Blog 4.1: Middle school observations 1-2

On the Thursdays of March 19th and April 2nd I observed a lovely 6th grade science class. During these observations I learned the flow of their teachers methods, what their weekly objectives were , and some new skills like grading. I thoroughly enjoyed these two different days. I instantly connected with the teacher and my time there has persuaded me to look into getting certified for both middle and high school level science. 

March 19th- This was my first day observing down at the middle school for this year. Last year I enjoyed my time at the middle school so I was very enthused to observe down there this year. As soon as I walked into Mrs. McGowan 6th grade science class I was immediately welcomed and handed the handouts they were working on. I love it when my teachers do that. When I walked in she had the students doing vocab because our state is lacking in vocab. After the vocab she had them finish up their weekly packet. When they finished and turned that in she allowed her student teacher from a nearby college to go over and review punnett squares. Class ended and it was time for the students to go to a special class, on this day the students went to music. My teacher had me come with her to the teachers lounge to grade papers. 

April 2nd- I was very excited to return for another observation. This time it was just a little different. The students were on a different bell schedule so I had a shorter time with a different class. This week they were still going over genetics, and punnet squares but they went into more depth. This class finished up a short assignment then turned it in. After they completed that they got on their chromes and Mrs. McGowan went over a slide show called "Bikini bottom genetics" this was an activity about punnet squares and genetics using SpongeBob and other characters as examples. After they finished this activity they switched to a different class. When they left I helped Mrs. McGowan paint a back drop for their spring dance. 

Overall just in those two days I learned a lot. I had never observed this grade level, teacher or unit before. I plan on using many of Mrs. McGowan's methods like: Giving adequate work time, Giving students extra time if they had missed a day, giving them fun activities along side with notes and a weekly work packet. I aspire to teach science when I get out of college so learning how to grade that curriculum's work really gave me a new perspective. I cannot wait to implement some of the things I learned into my future classroom.