Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Saturday, March 1, 2008
EDLF 545: Second Meeting
This was my second time meeting with my teacher at Woodbrook Elementary. I wanted to meet with her this time to discuss the possible technology stuff I will use and see what the class is like during a lesson. It was a great meeting but went completely different from the way I thought it would go. I went to the optional class meeting and was so excited about all these Google features and digital images. But, as I conversation went towards portaportal I asked could we check out what the technology teacher has under her site and my plans went out the window (kind of)! My teacher, Mrs. Underwood, was just exploring the games (Mummification), we had a blast checking out these educational games and cool web sites. So, we just planned my unit on Ancient Egypt around portaportal! At the first meeting I learned that I have a very diverse class ( 3 ESL, 3 Special Ed., 2 Gifted, 4 Title 1, and 5 'regular') so I became thrilled when we discovered all these games. Because, Ancient Egypt will be a brand new topic for the entire class so all will be interested but, I plenty of room for differentiation. I am getting everything more detailed on paper, but I know this will be very exciting unit for me (my first time using all technology in every lesson of a unit!).
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Wrap up
When I began this class I was asked to write a metaphor of what a teacher is to me. I chose a dog, yeah that does seem like a very far fetched idea when you say it but if you give it time to seek in, you really see that a teacher is just like a dog! I still feel this way about teaching and I support it even more!
I am not a night worker but I have become an ALL DAY worker this semester. And due to this drastic change in my sleeping habits my moods and desires have been shifted sadly for the worst. Usually I am awake and happy every morning but this semester I have had to drag myself out of the bed almost every morning. However when I stepped foot into our 1st grade classroom all the anxiety, irritation, and sleepiness left me. I realized that I am these students superhero. Every morning they cheered when we walked into the classroom. We were specially included in the morning meeting (saluting all the individuals of the classroom) so I could not help but smile when I heard twenty or so students chime "Good morning Ms. Lawrence!" I became that dog that I described at the beginning of the semester. I gave each student my brightest smile, hug, and "hidden" energy even when everything in my body said go to sleep. When the teacher and students irritated me, I did not even think to remember it while teaching but focused on making this lesson the BEST lesson that they ever had on economics and reach every student.
I pray that throughout my teaching career when I reflect I can say I am the best "dog"* in this school!
*(if you still don't understand my metaphor) By saying the best dog I mean that I am a great teacher because I don't remember wrong done to me by the students or adults associated with the classroom. Everyday begins and ends with a smile, always there for comfort and support.
I am not a night worker but I have become an ALL DAY worker this semester. And due to this drastic change in my sleeping habits my moods and desires have been shifted sadly for the worst. Usually I am awake and happy every morning but this semester I have had to drag myself out of the bed almost every morning. However when I stepped foot into our 1st grade classroom all the anxiety, irritation, and sleepiness left me. I realized that I am these students superhero. Every morning they cheered when we walked into the classroom. We were specially included in the morning meeting (saluting all the individuals of the classroom) so I could not help but smile when I heard twenty or so students chime "Good morning Ms. Lawrence!" I became that dog that I described at the beginning of the semester. I gave each student my brightest smile, hug, and "hidden" energy even when everything in my body said go to sleep. When the teacher and students irritated me, I did not even think to remember it while teaching but focused on making this lesson the BEST lesson that they ever had on economics and reach every student.
I pray that throughout my teaching career when I reflect I can say I am the best "dog"* in this school!
*(if you still don't understand my metaphor) By saying the best dog I mean that I am a great teacher because I don't remember wrong done to me by the students or adults associated with the classroom. Everyday begins and ends with a smile, always there for comfort and support.
Lesson 5
March 22,
With this lesson we bought our unit to a close. We decided on using constructed assessments because our clinical instructor directed us to this. Also in planning we decided we would have the children who had literacy and comprehension skills below the level of the rest of the class to be put into a small group with me leading it. My partner read aloud the questions so that everyone could understand what the question was asking while I repeated it more explicitly to my group. This turned out out to be a really great idea because a few of the students I felt comprehended not so well actually did a great job completing the test and understanding what was being asked. Also this grouping was successful because a student began to doodle and talk a few times so my redirection helped him be able to clearly show what he learned from the unit (he finished the test and did not just doodle). Despite the kinks felt in this unit, I can mark it a success and an experience that I learned a lot about teachers, co-workers, students, behavior management and planning!
With this lesson we bought our unit to a close. We decided on using constructed assessments because our clinical instructor directed us to this. Also in planning we decided we would have the children who had literacy and comprehension skills below the level of the rest of the class to be put into a small group with me leading it. My partner read aloud the questions so that everyone could understand what the question was asking while I repeated it more explicitly to my group. This turned out out to be a really great idea because a few of the students I felt comprehended not so well actually did a great job completing the test and understanding what was being asked. Also this grouping was successful because a student began to doodle and talk a few times so my redirection helped him be able to clearly show what he learned from the unit (he finished the test and did not just doodle). Despite the kinks felt in this unit, I can mark it a success and an experience that I learned a lot about teachers, co-workers, students, behavior management and planning!
Monday, May 7, 2007
Lesson 4
(This lesson was co-taught.) Goods and services were the title of this lesson. We did not know how much of challenge this lesson would be when we sat down to plan. The topics were harder, concepts were abstract due to our defining of goods and services. We made a mistake when we did not script this lesson. I believe if we had scripted this lesson we could have seen the flaws in our definitions for goods and services and could have found alternative forms of explanations. Also our "Popsicle" game went bad, the kids were extremely wild and we barely gain control.
If I could teach this lesson again I most definitely would have split it up into two lesson. The first lesson would be solely a vocabulary lesson where they had time to process these new definitions/labels. Then the second lesson we would have done the game with a few management rules installed before taking a seat.
If I could teach this lesson again I most definitely would have split it up into two lesson. The first lesson would be solely a vocabulary lesson where they had time to process these new definitions/labels. Then the second lesson we would have done the game with a few management rules installed before taking a seat.
Lesson 3
March 16,
(Christiana taught this lesson by herself.) For this lesson Christiana focused on the fundamentals of budgeting and saving. This is important to teach because students use these principles in their everyday life (ex: given a certain amount of money to spend when they are about to go buy candy) and will need to develop these skills in their adult life.
To promote the success of the lesson's objectives, Christiana used technology (smart board and interactive website). They had a chance to hear a story about appropriate budgeting and practicing budgeting using tickets. I really liked this idea because the knowledge of money varied greatly among the students but for the vast majority of the students had strong addition/subtraction skills.
I really liked the idea of a constructed response assessment at the end of this lesson because the other two lessons had opened ended response/performance assessment. You could get a more precise representation of the individual development of the class.
(Christiana taught this lesson by herself.) For this lesson Christiana focused on the fundamentals of budgeting and saving. This is important to teach because students use these principles in their everyday life (ex: given a certain amount of money to spend when they are about to go buy candy) and will need to develop these skills in their adult life.
To promote the success of the lesson's objectives, Christiana used technology (smart board and interactive website). They had a chance to hear a story about appropriate budgeting and practicing budgeting using tickets. I really liked this idea because the knowledge of money varied greatly among the students but for the vast majority of the students had strong addition/subtraction skills.
I really liked the idea of a constructed response assessment at the end of this lesson because the other two lessons had opened ended response/performance assessment. You could get a more precise representation of the individual development of the class.
Lesson 2
March 15,
(I taught this lesson by myself.) Today's lesson focus was on the evaluation of wants and needs. I know that this lesson is a very important lesson not only for their academic development but great in their personal life. Therefore, I chose to have a theme of "packing for a trip" because each student has had the experience of preparing for a trip whether it be to their aunt's house or a summer in Jamaica.
Using a real life "packing" worked out to be very beneficial for the students. Everyone was engaged and excited while I discussed what was in my bag. After I had them answer if I did a good job and their answers allowed me to make a clear assessments of where each student was at the beginning and by the end of lesson in regards to their knowledge of wants and needs. Their performance on "packing" for their table's specific destination was very interesting. I could really see how the students processed what a want/need is in regards to their given destination. Like one student put suntain lotion as a want while another put it as a need for their trip to the beach. Reason behind the difference was for their complexion, so I saw that both students understood what a want/need were to them. Overall I felt this lesson to be a successful and be very enjoyable!
(I taught this lesson by myself.) Today's lesson focus was on the evaluation of wants and needs. I know that this lesson is a very important lesson not only for their academic development but great in their personal life. Therefore, I chose to have a theme of "packing for a trip" because each student has had the experience of preparing for a trip whether it be to their aunt's house or a summer in Jamaica.
Using a real life "packing" worked out to be very beneficial for the students. Everyone was engaged and excited while I discussed what was in my bag. After I had them answer if I did a good job and their answers allowed me to make a clear assessments of where each student was at the beginning and by the end of lesson in regards to their knowledge of wants and needs. Their performance on "packing" for their table's specific destination was very interesting. I could really see how the students processed what a want/need is in regards to their given destination. Like one student put suntain lotion as a want while another put it as a need for their trip to the beach. Reason behind the difference was for their complexion, so I saw that both students understood what a want/need were to them. Overall I felt this lesson to be a successful and be very enjoyable!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)