My Classroom
"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I may remember. Involve me and I learn."
-Benjamin Franklin
I currently teach sixth grade math and science at Shrine Catholic Grade School in Royal Oak, Michigan. I have taught at this school for two years and I absolutely love the close, faith-centered community. I also am one of the lead teachers for the after school Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Club that is offered to sixth grade students. Sixth grade is usually grouped in the "middle school" category, but since my building is K-6 I think of this grade more as an elementary level. My students are the "big kids" of the campus so they have many different responsibilities including first grade buddies that they meet with on a weekly basis to take to mass, Spirit Brigade jobs around the school, and they are responsible for running our recycling program.
Math has always been my favorite subject to learn and now to teach! My goal for math education is to create a fun, engaging environment where students are excited to learn and see real-life connections. Most lessons involve some sort of technology component which could include students working on iPads, practicing problems on the SMART Board, or watching a tutorial or video. I give opportunities for students to work individually, in partners or in groups, and one-on-one with me. I try to create co-curricular lessons and projects which is pretty easy in teaching both math and science. Students design and build paper structures to withstand an earthquake shake table which incorporates measurement and decimal operations into Earth Science content. During the year, students work together to create a scale model diagram of the solar system in which they have to use ratio scaling, measurement, circle conceps, and compasses to draw.
I enjoy teaching science more and more, year after year. My school has an amazing Science Lab equipped with any materials and tools an elementary school teacher would need! I try to plan an activity or lesson using the lab at least once a week. The students are always excited to see what they will be investigating! A few of the investigations and projects my students have collaborated on include a DNA extraction from wheat germ, analyzing the electromagnetic spectrum from different light sources, observing organism samples under microscopes, comparing different rock samples, and modeling plate tectonics with graham crackers and frosting. The sixth grade curriculum is changing this next year so I look forward to seeing what new activities and investigations I can use with my students to inspire learning.
Math
Science
Another big part of my teaching role is running the afterschool STEM Club. This club is offered to sixth grade students interested in exploring more about science, technology, engineering, and math. Students enjoy participating in off-campus field trips to the Microsoft building for an Hour of Code, University of Michigan-Flint's Environmental Interpretive Center for a watershed exploration, and the Vollbrecht Planetarium to view the stars. In addition to these exciting field trips, students enjoy solving a crime in our mock CSI-Shrine Edition activity, disecting frogs, and looking inside computers.
STEM Club
