The End!

     As we are coming to the end to the semester, we are starting to look back on all the things we have learned and all the experiences we have had. This class has taught us so much and gave us new and exciting experiences. After all the projects and stressful nights it was rewarding to see all the information that we have learned and all of the hard work that has come out of it.

     One of the main experiences that I will definitely not forget will have to be my fieldwork. This fieldwork was something I have never done before, which was teach an entire classroom. It helped
me gain confidence in myself and helped me realize what it will actually be like when I start to work as a teacher. While having a new experience in fieldwork, I also learn new types of lessons such as, Direct, Inquiry, and cooperative. Even though it was my first time hearing of these types of lessons I quickly and easily learned them. We created our own lessons and put them in action in our fieldwork. That is how I was really able to get a handle on them so quickly.

    Another experience I would say I will always carry with me is the amount of technology I was introduced to. If I were asked how I would incorporate technology into the classroom, I would not know how to answer. Throughout this class I have been shown many digital tools to use in the classroom. I was able to use them in the many of the projects we created and became familiar with them. I would be able to use them when I start to teach and have my students try to use them and become familiar with them as well.

      Now we are currently working on our Livebinders, which is a practice run for when we start to do our edTPA. It is so much work but I know that all this work and stress will pay off in the end. It will definitely help me in the future when I start my student teaching. Here is a link to my Livebinder. Right now it is a work in progress but it will be completed by the 15th if you would like to see the full and completed version!

   Even though this is the end of the semester and our class, I feel that it is just the beginning. We will always be learning new things and new ways to improve our teaching. Even when we are teaching in a classroom we can still learn more new and improved ways. I am excited to talk the rest of my education classes and see what else is out their for me to learn about teaching students. I am so thankful for the knowledge that this class has given me and I will always carry it throughout my career.

Interviews!

   Yesterday was a very interesting experience! We were apart of our class's own mock interview. All of my colleagues were dressed professionally and brought their resumes as if it was a real interview. Four of our colleagues pretended to be school principals and each school focused on a different lesson or topic. We were split up into our fieldwork groups and the "principals" came to us and asked us questions while in groups.

     The "principals" came up with very interesting and well thought out questions. The ones I loved the most was the color question that one came up with. The interviewer asked what is the first color that comes to mind when you think of a collaborative lesson. For me, as well as the people in my group that were being interviewed, came up with a rainbow. When you think off all the colors in the rainbow they each represent a student and how different they are in the way they learn. The colors all come together to form a one big rainbow and that is what happens when you are working collaboratively.  Another question I was asked was what are three ways in which you would incorporate technology into the classroom. I thought this was a great question as well. In todays world of teaching technology is becoming a key component in classrooms. It is important for us to incorporate it too. This class as given me many different websites and digital tools for me to be able to bring it into my classroom. While all the "principals" came up with good questions and scenarios, those two definitely stuck out at me the most.

    I thought this was a great experience to learn how a interview will be like when apply for a teaching position. I will definitely keep in mind what has happened yesterday and apply that for when I am ready to interview for my very own teaching position in a school! I cannot wait to start that part of my life.

The Wide World of Economics!

    This week in our class we focused on the topic of Economics! How do you teach economics? What are some of the subtopics within Economics? We reviewed all of this by creating a class slide! Dr. Smirnova gave us a list of subtopics to chose from and with those topics we would contribute to the class slide with 2 or 3 slides each. We also created something extra, like a poster, using a digital tool.

     For my contribution I worked with Kim and we focused on the topic of Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. This is a very easy topic to relay to students because it is simply explaining the differences of what each is. I thought this topic was very fun to research about and see many ways we could teach this to students. For our digital tools we used Glogster and Voki. I love using glogster and would definitely use it again and the same with Voki. Both tools are a great way to relay information and introduce the topic to students. They are both very easy to use as well.


Microeconomics: 

• The study of particular markets, and segments of the economy. 

• This topics looks at consumer behaviors and individual labor markets. 

• It looks at the smaller scale of the economy. 

Macroeconomics: 

• Looks at the economy on a larger scale or national level. 

• It deals with the nations output and inflation. 

• Globalisation and economic growth. 

       When looking at the differences in microeconomics and macroeconomics, teachers will be able to split the class into two and have each side focus on micro and one on marco. You could  also have the students, while split up, come up with examples micro or macro. 

Here is the link to our class powerpoint. This powerpoint not only contains macroeconomics and microeconomics but also an introductions into economics, different lessons that could be used, etc. 

Here is also a link to our glogster on the topic we chose! It goes further in depth with the differences of Micro vs. Macro and visual aids. 

Current Events in Social Studies!

 
     This week and next week we are focusing on current events and how to teach them and engage students in the news. Current events are events or issues occurring in the world today. They can be things such as online news articles, TV news, the newspaper, etc. In Social Studies, as a teacher you are required to keep the students updated on what is happening in the world. It is also up to us to keep that information engaging and interesting to hear. A good online resource would be Newsela.com, which is what we used for this weeks project.

      For our project we were to create a fun activity or lesson and teach it to our fellow colleagues. We were split into groups and each group presented one class day at a time. Two groups did a debate on the article they have chosen. The other group used a think, pair and share method. For my group we used an interview method. I found the idea to do the interview method from the NewYorkTimes.com, while our article was from Newsela the NewYorkTimes is also a good resource in finding different activities and articles to use. Are article was about global warming, what causes it, and what can we do to fix the problem that is becoming worse. We had our colleagues get into groups of 4 or 5. They then pretended as though they were the reports writing the article. They came up with questions to help them write the article and then they asked and got responses form each of the people in their group. They had a worksheet in which they would write their questions and responses on as well. We only had ten minutes to do this activity so when presenting it was very rushed. I feel if we had adequate time to present it the lesson would be very fun to do. I wished that we explained the directions more in depth as well and maybe show the classmates how it should be done to eliminate the confusion I saw throughout my presentation.

         I had great time creating this presentation and putting together this activity. Newsela.com was a very easy website to use and it provided many different current event articles. They spit them up based on subject and content, which I found to be easier when looking for on one something specific. I would definitely use this website again when teaching and encourage my students to use it as well. The activity can be used for both first through six, however I would recommend trying to use a different article that will challenge each grade's knowledge. I would also make it relatable to whatever topic your class is currently discussing.

If you click the link you will be directed to the powerpoint to our lesson! There is also a fun Kahoot game within the presentation about the article you can use to review the information.

What's in the Mystery bag?

    This week in class we focused on artifact bags! This is by far my favorite activity that I have learned in this class. You can use this as a get to know me activity or one to figure out specific events or time periods. It works best in an Inquiry lesson because while going through the bag you are going through the inquiry process. This activity is perfect for any grade level, however it depends on what topic or event you are doing.
    In class we focused on the lessons we taught in fieldwork. My lessons were about the thirteen colonies so I did mine on George Washington. He was the leader in the American Revolution and played a major role in the road to America's Independence. For my artifact bag I would have second or third grade go through the artifact bag and the inquiry process. I included three artifacts within my bag. The first one was the thirteen colonies flag. I chose this one because George Washington lead them in the Revolutionary War. The next artifact was a picture of the war with George Washington in the front waving the flag. This artifact was very easy and almost guided them in their thinking. The last artifact was a quarter. I chose this one because George Washington is on the quarter and it showed that there is a person on the quarter. I hoped that if that saw that, maybe the bag was on a person and connect the dots.

     Here is the link to my activity presentation. Within the presentation is a link to a autobiography website on George Washington. I chose this website because it gives more in depth information on him and his contribution to the fight for independence. It also gives other important facts and his role has president later on. I also chose the book I Am George Washington by Scholastic. Just like the website it talks about George Washington and his accomplishments throughout his life. This book is more for second grade, which is also the grade level appropriate for my artifact bag. After doing the artifact bag, students would go to the website and book to better inform themselves of George Washington and what he did for this Country. 

     Artifact bags are a great way to challenge the student in the knowledge they gained after a direct lesson. It helps the child learn more about a specific moment in time. I would definitely use this when I become a teacher. It expands the student knowledge and engages them to learn more! 

Here is the link to my presentation on my artifact bag! 

Primary Sources Vs. Secondary Sources

   While teaching history it is not only important to use sources, but also know the difference in primary and secondary sources. Sources for students in history aid the student in finding out more on the event or time period. It helps them think back to the time when it occurred as well. There is a very significant difference between both types of sources. Primary sources are original documents. They are first hand knowledge on the topic. They are objects or papers that are from that time period. Secondary sources are analyzations documents that discuss the primary document. It interprets the primary source and is second hand knowledge. Below is a picture of some examples of each.

    As a teacher is it best to use primary sources. As said previously these sources would be the documents or object from that time period such as, letters, diaries, and photographs. I believe as a teacher it is best to use original documents. This puts the students mind in that specific time. It also helps to give the students the best examples of what you are trying to teach. 

   On the Library Congress of Learning, they discuss the usage of primary sources and how it is best to use that type of source rather than secondary. They say it is best to use to or three sources within a lesson to help support the students in the given topic. They also give three tips on using the primary sources.

               1. Engage students with primary sources.

               2. Promote student inquiry.            

               3. Assess how students apply critical thinking and analysis skills to primary sources. 

Here is the link to the website if you would like to learn more about primary sources and how they are more useful inside a classroom. 

Below is also a video on primary sources! 

Say Hello to The Dine Tribe!

In Social Studies Methods, I learned and practiced the Jigsaw method of teaching. The jigsaw method is a very interactive activity that involves a lot of cooperative learning. It is great for all grade levels, especially grades three through six. Within the jigsaw method you are split up into groups and each person in that group decides on a specific topic. These first groups you would call home groups. Each person in your home group would have a different topic. The students would then separate into smaller groups. Those smaller groups, called expert groups, would do the assignment on the topic he or she had chosen. When you have completed the assignment the students would go back to their home groups and teach the topic to their home groups. The people in the home group would then each present what they have worked on in the second group to their home groups members.

For the jigsaw method we focused on the topic of Native American. Although I am a history major, the topic of Native Americans is one I am least knowledgable about. This activity helped me gain more confidence in the topic. There were four different tribes that the home groups split into. They were the Mohawk/Iroqious, the Dine', the Lakota, the Muskogee, and the Tlingit tribe. For my expert group, I chose to focus on the Dine' tribe and their ways of life. I learned a lot about the Dine' Tribe and how they live by the research I conducted.

      This lesson was to help us learn about geography and how to teach geography to students. My group and I then looked at the impact the geography surrounding the tribe had their way of life. From learning about the impact it had on specfic group’s life you can see how geography impacts the lives of many people throughout history. For the Dine’ tribe it impacted what food they ate, what they clothes they wore, and how they lived. 

   For my expert group we created a glogster on the Native American tribe. Here is the link to our Glogster!