While I have been teaching a multi-age 1-2 classroom for 1 year and 4 months now, I still feel like I should consider myself a First Year Teacher mainly because I did it last year.. and have 1/2 of the same kids this year..and can't do anything the same!! SO, I feel like I am busy, busy, busy, busy.. all the time.. Between living life in the Caribbean (which I know seems like it cannot be even slightly difficult - it has its challenges!), having a husband in Vet School (you haven't seen hard and stressful till Vet School), have 2 puppies, planning, cooking, cleaning, dealing with broken things (thing break.. A L L THE TIME here and take weeks to get fixed...), moving (we're on move 5 in 16 months!), and sleeping (not much!).. I just don't feel like I have time! Sometimes I wonder how people with children and jobs and 'real' lives do it!!
Anyways, the last couple months at school have been crazy, but good! The students have been working hard, are totally rocking the Daily 5, doing great in Math (have I mentioned how tough it is to teach 2 grades of Math - at the same time - in one room! Still trying to find the perfect solution to that one!), and have done an AMAZING job on their *finally* finished Dinosaur research project! I have been taking the bits and pieces that we have been doing and turned it into a HUGE Dinosaur Unit to share with you!
We began this unit working through each section of what WILL be part of their requirements on the Research as a class with fun activities and continually referencing our Non-Fiction books (due to my schedule this took a while and each one was over the course of a week!). After we made it through all of those, they began their research. We are fortunate enough to have laptops for the classrooms, so each student had a computer and got to work! They did a remarkable job scouring the internet for facts, reading, asking for help and writing their information! When they all had their research done, we talked through the making of a Key Note (or powerpoint) and they each got to do their own. They continued to find great pictures on the internet, successfully copy and paste them into their powerpoint, add animations, fun fonts and colors.. I was SO proud of them! When we were done, we set up "A Dinosaur Museum" in the schools library with their PowerPoints (which we turned into quicktime movies that looped and looped) up on computers and their Fiction writing with it. The stayed by their project, visitors came in, there were comment cards..and it was A BIG DEAL! The smiles on their faces were amazing, and they were SO proud! What a great experience!
Check it out here in pictures - also, please check out my entire Unit on TPT!
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| Teaching Caribbean Style |
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| Teaching Caribbean Style |
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| Teaching Caribbean Style |
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| Teaching Caribbean Style |
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| Teaching Caribbean Style |
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| Teaching Caribbean Style |
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| Teaching Caribbean Style |
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| Teaching Caribbean Style |
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| Teaching Caribbean Style |
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| Teaching Caribbean Style |
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| Teaching Caribbean Style |
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| Teaching Caribbean Style |
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| Teaching Caribbean Style |
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| Teaching Caribbean Style |
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| Teaching Caribbean Style |
Here is the link to the unit on TPT -
And in closing - my thoughts are with all of those involved in the Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting. My heart is broken for all of you..
