Thematic units

I really enjoy writing thematic/cross-curricular units. They are a lot of work, but the whole time I'm working on it I know I am doing something that will be incredibly effective in the classroom. If it was possible, I would teach thematic units all year long. The idea that all subjects are interrelated is something that students need to understand in order to see the value of a course like "reading" for example.

I wrote my thematic unit on Survival Situations. Students learn about a variety of survival skills in each of their courses and then demonstrate them through the plots, events, and characters by authoring a short story. In art class, they illustrate the story. In Technology Applications class, they learn how to attratively layout their stories like a book with embedded illustrations.

Subjects used: English/Reading, Science, Health, Technology Applications, Art

traveling story activities

The traveling story activity that we did in class was a lot of fun. However, I would be very scared to conduct this type of activity in a middle or high school  class where  inapporpriate topics (such as those brought up in class) should not be a part of class discussion. Inappropriate topics seemed to dominate the topics and events of the traveling stories written by college students in our course. If future teachers, at our level of maturity aren't able to keep it PG, how can I expect my students to be able to keep it appropriate? I do not forsee me trying to use this activity unless there is a way to hold students accountable for each and every entry into the story.  It was a lof of fun though!

Communication

I think that the in-class activity we did proves and emphasizes the importance of open communication, whether it be student to student OR student to teacher. As teachers, we need to make sure our students feel free and comfortable communicating with us--through questions, expressing their own interpretations, and/or relating concepts to their own experiences.

On of the students in our class said this would make a great first-day activity. I agree. I also think it's important that we take time to break it down for our students at the end of class. In class today, I almost missed out on the purpose of the activity until Dr. Harris pointed out that during the second time we played the game, we both volunteers were allowed to ask & answer questions to further clarify descriptions. This made all the difference!

I loved this activity!

October 27, 2010--Cross Curricular project

I am almost done with my project. My cross-curricular project theme is "Survival." My four content areas are: English/Reading, Art, Science, and Technology Applications (computer class).

The major assignment for my English/Reading lesson plans is for students to write a creative, fictional story about a "survival situation." (For example: My airplane crashes on a desert island. I am one of 3 survivors. This is what happens, how we survive, etc.....)

In that story, students will demonstrate their writing ability to meet TEK standards and they will be expected to demonstrate the knowledge of survival skills that they aquired in all of their classes participating in the cross-curricular project.

I have done a project similar to the cross-curricular project we are doing in this class. The idea for my "survival" theme was one my group and I came up with for a "thematic unit" that we had to write in another course. However, I have re-done the project by writing my own lesson plans for the other content areas (rather than using the lessons they came up with for our group project last semester).

Assessment

Assessemnt is an important part of a good education, but getting a really good it is also one of the trickiest things to do. This is because the backgrounds, strengths, weaknesses, personalities, values, disabilities, talents, etc. of our students vary so much. It's almost as if each student should have an assessment designed specifically for them in order to assess them in the best way possible. This is where authentic assessments come into play.

Journaling is one of my favorite forms of authentic assessment. I'd like to have students write what they learned, what it means to them in their own lives, and write any questions or information that they'd like to further learn about the topic.

Discussion is my other favorite way to assess students. You know what though, how about this for an idea: forget about my favorite ways to assess students and let them choose their own from a list or even make their own suggestions.

For example, at the end of a big unit I would tell students that I want to get an assessment of each student regarding the unit we've covered. I'll ask each student to schedule their own assessment in the form that they are most comfortabe with from a list: writing (essay or short answer), discussion with the teacher, making a portfolio of everything they learned and what it means to them. I think this would be the most authentic assessment!

October 5

Informative writing is about informing the reader of information. This isn't about opinion or bias; this about the facts. It's also called "expository" writing.

For example, I may assign students to write an informative essay on a college degree (major) of their choice. In the essay, they would tell me what schools offer that degree plan, what kind of courses are on that degree plan and what kind of careers graduates with that degree could pursue.

Activity: I begin the class by posing a question to students. I will tell them that I do not know how to work my ipod, and ask them to explain the process to me. As they offer suggestions, I will write them on the board creating webs and/or an outline. Afterward, I will explain that this is how you begin an informative essay. I will then do my lesson on informative essays.


Persuasive writing- when a person writes to convince someone of a opinion by supporting that opinion with facts. This is the most powerful form of writing.

Ex) I may assign my students to write a persuasive essay on a controversial issue.

Activity: At the beginning of each class I will present two ideas that we could use in a  future class date: one idea will be boring, and require a whole lot of work. The other idea will be intriguing and interesting to students. Then, I will ask the class which idea we should do. I will ask them why. I will explain that their arguments will actually determine which assignment I give them. I will make a T-Chart on the board and list their ideas/arguments about which idea is better. Afterward, I will explain that we have begun forming a persuasive argument and also point out how important it is to be able to create a persuasive argument.

Reading is a process!

Reading is a 5-step process, that involves:

Pre-writing Ex) writing webs, lists or outlines
Drafting Ex) writing a composition that gets your ideas onto paper in essay form, but is not graded
Revising Ex) improving your draft by adding or deleting words, elaborating or re-organizing ideas
Editing- Ex) correcing punctuation, and other conventions/mechanics
Publishing Ex) post the writing in the hall, send it off to someone important. DO SOMETHING with the work!

I think the revising stage is especially important. It is key that students take this time to consider how their essay or other writing is organized!

A paragraph consists of a topic sentence, a "grabber," 2-3 important details, and a concluding sentence.

EX) Writing is a very important skill for students and adults alike. A good writer has the power of persuasion and effective expression among other things. Writers should learn a five-step process in order to write most effectively. The five steps include: pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. The next you write, take the time to write right!

Thursday Sept 23--Good Readers

What makes a good reader? Am I? Why or Why not?

A good reader is able to read a text, understand it, and get something out of it which they can apply to their own lives or store away as knowledge. The video that Mrs. Harris showed in class could not have done a better job illustrating the way we should teach reading! And it has made me realize something about myslef. I've never considered myself a very good reader, but I'm going to adjust that belief a little now. I AM a good reader in certain subject areas that I know well. In english class, I am a strong reader. I have a lot of knowledge about how to analyze characters, and make connections to the text. This allows me to get a lot of out reading an english-related text. However, in science, history, or math class, I am not a good reader. This is because I know little about science, math or social studies except for that I am requried to know to get around in everyday life. Because I have little background knowledge or understanding of higher math, science and history vocabulary, I must read these texts several times in order to infer the meaning of them.

So, how can I teach students to become better readers?
I can teach and explore other content areas (math science and history) in the context of my reading lessons. For example, I can find a history story, and get my vocabulary words from that story. Or, I can have students read a science article and summarize it, rather than summarizing a short story, etc.

Games in the Classroom

While designing and dreaming up games that supplement the concepts we are teaching, may require a littl extra creativity and time, games are a lot of fun for students in a classroom.

I plan to use games, specifically games that are technology-based. A few semesters ago one of my teachers had "Who wants to Be A Millionare" test reviews, which was a powerpoint template that she edited with her own questions and answers. I've done something similar before, and it was very time consuming. On the way to the computer lab I was thinking that it would be a good idea to assign students to create games like these using technology. They could create one, save it, and bring the teacher a printed copy. That teacher could then read over the student's proposed Q & A's and edit the game if it needs it. The student could then fix it and bring it in to class.

Playing educational games are a great way to motivate your students and get them involved. And it's also true that students will learn from creating Q&A's in a game, just as much as they will from playing the game. This makes incorporating games in the classroom very simple and easy, and the students will LOVE it!

BLOG 2--Motivation

Motivation is a reason to do something. If we have no motivation for X, then X won't seem worth it.

Motivation affects my life in many ways, EVERY way really. I've found that as I've gotten older, I am more intrinsically motivated than I am extrinsically motivated. However, both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are present in my life. My extrinisic motivations include: working for money, nice clothes, my truck, expensive steaks, fun things for my daughter to play with. Some things that I am motivated to attain for myself: happiness, pride, a sense of knowing that I've done the right thing. Living a Christian life is my biggest intrinsic motivation.

Blog 1 Thursday Sept 1

What is the connection between culture and learning?

There is an endless of amount of connections between someone's culture(s) and what they learn from them?

For example, when I was in high school I participated in Sports (volleyball) and in the Journalism department. In each group, we had our own little culture. As a part of the varsity volleyball team, I felt like some sort of school leader. We were a part of the peprally, our pictures were on the rosters, our names were painted on spirit signs that were posted throughout the parking lot. Another way that sports affected my education, is "NO PASS NO PLAY." In order to participate in sports, we had to keep our grades up. i wanted to play. So, slacking off wasn't an option for me.

In my journalism courses, we had a completely different atomosphere, more professionally-minded. It was a professional enviroment that fostered possible career oppportunities. I learned how to write and create a proffesional resume, how to work as an advertising representative. As a part of this professional-like culture, I was introduced to and became part of the "business world." I now work part-time as a journalist at a weekly newspaper.

And as we discussed in class, when we become teachers we will have our own culture in our classrooms. In my classroom we will value open-mindedness, respect for others, and good behavior. The atomosphere will foster inquiry and we will work in a team-like manner. This will all be apart of my classroom culture.