2 Stars & A Wish: Week 7

 This weeks started our back-to-back short weeks as Monday of this week was Thanksgiving and this upcoming Friday is our provincial professional development day, S.A.G.E. This week seemed to go by very quickly even though I didn’t actually teach that much. Most of my classes are nearing the end of their units and I had 2 classes write their unit tests on Friday. Two things that I think went really well this week are:

1 ) Introducing Formal Lab Reports in Science
– We have been working with the Scientific Method since the beginning of’
  the school year and we have practiced a few different methods of
  “Communicating our Results”. We’ve had sharing circles, made posters,
  completed blog posts, and made presentations in class. This week,
  however, I wanted to introduce formal written lab reports with my students.
– On Wednesday we completed a very simple diffusion experiment as a large
  group. I purposefully chose a simple experiment so that my students could
  focus on the details of a written report and get used to the format.
– On Friday we began discussing how a lab report is organized and
  brainstormed the details that should be included in it. This week I would like
  to complete our rough drafts and eventually get them typed.

2 ) Incorporating a Solid Routine for my Special Needs Students
– I have two students in my classroom that are involved at an adapted level
  in Science class but are on a completely different program for math (at
  about a Grade 1 level). I try to have them work on their program in the
  classroom as much as possible but there are times where my teaching is
  just too much of a distraction for them and the EA takes them out to a
  quiet space.
– While I realize that this is necessary for them at times, I want to have them
  included as much as possible. This week my EA and I worked together
  to develop a math routine for them that closely mirrors our class routine in
  math. When we complete mental math at the start of each class they
  complete calendar time. I really like this set-up because this allows them to
  stay in the classroom with their peers for the start of each class. From there
  they either stay in the room or step out depending on how much classroom
  discussion and louder activities we are doing.
– I am really happy with the way this has been going and they seem to be
  responding positively to it as well.

Week 6 Update:

     Last week I shared that I wanted to work on differentiating instruction for my Grade 9 math class. The way this week played out, however, didn’t really allow for me to work effectively towards this goal. Monday was a holiday and Tuesday I was attending in-school IEP meetings all day so there was a substitute in my class. Since we only have math Monday-Wednesday, this didn’t allow me to work that much on this goal . As such, I am keeping this goal for an additional week. I am also getting evaluated again (this time in Grade 9 math) so it will be good timing to try some new activities