The other day I was noticing that I have been falling really behind on my blog posting. The reason being that we haven’t had any ultra exciting events going on in our class in the past week or so….I mean I would have loved to write another post about practicing punnett squares….but I wasn’t really feeling it this week. I feel like I have an obligation to my audience, however small it may be, to give some type of update of our weekly events….whether they are minuet or significant.
After much deliberation, I realized that I could do this in a very easy manner. I decided to steal a bit from my favorite radio show (Petros and Money) called “Lessons Learned”. This is a very simple concept, it involves a little self reflection by looking back at the events of the past week and discussing some of the highlights from the week that was. So lets get this started….
Lesson 1: Popsicle Sticks are People Too
Through out this week we have been talking about genetics and how genes are passed down from generation to generation. At the culminated this week in genetics with a exercise that demonstrated this process….using popsicle sticks for chromosomes. Students were given two bad full of sticks that represented the “mom genes” and “dad genes”. They were then given activities to do that involved combining those sticks to produce a set of “baby genes” which were passed on from the mom and dad.
Lesson 2: Tie Tuesday is Alive and Well….
….and these guys are happy about it. Tie Tuesday is slowing catching on at Woodland, but it is in full force in my first hour science class. Above is a picture of two of my students from that class that faithfully wear ties every Tuesday. As I explain to my kids, there is not much you can count on when you come to school….but you can count on me wearing a tie every Tuesday. This is an event that has really started out with a bang this school year, and I hope that it will only continue to grow in popularity at our school and possibly to other schools as well.
Lesson 3: Sometimes It’s Just Not Your Week
This week has been particular hard for me with numerous deadlines all falling on the same week. In one week I had two essays, one presentation, five worksheets, and five chapters to read for my two graduate classes…..in addition to the lab experiments and test that I had planned for my students this past week.
Needless to say it was a killer of a week. I have had very little time to blog and have hit a wall in some aspects….but there is good news. IT CAN ONLY GET BETTER. I think it’s official that the honeymoon is over and the new has worn off for this school year. That means it is gonna be a long grind until Christmas Break. Here’s to better weeks to come!
Mr. McClung
Some weeks you just have to survive, but it sounds like you had a good project with the gene lesson.
Mr. C
“Lessons Learned” is a great way to reflect on the past week. Your class project on genetics is a great and fun way to demonstarte a topic that sometimes can be confusing to students. I know that I struggled learning genetics, and I think having the students create people out of sticks shows them a way to understand the concept of genetics.
Tie Tuesday sounds fun! I think that is a great way to connect with students on a fun level. The picture of the two students look like they really enjoy Tie Tuesdays. I hope that your class has success in getting the school and other schools to follow Tie Tuesdays. Students being able to count on something at school is reassuring. Go Tie Tuesdays!
There are weeks that are just not going to be your week, but mentioning that it can only get better is a great attitude to have. Weeks can be tough or fun. but remember to get through each week with a great attitude.
I look forward to reading more of your class posts!!!
I forgot to mention that my name is Allison Benton. I am in Dr. Strange and Mr. Sullivan’s EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama.
I hope that you and your class have a great weekend! I cannot wait to read more of your class posts!
If you would like to vitit my class blog, it can be found at, http://sullivansedm310fall09.blogspot.com/. My class blog can be found at, http://bentonaedm310fall2009.blogspot.com/.
Look forward to reading more! Don’t forget to keep passing on Tie Tuesday!