Started the year off a bit differently. We had a schedule change that involved not meeting all 6 classes in one day. So instead of a 45-minute class session (that had been the case for the past 6 years), we had to pivot and do a 75-minute plan. I had Mrs. F sub my Block 3 class because I was sick! Grateful for those colleagues who will get your back!
One of the students from Block 5 pointed out that I never said my name…and they came up to me privately requesting that I say my name so that they know how to pronounce it. How thoughtful are my new students! Then I showed the Physics is Life video that Mrs. F and Mr. M introduced to my first year of teaching Physics. It just doesn’t feel like the first day of school unless we show it.
Mrs. F found an activity of 31-der-ful. I ended up doing it a little differently and had students use the whole deck instead of giving them 25 cards. They create a 5×5 grid that has all the rows and columns adding up to 31. One group in Block 6 completed the activity in record time. They said they just set out the cards and it just so happened that the first try met the requirements. One student, allegedly, went to the bathroom to look up the answer (but I’m pretty sure that was their group throwing them under the bus as a terrible prank).
The students then completed 4 tasks that included a group activity of 4 challenges, practicing screenshots, signing up for Remind, and going over Tips for Success. Students completed the 4 challenges of moving cups using a string and a rubberband. Mrs. F found this activity on a blog, and will need to link it here when I find it. It was great fun and there were students who were following it as written (and also students who didn’t). I learned so much about who already knew each other because of practices or classes over the summer. Overall, I thought that this was an awesome activity.
I’m totally looking forward to getting to know my students and working with them for the rest of the year! Woot! Positive start to a new year!
Learning with Ms. Medrano 