Today I spent most of the day in the art classroom finishing up the paper ornament projects the kids had done (putting hooks in them, writing their names on the back, hot gluing one gingerbread-man whose leg broke off....etc). I took a break from that to go watch a little in-class play the kids in my third grade class put on. More-so just a reading, but some of the kids really got into it and used a lot of expression! Very fun to watch. Then I headed back to the art room to finish up and help set up for the next project.
In art the students are making heritage quilt looking projects out of felt.... I'm not sure how to describe them but they basically glue on a bunch of triangles to create a pretty pattern of different colors, each representing their country. Very cool project. Went pretty smoothly... a little confusion at first, but everyone picked up on what they were supposed to be doing very quickly after a second brief explanation. The colored felt was all ready in baggies and on another table all laid out, cut up into small squares, which they then had to cut in half into triangles. I do wish the colors could correspond with the flags of the countries better, though I'm assuming that would create a problem since so many flags share the same colors. The end results were very successful since it was a fairly simple project using minimal materials. And the kids were excited to see what color combination they would be creating.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Paper Ornament Making Week....
Oh man, what fun! Though I felt 100x more comfortable just kind of co-teaching than trying to completely teach on my own, I still feel like it was a great experience....
I went to my placement three times this week....
Day 1: Just went to help out with the paper making lesson. The basic steps: blend paper, pour into cookie cutter mold, pat dry, transfer onto non-stick material, decorate. The students had two choices: a tree or a gingerbread man. It went great. My mentor teacher ran most of it, but I explained parts of the process and then helped all the kids on each station. The kids loved it. There was only one little girl who absolutely would not touch the blended paper.... But that was ok because we just had her watch that step and then do all the other steps. Also one boy kept asking if it was candy, which I thought was funny. Then he asked if they would get candy when they got the project back... THEN he asked if one of the statues of a gingerbread man that we had as an example was candy... haha he was adorable. Anyway, everyone was very well behaved. They put a little too much paint on during the decorating process, so we made sure to note that. Also we went about ten minutes overtime, so we also noted that as well.
Day 2: Started out in the regular classroom, just observing mostly. Helped one student with his speech words, just checking off 100 words as he said/recognized them correctly. Then it was off to art. I was really nervous about teaching, so I asked my mentor teacher to introduce the lesson. I then took over demonstrating the lesson to the students, with Anne my helper =) The lesson went ok. I did feel a little overwhelmed trying to keep an eye on all the kids, and I am glad my mentor teacher and Anne were there to get involved with the lesson as well, though I feel after doing the lesson a few times I would get a routine down for sure. I think I let nerves get the best of me, but overall the kids seemed to be having fun and that's really all the matters in the end. I was impressed by how well the students worked in pairs, especially one student paired with another student using a wheelchair. He was so helpful and wonderful with how he worked with and treated her. All the partners pretty much worked fine without any problems. One kid said the blended brown paper looked like hamburger meat, which I thought was funny. They were grossed out by the blended paper at first, but most of them loved getting to touch the mushy paper. Very fun to watch. We went overtime again by about the same amount, which was a problem....
Day 3: Sorry I had to skip out of class early, but I was happy to be able to help out with the last of the third grade classes. Being the third time doing this project, I felt a lot more comfortable. I felt like my mentor teacher and I worked really well together this time around and let the kids do more on their own without telling them the steps as each group came up over and over again. I kept an eye on the first few stations; my mentor teacher called people to go up and managed the decorating station. We ended up finishing about 2 minutes overtime, with the exception of one girl who stayed about 5 minutes extra to put some finishing touches on her project. It was interesting to feel the change within myself from so nervous to much more calm this last time around. It definitely gave me a boost of hope that I will be able to one day be a confident teacher.
I think for me it was just about getting my feet wet with teaching. That's just how I get comfortable with things. I feel confident that by the time I complete my student teaching in my senior year I will feel a lot more comfortable and ready to begin my teaching career.
I went to my placement three times this week....
Day 1: Just went to help out with the paper making lesson. The basic steps: blend paper, pour into cookie cutter mold, pat dry, transfer onto non-stick material, decorate. The students had two choices: a tree or a gingerbread man. It went great. My mentor teacher ran most of it, but I explained parts of the process and then helped all the kids on each station. The kids loved it. There was only one little girl who absolutely would not touch the blended paper.... But that was ok because we just had her watch that step and then do all the other steps. Also one boy kept asking if it was candy, which I thought was funny. Then he asked if they would get candy when they got the project back... THEN he asked if one of the statues of a gingerbread man that we had as an example was candy... haha he was adorable. Anyway, everyone was very well behaved. They put a little too much paint on during the decorating process, so we made sure to note that. Also we went about ten minutes overtime, so we also noted that as well.
Day 2: Started out in the regular classroom, just observing mostly. Helped one student with his speech words, just checking off 100 words as he said/recognized them correctly. Then it was off to art. I was really nervous about teaching, so I asked my mentor teacher to introduce the lesson. I then took over demonstrating the lesson to the students, with Anne my helper =) The lesson went ok. I did feel a little overwhelmed trying to keep an eye on all the kids, and I am glad my mentor teacher and Anne were there to get involved with the lesson as well, though I feel after doing the lesson a few times I would get a routine down for sure. I think I let nerves get the best of me, but overall the kids seemed to be having fun and that's really all the matters in the end. I was impressed by how well the students worked in pairs, especially one student paired with another student using a wheelchair. He was so helpful and wonderful with how he worked with and treated her. All the partners pretty much worked fine without any problems. One kid said the blended brown paper looked like hamburger meat, which I thought was funny. They were grossed out by the blended paper at first, but most of them loved getting to touch the mushy paper. Very fun to watch. We went overtime again by about the same amount, which was a problem....
Day 3: Sorry I had to skip out of class early, but I was happy to be able to help out with the last of the third grade classes. Being the third time doing this project, I felt a lot more comfortable. I felt like my mentor teacher and I worked really well together this time around and let the kids do more on their own without telling them the steps as each group came up over and over again. I kept an eye on the first few stations; my mentor teacher called people to go up and managed the decorating station. We ended up finishing about 2 minutes overtime, with the exception of one girl who stayed about 5 minutes extra to put some finishing touches on her project. It was interesting to feel the change within myself from so nervous to much more calm this last time around. It definitely gave me a boost of hope that I will be able to one day be a confident teacher.
I think for me it was just about getting my feet wet with teaching. That's just how I get comfortable with things. I feel confident that by the time I complete my student teaching in my senior year I will feel a lot more comfortable and ready to begin my teaching career.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Visit 6
Monday when I visited my placement I had a few interesting experiences....
After the third grade class finished up a couple chapters of the pirate book they are reading, they began working on their compass roses for their treasure maps. I was pretty impressed with some of the designs they created. Then the students headed down to the gym for a Veteran's Day assembly.
The assembly was really nice, especially considering I don't remember my grammar school ever doing anything like that. The whole school gathered in the gym and the principal gave a brief introduction welcoming everyone. There were members of the community and parents also attending which I thought was great to see support. Up on the wall was a projector running pictures of veterans who were relatives of students and faculty at the school. Then grade by grade the students sang a song they had been practicing in their music class. It was really cute. The sixth grade then did all the songs for each branch of the military, which lined up perfectly with the slides being projected (which were organized by army, marines, navy, etc.) Overall I thought it was great to see how patriotic the school was and all the thought that went into their assembly.
After that, I went down to the art room. There was a little mix up because I thought the art teacher was at the school that morning, but instead she was over at the middle school she also teaches at. So after everything got figured out, I drove over to the middle school to do some observation there. I got to observe two classes, each with less than ten students in each. I found those students to be a little harder to interact with because they really didn't need any help and were pretty focused on what they were doing. But still it was interesting to see how she was teaching them as compared to the third graders I typically observe and help out with.
After the third grade class finished up a couple chapters of the pirate book they are reading, they began working on their compass roses for their treasure maps. I was pretty impressed with some of the designs they created. Then the students headed down to the gym for a Veteran's Day assembly.
The assembly was really nice, especially considering I don't remember my grammar school ever doing anything like that. The whole school gathered in the gym and the principal gave a brief introduction welcoming everyone. There were members of the community and parents also attending which I thought was great to see support. Up on the wall was a projector running pictures of veterans who were relatives of students and faculty at the school. Then grade by grade the students sang a song they had been practicing in their music class. It was really cute. The sixth grade then did all the songs for each branch of the military, which lined up perfectly with the slides being projected (which were organized by army, marines, navy, etc.) Overall I thought it was great to see how patriotic the school was and all the thought that went into their assembly.
After that, I went down to the art room. There was a little mix up because I thought the art teacher was at the school that morning, but instead she was over at the middle school she also teaches at. So after everything got figured out, I drove over to the middle school to do some observation there. I got to observe two classes, each with less than ten students in each. I found those students to be a little harder to interact with because they really didn't need any help and were pretty focused on what they were doing. But still it was interesting to see how she was teaching them as compared to the third graders I typically observe and help out with.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Literacy 2
Multi-modal learning involves using techniques that appeal to different types of learners and using different media to do so. According to an article by Laila Weir, the multi-modal approach is good, as long as the teacher doesn't try to use too many different things at the same time. Then it can become overwhelming for the learner. Students can only process one thing at a time, one sense at a time. Also interactive lessons should not be used for the more basic material, and should instead be saved to help students understand more complex material.
Print-based techniques focus more on traditional approaches such as textbooks to teach lessons. There is less visual stimulation and more focus on discipline, being able to focus, and a more rigidly structured style.
Though i could not find much information on the web about these two viewpoints, from what I gathered, I would say multi-modal is a better approach. I think it would allow different types of learners to succeed and also foster a deeper understanding of the subject matter presented. This is beuase I strongly believe the more angles a lesson is taught from, the more you can understand the material. Plus, our society is becoming completely submerged in the latest technology this and that, and therefore those advances should and can be used to benefit the students' learning environment.
________________________
Weir, Laila. May 9, 2008. "Research Review: Multimodal Learning through Media." Edutopia: What Works in Public Education. The George Lucas Educational Foundation.
http://www.edutopia.org/multimodal-learning-teaching-methods-media
This website gave a discussion on multimodal learning and also reviewed a report put out by a networking and communications company called Cisco Systems. Overall the source is mostly opinion, but also references some statistics about the effectiveness of interactive learning techniques. The author is an editor and writer who has had work published around the world, but it doesn't give any indication of her knowledge or background in educational matters.
Print-based techniques focus more on traditional approaches such as textbooks to teach lessons. There is less visual stimulation and more focus on discipline, being able to focus, and a more rigidly structured style.
Though i could not find much information on the web about these two viewpoints, from what I gathered, I would say multi-modal is a better approach. I think it would allow different types of learners to succeed and also foster a deeper understanding of the subject matter presented. This is beuase I strongly believe the more angles a lesson is taught from, the more you can understand the material. Plus, our society is becoming completely submerged in the latest technology this and that, and therefore those advances should and can be used to benefit the students' learning environment.
________________________
Weir, Laila. May 9, 2008. "Research Review: Multimodal Learning through Media." Edutopia: What Works in Public Education. The George Lucas Educational Foundation.
http://www.edutopia.org/multimodal-learning-teaching-methods-media
This website gave a discussion on multimodal learning and also reviewed a report put out by a networking and communications company called Cisco Systems. Overall the source is mostly opinion, but also references some statistics about the effectiveness of interactive learning techniques. The author is an editor and writer who has had work published around the world, but it doesn't give any indication of her knowledge or background in educational matters.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Visit 5
Today I arrived at my placement, and soon our class was back to reading their pirate book. Once again we broke into groups, this time different groups than last week. I like this because it gives students a chance to work with different peers. Also, once again I'd like to add how much I like the breaking up into smaller groups to read out loud idea. I really think it takes the pressure of reading in front of the WHOLE class away. My mentor teacher has great visual props that go along with the book as well, like a big pirate flag, treasure chest, and some illustrations of the story. I love that because it gets the students more excited about continuing with the story and I'm sure helps the visual learners imagine the story better.
They then began working on creating a treasure map, the first step writing out directions of how to get to the treasure. It was great to see the imaginations these children have. They incorporated geography terms into their islands as well which I thought was great. Also, it presented an opportunity to teach how to spell some new words. And the students don't even realize how much they are learning because they are so focused on creating the coolest directions of how to find treasure on their islands. A lot of fun.
In art class they continued working on their rock art/cave painting/Native American drawings and finished them up. One girl who was having a lot of trouble last week ended up having one of the best drawings/paintings out of the whole class. I loved seeing how happy she was with her work after almost being to the point of tears last week. I walked around and talked with the students about their drawings and why they chose the animal they did (because it was supposed to represent who they are). Overall another very fun project.
They then began working on creating a treasure map, the first step writing out directions of how to get to the treasure. It was great to see the imaginations these children have. They incorporated geography terms into their islands as well which I thought was great. Also, it presented an opportunity to teach how to spell some new words. And the students don't even realize how much they are learning because they are so focused on creating the coolest directions of how to find treasure on their islands. A lot of fun.
In art class they continued working on their rock art/cave painting/Native American drawings and finished them up. One girl who was having a lot of trouble last week ended up having one of the best drawings/paintings out of the whole class. I loved seeing how happy she was with her work after almost being to the point of tears last week. I walked around and talked with the students about their drawings and why they chose the animal they did (because it was supposed to represent who they are). Overall another very fun project.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Literacy 1
Traditional phonics based learning stems from a behaviorism approach to learning, often associated with B.F. Skinner's work. The basic idea is that students learn how to break down and sound out words in order to learn how to read. The pros of phonics include better spelling, pronunciation, and recognition (as some studies have even shown), as well as providing a concrete method for students to use any time they encounter a complex, difficult word. Once a child learns the basics and how to put words together, they can virtually read just about anything. Cons, however, include some children having difficulty understanding the meaning behind what they are reading. What good is it if they can read but cannot understand? Also, consider that almost half the words in the English language are not pronounced how they would be if strictly using phonetic rules.
A more constructivism based approach, based on the ideas of Lev Vygotsky, points toward whole language literacy learning as the way to go. This method emphasizes meaning rather than correct spelling or pronunciation. Students learn words by connecting them to previous knowledge, other words they already know, and to their own personal lives and backgrounds. Some pros to this method include better understanding of language, and a more meaningful approach to learning to read. The cons include a lack of structure (more so dependent upon the teacher), and a decline in accuracy when reading and spelling.
Overall, I believe the best way to teach is to use a bit of both theories. There really is no black or white in the education world. Students learn in an infinitely diverse number of ways, and therefore it is important not to get stuck on one specific method of instruction. As mentioned in the second article I read, visual learners may do better with the whole language approach, where as auditory learners may feel more comfortable with phonics. I think this is a very valid point, illustrating the importance of combining both methods. Personally, I think the best method would be to use phonics in the very first steps of learning to read, and then slowly integrate whole language concepts.
___________________________
Reyhner, Jon. 2008, December 13. "Phonics Versus Whole Language." The Reading Wars. Northern Arizona University. Retrieved 26, 2009.This website provides background information on the controversy over phonics based and whole language literacy. It includes references to studies that have been done and many other references on the topic. The information seems to be unbiased and gives the pros and cons of each viewpoint. Also, it was written in 2008, so the material should be more current than most other websites.
_____________________
Curtis, Jenny. 1997. "Phonics vs. Whole Language: Which is better?" SuperKids. Knowledge Share LLC. Retrieved October 26, 2009.
This website provides a brief overview of the two arguments. Very easy, understandable, and quick read that gives a good understanding of both points of view. The website, however, is outdated and does not provide any references fro the information presented on the page.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Visit 4
Today I had a wonderful experience at my placement. It was my first day with the teacher I will now be observing during the mornings. Some of the highlights of the morning were....
- The students have about a half hour of playtime before the school day starts. I think this is a good way to allow the students to interact with eachother and get comfortable before the work part of the day begins. It gets the non-morning kids active and awake, and gives the high-energy kids a release. It also allows the teacher to get things ready for the start of the first lesson.
-A helper for the day was chosen to lead the class when walking through the hallways and such. The student was chosen at random, and every child would have a day before repeating any kids. I think it was very fairly done and the students seemed really excited about it.
-Reading Treasure Island with the students was fun. The teacher only called on students who volunteer to read, so students who have trouble reading do not feel embarrassed in front of the whole class. He made it entertaining for the children by bringing props to illustrate the story. Every once in a while he would break out the pirate voice which was great... even sang a pirate song or two which really got the kids involved. They then broke up into two smaller groups where everyone in the group took turns reading. There were a couple children who left during reading. I am assuming they are part of the special education program.
-Fire safety day... the students went to a short presentation on fire safety given by the local fire department. During the presentation I went down to the computer lab to see the finished results of the child labor presentation they had been putting together. They did an AMAZING job. Then I returned to my class and followed them outside to see the trucks. The kids loved it... and luckily we got done just before it started raining again!
Art was shortened for the day, so they just put some finishing details on their projects. Overall a very good day at my placement.
- The students have about a half hour of playtime before the school day starts. I think this is a good way to allow the students to interact with eachother and get comfortable before the work part of the day begins. It gets the non-morning kids active and awake, and gives the high-energy kids a release. It also allows the teacher to get things ready for the start of the first lesson.
-A helper for the day was chosen to lead the class when walking through the hallways and such. The student was chosen at random, and every child would have a day before repeating any kids. I think it was very fairly done and the students seemed really excited about it.
-Reading Treasure Island with the students was fun. The teacher only called on students who volunteer to read, so students who have trouble reading do not feel embarrassed in front of the whole class. He made it entertaining for the children by bringing props to illustrate the story. Every once in a while he would break out the pirate voice which was great... even sang a pirate song or two which really got the kids involved. They then broke up into two smaller groups where everyone in the group took turns reading. There were a couple children who left during reading. I am assuming they are part of the special education program.
-Fire safety day... the students went to a short presentation on fire safety given by the local fire department. During the presentation I went down to the computer lab to see the finished results of the child labor presentation they had been putting together. They did an AMAZING job. Then I returned to my class and followed them outside to see the trucks. The kids loved it... and luckily we got done just before it started raining again!
Art was shortened for the day, so they just put some finishing details on their projects. Overall a very good day at my placement.
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