Candy, Soldering, Horse Shoes, and Ice Cream! What more could you possibly squeeze into week 8?

This week we got down to business learning about cattle in Intro to Ag, soldering in Ag Mech 1, and beginning the construction of our Shark Tank projects in Ag Mech 2! We also spent some time in Vet Science building neurons out of candy! It was action packed with hands on learning for all of my classes. Some student inquiry I received this week throughout my classes were questions like, "why did we add salt to the ice when making our ice cream?" or "How do I solder two fittings on at a time?" It was an awesome moment seeing the students take control of their own learning and staying engaged throughout the lesson!

In one of my Introduction to Ag courses we discussed relevant terminology to the agricultural industry as well as practices used such as GMO, castration, animal rights, animal welfare, and Organic production. Students learned about what antibiotics are and how they played a role in production, and they played Bingo as a review. The intensity rose as students realized Mr. Steinfelt was also in the game! We laughed and had a great time reviewing terminology. My other Introduction to Ag section began our investigation into the Cattle industry! Discussing dairy and beef production, we focused on the products we consume as well as the products we use! Students had the opportunity to create their own "by-product" cow, as well as ice cream in a bag and butter in a jar. Students had so much fun engaging with food and hands on learning activities reinforcing the "what" behind the "why."

I also had the opportunity to participate in student teaching conferences where I observed my cohort members and was also observed by them all while preparing for sub plans for next week. It was a busy 5 days, packed with lots of learning, opportunities, and fun to make up my week 8. As I look forward to week 9, I am hopeful that I continue to grow as teacher by working hard on my organization and closure of my lessons while also finding time to continue to build those important and impactful relationships with my students.

For next week, my goal is to focus on remaining organized as I will be stepping away to return to Penn State to fulfill the role of "student" in my student teaching experience. I have to admit, there is no place like home, but I am having a hard time leaving Athens. However, I realize the value in taking time to better myself as an educator and learning the uniqueness of writing sub plans. So, here's to week 9!

Questions:

1. How do you keep your self organized with sub plans when stepping away from school for a long period of time?

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