Hump-day (aka: Wednesday, or "it's mid-week and I'm tired already") is over, and we are in our first week back together since Spring Break. The rest was so nice, although it rained 5 out of the 7 days of the break. I was hoping to get outside, but since that was a bust, I did a lot of shopping! It feels good to be back on my routine again, and it was fun to hear about all my student's adventures on the Monday we returned!
So far in science, we have finished our lab on the density of air. This was my favorite lab since I have started teaching. The students already *know how to measure mass and volume, and can calculate density without my help (*they should know how to do it because I have been beating the dead horse that is "measuring in science" but of course, there are a few who still need help). So instead of giving them a lab worksheet that had all the procedures typed up and fed to them with a silver spoon, they had to make their own steps in order to find the density of air. It caused many students a lot of anxiety at first.
Initially, each group of 4 students were to simply explore the lab materials. They were given a rigid plastic bottle, a rubber washer, a stopper, a pump, and a triple beam balance. It took most groups 10-15 minutes to figure out how to put the washer and stopper correctly on the bottle in order to use the pump. After about 20 minutes, we gathered back together as a whole class to talk about how everything fit together. We discussed how the pump worked, and how they new it worked that way (evidence). Then, they had to figure out how to measure the mass of the air in the bottle and the volume of the bottle, in order to calculate the density of air. I loved sharing the experience with my students because it was the first time they had to do it without me guiding them (and the first time I didn't guide them at all). We all felt a little anxiety and frustration with the process initially, but I could tell they were proud of themselves for figuring it out from their past experiences measuring the density of solids and liquids. They truly became scientists, and I made sure to share my affirmations with each and every child today!
Lately, math has been a completely different story. We are learning about scientific notation (yes, we teach it in math class and not science class because it is not included in the Washington state science standards, and it is in the math one's). My kids really struggled with the last quiz I gave on converting between standard form and scientific notation. We moved on adding and subtracting in scientific notation on Monday/Tuesday, which was also pretty rough. We spent 3 days on it and are now on multiplying and dividing. Since this is the first time I have taught math, I look up a lot of information on the web. I really like Khan Academy because it has a lot of very useful videos to watch. Most of this I already know how to do (it is rare if I cannot perform the mathematical skill myself), but teaching it simply enough to my students is another story. They get frustrated easily and tend to shut down if the operation doesn't come quickly. We are working on persisting through the frustration, taking deep breaths, and writing notes while I am showing examples on the board. It has gotten better over the last month, but my students are getting 8th-grade-itis (is that real?!?) and it is making them lazzzy. Got any math teaching tips? Send me a comment, please!
Meanwhile, MSP (measurement of student progress) season is in full-flight. Only 1.5 weeks to go until the first day of testing. I already have some students asking, "Is this going to be on the test?" Unfortunately, my math kids will also be taking the MBA (math benchmark assessment) shortly after the MSP. Their lives are going to include a lot of tests in the near future. I hope I can alleviate some of their test-anxiety by teaching them well so they feel prepared. Tips for curing testing anxiety? Send 'em my way!
No comments:
Post a Comment