Human Body & a Freebie!

I'm up and running with my Human Body study and these kids LOVE learning about this stuff! I can't say that I blame them - this stuff really is fun to learn about. And definitely fun to teach - especially the way I've decided to teach it. My kiddos are conducting Medical Conferences throughout this week. My classes have been divided into three different Medical Clinics, each with six types of specialists. The specialists are all coming together to form their Medical Conference, where they are teaching one another about their specific specialty. I really love giving students the freedom to own their own learning. It's definitely building their confidence levels and they don't feel like they're being forced to learn things they don't really want to learn about.

With that being said, of course I have to have a way to make sure they are learning what they need to be learning! Hence, the creation of these lovely "Medical Charts".

I tried to make it look professional and medical-looking. The kids LOVE their medical folders that I made for them and I've heard a lot of them referring to one another as "Dr. So-and-So". It's so cute and it's neat that they are taking this so seriously. And I really do think that it has everything to do with making it authentic with these little touches like this.

I made a medical terminology sheet for each of the six human body systems that we are studying. You can download those here. Once they have all the necessary information to truly become experts in their specialty, they will take their board exams. Upon passing, they will be able to reconvene with their original medical clinics and teach them what they learned so that ultimately, all students become expects in each field.

I also made a sheet that will allow students to summarize each system on one page:

 You can download this freebie here.

Tomorrow, we are starting to talk about the models, diagrams, or demonstrations that they might want to do for their presentations (for teaching the other members of their clinics about their specialty.) I am SO EXCITED to be able to come back and share on my blog what they come up with.

Monday Made It!

I'm linking up with Tara from 4th Grade Frolics for this month's Monday Made It!

I made lots of stuff this week - gearing up for Back to School {from the break, that is...} It actually feels like we've been out for much longer than 2 weeks! So I made a little slideshow that includes a few reminders for some of the things that may have been forgotten. Here's a peek! Hope you find some inspiration in it.

I got rolling on my Human Body Unit that I am *SO ECSTATIC* about teaching for the next four weeks. I can't think of a better way to start off the 2nd semester!! I am using the Code Blue Medical Simulation package as a starting point, though I am steering off the path quite a bit. {Click here to see the sample pages of this simulation, created by TeachInteract.com} I love the idea of the medical simulation, but I wanted to put personal touches on the lessons. Basically, the gist of simulation is that the class is broken up into groups of six, to form a "Medical Clinic". There are six doctors in each clinic: a cardiologist, a pulmonologist, a gastroenterologist, an infectious disease specialist, an orthopedic surgeon, and a neurologist. Once the groups are together, they create a name and a sign for their clinic, and then each doctor goes to his or her "specialty conference", where they become experts in their field. They are each required to pass a board exam and once they do, they reconvene with their group and train one another so that ultimately, every member of each clinic is fully trained in each and every specialty.  THEN they will all take a Physiology Test, which will actually cover everything. Once they all pass that test, then they can treat patients. More on that later!!

Throughout the medical conferences, I will be mostly encouraging students to be creative in coming up with ways to teach one another about their specialty. I have lots of ideas for activities, though, so if they get stuck, I will be there to guide them.They are all required to create some sort of model that will demonstrate how their specific system works. My kids are exceptionally creative, so I am really looking forward to what ideas they come up with. I'm hoping that none of my ideas have to be used!

In order to make this authentic for the students, I made medical folders for each student, complete with personalized labels. {Each student will be referred to as "Dr." for the unit's entirety...just for extra fun.} Included in each folder are the following items:

• A Welcome letter that congratulates them on being accepted to medical school
• A detailed explanation of their specialty {these I did not make..they came from the simulation package mentioned above, so I didn't include peeks of them}
• A study guide for their specific board exam
• A diagram of their human body system

Here are some peeks at the folders and their contents that I created:

I put 72 of these bad boys together {since I'm departmentalized, I have 72 kiddos} - and all I can say is Praise the Lord for my sweet husband because without his help, I'd STILL be working on getting these together. But I say TOTALLY WORTH IT because these kids will definitely remember this unit of study AND I really think that having something like this for them will get them even more excited about learning the material.

So as you can see, I've been hard at work getting ready for this incredibly fun unit. I cannot wait to start. I am super excited to see what types of models and diagrams the kids come up with. I will be posting weekly about the progress of this unit, including the models they come up with and any/all the activities that we do throughout this study.

One last Made It...I created several Pinterest boards that might be helpful to any of you out there that might be getting ready to teach this same material. Click the logo to see them:

 

Thanks for stopping by! Link up with Tara!!

 

Currently...January 2013!

Welcome 2013! I never thought I'd see you, being as the apocalypse was scheduled for December 21, 2012. I guess it's been postponed. That works for me!

Today I am one happy gal to be linking up with Farley from Oh Boy 4th Grade. Check me out!

Listening:
My husband and I are so ecstatic to be expecting our first Little Olive (Olivia, that is) in April. APRIL!! Oh my. I am very happy to hear him singing and happily putting together our baby girl's crib. I am SO very thankful that he likes doing that kind of thing because I LOATHE doing things like that. He has a name tag on that says "Bob the Builder". He's asking if there is anything else he can put together!! Love that guy.

 

Loving:

I have loved being on Christmas break for almost two full weeks. I visited lots of family, had a baby shower, rested up, and got lots of work done. I am loving this last day of my little vacay, but I am also loving the fact that we are going back tomorrow.

 

Thinking:

I cannot STOP thinking about the Human Body unit that I am starting up on Monday. I have LOADS of activities that I am working on and I can't wait to share everything that we do here on my no-longer-neglected blog.

Wanting

I have all of my ideas done and ordered for the nursery. It's just a matter of putting furniture together, buying the little knick-knacks I still need, and getting it all into place. I absolutely cannot wait to get it done. I am toying with the idea of starting a "Mommy Blog" (except I will refuse to call it that...) and if/when I do, I will post pics there. Otherwise, I will have to write a non-school related post to share them with the world. 

OLW:

Confidence. This is my new word. I posted a big ole' rant about all of the things I need to work on last month and this word sums it up. I am no longer going to allow myself to dwell on decisions I make or ideas I have. I'm going with my instincts and learning from my successes and my mistakes in 2013. And that is ALL about confidence.

And last, I {FINALLY} finished my Cells Alive activity packet. It's humungo and I am super happy with it. I love having all of the activities for the units that I teach all in one place. It's lovely! Head over to my TpT page to check it out. Here's a peek:

Link up! It's 2013!

The "R" Word...

In light of my previous post - I am vowing to come back in my second semester with a vengeance. I am going to be on here stalking blogs and writing posts like nobody's business!

As we wrap up this first semester - one word comes to my mind: REFLECTION. Ahh. It's either a teacher's best friend or worst enemy. In my case, it's definitely my best friend. I used to think that reflection was a time that I could look back and snicker, scoff, and feel bad about all of the decisions that I made that were less than mediocre. Now I realize that reflection is a necessity for ALL teachers, no matter if you've been teaching a year or twenty years. Being a teacher is all about growing - and yes. LEARNING. If you want to be a better teacher, then you need to reflect. If you're already a better teacher and you want to stay that way, you need to reflect. Even if it means you have to look at things that you did and say: "Well huh. That probably wasn't the best idea. I think I'd better come up with something better for next year." That's difficult to do and keep a positive attitude! Especially if you say that about everything that you did! But alas, you must press on.

For me, the reflection of my first semester in my very own classroom is a difficult one to face. I spent the first two and a half months miserable sick from my pregnancy. And so my grandiose dreams of having each and every lesson planned out from the beginning inevitably failed. They would have failed even had I not been sick. Lesson learned: It is impossible to plan out months and months worth of lessons before you know who your students are and  how they will progress.

After my sickness wore off, I spent too much time wishing I had done things "right" the first time around. Next lesson learned: There is no "right" or "wrong" way to teach. The only "wrong" way to teach is to assume your students will all "get it" the first time you teach it and then to assume it's ok to plan way, way ahead without taking into consideration the reality: they will NOT all get it the first time around!  I am constantly afraid that I'm doing it wrong. I really need to work on being more confident as a teacher. And I am starting by reflecting!

My struggle now lies within the delivery of the content of what I'm teaching. Am I correct when I justify lecture-type lessons by saying that for some things, there is no other way to get the material into students' heads? Are the students gaining anything from the supplemental activities that I have them do? Do they enjoy science? What can I do to make it better? And the BIGGEST struggle of all time - How can I incorporate quality questions that are authentic in nature? Gee whiz - that's the kicker right there. It is SO DIFFICULT to do this!!! Quality questioning that leaves students still talking about it weeks and weeks later. I know I have lots and lots of growing room in this area. LOTS. and LOTS. LOTS.

This is my rant. I just needed to get this in writing so that I can see exactly what I am facing within myself. I know there has to be other teachers out there - first year or experienced - that are likely going through the same thing.  Being a teacher is more than just showing up and teaching. It's reflecting and improving and learning and growing and more learning.

Here are some of the things that I know I want to improve over the next few months in my science classroom:

• Science Journals - I need to use these not only more often, but more importantly, more purposefully. Students need to understand the true importance of the journals and I need to put more emphasis on them. More scientific writing, more foldables, more tangible evidence of learning. That's what we need in my room.
• Daily Discoveries - These are quick, attention-grabbing brain teasers that get the brain moving first thing when students come in. I'd like to implement these on a more consistent basis. My students ask about these if we don't have them and lately, we have had more days without them than with them. Sad face.
• Multi-Subject Integration - More reading and writing, please! Especially in science, where writing about what's being learned can definitely help students understand and organize their thinking. I gotta read more on this. I am the queen of clueless when it comes to trying to incorporate writing into science. I found an eBook that definitely seems promising, thanks to Ari over at The Science Penguin that I will definitely be checking out. I also found a big fat list of science-related trade books that might just be the ticket to bringing reading into my science classroom.
• Daily/Weekly Assessment - I need to really find a structured way to assess my kids on each one of the learning targets that I teach. I have 72 students since I am departmentalized, so this is very intimidating to me. I will be stalking you teacher bloggers out there for guidance!
• Confidence. This, I think, will be the pivotal factor in my second semester. I need to get to a point to where I feel 100% sure about what I'm teaching, how I'm teaching it, and how I need to assess what I'm teaching. I think that will come along with more and more practice and time in the classroom. And checking off the aforementioned goals! These are certainly not unrealistic goals by any means.

That is enough of me, me, me and my reflection for the year. I think it's good to reflect. You should dedicate a post on your blog to your reflection, too! It's very refreshing! I'm not sure how helpful this was for anyone out there, but maybe in the least - I provided solace for any other teachers out there that might be struggling with the same things within themselves.

Keep Calm and Reflect On!

Silence for Sandy Hook Elementary

We can't even begin to understand why something like this can happen. My thoughts and prayers are with these families throughout this unimaginable tragedy.

So Little Time

And so many fun lessons to teach and talk about. This school year has zipped by me. Completely. I have totally and inexplicably neglected by blog. I have no excuse other than I'm pregnant. And a school teacher.

With that said, I am so sad that I have neglected bloggy land throughout my first year as a teacher. I have to be honest and say that science isn't really what I ever imagined myself teaching. And I'm still struggling to come to terms with the fact that I am really not that great at it...yet. I also struggle finding other teacher blogs that solely focus on science. I have a long way to go in order to feel confident about teaching science, but I have been proactive for next year. I have organized my files and lessons into two categories: Keepers and What Were You Thinking-ers. And then I added a category: Things I Should Have Thought to do Before!!

I am wrapping up my unit on light right now and I have to say that this is definitely the most challenging material I have ever taught - even when I was creating lessons while I was still in school. This material is HARD. There is no mistake about it! It's just very hard. And these kids are in FIFTH grade! I love that their little minds are already soaking up material that is this complex.

I just uploaded some good stuff to my TpT page that might help any science teachers out there that are also struggling with this material. You can click here to check it out. Shortly, I will also be posting a Bingo game that will be a great assessment tool in addition to a great review tool to use before a comprehensive assessment. Here's a little peek:

Here's a tip: making a Bingo game is a big pain in the rear, so please don't waste your time and go buy mine! :) It will have all of the directions, all of the questions, and 18 different game boards needed to be able to play this game.

Hope to be back before or during Christmas break with some fabulous finds or creations. Happy Holiday Break to all of you fabulous teachers out there!! 5 more days!

Cell Organelle Facebook Pages!

So last week I talked about my cell unit that I've been working on with my fifth graders. I mentioned something about posting a "Pin the Organelle on the Cell" game. Well, the more I thought about that, the worse it sounded as a good idea. You see, that game wouldn't tell me whether or not the kids knew the functions of the organelles - only that they knew how to determine what they looked like on a cell diagram. I needed something better - something that showed me that they understood the entire concept. That's where my friend Google came in. I literally just Googled "cell organelle activities" and clicked on "images" (I am a very visual person and I hate reading a whole bunch of stuff). I saw a cell on a Facebook page and I knew right away that Cell Organelle Facebook pages were genius. Unfortunately, I can't go back and give credit to whomever posted this picture - because it's just a picture. There was no other post about it anywhere that I could find - so I just made my own criteria and created a sample to show my kids. We had a brief discussion about what was required. I broke them up into groups and assigned each group a different organelle. They came up with cute names such as "Vicky Vacuole" and "Mitochondria Moe" and "Christopher Chloroplast". Then they set up their poster just like a Facebook page would look (using my example, below):

 I stressed that the MOST IMPORTANT THINGS were to make sure that when they created their "statuses" that they had to be related to the function of the organelle and that it had to demonstrate that they understood what that organelle did. They also had to create a "Friends" list and choose four other organelles. Those organelles then had to post comments on their wall (the comment had to have something to do with what that friend's function was). They turned out really cute and I could see that they really understood what each organelle did!!

These are just a few of them. We had our Boosterthon Fun Run on Friday - so it threw our schedule for a loop. We're still working on some of them - but this gives you an idea of how they turned out.

Oh! I also have the I Have, Who Has cell organelle game posted up on my TpT page. It's FREE, so click here to download your copy. It's just a quick little game you can use to review.

Up next - ECOSYSTEMS!! Complete with a terrarium/aquarium ecocolumn! Look for that soon!

So glad to be back and feeling like a human again. My fetus is treating me very nicely these days!!