In Economics this week, we showed the original Lorax movie! It's very different from the newer, more flashy Lorax movie, but still has the same messages and has the benefit of being shorter. Take a look, and maybe you could even see the connection to Economics or use it in your own lessons!
Showing posts with label Classroom Management. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Classroom Management. Show all posts
Monday, April 14, 2014
Thursday, April 10, 2014
13th Week: Impalapalooza Week!
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| Tacky Tourist Day - Mrs. Mo's Class |
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| Black Prez was in 'da house! |
Whew! I was pooped today after finishing up classes, and it's been kind of weird knowing that I have a full day off tomorrow. I am absolutely looking forward to it! It's been a stressful week professionally and personally. With so much going on with putting out applications, getting my resume updated, and my husband's job hanging in the balance, we are having some difficulty managing. We are staying positive through these last few weeks of school, though. There's only six weeks left at Poudre High School, and I only have four weeks left at Front Range Community College. Things are definitely starting to wind down.
By the way, the girl that wasn't coming to class finally dropped with an "F" after I called home to check on her. She claimed that the management class she was taking with another teacher was just like my class. My guess is that she didn't want to do the work, so she took an "F" instead.
A few more pictures from Impalapalooza Assembly Today:
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| Cool guys hangin' out on the ice |
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| Chariot race winners! |
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| Prom Royalty Escorts |
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
12th Week: Spring is Here!
You can feel the school buzzing from the excitement of warmer weather and spring activities! It was another regular week at Poudre High School, but we had some fun activities planned in Economics. We started talking about rations, and we actually gave the students rations for things that they could/could not use in class. So, the students could use a desk but not a chair; they could use paper one day but not the next. They had to have a ration for water, bathroom breaks, and food. Mr. Long made the ration cards and based them on order of importance by the students. It was a fun activity, but proved to be challenging for classroom management. The last activity we did for the week was the soda taste test. We talked about the different types of market structures, which included perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopolies, and monopolies. In order to show how a couple of companies can control the market through advertising and imagined differences, we did a soda taste test. It was interesting because some of the students were brand-loyal to Coke or Pepsi, and those were the students that got the taste test wrong. The students that didn't drink much soda seemed to score better. The kids had fun, and we related the activity back to the market structures.
In Entrepreneurship, the students continued their work on Promotional Planning. Project 6 was due on Friday, April 4th. Most of the students were able to complete the project and turn it in. I'm still having trouble with one student not coming to class. She hasn't attended class since Spring Break, so I called home to find out if her parents were aware of her absences and failing grades. I also wanted to see what I could do to help her understand the material or make up missed work. I had a stern talk with her before Spring Break, and apparently, she didn't like it. She stopped coming to class instead of talking with me about her concerns. This has been a trend with the high school students I have worked with thus far. Many of them would rather quit and fail than resolving any conflict or issues that may have arisen.
I'm looking forward to next week. It's Impalapalooza Week! The week before prom is traditionally set aside with activities and fun to celebrate spring, the warmer weather, the end of the year, and, of course, prom. Unfortunately, I'm missing most of the activities because I teach at Front Range Community College. There's a fun activity on Thursday called Mr. PHS, which is a "beauty" contest for the boys. It's staged and funny. The best part about next week is that I get a full day off. My daughter is in school, and I can get ready for the CSU Teacher Job Fair the following week and run some errands. That really does constitute excitement in my busy schedule.
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In Entrepreneurship, the students continued their work on Promotional Planning. Project 6 was due on Friday, April 4th. Most of the students were able to complete the project and turn it in. I'm still having trouble with one student not coming to class. She hasn't attended class since Spring Break, so I called home to find out if her parents were aware of her absences and failing grades. I also wanted to see what I could do to help her understand the material or make up missed work. I had a stern talk with her before Spring Break, and apparently, she didn't like it. She stopped coming to class instead of talking with me about her concerns. This has been a trend with the high school students I have worked with thus far. Many of them would rather quit and fail than resolving any conflict or issues that may have arisen.
I'm looking forward to next week. It's Impalapalooza Week! The week before prom is traditionally set aside with activities and fun to celebrate spring, the warmer weather, the end of the year, and, of course, prom. Unfortunately, I'm missing most of the activities because I teach at Front Range Community College. There's a fun activity on Thursday called Mr. PHS, which is a "beauty" contest for the boys. It's staged and funny. The best part about next week is that I get a full day off. My daughter is in school, and I can get ready for the CSU Teacher Job Fair the following week and run some errands. That really does constitute excitement in my busy schedule.
Monday, March 3, 2014
8th Week: On my own
The 8th week of my student teaching experience culminated in my mentor teacher being gone to a DECA Competition in Colorado Springs. DECA is a business marketing club for high school students. It assesses students for their understanding of marketing concepts and interviews them in their ability to apply these concepts to a real-world scenario. While he was gone, I took over all of the classes. Movies were shown in most of the classes, so there wasn't a lot of teaching. Classroom management was required more than anything.
The problem student that I had at the end of the 7th week decided to drop my Entrepreneurship class. It was so interesting to me that he would rather take a failing grade than try to resolve the issue and move on in the class. He brought the withdraw slip to me to sign, but I required him to get a signature from Mr. Long before he dropped the class completely. The real issue was the work that he was required to do in the class. He wasn't doing the work, and he wasn't asking questions pertinent to the work. He was continually working on other activities instead of getting his work done. When I asked him about it, he became frustrated. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to work with him to get his work done. He was defensive every time I talked to him about his work, and he finally just walked out of class on Tuesday without talking about the issue. When confronted to resolve the issue, he became even more defensive. While this issue had little to do with me, I still wish that I could have been part of a resolution instead of a failed student.
The week ended with an observation from my CSU supervisor. I invited her to observe the 4th Hour MYP Economics class. We were going over Supply and Demand shifts, and in order to practice the concept further, we went through a "baseball" activity that asked a question requiring each team to provide an answer. Any team that had the right answer got a point. The students were discussing the questions thoroughly, and they were having fun thinking critically. Overall, I think that the class went well. Carol Ann had a few suggestions, and the feedback provided me with some good information that I will use in my future classes. For instance, I wasn't intentional when opening and closing the class. This is something that is easy to work on and practice.
While I'm enjoying my student teaching experience (overall), I'm also looking forward to the upcoming break. I'm also looking forward to Spring and some warmer weather.
The problem student that I had at the end of the 7th week decided to drop my Entrepreneurship class. It was so interesting to me that he would rather take a failing grade than try to resolve the issue and move on in the class. He brought the withdraw slip to me to sign, but I required him to get a signature from Mr. Long before he dropped the class completely. The real issue was the work that he was required to do in the class. He wasn't doing the work, and he wasn't asking questions pertinent to the work. He was continually working on other activities instead of getting his work done. When I asked him about it, he became frustrated. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to work with him to get his work done. He was defensive every time I talked to him about his work, and he finally just walked out of class on Tuesday without talking about the issue. When confronted to resolve the issue, he became even more defensive. While this issue had little to do with me, I still wish that I could have been part of a resolution instead of a failed student.
The week ended with an observation from my CSU supervisor. I invited her to observe the 4th Hour MYP Economics class. We were going over Supply and Demand shifts, and in order to practice the concept further, we went through a "baseball" activity that asked a question requiring each team to provide an answer. Any team that had the right answer got a point. The students were discussing the questions thoroughly, and they were having fun thinking critically. Overall, I think that the class went well. Carol Ann had a few suggestions, and the feedback provided me with some good information that I will use in my future classes. For instance, I wasn't intentional when opening and closing the class. This is something that is easy to work on and practice.
While I'm enjoying my student teaching experience (overall), I'm also looking forward to the upcoming break. I'm also looking forward to Spring and some warmer weather.
Monday, February 24, 2014
7th Week: Successes and Failures
My 7th Week student teaching was better than the previous. I was still sick on Monday, which was an in-service day. I went to the doctor and got some medicine, and I even made it into school on Monday for about an hour to talk to Mr. Long. Although, the medicine didn't really start to help until the end of the week, but I muddled through the week with a hoarse voice and low energy.
In the two Entrepreneurship classes, we watched a movie, Ten9Eight, on the Tuesday back, so I didn't have to talk with my hoarse voice. I did, however, teach in the Economics 4th hour class. It was miserable and challenging, but I got the job done. It felt a little awkward to be back after being gone for a week.
The next day, I was able to get in a review of the Market Research section in Entrepreneurship and gave the post-assessment for my teacher work sample. I can now complete my teacher work sample before Spring Break as I had anticipated. We also started the next unit, which was the pricing unit. Some of the students will have more work than others on this section. Those that do retail will have to price out all of their inventory and their equipment and supplies; whereas, those that are doing service businesses will only have to price out their equipment and supplies. It seems to be getting more and more difficult to get the students to be motivated and engaged in the projects. Some of the students don't need any prompting but get the work done easily; however, I have to continually prod a few students to work during class.
A success I had last week was when one of my Entrepreneurship students came up to me after class and apologized for his behavior toward me and in my class. He was respectful and said he was working on getting caught up and doing his work. Just like the Grinch, "My heart grew three sizes that day." I don't enjoy having to stay on top of students to get their work done or having to reprimand students in class. It disengages the class as a whole. This particular student has stayed true to his word for the week, and he paid attention when I was talking and he got his work completed and turned in on time. It was a happy moment for me, and I hope that he continues with this behavior change through the rest of the semester.
On the other hand, I have a student that has been doing other classes' work in my class and not getting his work in my class completed. He is behind on all of the projects, and he is disrespectful to me. He keeps his headphones in his ears when I'm talking to him and he plays with his cell phone. I moved him away from the front of the room to sit next to me where he will have less distractions, and I can keep an eye on him. When Mr. Long returns, I will talk to him about the issue and see what further steps need to be taken in order to get this resolved.
This week was also the Career & Technical Education Advisory Board meeting and breakfast. All of the departments involved including Business, PaCE (a work study program), ACE, and Family and Consumer Sciences were all present along with the advisory board members, who gave input to the programs and how we can improve our work with the students. The Poudre High School catering team made the breakfas, and introduced themselves to the meeting.
A new week is a new opportunity to work on improving. Teaching is a work in progress, and I am continually finding new ways to communicate, engage, and motivate students.
In the two Entrepreneurship classes, we watched a movie, Ten9Eight, on the Tuesday back, so I didn't have to talk with my hoarse voice. I did, however, teach in the Economics 4th hour class. It was miserable and challenging, but I got the job done. It felt a little awkward to be back after being gone for a week.
The next day, I was able to get in a review of the Market Research section in Entrepreneurship and gave the post-assessment for my teacher work sample. I can now complete my teacher work sample before Spring Break as I had anticipated. We also started the next unit, which was the pricing unit. Some of the students will have more work than others on this section. Those that do retail will have to price out all of their inventory and their equipment and supplies; whereas, those that are doing service businesses will only have to price out their equipment and supplies. It seems to be getting more and more difficult to get the students to be motivated and engaged in the projects. Some of the students don't need any prompting but get the work done easily; however, I have to continually prod a few students to work during class.
A success I had last week was when one of my Entrepreneurship students came up to me after class and apologized for his behavior toward me and in my class. He was respectful and said he was working on getting caught up and doing his work. Just like the Grinch, "My heart grew three sizes that day." I don't enjoy having to stay on top of students to get their work done or having to reprimand students in class. It disengages the class as a whole. This particular student has stayed true to his word for the week, and he paid attention when I was talking and he got his work completed and turned in on time. It was a happy moment for me, and I hope that he continues with this behavior change through the rest of the semester.
On the other hand, I have a student that has been doing other classes' work in my class and not getting his work in my class completed. He is behind on all of the projects, and he is disrespectful to me. He keeps his headphones in his ears when I'm talking to him and he plays with his cell phone. I moved him away from the front of the room to sit next to me where he will have less distractions, and I can keep an eye on him. When Mr. Long returns, I will talk to him about the issue and see what further steps need to be taken in order to get this resolved.
This week was also the Career & Technical Education Advisory Board meeting and breakfast. All of the departments involved including Business, PaCE (a work study program), ACE, and Family and Consumer Sciences were all present along with the advisory board members, who gave input to the programs and how we can improve our work with the students. The Poudre High School catering team made the breakfas, and introduced themselves to the meeting.
A new week is a new opportunity to work on improving. Teaching is a work in progress, and I am continually finding new ways to communicate, engage, and motivate students.
Friday, January 24, 2014
3rd Week: Managing It All
This was a short week at Poudre High School because of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday. With a four day week, there is a four day schedule, which is always different from the regular five day schedule, so there was some adjustment.
This was also a busy week because I also started teaching at Front Range Community College two evenings a week. So, Tuesdays and Thursdays, I get up at 5:00 am and go to the gym, then I head to Poudre High School for a full day of working with students, teaching, planning, and grading, and finally, end up at Front Range Community College teaching two classes before ending my day and heading home for bed. This week I was able to go home and see my daughter after Poudre High School and before Front Range Community College, but I imagine that as the semester goes on, I will not be able to do this. On top of everything this week, my daughter has been sick. Luckily, I have a wonderful husband who has stayed home with her. An upper respiratory infection doesn't get down a 2.5 year old for long. She was bouncing and playing when I saw her this morning.
I digress, sort of. This week has been a week of managing. I say managing because I have been learning to manage my classroom better and learning to manage my lessons better. I also say managing because my schedule (as seen above) also requires this kind of management. In the Entrepreneurship classes I am teaching, the students have finally turned in a completed project. Having graded this project, I have now been able to determine how much of the information that I am teaching them is being understood and learned. I have been managing those submissions and meeting with students to ensure that they know what is expected of them on these projects. In my meetings with students, I review how to improve those submissions and their grade on the assignment. I find myself repeating what I say and how I say it so that all the students understand in their own way.
I continued to struggle this week with cell phones, computer usage, and general rude behavior. In the 5th hour Entrepreneurship class, I wasn't restrictive enough; however, I corrected this in the 6th hour Entrepreneurship class by making the students keep their hands off the keyboards and pay attention. I also enforced the headphones and cell phones rule that I put in place on the first day.
It has also been interesting in some of Mr. Long's other classes with respect to classroom management. International Business has been going through presentations given by the students on their Country Project, but there are students in the class that are texting and talking during other students' presentations. Mr. Long has given warnings to students, and the next step will be a seating chart.
The 3rd Hour Economics class doesn't have as much of a classroom management issue because it is such a small class; however, the 4th Hour Economics class has 26 students, and they are chatty. They are all great kids, but they enjoy speaking up and having side conversations in class even when the teacher is talking. I have sat in the back of the room to try to keep the talking to a minimum, but they finally did require a seating chart, which was implemented today. After implementing the seating chart, the students paid better attention and there was less side conversation.
I do feel that I have succeeded in the 6th Hour of Entrepreneurship in getting the students to understand the expectations and turn in completed, professional work. This has been accomplished by sitting individually with many of the students to go over their work and get them on the right track. The 5th Hour has been more of a challenge. While some of the students are responding to the lessons, there are quite a few of the students who have not turned in work and are behind on their projects. They also show a slower rate of learning than the 6th Hour class. Today, the 6th Hour class had completed their second projects, while the 5th Hour class is behind and will need time next week to finish their projects.
This week has been another opportunity for me to try new techniques and improve my communication skills with the students. I look forward to next week, when my supervisor, Carol Ann Hixon, and my mentor, Mr. Long, will observe my lessons and provide feedback for improvements. It is also my first seminar meeting with Mr. Buffington at Poudre High School. Looking ahead, it will be another busy week.
This was also a busy week because I also started teaching at Front Range Community College two evenings a week. So, Tuesdays and Thursdays, I get up at 5:00 am and go to the gym, then I head to Poudre High School for a full day of working with students, teaching, planning, and grading, and finally, end up at Front Range Community College teaching two classes before ending my day and heading home for bed. This week I was able to go home and see my daughter after Poudre High School and before Front Range Community College, but I imagine that as the semester goes on, I will not be able to do this. On top of everything this week, my daughter has been sick. Luckily, I have a wonderful husband who has stayed home with her. An upper respiratory infection doesn't get down a 2.5 year old for long. She was bouncing and playing when I saw her this morning.
I digress, sort of. This week has been a week of managing. I say managing because I have been learning to manage my classroom better and learning to manage my lessons better. I also say managing because my schedule (as seen above) also requires this kind of management. In the Entrepreneurship classes I am teaching, the students have finally turned in a completed project. Having graded this project, I have now been able to determine how much of the information that I am teaching them is being understood and learned. I have been managing those submissions and meeting with students to ensure that they know what is expected of them on these projects. In my meetings with students, I review how to improve those submissions and their grade on the assignment. I find myself repeating what I say and how I say it so that all the students understand in their own way.
I continued to struggle this week with cell phones, computer usage, and general rude behavior. In the 5th hour Entrepreneurship class, I wasn't restrictive enough; however, I corrected this in the 6th hour Entrepreneurship class by making the students keep their hands off the keyboards and pay attention. I also enforced the headphones and cell phones rule that I put in place on the first day.
It has also been interesting in some of Mr. Long's other classes with respect to classroom management. International Business has been going through presentations given by the students on their Country Project, but there are students in the class that are texting and talking during other students' presentations. Mr. Long has given warnings to students, and the next step will be a seating chart.
The 3rd Hour Economics class doesn't have as much of a classroom management issue because it is such a small class; however, the 4th Hour Economics class has 26 students, and they are chatty. They are all great kids, but they enjoy speaking up and having side conversations in class even when the teacher is talking. I have sat in the back of the room to try to keep the talking to a minimum, but they finally did require a seating chart, which was implemented today. After implementing the seating chart, the students paid better attention and there was less side conversation.
I do feel that I have succeeded in the 6th Hour of Entrepreneurship in getting the students to understand the expectations and turn in completed, professional work. This has been accomplished by sitting individually with many of the students to go over their work and get them on the right track. The 5th Hour has been more of a challenge. While some of the students are responding to the lessons, there are quite a few of the students who have not turned in work and are behind on their projects. They also show a slower rate of learning than the 6th Hour class. Today, the 6th Hour class had completed their second projects, while the 5th Hour class is behind and will need time next week to finish their projects.
This week has been another opportunity for me to try new techniques and improve my communication skills with the students. I look forward to next week, when my supervisor, Carol Ann Hixon, and my mentor, Mr. Long, will observe my lessons and provide feedback for improvements. It is also my first seminar meeting with Mr. Buffington at Poudre High School. Looking ahead, it will be another busy week.
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