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Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that today was the great American eclipse. For the first time since 1979 (when I was 6 weeks old), the entire continent was able to experience this phenomenon. It was amazing to experience this learning with my students today! We hosted a K-8, school wide picnic today at my school. Here are my top five takeaways from this experience!
5. Pacing charts must be interrupted for real life! With it being so early in the school year, I was very nervous about focusing time on day 4 of the year on something rather than setting up students for the year with rituals and routines and reassessing their skills. However, after going through this, I am once again reminded that real life is often our best teacher. Today I had students engage in the thinking of scientists in a truly authentic way. They observed that shadows were "squished", they wondered why it didn't get that much darker if 93% of the sun was covered, and were in awe of those filtering glasses. As we move on in our studies of energy, physics, and space science, today will give us all a common experience to go back to and hold up our thinking. By stopping for a moment to enjoy the best life has to offer, my students learning was greatly enhanced. 4. Students will step up to lead when given the opportunity. Today 157 middle school students stepped up to be the leaders of our school. In just under 2 and a half hours of instruction, they learned about the eclipse, how to be safe, and then delivered the lessons to our K-5 students. They took on the responsibility of being role models, thinkers, leaders, friends, and teachers and did so with amazing poise. We all say we want our students to do these things--and today reminded me that we must come up with multiple avenues and ways for them to have these experiences. One of my most challenging students from last year came up to me after our picnic and shared that he was so proud that he had helped a first grader. It was a side I had never seen--and wouldn't have--if not for providing this opportunity to shine. 3. Totality in 2024 (or 2045) or bust! With all of the hype for the eclipse of 2017, I spent a lot of time and effort making a special day for kids. As we watched the eclipse, many were disappointed that we didn't get darker with 93% of the sun covered. As pictures, videos, and experiences started flooding my twitter and Facebook feed, I realized that my goal as a science learner is to see totality in one of our next two eclipses--2024 on the east coast or 2025 in Denver. One of the students in our school was disappointed about today and I overheard another student say, "Today was special because we got to experience it together. Next time can be special to see totality." Such wisdom from a young learner--something to aspire to for sure! (PS-The 2024 eclipse will be in Mexico in April--I feel a vacation coming on!) 2. The science of eclipses is amazing. The web has been alive with amazing science stories. The one I was most curious about was the reported observable drop in temperatures that would occur. I was able to go outside right before the eclipse and it was HOT out for our brain break. About 30 minutes into the eclipse, it was a bit cooler. Right before our maximum coverage, I went back outside and it was NOTICEABLY cooler! It was amazing. I am so curious now about the other phenomenon that others have reported--wind ceasing, nocturnal animals appearing, etc. I can't wait to learn more with my students in January when this phenomenon comes back around in our learning! 1. When we are excited about learning, it rubs off on our students. One of my students today gave me my most important learning. My advisory class was in a 1st grade classroom helping the young learners think about eclipses. I must have had a smile on my face that wouldn't stop when one of my autistic students walked up to me and asked, "Mrs. Noffsinger, why are you so joyful? You look like you are about to explode with happiness." I was excited and it rubbed off on him. When we went outside for viewing, he kept coming over to tell me what he saw, what he wondered, and asking me if I was still going to explode with happiness. And the answer? Yes. I wanted to explode with happiness today because I got to spend it doing my favorite thing--getting students excited about science! It rocked
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AuthorMrs. Noffsinger is the 8th Grade Science and Engineering educator. Archives
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Photos used under Creative Commons from Howdy, I'm H. Michael Karshis, r.nial.bradshaw