Internet is finally back! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to post the last two until this morning when I arrived at school.
I am writing this post, reflecting on my day while watching the Super Bowl, which is being re-run on ESPN here is Australia. So far, we're not getting any of the excitng commercials. I have been told that the Doritos and Honda commercials were the best of the lot. I don’t expect to watch the full game because I already know who wins. What a surprise to find that the Giants won; I would have never thought that they were going to come out of the season with any more than a winning record. Tom Brady seemed unbeatable in the post-season. Is it too early to start supporting* the Bengals in the Super Bowl next season? WHO DEY!
*I’m not allowed to say “root” here because in Australian, it is another term for coitus. I think Australians might find "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during a 7th inning stretch comical!
Today started off in the faculty lounge where I had to figure out my new sign-in information for the school network. I was given a netbook to use while working at school because my computer isn’t authorized to be hooked up to the school wireless system. Oh well, at least I have a memory stick to use to transfer any files back and forth.
After posting my blog entries and catching up on a few emails, I started working on a few lesson plans for “Animal Inside” regarding the digestive system. So far, I’ve planned out about a weeks worth of lessons. The key is to keep students engaged with the material.
Before lunch, I wanted to get through a few chapters in the year 11 biology books to make sure that I was up to date on my content. I am in no ways indicating that the focus of this class is the textbooks; rather, I am using them as tools to organize my lessons in a logical way. The Cell Theory seems like a logical place to start right after the Scientific Method and the importance of observation.
Lunch was quick and I used much of the time to put together a short presentation on the Smart Board software for my “Animal Inside” class tomorrow.
Fourth period came around and I headed over to the science center to meet the “Bones” class. A few of the students were asking about the Super Bowl game. I had no idea; I tried to keep it off my mind today since it started around 11 am and finished around 2 in the afternoon; I didn't want to waste my time with the "East Coast Affair." I could only tell them that I had predicted the Pats to win. A couple of the males in the class asked me which team I supported. Careful not to say “root,” I told them that I supported the Bengals. “Who are they?” asked one of the students. “Just an above par team who can’t seem to win post-season games,” I replied. I also told them that they were the team from my home city.
Class started and the students organized into groups to work on matching different bone names to their corresponding pictures. It was another day of memorizing…yippee (sarcasm)! Memorization doesn't allow students in a science classroom to make much meaning of anything. I really want to engage these students more in future lessons. By the time the class ended, I could tell that the students were itching to leave because they were getting bored with going over term after term.
I am struggling to come up with how I want to organize the lessons of this class. Although the class is called “Bones,” I would reason that the students would need to know about skeletal muscle to truly understand how the bones move in the body, as well as the different levers that we use for various activities such as movement and lifting. I’m sure more will come later regarding the direction of the lessons for this class.
After a science meeting directly following school, I came home, changed, and hopped on the bike to go for a ride around the neighborhood. It was a beautiful day in the low 20s. In fact it’s supposed to be similar weather for the rest of the week! Another perk in East Gippsland...
I am writing this post, reflecting on my day while watching the Super Bowl, which is being re-run on ESPN here is Australia. So far, we're not getting any of the excitng commercials. I have been told that the Doritos and Honda commercials were the best of the lot. I don’t expect to watch the full game because I already know who wins. What a surprise to find that the Giants won; I would have never thought that they were going to come out of the season with any more than a winning record. Tom Brady seemed unbeatable in the post-season. Is it too early to start supporting* the Bengals in the Super Bowl next season? WHO DEY!
*I’m not allowed to say “root” here because in Australian, it is another term for coitus. I think Australians might find "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during a 7th inning stretch comical!
Today started off in the faculty lounge where I had to figure out my new sign-in information for the school network. I was given a netbook to use while working at school because my computer isn’t authorized to be hooked up to the school wireless system. Oh well, at least I have a memory stick to use to transfer any files back and forth.
After posting my blog entries and catching up on a few emails, I started working on a few lesson plans for “Animal Inside” regarding the digestive system. So far, I’ve planned out about a weeks worth of lessons. The key is to keep students engaged with the material.
Before lunch, I wanted to get through a few chapters in the year 11 biology books to make sure that I was up to date on my content. I am in no ways indicating that the focus of this class is the textbooks; rather, I am using them as tools to organize my lessons in a logical way. The Cell Theory seems like a logical place to start right after the Scientific Method and the importance of observation.
Lunch was quick and I used much of the time to put together a short presentation on the Smart Board software for my “Animal Inside” class tomorrow.
Fourth period came around and I headed over to the science center to meet the “Bones” class. A few of the students were asking about the Super Bowl game. I had no idea; I tried to keep it off my mind today since it started around 11 am and finished around 2 in the afternoon; I didn't want to waste my time with the "East Coast Affair." I could only tell them that I had predicted the Pats to win. A couple of the males in the class asked me which team I supported. Careful not to say “root,” I told them that I supported the Bengals. “Who are they?” asked one of the students. “Just an above par team who can’t seem to win post-season games,” I replied. I also told them that they were the team from my home city.
Class started and the students organized into groups to work on matching different bone names to their corresponding pictures. It was another day of memorizing…yippee (sarcasm)! Memorization doesn't allow students in a science classroom to make much meaning of anything. I really want to engage these students more in future lessons. By the time the class ended, I could tell that the students were itching to leave because they were getting bored with going over term after term.
I am struggling to come up with how I want to organize the lessons of this class. Although the class is called “Bones,” I would reason that the students would need to know about skeletal muscle to truly understand how the bones move in the body, as well as the different levers that we use for various activities such as movement and lifting. I’m sure more will come later regarding the direction of the lessons for this class.
After a science meeting directly following school, I came home, changed, and hopped on the bike to go for a ride around the neighborhood. It was a beautiful day in the low 20s. In fact it’s supposed to be similar weather for the rest of the week! Another perk in East Gippsland...
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