Hello all.
I really haven't been doing much. I finished the butterfly math guide yesterday and I'm working on the North Florida one for the rest of the week. This is my last week working, woohoo! I'm not sure if I'll be in class this week or not so I don't know if I'll be seeing everybody.
Fun fact. Today Ms. Dale told Taylor and I that there is this fungus called zombie fungus. An ant might eat a plant containing the fungus and then the fungus will eat away at the ant's brain. Eventually when the fungus is ready to spore the ant will climb up on a leaf on a tree and it's brain will just explode and the fungus will spread onto all the leaves around. Isn't that nuts??
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Monday, July 21, 2014
Approaching the end (I have no idea what week it is)
Well fun stuff!
Dr. Ellis is back from vacation and is beginning to read through our guides! It'll be great to get some feedback and be able to finalize the activities.
Today Taylor and I were able to test her Megalodon tooth activity in the museum and it was actually a lot of fun! We had visitors measure the sharks teeth (at the widest part) and multiply by 10 to figure out how long that particular shark would have been (1 inch of tooth equals 10 feet of shark). We also had a tape measure so that kids could have a visual for how long the shark was. We even had some adults come over who were really interested in the ratio that exists between the width of a tooth and the length of a shark.
Tomorrow we will be testing my Sue activity but I may have to take a different approach. The majority of our visitors today were 4-10 year olds (and only like two of the older kids knew multiplication) so I don't think the whole density concept is going to stick. I may just do measuring and then using the 1:40 scale and keep it relatively simple.
That's all I have! See y'all Wednesday!
Dr. Ellis is back from vacation and is beginning to read through our guides! It'll be great to get some feedback and be able to finalize the activities.
Today Taylor and I were able to test her Megalodon tooth activity in the museum and it was actually a lot of fun! We had visitors measure the sharks teeth (at the widest part) and multiply by 10 to figure out how long that particular shark would have been (1 inch of tooth equals 10 feet of shark). We also had a tape measure so that kids could have a visual for how long the shark was. We even had some adults come over who were really interested in the ratio that exists between the width of a tooth and the length of a shark.
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| Taylor awaiting visitors! |
That's all I have! See y'all Wednesday!
Monday, July 14, 2014
Week 10
Happy Monday!
Today is a short day for me so I'm super happy.
Last week has been the same ole same. I still haven't heard from Dr. Ellis (other than her checking in!) so I don't have any corrections I can make for my educator guides. Taylor and I did get an email from Amanda though and wants us to meet up with the camp people doing Sue and Meg to collaborate some ideas (Max and Callum I believe that's you?) We finished painting sharks teeth last week so the activity testing will be ready to go this week! My guess would be Thursday but Taylor isn't in today so we have yet to discuss it.
I don't really have much else. I've been working on my poster and it's pretty much done which is nice because it's one less thing to worry about. I can't believe summer is almost done, ah!
Today is a short day for me so I'm super happy.
Last week has been the same ole same. I still haven't heard from Dr. Ellis (other than her checking in!) so I don't have any corrections I can make for my educator guides. Taylor and I did get an email from Amanda though and wants us to meet up with the camp people doing Sue and Meg to collaborate some ideas (Max and Callum I believe that's you?) We finished painting sharks teeth last week so the activity testing will be ready to go this week! My guess would be Thursday but Taylor isn't in today so we have yet to discuss it.
I don't really have much else. I've been working on my poster and it's pretty much done which is nice because it's one less thing to worry about. I can't believe summer is almost done, ah!
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| The finished product of "shark teeth" painting. |
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| The posters that Taylor created BY HAND for testing the activities. |
Monday, July 7, 2014
Week 9 Looking Fine
Happy Monday!
This past week I didn't really do much. I was only in the office for 3 days because I went to Disney/Universal! However Taylor and I finally got to do something fun, we painted "shark teeth". Now we didn't paint ACTUAL shark teeth, we painted plaster casts of teeth so that they looked real. It was a lot of fun and made time go by much faster than sitting in front of a computer. We get to do it again on Wednesday so I'm happy about that!
Now some people may be wondering why we need these teeth. Well when Taylor and I test our activities, which should be the end of this week and next (hopefully), she will be using the teeth for a measuring and ratio activity. It's pretty cool, and the activity I'm testing will be really fun too (I'll write about it next week) so if you're in the museum be sure to come check us out!
I'm very excited for the planetarium on Friday. My boyf will be visiting me this weekend so he'll be there too. You can't miss him, he's 7 ft. tall, haha. That's about all, see you Wednesday!
This past week I didn't really do much. I was only in the office for 3 days because I went to Disney/Universal! However Taylor and I finally got to do something fun, we painted "shark teeth". Now we didn't paint ACTUAL shark teeth, we painted plaster casts of teeth so that they looked real. It was a lot of fun and made time go by much faster than sitting in front of a computer. We get to do it again on Wednesday so I'm happy about that!
Now some people may be wondering why we need these teeth. Well when Taylor and I test our activities, which should be the end of this week and next (hopefully), she will be using the teeth for a measuring and ratio activity. It's pretty cool, and the activity I'm testing will be really fun too (I'll write about it next week) so if you're in the museum be sure to come check us out!
I'm very excited for the planetarium on Friday. My boyf will be visiting me this weekend so he'll be there too. You can't miss him, he's 7 ft. tall, haha. That's about all, see you Wednesday!
Monday, June 30, 2014
Week 8
Happy Monday!
So the only guide I have left to complete is 2-3 and I only need one more activity, yay! I should be able to finish it before class, I just need to find something more hands on for students to do.
I don't have much else of an update. While Dr. Ellis is out Taylor and I will be testing our activities, painting shark teeth, and creating a "Math in the Museum" handout type thing for families to follow when they visit each exhibit. These handouts will be like any museum exhibit guide but will be more math based.
I will only be at work until Wednesday this week because after class on Wednesday I'm going to Disney!
Sorry my blog is so boring, I spend the majority of the day at the computer so I don't have many exciting things to write about. Until next week then...
So the only guide I have left to complete is 2-3 and I only need one more activity, yay! I should be able to finish it before class, I just need to find something more hands on for students to do.
I don't have much else of an update. While Dr. Ellis is out Taylor and I will be testing our activities, painting shark teeth, and creating a "Math in the Museum" handout type thing for families to follow when they visit each exhibit. These handouts will be like any museum exhibit guide but will be more math based.
I will only be at work until Wednesday this week because after class on Wednesday I'm going to Disney!
Sorry my blog is so boring, I spend the majority of the day at the computer so I don't have many exciting things to write about. Until next week then...
Monday, June 23, 2014
Week 7
So last week I was all alone (literally) because Taylor was at RYLA (right?) camp and my supervisor had a bunch of meetings. Although I was alone I got A BUNCH done. I've already surpassed my goal of submitting one education guide a week by submitting two by Friday. The only drafts I have left are grades 2-3 and 6-8 and both are halfway done.
Dr. Ellis will be in meetings today (she's SO lucky) so she wants Taylor and I to compile a list of materials we need to perform our activities. Dr. Ellis is taking the majority of July off for vacation and while she is gone she wants Taylor and I to test the activities at the museum! So if you're working there, come by and check them out :)
Welp that's all I have. I will be working half of this "break week" and spending the other half in Clearwater but will probably be working from there. For all you taking a real break I'm jealous, I hope you have fun!
Dr. Ellis will be in meetings today (she's SO lucky) so she wants Taylor and I to compile a list of materials we need to perform our activities. Dr. Ellis is taking the majority of July off for vacation and while she is gone she wants Taylor and I to test the activities at the museum! So if you're working there, come by and check them out :)
Welp that's all I have. I will be working half of this "break week" and spending the other half in Clearwater but will probably be working from there. For all you taking a real break I'm jealous, I hope you have fun!
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Week 6: I have no clever title
Hello all!
On Monday Taylor and I went to Jacksonville to see the Megalodon exhibit! It was a lot of fun and it was nice (for Taylor mostly) to see what she has to work with and what is already available. They had a bunch of math activities already incorporated so that was really refreshing to see. I've never been to MOSH (to Jacksonville in general) so it was a nice change of pace to see what they had there.
Back in Gainesville I continued to sit at the computer and work on the museum guide. Good news is I finally finished! Now getting through the educator guides should be "easy" since I have the activities vaguely outlined. I plan to have one done by the end of each week so hopefully I'll have all drafts done within 4 weeks. We'll see how that plays out.
I can't think of anything else, honestly. Hope everyone had a good weekend! I live an insanely boring life so I have no fun stories or remarks to make, for once ;)
UPDATE!: Today I get to do something different from museum guides! YAY. I'm compiling a list of math vocabulary words in order of when they're introduced. This list will be used for the docents when they are working with students in the classrooms. I actually learned a new word today from it! In 4th grade students are introduced to the term "minuend". Can anyone guess what it means?
On Monday Taylor and I went to Jacksonville to see the Megalodon exhibit! It was a lot of fun and it was nice (for Taylor mostly) to see what she has to work with and what is already available. They had a bunch of math activities already incorporated so that was really refreshing to see. I've never been to MOSH (to Jacksonville in general) so it was a nice change of pace to see what they had there.
Back in Gainesville I continued to sit at the computer and work on the museum guide. Good news is I finally finished! Now getting through the educator guides should be "easy" since I have the activities vaguely outlined. I plan to have one done by the end of each week so hopefully I'll have all drafts done within 4 weeks. We'll see how that plays out.
I can't think of anything else, honestly. Hope everyone had a good weekend! I live an insanely boring life so I have no fun stories or remarks to make, for once ;)
UPDATE!: Today I get to do something different from museum guides! YAY. I'm compiling a list of math vocabulary words in order of when they're introduced. This list will be used for the docents when they are working with students in the classrooms. I actually learned a new word today from it! In 4th grade students are introduced to the term "minuend". Can anyone guess what it means?
Saturday, June 7, 2014
Week 5: Getting Pumped for Meg
Happy Saturday!
I hope everyone is having a good weekend, the weather is finally nice for once AND ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK CAME OUT YESTERDAY!
This past week, nothing much has changed. Dr. Ellis took me for a tour on Monday so I finally got to see all the nooks and crannies that make up the museum. I also got a key to the office Taylor and I work in so YAY! I also got to meet a bunch of people like the Dian(n)es, Betty, and a bunch of the people on the exhibits team. On Wednesday, Taylor and I took a break from our 5 hour computer session to go look at some of the exhibits. We went to the South Florida exhibit and I found that I matched some of the items on display!
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It was nice to take a break and get to see everything. I finally got my name tag too which is super exciting!! So now Taylor and I can take breaks with the butterflies and I've really wanted to go see Wolf to Woof.
The guides are going MUCH better now that I finally know what I'm doing. I should be done with the museum activities guide by Friday at the latest. I'm hoping that the in classroom guides will go pretty quickly since I already have an outline of what I want to do. I found a half-life math lesson online the other day that I am way too excited about so I'm hoping that my supervisor likes it because I really want to use it!
On Monday Taylor and I are travelling with Dr. Ellis and the exhibit team to go see Megalodon in Jacksonville! I'm so excited to have a break from sitting at the computer and it's going to be a lot of fun.
See ya'll in class!
I hope everyone is having a good weekend, the weather is finally nice for once AND ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK CAME OUT YESTERDAY!
This past week, nothing much has changed. Dr. Ellis took me for a tour on Monday so I finally got to see all the nooks and crannies that make up the museum. I also got a key to the office Taylor and I work in so YAY! I also got to meet a bunch of people like the Dian(n)es, Betty, and a bunch of the people on the exhibits team. On Wednesday, Taylor and I took a break from our 5 hour computer session to go look at some of the exhibits. We went to the South Florida exhibit and I found that I matched some of the items on display!
It was nice to take a break and get to see everything. I finally got my name tag too which is super exciting!! So now Taylor and I can take breaks with the butterflies and I've really wanted to go see Wolf to Woof.
The guides are going MUCH better now that I finally know what I'm doing. I should be done with the museum activities guide by Friday at the latest. I'm hoping that the in classroom guides will go pretty quickly since I already have an outline of what I want to do. I found a half-life math lesson online the other day that I am way too excited about so I'm hoping that my supervisor likes it because I really want to use it!
On Monday Taylor and I are travelling with Dr. Ellis and the exhibit team to go see Megalodon in Jacksonville! I'm so excited to have a break from sitting at the computer and it's going to be a lot of fun.
See ya'll in class!
Friday, May 30, 2014
Week 4 post
Well I'm currently finishing up the Sue guide for grades K-1. I'm not sure if it is what my supervisor is looking for or if she'll like all my lessons but I'm keeping my fingers crossed! I'm still having trouble finding a post lesson to do with K-1, just because the common core standards that align with Kindergarten and 1st grade math are sort of repetitive. I also didn't realize how hard it would be to find lessons that teach about dinosaurs using math, not just dinosaur themed math activities (like pictures of dinosaurs on the page, connecting the dots to form a dinosaur, etc.). I already have ideas for 4-5 so I'm going to tackle that next.
Yesterday Taylor and I went to Stephen Foster Elementary to teach a "post lesson" on two class' trips to the museum (weeks ago). I worked as a camp counselor, coached an 8 and under swim team, and volunteered for years in K-1 classrooms so I'm used to little kids. However, it's very hard to make a "guest" appearance for a day during the last few weeks of school. The kids were going crazy, especially since we had our stuffed otter friend with us. It just made me thankful that I was going to be teaching 6-12 after graduation. Don't get me wrong, I love kids, but I don't think I could handle 18-20 at a time for 180 days. It was a fun break from the office and computers though.
Speaking of fun break, Taylor and I found out yesterday that we get to go on a little day trip with the museum "exhibit" crew this upcoming week! Dr. Ellis is taking us to Jacksonville to see the Megalodon exhibit on Tuesday! It will be nice to actually get to see the exhibit and it will definitely help in creating the guides for it. Taylor and I were also looking into seeing Sue. The permanent exhibit is in Chicago and the traveling one is currently in Vermont. So if anyone knows anyone in those areas who will let us crash for a night we wouldn't mind ;)
Well that's all I have. Hope everyone has a good weekend (or had if you read this on Monday/Tuesday). I won't be doing anything at all. The boyf is coming up to visit and we were thinking about maybe about going to Ginnie or Devil's Den but the weather doesn't seem to be too pleasant, so we shall see. See y'all in class!
Yesterday Taylor and I went to Stephen Foster Elementary to teach a "post lesson" on two class' trips to the museum (weeks ago). I worked as a camp counselor, coached an 8 and under swim team, and volunteered for years in K-1 classrooms so I'm used to little kids. However, it's very hard to make a "guest" appearance for a day during the last few weeks of school. The kids were going crazy, especially since we had our stuffed otter friend with us. It just made me thankful that I was going to be teaching 6-12 after graduation. Don't get me wrong, I love kids, but I don't think I could handle 18-20 at a time for 180 days. It was a fun break from the office and computers though.
Speaking of fun break, Taylor and I found out yesterday that we get to go on a little day trip with the museum "exhibit" crew this upcoming week! Dr. Ellis is taking us to Jacksonville to see the Megalodon exhibit on Tuesday! It will be nice to actually get to see the exhibit and it will definitely help in creating the guides for it. Taylor and I were also looking into seeing Sue. The permanent exhibit is in Chicago and the traveling one is currently in Vermont. So if anyone knows anyone in those areas who will let us crash for a night we wouldn't mind ;)
Well that's all I have. Hope everyone has a good weekend (or had if you read this on Monday/Tuesday). I won't be doing anything at all. The boyf is coming up to visit and we were thinking about maybe about going to Ginnie or Devil's Den but the weather doesn't seem to be too pleasant, so we shall see. See y'all in class!
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Back to Work
As nice as the vacation was, I am so happy to finally be back in the states. It was a great trip but there's nothing like the good ole USA and a few days of rest at home to catch up on sleep.
Today was my first official day working for Dr. Ellis with "Math in the Museum". I didn't know what to expect coming into work today as my tasks were vaguely described to me before I left for vacation. Now that I'm back and actually able to see what it is we're creating, the picture is becoming a bit more clear.
There are two exhibits coming to the Florida Museum of Natural History relatively soon, "The Megalodon" and "A Dinosaur Named Sue". I was under the impression that Taylor and I would be creating tours for these exhibits but now I see we are doing so much more. We are actually creating museum guides that include lesson plans, Power Point presentations, student activities, and tours for the exhibit in the museum. We will be making guides for grades K-8 so this task could take a lot longer than I thought.
I'm taking on the "A Dinosaur Named Sue" and finding lessons that relate to the exhibit is incredibly challenging. The exhibit is current at the Field Museum in Chicago and they have provided guides online that cater to grades 3-8 however there is little to no math present in those activities.
Soooo, if anyone has any suggestions of lessons with dinosaurs and math (preferably younger grades) please send them my way! Hopefully I'll find a groove soon, because if not I'll be working past summer to get these guides done.
See ya'll in class this week!
Monday, May 19, 2014
Firenze
For now, here are some pictures from Florence!
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| Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore |
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| Piazza della Repubblica |
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| Copy of 'The Rape of the Sabine Woman' in Piazza della Signoria |
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| View of the Ponte alle Grazie from the Ponte Vecchio |
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| Street performer at the Ponte Vecchio |
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| Piazza Santa Trinita |
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| Basilica di Santa Maria Novella |
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| Chiesa di Santa Trinita |
Introduction
Buongiorno!
Today was my last day in Florence and I'm off to Paris tomorrow until Saturday when I'm back in the USA. The trip has been fantastic but I'm actually excited to head back to Gainesville! (I get homesick, weird I know.) I'm going into my final semester studying math this Fall and will be graduating in December. This summer I will be working with fellow classmate Taylor Whitley in the Florida Museum of Natural History and supervised by Dr. Shari Ellis.
Unfortunately, I have only been able to experience one day in the museum before I left but I did have a lot of fun with it. I was able to shadow Taylor on a tour through the fossil exhibits with two fourth grade classes in Alachua county. During the tours, Taylor was able to include many probing questions about math such as calculating a shark's length by the length of it's tooth or how museum workers could figure out the best possible way to layout an exhibit. The students loved answering all the questions Taylor asked and for the most part seemed to enjoy the tour. I thought it was fun!
After the tours were over we went to the office where I helped Taylor prepare the lesson she and Dr. Ellis (our supervisor) would be teaching to the same students in school the next day. The lesson was on measuring heights of specific exhibits such as the mammoth and comparing those to similar animals today.
This summer, Taylor and I will be working under Dr. Ellis to create guides for the Megalodon and Dinosaur named Sue exhibits that incorporate math. There will be a lot of research involved in creating these guides so Taylor and I will be on the computers A LOT, along with some Starbucks.
Once I'm back in the states and actually being able to attend work, I will have more information to share. So for right, I guess that's it!
Today was my last day in Florence and I'm off to Paris tomorrow until Saturday when I'm back in the USA. The trip has been fantastic but I'm actually excited to head back to Gainesville! (I get homesick, weird I know.) I'm going into my final semester studying math this Fall and will be graduating in December. This summer I will be working with fellow classmate Taylor Whitley in the Florida Museum of Natural History and supervised by Dr. Shari Ellis.
Unfortunately, I have only been able to experience one day in the museum before I left but I did have a lot of fun with it. I was able to shadow Taylor on a tour through the fossil exhibits with two fourth grade classes in Alachua county. During the tours, Taylor was able to include many probing questions about math such as calculating a shark's length by the length of it's tooth or how museum workers could figure out the best possible way to layout an exhibit. The students loved answering all the questions Taylor asked and for the most part seemed to enjoy the tour. I thought it was fun!
After the tours were over we went to the office where I helped Taylor prepare the lesson she and Dr. Ellis (our supervisor) would be teaching to the same students in school the next day. The lesson was on measuring heights of specific exhibits such as the mammoth and comparing those to similar animals today.
This summer, Taylor and I will be working under Dr. Ellis to create guides for the Megalodon and Dinosaur named Sue exhibits that incorporate math. There will be a lot of research involved in creating these guides so Taylor and I will be on the computers A LOT, along with some Starbucks.
Once I'm back in the states and actually being able to attend work, I will have more information to share. So for right, I guess that's it!
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