Both the 6th graders and the 7th/8th graders had a lab today. I don't know why I always have the older kids do the messiest labs...
The 6th graders were using flashlights with colored cellophane over them to see what happens to the colored light waves when they overlap. The girls were in a group together (minus one) and they did just fine on their own. The boys on the other hand... their group didn't work together so well. From now on, the boys don't get to be together. They completely ignored the girl in their group (not that she didn't try to get them to notice her. But she was being annoying, so they didn't pay any attention). They couldn't even read the instructions in the book! I probably shouldn't have stood over them, helping them along step by step, but that's what I did. Looking back on it now, I should've let them do nothing and had them face the consequences later.
Then came the 7th and 8th graders. By that time, I was in no mood for shenanigans. I flat out told them that they had to be on their best behavior today or else we wouldn't do any more labs this year. They all said they'd be on their best behavior, and for the most part, they were.
We started class eight minutes late because no one was ready for class after bells. Something's got to change there. I think on Monday (the next time we have bells), I'm going to write a note on the board in their room saying something like, "You will need the following items for class. If you don't have them with you during bells, you will do without. No one will be allowed to leave the room until 2:00." I should probably add something about being able to leave in case of emergency, because someone will for sure say, "But what if the room were on fire? Or we have to go to the bathroom really bad?"
Our lab today was modeling how a kidney works. I had a mixture of gravel, potting soil, and water in a pail. They had to filter this substance through a screen and then filter some more through a coffee filter. Most groups had trouble following the directions. One group broke a beaker that I had just bought. Sigh. The first of many equipment casualties, I'm sure. I think they were surprised I wasn't more upset about it. I didn't even yell at the boys who broke it. Maybe they had been goofing around, but I didn't see it happen... I just heard the crash afterwards. But. These things happen. Deal with it and move on.
Clean-up was pretty tricky. Everyone was supposed to rinse off their utensils, so they had to cart them all the way down the hallway to the bathroom. Then they set them on the lab table to dry. This is when I noticed that some groups cleaned out their equipment better than others. The groups that thought they were finished cleaning had left by this point, so there was no way for me to call people back and rewash.
Some tricky students just left their dirty dishes on the lab table. I ended up cleaning those few myself after school. Surprisingly, everyone folded up their aprons and put their goggles back in the right spots. That was really nice.
And then my 6th graders came back from math. It makes me sad that they're growing up and becoming moody teenagers who hate school and talk back to teachers and pick on each other and are just obnoxious in general. I'm hoping it's the changing weather. Next week, the school nurse gets to give them the puberty talk. I haven't told them yet, but I'm sure they'll be really excited.
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