The Teaching Channel

In response to Mrs. Stevens' blog,


I found on the Teaching Channel website, that there are a couple of different videos that have different ways that teachers will teach specific subjects. There are two specific videos that I saw that I think would fit well with my classroom.

This first video is about how there are kinesthetic learners within the math environment. The teacher uses her students' hands in order for them to understand what they're learning with math. This helps me see that there are going to be students that will only learn with hands-on learning. Watching how effective teachers are, shows me that I have the ability to do the same things they do.

 This second video shows how teachers can avoid interruptions within their classrooms. This teacher uses something called the "3 B's" with her students so that they do not interrupt her while she is in the middle of doing guided reading, one-on-one conversation, etc. with another student. This video shows me that I could use something similar as a teacher, in order to have less interruptions within my classroom.

Humor in the Classroom!

In response to Mrs. Stevens' blog,

There are so many teachers now-a-days that will teach with humor involved in their lessons, lesson plans, or even just to say to their students to get them through the day if they're having a bad day.

With wishful thinking, I hope that every teacher tries to be somewhat humorous during their days of teaching.I, myself, try to be a little bit funny with my students by joking around with them, making noises, or even acting as a character with them from a movie or a book.

I have a teacher that always tries her hardest to be the funniest teacher she can be, whether it is sarcasm, joking around with a student, or even just trying to say something funny to lighten someone's day. This teacher just happens to be the one and only, Mrs. Stevens! There was a time in the classroom when she had tried telling us that if we got to nationals, that she would try to "twerk" for those of the students that would advance to state for TAFE competitions last school year. We all could not stop laughing. We thought it was the funniest and cutest thing ever. :)

There are some really cool APPs or websites that I found in this article from the GoTeach! magazine that could be used in a classroom to show some humor. One of the ones that I happened to like, was the Tellagami website, where the students would be able to use an animation of their own, and make the figures talk. It would definitely get the students interacted in their work, and it makes the work a little more fun. :)

My Internship So Far...

In response to Mrs. Stevens' blog,

My internship so far, has been amazing. My students are pretty great. I am with the second grade at Holiday Heights with Mrs. Ownby.

My first day at my school, the students greeted me as if they already knew who I was. They welcomed me home, like I was one of them. I felt really good.
When I am at my site school, we are working on English and Reading. Usually we will rotate around different subjects depending on what we need to get done for the day. I usually work on reading individually with my students and working in groups for math.
I am really looking forward to being able to teach the students more and getting them ready for the third grade. They are so willing to learn this year, and it means a lot to me.

The students show that they are willing to learn and some of them take a lot of initiative to pull me aside and ask if they can read with me.
There are a couple of differences from the way my class worked last year, to the way it works this year. The students I have this year are more willing to work with me and more willing to learn. The students are more interactive and cooperative this year. One of the students I work with has learned a new technique that I showed her while reading. Instead of just struggling with a word when she reads it, she will try to read it, and if she still can't read it correctly when she is reading, she will write the word down and practice it throughout the day.
I love my student's already, and I can tell they love me. I'm looking forward to making a difference to these kids. :)

Let's Reflect On Our Teacher Created Material!

In response to Mrs. Steven's blog,

I had done the Teacher Created Material project, because I was not able to go to TAFE Region. Although, I would have loved to go with my fellow interns.

I'm sure you all did a superb job, and I am very jealous that I didn't get to go.

The Teacher Created Material I had made was a set of sentence strips that had to do with homophones. During the making of the sentence strips, I had come up with a lesson that went along with what I was doing. The plan is that I will read the book, Dear Deer, by Gene Barretta, to the students and then talk a little bit about the differences in the homophonic words. When we finish talking about homophones, I will then split the students up into groups of around 3-4 and they will be going through the different sentence strips.

The sentence strips are laminated pieces of sentence strips provided by my teacher, Mrs. Stevens. There are sentences provided on the strips that have a blank.

 At the top of the sentence strips,  are 3 different choices of the words that the students will have to write on the sentence strip with an expo marker. The students will then flip their sentence strip over, to check their answers. Having the strips with their own self-checking method, helps the students be able to see if they actually did their work correctly.

I will have to test the students to make sure they understand the way the homophones work.

The way in which I will have an assessment for my students with this activity would be that I would have the students come up with their own sentences that include the different homophonic words. I will then grade them, depending on how well they know the difference between the homophones.  Hopefully this will help the students be able to understand the differences between homophones.

Significant Relationships

In response to Mrs. Stevens' blog,

Almost everyone in the world has had some teacher or adult in their life that has made a great impact on them.  If you don't have someone that has made an impact on you, then you haven't really opened your eyes up to reality, and looked at the bigger picture.

I had a specific teacher during my junior year, who changed my life completely. Carla Dalton, or Mrs. Dalton, is currently an Algebra 1 teacher at Richland High School. She was a PreAP Algebra 2 teacher when I had her last school year.

As I was in her classroom, we gradually became closer as I always received her help and advice. Getting to know Mrs. Dalton and getting a better relationship with her, motivated me to try harder in her classroom and influenced me to want to learn more, ask more questions, and even do better on assignments and tests.  As the year went on, Mrs. Dalton became like a motherly figure to me. Although I still see her every once in a while, it was a difficult time for me to leave her classroom.

As I visualize myself being a teacher in the future, I will most definitely be a role model for my students.  I aim to be one of the best role models/adult figures for my students. I will make sure my students understand the material that I will be teaching.  In order for me to be a really effective teacher, I will make sure that I form some type of bond with my students and be there for them if they need me. I am looking forward to being a teacher, and being a great role model to them.

My Dreams for Teaching

In response to Mrs. Stevens' wiki,

There are a couple different websites that could be useful for teachers when lesson planning. I have at least 3 different websites that I would use with my second graders.

One of the websites that I would use to help me make a lesson, would be Scriblink. Scriblink is a great online whiteboard that teachers could use to show their students different things, that they might be teaching.

Another website I would use to help me with lesson planning would be Discovery Education. Discovery Education is a great website that can help you, as a teacher, do many things with lesson planning. Discovery Education helps you look at different videos or pictures that you can save, and use later on if you were to create a clipboard to use in class.

The last and final website I would use for lesson planning would be Prezi. Prezi is a great presentation website that teachers use for different lessons. Prezi is just like powerpoint, but it is a more interactive type website.

There are many other different websites that you could use that are beneficial for making a lesson, or even just to use for the classroom, to prepare you for a lesson.

Does Spelling Count?

In response to Mrs. Stevens' blog, 

In the article "Does Spelling Count?" The author states their opinion on how they feel about spelling in the classroom, and wether it really counts for their future. To the author, spelling counts a great deal, but it isn't the only thing that matters to her.

There are other things, like 'grades' that the author says that matter more than spelling itself. It's almost a sad realization that these kids are getting focused on the fact that grades are more important than their spelling skills.

The author has a very precise opinion on how they like the classrooms. They wouldn't know what it would be like if schools were to not have different subjects, and teachers had to teach everything all together. How would the education world be like if we were to be like that?

2014 The Year in Review

In response to Mrs. Stevens' blog,

The following is my Animoto video! This year was great, and I'm looking forward to next year.

Rules

In response to Mrs. Stevens' blog,

1. Keep your hands to yourselves. 
2. Do not shout over the teacher.
3. Do not argue.
4. Do not tattle over little things.
5. Think first things first.
6. Focus on your own problems.

If the students do not cooperate with these rules, then they will sit out of recess, or just owe time during recess. Whichever, is necessary. 

ThingLink

Here is my ThingLink about Ron Clark!

Failure

In response to Mrs. Stevens blog,

As a student, I veiw failure as being on of the worst things to happen. I am one of those student's that thinks when they fail an assignment or a test, they stay in a bad mood for the rest of the day. I can't stand failing. It makes me feel like I can't be a success.

 As a teacher, I view failure as not being able to be a good role model towards your students. If I can't make my students understand what I am trying to explain to them, then I feel like I have failed as a teacher trying to get my point across to them.

In my honest opinion, I dont think grades are a factor of knowledge. Grades a just a way for teachers to show their students how they are doing in their class. So yes, they are a small factor of knowledge, but the main facor is "How am I learning this material, and will it be helpful for me in the future?"

Being unsuccessful would definitely give me some perspective, and encourage me to try harder in class. If I were stuck in a situation where I was being very unsuccessful, and I needed to bring my grades up, I would definitely choose the more successful rate. I would rather take the more challenging, successful road, than the road that leads me to failure.

How do you handle criticism? Well, to answer that question, I handle criticism in a couple different ways. I will either take it as constructive criticism, and use to to get better. Then there are other times where I will take the criticism as something negative, and I will focus on the negative throughout the day. A majority of the time, I will try to make things better. 

LiveBinder

Look at this LiveBinder that we used from our class!

Let's Use Showbie!

My Web 2.0 tool is Showbie! 

Showbie is like an online classroom that you can use either on a computer, laptop, or an iPad!

Click here to see the APP for Showbie.

You can access Showbie easily through our school network.

Below, is an online tutorial for how to use the Showbie APP on the iPads.

In order to establish an account for Showbie, you need to do the following:

1. Go to the website
2. Click "Sign up free"
3. Click "I'm a Teacher"
4. Type in the information needed. (Don't worry about the promo code thing).
5. You've now made a Showbie account!

Showbie does include a free version and a paid version.  Listed below are the differences between the two.

Showbie does require parent permission in order for a student to be able to make a student account.

I could use this tool in my site school classroom, by giving my students certain math worksheets or reading assignments that have to be due by a certain date, and they would work on it, and then turn it in. It's that easy.
If I could use Showbie in any of my classes, I would definitely use it in U.S. History, so that when my teacher wants to give us assignments that can be done over a couple of days, I could work on it at my own pace, and then turn it in through the app or website.

In my thoughts, I think the best subject that would be fit for Showbie, would probably be History or English.
I honestly can see my mentor teacher using this in her classroom, because she is very tech savvy with  our student's, and they are very hands-on with the technology that we already have in our classrooms.

What is Rigor?

In response to Mrs. Stevens blog,

Rigor is the heightened standard at which you challenge yourself to accomplish a goal or activity.

In order to incorporate rigor into any activity, you basically have to set a higher standard for your students so that you can see how they are working "rigorously."

When you use rigor, then you are heightening the ability of work the students are able to acquire. For example, when you increase the amount of rigor that you put into an assignment for two different students, you will find that the two students will have different levels of difficulty because of the amount of rigor put into the assignment. 

How would I inject rigor into an assignment?

• For me to inject rigor into an assignment, I would probably make an assignment for my students that have more of a challenge for them to do. The students will end up using more critical thinking, and thus increasing the amount of rigor. 

Creativity Counts!

In response to Mrs. Stevens blog,

What is Creativity?

• Creativity is the "process of having original ideas that have value," according to Sir Ken Robinson. Now in my own words, creativity is the ability to put value forth an idea that you might have for any activity, lesson, etc. 

Why does Creativity matter in Education?

• Creativity matters in education because you need to be able to have a range of different things that you are teaching. You don't want to be considered boring, because you're teaching the same subject the exact same way every year. You're going to want to go outside of your comfort level, and come up with something that will be better for the students to want to concentrate.

How do we fix this?

• In order for us to fix this, then we are going to have to come out of our shells, and be more outgoing and thoughtful of our ideas that we have when we are doing lessons.

The Future of Teachers in Texas

In response to Mrs. Stevens' blog,

In reflection to the article from Texas Monthly, 

I'm not really sure if I like the idea of there being so many job openings available in the future for teachers. That partly means that there are more and more people that are just not wanting to succeed in an education career. Not to say that I want to control the career paths people are to choose, but there are students who need teachers as their role models, guiders, etc. 

In reflection to the Great Teachers: Great Texas article, 

I personally agree with the six common sense reforms. They all seem to make sense for the needs of teachers now-a-days. Wendy Davis seems like a great person to understand the "requirements" or "recommendations" of what qualities teachers should have. I love how she is so dedicated to wanting Texas to succeed with careers in education. She is a slight role model to me.

My Year Ahead

In response to Mrs. Stevens Blog,

1. I want to focus more during the second semester. In order for me to be able to focus more during school, I will need to put forth the effort to be interested in the subjects that I am learning. I will also start to focus less on my phone during school, so that I can focus better. After I start focusing better, I will then be able to receive better grades in my classes.

2. I want to be able to make better grades during the second semester. In order for me to make better grades, I will need to try to study better and not focus so much on the things that are happening at home while I am studying. If I am able to make better grades, then I will have a better chance at making my GPA better and getting an easier chance at getting into college.

3. I want to be able to try and study more. In order for me to accomplish this, I will need to get motivated to study. In order for me to be motivated to study, I need to WANT to have better grades, and get a higher GPA. If i succeed at studying more often, then I will be able to gain better grades during school, and receive a better GPA!