After a day from writing in my blog, I think its time to get right back into things. Sunday was a day to catch up on some rest. I finished up my laundry and did some work for the following week. In the afternoon and evening, we watched a one-day match of cricket against India. Australia lost in the last over of the game.
This week is going to be very busy! On Wednesday, I am going to sleep over at the year 7 camp for a night as a supervisor. I think this will be a great opportunity to get to know some of the younger students in my year 7 science class. I will be back on Thursday in time for class.
Tomorrow, I am going to be meeting with my cooperating teachers and my student teaching supervisor, who will be coming to BSC to check up on my experience. It should be a great meeting; I'm excited to share everything I've done so far.
I have two classes during the day tomorrow, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I start the day off with year 11 biology. I plan to go over the slides from last week and the homework that was due last week. Hopefully they completed it. Next, I will go into the chemistry of life and talk about organic and inorganic molecules. I am not talking about the "organic" stuff that you buy at the supermarket, which I would argue is labeled incorrectly. Most of the stuff you can buy at the supermarket is technically organic, in the correct sense of the word! The students will also work in the workbook on a couple of activities that are necessary for their understanding of the first chapter. Should be pretty busy.
My afternoon class is "Animal Inside." I will use a lesson that will transition the students from classification to the different body systems, specifically digestion. I am curious to find out what they know from their previous science classes and everyday life. I also think I may have them label the digestive system to see if they know the different organs involved. I haven't made up my mind yet. I also plan to introduce the students to a long-term project called MRSGREN. MRSGREN is a way to remember the characteristics of all life; M = Movement, R = Reproduction, S = Sensitivity, G = Growth, R = Respiration, E = Excretion, N = Nutrition (the need for). The project will ask the students to pick an animal to research. Their task is to show how their animal represents each of the characteristics of life. I'm thinking the project should be a multi genre one that asks them to use various types of ways to show their understanding.
Today after school, I hopped on the bike as usual and took a ride around the neighborhood. It was a little warmer today and after morning showers it was quite muggy. It’s supposed to get warmer this week and then start to cool off for the weekend.
I’m at home how having just eaten dinner, watching Dr. Who on TV. I’ve already made a habit of watching it with my hosts. A little unusual but overall it’s not a terrible show!
I’m tired and ready to go to bed so I can get a good night sleep. I have a feeling that I won’t sleep well this Wednesday having to supervise the younger students at camp.