Odds and Ends

Who is the teacher behind the desk?

by Liz LaRosa

www.middleschoolscience.com

First Days | What are we doing today? | Absentees | Seating/Lab Groups | Lab Book | Textbook |  Supplies | Homework | Grading |  Formulas | Hall Passes  | Music  | Weekly Envelope | Science Fiction |

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For my science background and teaching experience - click here

Visual Tour of my old Classroom - click here

 

First Day of School:

    Welcome Letter:

At our school, we send a letter to our students towards the end of the summer.  It lists what supplies they need, what we are going to study, and some class policies.  Here is the letter in PDF format.

     Scavenger Hunt

I made up a scavenger hunt worksheet for the first or second day of school.  The students see how many items they can find, then we go over the answers. PDF format: scavengerhunt.pdf

    Daily Trivia:

My students loved doing daily trivia, it is a great way to start class.   What I like about it is that you can cover a lot of different topics and important facts that the kids may encounter when they take standardized or multiple choice tests or you can use it to review concepts that you are learning that term.. 

"What are we doing today?"

The infamous question!  Students want to know what's going on, what to expect, to be prepared.  Every morning, I walk into my classroom and on the board, the same spot every day, I list what we are going to do and what materials they need for the day.  This works so well that I can change modes very easily in one class period and it cuts down on wasted time.  Here is an example of what I might have on the board:

To do today:

So in one class period, we corrected the homework, worked on finishing a lab, and reviewed for the quest.  Little time was wasted between checking the homework and doing the lab, and then the lab and review.  Everything that the students needed was at hand, plus they knew what was next.  top

Absentees:

I have hanging wall files labeled: (Thanks to http://sciencespot.net for the idea!)

Students are responsible for maintaining these papers.  When a student is absent, their lab partner fills out a "While you were absent form" and staples everything together, then places it in the wall file.  Students come back and pick up their packet.  They place completed work in the "Make-up work to be graded file" by the due date.  We have science 4 days a week.  If the student is absent on a Monday or Tuesday, work is due Thursday.  If the student is absent on a Wednesday or Thursday, work is due Tuesday.  If students are gone more than 2 days in a row, special arrangements are made.

Seating:

I have the long lab tables and I cluster them into islands.  Each seat is labeled with a letter from A-Z (depending on how many students I'll have in a class).  When the students come in the first day of school, as they walk in, I randomly give them a letter and they find their seat.  I change seats at the beginning of each month.  I have had mostly positive responses from the students, they look forward to the change.

Reasoning behind this?

  1. Mixes up the classroom so that they do not have the same lab partner all year long.

  2. Mixes up the lab groups.

  3. Eventually everyone gets to work with each other.

  4. Allows students of different abilities to interact.

  5. Change of scenery, allows them to view the classroom from a different perspective.  For example, instead of being in the back of the room all year, they get to sit up front.  top

Lab Groups:

With each seat labeled with a letter and the tables in clusters, the lab groups become obvious.  A and B are lab partners, C and D are lab partners.  For a 4 person lab group, A-D become Group 1, E-H Are group 2, etc.  They are responsible for their lab partner/group.  If one person is absent, the lab group has to fill them in on what happened in class and also provide any data that was collected. top

Lab Books: Lab book Table of Contents

Starting 2002-2003: New version directions:  Using 1/2 inch 3 ring binder with pages already photocopied.

I reformatted all my labs, photocopied all the pages, and then inserted them into a 1/2 inch binder that does not leave the classroom.  Students are told to buy a 1/2 inch binder as part of their supply list.  As you look through the labs, whenever you see the pin image on the pdf lab sheets, it means that the student has to have their work checked before they move on to the next section.  To verify that I have checked it, I stamp it with a Crayola mini-stamper. (You can buy them at the www.Crayola.com  website) The kids like to get their notebook stamped.

I am no longer using a grading rubric because I grade the lab as they are working on it.  The pin image serves as a check point, and they can not move on to the next part unless I have stamped their work.  I am always walking around the classroom, observing, answering questions, checking work, making sure they are following the right procedures, etc. The students are really engaged and the lab almost runs itself.  Just about every student does very well on their labs, except for those that are absent a lot, some students miss weeks at a time and there is only so much work they can make up.

Old version directions: Using a marble graph paper composition book

The lab book has kept me sane!  Moving to the 6th grade from High School Biology was a big transition.  My first year teaching 6th grade, I did not use the lab book (at the H.S. I did).  EVERY lab resulted in at least 2-3 students who "lost" their lab sheet.  All their work and data from the day before vanished and they had to rewrite everything, or when the lab was due, they had nothing to turn in!  

The following year I introduced the lab book to my classes.  I followed the HS format.  What a difference!  Its a lot harder to lose a marble notebook, so just about every student had their lab.  I also have a rubric (click here for grading rubric pdf version)  that I use and the students grade each others labs, give the lab back to the owner, they double check, then I record the grade.  (Click here for how to use the rubric pdf) They also keep their lab books in class, I have a box for each class period.  They take it out of the class only for homework.

Reasoning behind the lab book:

  1. Keeps work organized

  2. Cuts down on lost labs and wasted time

  3. When students grade each others labs, it reinforces the lab experience

  4. Is a portfolio for science class

  5. Parents love to see what we do in class  top

Textbook:(I do not use textbooks with my classes now, but this worked well when I did!)

The first day that I give the students their text books, I tell them that I do not want to see it again till June.  I usually get a confused look from them.  I tell them to take it home and keep it in a safe, dry, and warm place.  I don't want it in our class.  I don't want it in your locker.  Home. Period!  I have a class set (about 10-12) for 25 students that they share if we need the book in class.

Reasoning behind this:

  1. Science books are too heavy to carry around.

  2. Less wear and tear, have you seen a middle school student's locker? Scary!

  3. Textbook is used for homework reading assignments, outlines, question and answer.  If its already home, they can't forget it in school, therefore they CAN do their homework.  top

Supplies:

I have bins for each lab group, everything is labeled with their group number and they are responsible for keeping track of all items.  I check their bins before they leave to make sure everything is in order and available for the next class.  This is especially important in Life Science when you have slides and scalpels to keep track of!

I also have bins for regular supplies such as rulers, calculator, colored pencils, etc.  Everything is labeled with their Group #.  top

Homework:

I do NOT collect daily homework because I would literally drown in paperwork!  At the beginning of class the students take out their homework and put it on their desk.  I walk around and skim each one and I stamp it with a CRAYOLA STAMPER (My favorites, of course, are the space ones! They have animals, nature, & expression as well).  It takes about 5 minutes and while I am doing that, they are writing down their homework assignment for that night, checking their folders for papers that are being returned, getting their lab book and supplies for the day, etc.  

In my grade book, I stamp the column so I know what stamp I used for what assignment, and record a "+" if they have it or a "-" if they don't.  The students love getting their papers stamped and always ask what the stamp of the day is!  We then go over the homework and correct it as a class.  top

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Formulas:

Physical science deals with a lot of formulas and word problems.  I let the student have an index card of any formulas that will help them on our Quests (I don't use the terms Quiz and Test, hence Quest, I call them "Quests for Knowledge" and the term isn't as stressful.)  My main goal is not that they memorize the formulas, but UNDERSTAND how to use them and which one to use for a given problem.  Also, I emphasize UNITS.  If the answer is "3", 3 what? ohms? m/s? amps? joules? Newtons?  I tell them that "Numbers need last names too!"

Tips on using the index cards:

  1. Each class has a different color index card and is only allowed to use that color. Example: Period 1 is pink, 2 is blue, 3 is green. Why?  White index cards all look alike.

  2. Only one side is used

  3. I double check their cards before the Quest

  4. Students staple the index card with their Quest when they turn it in.  top

Hall Passes:

In a perfect world, students wouldn't have to leave your class for any reason.  But this is the real world.  Keeping track of students is very important for many reasons, the main one is safety.  These are some suggestions that work for me:

Sign out sheet:

Make a sheet with a table on it, the columns are labeled: Date, Name, Destination, Time Out, Time In.  (Or just print out this one! PDF)  Photocopy a whole bunch, then put them on a clipboard with a pencil tied to it.  Students simply fill out the chart, take a pass (I use wooden ones) when they need to leave.  I feel that middle schoolers are a bit to old to raise their hand to have to go to the bathroom or get a drink of water.  I have simple guidelines that they must follow, anyone caught abusing those guidelines loses that privilege, end of story.

  1. One person at a time

  2. Can not go during a quest

  3. Can not go when we are correcting homework

  4. Can not go out more than once, (if not feeling well, I send them to the nurse)

Passes for Lunch Detention, Extra Help, Study Hall, & Nurse's Office:

These passes are the most important to keep track of because they are leaving a supervised area for an extended amount of time.  I use a phone message book, the kind that has about four messages per page, and they have carbon copies, like the ones that the main office usually uses.  I like the ones with cartoon characters, like Bugs Bunny, etc.  These are great because you have a written record of every pass you write for the day, and eventually for the whole year.  Plus, they are really hard to forge since you have every pass documented.  When the students come in, I check off the carbon copy to note that they did show up, and see who didn't show up.  top

Nurse Passes -These are EXTRA important, because sometimes when a student is really ill, they can be gone almost the whole class period.  I use the phone message book for these as well.  I write the exact time they leave, the nurse then fills in the exact time they leave her office and also initials the pass.  That way there are no "mysterious disappearances" or time trapped in the Bermuda Triangle!

Each pass has the following information:

Discipline:

Parental contact is very important.  I have a binder that I nicknamed the "FBI files".  Inside I have a student information sheet on each student that documents everything. For example:

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Music:

Sometimes, in my science class, I play classical music.  I have a small collection of CDs that I plan on expanding as time goes on.  Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven to name a few.  I also tune into the classical music station which hardly has any commercials or interruptions so it doesn't disturb the class.  I have the music on all day at a low but noticeable volume.  I find that the music creates a nice atmosphere and I have read studies that it helps to raise a student's I.Q. and brain activity.  The students seem to like it  and the ones that take music lessons can sometimes identify the pieces that are being played or tell me that they can play that piece on their instrument.top

Weekly Envelope: 

I feel that parental contact is very important.  In our school, we have something called the "Wednesday Envelope" - Every Wednesday, the students take home an envelope that contains all the important papers that parents need to see each week.  This helps keep the students organized and the parents informed of what is going on in their child's school and classes.  The parents sign the envelope and the student brings the envelope back Thursday morning.

Science Fiction lesson plans for the novel "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov : Lessons

 

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DISCLAIMER:  This page represents my personal opinion and experience.  I do not hold any degrees in Child Psychology, or a PhD in Educational Philosophies,  etc, etc.  Do not take any of my opinions as fact or the correct way to run a classroom.  These are just things that work for me and my students.  

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© Copyright 2000-2006, E. S. LaRosa. All rights reserved. Reproduction for educational purposes is encouraged.