Teaching Experience 101

Coming to class prepared to teach my Unit of Study to a couple college students in my opinion, is way less nerve wracking than presenting my lesson to 25 antsy little second graders. Not only is the audience different in every single way, but the approach that you take to teaching the lesson varies greatly as well. From the inflection in your voice, to the questions you ask to engage the students, it is going to be quite the adjustment from teaching a lesson plans to college students, to adhering to the individual needs of 7 year olds. Although this might seem quite obvious to most, I am slightly overwhelmed with the fact that before I know it, I am going to be the center of attention to around 25 spongey minds, absorbing each and everything thing I say. Even though my stomach twists and turns at the thought, I also feel an overwhelming amount of excitement running through me! I think that only experience will be able to calm this feeling, and make me more comfortable with the idea. I am looking forward to field experience tomorrow so I will able to practice becoming more familiar with communicating with younger children, and develop a better understanding of how their minds work.

Where I am From

Wednesday during class, I made sure to jot down the title, "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" in my notebook. I was pleased to be introduced to this laughable non-fiction book that helps make punctuation apparent, while emphasizing its importance in everyday writing. I thought the illustrations helped the words make more sense and I enjoyed playing around with my own voice inflation. While flipping through its picturesque pages, I couldn't help but giggle at the silly sentences and at the fact that I was actually learning more about punctuation than I thought!

I also thought it necessary to post this neat "Where I am From" template that one of my classmates raved about. I think that this poetic activity can help strengthen the community in the classroom, while giving the students an opportunity to learn more about one another.

Where I am From

I am from (specific ordinary item), from (product name) and (product name).

I am from the (home description, adjective, sensory detail).

I am from the (plant, flower or natural item), the (plant, flower or natural item).

I am from (family tradition) and (family trait), from (name of a family member), and (another family name), and (family name).

I am from (description of family tendency) and (another one).

From (something you were told as a child) and (another).

I am from (representation of religion or lack thereof it).

I'm from (place of birth and family ancestry), (food item representing your family), (another one).

From the (specific family story about a specific person), the (another detail) and the (another detail about another family member).

I am from (location of family pictures, mementos, archives).

2nd Grade Here I Come!

Last Wednesday was the first day of my field experience at University School, and I must say that now I am looking forward to teaching even more than before! Even though the first child that I saw when I walked in my assigned classroom was screaming and throwing a fit, I found the opportunity to work with such exuberant children refreshing. I was truly mesmerized by all of the action that was taking place in one diminutive classroom; there were students doing crosswords, reading independently, chatting with their neighbor, throwing pencils, but most importantly, they were learning. Even when they were being social butterflies, they were still learning from each other and engaging socially amongst their peers. I found the experience as a whole overwhelming, yet a challenge I can't wait to face. Looking back on my first day, I cannot believe that I learned so much about teaching in such a short amount of time. Just by observing the classroom I couldn't help but notice all the diverse personalities around me and I can't wait to get to know each and every one of them!

Week 2

After learning several methods of teaching spelling, there are specific sound and visual strategies that I could see myself using as a future teacher. I especially liked the Hen to Fox sound method, which involves giving students a starting word and then having them turn it into a different word by changing one letter. For instance, you give the child the starting word "cat" and then you would ask them how you would go about changing that word to the word "hat." You could then ask the student what letter you would change to get the word "hot," and so on. I believe this method can also help with more than just spelling; students will be able to expand their vocabulary, along with becoming more familiar with rhymes. The Elkonin Box method also stuck out to me because this scaffolding approach to teaching helps students figure out how many sounds a word has. As for external strategies, I will definitely incorporate a "Word Wall" into my future classroom. This helpful tool not only acts as a point of reference, but it also helps to expand vocabulary and makes students accountable for spelling words correctly in their everyday writing.

First Class for E339!

Alright, so last Wednesday was my first class for the course E339 : Methods of Teaching Language Arts. During class, we discussed all of the writing we will be doing for this class, which consists of keeping a 'reflection blog,' and a Writer's Notebook. This blog is where I will be making note of key events that happen in class, along with reflecting upon assigned readings. My personal goal is to accurately emulate the in-class experiences that take place during Wednesday discussions, while keeping my readers captivated and wanting more. This blog will allow me to pull out the aspects of class that I find especially useful and beneficial to my future career as a teacher, and will also assist in accelerating my ability as a learner.

I am also looking forward to keeping my first Writer's Notebook. This is where I will be jotting down personal ideas and blurbs of events and situations that spark my interest. The Writer's Notebook is the ideal place for making notes of certain aspects of life and daily encounters that trigger the child-esque curiosity in me. I will be expected to carry this sacred little notebook along with me wherever I go in hope that I find something in this chaotic world that fascinates me, or gives me an idea for my next big movie (not really, of course.) I just hope my writing will accurately capture the humor and fortitude that I believe I posses and portray in my everyday life. Stay tuned for my next post, as I'm sure it will be more thrilling than explaining a notebook that doesn't exist just quite yet. You just wait.

Lab Workout 13: Assistive Technology Integration

The Activity

For my activity for Artifact Proposal 1, I would start off giving the students worksheets, which tell the students to trace and identify certain shapes.  At the bottom of the worksheet, the students are asked to color in or point out the shape it tells them to identify.  After a quick review of shapes, I would use the Shapes and Nature website, shown on the projector to show the students how shapes can be seen in all types of nature.  Since identifying shapes in esoteric images can be a little more difficult than pointing them on a worksheet, the first time I would go though each picture and help them figure out its shapes by giving them clues.  I would then move on to the National Geographic website, asking the students to raise their hands and tell me which shapes are involved in each photograph.  After discussing and sharing both of these resources with them, I would show them the video, which incorporates nature and shapes.  Ending the lesson with this fascinating video will hopefully help the children get a final grasp on how shapes and nature go hand and hand.  To evaluate students on what they learned, I would chose random photos that we discussed during the lesson and make a slideshow out of them, numbering each slide.  Then I would give the students a quiz which has numbers and spaces for them to write in which shapes are involved in each slide that I put up on the screen.

 

The Student

Jasmine has mild dyslexia, which affects her work in all of her classes as she struggles to read and write her assignments. She often loses her place while she is reading and mixes up letters when reading and writing words. To help with her comprehension, she reads written text very slowly and sometimes several times over. Jasmine has already been held back for two years and could really benefit from positive reinforcement and possible assistive technologies.

How to incorporate Assistant Technology

In order to help Jasmine refresh her memory on shapes, I would have her start off by using the computer available in the classroom. I would open the worksheet that the rest of the students are working on using Kurzweil 3000. This way, Jasmine would be able to have the shapes read to her if they were unable to read them on her own. I would have her plug in some headphones and practice listening to how each word is spelled and how it is defined. By being able to have the words read to her aloud and spelled out, she will familiarize herself with each shape and how it sounds out loud.

I would then open up Widget symbols for Jasmine to be able to use. I would have her practice typing the shapes into the program, and then put her mouse over the word so she would be able to see the picture of the shape that goes along with the word. By being able to match the word to the shape, she will be able to take the shape quiz along with the rest of the class. She would be able to watch the PowerPoint presentation that I show the entire class.

After showing the students the Shapes in Nature PowerPoint I created, Jasmine would need some assistance with her quiz. Jasmine would benefit from programs like Widget Symbols and Kurzeil 3000; this way she will be able to look up the words and their spellings.

 

 

 

Templates for Students to Use

In exploring the Microsoft website, I found several templates that my future students can use to aid them in productivity.

1.) Multiplication Flash Cards
This template is full of blank multiplication flash cards that I could easily print off and cut out and use them with my students. The multiplication starts with 1 x 1 and goes all the way up to 12 x 12.
For this template, I would print all of the flash cards out that apply to the level of math my class is studying. I would print them out on brightly colored paper so they tend to stand out and then after I printed them I would cut them out. Next, I would sit in a chair and have all of the students gather around on the floor and I would flip through them and I would have the students practice shout out the answer to the problem on the card.

2.) Handwriting Practice Paper
This template is very useful when a student needs to practice their handwriting. It contains solid and dotted lines so the students are able to practice the size and the technique of their letters.
For this template, I would handout 4 of these handwriting practice papers to each student. Next, I would have them practice writing all of the capital letters of the alphabet in cursive on two of the sheets of paper and I would have them write all of the lowercase letters in cursive on the other two sheets.

3.) Multiplication Table
This template is very effective in teaching students their multiplication facts. It is a a plain multiplication table that teaches kids how to multiply all the way up to 10 x 10.
At the beginning of the year, I would print out however many students were in my class that year and I would cut them out and tape a multiplication table on each of the students desks. When they first start learning multiplication, they will be able to look at their little chart and find the product, which will eventually help them learn their multiplication facts.