In Manitoba students will be back in the classroom in approximately three weeks… three seemingly-short weeks… and I am beginning to plan out how those crucial first few hours, days, and then weeks, will play out in my classroom. When I look back at the beginning of last year, my first year in the classroom, I strongly feel like everything went as smooth as it could have been. I had over planned to compensate for my lack of experience, nervousness, and excitement… the students were reserved while they got used to the new setting and were pretty accommodating… Read More
Canada Day Blog Hop!
Happy (early) Canada Day! I’m linking up with Desiree at Reading with Mrs. D to participate in her Canada Day Blog Hop (and sale). Unfortunately, I don’t have a TPT store to participate in the sale portion of the event, but I can offer up some freebies from my classroom! (Click on the links to access the files via Dropbox) ________________________________________________ Editable Math Poster Set – Rainbow These posters outline criteria for mathematical thinking and were inspired by ones created by Sidney at Teaching is a Gift! What Makes A Good Blog Post – Student Blogging Outline A close-up view of my “What Makes… Read More
End of Term One Reflections & A Room Revamp
Thursday marked the last day of semester one in our division and it is pretty crazy to think that I have already completed HALF of my first year of teaching. When I look back at it I feel like I did A LOT but I also feel like it went by really, REALLY quickly. Friday was an administration day that we utilized to work on marking exams and completing report cards. Lucky for me, I marked ALL of my exams on the day they were written (Wednesday) so I was able to work on report card comments and… Read More
Scientific Method Bulletin Board
My classroom isn’t ready for a full reveal quite yet, but I have finished up all of my bulletin boards (you know, the ones that were hiding behind the monster bookcase). My favourite one, by far, is my Scientific Method bulletin board that is going to remain permanent through the school year. I modeled it after the amazing one that Emily created over at The Science Life! *BEFORE*The bulletin board I’m showing is the one on the North wall beneath the black star. *AFTER*The Scientific Method!Starting from the red rectangle: “Ask a Question”, “Form A Hypothesis”, “Create and Conduct an Experiment”,… Read More
Interactive "Connect With Us" Display
I am now spending almost every day in my classroom getting organized and prepared for the upcoming school year. As you know, I’ve created quite a strong online presence for my classroom and I want to make sure that my students utilize these resources and have easy access to them. To address this, I’ve created an interactive Connect With Us display at the entrance of my classroom! This display includes 3 laptops featuring the information for our: – Classroom Website – Classroom Blog – Classroom YouTube Channel In addition to the written URL for each site, I… Read More
Forces & Structures Resources
This is the LAST resources post regarding my Grade 7 Science curriculum planning and it covers the unit of Forces & Structures. All together, there are four units covered over the course of the school year and I have been sharing my individual unit breakdowns and online resource database. Until I actually meet my students and spend time learning their needs and interests, I have been building a plethora of resources to have in my back pocket as we make our way through the school year. Over the past 2 months, I have been sharing these resources with… Read More
When Science & Music Collide
As you might know, I am teaching two different science classes this upcoming year: Grade 7 & Grade 8. I had a really fun time planning out these two classes because my class sizes are SO small and I could easily build in A LOT of labs and various other hands-on activities. My primary focus when developing my lessons is to provide a relevant and meaningful learning experience for my students. (Obviously, this means that I will continue to modify things as the school year progress and I learn more about my students.) One resource that… Read More
Particle Theory of Matter Resources
My curriculum planning is almost half way done now as I’ve currently completed my year-plans for:– Grade 7 Science– Grade 8 Art &– Grade 8 ScienceSo far I’ve been sharing with you the resources I’ve found and incorporated into my Grade 7 Science unit, including my posts on Interactions with Ecosystems and The Earth’s Crust. The next, and longest, unit in the curriculum discusses the Particle Theory of Matter and has practically double the curriculum outcomes of The Earth’s Crust unit. Molecular Model of the Three States of Matter. (2013). Uploaded by scienceportfolio1p1 wiki. Available online at: http://scienceportfolio1p1.wikispaces.com/Term+2… Read More
The Earth's Crust Resources
Back in May I shared some of my planning that I had done for my Interactions with Ecosystems unit for my Grade 7 Science class. While the planning has continued, I realized today that I haven’t shared anything more through the blog. The Grade 7 Science curriculum consists of four different units so I thought that I would simply go in order and share the next unit’s resources: The Earth’s Crust. The Dynamic Earth Smithsonian Interactive. (2013). Uploaded by the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Available online at: http://www.mnh.si.edu/earth/main_frames.html I actually had a difficult time planning… Read More
Mad Science 2
As you may know, I will be teaching both Grade 7 & Grade 8 science in the upcoming school year. As I work my way through my planning for the year I am consistently working towards making my lessons relevant and meaningful for the students in my classroom. It is important to me that my students get excited about what they are learning and can be self-motivated when it comes to experiments and research projects. As such, I have been looking for new and interesting ways to introduce information to my students as well as resources to engage… Read More