Multimedia Project

Now that the mulitmedia project is done and has been turned in for a few weeks, I have finally gotten my nerves straight again! I enjoyed working on my project when technology allowed for it. It was two steps forward but three steps back for the most part ... for some reason, VoiceThread does NOT like my computer at home. So much of my work was spent on Chowan's campus, trying to finalize all the things needed to complete my project. I am glad that I chose the topic that I did though. One of the teachers at my school wanted to learn more about the use of a blog so I showed her my project, and now she is on BOARD! :) Makes me feel like my hard work was worth all the stress, tears, headaches, etc...

Christmas is ALMOST HERE ... May will soon be here!

ONE MORE SEMESTER TO GO ... HOORAY (for my husband that is)

While having a conversation with my husband the other night, the discussion some how turned to GRADUATE SCHOOL. My returning to school is starting to take a toll on him. Maybe its the fact that he is actually having to take care of our puppy or he just misses me :)

Yet, I can't help but start to feel the same way. I am ready for a break! My students are going at full speed and I am running on empty it feels like. I am looking forward to Christmas break to revive my spirit and refresh my soul. I am also looking forward to May 2012 because it will also bring about graduation for me but for my little sister as well. I find that to be kinda cool :) My mom and dad get to celebrate two major accomplishments in one day. May is going to be a stressful time but I can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel and there is no turning back now!

Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants

Technology is EVERYWHERE - Get on the Technology Train or Get Left Behind!

Everywhere you look, technology is staring you in the face! Children today are being exposed to technology as soon as they are born and some schools are still operating in the Stone Age. Take a look around while walking in the mall, while driving in the car, or walking down the street. Everywhere you look, you will find at least one kid using a piece of technology that you probably have never heard of. Many kids already own a cellphone or iPod (I didn't get a cellphone until age 16 and an iPod even later).  When my ActivBoard was installed into my classroom during my 2nd year of teaching, the thought never crossed my mind to let my kids work independently on that expensive piece of technology. WHAT IF THEY BREAK IT? Although many things could have happened, I just had to suck it up and "just do it". Four years later, my ActivBoard is the most used piece of technology in my room, and NOT BY the teacher - by the students. They can turn it on, open their sites, change the view, do what they need to complete their lessons, and turn it off at the end of the day. 

Teachers need to believe in their students and "just do it". Technology is not going to bite you. Technology is knowledge waiting for you to take it by the reins and run with it.

Preparing Tomorrow's L.A. Teachers Today

All Language Arts teacher (regardless of the grade levels) need to be comfortable with the use of technology in their classroom. Technology is an extremely important technology and should be used in all areas of teaching.  When technology is used, students are engaged in learning and learning becomes fun.  My students love using the ActivBoard during reading centers and also math time.  They love sitting on the reading carpet after lunch time and being able to listen to a book being read to them on Tumblebooks or being read to them by a famous actress/actor.  They hear me read to them every day and it allows for them to hear someone different read.  


Students need to be exposed to technology on a daily basis, as the world continues to become more and more technologically driven with each passing second.  We, as teachers and role models, have the duty of making sure we expose them to as much technology as we possible can in the time we have them in school (7 hours a day/5 days a week).

Semiotic Representations

Growing up and still today, I find it very easy to take notes in classes or read notes that are provided and completely understand the material. On the other hand, my younger sister needed illustrations to accompany her notes. For example, Anna always struggled in physical science and her teacher had a one-track way to do things (her way or the highway). Anna did not do as well as she could have because she wasn't allowed to do her notes and schoolwork in a way that she understood. She struggled because her needs were not being met.  She was NOT allowed to use those illustrations that helped her the most. Her teacher failed her!


Yet, the next year Anna had a much better experience in science. Although the teacher was the same, she had tweaked her way of thinking and if Anna's way worked and gave her the same answers, she could do WHATEVER she needed to understand her schoolwork. Even though I didn't understand her way of thinking at times (I thought it was easy for everyone), I knew she was doing what was best for her. The teacher also taught her class in different ways (differentiation) to accommodate all of the levels of learning in her classroom.  


By looking at the activities in this article, you can easily see how different students have been able to interpret tasks based on their needs and preferences. Examples of assignments are provided and connections can be seen although each students attacked the task in a different way. Their learning experiences were personalized!

Article on the Common Core

Common Core this and Common Core that ... I think I eat, sleep, and breathe the Common Core these days! 

I found this article to be both interesting and easy to read. I hear about the Common Core on a daily basis, although it will not the implemented in my school district until the 2012-2013 school year.  I have attended workshops about the Common Core as well as information learned in graduate school.  The analogy that Golub used in this article comparing the CC to a library sinking and relevant. Teachers these days take on so much and try to do their best in everything they do, but are unable to be well-grounded due to being loaded down with so much.

I believe that the CC will be most beneficial to students that migrate from school to school, as well as state to state.  Although, the teachers will not be teaching in the same way at least they will be hearing the same curriculum language.

I truly enjoyed reading this article. It has given me some new things to think about as well as a new perspective on the CC.

Infographics = confusion for me :)

INFOGRAPHICS - a word that confuses the pants off of me! (My first thought) Upon further reading and reading and more reading, the concept of infographics is starting to grow on me. I find that my kids have an easier time expressing themselves through pictures than strictly through written conversation. Not all kids are good with words, but most kids can draw you a picture of what they are thinking on a certain question or topic.


Ideas:


1. It would be interesting to see what the "writing process" would look like described through the use of infographics.


2. In first grade, we do alot of work with sequencing. Many of my kids find it easier to describe a story when picture or drawings are incorporated. It was be interesting to see what a story sequence would look like.

Task 1: How to prepare children for Hurricanes

Upon examining different resources on hurricanes that apply to younger children, http://whatworks.wholechildeducation.org/blog/before-and-after-a-hurricane/ knocked it out of the park. This site provided so many excellent ideas for the young students I teach on a daily basis. So many resources these days are written with older kids in mind and people so easily forget that all age groups are affected by natural disasters, such as hurricanes. As we know in the past couple of weeks, much of the US east coast has been on pins and needles about the possibility of tropical systems coming ashore - Irene actually made landfall. Due to this storm, school openings were delayed & once the students actually began school, they came in with so many questions and stories of experiences that were new and confusing to them. I was faced with many of this questions. The Whole Child Bog and its resources attack many of the questions that were asked and will most definitely be bookmarked for future incidents. 


Sesame Street offers access to a hurricane tool kit for parents, families, and caregivers that can aid in helping young children to feel safe and cope with emotions they may encounter.  By allowing the children to watch videos of Big Bird and other characters prepare for all aspects of the storm (before, after, etc...), they realize that they are not alone. Actually seeing some of their favorites cartoon characters going through the same hardships and events they are makes it just a little bit easier to comprehend.  


While tracking Hurricane Katia and TS Maria, we used many of the activities and videos presented to prepare for the possible implications these storms could have had - thankfully, we got lucky! Yet, my kids have a better understanding of what a hurricane is, how to prepare, and gotten many of their questions and concerns answered.We have even made activity survival kits for each child to have in case we are faced with another storm (like Irene). They brought in several of the items they would like to include and I supplied a few special things that I would like them to have. They are been instructed to talk about their kits with their families (parents received a letter prior to the activity) and to build a family kit together at home. 


My kids are no longer confused about the events that were faced with during Irene. They are well aware of what things happen during these storms, what they need to do to prepare, and what may happen afterwards. THEY ARE READY!

Engaging the Eye Generation

Everyone is looking, not many are seeing - Peter Leshack


What a wonderful book to be reading! My blog for the day will be based on Chapter 1 "Developing Intelligent Vision".  Reading Between the Lines was an awesome section in this chapter.  I found myself mesmerized at the thought process of the children during the lesson on the book, "Owen and Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship".  Especially the part where the teacher asks Joshua to locate the part of the story that shows they love each other and become friends.  Joshua points out a section in the inner spine between two pages and states "Right about here". Joshua formed a bridge of sequence between the pages that could not be seen yet he knew that somewhere between those two images a friendship had occurred. He formed an understanding through the use of imagery.


Through the classes discussion, the young students learned to "read" photographs to address questions that were posed by the teacher.  They gathered information and formed theories based on their observations, compared visual information presented in the book to their prior knowledge, and then used  the text to find additional clues.  The use of the Venn diagram served as an aid to help the students keep track of the various perspectives until they could agree on a definition of the abstract concept of friendship.  Through this guided discussion, the students gained new skills and fine-tuned skills that were already presented. They "read" the images.

Goals for this school year

Wow ... another school year is upon us and new faces will soon enter my door. I am ready for a new school year and the exciting things it will bring. When it comes to goals this year, I have set two different goals for myself; a goal as a teacher and a goal as a student.


My goal this year as a teacher is to keep an open-mind with my brand-new babies. With new personalities arriving next week (due to Hurricane Irene), I must remember to be patient and understanding to the variety of needs they may have. No two children are alike and no child will be identical to the children I taught last year. As their teacher (and protector), it is my job to makes sure their needs are met and they receive the very best education I can give them. Yes, there will be times when I could pull my hair out and my nerves will be SHOT, but new hair will grow and my nerves will clam down ... PATIENCE and UNDERSTANDING are my two best friends this coming year and BOY, will I need them!


My goal as a graduate student @ Chowan University also contains the idea of having an open-mind - open to the new and exciting things that will be introduced and master over this next semester and year. My goal is to take these new ideas and lessons learned and apply them in my won classroom, ensuring that I have being the very best teacher I can be. There will be road blocks along the way and times when nothing seems to be going my way, but I have made it through three full semesters and I am still chugging along. My goal is to make this year of grad school into the GREATEST YEAR EVER :) 

What I Have Learned ...

How do I put my feeling of the summer session into words? I can only think of “WOW that was a WILD ride”! I have learned so much in the short time we were together this summer. The blog was a wonderful tool to use when expressing my feelings about a reading or just something from my day that sparked a thought. The textbooks for the summer session were AWESOME and will continue to help me throughout my years of teaching ahead. I have learned so many new and exciting things that I could adapt to my first grade classroom that will truly be an asset to my students.  The time spent with my classmates in class and outside the four walls of the classroom have been an eye-opener to say the least. I have gained so many ideas from my peers; ideas I would have never thought of in a million years. While I most definitely look forward to my summer, the work will continue and my brain will continue to turn and process all that I have learned and all that I still have to learn in the upcoming year.

I can’t wait to share the strategies that I have gained from these two summer classes with my colleagues. The ideas found in Chapter 9 of Schell and Fisher’s Teaching Social Studies: A Literacy-Based Approach will truly benefit my students in new and exciting ways. I can’t wait to explore the world of Hot Seat and Quickdraws in my classroom. Book Talks from Chapter 4 and always been a favorite with my students and it was exciting to be able to read about something I am already doing in my classroom in one of the books we were asked to read.  Daniels and Bizar’s Teaching the Best Practice Way: Methods That Matter, K-12 was my favorite book. I want to be a BEST PRACTICES teacher and with this book by my side, I hope to be one in the near future.

I look forward to a fun-filled and LEARNING-filled fall semester J

Assessment :(

In Chapter 7 of Daniels and Bizar's Teaching the Best Practice Way, it is stated that "standardized measurements are of little use in guiding student learning, they alter our expectations of individual kids, and they frequently lower the standard of teaching (p. 222).  While I understand that certain measurements are needed to ensure learning is taking place, it is my believe that there are other ways of assessing the learning that is taking place without the hum-drum memorization that goes into the standardized test of today.  We expect ALL students to meet certain criteria of proficiency when all kids are different and learn and apply knowledge in many different ways.  A "straight A" student may score poorly on certain standardized tests and are viewed as low performing in the eyes of the state. The reason behind the low scores could be one of many things: test anxiety, sickness, upset over home life, and just plan messed up). Individual students have many different learning styles, needs, and strengths yet standardized tests cater to just one of those learning styles.


Teachers are constantly chastised over poor student scores. These test scores are held over their heads and could be the difference between employment the next year or a pink slip.  School systems are constantly tell teachers "not to teach to the test" but many teachers are guilty of just that - teaching to the test. Is there really any other option?


In Daniels' and Bizar's Teaching The Best Practice Way, the authors go over many types of assessment tools: portfolios, conferences, anecdotal records, checklists, performance assessment rubrics, and classroom tests.  As the upcoming school year begins in August, I hope to be able to use many of these types of assessments more often. I try to keep anecdotal records on my students but as the year progresses, I find it hard to keep these records accurate. Portfolios are also very interesting and I would love to try this with my students. 


In Schell and Fisher's Teaching Social Studies- A literacy-Based Approach, the authors present several different assessment strategies found listed in Figure 9.6 on p. 237.  These strategies provide teachers will ways of assessing their students while providing students with interesting ways to show what they have learned. I use many different graphic organizers throughout the year with my first graders in all of the subject areas. They LOVE them. I also enjoyed reading about the "Hot Seat" (p. 243) and Quickdraws (p. 246). While I have used Quickdraw with my second graders, I didn't use it this past year with my first graders. I hope to be able to include this strategies during the upcoming year as well as the "Hot Seat" strategy.


Throughout our integrated unit we are doing observations during the week and rubrics for certain tasks that the students have to complete. These observations are a good way to make sure that students are focused on their tasks and the rubrics provide clear guidelines for the students to follow.  The rubrics are being used so that students will have a clear picture on what aspects they will be graded on at the end of the task.

Lesson Idea (Family Portraits)

1^st grade Lesson          Content Areas: English Language Arts, Visual Arts, Social Studies 

                                                       

                                                              

The following link: http://ncmoa.org/artnc/artifact.php?artifactid=25 provides a pathway to the piece of artwork that my lesson is based around: Sir William Pepperrell (1746-1816) and His Family. This lesson will take 1 to 1 ½ days depending on availability of time and assistance.

I would start by discussing the meaning of the term family. What is a family? How is our class like a family?  Students would have been asked to bring a photograph of their family or those people who are important in their lives to school the previous day.  Next, I would show students Copley's Pepperrell Family. I will tell the students that the painting is a historical portrait of a family and ask them to describe what they see.

Who are the people in the painting?
Where are they?
How are they dressed?
Do you think this was a real family? Why or why not?

We would compare this portrait to the photographs that students brought from home. I would have students share their experiences being photographed individually or as a family.  Using the Copley as inspiration, students would be asked to draw a picture of their own family or people who are important in their lives. These drawings may include parents, siblings, pets, friends, etc. White paper, colored pencils, markers, or crayons will be provided. Students will be allowed to display their drawings on a blank wall using magnets, pushpins or tape.  At the end of this art activity, the student will be given time for a “show and tell” as a way to tell about their artwork of their family portraits. (My students actually did a lesson similar to this one this year minus the artwork – next year, I feel the artwork will give the lesson a little more connection).

Strategy 8: Connecting With Cultural Institutions

I chose to read about Strategy 8- Connecting With Cultural Institutions in 25 Strategies for K-8 Inquiry-Based Learning: Integrating Language Arts and Social Studies by Medler and Hunter.  I truly enjoyed this strategy due to the amount of information that directly applies the standards we use in first grade.  In the NCSCOS, many of the objectives are based around community and real life situations.  Melber and Hunter (2010) states, “field trips are a time honored and valuable part of the social studies curriculum as they help learners have relevant and real experiences relating to what they are studying in their classrooms” (p. 55).  Children need the opportunity to explore the world outside their classroom walls in order to see the purpose behind the community and community leaders they are studying in their classes.  I like the idea of children being able to explore freely while also having a fulfilling learning experience.  During field trips, teachers can provide students with questions (or scavenger hunt) to guide their experience and keep them focused on the reason for the field trip.  The K-2 modification section provides helpful ideas for guiding successful field trips.  Figure 8.1, “During My Visit…” Sample Data Sheet, is a useful tool that students can complete to show their understanding of what they saw, learned, and wonder about.  I hope to use this data sheet next year as a way to assess what my children have learned through field trips.  It is a fun way for my students to show me what they liked or learned while on the trip as well as a way for my to see just how much learning was accomplished.

Chapter 4 Blog: Teaching Social Studies: A Literacy-Based Approach

Schell and Fisher (2007), in Teaching Social Studies: A Literacy-Based Approach, emphasis the importance of topics, themes, concepts, and Big Ideas. Schell and Fisher (2007), also state that “naturally, we organize information into categories” (p. 75).  If we bypassed this organization, chance are great that little understanding will occur.  Last night after we had chosen a topic in which to shape our unit around, we too began to categorize our thoughts into a standards cluster.  By doing this, our thoughts were put on paper and can easily be expanded on as other thoughts and ideas come about. Our next step will be to find common themes and concepts that exist in our research.  We will continue to explore the many aspects present in railroad life and use this information to expand our unit.  Essential questions may be used to help assist our students in uncovering the big ideas.  Overall, I believe that Chapter 4 has been a great asset in providing information that will assist with the social studies section of our integrated unit.

Mixed Feeling as the EOY approaches

As the 2010-2011 school year comes to a close, I find myself with a mixture of feelings. Those feelings range from happiness, relief, and hope to pure sadness.  


I am happy to see the progress that ALL of my babies have made (including my NEW babies that I received in March). They have all come a long way this year and have worked so very hard to meet all of my expectations. At times, I think that they are just as smart of some adults that I meet. They have gone from overactive 6 year olds to polite, well-mannered little adults that receive compliments from even the strictest of teachers. They have read more books than could be imagined and outsmarted even the smartest of fifth graders :) They have truly put a smile on my face each and every day we have been together.


I feel relief in the fact that another hectic school year as come and (almost) gone with no MAJOR hiccups along the way. I feel relief to know that I will have a job come this fall while so many other teachers' lives hang in the balance due to the budget cuts being enforced across the state. I have hope that someone will finally get a CLUE and realize that making cuts in a child's education will only set the stage for bigger problems to come. We will all need these children in the future (ie. doctors, lawyer, etc.) and I, for one, want one that has received a TOP NOTCH education.


Last, I am filled with sadness. As I watch my babies move on to bigger and better things, I can't help but shed a few tears in the fact that I will no longer be blessed with their addictive laughter and curiosity for new things on a daily basis. Come fall 2011, I will be faced with a new challenge - a new set of 6 year olds, eager to learn what I have to teach them. I can only hope that I will be able to touch the lives of these new babies as much my old babies touched mine :)

Addressing the Arts in our classroom :)

My Best Friend Artwork project

I will not sit here and pretend to know all there is about the "arts" but when I feel my students are not receiving the instruction that they need at a young age, I will do all I can to provide what my students need. While reading, writing, and mathematics is extremely important at any age, the art provide that needed break students need to be themselves and enjoy some freedoms at school. Due to the time restraint for "Encore" classes and having to share the time with other grades, my kids are allowed to have music and art every six days (if that much due to benchmark testing for the upper grades - Encore teachers are constantly pulled to help in the upper grades). 


Thankfully, the stories we use in reading provide tons of opportunities for incorporating music (which my children LOVE - my kids think that I am a wonderful singer LOL).  There isn't a day that goes by that you will walk into our first grade classroom and not see use dancing around and singing some kind of upbeat or down-right silly song.  As long as they are finding this style of learning fun and enjoyable, this woman will continue to make a fool of herself with the singing and the dancing.


When it comes to art, my younger sister definitely got the artistic genes of the family and of course, my class is filled with children that can draw MUCH better than their teacher ever will. Thankfully, my class was able to receive art two times a week - well up until last week.  Due to EOG test remediation for the 3-5 grade students, my students will not longer receive these classes so guess who becomes their new art teacher??  You guessed right - ME!!!!!  Scary for someone that never liked art nor was ever good at at.  Yet, I knew that my students deserved the best that I could give them, so I got some "schooling" from my little sister and some ideas from the Internet and a week later, it has become our new favorite time of the day. My students and I know have art lessons on a daily basis and WE LOVE IT!!! 


So if teaching first grade doesn't work out, I may have found my new calling as an ART TEACHER ... I sure hope it works out though :)

"We're All In This Together"

When reading Chapter 2 in “Teaching the Best Practice Way”, the section entitled “We’re All In This Together” has stuck with me.  The authors state that many of your math, history, and science teachers cringe when faced with “possibly having to be teachers of reading” as well.  They are too polite to say it, but they are thinking that their plates are already full with what they are expected to teach and they don’t have to the time to help the reading teachers do their job.  Daniels and Bizar are quick to say, “Yes, you are not primarily a teacher of reading, but you are a teacher of ideas and concepts and procedures and traditions of your chosen subject-matter field.”  You are teaching your students to think, but the road to thinking in any of these disciplines goes through text, whether that means print, artwork, or images.  If students aren’t thinking effectively while they read, they aren’t going to understand or remember the vital math or social studies or art or science content.

            We are truly in it together. It takes an army to educate a child to think effectively.  No one teacher can do it on their own. We must teach our students the strategies needed to gain these thinking skills.  The strategies must start simple as the example of “Terrie Bridgman’s first grade class” (p. 43- first full paragraph) or more complex as in “Tina Peano’s high school class” (p. 43- second paragraph).  Our students must constantly be taught thinking strategies across all subject areas in order to succeed in school. “Teachers are always helping their students go deeper, constantly expanding and refining their thinking skills”.

Welcome to my Blog :)

Welcome everyone. I currently teach first grade at West Bertie Elementary School, where I have been a teacher for five years.  In order to further my education, I am currently enrolled in EDUC 520 (Integrating Language Arts and Social Studies) for the summer session of Grad School.  As a requirement for this class, we were asked to set up a blog that will be used throughout our time in this class.  Stay tuned for future blogs! :)