I thought all of my peers did an excellent job during their lessons. Caroline was really patient with us and walked us through a simple activity. Gabby did a great job at maintaining our behavior and showed great confidence while teaching us. I enjoyed the lesson where we cut up strips and tried to find a cause and effect for them because I think it was an activity that could be utilized in different ways for different lessons and it was something that could be tweaked to use on the Smart Board as well.
What I found consistent in a couple of lessons though, was that many students didn't want to go through the actual motions of disciplining a student even though there were moments when "a child" obviously needed to be reprimanded a little more heavily than just having their name written on the board. A great piece of advice of Professor Luongo's was that as teachers, when we make the rules and their consequences clear to the students, we should follow through with them when the rules are broken. Students, especially students who misbehave, need consistency and a reason NOT to misbehave.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Lesson Self-Assessment
I prepared for my lesson by cutting out pictures that I would need and gluing them to construction paper so that they wouldn't be so plain. Also, I read the story beforehand, just to see what it would be like and I felt like the book would be too long for a class of first graders to listen through.
The first objective of the lesson was for the students to gain a little background on different types of birds because many young children, especially children from the city, don't get too much interaction with different types of birds. Next, they had to listen to the story, create their own ducklings (which were so cute), and finally for them to make their own mini-stories to go with their ducklings. The corresponding assessment measures were my personal observations during our class discussion about birds, during the set, (where each student had to come up with a bird feature), and during the story, when I asked them for their predictions and about how they felt. I was also observing while I walked around the room during their individual time working on their ducklings. Additionally, I created an informal rubric to assess their stories and their ducklings.
I tried to go through with my lesson plan exactly as I wrote it, but I know there were a few things I missed in my anxiousness, such as the discussion about fairy tales - which was vital for the unit. The most important thing I tried to teach them was about bullying. I asked them how they felt and their reactions to the poor duckling getting tossed and beaten and they seemed to understand that what was going on was not nice.
Overall, I think the lesson went pretty well. I was expecting all of my peers to act out but they were relatively well-behaved as compared to other days where children were getting out of their seats, crying, throwing papers, etc. I got through most of the material and the class seemed to like making their own ducklings.
I learned that even grown students get impatient when sitting down to listen to a long story.
Looking back, instead of reading the story myself, I would have used the online version, which I later found on Starfall, because the words were condensed and it was simpler to read and understand. I could also have made this lesson even more effective by going more in depth with anti-bullying and maybe tying the set a little closer to the lesson.
I planned to use the SmartBoard, which worked very well for the set at the beginning of the lesson, but again, I could have used it to read the story with Starfall. I think every time we use the SmartBoard it's a good experience because it gets us involved and it gets us to move around, even if it's only to write one word down. The students seemed to enjoy the use of the SmartBoard as they do in every class. I can bet most of us didn't have the privilege of using the Smart Board in our classrooms when we were in grade school, so we enjoy using it for the simplest things. In future lessons the daily do now can always incorporate the use of the Smart Board. Also, Starfall is great for activities throughout the day and movies when appropriate.
Thanks so much to all my fellow students for behaving :)
The first objective of the lesson was for the students to gain a little background on different types of birds because many young children, especially children from the city, don't get too much interaction with different types of birds. Next, they had to listen to the story, create their own ducklings (which were so cute), and finally for them to make their own mini-stories to go with their ducklings. The corresponding assessment measures were my personal observations during our class discussion about birds, during the set, (where each student had to come up with a bird feature), and during the story, when I asked them for their predictions and about how they felt. I was also observing while I walked around the room during their individual time working on their ducklings. Additionally, I created an informal rubric to assess their stories and their ducklings.
I tried to go through with my lesson plan exactly as I wrote it, but I know there were a few things I missed in my anxiousness, such as the discussion about fairy tales - which was vital for the unit. The most important thing I tried to teach them was about bullying. I asked them how they felt and their reactions to the poor duckling getting tossed and beaten and they seemed to understand that what was going on was not nice.
Overall, I think the lesson went pretty well. I was expecting all of my peers to act out but they were relatively well-behaved as compared to other days where children were getting out of their seats, crying, throwing papers, etc. I got through most of the material and the class seemed to like making their own ducklings.
I learned that even grown students get impatient when sitting down to listen to a long story.
Looking back, instead of reading the story myself, I would have used the online version, which I later found on Starfall, because the words were condensed and it was simpler to read and understand. I could also have made this lesson even more effective by going more in depth with anti-bullying and maybe tying the set a little closer to the lesson.
I planned to use the SmartBoard, which worked very well for the set at the beginning of the lesson, but again, I could have used it to read the story with Starfall. I think every time we use the SmartBoard it's a good experience because it gets us involved and it gets us to move around, even if it's only to write one word down. The students seemed to enjoy the use of the SmartBoard as they do in every class. I can bet most of us didn't have the privilege of using the Smart Board in our classrooms when we were in grade school, so we enjoy using it for the simplest things. In future lessons the daily do now can always incorporate the use of the Smart Board. Also, Starfall is great for activities throughout the day and movies when appropriate.
Thanks so much to all my fellow students for behaving :)
Monday, October 10, 2011
SPC Library Visit
During our class library visit on Friday, we learned a couple of different things about the various resources available to us as Saint Peter's students. We learned about ERIC, which is the largest education database and is sponsored by the Education Department. This database could be a valuable tool for us as future educators because we will always need reliable resources to go to. We can use the database when planning lessons, researching books, articles, etc.
Another great tool we have access to is the eBooks on the EbscoHost database because eBooks are an up and coming technology that our children might be using in the classroom one day. I think teachers everywhere should find a way to incorporate the use of eBooks into their lessons and even into their classroom library.
Finally, something all Saint Peter's education majors could use is the access we have to Praxis practice exams. As college students, we don't have as much exposure to practice questions on the Praxis because there are many different kinds of Praxis exams for different teachers. All in all, I enjoyed our trip to the library because I gained some insight to a couple of resources that I can definitely use in the future.
Another great tool we have access to is the eBooks on the EbscoHost database because eBooks are an up and coming technology that our children might be using in the classroom one day. I think teachers everywhere should find a way to incorporate the use of eBooks into their lessons and even into their classroom library.
Finally, something all Saint Peter's education majors could use is the access we have to Praxis practice exams. As college students, we don't have as much exposure to practice questions on the Praxis because there are many different kinds of Praxis exams for different teachers. All in all, I enjoyed our trip to the library because I gained some insight to a couple of resources that I can definitely use in the future.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Post-Blog
Today was a good day in class. Professor Luongo's happy energy always makes me feel better on Tuesdays and Fridays. We created a Wordle and posted it on our blogs, which is yet another helpful tool that we can incorporate into our lesson plans when we present. I have a feeling that using our Glogs and our Wordles in our presentations will be key. There are so many young children that know how to use technology now that as a future teacher, it would be silly not to exposed them to as much of it as possible. Also, the fact that glogs can be so creative makes room for some fun as well and students can enjoy using it even though it is an academic tool.
TGIF
Today is so beautiful out. I'm really glad it's Friday!! I've already completed my glog except for the book link and I had a great time getting creative with it. My mother is the director of a place that works with a lot of pre-schools and daycares and when I showed it to her she immediately asked me to email her the link so that she could show it to everyone. She was like, "How did you do that? You can HEAR the whole story? ANDD you can watch the movie too? Que chevere!" Her feedback made me laugh and it definitely made me feel good about my work. I hope to have an enjoyable weekend... I might be getting some exciting news!!!!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Glogster
Using glogster blew my mind. Just thinking about all the possibilities and ways to use the site - it's like - amazing. When i used to create posters in school I would want them to be unique, creative, and I'd want them to stand out. Creating a glog allows room for much more creativity, you can incorporate video, media clips, audio, moving pictures, link the glog to other sites, etc. It's great, I'm so excited to use this!
Introduction to Computers
I'm exhausted today. I wish I could have just stayed in my comfortable bed with some candles and a Jane Austen novel. I always feel tired on Fridays but today I'm not only tired, I'm a little down. So much happened yesterday... I wish I could disappear to my favorite place: Puerto Rico. Hopefully today will be a better day. I plan to get all my Junior Field assignments completed so that I can hand them in to Professor O'Brien on Monday. After that, I will get some much needed relaxation at home.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
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