Ancient Egypt

This week we are finishing up our "World Religion's" project and are about to move on the Ancient Egypt! I am so excited! This was my favorite thing to learn when I was in junior high and I am so excited to be teaching it!

We will start with the same old thing, read through the chapter, discuss, go over vocabulary words. But once we are done with all the boring stuff, I would love to do several projects on the topic. I have found a few projects that I would like to do, their links are listed below.

pyramid project

Awesome website on all things Ancient Egypt

mummification game

Discovery Kids mummy Game

Spreading the Faith: Spreading World Religions on the Silk Road

During the past couple of weeks we have been learning about world religions. I decided a project would be a nice way to learn about all the information and it would be a nice change from the mundane, every day lessons we do.  For two days I made a webquest for the students to do their research. For another two days we checked out the Chrome Books and each group researched their religion. I split the students desks up into 5 groups, who ever they sat with was the group they would be working on this project with. They were given the handout below as a rubric for this project. Once the research was done we spent a day working on the rough drafts. Once the rough drafts were completed, they started on their final drafts, which they would use to present their religion to the class. Thursday and Friday will be spent presenting the religions.

Lost Pencils

I started out the year with about 50 pencils. I placed 5 or so pencils in each tables basket so no one would ever be in need of a pencil. Now we are in the second 9 weeks and there are no pencils to be seen. They have vanished! I have seen several students throw them away at the end of the day- what a waste! So in order to fix the issue of no one having any pencils including myself, I have made a pencil library. Students can check out pencils, but they must return it before they leave my class. How will I know if they have returned it? I will be able to see the missing pencils!

As you can see below, I have placed each pencil in its own designated spot. Each box has a number that goes along with its' pencil. If a student wants to use one of those pencils, they must write their name in the pencils' box, then they may erase their name when they return it.

I have done something similar when students borrow my highlighters and I still have the majority of the same highlighters I started the year out with.

Exit Slips

I am realizing that I need to focus more on my students that don't like to speak in front of the class. Because they are not participating I am not sure if they are understanding the lesson, if they have questions, if they are actively engaged in our discussions or if they are in their own little worlds. In order to combat this I have decided to try several different strategies and see which one the kids like best.

I would first like to try having a class Twitter feed where students must post a summary of the days lesson. If the students don't have Twitter or a smart phone I will have them write a summary on a piece of paper I provide them. My classroom Twitter is here: Mrs. Spaeth's Class Twitter

Other suggestions I have seen have been to use the website Edmodo, and the phone apps Vine, Mixbit, and Instagram.

Edmodo
It is like a classroom Facebook, you can make groups, post things on the classroom wall, you can add links to the library. It seems really cool! Maybe we will try it!

Vine
Vine is an app that allows the user to take a 6 second video, so it would be up to the students creativity to show the most important aspects of that days lesson in a 6 second Vine. I am curious as to what students would come up with. I am sure they would love doing that. The only problem I can think of is the fact that we don't have much time, we only have 40 minute classes, that could pose a problem.

Mixbit
I think Mixbit is a lot like Vine, where you have a limited amount of time to make a video, this would be another fun and creative way for students to show me their understanding.

Instagram
Instagram is basically a photo gallery, so to use this as an exit slip, students would need to post a photo (or several) to show the key points about the days lesson. This again, would be a fun way for students to show what they know in a creative and unique way.

I am curious about using all of these. We may need to experiment a bit and see which we like best and what works best for the kids.

Here are some writing prompts for a paper exit slip:

1. Write down two things you learned today.
2. Pretend your friend was absent from class today and s/he asks you to explain the lesson. What would you tell him/her?
3. Write down one question you have about today’s lesson.
4. Write down one thing I can do to help you.
5. What concept has been most difficult/confusing this chapter?
6. What do you need to do to prepare for the upcoming test?
7. What would you like me to review tomorrow?
8. What is the most important thing we learned today?
9. How did today’s quiz go? What can you do to improve next time?
10. If you were writing a quiz over today’s material, what are 2 questions that you would put on it?

Name: ____________________________________                                                     Date:_____________________________________ Learning Objective Exit Slip Summarize today’s lesson. Self- Assessment I totally understand and can teach my peers. I almost have it; but I may need a little more practice. I’m completely lost.  Please  reteach me.	Name: ____________________________________                                                     Date:_____________________________________ Learning Objective Exit Slip Summarize today’s lesson. Self- Assessment I totally understand and can teach my peers. I almost have it; but I may need a little more practice. I’m completely lost.  Please reteach me.
Name: ____________________________________                                                      Date:_____________________________________ Learning Objective Exit Slip Summarize today’s lesson. Self- Assessment I totally understand and can teach my peers. I almost have it; but I may need a little more practice. I’m completely lost.  Please reteach me.	Name: ____________________________________                                                     Date:_____________________________________  Learning Objective Exit Slip Summarize today’s lesson. Self- Assessment I totally understand and can teach my peers. I almost have it; but I may need a little more practice. I’m completely lost.  Please  reteach me.

Parent Teacher Conferences

I have recently experienced my first parent teacher conferences. I believe they went really well! My parents were very interested in helping their child out with bringing up their grades. I was honestly a little afraid that they would be upset with me because of their child's grades, but none were.  What a relief! I believe a great deal of my success was due to the fact that I tried to prepare myself as well as I could. I found some nice hand outs for the parents that I could fill out and give to the parents for them to take home. My favorite was the Student Self- Evaluation form. It was a great way for me to see whether or not the students were aware of what their strengths and weaknesses are. 

Student Self-Evaluation

Student Answers                                               Teacher Answers

I listen and participate in class.                          Listens and participates in class

-Always                                                             -Always

-Sometimes                                                        -Sometimes

-I need to improve                                             - Needs to improve

I turn in my best work.                                      Turns in best work

-Always                                                             -Always

-Sometimes                                                       -Sometimes

-I need to improve                                            - Needs to improve 

I follow the classroom rules.                             Follows the classroom rules

-Always                                                             -Always

-Sometimes                                                       -Sometimes

-I need to improve                                            - Needs to improve

I am proud of myself for:                                  I am proud of you for:

___________________                                    ___________________

___________________                                   ____________________

____________________                                  __________________

I need to work on:                                            I would like for you to work on:

__________________                                      ____________________

__________________                                      _____________________

___________________                                   ______________________

Parent Goals for this Student:

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________