Teacher Talk Tuesday

First Week of School

The prep school.

So okay, the kids aren't here yet; but still so much to do.  My classroom is actually a science lab which is great.  I teach all my classes here except one; have a smart board and video projector.  Now I just have to learn to really use it well in my lesson plans.  I also have to do a lot of decorating; apparently there hasn't been someone as a teacher in the classroom for a while so need to get things down and then new things up; clean out the office, which has been the dumping ground prior to now.  There is a lab tech who will basically get me whatever I need....nice!  Anybody know how to coordinate curriculum???  I'm the prep school science curriculum coordinator.  Oh, and I'm starting a forensics club.  Any ideas??

Ready for the first day of school.

Teacher Talk Tuesdays

Thinking about "The First Day".

Since I have no idea what my classroom is like...or if I even have my own classroom, planning for this day is turning out to be bit difficult.  I am a person who like to have a plan of action detailed out before whatever the event is, the plan has been revised, edited, adjusted for timing, and practiced a few times just to make sure it's seamless.  And I hate creating the plan at the last minute, rushing around, or having to make changes at the eleventh hour.  So you see my dilemma, sigh!

Of course we will have some class rules/guidelines; it doesn't matter if my classroom is under the baobab tree (which it is NOT), the rules will be the same.  There will be routines: routines to come in and get ready for class, routines for getting packed up to leave, routines for getting into lab groups, routines for fire drills, and some more that I still have to think about. (Any teachers reading this please feel free to add).  Those will be dependent on the classroom situation.  Then there is the learning stuff that should occur during that first week which should result in getting kids turned on and excited about science.  And I don't mean to hand out the textbooks during the first week, or even assign homework; there is the entire year for that boring stuff!  

I was recently reminded by one of my previous boss's of this important time to grab students' attention with the concept of "Discrepent Events."  This is an attention getting, thought-provoking approach to initiate inquiry, a thing that puzzles the observer, causing him or her to wonder why the event occurs as it did.  An example of a DE is something like the "AntiGravity Bucket".  Put some water in a bucket, swing the bucket around in a large upright circle.  We expect the water to fall out when the bucket is upside-down (the law of gravity must hold true), but the water does not.   WHY?  Inquiry!!!  So now, its just to figure out what DEs will I demo each day to the classes.  

TIME TO GET BUSY!  SO EXCITING!