September is always a rough time of year for teachers. It takes time to get back into the swing of things. Besides having a new class of students to worry about I also had a new class at Montclair to prepare for. When I walked into class and starting hearing about all the technology that was involved I have to admit I was concerned. I really didn't even know what a blog was and now I was suppose to have one of my own. I thought for sure this class was going to be a nightmare. I am glad I was completely wrong. At times this class was challenging with some of the assignments that we had to do, but in the end I really learned a lot and enjoyed doing some of the projects at the same time.
This class I feel will help me in becoming a better teacher and one day an administrator. I knew that technology was an important aspect to our future, but I guess I never realized just how important it is to our future. I learned many new skills that I can pass along to my students. These skills will allow my students to become life long learners. I am not only teaching them a new idea or a concept I am teaching them how to apply it to many different situations. Having children realize that there is a connection to the real world helps the learning process along.
Another technology aspect of this class that I really enjoyed was the blogging. I tend to be more on the quieter side and at times it is hard for me to state my opinion about something, but blogging made it very easy for me. I also really enjoyed reading other blogs. I think if I taught an upper grade this would be something that I would want to incorporate into my curriculum.
Another aspect of the class that I like that didn't have to do with technology was the readings. I found the articles that we had to do for this class to be very enjoyable. I really like the article "Reading Don't Fix No Chevys." We all try to incorporate differentiated instruction into our classrooms, but this article made me realize that there is more to differentiated instruction than just high, medium, and low level thinkers. Incorporating articles into a lesson is a good way to help get a point across and there were many articles that did that for me this semester.
I will walk away from this class with a better understanding of much change is needed in our schools and a better idea of how to go about making change happen. As a future administrator one day it is important to know those two things. You can't walk into a school and expect change to happen over night. Change is a process that will take time and needs to be done in the right manner.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Link: How to make our lives easier
Throughout the semester we have learned a lot about technology. For the past two years I have used my computer to help me with my grades. There is this program that I found that really helps make your life easier when it comes time to your students. It helps with grades, getting information to parents, and much much more. I really love it and I introduced to some of my colleagues and now they love it too!!
http://www.classactiongradebook.com
http://www.classactiongradebook.com
Monday, November 5, 2007
Orange Middle School
State testing effects all of us in the education world. It effects some of us more than others. Some schools hit it out of the park while other schools have a very difficult time with these tests. Unfortunately, Orange Middle School is one of those schools that has had a problem. They have failed to meet the benchmark for six years now. The school realized that they had a problem and stepped up to the plate to do something about it.
Orange Middle School handled the situation in a way that I thought was very appropriate. It didn't seem like they pointed fingers at people. I liked the way that they divided up the school into five sections. Having smaller groups is ideal. So much more can be done with smaller groups. Teacher and student interaction becomes easier. A teacher can also get to know his/her students on a more personal level. This will allow the teachers to be better prepared to teach the lessons. It will allow the teacher to recognize the difference in their students. Differentiated instruction can easily come into play. Another thing that I liked was how the educators met together to discuss what is going on in their classrooms. Working as a team is very beneficial. Both the teachers and students can succeed in a learning environment where nobody is left out in the dark. During the meeting time teachers can share experiences. I know when I am having a problem it is good to know that I am not the only one with this problem or when I find something that works I can't wait to share it with a colleague. To me there is nothing worse than feeling lonely.
Even though Orange Middle School is taking the steps in the right direction towards a better future I feel that the school would benefit from more parental involvement. I think the school should organize workshops, activities, or just simply invite parents into the school. When the community gets involved it is always a good thing. The children need to know that there is somewhere there for them. The middle school years can be a rough couple of years. All the support they can get the better. The article also mentioned that there is a safety issue in the school. Having police around is a good idea, but I wonder how the children feel about it? You don't want the children feeling like they prisoners. Maybe teachers can attend workshops on how to help angry teens or have a guidance counselor more readily available. Another solution is to have children take place in team building activities. These activities will hopefully make the children realizes that friends or ten times better than enemies.
Overall, Orange Middle School is doing whats needs to be done. It would be interesting to see how test scores change.
Orange Middle School handled the situation in a way that I thought was very appropriate. It didn't seem like they pointed fingers at people. I liked the way that they divided up the school into five sections. Having smaller groups is ideal. So much more can be done with smaller groups. Teacher and student interaction becomes easier. A teacher can also get to know his/her students on a more personal level. This will allow the teachers to be better prepared to teach the lessons. It will allow the teacher to recognize the difference in their students. Differentiated instruction can easily come into play. Another thing that I liked was how the educators met together to discuss what is going on in their classrooms. Working as a team is very beneficial. Both the teachers and students can succeed in a learning environment where nobody is left out in the dark. During the meeting time teachers can share experiences. I know when I am having a problem it is good to know that I am not the only one with this problem or when I find something that works I can't wait to share it with a colleague. To me there is nothing worse than feeling lonely.
Even though Orange Middle School is taking the steps in the right direction towards a better future I feel that the school would benefit from more parental involvement. I think the school should organize workshops, activities, or just simply invite parents into the school. When the community gets involved it is always a good thing. The children need to know that there is somewhere there for them. The middle school years can be a rough couple of years. All the support they can get the better. The article also mentioned that there is a safety issue in the school. Having police around is a good idea, but I wonder how the children feel about it? You don't want the children feeling like they prisoners. Maybe teachers can attend workshops on how to help angry teens or have a guidance counselor more readily available. Another solution is to have children take place in team building activities. These activities will hopefully make the children realizes that friends or ten times better than enemies.
Overall, Orange Middle School is doing whats needs to be done. It would be interesting to see how test scores change.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Curriculum Mapping
Curriculum mapping is a great idea. It is a way of making sure that all children learn the same material. Having students learn the same information is very beneficial. It is also a good way of holding teachers accountable for their classrooms, teaching, and children. When everyone is on the same page we can all benefit from it. It also allows new teachers entering the district to do so with ease. They can hop on board with their partners and teach what needs to be taught with very little confusion.
My district does not use curriculum mapping. I wish we did it makes a lot of sense too. Yes, it would be a lot of hard time consuming work, but in the end we would have a product that would be very helpful to many people. I am not exactly sure why we don't use it, but I feel the administration and the fact that we are a large district has a lot to do with it. Our administration seems to change hands quite often. With this in mind I feel that they don't realize how different one school is to the next. My district has eight elementary schools that all go up to sixth grade. Yes, some schools are bigger than others, but the majority of them have at least two sections per grade. It is hard to even sit down and have a town wide grade level meeting, how would a task like this ever get accomplished? I know in my school alone some classrooms in one grade do things quite differently from another classroom and for this reason I think having a plan all mapped out would be wonderful. I wonder how many schools in this area use curriculum mapping? I also wonder how much better or not those children who are exposed to mapping perform compared to those who aren't exposed to it?
I think that curriculum mapping does relate to the broader concept of curriculum change somewhat. I feel that with curriculum mapping the curriculum is being covered just in a different way. Each teacher is teaching the same thing with the same emphasis put on each topic. The teachers aren't deciding what is important or how important it is anymore. I feel this is a good thing. The curriculum is longer left up to the teachers opinion of what should take more time on or not. Every child needs to learn the same material so that all children are ready for the next year. One child doesn't have an advantage over another because of who their teacher was. All teachers are held accountable, therefore all children would have been exposed to the same material. We need to prepare our children for the future and taking a look at what needs to be taught is a start in the right direction.
My district does not use curriculum mapping. I wish we did it makes a lot of sense too. Yes, it would be a lot of hard time consuming work, but in the end we would have a product that would be very helpful to many people. I am not exactly sure why we don't use it, but I feel the administration and the fact that we are a large district has a lot to do with it. Our administration seems to change hands quite often. With this in mind I feel that they don't realize how different one school is to the next. My district has eight elementary schools that all go up to sixth grade. Yes, some schools are bigger than others, but the majority of them have at least two sections per grade. It is hard to even sit down and have a town wide grade level meeting, how would a task like this ever get accomplished? I know in my school alone some classrooms in one grade do things quite differently from another classroom and for this reason I think having a plan all mapped out would be wonderful. I wonder how many schools in this area use curriculum mapping? I also wonder how much better or not those children who are exposed to mapping perform compared to those who aren't exposed to it?
I think that curriculum mapping does relate to the broader concept of curriculum change somewhat. I feel that with curriculum mapping the curriculum is being covered just in a different way. Each teacher is teaching the same thing with the same emphasis put on each topic. The teachers aren't deciding what is important or how important it is anymore. I feel this is a good thing. The curriculum is longer left up to the teachers opinion of what should take more time on or not. Every child needs to learn the same material so that all children are ready for the next year. One child doesn't have an advantage over another because of who their teacher was. All teachers are held accountable, therefore all children would have been exposed to the same material. We need to prepare our children for the future and taking a look at what needs to be taught is a start in the right direction.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Online Experience
I have had some classes during my undergraduate work that were completely online, therefore, I was familiar with how online classes work. I really enjoy online classes. I am the type of person who learns and comprehends information better by doing it for myself and that is what the online classes allowed me to do. I do not benefit from sitting and listening to a professor speak. I like to be given a list of work to do and a deadline. I do my best work at my own pace by myself in front of my laptop in the comfort of my own home. I am relaxed during this time. I don't feel rushed because I have a chance to get my thoughts together unlike the days when I have to attend class. Those days consist of me rushing from one place to another - work, home, and then school. Everybody is different, but in my opinion I prefer the online class more.
Overall, I really enjoyed the class and learned a lot about technology. Some of the skills learned I will definitely keep on using because I really enjoyed doing it. For example blogging. I have never done until this class, but now I think it is an interesting way to keep in contact with people, share thoughts, and see what others are thinking. Another reason why I liked blogging was because I am a quiet person. I tend to not like to speak my opinion in front of others, but blogging allows me to state what I feel with little to no anxiety. As we have all stated during this class technology is here and it is here to stay so we better get real comfortable using it.
Overall, I really enjoyed the class and learned a lot about technology. Some of the skills learned I will definitely keep on using because I really enjoyed doing it. For example blogging. I have never done until this class, but now I think it is an interesting way to keep in contact with people, share thoughts, and see what others are thinking. Another reason why I liked blogging was because I am a quiet person. I tend to not like to speak my opinion in front of others, but blogging allows me to state what I feel with little to no anxiety. As we have all stated during this class technology is here and it is here to stay so we better get real comfortable using it.
Implementation of Lesson
I have 19 children in my classroom. I have an even mixture of boys and girls. I have three of them that attend the resource program and seven of them that attend the math basic skills program. My group overall can be considered on the lower side. With this in mind I have to make sure that I can grab my students attention and keep them focused for the task at hand. I feel I was able to accomplish this with the lesson.
I began the lesson by talking about fall, something that they can relate too. Right off the bat I got their attention and I was able to keep it. The children had many activities to do. This allowed the children never to get bored with one aspect of the lesson. I do have to say though that this lesson took a little bit longer than I thought it would. Some of the children really couldn't understand why we use variables. They also had some difficulty when asked to write their own problem, but once they got started they were on a roll. Overall, I was pleased with how my math lesson for today went.
I began the lesson by talking about fall, something that they can relate too. Right off the bat I got their attention and I was able to keep it. The children had many activities to do. This allowed the children never to get bored with one aspect of the lesson. I do have to say though that this lesson took a little bit longer than I thought it would. Some of the children really couldn't understand why we use variables. They also had some difficulty when asked to write their own problem, but once they got started they were on a roll. Overall, I was pleased with how my math lesson for today went.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Math Not Just Numbers - Learning and Understanding the Importance of Variables
Stage 1: Desired Results
Established Goals:
4.1.A.4: Number Sense - Understand the various use of numbers
4.1.B.1: Numerical Operations - Develop the meaning of the four basic arithmetic operations
4.3.C.2: Patterns and Algebra - construct and solve simple open sentence involving any one operation
Enduring Understanding: Students will understand that...
*variables are letters used to represent unknown numbers in expressions
*there are relationships between variables and numbers
*word problems can be solved using variables
Essential Questions:
*What is variable?
*How are variables used in expressions?
*Why is it important to use a variable?
*Can you think of a time when you might need to use a variable in your everyday life? Why would you use? How would you use it?
Stage 2: Assessment Evidence
Performance Task:
*Students will work with a partner to write expressions with variables for word problems given by me. They will also have to tell me what the variable stands for.
*Students will then have a chance to write their own word problem. They will then give their problem to classmate and see if their classmate can write an expression using a variable and they must also state what the variable stands for.
(Example of word problems: Jane went apple picking. Jane picked 15 apples and then gave some to her friend when she got home.)
*Students will then be giving an expression where the variable has a given amount. The students will have to solve the expression.
(Example of problem: 4+x, if x=8)
*Variable Game
Other Evidence:
*Class participation
*Observations
*Examples of word problems that were given
*Homework (practice page in workbook)
Stage 3: Learning Plan
I will introduce the lesson by telling them that fall is one of my favorite seasons and how much fun it is to go to the wonderful farms that are located in NJ. I will tell them about two signs I saw at one of the farms. These signs will be on an overhead transparency. The transparency will have the signs. The signs will have two pictures on them. One picture will have 2 pumpkins and a price tag of $4. The other picture will have a picture of a pumpkin and an apple and a price tag of $3. I will then ask the children if we can figure out how much each item costs. By doing this the children will be able to tell me that each pumpkin is $2. Then, I will show them that by knowing what the price of the pumpkin is we can figure out the price of the apple (2+x). Next, I will introduce the vocabulary word variable and tell them that x is a variable. I will then let the children give me their definition of the word variable before I give them the definition. After that, I will give the children word problems that contain variables and let the work together to write an expression and what the variable stands for. Finally, I will tell them that sometimes you are given the value for the variable. I will explain to them that in that case they must just "plug it in" when they see this. Once again I will give the children the opportunity to solve some problems and then come up with some on their own. To follow up with lesson I will allow the children to play a matching game. They will be give two sets of different colored cards. One set will have an expression and the other set will have a word problem. The children must match the word problems with the expressions.
Established Goals:
4.1.A.4: Number Sense - Understand the various use of numbers
4.1.B.1: Numerical Operations - Develop the meaning of the four basic arithmetic operations
4.3.C.2: Patterns and Algebra - construct and solve simple open sentence involving any one operation
Enduring Understanding: Students will understand that...
*variables are letters used to represent unknown numbers in expressions
*there are relationships between variables and numbers
*word problems can be solved using variables
Essential Questions:
*What is variable?
*How are variables used in expressions?
*Why is it important to use a variable?
*Can you think of a time when you might need to use a variable in your everyday life? Why would you use? How would you use it?
Stage 2: Assessment Evidence
Performance Task:
*Students will work with a partner to write expressions with variables for word problems given by me. They will also have to tell me what the variable stands for.
*Students will then have a chance to write their own word problem. They will then give their problem to classmate and see if their classmate can write an expression using a variable and they must also state what the variable stands for.
(Example of word problems: Jane went apple picking. Jane picked 15 apples and then gave some to her friend when she got home.)
*Students will then be giving an expression where the variable has a given amount. The students will have to solve the expression.
(Example of problem: 4+x, if x=8)
*Variable Game
Other Evidence:
*Class participation
*Observations
*Examples of word problems that were given
*Homework (practice page in workbook)
Stage 3: Learning Plan
I will introduce the lesson by telling them that fall is one of my favorite seasons and how much fun it is to go to the wonderful farms that are located in NJ. I will tell them about two signs I saw at one of the farms. These signs will be on an overhead transparency. The transparency will have the signs. The signs will have two pictures on them. One picture will have 2 pumpkins and a price tag of $4. The other picture will have a picture of a pumpkin and an apple and a price tag of $3. I will then ask the children if we can figure out how much each item costs. By doing this the children will be able to tell me that each pumpkin is $2. Then, I will show them that by knowing what the price of the pumpkin is we can figure out the price of the apple (2+x). Next, I will introduce the vocabulary word variable and tell them that x is a variable. I will then let the children give me their definition of the word variable before I give them the definition. After that, I will give the children word problems that contain variables and let the work together to write an expression and what the variable stands for. Finally, I will tell them that sometimes you are given the value for the variable. I will explain to them that in that case they must just "plug it in" when they see this. Once again I will give the children the opportunity to solve some problems and then come up with some on their own. To follow up with lesson I will allow the children to play a matching game. They will be give two sets of different colored cards. One set will have an expression and the other set will have a word problem. The children must match the word problems with the expressions.
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