week of January 25-29

This week was a busy week.  We started the week on the self esteem activity. Kids worked on charting their self esteem  every day. It was interesting to see how some kids self esteem fluctuates with the weather. LOL. They also worked on the self esteem rainbows and mentor/mentee worked together by describing each other and putting those words on the rainbow. I really liked that the science teacher came into class and told the kids that the rainbows looked liked the layers of the earth, Towards the end of the week we talked about values and why we value certain values over others.After the kids did the worksheet the mentee/mentor paired up and discussed what values are most important to them and why.We ended the week by doing the I am Poem. I cant wait to read the poems next week.

January11th-15th

This week at Scott Carpenter the kids worked on Roadblocks and detours which helped them acknowledge the obstacles that may be keeping them back from their successes. Students were divided into groups and they all took turns trying to "drive" through the road blocks while having the blindfold on. Each time the road block was rearranged so that the driver did not know where they might be.
After this part we talked about roadblocks and detours and gave examples of both. The second part of this activity was one driver and the person behind them would be the vehicle. That student would guide them through the roadblocks and make sure that they would reach their destination. We had a discussion after wards about what they thought were roadblocks in their lives and what kind of detours they can take that can somewhat help them get to where they want to. We also talked about support groups and who or what could make their journey easier.

January 5th-8th

 

First week back from winter break and it was a good week.
Getting to know the students and building that bond between student-teacher.
This week we finalized our research on universities and got a better understanding about what it is going to take to be successful. Looking forward to next week.

December15-18

Shadowing Mrs. Sankovich at Scott Carpenter for the last two weeks has been very enjoyable. Meeting the kids and learning about them has been wonderful. We went on a field trip to CU Denver and I think the kids enjoyed themselves. I think everyone is ready for their holiday break. See everyone in 2016.

November 30th - December 4th

Our first week back from Thanksgiving break was filled with diligent work by the YESS students! The scholars performed their usual duties like participating in Kagan structures to encourage teamwork and tutoring one another, but they also engaged in an informative mini-unit on listening.

The lessons in this unit are geared toward helping students identify how well they listen to others. Many were surprised to learn that they functioned as a lower-level listener than they first believed, which led to some interesting dialogue. Coming up, they will be writing and performing skits that will enable them to teach other students the importance of listening.

We also completed a lesson called "Heart. Mind. Soul." The activity that accompanies this lesson requires students to work as a team to create a body that includes information about each member of the team. Some things that were discussed by the students include: Favorite food, how they want others to see them, and dreams for the future. They really had a great time bonding with their mentor/mentee partners and personalizing their bodies.

Behind the scenes, Mr. Anderson and Mr. Streno lined up a long-term substitute to take over the class while I'm on maternity leave. I'm extremely grateful for their hard work! I'm also partnering with the AVID program to plan a field trip for all YESS Institute and AVID students. We'll be going to the University of Colorado, Denver on December 16th. The students are beyond excited and I can't wait to help expose them to the wonderful world of higher education!

November 9th - 20th

The last couple of weeks before Thanksgiving break were fabulous! The YESS scholars completed their Life Map projects, which turned out very well. All the students presented their projects, as well. Even though, the students don't really enjoy speaking publicly, I'm working with them on this skill since, as we all know, it will be vital to their professional success.

We also incorporated several Kagan team building activities to help increase synergy within groups. Take a look at some of the kids playing one of the word games below.

The highlight of the week, however, came when several mentors from each class taught a lesson. The lesson was planned by a mentor, Mariza, and me to answer the question "Why do we come to school?" and it went extremely well. The mentor-teachers worked with me prior to their presentations and memorized the lesson plan. They also collaborated with each other to make sure the lesson was as polished as possible. I'm extremely proud of the hard work Mariza put in to create such a meaningful experience, as well as the efforts of the mentor-teachers to deliver the message!

November 2nd - 6th

This week, YESS scholars began working on their Life Map projects. We were able to incorporate multiple Thinking Maps and a writing assignment, which is challenging the students to describe how they overcame a significant obstacle in their lives. Many of the students have embraced the project and are eager to continue working on it in the coming days. Stay tuned for finished projects.

Friday, we took a break from the Life Maps to participate in a relay race. The kids had a blast working with their mentor/mentee to compete against the opposing team!