Microscope Hair Lab, SLOs, and Stress!

It has been such a busy year so far. I can't believe our first six week grading period ends this Friday already!

Teaching has been challenging lately. I am having a harder time keeping up with all of the grading that comes with having way more students than years' past. I'm also having a hard time keeping up with the demand of planning new courses. I'm managing, but always feel so tired and overworked. Yesterday I did school work for 8 hours and barely scratched the surface. I feel like my administrators are clueless as to how long it takes to plan a quality course from scratch. I also am frustrated with no budget besides a few lab fees.

To add to the stress, I am on a lot of committees at school and have been 'meetinged to death' lately.

Oh, enough of my whine session, onto some happier shares....

My forensics class did their next lab all about hair evidence. The really seemed to like it, especially getting to burn their hair and look at it under a microscope. The lab dragged a little longer than it needed to though so next year I may shorten it a tad bit. Here are some photos from the lab...

I try to stay organized. Here is my room set up showing some of the material stations and work stations.

Students lighting a strand of hair on fire.

Burnt hair under the microscope.

Casting made of the hair cuticle scale pattern using clear nail polish.

Human hair.

Deer Hair.

I've uploaded both of my Forensics Labs to my TeachersPayTeachers store if this looks like something you want to try with your students.

Tomorrow I attend SLO training for the first time. I really hate having to jump through hoops for politicians who don't think we do our jobs. My students take two standardized tests already- the Ohio Graduation Test (OGT) and the ACT End of Course Exam. I find it silly they want to give teachers more work, and students another round of assessments. Hopefully the PD with be good, but from feedback from colleagues who already went, it may be more stress than it is help. Guess I will find out soon enough! Have a great week!

First crime scene lab in Forensics

Wow, it is the 4th week of school already. Time flies!

My biology classes had their first test yesterday and did very well. My forensics class is already on Chapter 2 and today we started our first crime scene lab- documenting a crime scene. I set up various evidence in a classroom down the hall (it isn't being used this year since we cut our Industrial Tech program when our levies failed last year). The kids seemed really into the lab, and seemed to like the ID tags I made them (see my last post). I bought lanyards to hang them on and they turned out great!

I stayed after school yesterday and set up the crime scene. It took me a while to think up a scenario then plot it all out. My larger forensics class has 22 students so I needed to have enough evidence for all students to have something to observe at the same time. I gave them each a Detective kit with a compass (to indicate north on their sketch), a ruler to photograph with evidence, a measuring tape to measure from evidence to two fixed points in room, forceps to collect evidence, and a magnify glass to look at trace evidence. Today they made observations, did their rough sketch, and started to measure and log all evidence. Tomorrow they are going to finish up all of that and collect evidence (hair from the scene, and a control hair sample from our victim- we will use this in our next chapter all about hair as evidence). They will also need to discuss with their partner and try to reconstruct the scene and determine what happened. I left a lot of little clues as to the suspects' name, appearance, clothing, etc. so we will see who picks up on it all. I left a few pieces of evidence students overlooked today, so we'll see if they find it tomorrow. If not, it will be a lesson to search better next time. :)

Overall, the lab is already a success. Students are engaged and learning while having fun! Lots of teachers were stopping by too, so I know word was spreading. Here are some pics... I tried to avoid kids' faces so I could post here for my teacher friends to see :)

Lastly, my classroom pet clam is doing well. Here is a good view of his siphons on top. He also moves around his tank way more than I expected, every day I find him in a new location!

Well time for me to go relax a little before I grade papers. It was 95 degrees in Ohio today and my classroom was equally hot. I'm exhausted. I know it is only Tuesday but I already feel ready for the weekend!

Have a great week!!

Forensic Science Fun

My Forensic Science students seem to be enjoying the class so far. It makes me really happy to see them so interested and engaged. I have had no behavior problems so far, and some of these kids were not my best students last year. It really shows that they do act out when they are bored or not interested in the content; but can behave when they want.

This week we are doing our first crime scene lab. My principal is letting me use half of one of our unused rooms to set it up. Friday I roped it off with Crime Scene Tape, and Monday I plan to stay after to stage the crime. I bought an inflatable victim, fake blood, etc. with grant money and tonight I went to a Halloween store and bought a few more props. Because they haven't learned any techniques yet (fingerprinting, handwriting analysis, blood typing, etc. all come later) this lab is just about sketching the crime, collecting evidence, and other basic concepts. I hope students will enjoy it!

I already have typed a Crime Scene Security log for students to sign in, and tonight I made them all FBI style ID cards. I always love little details to make things more fun, I just hope my students don't think it is corny! Here is what they look like:

Tomorrow I need to type a warrant, the lab directions, and pre-lab questions. It is going to be a busy day of school work! I also have to grade my Biology labs from last week, and type some more docs for Forensic Science, including a test and review worksheet! Too bad there aren't more hours in a day!

Anyways, I posted a few more docs on TeachersPayTeachers. Here is the next PowerPoint in my Forensics series. I am so happy other teachers have been downloading them and leaving positive feedback!

Well, I hope you had a great weekend! It is late and I have lots of work to do tomorrow so I better head to bed. Sweet dreams!

Heading into Week 3

Of course after being in school for only two weeks, and on a holiday weekend, my body decided to catch a cold! I'm dreading going to work tomorrow feeling so ill, but I have my first lab planned and I am not about to leave that up to a substitute teacher!

I had a pretty good weekend though, before I got sick. I had lunch with a friend who used to teach at my school but got RIFed last year and is teaching at a new school this year. It was nice to catch up with her, and hear how much she is enjoying her new school!

I also went camping with my family, although that got cut short by a huge rainstorm and my feeling sick. I ended up coming home one day early. While camping though, I did manage to catch a live clam and decided to bring it back to take to school as another class pet. We usually dissect clams, so this year it will be nice to have a live one to observe too!

I've been super busy this year so far, planning new lessons, having meetings for our Bully Prevention Team, and posting more items on TPT. If you haven't been to my TPT store lately, check it out. I put up new PowerPoint Presentations and files for both Bio and Forensics. Here are a few preview pics:

Well, Monday morning is quickly approaching so I better get some rest. Hope you have a great week at school!

First week back is always exhausting!

I slept in until 11:30 today. I needed it. My first week back was exhausting!

We don't have AC at our school, and my classroom doesn't have windows. By my last class it was 82 degrees each day. That, plus moving around to teach, and wearing hot dress clothes, I was one sweaty teacher. I made it though, and I know my body will slowly adjust again as the weeks go on.

Every night I felt like I had all of these little things to post about but never had time or energy once I got home. We'll see what I can remember now.

Monday I took my classroom pets into school. Two red-eared slider turtles, two beta fish, a baby crayfish, and a huge pond snail. I took the pond snail in a small plastic container and set it down to go to a meeting. When I came back to set up his actual tank, I was pleasantly surprised to find lots of eggs. So it was neat already having something cool to pass around to students on the first day.

My first day went well. I got some students to drop study hall so I could have enough seats for students. Here is my final schedule and class numbers after week one. Our students have two weeks to change their schedules so it may change a bit more next week still.

1st Period - Biology - 26 students

2nd Period - Forensic Science - 22 students

3rd Period - Biology - 19 students

4th Period - Forensic Science - 10 students

5th Period - Study Hall - 24 students

6th Period - Biology - 26 students

7th Period - Planning/Conference Period

So far my classes all seem to be able to listen and follow directions. 6th period was chatty and got yelled at a few times already, so I think they will be my difficult period. Friday was improvement from Wednesday though, so I think I was clear about my expectations.

I have having 7th period planning though, I am so hot and tired by then I get very little work done. My study hall is also split with lunch in the middle. We have 27 minute lunch periods at school and I find it just way too rushed to get to the bathroom and eat. Also, having the study hall split, and so many kids asking me to sign passes to various places, I get little work done then too. It doesn't help that my computer is on a podium and I have to stand to use it. I'm needing foot surgery in December so standing when I don't have to is super annoying. I'm trying to think up a solution but nothing yet.

We also had open house this year, something we don't normally do. It made for a long work day; I get there around 7:10am and that way I left at 8pm! I had 6 parents stop in though, which is about the same I get on a Parent-Teacher conference night.

Well here are a few pics of my classroom from the first week.

I also decided to make a photo collage on Snapfish to hang up this year. I haven't really had personal photos posted in the past, but with so many of my teacher friends gone this year to new jobs, I decided I needed to see some friendly faces somehow.

Also, my study hall activity boxes full of toys were a huge hit! My study hall students were quiet and entertained each day! Some of them are really good at the puzzles, way better than me. They love the silly putty too, very stress-relieving I think!

Here is a picture of all my papers ready to pass out on the first day. I hate using so much paper, but I do it anyways. Really can't be avoided because our school lacks technology and Wi-Fi.

Lastly, I stayed late one night and put up a new Bulletin Board for our Bully Prevention Program. It isn't too fancy, but at least something new for the kids to see in the hall. Once we start our activities I will have more to post.

Well, my weekend is going to be busy with school work. I have papers to grade already and lesson plans to prepare for next week. Having new subjects to teach, I totally feel like a first year teacher all over again! I will be so happy when next summer arrives. Yes, I am already thinking about summer... and snow days. Lol.

Hope you all had a great first week and I wish you a fantastic school year!

Back to school

Back to school today. Luckily we have 2 days of staff stuff before the kids come. I like having a short week with them to start!

I saw this graphic on Facebook and had to laugh because it is so true!

Did anyone get any good deals from the TPT sale? I ended up buying four products I've been wanting...

• Let's Build A Cladogram! (Classification, Taxonomy, Cladistics)
• Graphing Practice Problems, 3 Problems with questions, Common Core
• Forensic Science 13: Watch Your Step
• The Reactions of Photosynthesis {reading, coloring, labeling}

With my TPT credits and the discount, it came up to only $4.71! Awesome!

Well I better get ready for work... haven't had to say that in a while! Hope all of my teacher friends have a great school year!

TPT Sale and big class sizes!

TeachersPayTeachers has announced their back to school sale and I have decided to participate! If there is something you've been eyeing in my store (or another store) be sure to use the code below for a big discount!

This banner was made by me. Feel free to use

it on your blogs if you'd like. I'd just appreciate

a link to either my blog or TPT store. Thanks!

In other news, they keep changing my class lists and my class sizes keep growing. I am not happy about it! Here is my class schedule for 1st semester and my class sizes as of right now:

• 1st Period - Biology - 27 students
• 2nd Period - Forensic Science - 23 students
• 3rd Period - Biology - 19 students
• 4th Period - Forensic Science - 11 students
• 5th Period - Study Hall - 39 students
• 6th Period - Biology - 26 students
• 7th Period - Planning/Conference Period

I've never had such big classes before! Last year I had my largest class ever with 25, and it felt huge. I'm afraid to see what 27 feels like. It is definitely not an ideal situation for labs! I usually have a back row of empty tables that I use to set up lab supplies, but this year all of the tables will have students so I'm not sure where I'll be able to set up!

I also only have 30 chairs in my room, so I'm not sure how that study hall is going to work! Hopefully we can get it figured out before the first day with students on Wednesday. I would hate to have more students than I do chairs!

Looking at my schedule compared to other teachers makes me frustrated too, my schedule is packed and many of them have much smaller class sizes and only half the total number of students I do. I know I shouldn't compare, but it sucks. Especially since it is many of the teachers who refuse to help out with any extracurriculars too.

Ok, well that was my venting session for today. I will try to stop complaining now. I know there are some schools/teachers that have it a lot worse! And I should be flattered that so many students want to take my classes.

Have a great weekend, and happy TPT shopping on Sunday and Monday!!