid-semester seminar although it was nice seeing everyone I was not a fan of not teaching!
March 13, 2013
+Tricia came to visit me today!!! Yay! Yay! I sure do miss her.
+ Mr. Sipes gave me the fastest lesson in plumbing fittings in my entire life. Since we did not learn all of them teaching them, well a little difficult. But Mr. Sipes helped me and I remembered them in front of my students except for the sizes but thats ok! I was just worried about name, FIPT, MIPT, Slip, Material and that was occupying my brain enough!
+ I talked to all my students about grades and hopefully we are going to get some assignments turned in tomorrow to get those darn grades up!!!
+5th hour was actually good today, I did not leave frustrated and I was actually surprised how much they behaved, in saying this don't get me wrong they were not perfect but for them it was a miracle! And Tricia thought I was crazy that was a good day!
+Parent Teacher Conferences meant staying until 7pm at the school but I got a delicious teacher dinner out of it and lots of great things that students say to their parents. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to meet a couple parents and have them tell me that their son/daughter is their favorite class and they enjoy it so much! Definitely made my night!!
- My review powerpoint in fourth hour was a mess, at first it wasn't on my jump drive than I had to get it off my computer, then it didnt work right! Ugh so frustrating! So I kept having to go into the office to try and get all the materials to do the review anyways. It turned out okay but it was not as fun with me reading the questions as playing a game.
March 14, 2013
+2nd and 5th hour took a quiz over plumbing parts today and did exceptionally well!!
+Lots of students turned in work, which made me very happy so I could help them bring their grades up a little bit.
+ I edited the whole National Chapter Application which was great for me to do my part in helping as a student teacher and they even put a picture of me in it for quality assurance :)
-/+ My 4th hour had their plant science unit exam, I am really disappointed in some of my students and happy for my other ones. It frustrates me how hard I work to make the test as easy as possible for them, not tricks in the questions they are all straight forward and off the quizzes and I still had students fail! I had some do great and others completely fail! So frustrating! It was not suppose to hurt their grade at all! And they could use their notes!
-Lots and lots and lots of grading!! I am trying to stay on top of grading which actually I think I am quite good at but now that it is the end of the quarter students are trying to get as much work in so they do not have bad grades. Kinda crazy aroun here!!
March 15, 2013
+It is crazy to think I have 56 days till I graduate, but who is counting! And only 48 days left at Casa Grande!!
+ Today was surprisingly a good day for being the day before spring break!!
+I came up with a plumbing cost lesson on a whim 1st hour for 2nd and 5th hour. It turned out really good and I was pleased with the results. It is amazing how simple it is to calcualte something by unit and price but how hard students make it!!
+3rd hour we cleaned the classroom and the shop, much needed but it could be done for a couple more days until it is fully cleaned! And my silly girls delivered stuff and decided to pull each other back on the cart :)
+ 4th hour we went to the garden and planted corn :) The were super on task today, I was astonished and than we came back in and it went downhill. I gave them the opportunity to redo their test for more points and they did only a couple. They can never say that I didn't give them a chance to succeed and I can not be hard on myself for the grades.
+I am realizing that we(teachers) can only do so much to help our students, you can lead them to water but you can't force them to drink as Mr. Sipes says!
-I had to pull a student out of 5th hour again, he is refusing to do work and always is interupting the rest of the class. Its crazy how I can pull him out the class and they get their work done. And if I have to I will pull him out everyday until he decides to do his work.
Spring Break- March 18-22nd
AKA Fair Week!
What a long week it was! Fair is just exhausting, being there all day walking around by the time I got home I was ready to lay down and pass out! But it was a really neat experience; since I only showed poultry and one large livestock animal, my goat Opie, I have never really been around fair all week! Man O' Mighty what an experience! Literally I had no idea these kids volumize their animals "push their hair up" and paint them to make them look blacker and all this craziness! I was in awe of all the preparation these people go through for one animal and maybe Maricopa does it differently, I remember kids washing their animals but never putting glue in their hair to volumize it and than paint it to make it look darker! Basically everyday I was at fair walking around, watching the shows, learning and helping out when I could. It was a very long week with many ups and downs, which I will get to in the normal format but I wanted to do a little overview first. Instaed of doing day by day I will just do it for the whole week!
+I loved seeing my students, even though it was spring break, most of the ones that were showing were always positive and excited to see me! I loved when my students when come by and say Hi Miss. Taylor and just talk for a few minutes before they had to go do fair stuff. It really just made my day to see my students and that they would talk to me outside of school.
+ Seeing my students show was so exciting! I saw every single class of every single animal so I had the opportunity to watch all of my students!
+ I learned a TON about showing; how to prepare an animal, clip an animal, show an animal, what the judges look for, etc.
+The judges were great about explaining their reasoning behind all the students placings which gave me the opportunity to learn more about hat judges look for and how to help my students.
+I judged round robin, which was so much fun! Being in the ring, asking students questions, and seeing the best of the best show was just fabulous! Round Robin, for those of you who don't know is where all the students who win Showmanship on their animal compete with all the other winners and show all of the animals, so you basically have to be the master showman to win this!
+I met lots of people; talked to lots of parents, sponsors, and supporters!
-My first day, they were shearing Veal calves which we dont have in Maricopa, a guy asked me if I could shear his Veal, and I said "I have never sheared a Veal before" and he replied with "What kind of Ag Teacher are you?" and walked off. I was absolutely shocked to hear someone say that, I wish I had the chance to reply but unfortunately I didn't. I dont know everything, I am only one person and still learning everything I can, I am a student teacher and am here to learn everything I possibly can. I would have loved if he took the opportunity to teach me but thats for another day!
+I was a spotter for the auction which is kind of a big job and was exciting because I was right next to my stduents selling their animal but that was a long time to be on my foot!
+My students did great!
Preston Sipes-Steer Grand Champion Showmanship.
Patrick Wallis- Steer Best Arizona Bred Grand Champion Market
Shelby Wood-Goat Best Arizona Bred Grand Champion Market.
John Baker, Peyton Barnes, Baillie Wallace- Lamb Sheering Grand Champions
Georgia Whitehead-Market Goat 1st in Class
And I may have more but I cant remember them all!
-Everyday was so long-they just seemed to go on forever! Each night I went home, I was asleep within 30 minutes of getting home.
- It was over spring break, it would have been nice to have a real break just so I could have relaxed. studied for my biology tests and worked on my portfolio but thats the life of an ag teacher!
-It was a longer week that a school week so I am more tired and worn out now! Can't wait to have Friday off!
-My foot was not a fan of the week, I did a lot of walking and it was too hard with my crutches and a lot of standing so my foot was pretty swollen and hurting all week.
*Fair is definitely not my favorite, but the students love it, and thats why I want to be an ag teacher. It really is for my students.
March 25, 2013
+ Today went surprisingly well for the day back after Spring Break!
+ Started the demonstrations for the Sprinkler project
+Replanted corn in the garden and played a fun game with 4th hour about livestock
- I was having a hard time soldering, I didnt heat up the fitting enough at first so I embarassed myself in front of my students and had to have Mr. Sipes come help me.
-I didn't understand one of my students questions about flux and so Mr. Sipes stepped in and anwsered it which kind of made me look bad and it was no one's fault I just answered it wrong because I didn't know what he was asking.
- I am super nervous about going into the shop with my fifth hour
-I am still exhausted from fair last week and need a break really bad, its going to be a long week!
Cutting Copper to Solder
April 2, 2013
I can't believe it is already April!!!!
+ Today has been a great day overall!
+2nd and 5th hour we worked on assembling our sprinklers, it went really good. I had to explain it a few times but they eventually figured it all out!
+3rd hour we were in the greenhouse for almost all period because the students actually worked today! Mostly because we had a rubric for them to fill out today!
+4th hour we discussed the names of animals and they are starting a poster
+I started training my conduct team today which is exciting, except the part that I have no idea what I am doing
-4th hour was very chatty today, I think it may be time for a new seating chart
-5th hour was obnoxious and loves to say my name about a million times!
-I have tons of pictures of my students but I am lacking on pictures of me teaching so I need to get on that!
April 4, 2013
+Ashley came to evaluate me :) Its always wonderful to see everyone!
+ Students in 2nd and 5th hour organized their binders for a binder check tomorrow
+Students started their last assignment in plumbing, designing a watering system for the animals pens and for the garden beds. Then we move on to Entomology!!
+3rd hour I recieved a couple of newsletters and I am looking forward to getting the rest tomorrow!
+4th hour using food we made the female reproduction system and showed how fertilization happens. The students loved it because it was food and I think they got a lot out of it. Worked great for review! We also talked about gestation a little bit, we finished fast so I had them write review cards so that everytime we have free time they can review for their test because this unit is a lot of information!
+I recieved almost all of their posters, they turned out soooo good! I am so proud of them! They look awesome, I am definnitely going to ask if I can keep them for my classes when I have my won program :)
+Coaching my Conduct of Meetings team is fun but is just more stress with organizing practices and making sure they can come to SLC!
-It is ridiculous how hard it is to get kids to pull weeds, they complain we do not go outside but when we do its like pulling teeth. How do you motivate kids to pull weeds?!?
-It is really hard to get my seniors to do anything, some work on their newsletters, others dont. I have a feeling I will be giving out a lot of zeros tomorrow.
+We finished up parturition for 4th hours livestock unit and started them on their projects.
-3rd hour is so incredibly lazy, they never want to do anything which drives me absolutely nuts
-I am really nervous about teaching the entomology unit; since I never took a class I literally know nothing about insects. I am going to try and take a summer class or something before I start teaching on entomology so I am more prepared.
April 9, 2013
+I came in early today to work with the conduct of meetings team because everyone had aims so we practiced from 7:30-10 until I had to leave for my test.
-Took my professional knowledge test, not very exciting, hope I passed!
April 10, 2013
+ I visited Tricia today, its always fabulous to see her!! It made my week to be able to see her teach! She did such a wonderful job and I know she is going to be a great teacher!
+I came to the FFA meeting after I visited Tricia so I could see the officers get elected; it was a very easy going process which I think attributed to the level of seriousness that the officers take. There is nothing really special about being elected, I wish there was more excitement for it!
April 11, 2013
+The day back after being gone is always rough but it probably went as good as it could have gone.
+2nd hour we did external structures of an insect and I would say it went fairly good based on my previous knowledge. I feel bad because I wish Mr. Sipes could teach the lesson because I know they would get way more from it than with me teaching but I guess that is what happens and I just have to keep working at it.
-My day went downhill after 3rd hour
-4th hour, Mr. Sipes let them be in groups for the assignment when I specifically said individual project so now I am upping the standards for the project which of course makes me feel like the bad guy and I felt really bad but they need to learn work ethic because they become so lazy because he doesn’t make them do anything
-The beginning of 5th hour went fabulous, we reviewed what Mr. Sipes went over with them and then when we started the lesson it went all downhill from there. They wouldn’t stop talking, they were being rude, literally probably one of the worst days I have ever had! I was ready to run out crying thats how bad it was.
April 12, 2013
+Today was fairly easy, 2nd and 5th hour worked on a worksheet about the internal structures of an insect, 3rd hour worked on their newsletter, and 4th hour worked on their livestock unit project.
+Today has been a weird week so I am glad it is over!!
-5th hour was chatty as always and I had to send a student out of the classroom
-3rd hour is lazy and its annoying!!
April 15, 2013
+Today was a fairly good day, not too great but not too bad
+ Talked about life cycles in 2nd and 5th! They thought they incomplete metamorphsis meant the insect was born well basically special needs, I almost died laughing.
+5th hour had some good moments today, I kinda was like you know if you just shut up for five minutes I could give you directsion and then you could talk and they actually listened for once.
+Talked about genetics in my 4th hour, kind of exciting because I have a way fun activity for them on Wednesday!!
-I had to send a student out of 5th hour because we said the f bomb and was being very rude to me. I always have problems with him, he sleeps in class, makes rude comments, and just doesn't care. So I left him outside all period.
-I am afraid for my conduct team, they have worked hard but I don't think hard enough to do good, bless their hearts.
April 16, 2013
District CDE Day!!!
April 17, 2013
+5th hour was so wonderful today, it was literally the best class ever I was so excited and it was just such a great day with them!!
+Other then 5th hour nothing really exciting happened so it was just an ok day.
-4th hour worked on their projects and they were not on task so I made them due at the end of the class period. Its just so frustrating! Students are so lazy!!
-Even though 5th hour was great I had one knuckle head that i had to give lunch detention! He made me so mad, he never wants to sit in his seat, today he smashed a tomato on his head, he left without asking! Ugh!!
April 18, 2013
+Day 2 of Mr. Sipes being gone and overall it went good
+2nd hour was amazing, we had so much fun making their insects! I was so proud of them! One of those wonderful teaching moments that I cherish :)
+3rd hour we went in the greenhouse which is always enjoyable
-5th hour was back to being obnoxious, so frustrating, I sent two kids out, instead of starting their project right away I made them start writing a single spaced paper and after they got on it and knew I was serious I was like put your computers away we are going to do out project. One of my students goes "you do have a soft heart" its true I do, I can't stand to be mean.
-3rd hour was lazy as always, not really a shocker there, but I also found sunflower seeds spit all over the floor, that will be adressed Monday.
-I am not feeling great today, my allergies are really bugging me because all of the windf which makes my days so long!
April 22, 2013
+4th hour learned the 6 essential nutrients and we did a fun word scarmble at the beginning of class for a small interest approach.
+Talked about life cycles of an insects in 2nd and 5th hour, both classes were avergae today.
April 23, 2013
+Brittnie is here to visit!!
+2nd and 5th hour we discussed the economic impact of insects, 2nd hour had so many questions it was ridiculous but they were pertinent so I kept anwsering questions. We also started Silence of the Bees.
+/- 4th hour we discussed disgestion and did a digection lab, the students had a great time with it! Although the negative side was the apples were kind of hard so it didnt work exactly right but they got the point. For the experiment they crushed the apple with a masher and added water (Mouth &Saliva), put the mashed apple down the clear tube into a cup (esophagus), added food coloring to the cup (stomach & stomach acid), dump cup onto sponge so chunky pieces are on top of sponge and juice soaks into sponge (small intestine), put the remaining chunks on a paper towel to soak up the rest of the juice (large intestine), throw all chunks in the trash (Anus & Rectum).
April 24, 2013-
I am not feeling well today so the whole day was just bleh. And since Mr. Sipes has CTE stuff to do so I couldn't take the day off.
+We watched the rest of Silence of the Bees in 2nd and 5th hour, 2nd hour was very captivated by it and took lots of notes and had a ton of questions.
+4th hour we learned the different type of digestive systems and we created a ruminant stomach with play dough!!
-3rd and 5th hour just wanted to mess around today like always
April 25, 2013
+Today was a makeup day for everyone because we were preparing for the banquet!
+Sometimes its ok to give the students a make up day so both you and them can get caught up :)
+Banquet ran so smooth it was incredible! Even though we didn't go home before there was little stress and everything pretty much went as planned.
-The linens were terrible, dirty, holes, and unmatching colors so that was a little annoying! But we figured it all out :)
-They didn't order enough centerpieces so we had to figue out how to arrange them to still look good.
-Banquet is a tiring day!! We didn't get home till 10 and I was absolutely exhausted.
April 26, 2013
Today I evaluated Angelica!! It was so fabulous to see everyone and be back at my old high school. Angelica did such a wonderful job!! I learned a ton when I was there evaluating her and cannot wait for her future in agriculture education.
April 29, 2013
+Today was an average day, nothing out of the ordinary, except I am leaving in 4 days :(
+Tomorrow are presentations for 3rd and 4th hour so I am really excited!!
+I had a student come in for makeup work for the plumbing unit, and I had another one of my students help her and it was so awesome to see jim teaching her how to solder and cut and glue PVC.
-2nd and 5th were both super chatty today, it is hard because I am not really starting anything new so we are reviewing and its just obnoxious how chatty they were.
-There is soooooo much to do before I leave!!!
April 30, 2013
+2nd and 5th hour I presented about their insect collections but it is very difficult to teach when I am not actually giving the assignment.
+Conduct of Meetings practice went pretty well although I am nervous about leaving them
+I had a student come in to make up the plumbing assignment because she was in Europe, she finally finished her project and was super excited!
-3rd hour was super unprepared for their presentations and I had no idea what to do so I asked Mr. Sipes and he gave them a lecture about it because they havent had to do any curriculum all year and now that they do they are being so lazy its ridiculous. Everyday they dont present its 25 points off the final project.
May 1, 2013
Can you believe it's May 1st?!?!? It has gone by so fast, seriously where has the time gone!
+2nd hour I just play categories and a leadership stepping stones game which were pretty fun!
+3rd hour some of the students presented their final project, but not all so that is kind of a negative too.
+4th hour we finished presentations and then played cvategories and the stepping stones game. They were ABSOLUTELY hilarious!!
-5th hour, oh 5th hour, well by that you can probably tell we did not do anything fun. They couldn't even stand in the groups that I assigned them so we did book work instead. SO now I have more to grade :( And it makes me sad to have to do book work when I would way rather watch them have fun!
-Conduct was a not so great day today, I am really starting to worrry
My last days!!!
I cannot believe I am done, my students are so sweet and gave me some very cute things! I am going to miss them so much, I never realized how much I would actually love teaching and now I know I definitely picked the career for me! The last two days we played with playdough, hot lava game, some undo arm games, and of course party with lots and lots of junk food! They surprised me with so much and I am so blessed to have such a wonderful experience at Casa Grande High School!!
+ Today has been a pretty good day, I had everything planned and ready to go before school and was all ready to teach before first hour!
+ Reviewed Osmosis and Diffusion with the sophomore class, they definitely enjoy doing the science portions if its hands on.
+5th hour was excellent today, they actually did their work and were quiet.
+Had one of my students take pictures today for me, hilarious seeing what I get back
+/- Mr. Sipes went home sick today which made me a little weary but it actually went really good. I had no problems and everything went really smooth.
-I have some students complaining about grades still but I am still going to be same and fair to everyone. If you deserve an A you will get an A.
-Testing for FFA is really hard when you have some students testing and others not, it would be better to do it after school with everyone instead of every class period.
-Had my first student smoking weed in the bathroom and had to go through incident report. I was all nervous and shaking because I felt bad but I knew I had to turn them in. What a day it has turned out to be!
Looking the the process of diffusion using food dye. Simple but always amazes the students!
I am teaching about seeds! We are growing corn, pinto beans and lima beans in petri dishes. And this next picture is two of my students, this is what happens when you give them the camera :)
+ My second hour was wonderful! They learned about texturing soils and were so excited to be able to go outside and texture. We went into the river bed which is on campus and then down to the garden to texture the different soils. It was good to get them outside and not just sitting in the class. I love being able to do fun things with my students, even if its as simple as going outside.
+I helped 4th hour in the greenhouse because Mr. Sipes had stuff to do in the office.
+I am enjoying being at school, getting to know my students better. They say hi to me in the hallways and come to talk to me. Even with the negatives, I am still loving teaching.
-I didnt get to teach fourth hour because we had some stuff to do for FFA Career Development Events, my students had to take tests. So my flower kesson is moved to tomorrow!
- My 5th hour was awful. Probably the worst day yet. They are just continuing to be rude, obnoxious, and disrespectful to everyone in the class. Instead of going outside to texture soils they received a pop quiz for the rest of the hour. I hate being the mean teacher but I can't have students like that outside doing fun stuff when they cant control themselves properly. Tomorrow they are getting a new seating chart.
-I had a student attempt to steal play dough, I caught the student took the play dough away and then some students came up to me after class to tell me he took it again. Mr. Sipes took care of it. But really of all things to steal, playdough?!?
Febuary 8,2013
Its another Friday!!! Finally!
+5th hour actually went good today! Yahoo! We had a little trouble at the start but when we got into it, we went outside and textured and it went really well!
+ I had some one on one time with three of my students that really needed time to talk with me because they are students that have failing grades purely because they are lazy and dont do their work. I talked to them today and tried talking to them it is important to pass their classes and all they have to do in my class is participate. I mean I give them everything they just have to fill information in and participate. It is my goal to get them to at least pass the class and start giving some effort!
+My students that are learning soils are bringing in their soils projects Monday and my Plant Science students are bringing in flowers they made. I am really excited to see how they turned out, or if they actually remember.
-My flowers lesson went awful, I am not sure why but I think I had the wrong lesson plan printed out because I was confused with my lesson so I confused them which made class kind of a disaster. But we will review flowers again so everything is clear!
-You can only texture soils so long before it gets boring. So we were finished really fast. I am going to do some filler lessons because I will have free time.
February 11, 2013
I am learning quickly that students notice every little detail about you, I wore new boots that I have not worn to school and I must have been asked twenty times if I had gotten new boots. It just made me laugh!
+ Today has been an overall great day! Nothing went horrible today and everything is progressing forward fantastic!
+6th hour was actually really good today, we determined the plasticity and stickiness of a soil today. They all worked well and my students that don't normally participate were actually participating! I am getting there, I am going to have them start coming in during reteach which is basically study hall to help them get their work caught up.
+During fourth hour we watched a video called Silence of the Bees. It is a very interesting video that teaches about pollination, bees, population, agriculture and the declining bee population. If you would like to watch just type in Silence of the Bees on YouTube. They are going to write a response paper about the video tomorrow in class.
+We forgot to grab the copied bellwork sheets out of Mr. Sipes mailbox so I ran put. It was hilarious how used to bellwork the students are because when they didn't have a bellwork sheet it was a huge fiasco. But we got it fixed five minutes into class and it was dandy!
-There was no real negatives today, the day went by fast, the only thing I would say is during soils it is very difficult to texture or determine plasticity of a soil for 55 minutes. Somehow I need to put in more activities for those so that the students are not bored. Although today was the first day students did not completely work until the bell rang.
-Not many students turned in their soil profiles or flowers today so I extended the date, I am a little disappointed but I am willing to be flexible. Those that turned them in today got 10 points extra credit.
February 12, 2013
+Today has been a relatively good day!
+ Learning how to determine soil color and what each thing (hue, valu, chroma) meant went relatively well! Since I only had to do two Munsell Color Books we had to do a rotation of groups so I had to watch students in two areas but they did really good!
+My fourth hour plant science class did their essays (three paragraphs) on the Silence of the Bees, they look at me crazy because I am making them write! "This s not English class" My response, well we are going to learn and use proper formatting as if it was. We are going to reinforce all of it. You would think I was crazy! MLA format, seriously who has not heard of that?!? I feel like I am teaching math, science, english and agriculure!! Which is what we are suppose to do but it cracks me up when students say this is ag class...and what exactly does that mean to you?
+I am coaching Agronomy and the powerpoints were driving me crazy so I fixed those finally!
-Long day, I have just had a lot to catch up on so I stayed really late(6pm) but I felt that it was necessary for my students to be successful
-I have quite a few failing students; some because they are purely lazy otherwises don't care and some just don't turn their work in! So I printed off grade reports for those students today and highlighted each missing assignment and am planning on having a special meeting with them. It drives me bonkers when I know students can at least pass but they are just too lazy! I know I am going out of my way but I care that they succeed so I will do what I have to.
February 13, 2013
+ Today was a pretty relaxed day, all of my students were working on individual assignments.
+2nd and 5th hour researched about organisms in the soil. Each pair had an organism in which they wrote information about and their effects on soil in a folder. After everyone was finished the folders traveled around the classroom where each student wrote down facts from the rest of the class. Overall I think the activity went well but they did not finish.
+One of the slacker students is continuing to participate!
-I tried to do a fun activity with my students and they just didnt care to pay attention at all so I had them go inside and research the information about a cell instead.
-I graded 4th hours essays on Silence of the Bees, they finished really fast but the work was not quality so I am going to give them a chance to redo them for a better grade.
-Some of my students are not using class time wisely. It is hard when 85% of the class is focused and doing what they are supposed to while I have a couple students not wanting to do anything.
February 14, 2013
As a teacher I hate Valentines Day, such a distraction for all students. They are continuously talking about their valentines, what they got, who got it for them, what it said, ahhhhhhhhh! Not to mention all the balloons, stuffed animals, and pointless trinkets that student recieve.
+Students finished projects today-finished the filing folders, gave time to redo essay.
+Helping the Agronomy team is going fantastic! I hope they do great tomorrow!!
-Everyone was distracted by valentines day, it was just an off day.
-I had 4 students turn in leaf projects after having two weeks to complete which is so frustrating. Not many turned in flower projects as well! So frustrating!!
February 15, 2013
CDE Day!!
+It was a fantastic day! Seeing the student compete after working with them for a couple weeks was awesome! The agronomy and soils teams that I coached both got first! Yay! But we still have a lot of work to do before state competiton.
+I helped Mr. Sipes run the Agriculture Mechanics CDE; we had taken lots of hours to put together the district contest so it was great to see them participating in the contest. I was in charge of problem solving which is generally one of the hardest parts of the competition.
-Definitely a task keeping track of 40ish students all day making sure they do not leave campus.
-Back at school the substitute could not get the DVD to work so the students had free period which I am not a fan of but it all worked out!
Soils-1st place!
Agronomy Team B
Nursery Landscape-1st Place
Livestock Judging Team B-3rd place!
Ag Mechanics Team B- 2nd Place!
Ag Mechanics Team A- 1st place!
Entomology
Livestock Judging Team A
February 19, 2013Happy National FFA Week!!
+Today was greenhand day so everyone wore green to support the greenhands :) They also put their hand prints on the sign and got a green cupcake!
+One of my students gave me a handmade lotuc flower! It is really cool and so sweet of him!
+In fourth hour we looked at our seeds and how much they grew in a week, it was actually interesting. Than they made observations of each others and compared them, Some of the seeds rotted which was disgusting but the ones that grew really good the students could label the parts that we had discussed. Than we moved on to plant classification.
-Taking students out of class for FFA week activities is very distracting! But it is kind of what you have to expect as an ag teacher.
-I made a mistake on grades for my 5th hour and put their extra credit in as actual points instead of extra and it really affected their grades which made them come in and freak out. But after we got that solved everyone was okay. Although I still have a couple failing students whgich really bothers me but I am doing everything in my power to make them not fail but they are just not getting it. I will continue to do what I can but I refuse to hand out A's.
Students enjoying their cupcakes while taking soil erosion notes.
February 20, 2013
+I attended my first FFA meeting, unfortunately because of the storm we couldn't do much. But we did have a BBQ with hamburgers and hotdogs.
+2nd and 5th hour learned about soil erosion which wrapped up our soil unit into the project we are starting Friday.
+4th hour we learned about Dichotomous Keys which went surprisingly good, they were distracted but still did their work and did a really good job. They asked if they could make more, so they understand what they are doing and enjoyed it.
-A huge storm rolled in which is always distracting to students because in Arizona we dont get that much of a weather change and when we got flurries of snow it was like the world was ending.
-4th hour has been really distracted lately, I am not sure what is going on but I am working on focusing their attention better.
February 21, 2013
+4th hour we discussed Photosynthesis, they watched an interactive animation video on their computer and had a worksheet to go along with it. I also had some aha moments when we were discussing the equation and went over the elements and what they made up which was really awesome for me!
+2nd and 5th hour we started our soil filters which I have been excited to do the whole semester!
+I particpated in their Redneck Olympics which was hilarious! We spit sunflowers seeds into a bucket and did cart races, my knee was definitely hurting after I weaved a garden cart in and out of cones. But the students were ecstatic I did the relay with them :)
+Made it in the paper!! Read the article here :) http://www.trivalleycentral.com/casa_grande_dispatch/area_news/student-teacher-looks-forward-to-having-own-classroom/article_56adecf8-7c42-11e2-9fd1-001a4bcf887a.html
-My directions on the JOS were a little different than I wanted to do in class so I need to change that for future lessons.
-I had a student stab his hand with scissors and had to go to the hospital for liquid stitches. Definitely a first! And probably won't be the last!! It made me laugh because he was a student I would least expect to do this, he is a really good student but it was just an accident.
+Today was evaluation day! So I had the chance to see Dr. Knight which is always wonderful!!
+2nd hour was wonderful today, they were ready and on task to continue their soils projects. Today they textured, determined the stickiness and plasticity of their soils. They found as much as possible a sand, silt, and clay to put in each layer of their water bottles. This is what I love about 2nd hour if you give them directions for the most part all of them are ready to go and willing to work!
+Overall the day was a good one, Dr. Knight gave a me a good evaluation so I was pleased :)
-4th hour they learned about respiration, unfortunately the experiment did not work as well as it should have until the class is over so we will have to do that again on Tuesday. We were looking at how much each substance blew up the ballon but the yeast was not very fast and the balloons blew up after class and looked perfect at the end of the day.
-5th hour was pretty crazy today, although its a typical day, they just didn't want to work on their soil projects and were all over the place. I have a lot of males in this class so they are all trying to be the Alpha male but sometimes it just gets obnoxious.
February 25, 2013
Aims Day!
+I had time to schedule all my tests and finish all more homework for the week!
+Only taught 2nd hour today which went good, we just started running our colors through our soil filters. Although they take longer than expected to filter through when the students see them actually working its really awesome!
-There was nothing really to work on today because I only had one low-key class.
February 26, 2013
Aims Day Again!
+ I had time to clean up the classroom today which was nice but I felt like I barely made a dent in the cleaning but at least some of the important areas got cleaned!
+ 4th hour we watched the Bee Movie because they are my sophomores and had aims. Nothing would have been accomplished anyways and we have been talking about pollination so it was a perfect movie!
+5th hour we worked on our soil filters and everything went pretty smooth :)
February 27, 2013
+No more aims and back to a normal schedule!!
+2nd hour we worked through our soil filter. I had them redo texturing in order to fix their grades. For some reason even though we go over it before they still don't want to use their notes to texture.
+Soil team had practice after school and then I had time to finish up my sub plans and everythhing for Friday.
-We started reproduction in 4th hour and I think I need to do a better job at going over it because for some reason it was not clear. I think some of my lesson plans got confused so part of it was random information.
Febrauary 28, 2013
+Finished our soil filter projects in 2nd and 5th hour, some students were done faster than others and some got more out of it than others.
+Gave my agronomy team a pre-test, they did pretty good overall so I hope they do really good tomorrow!!
+I got to spend time and sit down with one of my students that really struggles in class, he is in special education and normally is in la-la land but he really likes the soil projects and hands on. Through this I have been able to connect with him and we even finished his project and questions today which made me super excited!!
-My 5th hour is so high strung, I always have to be on my toes. I feel like I need to glue them to their seats all the time, they drive me nuts but I still love them when they actually do their work.
-For some reason is just feels like a really long day!!!!!
February 29, 2013
CDE Day!!!!
+What a great day so very proud of all of my students!!!
-What a long day for a student teacher!!
2nd place: Ag Mechanics, Horse Judging, Soils,
4th Place: Agronomy
Other: Livestock Judging, Nursery Landscape
March 4, 2013
+Today was definitely a test of my teaching, Mr. Sipes was completely gone on a trip so I was all alone, especially after coming back when we were not here on Friday was interesting.
+The day went pretty smooth; 1st hour we actually cleaned the shop, 2nd hour we started plumbing and did an awesome water relay that the students really enjoyed, 3rd hour we harvested tomatoes, 4th hour went over worksheet from Friday and started Nutrients, 5th hour...well we will discuss that later.
+ I was so happy that 2nd hour had so much fun with the water relay, all they were doing was taking water from one bucket to another with broken cups, spoons, and plates and had to strategize as a team how to do it.
-4th hour got a report from the substitute that they did not do their work on Friday so I was a little upset and told them it was not acceptable and they need to finish their work and turn it in. They were pretty quite the rest of the hour because they knew I was upset that their class got a bad report of all of them.
-5th hour, well we went to do the relay and they decided that they were going to mess around not listen to directions and throw water everywhere so we came in and did notes. Lately they have been so rambuncious I dont know what to do with them.
March 5, 2013
+Started plumbing identification. The students caught on quick and it went really well, they even had a pop quiz they did really good on.
+I am excited to start Ag Communications with the junior and seniors tomorrow, Mr. Sipes just told me I was going to be teaching them!
-4th hour did not use their time wisely in class for their nutrient know books so I told them they were homework, they were not happy to say the least. I also gave them a dichotomous key quiz whihc should have been easy points and instead of thinking it through they just decided to not do it, which for me is frustrating because they all know how to make them and did them great before, they are just being lazy.
-5th hour has been getting worse, they do not listen and are just being obnoxious. Mr. Sipes and I are going to have a discussion about it tomorrow.
March 6, 2013
+We went over basic measuring in 2nd and 5th hour, it was hilarious to see them all over the shop measuring everything. I think they actually enjoyed it. The best part is when they would come up to me and ask if they could measure my height.
+ 3rd hour went fabulous today, we went over different types of communication with file folders and we had fun with it! I am excited to see what they do their projects on.
+4th hour I changed their seating arrangments and I am hoping this is going to help with the problem of not being on task.
+Mr. Sipes and I had a discipline discussion that if I need to start pulling students out, putting them in the shp or in his office to just sit and think than I need to start doing it because they are ridiculous. But he reassured me it was ok, he had the same problem with them, there are just a couple of them that create problems for the rest of the class.
+Pig Inspection Day!
-4th hour we talked about NPK calculation, I kept going over it and they were so "I don't care" that they werent actually paying attention to get it done or understand it so I am giving them a review worksheet tomorrow.
-5th hour I had to send a student out in the shop, he is a continuous problem so today I had it and told him to go in the shop, everyone was shocked and I think it worked because after I brought him back in he did not say one word to anyone.
March 7, 2013
+ I gave the students extra credit and time to do make up work. This made a ton of them happy and made me happy because they were diligently working.
+ We discussed memo's in 3rd hour, the students picked their research topic and are starting their projects
+2nd and 5th hour made safety posters!
-Had to discuss grades with all the students today, not a fun topic for a teacher
-Stayed late to work on everything for next week when I am gone. It makes me so nervous to leave
March 8, 2013
+ Today we discussed types of plumbing in 2nd and 5th hour, the students made a brochure on the information by creating a company that sells pipe, some of the brochures are very creatives.
+4th hour we talked about IPM and gave them time to do make up work
-I am really disappointed in my students grade, it just amazes me the lack of work these students are willing to put into their classes. I rarely give homework, everything I grade they do is mostly in class and I still have more F's than I would like to see.
-5th hour was talking so much today, Mr. Sipes came in and talked to them because he couldnt handle it and they were not listening.
- I am so nervous to leave for two days!!
March 11, 2013 & March 12, 2013
At the University of Arizona with my wonderful cohorts for a mid-semester seminar although it was nice seeing everyone I was not a fan of not teaching!
March 13, 2013
+Tricia came to visit me today!!! Yay! Yay! I sure do miss her.
+ Mr. Sipes gave me the fastest lesson in plumbing fittings in my entire life. Since we did not learn all of them teaching them, well a little difficult. But Mr. Sipes helped me and I remembered them in front of my students except for the sizes but thats ok! I was just worried about name, FIPT, MIPT, Slip, Material and that was occupying my brain enough!
+ I talked to all my students about grades and hopefully we are going to get some assignments turned in tomorrow to get those darn grades up!!!
+5th hour was actually good today, I did not leave frustrated and I was actually surprised how much they behaved, in saying this don't get me wrong they were not perfect but for them it was a miracle! And Tricia thought I was crazy that was a good day!
+Parent Teacher Conferences meant staying until 7pm at the school but I got a delicious teacher dinner out of it and lots of great things that students say to their parents. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to meet a couple parents and have them tell me that their son/daughter is their favorite class and they enjoy it so much! Definitely made my night!!
- My review powerpoint in fourth hour was a mess, at first it wasn't on my jump drive than I had to get it off my computer, then it didnt work right! Ugh so frustrating! So I kept having to go into the office to try and get all the materials to do the review anyways. It turned out okay but it was not as fun with me reading the questions as playing a game.
March 14, 2013
+2nd and 5th hour took a quiz over plumbing parts today and did exceptionally well!!
+Lots of students turned in work, which made me very happy so I could help them bring their grades up a little bit.
+ I edited the whole National Chapter Application which was great for me to do my part in helping as a student teacher and they even put a picture of me in it for quality assurance :)
-/+ My 4th hour had their plant science unit exam, I am really disappointed in some of my students and happy for my other ones. It frustrates me how hard I work to make the test as easy as possible for them, not tricks in the questions they are all straight forward and off the quizzes and I still had students fail! I had some do great and others completely fail! So frustrating! It was not suppose to hurt their grade at all! And they could use their notes!
-Lots and lots and lots of grading!! I am trying to stay on top of grading which actually I think I am quite good at but now that it is the end of the quarter students are trying to get as much work in so they do not have bad grades. Kinda crazy aroun here!!
March 15, 2013
+It is crazy to think I have 56 days till I graduate, but who is counting! And only 48 days left at Casa Grande!!
+ Today was surprisingly a good day for being the day before spring break!!
+I came up with a plumbing cost lesson on a whim 1st hour for 2nd and 5th hour. It turned out really good and I was pleased with the results. It is amazing how simple it is to calcualte something by unit and price but how hard students make it!!
+3rd hour we cleaned the classroom and the shop, much needed but it could be done for a couple more days until it is fully cleaned! And my silly girls delivered stuff and decided to pull each other back on the cart :)
+ 4th hour we went to the garden and planted corn :) The were super on task today, I was astonished and than we came back in and it went downhill. I gave them the opportunity to redo their test for more points and they did only a couple. They can never say that I didn't give them a chance to succeed and I can not be hard on myself for the grades.
+I am realizing that we(teachers) can only do so much to help our students, you can lead them to water but you can't force them to drink as Mr. Sipes says!
-I had to pull a student out of 5th hour again, he is refusing to do work and always is interupting the rest of the class. Its crazy how I can pull him out the class and they get their work done. And if I have to I will pull him out everyday until he decides to do his work.
Spring Break- March 18-22nd
AKA Fair Week!
What a long week it was! Fair is just exhausting, being there all day walking around by the time I got home I was ready to lay down and pass out! But it was a really neat experience; since I only showed poultry and one large livestock animal, my goat Opie, I have never really been around fair all week! Man O' Mighty what an experience! Literally I had no idea these kids volumize their animals "push their hair up" and paint them to make them look blacker and all this craziness! I was in awe of all the preparation these people go through for one animal and maybe Maricopa does it differently, I remember kids washing their animals but never putting glue in their hair to volumize it and than paint it to make it look darker! Basically everyday I was at fair walking around, watching the shows, learning and helping out when I could. It was a very long week with many ups and downs, which I will get to in the normal format but I wanted to do a little overview first. Instaed of doing day by day I will just do it for the whole week!
+I loved seeing my students, even though it was spring break, most of the ones that were showing were always positive and excited to see me! I loved when my students when come by and say Hi Miss. Taylor and just talk for a few minutes before they had to go do fair stuff. It really just made my day to see my students and that they would talk to me outside of school.
+ Seeing my students show was so exciting! I saw every single class of every single animal so I had the opportunity to watch all of my students!
+ I learned a TON about showing; how to prepare an animal, clip an animal, show an animal, what the judges look for, etc.
+The judges were great about explaining their reasoning behind all the students placings which gave me the opportunity to learn more about hat judges look for and how to help my students.
+I judged round robin, which was so much fun! Being in the ring, asking students questions, and seeing the best of the best show was just fabulous! Round Robin, for those of you who don't know is where all the students who win Showmanship on their animal compete with all the other winners and show all of the animals, so you basically have to be the master showman to win this!
+I met lots of people; talked to lots of parents, sponsors, and supporters!
-My first day, they were shearing Veal calves which we dont have in Maricopa, a guy asked me if I could shear his Veal, and I said "I have never sheared a Veal before" and he replied with "What kind of Ag Teacher are you?" and walked off. I was absolutely shocked to hear someone say that, I wish I had the chance to reply but unfortunately I didn't. I dont know everything, I am only one person and still learning everything I can, I am a student teacher and am here to learn everything I possibly can. I would have loved if he took the opportunity to teach me but thats for another day!
+I was a spotter for the auction which is kind of a big job and was exciting because I was right next to my stduents selling their animal but that was a long time to be on my foot!
+My students did great!
Preston Sipes-Steer Grand Champion Showmanship.
Patrick Wallis- Steer Best Arizona Bred Grand Champion Market
Shelby Wood-Goat Best Arizona Bred Grand Champion Market.
John Baker, Peyton Barnes, Baillie Wallace- Lamb Sheering Grand Champions
Georgia Whitehead-Market Goat 1st in Class
And I may have more but I cant remember them all!
-Everyday was so long-they just seemed to go on forever! Each night I went home, I was asleep within 30 minutes of getting home.
- It was over spring break, it would have been nice to have a real break just so I could have relaxed. studied for my biology tests and worked on my portfolio but thats the life of an ag teacher!
-It was a longer week that a school week so I am more tired and worn out now! Can't wait to have Friday off!
-My foot was not a fan of the week, I did a lot of walking and it was too hard with my crutches and a lot of standing so my foot was pretty swollen and hurting all week.
*Fair is definitely not my favorite, but the students love it, and thats why I want to be an ag teacher. It really is for my students.
March 25, 2013
+ Today went surprisingly well for the day back after Spring Break!
+ Started the demonstrations for the Sprinkler project
+Replanted corn in the garden and played a fun game with 4th hour about livestock
- I was having a hard time soldering, I didnt heat up the fitting enough at first so I embarassed myself in front of my students and had to have Mr. Sipes come help me.
-I didn't understand one of my students questions about flux and so Mr. Sipes stepped in and anwsered it which kind of made me look bad and it was no one's fault I just answered it wrong because I didn't know what he was asking.
- I am super nervous about going into the shop with my fifth hour
-I am still exhausted from fair last week and need a break really bad, its going to be a long week!
March 26, 2013
+Dr. Knight was visitng from UA!! Its always so lovely to see him :)
+Started the sprinkler rotations today! I would say they were definitely successful in both 2nd and 5th hour! The roations were Cutting Copper, Soldering Copper, and Cutting & Gluing PVC. I had everything ready in buckets when they got to their stations so they did not have to worry about collecting material or anything which worked great
+ Started female reproduction today with my sophomores which I was a little nervous about but it went really good, they asked silly questions but they were still on topic and interested.
+Introduced the newsletter to the senior class for their ag communications unit, we will see if they do them correctly!
-Computers here stink and we have nothing but problems! It is hard to get the kids on computers when they are always broken.
-I forgot my jumpdrive at home so I had to find it on my computer and redownload it to a new jumpdrive, but I saved myself because I had a word search printed out for the students to do which bought me time. Learning moment: have related items ready if you need to buy more time.
- Some of the tools have been broken so now we have less tools for the students to use so everything takes longer.
-Markers disappear, even if I collect them, they disappear I need to figure out a system so they dont disappear!
Cutting and Gluing PVC for their sprinkler!
Soldering :)
Cutting Copper to Solder
March 27, 2013
+ Today was a continuation day, 2nd and 5th hour went to their second rotation. 2nd hour was as smoot as yesterday but 5th hour way not as smooth, unfortunately.
+Continued the female reproductive system by discussing the estrous cycles and makes diagrams. Than started the male reproductive system of a bull.
+Picked out my Conduct team and we start next weel :)
- My Ag communications class never wants to do anything! They procrastinate so bad and do nothing during class but its hard to change it when that is what they are used to. Lesson: if you dont want the students to not be productive never give them nothing to do otherwise they will always not use their time wisely.
-5th hour was not on task at all, they were all over the place, acted like they did not know what was going on. Ahhh they drove me crazy again!
-Just an exhausting day!
March 28, 2013
+ Today was a really good day!
+ 2nd hour was so helpful, the students that were done with the stations were so helpful during class! I barely had to do anything, it was lovely! Plus it helps them learn better :)
+ 4th hour we finished male reproduction pretty fast so I had the students who had been absent catch up on work and took the rest of my students to outside of the shop to do some fun activities, which they needed because they had an incredible amount of energy today! But they had a great time, I love doing fun random stuff with them :)
-5th hour was crazy! Everyone acted like they had no idea what was going on even though I had helpers, they kept saying my name a million times, they were banging the copper so hard it wasn't fitting in the pipes I was just up to my nose in frustration when class was over.
April 2, 2013
I can't believe it is already April!!!!
+ Today has been a great day overall!
+2nd and 5th hour we worked on assembling our sprinklers, it went really good. I had to explain it a few times but they eventually figured it all out!
+3rd hour we were in the greenhouse for almost all period because the students actually worked today! Mostly because we had a rubric for them to fill out today!
+4th hour we discussed the names of animals and they are starting a poster
+I started training my conduct team today which is exciting, except the part that I have no idea what I am doing
-4th hour was very chatty today, I think it may be time for a new seating chart
-5th hour was obnoxious and loves to say my name about a million times!
-I have tons of pictures of my students but I am lacking on pictures of me teaching so I need to get on that!
April 3, 2013
+Today was an average day, I am on steroids for my foot so everything seems to be more challenging because my brain feels fuzzy but today was definitely better than yesterday with how I felt.
+We finished testing 2nd and 5th hours sprinklers, most of their sprinklers turned out really good and didnt leak so yay!
+ 3rd hour actually worked on their newsletters today, I think the realized how much they actually had to do and how much they procrastinated it. But I am thinking about extending the deadline just one day so they can put the final touches on them.
+4th hour made their posters for animal names and information about them, half of them did them way good! But I only had two turn stuff in but a couple of them brought everything in and were ready to go, that made me really proud compared to what happened last time.
+ I am really excited about coaching the Conduct team, even though it is going to be difficult I have a really good group of kids that I hope are going to come to practice and do really well!!
+Went to the boys and girls softball games! It was hilarious having them all say hi to me, even the kids who act like they don't like ag said hi to me. Plus they were excited I was there!
-The other half of fourth hour baaically pretended to work all hour and got nothing accomplished than wanted to come in for advisory but I told them absolutely not, they did not work during 4th hour I am not going to babysit during advisory so they get nothing done.
- 5th hour seriously just cant be respectful, they loose their papers blame it on me, can't find their sprinklers so they throw other poeples away because they are mad. Its just getting ridiculous. They don't listen to directions. I am at my wits end. No more fun anything is what I am going to have to start doing.
-I have no idea what I am doing tomorrow, it has been so crazy lately I haven't really had time to sit down and look at my lesson plans to plan out the rest of my couple weeks which is frustrating for me!
+Ashley came to evaluate me :) Its always wonderful to see everyone!
+ Students in 2nd and 5th hour organized their binders for a binder check tomorrow
+Students started their last assignment in plumbing, designing a watering system for the animals pens and for the garden beds. Then we move on to Entomology!!
+3rd hour I recieved a couple of newsletters and I am looking forward to getting the rest tomorrow!
+4th hour using food we made the female reproduction system and showed how fertilization happens. The students loved it because it was food and I think they got a lot out of it. Worked great for review! We also talked about gestation a little bit, we finished fast so I had them write review cards so that everytime we have free time they can review for their test because this unit is a lot of information!
+I recieved almost all of their posters, they turned out soooo good! I am so proud of them! They look awesome, I am definnitely going to ask if I can keep them for my classes when I have my won program :)
+Coaching my Conduct of Meetings team is fun but is just more stress with organizing practices and making sure they can come to SLC!
-It is ridiculous how hard it is to get kids to pull weeds, they complain we do not go outside but when we do its like pulling teeth. How do you motivate kids to pull weeds?!?
-It is really hard to get my seniors to do anything, some work on their newsletters, others dont. I have a feeling I will be giving out a lot of zeros tomorrow.
April 5, 2013
+Today was a pretty basic day. I felt like an ordinary day because all of my classes were finishing up worksheets and projects.
+Simple, relaxing, good to have a day where I do not have to lecture or do a million things!
+The kids were so excited to take home their sprinklers!!
+Have been going to the boys baseball games so its fun to talk to them about their game, I tease one of my students who I normally have issues with staying in his seat that he pitches better then he know how to sit in his seat. kind of makes it fun for me to joke with them, I think going to their games is actually making my life easier because they are seeing I do care about them outside of ag.
+It is amazing when one or two obnoxious students are absent the whole demographics of the class change.
-Some students never turned in their evaluations for their sprinkler so they couldn't take them home.
-3rd hour out of 25 I had about six turn in newsletters and they were definitely not quality which makes me upset that I have given them so much time in class to finish them.
-Having sites blocked is really annoying, my students were trying to look up information about animal artificial insemination and everything was blocked. Somewhat annoying.
-Not looking forward to next week! Its going to be a crazy week because I am out two days for my test and visiting Tricia, we have officer elections, a chapter meetings, ahhhhhh and I am getting my team ready for district! Ahhhhh!!!!!!!!!!
April 8, 2012
+ Today I started my entomology unit with 2nd and 5th hour, it was nice to start a new unit but this one shall be interesting.+We finished up parturition for 4th hours livestock unit and started them on their projects.
-3rd hour is so incredibly lazy, they never want to do anything which drives me absolutely nuts
-I am really nervous about teaching the entomology unit; since I never took a class I literally know nothing about insects. I am going to try and take a summer class or something before I start teaching on entomology so I am more prepared.
April 9, 2013
+I came in early today to work with the conduct of meetings team because everyone had aims so we practiced from 7:30-10 until I had to leave for my test.
-Took my professional knowledge test, not very exciting, hope I passed!
April 10, 2013
+ I visited Tricia today, its always fabulous to see her!! It made my week to be able to see her teach! She did such a wonderful job and I know she is going to be a great teacher!
+I came to the FFA meeting after I visited Tricia so I could see the officers get elected; it was a very easy going process which I think attributed to the level of seriousness that the officers take. There is nothing really special about being elected, I wish there was more excitement for it!
April 11, 2013
+The day back after being gone is always rough but it probably went as good as it could have gone.
+2nd hour we did external structures of an insect and I would say it went fairly good based on my previous knowledge. I feel bad because I wish Mr. Sipes could teach the lesson because I know they would get way more from it than with me teaching but I guess that is what happens and I just have to keep working at it.
-My day went downhill after 3rd hour
-4th hour, Mr. Sipes let them be in groups for the assignment when I specifically said individual project so now I am upping the standards for the project which of course makes me feel like the bad guy and I felt really bad but they need to learn work ethic because they become so lazy because he doesn’t make them do anything
-The beginning of 5th hour went fabulous, we reviewed what Mr. Sipes went over with them and then when we started the lesson it went all downhill from there. They wouldn’t stop talking, they were being rude, literally probably one of the worst days I have ever had! I was ready to run out crying thats how bad it was.
April 12, 2013
+Today was fairly easy, 2nd and 5th hour worked on a worksheet about the internal structures of an insect, 3rd hour worked on their newsletter, and 4th hour worked on their livestock unit project.
+Today has been a weird week so I am glad it is over!!
-5th hour was chatty as always and I had to send a student out of the classroom
-3rd hour is lazy and its annoying!!
April 15, 2013
+Today was a fairly good day, not too great but not too bad
+ Talked about life cycles in 2nd and 5th! They thought they incomplete metamorphsis meant the insect was born well basically special needs, I almost died laughing.
+5th hour had some good moments today, I kinda was like you know if you just shut up for five minutes I could give you directsion and then you could talk and they actually listened for once.
+Talked about genetics in my 4th hour, kind of exciting because I have a way fun activity for them on Wednesday!!
-I had to send a student out of 5th hour because we said the f bomb and was being very rude to me. I always have problems with him, he sleeps in class, makes rude comments, and just doesn't care. So I left him outside all period.
-I am afraid for my conduct team, they have worked hard but I don't think hard enough to do good, bless their hearts.
April 16, 2013
District CDE Day!!!
April 17, 2013
+5th hour was so wonderful today, it was literally the best class ever I was so excited and it was just such a great day with them!!
+Other then 5th hour nothing really exciting happened so it was just an ok day.
-4th hour worked on their projects and they were not on task so I made them due at the end of the class period. Its just so frustrating! Students are so lazy!!
-Even though 5th hour was great I had one knuckle head that i had to give lunch detention! He made me so mad, he never wants to sit in his seat, today he smashed a tomato on his head, he left without asking! Ugh!!
April 18, 2013
+Day 2 of Mr. Sipes being gone and overall it went good
+2nd hour was amazing, we had so much fun making their insects! I was so proud of them! One of those wonderful teaching moments that I cherish :)
+3rd hour we went in the greenhouse which is always enjoyable
-5th hour was back to being obnoxious, so frustrating, I sent two kids out, instead of starting their project right away I made them start writing a single spaced paper and after they got on it and knew I was serious I was like put your computers away we are going to do out project. One of my students goes "you do have a soft heart" its true I do, I can't stand to be mean.
-3rd hour was lazy as always, not really a shocker there, but I also found sunflower seeds spit all over the floor, that will be adressed Monday.
-I am not feeling great today, my allergies are really bugging me because all of the windf which makes my days so long!
April 22, 2013
+4th hour learned the 6 essential nutrients and we did a fun word scarmble at the beginning of class for a small interest approach.
+Talked about life cycles of an insects in 2nd and 5th hour, both classes were avergae today.
April 23, 2013
+Brittnie is here to visit!!
+2nd and 5th hour we discussed the economic impact of insects, 2nd hour had so many questions it was ridiculous but they were pertinent so I kept anwsering questions. We also started Silence of the Bees.
+/- 4th hour we discussed disgestion and did a digection lab, the students had a great time with it! Although the negative side was the apples were kind of hard so it didnt work exactly right but they got the point. For the experiment they crushed the apple with a masher and added water (Mouth &Saliva), put the mashed apple down the clear tube into a cup (esophagus), added food coloring to the cup (stomach & stomach acid), dump cup onto sponge so chunky pieces are on top of sponge and juice soaks into sponge (small intestine), put the remaining chunks on a paper towel to soak up the rest of the juice (large intestine), throw all chunks in the trash (Anus & Rectum).
April 24, 2013-
I am not feeling well today so the whole day was just bleh. And since Mr. Sipes has CTE stuff to do so I couldn't take the day off.
+We watched the rest of Silence of the Bees in 2nd and 5th hour, 2nd hour was very captivated by it and took lots of notes and had a ton of questions.
+4th hour we learned the different type of digestive systems and we created a ruminant stomach with play dough!!
-3rd and 5th hour just wanted to mess around today like always
April 25, 2013
+Today was a makeup day for everyone because we were preparing for the banquet!
+Sometimes its ok to give the students a make up day so both you and them can get caught up :)
+Banquet ran so smooth it was incredible! Even though we didn't go home before there was little stress and everything pretty much went as planned.
-The linens were terrible, dirty, holes, and unmatching colors so that was a little annoying! But we figured it all out :)
-They didn't order enough centerpieces so we had to figue out how to arrange them to still look good.
-Banquet is a tiring day!! We didn't get home till 10 and I was absolutely exhausted.
April 26, 2013
Today I evaluated Angelica!! It was so fabulous to see everyone and be back at my old high school. Angelica did such a wonderful job!! I learned a ton when I was there evaluating her and cannot wait for her future in agriculture education.
April 29, 2013
+Today was an average day, nothing out of the ordinary, except I am leaving in 4 days :(
+Tomorrow are presentations for 3rd and 4th hour so I am really excited!!
+I had a student come in for makeup work for the plumbing unit, and I had another one of my students help her and it was so awesome to see jim teaching her how to solder and cut and glue PVC.
-2nd and 5th were both super chatty today, it is hard because I am not really starting anything new so we are reviewing and its just obnoxious how chatty they were.
-There is soooooo much to do before I leave!!!
April 30, 2013
+2nd and 5th hour I presented about their insect collections but it is very difficult to teach when I am not actually giving the assignment.
+Conduct of Meetings practice went pretty well although I am nervous about leaving them
+I had a student come in to make up the plumbing assignment because she was in Europe, she finally finished her project and was super excited!
-3rd hour was super unprepared for their presentations and I had no idea what to do so I asked Mr. Sipes and he gave them a lecture about it because they havent had to do any curriculum all year and now that they do they are being so lazy its ridiculous. Everyday they dont present its 25 points off the final project.
May 1, 2013
Can you believe it's May 1st?!?!? It has gone by so fast, seriously where has the time gone!
+2nd hour I just play categories and a leadership stepping stones game which were pretty fun!
+3rd hour some of the students presented their final project, but not all so that is kind of a negative too.
+4th hour we finished presentations and then played cvategories and the stepping stones game. They were ABSOLUTELY hilarious!!
-5th hour, oh 5th hour, well by that you can probably tell we did not do anything fun. They couldn't even stand in the groups that I assigned them so we did book work instead. SO now I have more to grade :( And it makes me sad to have to do book work when I would way rather watch them have fun!
-Conduct was a not so great day today, I am really starting to worrry
My last days!!!
I cannot believe I am done, my students are so sweet and gave me some very cute things! I am going to miss them so much, I never realized how much I would actually love teaching and now I know I definitely picked the career for me! The last two days we played with playdough, hot lava game, some undo arm games, and of course party with lots and lots of junk food! They surprised me with so much and I am so blessed to have such a wonderful experience at Casa Grande High School!!
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