Marlee DeSplinter

Weekly Summaries February

Week 5 February 8 to 12
This week I worked with the kids as they finished up their tower projects and started their
car projects. Since the kids were finishing up their towers I was responsible for helping the kids
test their towers and then I graded their tower packets. Along with this project the kids did
PowerPoints to show that they had a full understanding of the tower and I graded these too. After
they finished their tower projects they started the car project and I gave my lesson. My lesson
was an introduction to the car project and I taught them how to use the machines they would
need to use for their projects.
1. What type of learning took place in your classroom this week- This week the kids learned
how to use different machines that allowed them to cut wooden blocks and shape them
into cars. Some of the machines they learned how to use were the drill press, sander, and
scroll saw. I directly taught them how to use the scroll saw and drill press, I taught them
techniques for how to make cutting the wooden blocks easier.
2. Tell me about a student that surprised you this week- throughout the week I tested kids
towers and one group that surprised me was the group of Andre and Logan. Logan missed
the first couple weeks of school and came into the project a little late and Andre
generously offered to work with him since he was in a group of three. Even though
Logan and Andre came in late to the project they turned in a neat project and it held more
than most of the other groups did.
3. Tell me about a way you made a positive impact this week- This week during my lesson
in was super positive to make sure the students understood that using machines can be
fun. Also, when I graded the tower projects it was important for me to maintain a positive

attitude so that the kids felt confident in the work that they turned in. This was also true
for when I graded their PowerPoints too.
Week 6 February 15 to 19
This week we did not have school the first two days of the week and the next three days
the kids started testing their cars. While the kids worked on their cars I started working on
my bulletin board project. I work the machine that deals with the car testing so I have the
chance to see all of the kids cars and give them advice on how to improve their cars.
1. Describe your favorite part of the week with your students- My favorite part of my
week with my students is working with them when they test their cars. This gives me
a chance to talk to each of the students directly and to get to know them a little bit
better. Also, I like this part because it shows me who the hard workers in the class are
and who the ones who slack off are.
2. Tell me about a disruption that in schedule/routine and how that affected the students
learning- This weekend several of the students went on a trip to Washington DC over
the four day weekend. This affected the students because coming back to school they
were all very sluggish and tired, several of them clearly did not want to be there. The
three day week did not help the students focus either, and many of them dragged
through the week and got little to nothing done.
3. One idea that you want to take into your own classroom one day- One day I would
like to take the idea that I did my bulletin board on into my classroom one day. My
bulletin board dealt with the future classes that are offered at the high school and
included pictures of projects that students at the high school sent me. I like this idea
because it gives students the chance to see what they can create in high school and it

advertises the classes and encourages some students that did not know what these
classes were to take these classes.
Week 7 February 22 to 26
This week I finished up my bulletin board by finalizing the pictures I wanted to be
printed and the descriptions and hanging all of them up. The kids also tested their cars this week
which I helped with by running the testing machine. As the kids began to finish I checked their
car comparison worksheets, which is a worksheet where the kids had to decide between two cars
which they would be more likely to buy in the future. Once they turned this worksheet in I gave
them paint so that they could paint their cars.
1. Tell me about a student that surprised you this week- This week some of the students
tested their cars and one student that stood out to me was Andre. Andre is a very quiet kid
and hard working and it really showed with his car. His car was the fastest in the class
and he was very excited to see how well he did. It was amazing to see a kids hard work
really pay off.
2. Tell me about a way you made a positive impact this week- This week when the kids
tested their cars it was important for me to keep a positive attitude so that they would
have confidence in themselves. It is quite difficult from them to drastically improve their
car speed and it is crucial that I keep a positive attitude so that the kids have the
confidence to improve their cars.
3. Describe a routine established in your classroom and how it helps your classroom
function- In our classroom everyday the kids come in and do their bell work, which is
usually a question about the things they learned the day before. After that there is usually
a quick set of notes that follows. Then the kids have a chance to work in the lab and work
on their projects.

Week 8 February 29 to March 4

This week the kids finished up their car project by painting it and doing a final test run.
After this, they turned in their cars to be graded. Once the car projects were complete we started
the Sphero projects which I taught. The kids usually enjoy the programming because it gives
them a chance to work on their iPads.
1. Tell me about a disruption that in schedule/routine and how that affected the students and
their learning- This week the kids had ISTEP testing and that made their classes 20
minutes shorter on two days and 10 minutes shorter on one day. This caused the kids to
be tired throughout the class and extremely sluggish. Also, the reduced class periods
made it hard for the kids to accomplish a lot throughout the class period.
2. Tell me about a behavior issue that occurred in your classroom this week- One of the kids
this week ran a little off edge. He got a bunch of paint on his jacket and was being
difficult about the situation. This kid has had some trouble focusing recently and it was
really prevalent the day that this occurred. To solve this issue, Mr. Tschuor talked with
him and got everything sorted out.
3. Describe your favorite part of your week with your students- My favorite part of the
week this week was teaching them the Sphero lessons, this is always my favorite part of
the 9 weeks because it is my chance to be a teacher for a unit. I have greatly improved
this lesson from the first time I gave it and it is crazy to think of how much my teaching
style has changed in just one semester. Also, it is my chance to interact directly with the
students and have them ask me questions about things that puzzle them with the Spheros.
I just love having the chance to be a teacher for seven days.