STEAM

For the week of March 2nd through the 6th, I had the benefit to teach a Steam lesson to my kindergarten practicum class! The students and I, all had a blast throughout the entire experience. On Monday, we read the book Iggy Peck Architect. Before reading the book, we discussed what an architecture and structure is then we viewed examples of structures and some familiar buildings and bridges that they see on a regular basis, such as their school, Walmart, and the Meighan Boulevard Bridge.

On Wednesday, we reviewed our book and the students drew a plan of their structures on graph paper. Most followed the graphing lines and made pictures of bridges, their houses, and local grocery stores! After making our blue prints, it was time to construct them using marshmallows and toothpicks!

First I modeled how to assemble a basic cube structure then I gave them their material and let them begin building theirs. I was very impressed! Some students went beyond my expectations. For example, one student built a three dimensional, two story house including a pool on the side!

To implement a math standard, the students measured the length and height of their structures by using unit cubes. This was a great and fun experiment for us all!

My name is Shaniqua Appleton and I decided to become a teacher a few years after substitute teaching. Growing up I have always played teacher with younger cousins and baby dolls. I enjoyed pretend teaching to them in my elementary years, helping my mom learn her lines to low budget movies, and tutoring school mates that were falling behind in high school. Once I graduated from Fort Payne High School and Northeast Alabama Community College, I was still undecided on what career path I wanted to take. In 2015, I began working for Gadsden City Schools as a paraprofessional and a substitute teacher. It started off a bit difficult because I did not have much management skills but after the first year I started to fall in love with it. I took delight in watching children get their aha moments when I would explain or break down problems for them. It genuinely made me feel good just knowing that I helped a student learn or that I could just be a listening ear or mentor. So that's when I knew that this is what I am destined to do!