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! 

Our time at Fieldwork!

       We finally finished our last day at fieldwork! All four groups presented their three lessons and I can honestly say it was a stressful couple of weeks, but it was very rewarding. I observed and learned so much from not only my group, but my colleagues work as well. My colleagues did a wonderful job in their first time of teaching. They all executed their lessons perfectly. However, there could be some minor improvements, such as the academic language and the  different ways of teaching these lessons. Most importantly our time management. We all in at least one lesson went under or over our time limit.

Lesson Plans

       We learned how to teach direct instruction, which is teaching the students the information. For example, using powerpoint or a prezi. You also will have guided practices that you can do as a class to further extend their knowledge on the topic. The other two lessons, which we did in groups in one hour, are inquiry lesson and the cooperative lesson. In our inquiry lesson, we had student solve a problem, come up with a hypothesis, and find evidence to come to a conclusion. With cooperative, we had students work in groups to do an activity that furthered their knowledge of the given topic. Below are the links to my groups lesson plans for all three lessons!

                                      Direct Lesson

                                                                                   Inquiry Lesson

                                                                              Cooperative Lesson 

Reflections & Observations 

     When observing my colleagues in their groups I watched different kinds of direct, inquiry, and cooperative lessons. I saw ways of teaching that I could use when I student teach and I saw ways that I know not to do. For example, when asking a student a question make sure you ask a couple of students not just one. You could also have the whole  class agree or disagree in many different ways. This helps you as a teacher find out if the hole class understands the topic being taught. I also learned new terms in academic language, such as not to say the word "guys" and use terms such as "boys and girls" or depending on the topic "explorers" or "learners". Not only did this experience help me to learn to better myself as a teacher but also how to work in groups. While observing we were expected to fill out observation reports. These reports helped not only the observers but also the group that presented a time to reflect and also look at what improvements could be made. Below are the links to my observation reports for each group and their lessons, including my own group!

Group 1

Direct 

Inquiry 

Group 2 

Direct 

Inquiry 

Cooperative 

Group 3 (my group) 

Direct 

Inquiry 

Cooperative 

Group 4 

Direct 

Inquiry 

Cooperative 

We as teachers all did an amazing job and cannot wait for new experiences and opportunities to come. This was a great learning experience for me in becoming a teacher and for the rest of my class!

Designing assessments

        For our Fieldwork,  we had to design assessments to see what the students already knew and what they did not know. We also assessed the students after fieldwork. Pre-assessment test and post-assessment tests are suppose to see what the student already knows and what the student has learned after the lessons. The pre-assessment help the teacher in finding out how he or she should create their lessons and what information he or she needs to teach their students. The post-assessments helps the teacher in finding out what he or she needs to review or elaborate more on and what the students gained from the lessons.

         When creating the tests it was difficult to come up with the questions to challenge the students. I also found it difficult to make sure, in the pre-assessment, that I did not ask them questions that were on topics that they learned previously. In making these tests you must make sure that the questions are suitable for the grade level that you are teaching and that
they will help you in seeing what the students need to work on and what they do not need to work on. The pre-assessment test helped me and my group members see how we needed to proceed in creating our three lessons. The pre and post assessement will help me in creating my unit plan for this class. It can help me see what lessons I need to make to make sure in the post assessments all the students know the answers and the information.
     Besides pre and post assessments there are other forms of assessments. They are a very important part of learning. They help review, challenge the students knowledge, and give them a better understanding of what they truly know. They also help teachers find out what the students know, don't know, or are struggling with. The three types of assessments: Diagnostic, Formative, and Summative are the main parts to which teachers get that information. There are many ways to act out those three types of assessments to fit the needs of all different types of learners. I for one am excited to put them in action and use them in the field. 

Last Day of Teaching

We made it through the second day of teaching! Today we taught two lessons, inquiry and
cooperative. Many of the groups struggled with the time management but we managed to fit both lessons into one hour! I thought that was awesome! There were a little bit of spots in our lesson were we could have improved and done differently but has far as getting both lesson plans done in the given amount of time I thought we did pretty well.

For our Inquiry lesson we did artifact bags the students, in groups, were to try and figure out what event they had. Within the bag were clues and documents. For an Inquiry lesson students must have a question that they are suppose to solve, create a hypothesis, and then try to come up with a conclusion or solution to the problem. That is what our Inquiry lesson showed and we used a worksheet to help guide the students through the process.
For our cooperative lesson, we already had the students in their group from the Inquiry so that saved us some time! The whole class created a aromatic poem together and used the word Independence. However, we gave each group a couple of leader so they can decide what word they wanted to use. We created as a class the acrostic poem on a poster board and had the students keep it to hang up in their classroom.
There were some improvements that we could have made to our lesson to make it messed rushed. It was a little rushed when having the students work into groups. We were also less prepared then we were on our direct lesson. I feel the direct lesson went a lot smoother then this one, but over all I thought we did a great job. I am excited to see what the other next group has planned!

First day of Teaching

Today my group and I taught our second grade class for the first time today! We taught a Direct lesson on the Colonies and the road to America's independence. At first I was a nervous wreck. I never taught in front of an entire class before. I was used to teaching students one on one. However, my experience today was amazing. Even though I was nervous and scared out of my mind I had a lot of fun. All the students were amazing and all so smart.
Since we were teaching a direct instructional lesson we were directly teaching the students the information within the chapter. We created a powerpoint that we would present to them and created an activity to help further their knowledge. We split the information being taught between the people in our group and I had the pleasure of teaching the students the difference between Loyalists and Patriots. I also told them a story about Paul Revere! We then made a timeline as a class on the road to independence! At the end of the Direct lesson we reviewed to the class what we have learned and asked a couple questions and everyone was able to recall the information!

Attention! Attention!

As a teacher you need to make sure your class is focused and on task with the assignment. Whether the assignment is something the students are doing as a class or individually you want to make sure your class is doing it. In our class we have learned and put to use a thing we call, Signals for Attention! These signals for attention help teachers gain their students attention as well as keeping them focused. They can be called attention grabbers or response signals within a classroom as well. Below is a picture with a couple of attention signals that can be used.

Here is a link to a video that will help you learn more about attention signals and what types are more effective then others! 

     While in fieldwork I have noticed my colleagues using many different signals for attention. It is a good idea for teachers not to use the same signal for a significant amount of time because then the students will not respond to it as quickly then the first couple of times. They will start to get bored of it and choose not to listen. This will cause the teacher to have more trouble gaining control of her class.  Some of the different ones I have noticed my fellow colleagues have used were: 

• " One, two, three" "Eyes on you!"

• "Hocus Pocus" "Everybody Focus!" 

• "Ready to Rock" "Ready to Roll!" 

         However, there are four different types of attention signals. Like the ones listed above, those are called, call and response attentions signals. The other three are turn off lights, rising hands, and echo clapping. Throughout my time in school I have always found that my teachers would always use the last three methods, turning off lights, rising hands, and echo clapping. I think that it is good to use all four within a classroom and keep it as a variety of different attention signals. 

Online Classroom!

Today was a very different day for our class! Instead of physically going to class we did an online class using microphones and webcams. It was definitely something I have never done before, but I really enjoyed it. At first when I logged on I thought to myself, "This is silly. I'm not going to learn anything. I'm going to be so distracted." I always thought I had to be in a physical classroom to learn and that I would not be able to learn anywhere else. This proved me wrong. I learned so much from this virtual classroom experience.

    As we were learning from Dr. Smirnova through webcam, I realized this is just one of the many ways techonolgy has changed education and the way teachers teach. Technology has definitely improved things in a positive way. Technology has made virtual classrooms possible, to do things from home for people who can not physically go to school. This was absolutely an experience I would like to experience again!

First Day of Fieldwork!

Today we started our first day of fieldwork! After a month of being on break I have forgotten how much I loved fieldwork. Today we had our meet and greet. We got to meet and get to know all of the students in the second grade class that we will be teaching. Our class is teaching groups so my group went around to each table and introduced our selves and our topic to the students. We also got to know the students a little bit better with an ice breaker. We went around the group of students and asked what their names were and what they liked to do. I love learning about the students and their favorite hobbies because it helps us as teachers find a way to teach students by using something they love or are interested in. I am excited but also nervous for when my group goes to teach for the first time.

Different Ways of Learning!

For week 2  we are learning and starting to teach three types of instructional learning. These are some of the different methods, methods and strategies of teaching that can help give instruction.

• Direct Instruction: direct teaching, lecture, structure overview, compare and contrast, etc.
• Indirect Instruction : problem solving, Inquiry, student centered, reflection, etc.
•  Interactive instruction : discussion, groups, cooperative problem solving, brainstorming, etc. 

There are other ways of instruction such as experimental learning and Independent study. However, we are only going to be using Direct, Indirect and Interactive in our fieldwork. We also learned about the different types of assessments. Assessments are a very important part of learning. They help review, challenge the students knowledge, and give them a better understanding of what they truly know. They also help teachers find out what the students know, don't know, or are struggling with. The three types of assessments: Diagnostic, Formative, and Summative are the main parts to which teachers get that information. There are many ways to act out those three types of assessments to fit the needs of all different types of learners. I for one am excited to put both the different strategies of learning and assessments into action and use them in the field. Below I attached my graphic organizer which will help people get a better understanding of the assessments. 

Here is a link to my graphic organizer!

Back to School!

        It's that time of year again! New semester, new classes, new schedule, and more learning! I can already tell that this semester is going to be packed with work and new experiences. I am excited to see what this semester brings for us all! The first class is always the most interesting. You meet your teachers, see all old friends and meet new ones. I can't wait to learn more interesting and new ways to teach children.
For out first activity we created about me projects. These projects helped us as teachers see the different uses of technology we can use inside of a classroom. For my project I used a Thinglink. It is an interactive image that created. I used a picture of my family and and then connected a couple of other pictures that explain my life and who I am. I can't wait to see what else I am going to learn during the rest of the semester! 

Here is a link to my About me project!