Technology: I am asked to write about how I use and feel about technology in the classroom, which can lead to a pretty complicated response. Let’s just say that I LOVE technology, but when it comes to teaching, I am much more old school than I expected. I do use technology on a daily basis and am very comfortable with it. However, if I had to go a day without it, I wouldn’t mind. I think it is important to remember that my kids are all different types of learners. I have some students who LOVE to learn by looking at a book or reading something for themselves. On the other hand, a majority of my students love to learn by song or are visual learners. Every day for math, we use my doc cam so that I can do the packet while they follow along. The same goes with phonics or any other worksheets where they need guidance. I believe that is helpful for them and it is helpful for me as well because I can show everyone exactly how to do it which saves a lot of time! Also for math, we sing and watch 2 youtube videos during our math fluency warm-up time. This is a time for them to have the daily reminder of skip counting, odd, and even, which can be very tough concepts for young children to grasp. They love singing these, and I catch them singing them throughout the day as well J For science, my students LOVE seeing pictures of any kind! I make power points so that they can paint a picture of what I am saying and to make it feel more real. The more realistic the learning is, the better. Though, when the opportunity comes where a lesson can be hands on instead, I will always pick hands-on learning over technology. So, while I use technology every day, I am not reliant on it and believe there are many other ways for students to successfully engage in a lesson.
ELD: Upon becoming a teacher, I was so confused about how students are labeled as ELD or non-ELD. This is a subject that I never understood fully. When I think about a classroom, I think of how I have 24 unique students who all learn in completely different ways. It can be challenging to accommodate all of them during one lesson, but with preparation, it can be done. When I think about my students who struggle with a language barrier, I do not see that as their way of learning. ELD strategies are amazing strategies that should simply be used with all children. These strategies should never be limited or labeled as one type of learning. They accommodate children who are visual learners, tactile learners, and auditory learners in one lesson. These are strategies that include showing pictures, using kinesthetic movement, and creating rhymes to help pull concepts from their memory. I use these every day with my non-ELD learners and I think they are extremely beneficial. All in all, these strategies are perfect for any class regardless of if the desks are filled with non-ELD, ELD, SPED, or “high ability.” In my opinion, strategies are strategies that should be used and implemented in order to create successful learners.
Reading:
How prepared do you feel in effectively teaching your students in reading? Is this one of your strengths? A weakness?Have you started to plan to the Common Core Standards? If you have, how is that going? If you haven’t, why not? What support do you need?
-I feel so much more prepared teaching reading than I did at the beginning of the year. I have been doing so much research on phonics rules and finding fun games for the students to play to promote fluency. I have learned that teaching reading requires a lot of differentiation. I have students who are reading 60 words per minute, and students who are reading 6. This requires extra time spent with my students during after school tutoring to focus on the skill that they need the most. Some students still need to practice letter recognition, letter names, and letter sounds. I would not say that this is a strength just yet. This definitely takes time. As for common core, I have been teaching this since day one and love it. There are always fun ways to teach common core standards and allow for a lot of creativity. We are currently learning about reality and fantasy and the students always catch on so quickly. This is a very fun time for us and I find them using these skills during other lessons as well.
Differentiation:
Do you differentiate instruction? Why? Why not? What is the important for differentiating instruction? What impact does it have on student learning?
-I absolutely differentiate instruction. Like I previously said, this is key for reading instruction because every student is at a different level. During our letter sounds instruction, my fluent readers read their own books and take a comprehension test. I also always differentiate during math. This is very important so that ALL of my students are being challenged constantly. For independent practice, the worksheet starts out simple, then leads to a challenge problem, then a create-your-own math problem. If this is all finished, they can turn to the back page which says "when you think you're done, you've just begun." This page incorporates very difficult math problems to challenge my high students and make them think outside the box. This has a huge impact on learning and allows for students to meet individual goals while working towards a group goal.
Reading:
How prepared do you feel in effectively teaching your students in reading? Is this one of your strengths? A weakness?Have you started to plan to the Common Core Standards? If you have, how is that going? If you haven’t, why not? What support do you need?
-I feel so much more prepared teaching reading than I did at the beginning of the year. I have been doing so much research on phonics rules and finding fun games for the students to play to promote fluency. I have learned that teaching reading requires a lot of differentiation. I have students who are reading 60 words per minute, and students who are reading 6. This requires extra time spent with my students during after school tutoring to focus on the skill that they need the most. Some students still need to practice letter recognition, letter names, and letter sounds. I would not say that this is a strength just yet. This definitely takes time. As for common core, I have been teaching this since day one and love it. There are always fun ways to teach common core standards and allow for a lot of creativity. We are currently learning about reality and fantasy and the students always catch on so quickly. This is a very fun time for us and I find them using these skills during other lessons as well.
Differentiation:
Do you differentiate instruction? Why? Why not? What is the important for differentiating instruction? What impact does it have on student learning?
-I absolutely differentiate instruction. Like I previously said, this is key for reading instruction because every student is at a different level. During our letter sounds instruction, my fluent readers read their own books and take a comprehension test. I also always differentiate during math. This is very important so that ALL of my students are being challenged constantly. For independent practice, the worksheet starts out simple, then leads to a challenge problem, then a create-your-own math problem. If this is all finished, they can turn to the back page which says "when you think you're done, you've just begun." This page incorporates very difficult math problems to challenge my high students and make them think outside the box. This has a huge impact on learning and allows for students to meet individual goals while working towards a group goal.
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