A Long Week
Have you ever had one of those weeks where it was Friday before you knew it? This was not one of those weeks. Not that I'm saying this was a bad week--on the contrary, I felt like this was a good week. However, for some reason, it was just one of those weeks that seemed to move as slow as molasses. One of those weeks where it's hard to remember what you did on Monday without looking at your lesson plans (I needed to...).
Speaking of Monday, that was the big day for combining our terrariums and aquariums into the final ecocolumns. I am happy to report that we had a successful week of no spills or messes--that's a victory in my book! However, we did have some sadness this week, as we had many ecocolumns that suffered the loss of crickets. I think there were some of them that just couldn't handle the trip they had to take from wherever it is they are shipped from. All in all, the students who lost crickets are seeming to take it in stride.
Another main aspect of the week was the students' first big individual projects. Now that the terrariums were complete and they've had several opportunities to observe them, the students were given the task of making an ecosystem web. In the assignment, the students need to correctly group living/nonliving things, animals/plants, and then identify the different connections that occur between the various elements of the ecosystem. They have some background in the process, as we made one together as a class when we had out aquariums completed. This time around, they were one their own. The element that added an extra degree of challenge was that today--their first main workday--was also a day that I was out of the classroom for a committee meeting (more on that later). However, I took time with them yesterday to go through the expectations of the rubric and gave them the chance to ask questions so that they could make the most of their time today. It seems to have helped, too, because I received several completed webs already today. I haven't had the chance to look at them closely (that's my next project), but I have work time built into tomorrow, so I can go through the rubric again with those students who need to fix things up.
Now onto that committee meeting I was at today. Our school district is in the process of developing plans for virtual learning days. Since our students have 1-1 access to technology and we utilize online learning environments for resources and schoolwork, virtual learning days would be put into place in the case of events such as snow days. Living in Wisconsin, the weather can, at times, wreak havoc on regular routines. However, since the students are fairly acclimated to our online learning environment, they (hopefully) could seamlessly access schoolwork from home if there was a snow day. These virtual learning days would mainly be used in those cases when we know severe weather is on the way and can plan accordingly. As a result, the students would not have an interruption to their learning. Additionally, we wouldn't have to worry about adjusting the school calendar at the end of the year to account for missed days. It seems like a win-win in my book! I know there will probably be some pushback because it is something new and people don't always like change, but it wouldn't be like we are having the students sit in front of a computer for 8 hours (though some probably would be on a snow day). The students would have reasonable work to help bridge the gap between the days in school while still having time to enjoy the weather outside (if you're into that sort of thing), and the teachers dedicate time to be available online for questions the students have. We have the resources available to make it happen, and it seems to be the right thing for the students' education, so I'm all for it! Now we'll just have to wait and see what the weather brings...
Mindfulness thought for the week: People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. --Tom J Deters, ProYou Podcast
Speaking of Monday, that was the big day for combining our terrariums and aquariums into the final ecocolumns. I am happy to report that we had a successful week of no spills or messes--that's a victory in my book! However, we did have some sadness this week, as we had many ecocolumns that suffered the loss of crickets. I think there were some of them that just couldn't handle the trip they had to take from wherever it is they are shipped from. All in all, the students who lost crickets are seeming to take it in stride.
Another main aspect of the week was the students' first big individual projects. Now that the terrariums were complete and they've had several opportunities to observe them, the students were given the task of making an ecosystem web. In the assignment, the students need to correctly group living/nonliving things, animals/plants, and then identify the different connections that occur between the various elements of the ecosystem. They have some background in the process, as we made one together as a class when we had out aquariums completed. This time around, they were one their own. The element that added an extra degree of challenge was that today--their first main workday--was also a day that I was out of the classroom for a committee meeting (more on that later). However, I took time with them yesterday to go through the expectations of the rubric and gave them the chance to ask questions so that they could make the most of their time today. It seems to have helped, too, because I received several completed webs already today. I haven't had the chance to look at them closely (that's my next project), but I have work time built into tomorrow, so I can go through the rubric again with those students who need to fix things up.
Now onto that committee meeting I was at today. Our school district is in the process of developing plans for virtual learning days. Since our students have 1-1 access to technology and we utilize online learning environments for resources and schoolwork, virtual learning days would be put into place in the case of events such as snow days. Living in Wisconsin, the weather can, at times, wreak havoc on regular routines. However, since the students are fairly acclimated to our online learning environment, they (hopefully) could seamlessly access schoolwork from home if there was a snow day. These virtual learning days would mainly be used in those cases when we know severe weather is on the way and can plan accordingly. As a result, the students would not have an interruption to their learning. Additionally, we wouldn't have to worry about adjusting the school calendar at the end of the year to account for missed days. It seems like a win-win in my book! I know there will probably be some pushback because it is something new and people don't always like change, but it wouldn't be like we are having the students sit in front of a computer for 8 hours (though some probably would be on a snow day). The students would have reasonable work to help bridge the gap between the days in school while still having time to enjoy the weather outside (if you're into that sort of thing), and the teachers dedicate time to be available online for questions the students have. We have the resources available to make it happen, and it seems to be the right thing for the students' education, so I'm all for it! Now we'll just have to wait and see what the weather brings...
Mindfulness thought for the week: People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. --Tom J Deters, ProYou Podcast
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