Sailing Through 6th Grade: Week 1

Good Evening Bloggers!

Well, I am officially tired, worn out, EXHAUSTED  from this first week of teaching! My teacher had lesson topics already selected for us so we hit the ground running with two full lessons already our first week there! I have decided to take some pictures along the way to capture my time in the schools, so please enjoy and learn a little more about the ins and outs of 6th grade :)

First up, outfits for the week (yes, I'm a loser, I know this, let's not judge! Courtney Pennington did this as well and I loved the idea so now I am stealing it :)

 We had Education Symposium last week so this was my professional dress for that :)

Tuesday

Wednesday (my personal favorite of the week :)

Thursday

Secondly, the lessons:

Tuesday we taught a lesson on similes and metaphors and found a GREAT RESOURCE on youtube. 6th grade teacher Mrs. Prego created a combination of pop culture songs that integrated similes and metaphors. We thought this idea was brilliant so we used the song Firework by Katy Perry to help the kids recognize the difference between a simile and metaphor. The link to the awesome youtube video can be found here. After using the pop culture song, we had a competition between class members to find as many similes and metaphors as they could in their library book in 10 minutes. One student found 16 in ten minutes!!! Afterwards, we gave the kids an exit card and had them write their own examples. Here were some of the responses we got back...

 

Most totally got the idea. This little girl's simile read, "The lions teeth were as sharp as needles and as strong as diamond."

A few were a tad off..."You're a beast was the metaphor and you're like a beast was the simile."

And some were just plain cute..."Simile: Today was like the best day ever." Not exactly a simile, but cute nonetheless :)

On Thursday we began our economics unit with the students and discussed spending, saving, and borrowing. Each student drew a picture of what they would do with $20 and then we categorized them up on the wall.

 

As you can see, most chose to spend their money!

We defined each term and then as a class, determined the costs and benefits of each economic decision.

After completing the chart on the board, the students made a trifold and were instructed to fill out the definition and an example of a time where they would spend, save and borrow their money. We had some interesting answers back...

  Some students went above and beyond on the assignment with great examples and definitions!

This student was right on with his example for borrowing. "I asked my mom for $10 so I could buy a game, I paid her back the next week." YESSSSS, he gets it!!!

 And of course there are always those kids that are just hilarious with their answers :)

We also had a Fall party this week and the kids brought a whole ton of food including a candy bag for everyone including the teachers!! 

  Delicious!! A great start to my time in the schools :)

Although I would be lying if I said I "LOVED 6th GRADE!" I have enjoyed it more than I thought. The kids are always interesting to converse with and I love eaves-dropping on the conversations they have with each other because it's just hilarious :) It has definitely been a learning experience so far, and I'm sure I will gain a ton of insight as my time goes on. Our teacher has been impressed by what we have done so far, and even trusts us enough to leave us in the room alone while she does assessment testing and such. A student today said, "Ms. Boyers, will you be here next semester too? Because we love you guys...you are the best student teachers ever!" So as crazy as they may drive me at times, they are still fun at the end of the day and I look forward to my future with them!! :)

Until then,

Brittany