First full week over

 Before I go any further, I want to lay out our school schedule so that it is clear going forward. We work on an A/B block schedule and only have a 4 day school week. So Monday and Wednesdays are A days and there are 4 - 90 minute classes. Tuesday and Thursdays are B days and there are 4 - 90 minute classes. Fridays we have off. Normally we would have 6 classes over 2 days with 2 prep periods. But, because of the sheer numbers this year, I agreed to take on a 7th class so I only have 1 prep period every 2 days. But I really only have to plan for 2 classes, twice a week. For the first year in forever, I have 2 classes that I know and have taught numerous times; chemistry and AP chemistry. And I think this is what is allowing me to really focus in on the lesson planning. I've been at this for 14 years but I seem to always be scrambling a little with lessons. But this year I have decided to focus solely on that and so far it is working out well. Of course we just finished our second week so we shall see how that goes. 

Chemistry Mon/Tues:  

The bellwork was them writing down instructions for washing hands. I then followed their instructions to the letter and hilarity ensued. The point was to show them how what they write is important and they need to explain themselves. 

Then I handed out the notebooks and we started the set-up. We did the cover, About Me page, Syllabus page, and Lab Safety page. Their homework was to get their names on the covers and finish the About Me page. 

Then I handed out the syllabus and the lab safety contract. I explained that they had 1 week to get everything signed and returned to me and to take the safety quiz on the Google classroom. If I did not get all of those things, they would not be doing labs next week. 

Then it was time to review the syllabus. I gave each group a section of the syllabus and they read it over and created a whiteboard for it. We then had our first whiteboard meeting. I taught them the power clap for appreciation. And all that pretty much took up the whole period. 

Chemistry Wed/Thurs: 

The bellwork was them sharing their About Me page with their groups. I came around and stamped the page if it was complete and then explained the significance of the stamps. 

Next was some abbreviated notes on Sketch Notes. That took up 2 pages in their notebooks. Since I had most of these students last year and they had been through the full blown sketch note bootcamp, I decided to abbreviate it and make it just basically a review. I pulled out the Elmo and did it at the front as they followed along in their notebooks. I think it worked out well. I covered why sketch notes work and  what exactly they should be. We then went through the elements of drawing and fonts. I then had them draw six boxed at the bottom of the 2nd page. In three of them I had them write words in different fonts and in the other three they had to draw those words. I think this was successful and it took just about an hour. 

After that we did the pre-test which generally took about 40ish minutes. 

This was followed by Prince Charming thinks like a scientist and that went in their notebook also. If there was time we read the story as a class and filled in a chart with the different terms and definitions. They had to reread the story and find where Prince Charming did those things in the story. Finally, they had to draw a picture of the term. This is just a different way to teach the scientific method. On Monday, we will briefly review it and discuss the scientific method. 

That was pretty much it for chemistry. 

AP chemistry Tuesday: 

We reviewed some basics like significant figures and scientific notation. It sounds pretty simple but it took the whole period. 

AP chemistry Thursday: 

This class we went over the metric system and then dimensional analysis, basic stoichiometry, and limiting reactant. It was a good class, most of them worked really hard on getting this again. We did it last year, but not a lot of it. Everyone was shocked when they realized there was only 5 minutes left in class. 

So it was a very good week. It was draining and I was tired, but it was a good week. 

I'm headed off to school again today, even though it's Friday, because with 7 classes I don't have a lot of time during the school day. Since Hubby has to go in anyway, I have decided to go with him and get some work done. I get more done in the couple of hours I'm there on Fridays than I do all week, so, again worth it. 

I've had a bit of change in my mindset this year and I really like it. I realize that I need to put in the effort to make the week go smoothly and I'm more than willing to do that. 

Okay, another week in the books. We are off and running.