step into my classroom: pre-algebra at ECA, quarter four

Seventh graders have been doing quite a bit of work with ratios, proportions, and other applications of fractions. To wrap up the unit, they used a scale drawing process to create a "king size" candy wrapper. After drawing a 1-centimeter grid over the original wrapper, they set up and solved proportions to determine the dimensions of their drawing. Then they drew a larger grid according to their calculations. From there it was a simple matter of filling in the boxes and adding color. The students LOVED this project, and now we have some pretty cool posters hanging in our classroom!

I don't know about you but all these candy wrappers are making me crave sweets!!

Celebrating a birthday in Spain

I had no idea what to expect this year for my birthday. It was really, really hard to think about spending it away from my closest friends and family, and I had even considered flying to Germany for a few days because my best friend Katrina was passing through Kandern that very weekend. Unfortunately that didn't work out for a number of reasons, so I ended up celebrating my very first Spanish birthday!

The day began like any other, but once I arrived at school I quickly realized something was up. Usually the third floor filled up with middle schoolers right around 9:00 but as the warning bell rang and no students appeared, the halls were still and my classroom was empty.

Where are all the students?

At 9:10 on the dot, the bell rang to begin first period and the familiar chimes sounded to signal the start of the morning announcements. They were nothing special, but I listened carefully for any sign of shenanigans. Just before signing off for the day, the announcer revealed that there were some people in the office wanting to wish me a happy birthday. Through the loudspeaker I heard a crowd of students singing, cheering, and shouting happy birthday to me while the rest of the school was forced to listen in. Turns out both the seventh and eighth grade classes had crowded into the office to partake in the festivities! 

Meanwhile in the office ...

(photos courtesy of my roommate Robbyn, who was at the scene of the crime)

Moments later a stampede of students tramped up the stairs and burst through the door bearing huge grins and all kinds of wonderfulness.

Surprise!

My first period class, life science, had already made plans for a class party that day because it was the end of the quarter and they'd earned it as part of our class reward system. Those sneaky seventh graders hijacked their class party and turned it into a surprise party for me, and they were pretty proud of themselves for pulling it off! They lavished gifts and sweet treats on me and I had to spend the rest of the day comvincing the other teachers that I did not, in fact, plan a birthday party for myself! Thanks, kids!!

Some of the snacks and goodies from the seventh graders

Lots of affirming words on these cupcakes - how did they know my love language?

Not to be outdone, the eighth graders crafted a jumbo birthday card for me full of funny quotes, sketches, and some of our class catchphrases. Some of them also gave me individual gifts like a tin of cookies and chocolate milk, while others gave me the gift of the written word via a letter and even a personalized poem. To say I felt loved would be an understatement!

After school let out, a few friends and I went to one of the larger malls nearby for a visit to Starbucks and dinner at Foster's, a restaurant that is known for serving American style cuisine. I enjoyed a delicious burger and Coke, my splurge meal for the week! Due to the typical Spanish schedule the restaurant didn't open until 8:00 pm, so it made for a long day on a school night, but the meal and time with good company was definitely worth it.

Obligatory escalator selfie

And thus began the final year of my twenties. What will it hold? Only time will tell!

step into my classroom: life science at ECA, quarter three

Third quarter with my seventh graders has brought a slew of fun, exciting activities relating to the human body. Typically I teach this unit through group projects, but my smaller-than-average class size meant I had to change things up a bit... so everything I did this year, I did for the very first time! Thankfully I had Pinterest and TeachersPayTeachers to inspire me and provide lots of resources along the way.

We went through the major body systems, identified and examined the organs, and investigated how they are all interrelated to keep us alive. I taught a lot of the major content and vocabulary through lecture and discussion, and then we explored various aspects of the human body through experiments, games, and YouTube videos that left a few of them feeling rather queasy! Eyeball dissection, anyone??

We started with the skeletal and muscular system to give us a framework for the rest of the body. The students voted on a name for our life-size "mascot" and each time we studied a new system, Steve earned a few new body parts. In the beginning we labeled each part, then removed the labels as we memorized all the names.

Skeleton Steve was a work in progress!

While studying the digestive system, we simulated the digestion process through a relay race that was adapted from an activity I'd found on Pinterest. The students thought it was both hilarious and disgusting at the same time...




To wrap it up the digestive system, we enjoyed brownies that tasted much better than they looked! ;)

Only the best for my students!

When it came time to learn about circulation, I really wanted them to see visually how the blood vessels were the transport system for substances within the body. I found this free game and they played in teams of two. The object of the game was to be the first team to move all the oxygen from the lungs to the body cells, the carbon dioxide from the body cells to the lungs, the sugar and proteins from the intestines to the body cells, and the waste from the body cells to the kidneys.

The circulation game!

It wasn't nearly as boring as their body language would suggest!

We also had a lot of fun learning about the brain, the nervous system, and our sense organs. We watched clips from the show Brain Games, made "thinking caps" (pattern here) to learn the areas of the brain, and conducted experiments related to taste, smell, sound, and light.

Middle school means wearing these awesome hats!

Wearing thinking caps while watching a BrainPop video on the brain - brainception!

Mapping the tongue and looking for a connection between taste and smell

Observing and describing the effect of light on the pupil (she had to look deep into my eyes!)

We also got our hands dirty with some actual specimens, as a student went to the butcher and acquired some "leftover"pig parts. It was pretty neat for them to see with their own eyes the actual body parts they'd been studying - the lungs, liver, and heart for example. They also got to see and feel the difference in texture, structure, etc. of the trachea compared to the esophagus and they got quite a nasty surprise when, after squeezing the esophagus, some undigested food oozed out!

Warning: my science class is not for the faint of heart!

To wrap up the unit and give the students an opportunity to extend their learning, we created cereal boxes "advertising" a particular body system. I wish I could take credit for this project but the original idea came from TPT - I just modified it a bit to meet my needs.

For the front, they had to come up with a creative cereal name and then draw and label their system.

On the back they had to describe a common disease or illness that affects their system. They did research on causes, symptoms, treatments, and prevention of the condition and then had to summarize the information into a quality paragraph. Language arts connection!

For the other panels, they recreated typical cereal box features such as the ingredients list (naming the organs and their functions) and fun facts about their system - more independent research for them.

Overall, I was quite proud of their final product, and am excited to give them a chance to present their work to the rest of the school in our upcoming school-wide science gallery in April!

It's hard to believe we are now in fourth quarter! Our final areas of study will include zoology and ecology - characteristics of the animal kingdom and the relationships between all living and non-living things.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers over this last quarter!

step into my classroom: life science at ECA, quarter two

Second quarter brought us to my absolute favorite unit in life science: genetics and heredity. From DNA replication to the Meiosis Square Dance to Punnett Squares to debating the ethics of genetics, I just love introducing this topic to my students. It's so relatable for them because it's personal - it gives them an idea of why they are the way they are, and they always have great stories and personal experiences to share. They also, without fail, have tons of questions that I simply can't answer because I have not devoted my life to the study of genetics - a fact that I must remind them on a daily basis. The bottom line is that this unit really gets them thinking!

We began with the basics: DNA. They literally squealed with joy when I pulled out the gummy bears for the DNA replication activity, and they couldn't wait to finish so that they could eat their genes. 

All about that base ... the nitrogenous bases, that is. 

During cell division week students built models of cells going through mitosis - many of which involved food. After they presented their projects we feasted on cell cookies, gummy worm chromosomes, and ice cream cytoplasm. Then we admired the fully-functioning mitosis windmill - quite possibly the most creative cell cycle display I've ever graded! 

I asked them to pose with their projects. His was a video, so he wanted to pose with his USB.

 

They tricked me into eating a candy that they knew would dye my tongue blue.

As we learned about how genes code for specific traits, students took a survey of Mendelian traits among their families: attached or free earlobes, rolled tongues, dimples, etc. We "bred" special dogs by mapping out their genes and constructing their chromosome, then had a "dog show" comparing all the similarities and differences among them. This led to an interesting discussion about dog breeds and the numerous odd dog combinations my students have come across... 

The dogs and their unique chromosomes

Finally, we wrapped up the unit with a study of the laws of heredity, gender-linked traits, and odd cases like the Blue People of Troublesome Creek (Google the Fugate family). Students wrote genetic crosses, tested various combinations of parent traits, then used their knowledge of dominance to map out the genetic pedigrees of various families. 

This last week we looked at how genetic mutations take place, and the effect they have on a person. It led to a great discussion on the value of human life, the way we treat people who are different from us, and what causes us to behave the way we do. I was impressed with the points my students made and the depth of understanding they already possess, and I took the opportunity to challenge them. We talked about how ignorance and fear can sometimes cause us to treat people in less than respectful ways, and how as Christians we have a responsibility to love those around us. I encouraged them to be aware of the world around them, to seek truth, and look for ways to understand and love those who are different from them.

I can't believe we are just a few days away from the end of our first semester together! These kids have worked hard over the last few weeks and I'm sure they are just as excited about Christmas break as I am.

THANK YOU for the role you have played in allowing me to share my heart and my passion with these kids.