PowerPoint Overhaul

Posted on by smillestylescience

Summer is here and I guess I am a workaholic because I have already started prepping for next year! The school I work at has had the same PowerPoints for a while and none of them were cohesive, so I decided to add my flair and give them a face lift and a little update as well!! I decide each six weeks (which is how our grading cycles are divided) will have a different themed powerpoint background. This will help me know just by looking at the thumbnail in google drive when we talked about something making it much easier to find. It will also help my students see division in the units and keep things organized.

I started this daunting task by pulling all of our current powerpoints and looking at the TEKS. I wanted to make sure that everything we talk about fully covers the learning targets that are required and that nothing was missing since the TEKS were last updated a couple years ago. After this I consolidated the powerpoints as their were several of them over each topic. I found a theme I loved for the first six weeks from ” slidestogo.com ” copied it to my drive and got to work.

To keep the fonts cohesive and make sure all of the necessary material was included I retyped everything rather than copying and pasting. I found new updated pictures that were clean and simple and embedded those in each of the PowerPoints where they would be helpful.

I tend to not lecture for very long so these are just supposed to be tools to help students take notes from. In on level they are assigned the PowerPoints to take notes from the class before we talk about a topic. Then we come to class and process the notes they take together going through the presentation to make sure none of the big ideas were missed. In my Pre AP classes students use our textbook to take notes and the PowerPoints are used in class as a summary of the big ideas. Having a cohesive theme that is clean and neutral is helpful for the students to be able to focus and not get overwhelmed by the new ides being introduced.

I hope these tips are helpful as you take on creating, or redoing presentations for your own students. 1 six weeks down 5 to go!!

Here is a look at a couple of slides from the 1st six weeks updated presentations.

Year One = Complete

Posted on by smillestylescience

Oh my goodness what a crazy whirlwind end of the year it was!! Like most other schools what was supposed to be the beginning of a week long spring break turned into an eleven week break away from school. It was unexpected and brought many many challenges with it. I was not ready to never see my kiddos in a classroom again. I wasn’t ready to figure out how to teach online. I wasn’t ready to experience my first end of year digitally BUT IT HAPPENED. Unexpected and definitely not what I signed up for but I survived the kids survived and it is over.

With this unexpected twist there were many things I was unable to do that I wanted to. I did not get to take my end of the year class selfies with each period, or continue to give them random stories with life advice, or read them Oh, the Places You’ll Go! on the last day, but one thing I was not willing to go without and that was end of the year letters. So I set out to write all 169 of my students letters and deliver them to their houses. This was not a small task and after planning with a coworker we mapped out all of our students houses combined, split it into three days emailed the parents and were on our way. Unfortunately I still was not able to see EVERY student one last time but the large majority I got to and it made my heart swell. I loved these kiddos they taught me so much and will always hold a special place in my teaching journey because they were my first group of students!

I am a better teacher, more confident, organized, and put together than I was before this year. We laughed together, and had countless inside jokes. There were tears, and “therapy” sessions for the crazy things that were happening in each of their lives. We had many days of getting off topic and doing things that had nothing to do with science but grew them as people. We had life stories, embarrassing moments and so so much more. For all of the teachers that ended the year feeling uncertain and unaccomplished DON’T!!! Serving these kids in this crazy time and showing them you still care and making a fool of yourself on Zoom and recorded lectures they will remember that, they will remember the love and care you put into this time to make them feel equipped to do well and succeed. You matter and made a difference. This is not an easy job, no two days are ever the same and this year was absolutely no exception to that, but the growth that happened in us as teachers and the students will be insurmountable and they will better adapt to change forever now so don’t be hard on yourself.

Summer has started and while I still don’t know what next year will look like I know after this crazy year I can tackle anything and I am excited for the adventure of the 2021-2022 school year!!

Science Fair

Posted on by smillestylescience

Oh my goodness it has been a minute since I have had a moment to breathe. The school I work at participates in science fair. Now unlike the science fairs you see in movies you unfortunately cannot just tell kids to do an experiment and it be done exceptionally well and you all come together and present some amazing thing. So this is a task that we assign piece by piece starting the very first day of school, and it FINALLY came to a close… well the school fair anyways. The students all came up with an actual science experiment they researched and wrote procedures and decided on variables and carried out the experiment and wrote abstracts and conclusions and then made presentation boards and finally presented. They did it all and as much stress as it was on both them and myself it was truly incredible to see them shine this past week. Students got excited about things. They were able to turn their hobbies into a science experiment. They were able to see which GF flour supplement created the best rising bread, or which wing shape allowed an RC plan the smoothest take off or which track shoe caused less knee damage. All things that mattered to these students they had ownership of their projects and their interests and even my most shy and anxiety ridden students who were terrified to present to the judges felt proud of themselves afterwards.

I think ownership of learning is something that is slowly dying as the generations go on. Students do not have the same light in their eye when learning because everything is googleable. Sparking ways to get them excited to discover on their own without asking Alexa is something that can be so challenging. Giving projects and assignments that allow this ownership makes students learn better. They remember and retain what they care for and are passionate about. I am so proud of all of my students and the joy they expressed after weeks of stress and uncertainty. I hope in someway we can all cultivate ownership in areas of our continuous learning or just an area of life in general. Things are so much more meaningful when you care about them and take ownership for discovery.

-am

hi i’m alex!

Posted on by smillestylescience

My name is Alex Moulton and I am so excited to start this blogging journey . I have always desired to begin a blog and post about what I am doing and hopefully encourage others to feel bold and live their best life.

I am a freshman biology teacher, and lover of black and white clothing. I want to encourage others and document my journey of teaching the highs and lows and everything in between. I love to travel and make the best of the city I live in by always exploring new things!

I hope to post about everything along this path I am beginning, things I am doing in my classroom as well as the journey of being a teacher, and wardrobe pieces I am loving…. and anything else that pops in my head.

I hope to interact with others who have similar lifestyles, or desires, or any human at all! I want to be a raw and real place to talk about any and everything where anyone can relate or find something interesting!

Join me in this crazy journey where I am sure I will fail and mess up and spell things wrong or mess up grammar but I am here for a journey no matter where it leads!