Green & Growing MASTERMIND
The bistro tables at the Marriott in Savannah, in the truck on the way to ANY FFA event, in the lobby of the Tenaya Lodge in Yosemite, in my Instagram DMs, in the dining hall at the FFA Camp in Covington, while waiting for the kids to finish CDE events...Those are some of the BEST professional development "sessions" I've ever been to.Sounds weird, maybe. Probably not if you are an ag teacher. In the past you have sat down and probably gotten the BEST information, ideas, encouragement and more, just sitting with other ag teachers, not in planned PD sessions, right?Not knocking those PD sessions (believe me, I host them multiple times a year and LOVE doing it). BUT, one hour with a group of people is NOT EQUAL to multiple hours with the same group of people over a period of time....which is why I am SO excited to be starting the Green & Growing MASTERMIND group!
Professional Development is a dirty word in the education field.It's dry and sometimes useless and immediately elicits simultaneous eye-rolls.But, it doesn't have to be.That is where Green and Growing MASTERMIND comes in...Think about a group of people who are here SOLELY to provide...COMMUNITY, COLLABORATION and CELEBRATION!That's right, that's it...Why not provide us ag teachers what we really need-- like minded people, in the same field, with the same struggles, hunkering down together and trudging through the muck working toward a better career in agriculture education.That is what Green and Growing is all about!Like the idea... me too!THE FIRST GREEN & GROWING MASTERMIND will start in January 2019!If you are interested, go HERE for more information & application.Since this is the first ever Green & Growing Mastermind, we will keep the group very small. You can apply here :) And by apply, I mean tell me more about you and why you would like to be a part of Green & Growing!Looking forward to chatting with you about this cool opportunity :)I will be hosting an Instagram Live over on @agteacherhowtos on FRIDAY DECEMBER 1st at 8:30 p.m. EST to talk all about the Green & Growing MASTERMIND. Join me to ask any burning questions---or reach out to me via email or Instagram.
Digital Escape Rooms (via Google Forms & OneNote)
Y'all reviewing in fun/new/inventive ways is my jam...One day--I was begrudgingly stuck in the main building and stumbled upon a teacher doing a OneNote Escape Room. And let's be honest, my Google Classroom loving eyes immediately rolled. But, I had nothing better to do at the time so I jumped in and joined the fun...And it was fun! Not gonna lie---I wanted to beat everyone else and zoomed through the escape room and won the COVETED piece of fun sized candy (yas, high five)! After that, I knew I NEEDED to make my own for my classroom. So, after a few minute sit down session with our Media Specialist Extraordinaire, I made my first Escape Room to review my Animal Science Unit in Basic Ag.After a little trouble shooting the day of (due to our network being crazy) I got it working, and let me tell you, the KIDS DID IT, and were ENGAGED... insert mind blowing here. Even the two partners I partnered up (and were so NOT INTO IT) were in it to win it!Also, side bar, when making your escape room ABSOLUTELY make sure that you require them to do something WEIRD and CRAZY to win. Don't just write "you win" have them DO SOMETHING. I had mine stand up and do the YMCA (HAHA)! A fellow Ag Teacher, Cole Andes (@bcandes87), had his kids sing WRECKING BALL to win, yassss. Definitely makes it more exciting and engaging!
And then THANK YOU to Lindsey O'Hara (@lindsey_ohara) for reaching out to me via Instagram to tell this GOOGLE LOVING person, that you can do the SAME THING with Google Forms. The game HAS CHANGED!I have done BOTH, and they both were easy to do, but in my personal opinion Google Forms is more user friendly (take this with a grain of salt because I am just a google person).So, without further ado... I present to you the YouTube videos that I used to help me make DIGITAL ESCAPE ROOMS...HOW TO make a OneNote Escape Room By: Jill R(This is PART 1, make sure you watch Parts 2-4 as well)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxRoOvWDFB4HOW TO make a Google Form Escape Room (by: Dan Klumper)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx9MsF746Gc
Google Forms in Ag Class!
Hey Ag Teachers!Here is the link on how to use flubaroo to grade your tests/quizzes on Google Forms!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U06W3H_iDhoHope it helps you!Happy Teaching!
FFA Jacket Organization
How do you keep all your jackets straight?I know I have struggled with this for a while! I used to hang jackets in my shop coat hanger (smart idea right?), I have stored them folded in bookshelves and probably lost a few from just not knowing where they are!So, I decided to get organized this year!I purchased this portable wardrobe ($22) (only thing I would change is to get one with wheels like this one), hangers ($23 for 50) and clothing rack labels ($15 for 50)After constructing my wardrobe I organized my male jackets on the left, and female jackets in the right. I have a hard time remembering what size is which, so I used the clothing rack labels to write the size on it (ex. 103-34). Once, i got them organizaed i realized I could use the dry erase marker to also write WHO borrowed my jacket. So, the students borrows the jacket, I write the name on the size label and when I am missing that jacket I know exactly who to ask.This may not be the perfect solution, but it sure does beat showing up to a contest in a jacket that is covered in sawdust from the shop!Check out the full video here!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrUWwCRE0j0
First How To!
I am so excited (and nervous) to share my first how to! Today's how to is about a quick getting to know you initiative you can use in class or your FFA meetings!Here it is! My first How To! Link in bio! Comment below if you have done this before or any suggestions for future how to's!https://youtu.be/94hdFVGX1SQhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94hdFVGX1SQHappy Teaching!Sarah