Winter Blog..... Curating your topic project.... 3/22

Over the last two quarters I wanted to spend time looking into “how to involve more room for creativity in curriculum in a context of more scripted curriculum.” What I was looking into was how to get more creative with the activities that my students do. Looking through their workbooks and the teacher guild there was not really “fun” activities that the students are able to do. Before we had to, I was spent time on Pinterest. But now that I had a purpose in mind I started to look for pins that would add creativity to the lesson that I was teaching.

What I found was a overwhelming amount of activities, worksheets, websites, games, and more that I could use. That best part of it was that it came from other teachers. Many of the pins that I have come from a website called “Teachers pay Teachers,” the great part about this website is that it is teacher created materials. I know that these are going to be reliable because it came from a teacher who has/had used it with their students. The other part that I really like about it, that it gives one tools that they can send home for parents to use with their students. For example one of the pins is “Free sight word apps,” this can a great tool to tell parents about.

One of the negatives to this is that there is so much stuff out there. It can be really overwhelming to look back through all the pins and remember what you have. The link may not work, or really end up not being what you want. One of the positives is that there is so much available. That one is going to be able to find some fun creative way that can add to the topic you are teaching about!

Winter Blog.... Technology Inquiry project Reflection 3/15

The technology that I use for personal use and classroom use are very different. The technologies that I use for personal use are my IPhone, IPad (personal), and my computer. For personal use I am using to connect with friends, family. I am going on Facebook, Pinterest, emails, games, or watching Netflix. Normally when I am using these resources I am not always working or doing work for school. I try and make time so that I can just have. But there are times when I am writing papers or using the internet to look up information that can help with my homework. I have really started to use technology in which I hope can help me in my future classroom. There are so many connections through Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, and Pinterest. I have found that there are many great interactive worksheets, ideas on Pinterest that I would love to take into my classroom. This is a great way to connect and share ideas about other teachers are doing.

The technology that I use at my main placement school are very different from what I personal use (i.e. active board, document camera, copier). When I am at school for my main placement the technology that I am using is mainly used for the interaction and basis that it is going to help the students. The active board is used for the students to check in on. They have to come in, put their things away, and then put their name in A lunch, B lunch, C lunch, or home lunch. Then we also use it for the morning message where they have to put together the date. Then we graph the weather for the whole month. Then we also do math, we use the days of kindergarten. We are learning about hundredths place, tens place, and one’s place. It is a great way for the students to use the board. My CT is always using the document camera for modeling what the students are going to be doing in writing. For math we use the interactive board, my CT pulls up the student page and then work through some of the problems with the students.

I think that incorporating technology is going to be really important, and something that I want to do when I have my own classroom. I feel that it can really benefit the students in many ways. It will allow students who are visually learner’s maybe see examples in different ways. Also there are many great resources out there that one can access. For example, we have started learning how to infer, there are many great poster pictures that my CT has choice to use that students relate too, but can use to practice their inferring skills. But on the other hand it can be really overwhelming by how much technology is out there. So one does need to be careful about how and what we are using technology out there.

Short-term goal: I would like students to have more of a personal interaction with the technologies in my classroom.

Long Term goal: I would like to have a comprehensive set of flip charts to use year after year. 

Winter Blog.... 3/8

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a set of principles for curriculum development that gives all individuals equal opportunities to learn.  Principle one provide multiple means for representation. In this principle outlines ways in which students can receive information where they are non-auditory learners or visually impaired learners. This principal provides ways in which these learners can receive alternative forms or representation.
A tool that can be used too support non-auditory learners would be the library of signed stories. Which use British Sign Language and caption words. This can be used for students in Grades K-4th. Content area would be literacy cost is free, and all you need is internet connection.

http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/whatisudl

http://bookbuilder.cast.org/

Winter Blog.... 3/1

This week I had to complete and 3 series lesson plan for Literacy. I took a small group of students (three students, two of them where ELL students. It was a really interesting experience to see and get the feel for you plan lesson that build off of each other. Over all I think that the lesson went really well. By the end of the week the students were able to verbal explain what question marks, and exclamation points were. They were also able to identify the punctuation on a page of text.

I know that after the three lessons, they know what the different types of punctuation are. So for the next lesson I would start of work with them on how we read with a question mark, and exclamation point.

It was a been a great time, I have really been able to see my students grow. Students who were only saying one word, are now saying full sentences. Also students who could not write and only draw pictures are now asking if they can write more than we asked them too. It has been wonderful to students come out of their shells! It has also been great to see when students who were struggles are excited when they get the answers right! I am really looking forward to the end of the year and see how much more the students will grow.