Week Two…It's Sinking In

I headed into week two full steam ahead! I spent majority of my weekend planning. I wanted to be prepared for Monday…and there isn't much else to do in Perry County. I did take some time to myself and went for a little walk in Little Buffalo State Park. It's becoming one of my favorite thinking places! Anyway….This would be a real week of experience as I picked up two more classes meaning I was teaching four classes a day. If trying to be more prepared meant scattered wildlife pictures and articles around my apartment, purchasing crickets (yes live insects), and making small gas engines tool id notecards then I was prepared! I would say my homework is always quit interesting because I am teaching such a wide variety of topics.


I started this week off strong!

Wildlife mammal identification
resources 

Students identifying
PA mammals

The wildlife class has been working on mammal identification. I was disappointed I got stood up by the Game Commission and wasn't allowed to barrow a fur kit but the students enjoyed looking at the pictures and skimming the articles to find information about the habitats. As they finished up on Thursday we had a wildlife mammal social! Who doesn't love a party!? The students each had to grab two pictures and social with others in the class to make sure they had all the information written down in their packets. This was a great way to make sure they didn't miss an animal and if they did it gave the other student the opportunity to tell what they know about that specific animal. Friday was a speed dating review activity.

Next up Plant and Soil Science. This week we started talking about pesticide management. I am so excited because I have already scheduled to take my students to the safe pesticide applicators exam in March. Better yet I have scheduled the day before to be a review session after school put on by the Pest Education Department at Penn State. Yes I'm bringing in the experts! This is a class I have been struggling with. I have four very quite students who don't really talk to each other even when you allow them to. To start off the unit we talked about the parts and life cycle of insects by looking at real crickets! Fun! We then journeyed through the history of Pest Management by creating a timeline. I was really surprised the students had never even heard of the Green Revolution. I was finally able to feel like I had a successful lesson on Friday as we started through the 5 steps of an integrated pest management plan. The students were really engaged in the lesson for the first time and Mr. Hines was pleased in the end. I think it really just takes time to get to know your students and what methods of teaching work best for them…better luck this week!

The Plant & Soil science class created a timeline of the
history through integrated pest management. 

This week I also picked up my Agriscience and Technology course as well as Small Gas Engines. I'm actually really excited about both of these classes. While they will probably come as the most challenging for me I'm going to give it my best. Things like shop management, larger class sizes, students who need individual attention, and content matter I'm not really confident are all becoming new challenges. I have also become determined to stay with making every student use a bell work book. I think these are really important as I have been getting to know the students and their reading and writing abilities.

As week two comes to a close I have realized that the most important thing I can do right now as a teacher is reflect upon each lesson. I'm actually kinda obsessed with it right now. After each class I ask my supervisor as well as myself "did they really get it"…."did they enjoy the lesson". I think it's really important that all teachers do this and I hope to continue to have good reflections that will lead me to becoming a better teacher.

Friday evening sunset over the chicken barns where I'm living.

This weeks Meagan Moment comes to you from an after school record book/proficiency work session. For those of you who don't know the record book system has completely changed since I turned them in and is now completely online. The students love it however I'm completely lost and can't find anything with the online system. I was helping a student with her proficiency and I said "oh we can find that information on page 22!" (proud of myself that I knew the answer). She just blank starred at me for a minute and Mr. Hines who had overheard started laughing and said "yes she could if this was the old system…I'm surprised you knew the exact page number." So plus for me for knowing the right page number and minus for talking about the old system! It was a good laugh though. #facepalm