Agriscience Fair
Ten activities to start the year (or semester)
It's that time of year again!The holidays are over, and January is looming right around the corner (cough, one more day of 2018, cough).Here are some free & paid resources you can use on the first day/couple days back to EASE back into the school year.
With NEW students#1 Investigate the Teacher via @writeonwithmissgI used this the first day with my students last semester and LOVED IT! It is an easy way for the students to get to know you WITHOUT just going through a Powerpoint because they go around the room and gather inferences about you based on your classroom. Students get to MOVE on the first day & practice research skills! Find it here!
#2 Back to School Escape Room @nouvelle_elaTwo years ago I used this to introduce my classroom rules and syllabus. You can purchase the product and it is 100% editable to fit your classroom. Another awesome way to get the kids up and moving and learning things you HAVE TO teach ANYWAY...but making it more engaging (and less hands on for you, after you get it set up!)#3 Back to School StationsI did this year and LOVED it, I got the idea from @writeonwithmissg (you can purchase her product, I ended up making my own). I made 8 stations for the students to rotate around the room and complete. Some examples were goal making station, Meet with Mrs. Nerswick station, Student information Google Doc, FFA "post it" question poster, etc. You can make whatever stations fit your needs :)
With OLD Students#4 Inquiry LabI was part of the National Agriscience Teacher Ambassador Program a few summers ago (if you haven't done it....DO IT). But, one of the things they made us to is IMMEDIATELY get our of our comfort zone into the world of inquiry. If you are teaching a science class that will require students to think like scientists/researchers etc... you might want to start out the class with some uncomfortable growing to get the kids used to what you expect of them! I tend to do the "does bubblegum can/lose weight as you chew?" but there are TONS of other ideas like "are Oreos "really" double stuffed?" You basically give them the question, they DO THE REST! They create the experiment and do it! I give them a ONE SHEET lab report called a VEE Map. This includes ALL the things you need (materials, steps, results, etc) in an easy to follow sheet. I usually do this on the FIRST or SECOND day!
#5 16 PersonalitiesEver heard of Myers-Briggs testing? I am a leadership NERD (insert hand up emoji here). There is a free test from 16 personalities that I love doing with my students. EVERY TIME students are like "that is TOTALLY me!" the website is very in-depth in many categories like careers, relationships, things that we like, teamwork etc. Students can gain A LOT of insight about themselves. I have given them a quick worksheet to complete and even once had students do a presentation on their findings using this Google Slides prompt. One of the prompts was to find funny pictures/memes that associate with their personality, below is an example.
#6 Career Research/InterviewsI LOVE starting the year off with careers. I can hear you sighing and about to skip to the next idea...but stick with me. Instead of taking a test, or a web quest online. I HAVE STUDENT INTERVIEW a REAL PERSON about their ideal career. YES, they have to actually TALK ON A PHONE (or skype/facetime). I basically provide the contacts (you could do this for just one unit, ex. Animal Science-Find a bunch of people you know (via networking, contacts, social media) get their contact information and provide it to a student (or partners/groups). Then the students take the reins, they contact the person (via email) to set up a phone interview. They make the questions, have an interview, ask for follow-up questions/photos for them to make a presentation to class on their findings. This provides students an opportunity to learn about careers BUT also practice professional correspondence.
#7 Resolutions/GoalsThere are A TON of resources on Teachers Pay Teachers for New Year resolutions and/or goals worksheets/activities.#8 Letter to Me in 2019I was thinking I wanted to do something similar to a resolution/goals activity, but wanted to make it a little different. So, I came up with an idea for the students to write a letter to themselves reflecting on the past year. They get a prompt to write three paragraphs, complete the letter, seal it in an envelope and they will get it back at the end of the school year. I will be doing this in some classes next week :) Here it is.#9 PodcastI LOVE podcasts! Mainly for my own development and inspiration like the RISE Podcast by Rachel Hollis and Goal Digger by Jenna Kutcher. But, there are SO many good ones out there you can use in your classroom. Maybe the kids ALREADY listen to one. Pick one, or leave it open-ended for the kids to pick their own. Listen to the podcast and provide a reflection component (you could use the worksheet in #10).#10 Retiring Address/Ted Talk WorksheetI am a sucker for a good retiring address or Ted Talk. I love hearing people's unique perspectives on life. You can get a free Ted Talk worksheet here from Laura Randazzo. I also made a similar one for Retiring Addresses (find it free there) as part of my Emergency Sub Plan documents (6 different ONE PAGE worksheets (printable/electronic) that can be used in ANY UNIT in ANY class)!#11 BONUS--Leadership Initiatives/Team Building ActivitiesFun activities are the best activities! I love having some fun activities to get the year or semester started! It's also an EASY way to weave in some teamwork and communication skills! I've done a fair few of these--Here is a quick list of examples...Balloon Tower Building, Spaghetti Tower, Minute to Win it Games, Team marker writing/drawing, team cup stacking, and so many more!
Phew, now I just need to choose which one to do on my first day back next week!Hope you find something that give you a day to reset and the kids to get engaged!
How I save 5 minutes of my sanity EVERYDAY...
If you are reading this in 2025 or beyond, these Start-Ups are no longer available on Teachers Pay Teachers. They are being edited and when they are available again we will post the on the G&G Resource Page.
It was a hot and blistering day in Georgia when I stepped into my first day practicum/student teaching with one of the best ag teachers EVER Mrs. Lastly. After lots of information and my mind bursting with all the things an ag teacher does on a daily basis, she taught me about START-UPS.You might call them bell ringers, but basically it is a question for the students to do IMMEDIATELY when they walk in the room. So, each day I was in charge of teaching I made a start up that correlated with what I was teaching and continued to do that through my fifth year of teaching, and let me tell you....it was EXHAUSTING.I mean raise your hand if you only teach one prep...right...NONE OF US...so one start-up a day really means like 3 to 7 a day, that's 15 to 35 UNIQUE Start-Ups EACH WEEK (not to mention all the other things we need to lesson plan for). I'm tired just reading those numbers.If you have ever tried to do this, no matter HOW MUCH planning you do ahead of time there is ALWAYS something that takes your brain away and you forget to change the start up, or just randomly scribble something like "What is Mrs. Nerswick's favorite color?" just to get something on the board as the kids scramble in the classroom (true story--that was a Start Up MANY times).I KNEW there had to be a better way to do this. After starting to follow some teachers on Instagram I noticed some core curriculum teachers talking about YEAR LONG start ups. I mean, hold the phone, what? Who has time for that!Well, I decided I NEEDED this in my life. A year's worth of start ups to just have and project/print/tell the student to do with NO THINKING/PLANNING involved. So a year and a half ago, I planned out a years worth start-ups for my Basic Ag Class. That is 5 Start Ups a week for 5 weeks a month for 10 months, for you math geniuses, you know that is 250 UNIQUE Start-Ups.Not going to lie...It took me a WHILE! But, I did it and it has TRANSFORMED my daily routine of wracking my brain trying to figure out a different start up for each prep every day and writing it on the board or typing it in a powerpoint presentation.So here is what my routine looks like...Students walk inWe are 1-to-1, so they turn on their devices (but you can do this with a notebook/worksheet, I have a free one you can grab here) They log their START UP answer in THE AET (YES, I know, crazy!) under CLASS TIME. It helps me a TON when I grade, I just pull up their reports and BAM, graded a whole months of Start Ups in about 15 minutes for 5 classes. (It looks a little like this...)They WRITE the Start Up NUMBER and write out the QUESTION, and ANSWER IT while my CLASS OFFICERS are doing Opening Ceremonies (more on that in another blog post).After OC, the SECRETARY of my class (if writing on paper/journal) would go around and STAMP the Start Ups.Then I would start class.This process takes about 5 minutes of the class. What am I doing during that time... ANYTHING I need to do to get ready for class (get a snack, attendance, prep lab supplies etc.)I literally LOVE it.Now you CAN DO THIS TO. Here is the planning sheet I used to plan out my years worth of start ups. If you are like, "Sarah, you are NUTS, there is NO way I have enough time to do that!" Well, I have a solution for you! I have created Start Ups for Basic Agricultural Science, Animal Science and Horticulture! You can purchase a powerpoint version, google slides, or PDF copy. I also have a FREE start up worksheet you can use!Or you can get the ULTIMATE BUNDLE of all three. Also....DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN USE PO's to purchase items on Teachers Pay Teachers? Check out more information here!Don't believe me, check out these testimonials about resources in my shop.So tell me....what prep would you like to see Start Ups for next?
You had me at free...FREE Easy Review Ideas
Reviewing is a staple in classrooms across America. We wonderful teachers (pat yourself on the back) spend usually at least one day a unit reviewing concepts so students can succeed on their assessments. But, we can DEFINITELY get stuck in a rut.I remember exclusively using JEOPARDY when I first started teaching thinking it was the ONLY way to engage kids during review. WRONG-O Sarah.So, here are some FREE Easy Review Ideas you can add to your arsenal of review activities!#1-Goose ChaseY'all. Seriously. Goose Chase is AWESOME. The free version you can have up to 5 teams and as many Goose Chases as you want! It is basically an online scavenger hunt. I have used this on field trips, introducing topics and reviewing for tests. It is SUPER SIMPLE to put together. Here is a link to one you I made!#2-Google Forms/One Note Escape RoomsI wrote a whole blog post about this which you can check out here. I have LOVED this tool. It is SO EASY to make, and it makes ENGAGEMENT so simple. Kids are seriously IN IT TO WIN IT. It is basically an escape room without locks, the locks are passwords that are embedded into the Google Form or One Note. Best thing, once you make it, you can use it OVER and OVER again!#3-Quizlet LiveIf you live Kahoot or Quizizz (also good review games), you will LOVE Quizlet Live. You can use any of your old quizlets (or let's be honest, just search for one made by another teacher/student) and create a Quizlet Live. It RANDOMLY (so cool) puts kids into groups and they must WORK TOGETHER to look at a question (that pops up on their device) and find the answer because EACH STUDENT as a different set of answers on their devices. I tend to keep them in the same group for a round or two, then make them switch. Definitely adds MOVEMENT to the classroom. Here is a Quizlet I made on FFA/Leadership, feel free to use this one to try out Quizlet Live.#4-Around the room reviewHide random questions around the room (under desks, on ceiling, on the wall etc.) then give the students a worksheet (or have them just write on a piece of notebook paper) and have the WRITE THE QUESTION and the ANSWER. It provides MOVEMENT (again)! You could basically take ANY of your old worksheet reviews and just paste the questions around the room and have a whole new take on review. I got this idea from Mrs. Marte.#5-Canva FlyerI love CANVA, I use it a lot to make social media posts. But, there are also templates for normal printer sized paper. I have had students make a comprehensive flyer over ALL we learned in a unit using Canva. Don't have enough devices? You can put them in groups to work together or they can do it the old-fashioned way with paper and writing utensils! Provides a creative side to review.Well, there you have it. Just a few ideas to add some creativity to your review activities.What other COOL ideas do you have?
Final Exam Projects
I hate taking tests, always have always will. I just was never good at them. And to be completely honest, I do not think I am that great at writing them. I tend to find my tests just to regurgitate memorized information.So, this year I have implemented a lot more project based assessments through my units and my final exams are no different.In my Basic Agriculture class, students have been working on a semester long Agriscience Fair Project which will count as their final exam grade (half from the paper, half from the actual Agriscience Fair)In my second level class, students will be submitting a record book report from the AET. Didn't know that that was an option, yeah me neither, until my teaching partner showed me all about it last year.Here is how those two projects shake out...AGRISCIENCE FAIRStudents pick a topic after we do our scientific method unit (usually in early September) to make sure students understand what the scientific process should look like.Students receive a template written report via Google Classroom and a Due Date sheet. Each item in the written report is given it's own due date. Students turn in those sections throughout the semester. I grade them QUICKLY using Google Classroom (seriously, a life-saver). I also supplied students with a HYPER DOC, basically it is ONE document that has links for EVERY THING the students need help with (ex. how to write an abstract, how to use APA Style in-text citations, examples of old display boards, and how to insert graphs).{Want to know more about HYPER DOCS...Check out this blog post from Write on With Miss G. I saw her post about them on the good ole Instagrizzle (my loving terms for Instagram) and KNEW I had to implement them in my classroom.}Students print and bind the written report, make a display and the last day of classes before exams in December, we host a class Agriscience Fair with judges (alumni, other teachers from the school, administration, etc.) students can get recognized for the top three experiments from the judges. They also get a score for their presentation which counts as half of their final exam grade, the other half is the written report graded with the National FFA Rubric by me.
RECORD BOOK REPORT*This is all based off of my amazing teaching partner, Ashley White's Final Exam report idea. You rock!**Our students are pretty versed in the AET, they log hours everyday and get a recordkeeping grade every week.Students are given this rubric. I spent a day walking through how to complete each item (profile, pictures, captions, resume, SAE plans etc.) I also gave them this Hyper-Doc with "How To" do EACH item of that rubric.Students have time during class to work on the items. I will have checkpoints throughout the last few weeks if they want to turn in items early.On the last day of classes before finals, all students print and turn in their COMPLETE record book report (REPORTS, under Annual Reports & FFA Apps click COMPLETE RECORD BOOK REPORT, click ALL SAES, and generate a PDF).The BEST PART of these AET based Final Exams with our second level students is it gives us a gauge of where the student is in the journey toward their STATE DEGREE so we can help them reach that goal! Once they make it to the second level class our RETENTION rate of students for a third class is almost 100%, so we want ALL of them to get the coveted STATE DEGREE! And, YES this counts toward curriculum because FFA AND RECORDKEEPING are part of our standard!So there you have it! Just a quick glimpse of project based Final Exams. I will be doing something different for Spring Semester and when that is all finished I will jump on here and share that too!