1 week. 5 days. 120 hours. That is all the more time I have as a Student Teacher at Mifflinburg Area High School. This past week went by so quickly, even though the number of classes that I am teaching is on the down slope.
On Monday in Introduction to Agriculture, I gave a Poultry test. I provided students with a crossword puzzle to review for homework, and we went over it at the beginning of class. Fifth period was very engaged and seemed prepared for the test. 6th period was whole other story! Many students were being distracting as we reviewed, and I ended up sending one student to sit outside the door, as he was the source of much of the problem. After we reviewed, I had students take their unit test.
I picked up the Veterinary Science class during 8th period on Monday. We began the Circulatory and Urinary System unit, which is a week long unit intended to give students an overview of these systems. I decided to teach the blood flow through the heart. I made a handout, with a diagram of a heart, which students folded and cut into four quarters to take notes on each chamber. I tried to make this lesson relatively simple, but students didn't seem to be following what I was saying. After class, many students had questions for me, and I decided that I would re-teach a portion of the lesson the next day, although it would mess up my plan for the week.
Tuesday was the first day that I did not teach Introduction to Agriculture. Instead, I worked on some PSU assignments and graded the Poultry exams. During Vet Science, I decided we would review their homework first (a diagram of the heart that they had to label the blood flow). I then provided them with notecards, and had them put them in order according to how the blood flows through the heart. I think that reviewing this and breaking it down into steps really helped them comprehend it. After I felt that they understood, we moved on, talking about veins and arteries.
Since we had to review the heart again, we did not have time to complete the activity about blood that I had planned. Instead, we completed this activity on Wednesday in class. I was really excited for this activity. Students made "blood"! I gave them yellow died water, to represent plasma. They then added red died Cheerios as red blood cells. Next, they added mini marshmallows to represent white blood cells, and PomPoms to represent platelets. I then had them pull out their blood abnormalities notes and choose an "ingredient" (i.e. pasta, confetti, etc.) to add to represent one of those abnormalities. I think that this went well, and encouraged them to think outside the box. After we completed the blood activity, we reviewed the urinary system and talked about each organ and its function.
After school on Wednesday, I stayed to help train the Parliamentary Procedure team, in preparation for the regional competition next Wednesday. After Parli Pro practice, I traveled to Tractor Supply with Mr. Kessler and two students. Tractor Supply had contacted Mr. Kessler about doing a fundraising event next Saturday, so we went to talk with the manager about this opportunity.
On Thursday in Vet Science, I taught students about urinary diseases, urine collection and urinalysis. I presented a PowerPoint first, then students had a chance to actually analyze some "urine". I have to say... I was SO pumped about this lesson. I created fake urine using chicken bouillon cubes. Each sample was supposed to represent a certain urinary disease (i.e. kidney stone= chicken bouillon with a drop of beef blood). I had a student who works at a vet's office bring in urine test strips for us to analyze these samples.
Students were so grossed out when I handed out the "urine" samples. They kept asking where I got them and if they were real. They performed the urinalysis with the test strips, observed the urine color and clarity, read over the patient symptoms and descriptions, and used all of this information to diagnose the problem. I was really pleased, that from all of this information, students were able to diagnose the appropriate problems!
Today was the last day that I taught Vet Science, the last "official" class that I will teach at Mifflinburg. I assigned a project about the circulatory and urinary systems on Thursday, where I asked students to create a project that teaches someone about any aspect of the urinary or circulatory system in a creative way. The only limitation I set was that students could not create a poster or write an essay. I gave students the day in class to work on their projects, and provided them with some supplies. They have the weekend to finish and then they will be due on Monday. Students worked really hard on their projects and I am excited to see the end result!
Overall, this week, I was extremely proud of my flexibility. I had to make a lot of adjustments for the Vet Science class. Although this messed up my plans quite a bit, I am thankful that I had this experience. It taught me that if students do not understand something that you taught, it is not a bad thing to go back and re-teach it.
I am very sad that I won't be teaching any more classes, and even sadder that my time here at Mifflinburg is almost over. Despite this, I am excited for next week. On Tuesday, I will be traveling to the Regional Public Speaking competition in Williamsport with Mr. Kessler and a few students. Wednesday, we have an FFA meeting, and Thursday we are finishing up my Community Based Unit of Instruction by planting trees throughout the community. Finally, on Friday, I will be traveling to R.B. Winter State Park with the Introduction to Agriculture class for their annual field trip. I am looking forward to these events, and I think it will be a great way to end my time here at Mifflinburg Area High School.
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