Blog 10

BEST:

• Saw/helped students excell in Algebraic Reasoning
• Students love me even when I've taken table points and compliment points away from them, sssssshhhhhheeeeedddddd them over and over, gotten after them, sent a few to the office, ect... They are just awesome and I can't wait to get my own class and have my own students!!! They are just the best ever!
• Prep time
• Meeting with all 3rd grade teachers and planning/listening to them and how they do things.
• My cooperating teacher! She's just the best thing ever. I have learned so much from being in her class and helping her and having her help me! I'm not nervous around her, she makes me feel very comfortable and I just love it!
• Lunch time, the students just love me and want me to eat lunch with them every day and they finally made me right down that I would eat lunch with them tomorrow :) They said that that was my homework. lol
• Just love Heber Valley Elementary and the teachers and principal there. They are all very nice and helpful and always check to see how I'm doing.
• I haven't been very tired this time in field so that's good... I think it's because my new boyfriend, well of 6 months, has been helping my with cleaning, cooking, and playing with my son so that I can get some stuff done. I also have been talking some B12 vitamin powder that I got from Real Foods Market and it seems to help me get through the day a lot better!

WORST:

• Trying to find time to work on my homework. Planning lesson plans and everything is so time consuming that I have procrastinated doing my own homework and I've been stressed so bad because of that!
• Not being able to go to the bathroom whenever I need to
• Trying to teach all that I need to teach in the time I need to teach it in...
• Getting all of the tests and things done...
• Having to send a student to the office on the first and second day I was there... I really didn't want to have to send him to the office but he REALLY did inappropriate things and needed to go to the office...
• But overall there have been way more good things than bad! :)

I hope you are doin A OK :) Can't wait to be in class, I just look forward to your class every Tuesday because it's so much fun and I also learn so it's a double win! :) Hope you are having a great break and see you in a few weeks!!

Blog 9

I have already used a differentiation strategy in feild. I have been teaching students about Authors purpose which also incompasses comprehension. I passed out a graphic organizer and had the students fill it out as we read a story as a class. I grouped students together, a higher level student and a lower level student, so that they could help each other. It worked really well because nobody felt like they were being paired up because they couldn't do it on their own or anything. I think it's because the teacher has them working together a lot and so the class is pretty close and just loves to help each other when in need.

I'll also be teaching a unit on Native Americans and I plan to use the Menu Idea after I teach the unit so that I can see what the students have learned. I'm not sure I'll go into the extent of giving each one a price or point value but I am excited to give each student the menu and have them present about the native american tribe of their choice according to the menu- main dish, two side dishes, and an optional dessert.

Blog 8

I would probably use the Menus. I just loved how fun they are and how fun you could make them. Although Brianna and Blanca are more creative than me but o well :). I just loved the idea that you could make up a menu and have the students choose one main dish and then two side dishes and then if they wanted to they could choose a dessert. All of the students are presenting about the same thing they've learned just in a different way. I also loved that they could choose what/how they wanted to present the topic that they learned about in class. I think that it would be fun to maybe use it as a real menu and have prices for each thing or points and then the students would have to spend so much or have so many points. Of course the amount would vary per student because some students, the higher level students, would need to be challenged a bit more and you wouldn't want them choosing easy ones just because they can. You could do this secretly or find some fun way to give everyone their point/money value. So anyways I would love to use the menu idea for sure. There were a few more that I would love to use but I chose this one because it would be the one that I would love to try first.

Blog 7

everyone skipped this post

Blog 6

I looked at Brittanys blog... She wrote about the Brown Bag activity. I loved the fact that she said that everyone is interested in the unknown or the mystery of things. It's also very true that if you can get students engaged from the get go that they'll stay interested for other activities. It was very appropriate for students of all levels because they are just reaching into a bag to learn a little bit more about someone. This way students don't feel left out at all....

Blog #5

I really love many of these ideas and I think that you could use many of them in differentiating the Hero Unit.

I was torn between the Brown Bag Seminar and R.A.F.T. Strategy but I decided that I really liked the R.A.F.T. Strategy for the Hero Unit.

I like it because as a class you could have or write a list for who you wanted for the ROLE, who or what you would want for the AUDIANCE, ways you could present it for FORMAT, and the TOPIC could be an issue that the hero of the students coice was dealing with.

I like having the students have an input into the R.A.F.T. because it gives their input and they have choices that can best represent how they can learn. They are also doing the exact same thing just in a little bit different way (they way best for them). The FORMAT really lets the students do things in the way that's best for them.

R.A.F.T Strategy is a great way to differentiate because the students have an input and choice in how they do it and everyone is doing the same Hero Unit and same strategy but they get to choose the way that's best for them.

I think that students would feel that the work is engaging becuase they aren't just reading about a hero, they get to read about a hero and get to present it using a ROLE, AUDIENCE, FORMAT, and TOPIC that they got to have an input in. They can also be as creative as they want to be with it. It's respectful to everyone because there is no 'one way' of doing it. Yes they have to include certain things, but students can be as creative and choose whatever way they want to present the information they'll be reading and learning about.

I love the R.A.F.T Strategy...

Blog #4

Hallmark # 3: Flexible grouping

Scenario that doesn't adhere: Teacher puts students into groups for projects according to seating...

Scenario that does adhere: Teacher putting students into groups according to needs, readiness, mixed-readiness, students with same or similar learning styles... ect... Every group could be different according to the subject matter that you are putting them into groups for.

Hallmark #6: Individual growth is emphasized as central to classroom success.

Scenario that doesn't adhere: Miss B. gives everyone spelling words for the weekly spelling test. She expects everyone to do the same spelling words and get majority of the words correct on the day of the test.

Scenario that does adhere: Miss B. gives words their way spelling test to see what groups she can put students in and what words they will need to help them improve.

After putting students into groups she assigns specific words each week for the groups to work on. She also gives them time to study as the group and then sends the words home with each individual student to study for the weekly spelling test.

On the day of the test the students are given the tests with the words they were given, there may be three or four different tests, but Miss B. is willing to correct and give all of the tests so that there is individual growth therefore making the classroom as a whole succeed in spelling.

Students will be re-tested with words their way to see if the groups have changed or if they have gotten different/important concepts of spelling down.

B-3- Strategy from pages 78-87: I would like to learn more about the strategy of Helping students realize success is the result of effort. I think that it's very important for students to realize that they aren't failing if they don't get 100% all of the time. That as long as they make the effort to try that they will succeed. They shouldn't compare themselves to their peers in success because everyone is at different levels of learning and I just think that it's very important to try to have students understand that their effort will lead them to their success. Everyone's level of success is different and students need to understand that. We live in a world where we think in order to succeed we have to get everything correct the first time with 100%. We learn that in our homes and even at school with most teachers. Students need to understand that as long as they make an effort to succeed that they will/are succeeding at their own level.