Week NINE Just Seems So Fine

I can't believe that next week we will be starting week 10. I feel like it's still January, not March! Anyways, this week was a good week as usual. Classes ran quite smoothly and I enjoyed myself as usual. I had one class this week where it was a total flop. My greenhouse production class is learning about different soils and soil triangles. I am really passionate about soil sciences, but it can be difficult to get other students interested in soil. I began class in the classroom and went over the bellwork and objectives. I had a class discussion about why soil is important, why we should care about soil and how can we tell the differences between soil. I thought the discussion was good because my students did seem interested and wanted to know more. I took them into the lab and I gave each of them soil. I then went though the steps of how to make a soil ribbon and complete a ribbon test. This is where my lesson fell apart. The students didn't understand what I was trying to get them to do.

After class, I took a step back and then I realized maybe I should have shown a video of a soil ribbon test. There we're a lot of things I should have done differently, but that's okay because this is still a learning process for me!

One thing that has gone exceptionally well is my classroom management with the 8th graders. It's so much easier if I split them up into different groups everyday, and I tell them that if they behave and there is no horseplay, we can go into the greenhouse and work on their experiments. They enjoy going to the greenhouse, and they don't want their plants to die, so it's perfect for them to have a goal. The 8th graders are starting to rub off on me and become one of my favorite classes to teach.

Looking Ahead:
Monday & Tuesday: SLLC
Construction: Observe
Intro to Ag: Plant Science - Anatomy of plants
Greenhouse: Soil Science & Prepping the greenhouse
Floral Design: Pollination garden planning
Animal Science: Digestive Systems