Friday, May 27, 2016

Week 3 Discussion

I run discussions over two week periods. In the first week, your sole task is to respond to the prompt below. That is, create a post on your own blog with a post that addresses the items in the prompt. In the second week, I will place you into groups, give you some followup guidance, and you will continue your discussion by commenting on each other's posts. So, here we go!

Prompt:


To help you prepare for your final project, I want you to start looking for web-based resources that you could use in your lesson.  Talk a little bit about your idea for your final project.  For each resource, you'll need to list the following:
  • Name/Title of the resource: Applying Question-Answer Relationships to Pictures
  • URL: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/applying-question-answer-relationships-370.html?tab=2#tabs
  • How you found it: Readwritethink.org and then limited my search to 3rd grade language arts. After searching 2 pages of lesson plans I found it.
  • How you might use it in your final project: It would be a good warm up activity to get students thinking and putting reason to their opinions about the pictures.
  • What standards does the resource address:

    RL.3.1. Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

    RI.3.7. Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).

    W.3.1. Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.

    W.3.1(a) Introduce the topic or text they are writing about, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure that lists reasons.

    W.3.1(b) Provide reasons that support the opinion.

    W.3.1(c) Use linking words and phrases (e.g., because, therefore, since, for example) to connect opinion and reasons.

  • Name/Title of the resource: S'more Opinion Writing
  • How you found it: Snips, Snails, and Teacher Tales for Educators (Pinterest board that I follow)
  • URL:https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Opinion-Writing-A-Common-Core-Unit-of-Study-2nd-and-3rd-Grade-546578
  • How you might use it in your final project: With a s'mores visual it breaks the paragraphs of the writing into different sections. Two of the sections being opinion and reasons. The reasons section comes with a poster of words to use to link the opinion to the reason, just for extra help to make sure the students are backing up their opinions. This would be a great starter activity for the final lesson.
  • What standards does the resource address:
W.3.1. Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.

W.3.1(a) Introduce the topic or text they are writing about, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure that lists reasons.
W.3.1(b) Provide reasons that support the opinion.

W.3.1(c) Use linking words and phrases (e.g., because, therefore, since, for example) to connect opinion and reasons.

  • Name/Title of the resource: The Underground Railroad: Escape From Slavery
  • How you found it: I googled 3rd grade writing lesson plans just to start somewhere, then I found a scholastic link. I like scholastic I have found some pretty good lessons there and this one sounds pretty great.
  • URL:http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/teacher-activity-guide-underground-railroad
  • How you might use it in your final project: Incorporating history into the writing I think is a great task. Killing two birds with one stone. I could use this in my final lesson to teach students to put reasons to their opinions from a time period of the past. There are many great resources that come along with this activity, the students would have plenty of reasons and opinions.
  • What standards does the resource address:
RL.3.1. Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

RI.3.7. Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).

W.3.1. Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.

W.3.1(a) Introduce the topic or text they are writing about, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure that lists reasons.

W.3.1(b) Provide reasons that support the opinion.

W.3.1(c) Use linking words and phrases (e.g., because, therefore, since, for example) to connect opinion and reasons.

Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world.

Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.

Students use a variety of technological and informational resources (libraries, databases, computer
networks) to gather and synthesize information in order to create and communicate knowledge.

Students use spoken, written, and visual language for learning, persuasion, and exchange of information.

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Educational Myths

The educational myth that was most surprising to me was the "I remember 10% of what I read". I have heard this so many times in so many different classes I didn't think to question it. I assumed the numbers were just estimations but "the experts" just put it in a graph to make things easier for people to understand. The engagement myth I already dismissed. I don't know why adults think children are so different from us. We aren't engaged in a lot of the things we do, even if we are "having fun" or "acting" as if we are engaged, why would we expect children to be any different. We expect so much out of kids these days, that it isn't surprising they have figured out how to pretend to be engaged when they have actually "checked out". I have seen it in my placement, some students will be "having fun" yet still have no idea really what is going on. Engagement is a really big key for a lot of professors. I know on some lessons plans that I have had to make there have been places that call for, "ways to keep students engaged", meaning how are you going to get them from getting distracted. How will you keep them moving, will you use technology to help with the engagement, will technology be your hook to get them started off engaged? In the future, I think to deal with educational myths, you have to sincere when you disagree with someone, but overall there isn't one right way to teach, and I would bring that up if someone was forcing me to change lessons. I would say thank you for the information, I would take it into consideration, and do some research but, everyone has all kinds of ideas in the education world, not all of them are right for everyone but if they work for you, then I say do what works for you, but I am going to try and do the best I can do for my students.

Friday, May 13, 2016

Classroom Use

Never having used a blog before, I think they could be extremely useful in the classroom. Not only can you use blogs to give information to students but also to parents. It is a great tool to keep everyone informed of what is happening and what the students are learning in the classroom. It can be used for teachers to post instructional videos, that way if students are struggling with a topic, when they are doing homework they can have a video showing how to do it again. Using blogs could be a great way to get students using the computer to do book suggestions, where if you have a book that you really loved, you can post on the blog about why the other students should read it. Another way students could use it, is as a sort of peer review. If the students are working on a writing assignment they can consult with each other and make comments on each others work, so you can have more class time for other parts of writing, and all students can make suggestions, not just the ones that the document have been shared with.

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Learner Analysis

Shawn Hunter
He is not one to excel in school, due to lack of effort. Shawn has been in five different schools before the age of 12. He does not engage in school, definitely a distraction to Cory and other students. Shawn's socioeconomic status is definitely lower class. His family lives in the trailer park and his father has never held a real job before. Shawn is a ladies man, outside of girls his main interest is, Cory, his best friend. If Shawn was in my classroom I would try and use group work. For this strategy I would try and pair Shawn with other students, rather than Cory, to see if he could do work, or if Cory could get work done. Shawn is social maybe having group work where you can talk through problems would help him a lot. A technology I think I could use is a site where I can monitor what he has done on an assignment and when he has worked on an assignment. Another one I think would be good is a sort of iPad or other computer source that can help break new assignments apart so he can one part at a time and not feel so overwhelmed with one or two huge assignments. At this stage no Shawn is not college ready, he doesn't have study skills, and he doesn't take responsibility for his school work.  


About Me

Hello, I'm Megan Nicks. I am an English, Language Arts major for elementary education. I love kids which helped me make the decision for elementary age. I love to read, I am currently working on some classics (The Great Gatsby, Jane Eyre, The Iliad and The Odyssey, and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland). I have a seven week old niece, I try to spend as much time with her as I can, when I am not working. I am a waitress for a restaurant in South Haven. Living very close to South Haven, I love to spend days on the beach and watch the sunsets. I have started to get into gardening and have started a flower garden and hope to grow vegetables in the near future.
Technology has mostly been used as a practice tool in the classrooms I have been in. My teaching assisting classroom had seven iPads and they would be used for math and reading practice during daily three and five. There was a doc camera and that was used for showing the students new activities, as well as, show books that were read to them either in person or from YouTube. I have used a day planning template that my teachers had already been using and they just added me into the document.
I really enjoy doing word searches. I don't do them as much as I used to, but I used to be able to do them in less than 10 minutes!