1) Seventeen of my students have created their own eportfolios. If you visit my website, you will see that I have added a navigation to the eportfolios in the sidebar. So far, the students have only created a skeleton (photo, introduction, and hypothesis for their research project). Next week, they will add their first reflection and document to their portfolios. Some students were wondering "why are we doing this". I said that it was kind of like a more professional alternative to facebook, and a place for them to display work and achievements of which they are proud (i.e. something to include on a resume).
2) Earth Science is working through the astronomy unit. My son has a toy turtle, that lights up and projects constellations on the ceiling. This toy is desiged for 2-6 year olds, but it is actually somewhat representative of the night sky, and my students loved it. The laser pointer was key here. We compared the projection to Google sky projected from my computer. Students were excited to see their "astrological" constellation. Students also completed the Sun's path lab, and before the lab, I pulled up a Sun's path simulator online to show how the path of the sun changes throughout the year and with latitude. Students also successfully completed the ellipse lab.
3) In the instruction for the sun's path lab, I need to provide more clear instructions on how to use the proctractor to determine the sun's zenith (altitude at solar noon). I should also provide tape for students to use to tape the dome to the "compass" paper.
4) I woke to use the bathroom in the middle of the night a few days ago, and the light was on in Evan's room. I opened the door, and he had every book in his room pulled off the shelf, and opened to the first page sitting on his floor. When he saw me, he ran and hid in his closet. Then slowly, he poked his head around the corner with a hilarious smile on his face.
Today, I am going ice-fishing for the first time. I am looking forward to a new experience, and bringing dinner home for my family.
5) Two girls in my third block class are verbally fighting over a male student in the class. Several other female students in the classroom have been instigating it. This immaturity and childish behavior are the root of frustrations for a high school teacher. Students should be learning, not bickering and worrying about who said what, blah, blah, blah. I realize that these are kids with a lot of things on their minds. My goal as a teacher is to have them care enough about Earth Science to have that on their minds as well.
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