Week 29, Day 4 (Friday): Updating website for notebook

Odd Block Schedule: finished pH lab and scored periodic table quizzes and looked through their notebooks in preparation for Notebook turn in day..

After school I spent a lot of time getting my website organized to have Notebook Notes and Starters ready for my students to access. This is really a chance to pre-organize for next year.

 I got so BUSY during the year that I did not take the few moments each time we worked on notes or starter questions to have them update their tables of contents.  I did not make "Absent" copies of the notes for the kids that were gone.  I did not to weekly or bimonthly notebook quizzes or turn in.


I really need to spend time each week doing long range strategic lesson planning and reminding my self to do the things (notebook organization) that make me consistent and a better teacher.


P.S.  The weekend following this post my website home page lost all HTML formatting and is a solid page of text.  I hope salvation is only a few clicks by a computer tech person..

I hope this helps.

Love to Teach, and Teach with Passion!

It’s not Magic, It’s Science!

RichardKinney@cusd.com

http://qp.clovisusd.k12.ca.us/rey_kinney

Week 28, Day 4: Alien Juice Bar pH VIrtual Lab AND EASY ADVICE!

Odd Block-periodic quiz, Virtual pH Lab.

Easy advice: Before any long vacation make sure you are doing a totally fun and easy to make-up activity.  If you can do it in the Library ever better! 


Project GEMS  Alien juice bar-.  A fun goofy an d well done introduction to acids and bases.  
 I highly recommend this site.  You can see the link on my web page under the staff photo and you can go to notes and major assignments to download the worksheet. 

Ahh...10 days off.  I need this, I have earned it.  See you in April!

I hope this helps,
Love to Teach, and Teach with Passion!
It's not Magic, It's Science!

richardkinney@cusd.com

http://qp.clovisusd.k12.ca.us/rey_kinney

Week 25, Day 2: Nuclear "testing schedule" frustration

ODD BLOCK SCHEDULE: Was going to be a lab, instead we began to learn how to use the periodic table.

Weird testing schedule today. I did not see my period 1 at all. I did not know this schedule was so disruptive until the morning.  My fault, but c'mon.  Send me an e-mail saying "HEY, PERIOD ONE WILL BE DESTROYED NEXT WEEK".

The afternoon classes were shorted to the point that the lab I planned was impossible to do and I had to go to plan B...Jump a few days ahead and start work with the periodic table.

Don't you just love it when your lesson plan is blown apart AND a whole class skipped (I guess it depends on what class).

 The whole day was thrown off.  I had a couple of boys, buddies, almost get into a fight! Other teachers said the day was lousy.

Week 21, Day 1: Focal Point but not Shatterpoint!

EVEN BLOCK SCHEDULE: Finish Density lab, turn in Vocabulary words. Honors class begins the Sabotage on the ISS forensic lab unit.
I worked on school quite a bit this weekend. Too much. Honors Science had me totally consumed: The Sabotage unit we started today, the field trip parent letter for Honors, the virtual lab sheet for Tu/Wed, the Science Olympiad work calendar, letter of recommendation for a colleague...and my wife's honeydo list.

Thank goodness for my student assistants, they got the work done for me. Thank myself for having this unit well planned...a gift you give to your self.

The honors class has a lot of dossier reading to do for the Sabotage unit . I hope they get it done.
Today was a focal point of activity for me but it was not a Shatterpoint* due to planning ahead.

*Shatterpoint was a concept in a Star Wars novel of the same title by Matthew Stover. Anakin Skywalker was pushed to his shatter point by a deceitful lies from a Sith lord and his own fears of loved one's leaving via death. I like that Idea. You need to know where your shatterpoint is and work around it.

I hope this helps,


Love to Teach and Teach with Passion!


It's not Magic, It's Science

RichardKinney@cusd.com

http://qp.clovisusd.k12.ca.us/rey_kinney

Week 19, Day 1: Units: Winding down and gearing up.

ODD BLOCK SCHEDULE: Stars and Galaxy Notes and Vocabulary Quiz.

Finishing Astronomy today and tomorrow. I have got the next 4 weeks STRATEGICALLY planned. Yes what a relief.

I love Astronomy but my Astronomy unit does not have many activities or labs THAT ARE TIED TO THE STATE CURRICULUM. So it can get a little long for the kids. 

The upcoming Density unit is lab and activity rich, but I have had to cut it to 2 weeks in place of the normal 4.  I will still do the tissue paper hot air balloon build for honors science but not the general science classes.

I am getting long range training from a friend in Washington about crititical thinking in the classroom.  I'm trying to get away from the old standard of "shut and an listen to me" to "what do you know, how can you apply it and how can you add on to it".  I like it but it is not easy.

The photo shows todays foldable notes for STARS, STAR EVOLUTION, GALAXIES.  Also the star chart from the What's your sign can be seen also.

Week 18, Day 4: Plan Ahead Plan Ahead Plan Ahead-then follow your Plan!

ODD BLOCK- Finish Alien Planet and View Spectral lines in glowing gases. See yesterday's post for details.

I am 4 weeks behind.  I should be finishing my 4th unit (Density and Buoyancy) but I am a week away from finishing my 3rd unit(Astronomy).

I am like an explosive gas, more than taking up the volume of space around me.  Give me a semesters worth (19 weeks) of curriculum and I WILL GET IT DONE IN 22!

My problem is not having too many labs/activites to do.  My problem is SUCH A ROOKIE MISTAKE: Lack of proper Lesson Planing.

I am great at TACTICAL LESSON PLANNING, that is planing to make labs, notes, demos, video clips and activites mesh together in totally cool lessons.  I have been BAD at STRATEGIC LESSON PLANNING, this being planning, pacing the start and stop of each unit and deciding which labs/activites to use and which to skip, and then sticking to the start/stop dates.


I started Astronomy the week before Thanksgiving. I should have been done with it before Christmas vacation.
 
Well heck, I will make it up by cutting back on time in the Chemistry unit and making Density and Buoyancy real short. 
 
You have to begin your lesson planning STRATEGICALLY and I am doing that this 3 day M.L.K. memorial weekend with my plan book.