WOW I can't believe that my entire first month has already flew by! I feel that I have grown exponentially in my classroom confidence and management since starting this internship. As I continue to get comfortable with the curriculum and the routines, I recognize that I need to start focusing more energy into regular assessment practices, as well as start building some parental relationships. I know that February will go extra-fast given the reading week break, but I can't wait to continue learning alongside the kids! I even have a few surprises lined up for the kids in February so I can't wait to get started! Here are my favorite highlights from this week!
Science
Science has continued to be the "fun" class as I surprised the kids by basing our week around their favorite video game "Angry Birds". I don't know whether the kids had more fun, or I did! We built 2 different types of catapults, then tested them out to see who could get the most "pigs" or "points". Then we discussed what types of alterations we had to make to either our devices or our "shooting techniques" to make the catapults more effective. We observed how differently the catapults shoot (based on the angles of the spoons) and the kids had to make an educated decision as to which catapult they think would work better in the ACTUAL angry birds game and why. We had such a great time! Check out the video below to see all the fun!
Social
As we continue to learn about the Native American people, the kids have become fascinated by learning about all the ways that the buffalo was used for survival. I found this great interactive buffalo where you can click on a body part and guess which artifact is made from that part of the buffalo. The kids thought it was so neat to see how one animal could make so many different artifacts! I also showed them many photos of artifacts online to help them understand what some of the other tools looked like as well.