Shake up YOUR lessons!
Did you miss the FIRST FRIDAY WEBINAR about shaking up your lessons?Never fear, this BLOG POST is here to fill you in!Just because something is WORKING, doesn't mean it can't be IMPROVED, heard that while rewatching Black Panther last week.Seriously, if we didn't keep on improving, we would still have a rotary phone...PLEASE say you have used a rotary phone or else I will REALLY start feeling OLD!OK, so know that you agree that as TEACHERS we need to be IMPROVING ourselves and our CRAFT, let's jump into the reasons why we DON'T and what we can do to CHANGE that!#1-TIMEI get it! I am an ag teacher, mama x2, side hustler, pure barre addict, etc.We only get 24 hours in a day, the only way we can MAXIMIZE it, is to PRIORITIZE it!SERIOUSLY!You need to SET ASIDE YOU PLANNING TIME TO ACTUALLY PLAN! I know, CRAZY IDEA RIGHT!Set aside AT LEAST ONE PLANNING period a WEEK to solely focus on PLANNING! Get yourself a SWEET planner (digital or paper) and plan your little heart out! When you prioritize planning, you will give yourself time to reimagine how you can make your lessons more engaging and impactful!Also---side note---I plan in UNITS, not weeks. It allows me to be multiple WEEKS ahead instead of just a week. So I spend A LOT of time in the beginning planning a 2-4-6 week unit, but then during my planning period I just review what I need to do the next week.#2-CREATIVITY"I'm just not creative enough." Bull!You are, just give yourself some time to be creative with an open mind!Still don't feel like you can get around the lure of a PPT to teach ALL THE THINGS? Try these simple ideas to implement instead of PPT!Investigate & Report Back (Give students standards/unit/topic, they research and report back in a variety of ways-presentation to class, paper, project, podcast, video etc)Escape Room (Digital/Real escape rooms can be used for REVIEW OR KNOWLEDGE foundations!)QR Code Scavenger Hunt- Pose questions you want the kids to know the answer to, Use a bunch of QR codes to give them the resources to find the info, and have them fill out the answers. Check this one out I made for FFA, we used it for extra credit during FFA week.Stations- This can be as easy as printing out the slides of a PPT, placing them around the room in stations and kids rotate around to complete notes. Or it can be more engaging as they complete activities at the stations (ex. vet practicums, identification stations, food taste tests etc.)YouTube Videos-Changing WHO is teaching the content can immediately change the engagement. Find quality YouTube videos on your content and show those to introduce/reinforce information.GooseChase-If you have followed me for a while you know I LOVE GooseChase. I have used it for field trips, new content exploration and test reviews. Check it OUT for FREE!Visual Notes-Let those students use the other side of their brain and create visual/sketchnotes!#3-MONEYI 100% understand you! MONEY IS TIGHT!I get it! BUT, You DO NOT need $$$ to jazz up your lessons!Try these FREE ideas!ASK FOR DONATIONS (From community @mrswedger, From students @callieskendrick) Make lesson with old craft materials (ex. old newspaper and tape, judge using Boone & Crockett (@agwithmrsgibbs), painting rocks with commodities with old paint (@agteacherhowtos) FLIPGRID (free student video responses @kelseydejong)LIVING TO SERVE MINI GRANT/OTHER GRANTS (Implement a grant into a class activity!)A LOT of the ideas in #2 Creativity are ALSO FREE!#4 YOUR BRAINGET OUT OF YOUR HEADYou DO NOT have to do it the same as Sally Sue down the road (or hallway)You have THE PASSION, the DRIVE to be a BETTER TEACHEROr else you wouldn’t be here reading this blog post.SO YOU DO YOU!If that means re-doing your lesson every week, YOU DO YOU. If that means taking ONE UNIT from ONE PREP and jazzing it up, YOU DO YOU. If that means you need to ask another teacher who you look up to for help, YOU DO YOU! If that means taking a summer course on a subject you need more help with, YOU DO YOU!I have faith in you!You can SHAKE UP THOSE LESSONS to make them more engaging and impactful!------Other SIMPLE ideas-Student Choice Projects (I have one for ALL standards in Basic Ag)-Hyper Doc Research (Find out more about that here)-Podcasts-Virtual Field Trips (via Zoom it is free for UP TO 100 people for 40 minutes or less)-One Pagers (@thedaringenglishteacher)-Food Projects (if it is a student led project, they pay for it)-Decorate Ceiling Tiles for Unit Project-Act out a character as you teach (@mrswedger)-Print off PPT slides and do a gallery walk instead of lecture (@tknickers)-Let the kids guide the lesson (they pick questions/topics to explore by just handing them standards)
SAEs, we need help!
Supervised Agricultural Experiences...We love them....and then....sometimes....we dislike them strongly :)They are probably the most incredible experience that we offer our students, because each student gets impacted (even if they are not in FFA) in a unique and differentiated way.But, we have 50 kids, 180 kids, 480 kids, and it's hard.It's hard to TEACH them what it is, it's hard to GET THEM STARTED, it's hard to MANAGE THEIR PROGRESS, it's hard to help them understand the PROFICIENCY application, it's hard to navigate the AET, it's hard to do DEGREE applications, it's hard.But, here is something that can help you with a few of those things that I implemented in my classroom that A LOT of you wanted to see more of!So, I needed to help my suburban kiddos who are multiple generations removed from the farm wrap their brain around SAEs. It wasn't easy, but here is how I did it, and a month in, they are surpassing the creativity that my past 3 years at this school came up with.STEP 1: Information overloadNo matter how you look at it, when you talk about SAEs, it is going to be information overload. So, I broke it up.PPT, video, chat, brainstorm and repeat. There is a WHOLE LIBRARY of resources for teaching HERE from National FFA. I used their "doodle/whiteboard" videos to introduce the 5 categories along with my own PPT.STEP 2: Partner check in Now that they can "kinda" understand SAEs after lots of talking, chatting and providing resources. The need to TALK their idea out with SEVEN other classmates, and write down their ideas. The purpose of this is two-fold 1) They actually get up and moving and talking with other people 2) They can gain creative ideas from others and refine their idea by listening to others.THEN EVERY WEEK, they must have a PARTNER CHECK their records and sign off on it. We keep copies of these paper in the classroom, so on record keeping day, they just grab it, fill it out and then turn it back in.
STEP 3: Teacher MeetingsIn my opinion, the traditional SAE visits don't work in my classroom with my demographic (except for a few students who ride horses competitively). We DON'T have a show team or ANY students who live on farms. Many of our students live in neighborhoods that forbid even backyard chickens. So, a home visit is a little out of the question. But, does that mean I shouldn't meet with all my kids? NOPE, not even a little bit. So, I created THIS TEACHER MEETING sheet. My students MUST meet with me a MINIMUM of 3 times a semester to chat about their SAE progress. This is like three-fold 1) A chance to actually have a valid SAE visit with my kiddos 2) Have a written record of my conversations with my student on the biggest chunk of their grade 3) Rapport, rapport, rapport. It has been great! Yes, that is about 300 SAE visits a semester. But, I make it work in any little fraction of time I have in class, during our "home room", before school, after school etc.
Step 4: SCREENCAST AET HelpY'all I AM A FIRM BELIEVER IN THE AET! I use it EVERYDAY in my class. Seriously, the first thing my student's do in class before I even speak is open the AET, and they log their START UP answer in class time, and then log any SAE hours, FFA activities, or others before we even start class. With all this being said, the AET is HARD for the kids to wrap their brain around. So, I make screen cast videos of ALL the things I require them to do. The first thing we do is set up the profile, I make a screencast. The second thing we do is add our class, I make a screen cast. The kids need a SAE PLAN, I make a screencast. You get the picture. I LOVE Screencast-o-matic. It is FREE up to 15 minutes, but no kid is going to listen to that long of a video, so I usually make them 5 minutes or so.Step 5: Allow student to have SAEs at schoolNo, I'm not talking about livestock projects. Some of you already do that. Make a list of things that you wish you had time to do, or a list of things that get left on the back burner that really need more attention. Then, have kids apply for those positions. Some that we did this year were a FODDER grower (to feed to our small mammals and chickens), a GREENHOUSE builder (we don't have one up, but a small one in a box that just hasn't been built yet), A LAUNDRY SPECIALIST (running a doggy daycare we go through A LOT of laundry, and the washing machine is ACROSS the entire school parking lot in the main building). I used this SIMPLE job application and MOST of my jobs were filled!
That's all I have for now! Hopefully, this will help you all get started down a path of LEAST resistance when you are implementing SAEs in your classroom!
Ask an you shall receive...plant science ideas!
This weekend I posted an Instagram Story about how I need to re-work my plant science unit in my first level (Basic Agriculture) class.I got SO MANY wonderful ideas from AG TEACHERS across the country. So, I complied what they said into a quick Google Document.Now, this document, I want it to be ALIVE (just like plants :))!That means, if you have something to add, ADD IT BY GOLLY!Just write your Instagram handle so if a teacher has a question they can reach out to you for advice.Y'all are awesome! Now, STOP, COLLABORATE and .... share? Sorry MC Hammer.
One Word 2019
Y'all I loved this.Recently on the 'gram I have been seeing people post their #oneword365 for 2019. Basically it is the ONE WORD they want to focus on in 2019. This word should be able to be applied to all parts of life (career, school, family, relationships, health etc.)After seeing it I KNEW I needed to do this with my students. But, any old worksheet just won't do this justice! This is a BIG DEAL so it needed to be more that JUST an activity.So, after thinking and seeing some other ideas similar to this online (like All About Me banners) I decided to make my own :)And thus, the One Word Banner was made.
On the back side are prompts to run through with the kids. Step 1: Brainstorm as many words as you can that will embody 2019. Step 2: Circle THREE that you like the most and write why you could see that as your ONE WORD. Step 3: Pick ONE WORD and explain why that one is the best for you in 2019. Step 4: On the other (blank) side creatively design your ONE WORD for 2019.After they were done I decided to hang them on my personal growth wall (I have the FFA mission on the different walls of my room).
It was a GREAT activity that the kids took seriously and I love how for the rest of the semester they will be able to SEE their personal WORD day in and day out!Wanna try it out? Here is a link to the document!If you try it out with your students make sure you tag @agteacherhowtos so I can see the awesomeness your students create!
Happy 2019
2019It's here.Maybe you are in a place that says "THANK GOSH 2018 is over" or maybe "Man, 2018 was the BEST year ever".Regardless of where you are on that spectrum, I am here to say that 2019 can be different. It can be better than you BEST year. You can make today better than yesterday regardless of circumstances.I am cheering for you!Now, if you are a teacher...enjoy the last few days of freedom before chaos begins again but before you leave...Remember that you ARE making a difference, it doesn't matter if you feel like you are just treading water to stay afloat each day or you are swimming through the year like Michael Phelps. There is SOMEONE in your class, maybe it is just one, that looks up to you, loves coming to your class, and thinks of you as a mentor. And that my friends, is a WIN. Keep showing up for that kid.Happy New Year friends, happy to be on this ride with you...-Sarah