Over Halfway There!

As we are nearing the end of week 9 of classes, this semester is getting more hectic as the beginning of the end is here! In my class at WES, we are in the hang of things and making learning happen. One thing that has happened recently is the start of WIN. WIN stands for What I need and is a specific time every day for students to get in ability groups and work on their reading and math at the level of their learning. Students are in small groups and work with different teachers to help them in the areas they are struggling in. This is a great way to reach Standard 2 of the NCTCS. All students are different and have different learning needs so by being able to work with students on specific needs, we are helping all students, not just the high students or the low students. It is a great differentiation strategy! One thing that I am really proud of is something that happened in WIN time this past week. I was working one on one with a student who is having a hard time keeping up in math. We were doing a scavenger hunt where the students had to find different problems around the room and solve them. This student was having a hard time understanding borrowing and regrouping in addition so I sat down with him and we worked it out together. I first reminded him of the steps that we take to solve these problems (we have a rhyme that helps them remember) and then let him try to help me solve one. Then, we worked on another problem, and I told him to teach me how to solve it. As he was explaining the steps, I saw the AHA moment on his face when he finally understood and remembered the steps. It was something that I was really proud of since I was able to help him get it and it was a very satisfying teacher moment!

It's been a busy week in classes at GWU as well. In science, we completed our water cycle project and it was fun to be able to build a website with my classmates and create a learning experience that we can use in our future classrooms. I also helped with the textbook facilitation this week. We gave research and resources for asking inquiry based questions. This is something that we have talked about a lot in science methods over the course of the semester and is very relevant to our classrooms. Our hyperdoc this week went off of the previous one about planning and managing inquiry instruction. In our classrooms, we want our students to have an inquiry based education because it helps them become active scientists. In our future classrooms, we want quality assessments that help our students learn and start questioning the scientific world around them.

A current event that has been happening in the recent weeks are the wildfires in California. This event has science written all over it! As a teacher, we can connect this to weather and how the weather has played an active role in helping the fires. We can connect the environment and talk about how wildfires impact the humans and animals near them. We can even bring in social studies and talk about the economical impact of fires and how they destroy businesses and homes. We can make this relevant to our students by relating what is happening in California to what happened in our area around this time last year with the wildfires. As terrible as these wildfires have been, they make a great teaching opportunity for us!

Top Tweets:

My first tweet is an infographic that shows the importance of reading. I believe that reading is essential for academic success and I hope that by giving my students the chance to read whatever they want at home, they will see that reading can be fun.

My second tweet is a quote from a teacher that talks about how what we do always matters. As teachers, we are in a position where we are being observed all the time. We must remember that every day is a chance for us to help a student change their life.

My final tweet goes hand in hand with my classroom management plan from 435. After doing outside research about homework, and whether it is helpful or not, I found this article talking about a teacher that completely stopped assigning homework. In my future classroom, I want my students to have time for sports, hobbies, and family. I want to encourage them to learn outside the school doors even if they don't have a worksheet to complete. It is my goal to continue looking into the best way to assign homework to my students.

Week Six

This has been a crazy week for sure! At my school, my CE took a half day on Wednesday. This was an interesting experience because I got to see from her point of view how she planned for the substitute, and from the substitute's point of view and how she carried out those plans. I was also able to co-teach a math lesson with the substitute which was really fun because I hadn't gotten a chance to teach these students yet, and it was also my first experience co-teaching. This connects to standard 1: Teachers lead in their classroom and demonstrate leadership in the school. The substitute and I had to work collaboratively in order to manage the classroom, as well teach the students the content that they needed to learn. I am proud of how we were able to do that with little preparation and how well the students responded.

Like I said, this week has been crazy and I have really struggled to stay focused and on top of things. No matter what may happen, school must take priority so I am working to get caught up on assignments that I have been putting off and am behind on.

In science methods, we had an experiment on air resistance. With our classmates, we created different kinds of parachutes to see how the shape impacted the way it fell. The experiments that we have been doing in class have been a really great example of inquiry based learning which was what our hyperdoc was on this week. We begin by asking questions about our learning, then complete projects and experiments to help assist with out learning. I think this is a great way to help our students understand science concepts instead of just reading out of a book. Next week, I would like to continue working with my classmates on our assignments that are collaborative.

One current event that has been in the news recently is the release of the new iPhone. This is something that is very relevant to our students because they are growing up in a time where technology is everywhere and that largely impacts their learning. My outside learning this week comes from Huffington Post and it talks about the importance of having technology in our classrooms.

Top Tweets

My first tweet this week is how to respond when students say they can't do something. It is important that students never give up with their learning and that they know their teacher never gives up on them either.

My second tweet is about creating team building games for the classroom. My class this semester is very social so incorporating games that allow them to talk freely will be great for them.

My final tweet is directed towards a younger classroom but I think it could apply to K-12 classes. Every classroom needs to be a safe and respectful environment for all students and teaching students empathy and kindness will go a long way.

Week Five

It's hard to believe that we are more than a quarter of the way through with the semester! While we have really hit the ground running with our classes, my students are still getting in the hang of things in third grade. We are finally stepping away from reviewing second grade standards and have moved on to third grade standards. One thing I have noticed about my CE is that she seems to have song for everything! So far, we have a song for even numbers, odd numbers, and rounding. Here is the link to the song that she uses for rounding: We will round you. I really like this method that she is using because it gets the students moving around and it gives them a catchy way to remember the order in which they solve the problems. It is definitely something I will plan to be doing in my future classroom.

One thing I have really struggled with this week is coming to terms with just how much testing these little third graders have. They just completed their BOGs, this week they are doing AIG testing, for the past few weeks they have doing TRC/DIBLES, on top of their regular assessments such as spelling tests! It is a lot for a student who is just coming out of 2nd grade. Since I am still fairly unfamiliar with how much testing goes on in school, my research this week has been focused on how I can better prepare myself for helping my students. There are so many test taking strategies for students, but where are the strategies for teachers in the classroom with these anxious and tired students? How can I make sure I am not just simply teaching for the test, but instead instilling knowledge in my students? Concordia University and Fishtree.com have some really good tips for helping teachers with all of the stress that can come with testing. Since teachers must reflect on their practice and analyze student learning, these tips can really help me in my future classroom.

For science this week, my group completed the experiment part of our science project. I am really proud of the way we have all collaborated so well with each other. It was really interesting to see how our experiment turned out. It was definitely not what we had predicted on our hypothesis but that's all part of the learning process.

For the hyperdoc this week, it was all about knowing vs. understanding and how we can get our students to better understand through scaffolding. I thought about the questions that we have been asked in class about hurricanes forming and the sky being blue. We all know what a hurricane is, but do we really understand how it works? To some extent, we know why the sky appears blue, but could we say we understand enough about wavelengths and light to explain it to our students? Knowing is very different from understanding and I have never really thought about that before.

The current event that I would like to talk about this week is the major earthquake that hit in Mexico. Much like the hurricanes that have coming into the US, this has been a major tragedy. I read one article about a school collapsing with many students inside and it was absolutely heartbreaking to read. Our students are going to hear about these current events and they may get scared and feel uneasy coming to school thinking that it will happen in their school. As teachers, we should be able to educate students so that they do not feel scared or unprepared in the event of a natural disaster.

Twitter:
My first tweet this week comes from scholastic. It is talking about creating a strong culture of reading. In my classroom I want my students to be reading all the time and I want them to be able to enjoy reading. It doesn't just help their literacy skills get better. When students read they are learning more about the world around them and are integrating science and social studies without even knowing it.

My second tweet is all about establishing a growth mindset as a teacher. This infographic gave some very simple ways to change the way we think as teachers and become better at encouraging our students.

My last tweet this week is a simple checklist of things we ought to be doing everything. These things help us to make our classroom environment more inviting and welcoming for our students.

Week 4

This week hasn't been very eventful for me in my school. My students have had BOG testing which is similar to the EOG, only it is taken at the beginning of the year. I have also been talking with my CE this week about classroom management. One thing that they use in their classroom is Class Dojo. This is the first time I have really worked with Class Dojo and it is a big hit with my students. They respond really well to earning Dojo points and has really helped my CE with classroom management. Since I have been looking at my CE's classroom management style, I have done some outside research on this as well. I found a great website on classroom management strategies.  Teachervision.com has lots of different videos and tips based on scenarios and common occurrences. Like standard 5 states of the NCTCS, teachers must function effectively in a dynamic and complex environment. Being a pro at classroom management is one way to help make that happen!

The thing that brought me the most satisfaction this week was going in the ECLC on Tuesday and Thursday and seeing our ecocolums finally growing. I will admit that I was doubtful about the goldfish at first since I've never been very good at keeping them alive, but seeing them along with my plants sprouting up was a really neat thing to witness and very satisfying.

This week, I have really struggled with trying to stay on top of all of my schoolwork, as well as keep up with things outside of school. It has been difficult to not get overwhelmed, but I am proud of myself for not stressing out too much and actively trying to get back ahead. I know that the steps I need to take next week are to start sooner and work harder at staying on track.

It was hard to contribute to the overall class this week since we only met once, but I do feel that I contributed by working well with my partner on our collaborative math lesson. I hope that in the future we can work together again because we worked really well together!

This week, my current event was 9/11. It is so strange to me that something I am still so familiar with is such a foreign concept to my students. It reminds me of what Dr. Parker says to us all the time. Today's kindergartners were born in 2012. We normally think of that and only think of the technology that they are used to, but this week I was reminded that there are other reasons why it is so important to remember the year they were born. My CE has said that she sometimes struggles talking to her students about 9/11 because it is something that just happened in the history books for them. I know it is something I will definitely have to think about with my future students as well.

Top Tweets:

My first tweet this week talks about how students don't learn anything from teachers they do not like. I couldn't agree more with this statement because I know from personal experience. Students learn better when they have a good connection with their teacher. As teachers, we should strive to build a good relationship with all of our students.

This tweet reminded me of what we have been discussing in math methods. We have all kinds of learners in our classrooms and this link created a good way to help the visual learners in our class.

My last tweet was a great idea that a teacher posted. She asked students what they loved about science and what they hated about science and gave students the ability to be completely honest. I feel that if we did this with our students for all different subjects, we could gain a really good insight into how our students think, and possibly make them more excited about learning.

The Third Week

While we are on our third week of classes, my students at Washington are completing their second week of school. In the school this week, I got the chance to meet with the guidance counselor and talk about my students and their needs. I really enjoyed having this meeting because it allowed me to get a closer look into my students' lives. I have such a diverse group of students so to be able to talk with the guidance counselor and plan my instruction based on their individual needs was very neat. This also aligns with standard 2 of the NCTCS in several different ways. Teachers embrace diversity in the school community and the world, and teachers adapt their teaching for the benefit of students with special needs. I feel that I am really getting to embrace having a diverse group this year, while also trying to mend my lessons to each individual student's needs. It was very satisfying to get to be involved in a meeting such as that with my CE.

This past week in 435, we wrote our first edTPA lesson plans of the semester. This was the largest thing I have struggled with because I still feel like edTPA is a foreign language at times. To deal with this struggle, I found a website that I think will be a wonderful resource for all of us as we continue to use edTPA. http://www.edtpatips.com/ is a website that provides so much helpful information regarding edTPA. It has definitions, tips, and easy to understand explanations. I know it greatly helped me this past week!

I think I have FINALLY gotten on top of all of my work for my courses and this has definitely brought me the most satisfaction this week. It is a feeling like no other to be organized! It has also helped me feel like I have contributed to the class more since I am not overwhelmed with what I have to do. In science, we went down the river to build our ecocolums. This was a fun field trip, especially when Grace brought back a baby snake! As a group, we have all worked together to try (mostly unsuccessfully) to catch critters for each other's projects.

In current events this week, astronomers in Japan think they have found the second largest black hole in the Milky Way Galaxy. Since I am in third grade, the solar system is a big part of science education standards. Like we have discussed in science methods, it is fairly easy to connect everything around us to science in some way.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/sep/04/supermassive-black-hole-discovered-near-heart-of-the-milky-way

Top Tweets:
My first tweet this week is a quote that I took from an article that Dr. Parker shared with us talking about inquiry. I liked this quote because I think too often we get too caught up on the standards we must address and forget that we aren't supposed to be teaching to the standards. We are supposed to be teaching to our students.

My second tweet is from NASA and is a gif I found of some up close pictures of the solar system. I thought this was neat because we are working on science through our lens this week and these pictures are the true definition of science through a lens!

My final tweet this week is a goal that one educator set for herself. I like the idea of this because by setting this goal, you are going out of your way to insure that you make your students feel more confident and comfortable.

First Week Frenzy

This week has been so hectic! On Monday, Cleveland County Schools started back. I am so happy that I was able to be there and meet my students. I am so excited to have a class of 21 young minds ready to learn. It was an interesting experience to be in the classroom on the first day. I haven't been a part of that since I was in elementary school. It was chaotic, hectic, and a lot of fun! On the first day of school, one big thing that I saw from the entire faculty and staff was that they had all established a respectful environment for diverse students. My CE as well as everyone in the school really demonstrated standard 2 of the NCTCS in that they created a positive and nurturing environment for their students. I look forward to being in a community that does that.

One thing that was a struggle this week was trying to stay on task. Being at the school all day long on Monday was exhausting and it was so hard to come back home and then keep up with all of my schoolwork. However, I know that this is something that I must get used to when I am in the classroom everyday.

In class this week, we created ecocolums. Over the next few weeks, we are going to be observing this ecocolum and the small ecosystem that we have created. We have been talking about phenomena this week and this is a great way to experience some naturally occurring events. Simple experiments like the one that we began in class today can really help students understand the naturally occurring events that happen in nature such as photosynthesis and the life cycle. I know that in my classroom in the future, I would love to include many different hands-on activities to help my students understand the science that occurs around them on a daily basis. I did some outside research on the NGSS and using phenomena in science and found a great blog post from Alissa Berg. In it she lists the six steps that educators can take to include engaging phenomena study in science units. The link to the blog post is at the bottom.

In groups this week, we began talking about our science fair project. I'm excited for what my group is beginning to do and I look forward to continuing to work with them. Overall, I think we have all contributed really well to our decision making this week as we begin to create our project.

One current event that is happening this week is Hurricane Harvey. This has affected many people in Texas and as the weather changes, it is even beginning to affect us here in North Carolina. In class today, we were unable to do everything we had planned due to the rain that the tropical storm is bringing. Weather is something that occurs everyday and sometimes it does affect your lesson planning. However, as teachers we can use that phenomena to create an engaging and exciting lesson for our students!

Top Tweets:

My first tweet this week is an infographic that includes critical thinking questions. It is important to have critical thinkers in our classrooms and especially in our science classes. This image gives teachers some very basic questions to ask our students, but they are questions that require our students to begin thinking critically about the subjects they are studying.

My second tweet this week is something that I believe is very important. Like we have mentioned in class, some our students were born in 2012. It is absolutely essential that our schools be 21st century schools and this image provides a lot of information on how to ensure that our students are being taught in the most relevant ways for them.

My final tweet this week was on positive school culture. Like I mentioned above, it was so amazing to see how all of the faculty and staff at WES created a positive environment for all of the students on the first day of school. I believe that a positive school culture is essential to get students excited for learning and ready to be at school every day.

https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/ausl/2015/04/15/6-steps-to-coming-up-with-an-engaging-phenomenon-to-anchor-your-next-ngss-unit/

Back At It Again

Well the semester has just begun and once again we are hitting the ground running! I get to meet with my CE tomorrow and I am so excited about it. I know that I cannot wait for my student teaching journey to begin and I am sure that I am going to learn so much in such a short amount of time. I am proud of how far I have come on this journey and I look forward to finishing strong.

One thing that we did in class today was a short experiment about water density and buoyancy. I realized very quickly that I am definitely rusty on my science terms so that is something that I will need to be doing further research on and getting caught up on. It has been quite a while since I have been in a science class! Hopefully over the next few weeks and months that I am in science methods, I can get familiar with common scientific terms once again. I know that once I fully understand what I am talking about, I can be more confident in preparing my students for their big science EOG in fifth grade and hopefully get them interested in science outside of school as well. It was neat being able to do a hands on activity with my classmates and being able to help contribute to building different shaped boats and test their ability to stay afloat was a great way to start off class.

Since it is the first day of class, I haven't completed any outside learning information. However, I know that once I meet my CE tomorrow morning, I am going to have lots of new information that I can research on.

One specific current event that relates to science was the solar eclipse that happened earlier in the week. This is something that happened right in our students backyards! As teachers we could use this opportunity to talk about planets and orbits. Location and geography could be talked about and how different places saw different phases. You could even discuss with students about plant and animal life and how many animals reacted differently to the eclipse. It is incredibly relevant to our students since it is something that they most likely watched happened just a few days ago!

I connected the NCTCS in my learning while in class today. Under standard 3: Teachers know the content that they teach, it states that teachers make learning relevant for their students. I realized today in class that science is all around us. It's in the plants, cars, buildings, even buckets of water have so much to do with scientific learning! Relevancy is definitely something that I hope to bring into my future classroom one day to get my students excited to learn about science.

TTOTW:
 Two of my tweets this week have to deal with the first day of school. I know for Cleveland County students, their first day in on Monday. I found these two infographics great for both teachers and students.

The first tweet is the twelve questions that you should ask your students on the first day of school. I think by asking students these questions or types of questions like these, you can really get a feel for how students learn and act in a classroom setting. Then, as teachers we can respond in a way that best fits our students.

The second tweet includes some words of encouragement for our students. The first day can be stressful and students need to hear motivation from their teachers and know that we as teachers care about more than just their grades.

My third tweet this week directly relates to science. Hurricane Harvey is about to hit Texas and this is a current event that can really help teachers make science more relatable to students. By keeping up with current events, we can help students realize how science is all around us in many different ways.

Final Blog!

As the semester is starting to come to a close, I have found myself incredibly busy with all of the end of year work. One thing I have been working on completing is my clinical experiences for all of my classes. In doing that, I have learned a lot and found out that I really enjoy being in first grade! One thing that I did with my students was a lesson on how people impact the environment. We read a book that focused on how one boy changed his community by starting a garden. Then, we discussed the different things that we do that either help or hurt the environment. I also assigned an art activity for the students to do in order to show that they understood how they could help the environment. It was really exciting to see the students work hard on their projects, and in the end, I saw that they had thought of some really great ideas on how they could help the environment. This content area connects with Standard 3: Teachers make instruction relevant to students. Caring for the environment is something that is really relevant for students today because the environment is a big topic in the news and classroom.

I have also been working on my unit plan and trying hard to get it finished and make it the best it can be. In doing that, I feel that I am much more confident on assigning performance tasks to my students as well as taking two concepts, and tying them together to make a unit for my students. I know that in my future classroom, this will be a helpful technique when I teach my students different content areas and will have to connect different standards.

Overall, I am excited that the semester is coming to an end. It has been a crazy and hectic year and I'm excited for summer break. But before that can happen, I know that we all have to finish strong. So good luck everyone!

Almost There!

It's so crazy to think that we only have a few weeks left this semester. Needless to say, the work has definitely been catching up to me! This week, we have been presenting our flipped lessons for everyone. This has been really fun to watch because it is giving us great practice teaching in front of our students one day. One thing that I enjoyed about the flipped lesson plan was that it gave students more responsibility. It also gives students the chance to get their parents more involved. Part of standard 2 states that teachers work collaboratively with the families and significant adults in a students' life. I know that in my future classroom, I want to have good communication with my parents. I want them to always feel like they are an intricate part in their children's education because they are. I know that if my parents are involved, then my students will have more success. A flipped lesson may be the way to do this.

We also had our virtual field trip projects due this week and I had learned a lot from this experience. I realize that there is a lot that goes into planning a field trip, even just a virtual one. I know that in the future I will be in charge of planning field trips so I'm grateful for the practice now! One thing that I included in my virtual field trip was a ThingLink. I saw this first in our mock classroom on Blackboard and thought that I would include it in my virtual museum. It was really easy to create one, and I thought that this would be a great resource for us all to have in our future classrooms. Specifically for social studies, this is a good tool to use for maps. Teachers can include information about different areas of maps that are important to know. It gives students an easy way to learn details about specific places on a map. ThingLink also connects to standard 4 of the NCPTS in that teachers use a variety of instructional materials. If you use ThingLink for maps, not only are students being able to look at maps, but they aren't just gaining information from a textbook. They are using technology to learn more about specific places and things.

Week Eleven

As the semester is beginning to come to a close, I am starting to find my workload increasing more! This week at Washington, I was able to work with a group of students developing their writing skills. I was impressed with what my first graders could do. They looked at pictures that told a story, then answered questions about the pictures. The story cards they were given gave students the beginning of a sentence, and they had to finish the sentence in their own words. I really enjoyed this activity with my students and being able to share my love of writing with them. I also experienced my first professional development opportunity this week and it was so much fun! I went to Duke and attended a symposium on fetal alcohol syndrome and how it affected students in the classroom. It was very eye opening to listen to the speakers talk about their own personal experiences and how important it was for teachers to recognize a child who may be suffering from FASD. I know that in my future classroom, I will more than likely have at least one student who is on the spectrum and just like standard 2 states, I must adapt my teaching to benefit my students with special needs.

Also this week, I have been working on my flipped lesson plan and my clinical lesson plan. Doing this, I have used some resources from Time for Kids and decided to share with everyone. TFK is a great instructional tech tool that can be used not only when teaching social studies, but any other subject as well. It has news articles that are age appropriate for elementary students, as well as videos, worksheets, and activities for students. Sometimes schools will have subscriptions to TFK which allows students to have a copy of articles, but there is also a lot of great content online for students, even without a subscription. Standard 2 says that teachers must embrace diversity in the school community and in the world. By providing news articles that are understandable for students, we are able to provide our students with global awareness. This is a way for us as teachers to use current events to teach our students about diversity and the different cultures and people in the world. In my future classroom, I hope that I am able to have a subscription to news sources such as this in order to better teach my students about current events and global awareness.

Week Ten

This week as we dive back into school, I have gained so many new experiences. On Tuesday, we had duty free lunch at Washington and it was very eye opening since I haven't been inside an elementary lunchroom since I was in 5th grade! I really enjoyed being able to help the teachers at the school though because they have such a short lunch time every day. Every teacher I saw was so grateful and excited to have a day off and it made me feel so great.

We have also started our edTPA boot camp this week and it has been so helpful. I finally feel more confident when working on my lesson plans. One thing that really stuck out to me that I don't think I've realized before this point is that all the tasks that we are working on; planning, instruction, and assessment, are not only centered around student learning, but it is also preparing us to be the best teachers that we can be. As someone who is planning on getting their National Board Certification, I am grateful for the opportunity to get prepared for that process. I feel that I can connect what I am learning this week to standard 5 of NCTCS in that teachers link professional growth to their professional goals. What I am learning now can help me throughout my career to be a better and more student-centered teacher.

Along with edTPA, Washington, and all of my education classes, I am also preparing for my clinical experience. When meeting with my CE, we decided to work with the environment concept since Earth Day is coming up. While looking at activities for my students, I found a great resource for kids to use. Kids.gov is a neat website that has all sorts of topics for students, many which relate to social studies such as history and government. Students can watch videos, play games, and learn from online lessons. I thought this was really neat because standard 4 of the NCTCS states that teachers use a variety of instructional methods in order to teach their students. Kids.gov provides students with so many different educational opportunities. There are infographics that they can look at, maps they can study, and even links to other reputable educational websites. I know as a future teacher, in my classroom I want to be able to give my students different ways of learning information in order to make learning more enjoyable for my students. Instead of just having my students listen to me tell them information all day, I want to give them the opportunity to learn on their own and have different resources.

Spring Break Here I Come!

This week has been pretty crazy as all of my professors try to cram in everything before we leave for spring break. I have to say though, I'm pretty thankful that I won't be worried about work on break. It can hopefully be very relaxing!

This week at Washington, I got to experience some pretty neat things. I saw something unique in my class where the teacher gave each of the students a dry erase marker and a sock. She then allowed them to write their math problems right on the desk and work everything out without using any paper. I definitely plan to use this idea in my future classroom because all of the kids loved it! Each student was engaged and working hard. It also gave them plenty of space to show all of their work without having to try to cram it all in a little section on a worksheet. For younger students who tend to write large, this is such a great way to help them get all of their information written down.

Also this week, we had our midyear PDP meetings. After meeting with Dr. Parker, I got redirected in the direction that I want to go in order to make sure I am benefiting from working to reach my goals. This week, I found an awesome website that really gets students engaged in social studies. It's called iCivics and students can play games that are directly related to social studies topics. For example, I played a game that put me as a presidential candidate, running the race to get elected to the White House. This connects to the NCTCS standards 2B and 4D. Students get to choose the issues that they care for or relate to, which will be entirely different for each student in the classroom. By allowing the students to do this, we as teachers are embracing diversity in our classroom, as well as recognizing it around the world. We are also integrating technology by allowing the students to play virtual games that keep them interested, but at the same time, learning important social studies topics.

I hope every one has a great week, and an awesome spring break!!

Halfway There!

The weeks are flying by and I cannot believe we are almost to spring break! I have learned so much already this semester. This week at Washington, I got to help co-teach a Dr. Seuss lesson for Read Across America Week. It was so much fun to be in my first grade classroom and help the students with all of the fun activities that my group came up with. The students were so excited and it made me so happy when a little boy came up to me and asked if we could do another lesson again sometime soon. It was a very rewarding moment to say the least!

This week in class, we met online and we talked about TPACK and SAMR. These things are really about how we as teachers should bring technology into our classrooms in a beneficial way for our students. I had never really thought about this before, but just sending students to the computer lab or handing them iPads isn't really the best way to integrate technology. Instead, we need to be creating activities and lessons around technology in ways that today's learners will best benefit from. Like Dr. Parker said in the video, we don't want our students to go back in time in our classrooms. We want them to be in an environment where they can grow and learn. Just like standard 4D states in NCPTS, teachers integrate and utilize technology in their instruction. In my future classroom, I am going to be teaching students who were born in 2013. These kids have grown up with technology and I need to make sure I am including it for them in my class so that later on, they can benefit from living in the digital age.

While working on my SAMR ideas this week, I found a really neat app that I think would be good to use in the classroom. It is called ScuttlePad and it's a safe social media site for kids. It's basically like Facebook for ages 6 to 11. Students can create profiles, add friends, and join interest groups. It's free for kids and there are monitors  that ensure it's a safe environment. Standard 2B states that teachers embrace diversity in the school community and in the world and Standard 3D states that teachers make instruction relevant to students. Using social media in the classroom is a way for kids to get connected to the world around them, and for teachers to make things relevant for their students. The majority of kids now have Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, so by giving students a website that is age appropriate, they can still be connected while also learning. I know that in my future classroom, I would love to have pen pals from around the country and around the world in order to give my students global understanding. This app makes it easy to do that.

Week 7

This week for me has been both challenging and rewarding. At Washington this week, I worked one on one with a young first grader who was really struggling in both math and reading. It was really frustrating for me to try to help her and just have her unable to fully understand what I was teaching her. It was definitely a learning experience for me because I know that in my future classroom, I will have these children who just don't seem to get it no matter what I do. I know that it is important for me to always have patience, and be willing and ready to work with these students no matter what because I believe that every student has the potential to do great things. In class this week,
Digital Media Day was today and I gained so many incredible technology resources that I can't wait to try out in my own classroom one day and in my clinical placement! I know one thing that really stood out to me was the virtual reality tools that we talked about after our meeting. I have been familiar with virtual reality and Google Cardboard for a while now, but up until today I really didn't know how to utilize it. I have seen so many neat things that a teacher can do with VR. I know that in my classroom one day, I will most likely not have the funds to take many field trips each year, so I can use virtual field trips as a way to get students interested and involved in what we are are learning. Using VR also connects to standard 4 of the NCTCS that teachers integrate and use technology in the classroom. It is also a way for teachers to use a variety of instructional methods. Instead of just having students research on the computer different places, students can actually see different places like they are actually there.

Outside of class, I have been looking at ways to integrate art into other content areas. I found an article that was published in Kentucky on integrating art into social studies.It was really interesting to read because it gives guidance on how to integrate and also gives a few examples of different activities that teachers can do. I know that in my future classroom, I want to integrate art, music, and theater because I know that each of my students will be different and learn in different ways. Just like standard 2 of the NCTCS says, teachers must establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of students and as a teacher, I will need to embrace diversity in learning in my classroom, as well as adapting my teaching style to better benefit my learners. Here is the link to the article that I found.
http://www.kentuckyteacher.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Integrating-Social-Studies-Arts.pdf

6 Weeks In

This week I have really begun to get into the routine of going to Washington twice a week and working with the students and teachers there. Only two weeks in and I have already learned so much about classroom management, new types of curriculum and technology, as well as what it really means to be a teacher to twenty+ young students. This week in class we have been talking about learning experiences and it has been interesting to learn about this because I don't feel like I did this in my classrooms in elementary school. But I know that in my future classroom, learning experiences will be a great way to help my students learn. It also helps me as teacher connect to standard 4 where teachers plan instruction appropriate for their students.

Outside of class, I tutor a young boy once each week. He is not in Cleveland County Schools, but his teacher is using some of the same programs that schools here are using. One of these is called Zearn. I watched my first graders at Washington use this math program to practice their addition and subtraction and it was a really quick way to assess the students, and the students seemed to enjoy it. On Zearn, there are different grade levels that you can pick depending on where your students are. Then, there are different activities that connect to math standards for students to work on. One activity is called Sprint and students have to answer as many questions as possible in a minute's time. This is a super easy way of assessment and the students really like to make it into a competition to see who can get the highest number of correct answers. I really liked this technology tool because it is a way to incorporate technology into the classroom everyday and it really fits in with NCPTS standard 4, under the section that teachers use a variety of methods to assess what each student has learned. I believe that students shouldn't be taking tests as their only forms of assessment and Zearn is a great way to make assessment fun. I know that Cleveland County Schools and Rutherford County Schools use this program so in the future, if I teach in either one of these schools, I will most likely be using this program so it is important for me to get familiar with it now.

Week Five

This week has been quite eventful! First, we completed our Wisdom from Experience projects. Then, we visited Washington Elementary School and helped out the teachers there. To be honest, I am surprised with myself that I thoroughly enjoyed working with my first graders. It is a grade I never thought I would want to teach, but I have been pleasantly surprised and am finding it very beneficial and enjoyable. I have also been working with my group on the today's learner project and it has been very helpful. So while this week has been really busy, I've been learning a lot!

At Washington, I observed my teacher using a math program titled Eureka math. This is something that is new to the teachers there, but it really makes sense as to why they were using it. Eureka makes students solve the questions by explaining how they got their answers. I think this is a great idea to show that students are really comprehending what they are learning. I am also excited to start learning about Eureka along with my teachers at Washington because I know that it is a program that is really starting to show up in a lot of schools and this will help me as I get ready to use it in my future classroom.

We have also been talking about today's learner in class. I realize that in my future classroom, I will not have an "average" learner. I am going to have students who learn in all different ways. It is so important that I establish a safe environment for my students because they are most likely going to be so diverse intellectually and culturally. I must recognize how my students learn so that I can teach each student to where it benefits them as individuals.

While completing my Wisdom from Experience project, I interviewed a teacher who gave me some great suggestions about technology that I can use in my classroom. So, I am using one of her recommendations as my technology resource this week. One thing that is really big at her school is Discovery Education. I have seen this tool being used in the classroom before and not only is it extremely helpful to the teachers, but it is also really fun for the students. It gives topics based on grade levels for the teachers to use as resources. There are videos, virtual field trips, and so much more that gets students engaged in the lesson while also incorporating technology. This is a great resource to use in my future classroom because like I have said before, it is essential that I integrate technology into my classroom. Discovery Ed also has art activities for students so that they can incorporate the fine arts into their lessons. There are puzzlemakers and clip art activities for the visual arts which can really visual learners that I have in my classroom, as well as videos for auditory learners and actual projects for kinesthetic students. Overall, I think this is a really neat tool to use in the classroom: http://www.discoveryeducation.com/

Week #4

This week in class, we have covered a lot of information! We have been discussing our unit plans and the types of content that we need to include. We have gone over concepts, generalizations, and now guiding questions. With that, we are taking our unit and beginning to really develop it. I am looking forward to how it comes along, especially with all of the techniques I am learning.

Also this week, we finalized our Professional Development Plans, or PDP's. With that, I am going to be researching different technology tools and sharing them each week, as well as looking at looking at ways to integrate fine arts into other subjects. The first website that I found was Prepdog.org. It is a website that is divided into grade levels. Under each grade level, there are assessments that connect with common core standards. Students can use the website to determine their level on reading and math. It is a different way to take a test than just a paper and pencil and connects with standard 4 of the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards in that teachers facilitate learning and utilize technology in their classroom. http://www.prepdog.org/

I also found a website that has multiple plays on it for students to learn and act out. There are some plays that relate to social studies topics which can help students better understand the units that they are learning, as well as some other content related topics such as science and ELA. Plays are a great way to incorporate the arts into your lessons and it also relates to standard 4 in that teachers use a variety of instructional methods and teachers help students work in teams and develop leadership qualities. Here is the website for the plays: http://www.teachingheart.net/readerstheater.htm

I am looking forward to sharing all of the technology tools that I discover because I know that it will be extremely helpful to use in my classroom as an educator. Technology is something that nearly every young student has grown up with in this age and it is important that as teachers we keep up to date with that. I am also excited to learn ways to integrate fine arts into my lessons because I know that including the arts can really help connect some students to what they are learning.

Week #3

This week has been an exciting and busy week in the education department. On Tuesday, we traveled to Washington Elementary, met and ate lunch with the teachers, talked about what we were going to do, and then we toured the school. Then, on Thursday I got accepted into the School of Education!! I am so excited to see where this journey continues to take me as I get closer and closer to student teaching in the spring of 2018.

In class this week, we have been discussing our professional development plans and have been using the acronym SMART to help set the goals that we need in our plans. I remember when I was in middle school health class, we used SMART goals for setting goals related to our health. Now, it makes sense to use the same acronyms when setting goals about our teaching. When looking at the SMART goals, I found a website that went into detail about how to incorporate each step of the goals. It also includes time management skills, decision making skills, stress management and more which I believe can be very helpful to teachers. Here is the link: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/smart-goals.htm

I think that this will be helpful for us as future teachers because as teachers, we are to demonstrate leadership in the classroom and we must be able to create goals in order to do that so that our students can learn.

Week 2 of Social Studies

This week, we have been diving into the world of concepts verses topics in our social studies class. Going into this class, I thought that I understood what a concept was, but I was very wrong! I believed that concept was pretty much just another word for topic. Instead, concepts are the general, universal, timeless, and abstract pieces that include many different topics.

In doing more research on the differences between concepts and topics, I found a great blog post from an AP literature class that I felt did a really good job of visualizing the idea of a concept versus a topic. Plus, it is incredibly similar to what Dr. Parker explained in his presentation. Below, I have attached a link to the blog.

I think that it is really important that in my classroom, I am not only teaching topics, but more concepts as well because it is so easy to tie in so many different topics into one concept, therefore, giving my students the opportunity to learn much more!

Link to Concepts vs. Topics Blog: http://blogs.yis.ac.jp/hougha/2014/09/05/concepts-vs-topics-whats-the-difference/ 

My First Day

I just completed my first day in my Social Studies methods class and it has made me realize that my journey as a student in the education program is very quickly coming to an end. Very soon, I will be student teaching and then having my own classroom.

As exciting as that is, it is also very overwhelming! Right now in class we are discussing what our responsibilities throughout the course are as we prepare to take on student teaching. This includes how we as teachers can incorporate more social studies learning for our students.

In my experience, I have always loved social studies and the topics that were covered when I was in elementary school. However, I always felt that the subject was pushed aside to make math and language arts the sole focus. After discussing in class and reading articles on the importance of social studies in the classroom, it really stands out to me just how important the subject is. I have the power and ability to help shape my students' minds into becoming upstanding citizens who are capable of thinking and working in diverse situations.

I am so excited to see where this journey takes me as I continue to grow and develop and get closer and closer to becoming an educator.