Week Five and Six

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Here's what I've been up to the past couple of weeks.

Week Five: The Last Week for Learning

This is my last week to focus on learning the different teaching techniques and styles of Willow Bend. Cassandra went to visit her home/family in New Zealand, so I followed Val around my old elementary school. Marshall School is a Magnet school, so they like to get students involved in hands-on learning. That's why we were there!

We taught 3rd graders about the phrase "reduce, reuse, recycle". I learned a few new tips as well from this lesson. Order matters in the phrase. First, you should look to reduce what you consume. Next, you should look to reuse what you have consumed. Finally, if you cannot reduce or reuse, you should recycle. Next, we taught the kids about what material you can recycle. Keep in mind, anything paper cup with a waxy substance inside (coffee cups, orange juice containers, excreta) are not recyclable.

We talked to the kids about the landfills, and how it is important to have a clay layer at the bottom of the fill (so that hazardous chemicals don't leak through to the soil or groundwater). I learned that our local landfill here in Flagstaff does not have that clay layer.

  
We also taught 2nd graders about the way seeds move. We divided seed movement into different categories such as "exploders" or "fliers". It was fun to work with such a young class.


This is my last week to watch other teachers and how they educate their students. From here on out, I will be developing my survey and my lesson for the sixth grade Alpine group. While observing and helping the Willow Bend educators has been really enjoyable, I'm looking forward to actually implementing what I have learned into a lesson. I hope that I don't just load the students up with facts; I hope I can create change in their habits that helps the environment.

Week Six: Determining Lesson Topics

I'm going to develop a pre-test and post-test to administer to the Alpine kids both a week before and after my presentation. But before I can create the test, I need to determine what I actually want to teach the students and how to accomplish this. 

Cassandra told me to list the things I want the kids to learn in order of importance. What is most the most fundamental, necessary thing you need them to know? 

I feel what is most important is the students' view of water. I want them to understand that fresh, potable water is a scarce resource in short supply. From there, I will teach them how they can conserve water individually, and transition to how they can make a difference as a group. How can you make a difference in your classroom? School? Community? I hope to incorporate local issues and hands-on activities as well.

From here on out, I'll be working on my surveys and presentations.

Thanks for reading! Happy Spring Break everyone!