We're wrapping up the last week of the semester, and it's been such a journey! I can't believe these 16 weeks have gone so fast. I've been soaking up all the information I've learned over the last 5 months and am so grateful for everything I will be taking with me going into my internship and then student teaching. I believe all of us are trying to finish the semester strong and get as much done as we can!
Learning Experiences
There have been many assignments due in the last few weeks, and I personally loved the Virtual Museum group project that was completed. After seeing the final project on the Carl Sandburg home, I was blown away at the amount of work, dedication, and attention to detail my group members put into this project! There were so many aspects of this project that required connection to NCSCOS, and the NCPTS. Standard 3; Teachers know the content they teach, and standard 4; teachers facilitate learning for their students. This project allowed us to heavily research Carl Sandburg by incorporation augmented technology, Sound Cloud voice recordings, interactive maps, and more. It was amazing to see how the finished project turned out; definitely something that a 4th grade teacher could use.
Outside Learning
I have been in my clinical classroom heavily in the past month, and planning lessons have taken up a lot of my time. I've found so many neat websites that were useful in my lessons of supply/demand and goods/services. I found many good T-charts and worksheets, and created my own assessment tools! I have spent time creating assessments for my 1st grade students, including provocative and factual questions to guide conversation. My students has a great time with the lesson, and I feel as if they really became engaged and involved in the activities during the lesson.
Future Classroom Connections
I believe the creation of the virtual museum was such an impactful project that could be carried to any grade level. This learning tool would be so beneficial to all grade levels. I would love to carry this into my students teaching classroom, then into my own! Other things such as TPAC and SAMR are great tools to self-reflect on in ensuring a proper and effective way of integrating technology into lessons daily.
I'm so thankful to have completed this semester on such a strong note! Reality is setting in that I will be student teaching SO soon, and will then have a classroom of my own a few months later. I'm ready for the next semester, let's do this!
Friday, April 26, 2019
Monday, March 25, 2019
Social Studies Methods - Blog 3
Learning Experiences
This past month has been nothing short of exciting! We continue to learn so much and take away so many things to use in our future classroom. A majority of the past few weeks have consisted of our flipped and traditional lesson plans. My main focus for this lesson was national holidays and informative texts. Although I am teaching something different in my clinical, this has been a great opportunity to gain feedback from my peers on ways to improve my teaching once I am able to teach in my classroom. As much as I hate watching myself on video (lol) re watching my teaching segment has provided me with the opportunity to spot areas of both strength and improvement. I am excited to teach my traditional lesson whenever the time comes!
Over the past few weeks, I have been in my clinical completing my hours and working on lesson plans for class. I am in a first grade classroom and my CE is absolutely wonderful. She had been more than willing to work with my schedule and allow me to observe any time needed. I am currently in the process of writing my lessons as well as the context for learning and commentaries for EdTPA. It is so exciting to be in the classroom more and getting to know the sweet kids! Relating to the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards, standard 4 relates to teachers planning based on what is appropriate for his/her students. Throughout my clinical, I am trying my best to plan based off the needs of my students with the given information and data from my CE.
Outside Learning
Every week or so I try to research and find different resources to use in my classroom. One neat idea is a "turn it in" folder for students to mark how comfortable they feel with how they completed their work after it is turned in. There is a three tray bin, labeled "I totally understand", "Kinda iffy", and "HELP!". This is a great way for teachers to easily spot who needs help if a student is too embarrassed to express this during class time. This is a way to assess students and reteach if necessary.
Future Classroom Connections
One thing I want to carry into my classroom is the Children's Literature project we conducted in class. Including myself, there will be 13 resources for my peers and I to locate back to once we are student teaching. Each book tied in with a social studies standard strand so we can use them for integrating literacy into our social studies units. Not only will I use these books in my future classroom, but they will become very beneficial to us once we are in our student teaching placements.
This past month has been nothing short of exciting! We continue to learn so much and take away so many things to use in our future classroom. A majority of the past few weeks have consisted of our flipped and traditional lesson plans. My main focus for this lesson was national holidays and informative texts. Although I am teaching something different in my clinical, this has been a great opportunity to gain feedback from my peers on ways to improve my teaching once I am able to teach in my classroom. As much as I hate watching myself on video (lol) re watching my teaching segment has provided me with the opportunity to spot areas of both strength and improvement. I am excited to teach my traditional lesson whenever the time comes!
Over the past few weeks, I have been in my clinical completing my hours and working on lesson plans for class. I am in a first grade classroom and my CE is absolutely wonderful. She had been more than willing to work with my schedule and allow me to observe any time needed. I am currently in the process of writing my lessons as well as the context for learning and commentaries for EdTPA. It is so exciting to be in the classroom more and getting to know the sweet kids! Relating to the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards, standard 4 relates to teachers planning based on what is appropriate for his/her students. Throughout my clinical, I am trying my best to plan based off the needs of my students with the given information and data from my CE.
Outside Learning
Every week or so I try to research and find different resources to use in my classroom. One neat idea is a "turn it in" folder for students to mark how comfortable they feel with how they completed their work after it is turned in. There is a three tray bin, labeled "I totally understand", "Kinda iffy", and "HELP!". This is a great way for teachers to easily spot who needs help if a student is too embarrassed to express this during class time. This is a way to assess students and reteach if necessary.
Future Classroom Connections
One thing I want to carry into my classroom is the Children's Literature project we conducted in class. Including myself, there will be 13 resources for my peers and I to locate back to once we are student teaching. Each book tied in with a social studies standard strand so we can use them for integrating literacy into our social studies units. Not only will I use these books in my future classroom, but they will become very beneficial to us once we are in our student teaching placements.
Saturday, February 23, 2019
Social Studies Methods - Blog 2
Learning Experiences
As I write this in week eight of the semester, I am overwhelmed with the amount of knowledge I have soaked in! We have covered so many things in the last month such as learning experiences, performance tasks, flipped classroom requirements, and so much more. As we continue through the semester, I feel as if I am becoming more and more prepared to have a successful plan for my future social studies classroom.
First, I will talk about the unit plan project, consisting of our performance tasks and learning experiences. At the first of the semester, this project was terrifying to me. I didn't know where to start, nor how to create an entire unit from scratch. After picking my standards, it was nice to brainstorm and come up with ideas on a "final assessment" that would be engaging for my students. After I finalized my performance task, it was time to move on to learning experiences. These are smaller chunks of materials that students will need to learn and be proficient in to complete their performance task. This is a little trickier, but thinking deeper and knowing what concepts students will need to know to be successful is key in making strong learning experiences.
Another thing I will mention is the Flipped Classroom certification everyone in the class received, and the lesson plan we are currently creating. The Flipped Classroom consists of students watching a video of the "teacher input" at home, and coming into the classroom the next day with knowledge to dive deeper into the subject and have more time to complete guided practice, independent practice, and assessment. I am currently writing my flipped lesson plan on a first grade standard relating to the importance of holidays. I am so excited to film my video and present it to our class in the near future.
LAST thing (I promise) - I FINALLY GOT MY PLACEMENT AND MET MY CE!
I am currently placed in first grade at Marion Elementary with Mrs. Simmons. I had my initial meeting with her last week and she is AMAZING! As soon as I walked into her classroom and talked with her I immediately felt comfortable and welcomed. She is very flexible and willing to do anything she can to ensure I have a successful semester. I am so excited to meet her students this Friday to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday! We're going to read Green Eggs and Ham and make some too :)
Outside Learning
Continuing to talk about the Flipped Classroom, I did some digging just to find more information on the topic in general. I came across this website (which I will attach below) that mentioned some of the pros and cons of using the flipped approach in the classroom. Starting with a pro, it gives students the opportunity to learn at their own pace. Some students need to hear something more than one time in order to retain it. Providing a video at home will allow the student to re-watch and hopefully understand the information better rather than hearing it once or twice from the teacher in the classroom. One con of this tactic would be the time shift between on screen learning and traditional learning. Most students are digital natives, so the flipped classroom approach would be very beneficial to them. On the other hand, students who are digital immigrants may be hesitant to this and want 100% of their learning to take place in the classroom. This is when a teacher has to find that perfect medium to support his/her students. Relating to the NCPTS, standard 4, teachers facilitate learning for their students. Implementing technology in the classroom maximizes student learning, and teachers should know when to use it to benefit their students. For some classrooms the flipped approach may be successful, and for some it may not. Facilitating learning for students is key, and planning instruction that is appropriate will ensure a successful classroom.
Link to pros/cons website on the flipped classroom ----> :) https://teachthought.com/learning/10-pros-cons-flipped-classroom/
Future Classroom Connections
There are so many things I have learned in the past month that will be implemented in my future classroom. Creating performance tasks and learning assessments will be most beneficial. It is so important to make sure students have all the resources to be successful in order to be properly assessed. Giving feedback throughout the learning assessments is KEY to having every student demonstrate their overall knowledge during the performance task.
As I write this in week eight of the semester, I am overwhelmed with the amount of knowledge I have soaked in! We have covered so many things in the last month such as learning experiences, performance tasks, flipped classroom requirements, and so much more. As we continue through the semester, I feel as if I am becoming more and more prepared to have a successful plan for my future social studies classroom.
First, I will talk about the unit plan project, consisting of our performance tasks and learning experiences. At the first of the semester, this project was terrifying to me. I didn't know where to start, nor how to create an entire unit from scratch. After picking my standards, it was nice to brainstorm and come up with ideas on a "final assessment" that would be engaging for my students. After I finalized my performance task, it was time to move on to learning experiences. These are smaller chunks of materials that students will need to learn and be proficient in to complete their performance task. This is a little trickier, but thinking deeper and knowing what concepts students will need to know to be successful is key in making strong learning experiences.
Another thing I will mention is the Flipped Classroom certification everyone in the class received, and the lesson plan we are currently creating. The Flipped Classroom consists of students watching a video of the "teacher input" at home, and coming into the classroom the next day with knowledge to dive deeper into the subject and have more time to complete guided practice, independent practice, and assessment. I am currently writing my flipped lesson plan on a first grade standard relating to the importance of holidays. I am so excited to film my video and present it to our class in the near future.
LAST thing (I promise) - I FINALLY GOT MY PLACEMENT AND MET MY CE!
I am currently placed in first grade at Marion Elementary with Mrs. Simmons. I had my initial meeting with her last week and she is AMAZING! As soon as I walked into her classroom and talked with her I immediately felt comfortable and welcomed. She is very flexible and willing to do anything she can to ensure I have a successful semester. I am so excited to meet her students this Friday to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday! We're going to read Green Eggs and Ham and make some too :)
Outside Learning
Continuing to talk about the Flipped Classroom, I did some digging just to find more information on the topic in general. I came across this website (which I will attach below) that mentioned some of the pros and cons of using the flipped approach in the classroom. Starting with a pro, it gives students the opportunity to learn at their own pace. Some students need to hear something more than one time in order to retain it. Providing a video at home will allow the student to re-watch and hopefully understand the information better rather than hearing it once or twice from the teacher in the classroom. One con of this tactic would be the time shift between on screen learning and traditional learning. Most students are digital natives, so the flipped classroom approach would be very beneficial to them. On the other hand, students who are digital immigrants may be hesitant to this and want 100% of their learning to take place in the classroom. This is when a teacher has to find that perfect medium to support his/her students. Relating to the NCPTS, standard 4, teachers facilitate learning for their students. Implementing technology in the classroom maximizes student learning, and teachers should know when to use it to benefit their students. For some classrooms the flipped approach may be successful, and for some it may not. Facilitating learning for students is key, and planning instruction that is appropriate will ensure a successful classroom.
Link to pros/cons website on the flipped classroom ----> :) https://teachthought.com/learning/10-pros-cons-flipped-classroom/
Future Classroom Connections
There are so many things I have learned in the past month that will be implemented in my future classroom. Creating performance tasks and learning assessments will be most beneficial. It is so important to make sure students have all the resources to be successful in order to be properly assessed. Giving feedback throughout the learning assessments is KEY to having every student demonstrate their overall knowledge during the performance task.
Thursday, January 31, 2019
Social Studies Methods - Blog 1
Blog #1
Learning Experiences
I have learned so much in the first month of classes, and it's so exciting to know that this time next year I will be incorporating these tools in my student teaching classroom! We started the semester off talking about concepts and topics, then transferred into generalizations and guiding questions. This is something SO beneficial to students at any grade level. Having good generalizations that hook your students is key to having a solid unit. As we built through our unit in class, I see how each portion is a building block on the central focus of the lesson. I'm very anxious to get my placement back and implement this during my clinicals!
Another learning experience that was very rewarding to complete was the Wisdom From Experience project. I completed my interviews with second and fourth grade teachers from Cleveland County Schools. I asked each teacher questions about integrating social studies in the classroom, tools for keeping students, engaged, and ways to make the standards relevant to student learning. Each teacher provided me with many resources and tools to use when I am student teaching and then becoming a first-year teacher. Relating to the NCPTS, standard three focuses on teachers knowing the content they teach. Both of my teachers emphasized the importance of making social studies relevant to students so they will connect with it more. One recourse my fourth-grade teacher uses is called Scholastic Reading; students read an article related to news events happening in the world and answer questions and listen to podcasts on the topic. Mrs. Galloway said her students work very well with the program and assessment showed. The technology used in the classroom relates to standard 4, that teachers integrate and utilize technology for instruction.
Outside Learning
Continuing to talk about the Wisdom from Experience project, both teachers agreed that there is not an ample amount of time for social studies instruction to happen in the classroom. I did some research on some of the programs that my teachers use for integrating the curriculum into the Language Arts standards. Scholastic Learning and North Carolina Social Studies Weekly are both great programs that combine social studies into language arts articles that keep students interested and informed on world events. I also found this really cool website that lists out ideas for incorporating social studies into language arts classroom. Methods such as read aloud, calendar tracking, and discussing current events were just a few great tools. I will attach the link below. :)
https://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/social-studies-in-literacy-routines/
Future Classroom Connections
There are so many things I've learned in the past month that I will 100% use in my future classroom. Creating units utilizing concepts, generalizations, and guiding questions will grasp my student's attention. This ensures students are not just memorizing facts, but actually retaining and learning the information. Sadly, when I was in elementary school, I do not remember learning a lot about social studies. I want to change that when I have my future class and integrate social studies into any subject I can.
Learning Experiences
I have learned so much in the first month of classes, and it's so exciting to know that this time next year I will be incorporating these tools in my student teaching classroom! We started the semester off talking about concepts and topics, then transferred into generalizations and guiding questions. This is something SO beneficial to students at any grade level. Having good generalizations that hook your students is key to having a solid unit. As we built through our unit in class, I see how each portion is a building block on the central focus of the lesson. I'm very anxious to get my placement back and implement this during my clinicals!
Another learning experience that was very rewarding to complete was the Wisdom From Experience project. I completed my interviews with second and fourth grade teachers from Cleveland County Schools. I asked each teacher questions about integrating social studies in the classroom, tools for keeping students, engaged, and ways to make the standards relevant to student learning. Each teacher provided me with many resources and tools to use when I am student teaching and then becoming a first-year teacher. Relating to the NCPTS, standard three focuses on teachers knowing the content they teach. Both of my teachers emphasized the importance of making social studies relevant to students so they will connect with it more. One recourse my fourth-grade teacher uses is called Scholastic Reading; students read an article related to news events happening in the world and answer questions and listen to podcasts on the topic. Mrs. Galloway said her students work very well with the program and assessment showed. The technology used in the classroom relates to standard 4, that teachers integrate and utilize technology for instruction.
Outside Learning
Continuing to talk about the Wisdom from Experience project, both teachers agreed that there is not an ample amount of time for social studies instruction to happen in the classroom. I did some research on some of the programs that my teachers use for integrating the curriculum into the Language Arts standards. Scholastic Learning and North Carolina Social Studies Weekly are both great programs that combine social studies into language arts articles that keep students interested and informed on world events. I also found this really cool website that lists out ideas for incorporating social studies into language arts classroom. Methods such as read aloud, calendar tracking, and discussing current events were just a few great tools. I will attach the link below. :)
https://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/social-studies-in-literacy-routines/
Future Classroom Connections
There are so many things I've learned in the past month that I will 100% use in my future classroom. Creating units utilizing concepts, generalizations, and guiding questions will grasp my student's attention. This ensures students are not just memorizing facts, but actually retaining and learning the information. Sadly, when I was in elementary school, I do not remember learning a lot about social studies. I want to change that when I have my future class and integrate social studies into any subject I can.
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