Lindsay Donahoo

Spring 2016
School Wide Events
Space Day
4-4-16
Space Day was a wonderful experience that Im so grateful that we were able to
experience! I think that all of the students really enjoyed it also. My group and I worked
with the rockets outside and enjoyed every second of it. At first we had no idea how to
work the rockets, but we eventually had some guidance and figured it out. Once we did,
we couldnt get enough of it! We used teamwork and passion to teach the kids about the
wonders of space and used the rockets that they had made! Unfortunately, we could tell
that all of the students wanted us to shoot each of their rockets, and we couldnt do that.
Even though we werent able to shoot off all of their rockets, they were able to learn and
have a great time doing so! I know that if I went to a college for a field trip like Space
Day when I was in elementary school, I would have been ecstatic! The students that
attended our Space Day felt the same way. We were outside for most of the day and the
entire time, the sky looked as if it would storm at any second. Although after many hopes
and prayers, it never so much as sprinkled! We had a system where each helped teach a
lesson and then we grouped the students together to talk about how far they thought the
rockets would go. Each time we had a new class/group to introduce the rockets to, after
we taught we would shoot at least four rockets. After shooting the rockets, we chose two
students to help us measure how far the rockets went for each of the rockets we shot. As
they were measuring, the groups of students that we put together estimated how far away

each rocket went and then they were able to see how close they were. They seemed to
enjoy every part of launching the rockets as much as we did. I enjoyed learning how
rockets work and gaining an understanding of all of the pieces that work together to make
a rocket launch. It was very interesting to learn that there are many types of rockets, but
they all have the same concepts and even though rockets may seem like a very extensive
and complex, but its actually very easily understood. I couldnt have been happier with
my experience and the good I was placed with!

Young Authors Conference

4-21-16
Today I attended the Young Authors Conference not sure what to expect out of
the experience as a whole. We had the pleasure getting assistance from Miles College
students during todays conference that was extremely helpful. They were great company
and assisted us in our presentations to the kids throughout the day. From beginning to
end we realized several different adjustments that we needed to make and we adapted to
each of them and the result was that the students seemed to have an overall positive
experience. From my experience, I do wish that we had more time with each group to
have more of a discussion with them. Although I think that we made the most out of the
time that we did have and it turned out wonderfully. Overall it was a positive experience,
but I continue to realize the importance of effort, especially when collaborating is
involved. It can be difficult for team members to work together when everyone is on a
different page or they are each waiting on someone else to tell them what to do. In these
situations someone has to take the reins and say that they are going to make it work and
share a plan. In my eyes making a plan for an individual to reach an end goal is
important, and its even more important when an entire group is involved. Knowing how
to communicate and deal with a range of different situations is crucial for teachers and I
today gave me the opportunity to work on these things. While I might have had a few
frustrations throughout the day, I know that in reality, today wasnt for me, it was for
the Trace Crossings students. All that mattered today was that the students that visited
Samford had a positive experience and that they had a more positive insight to reading
that they did before they walked in the door and I definitely think that we accomplished
that.

Maker Week
February 29, 2016 March 4, 2016
After hearing about this week at Trace I was very excited to see all of the things
that we have heard so much about! Trace Crossing is a STEAM school, which means
that they emphasize a large portion of their learning on science, technology, engineering,
art and mathematics. Maker Week displays all of these areas for the students in a fun
filled week that they look forward to all year! There were so many things that I was
interested in seeing, but one thing that really stood out to me was the oversized building
blocks! I thought this was such a neat idea. They had different designs that they could
choose from to build with the blocks and shapes and they would look at the picture and
then they would use their problem solving and collaborating skills to figure it out
together. Unfortunately I was unable to see this, but I was actually asked to be over the
pixilation process of the Truffula Trees. The art teacher at Trace Crossings put this
together to go along with both Maker Week and Dr. Seuss Week, and it definitely did! I
wasnt exactly ecstatic when I found out that I was going to be cutting 1-inch squares for
hours until I cut enough of them, but it was actually quite calming. After myself, and a
peer finished cutting enough of the squares, we started to glue them on the graph.
Finally, once we finished enough a the top of the trees that the students couldnt reach,
the students continued to complete the rest.

Dr. Seuss Week

February 29, 2016 March 4, 2016
The whole process of organizing, creating and decorating for this week was just
as much fun, if not more fun than the week itself! I absolutely love all things Dr. Seuss
and on top of that being able to create and decorate for Dr. Seuss Week, I was more than
thrilled! Every year Samford students decorate the main hallway of Trace Crossings
Elementary School, and this year was our turn! Even though I wasnt very excited about
the project that I was put in charge of I realized that at the end of the day it was helping
enhance students learning. I was in charge of pixilation for the Truffula Trees. This
project was actually a part of both Dr. Seuss Week and Maker Week! Yes it was tedious
cutting out hundreds of 1-inch squares and then gluing them in the correct spot on the
graph, but I actually enjoyed it. For the most part I worked on this on my own, but I did
have a large amount of support from one other peer. Once we finished with our portion
of the Truffula trees, it was time for the students to finish the rest! After we finished with
the pixilation, I helped one of my peers with her project, which consisted of the Sneeches
section of the hallway. This was a great experience to create and decorate in a way that
would spark the students imagination. One of my peers drew an amazing Sneech that
looked exactly like one from the books we know and love! We used her drawing,
artwork from the students, stars, die cut letters and event a few props to put together our
Sneeches masterpiece.

Trip to Huntsville Space and Rocket Center

4-20-16
I was so excited about this trip, but by the
end of the day I learned more than I could have
ever imagined. Two other Samford interns, and
myself accompanied the 4th grade Tarrant
Intermediate School students on their trip to the
Huntsville Space and Rocket Center! Obviously I had a great time because its a very
interesting a fun place to visit. Although I took away so much more from this trip! I

learned more about the kids and myself than I ever would have in the classroom. Being
outside of their everyday surroundings and in such a huge place, we really didnt know
what to expect out of them and their behavior. Before we departed, each adult was given
7 to 8 students that they were to stay with and keep track of for the rest of the day. The
ride there was about an hour and a half and they were very excited so they definitely were
loud on the bus, but they behaved fine. When we arrived I saw from the very beginning
that it was going to be difficult for my group to stay together because they wanted to go
every other direction. Although I came to find that I was able to keep my eye on them
very easily. The students all had a wonderful time and I really do think they learned so
much. I could tell that a large number of these students are not able to go many places
outside of their school and home. I am so thankful that I was given the opportunity to
travel on this field trip with my students because I learned so much about friend trips.