This was another great night with some awesome lessons that will really stimulate student engagement. Everyone has so many great ideas; I actually wanted to work on some of the practices that were discussed. I feel as a kid, I would have really benefited from being in some of the classrooms my classmates will be teaching.
Lindsay's idea of creating a family tree to help students understand genetics seems like such a fun project! There is nothing better than having fun while we learn, and who doesn't love learning about their family tree? Andrew E., well he had me at wolves! I love the idea of starting with a video to introduce students to the lesson; and the card game that followed seemed entertaining and educational. Kylie's "Ultimate Breakup Letter" was super creative; what a great way to spike the interest of students; and help in making connections to such an important part of American history. I am a big fan of quotes, as we learned most of us in the class are, so Andrew H. totally nailed it with a lesson that revolves around historical quotes; what a creative way to teach history! Overall everyone did an amazing job and are all on the right path to becoming top notch educators!
As for me, I always get so nervous presenting, even though I am behind a computer and no one can see me, anxiety kicks in and I start doubting myself and choking on my words. Although, I do get a bit nervous speaking in front of class full of children I am meeting for the first time; once I get past the nerves it is so easy to talk to them and even act silly at times to get their attention. I guess there is something about presenting to a bunch of adults that makes it that much more nerve wrecking...
It is so motivating to be in a class with so many bright and innovative future educators. I loved seeing all the creative ways that everyone this week shared for administering their lessons. Even though the grade levels and subjects varied, they all had one thing in common - the drive to engage their students in fun and valuable lessons.
I loved Rebecca's read aloud lesson, being able to retell a story as you heard it is a great way to start learning how to interpret what you are reading. I seriously wanted some Oreo's as Rylee explained the different moon phases in her lesson plan; such a fun a delicious lesson! Debbie, I especially liked her innovative way of implementing a goofy video of Weird Al to help get her students get excited about the lesson; what a great way to get their attention. Tiff's personal finance class should be a requirement for all students, that is just very important information that I wish I would have learned early on in life. Kris, history can be a class that can either be very interesting or kind of boring depending on the teacher and I think he'd be a teacher that gets his students excited about learning all about history. Last but definitely not least, Samantha and her Pythagorean Theorem; I didn't even know what that was before Tuesday night, so needless to say she had me engaged and taught me something new. Everyone did such an amazing job and truly set the bar high for the rest of us.
The theme for my unit revolves around comprehending and interpreting texts (approaching texts as a reader). My goal is for students to be able to analyze what they are reading. When looking at a text analytically we are breaking it apart not only to understand what the writer has provided but to take it further by interpreting what the writer wanted us to learn beyond the text. This skill is useful in all aspects of life, no matter what profession one decides to pursue; being able to understand what we are reading is the first key to being successful.
When I was working as a Title I Reading Para, students would often fuss about having to be in our reading groups. The number one complaint was that they didn't like to read, it was not for them. When faced with these situations, I would always ask them what their favorite subject in school was. Some would respond with Math or Science, to which I would remind them that in order to complete a word problem in Math, we needed to decipher how we need to solve it and that took comprehension in reading; or with Science we need to be able to read and understand the steps we need to follow in order to complete an experiment. If we do not understand what we are reading then we cannot fully apply ourselves in the subjects that we do enjoy. Of course there was always a couple that would respond that they didn't even like school and just wanted to stay home and play video games. I actually loved that response since majority of them enjoyed RPG's which require reading of the story line and mission; to which I would ask: isn't it a lot better to be able to understand what your mission is when you are playing your game? How much longer would it take you to get to the next level if you are not clear on the directions? This always got their attention and made them receptive to wanting to work on their reading skills.
In looking ahead, I want my students to be able to read a contract as an adult and fully understand what they are signing; looking beyond what is written and what can be interpreted differently so that they do not sign something they will later regret. Of course, considering the grade level I will be teaching, my students will have quite a ways before they reach that stage in their lives. So my overall goal is to prepare them for their higher education by providing them with the skills to interpret a text, whether it is in an educational setting or personal life.
When reflecting on the past 8 weeks, the most refreshing idea for spicing up engagement and our lessons has been the encouragement to implement technology in the classroom. Having worked in the computer lab at our school, I loved all the ways that technology could be integrated into the lessons; and wondered why more teachers were not using it to their advantage. There are so many tools available to help enhance our lessons with technology. Although I will admit, as we started delving further into it yesterday, it can be a little overwhelming with all the different apps and websites that are available. Where do you start? Which app or website will benefit the subject you are teaching?
One vantage point we have as students, is that we are still learning the ropes and can make it a habit to implement technology in our lessons. As we create our lesson plans for this class, we are researching those sources that will help enhance our lessons. And what's best, we have the opportunity to share these with Dr. Steffes and our fellow classmates to see if in fact it was a good tool to add.
We have to remember that we are not just teaching our students about a particular subject, we want them to learn important life skills as well, and what better way than utilizing the many resources we have available to assist in this journey. I am so excited to continue my research into the apps I would like to use in my classroom. I was already familiar with a couple of apps that our media specialist at school raves about, like Flipgrid and WeVideo. I'm looking forward to playing with some of the other apps we learned about yesterday to see how they can help enhance my lessons. I definitely know that I will find a way to use Great Big Story, as those videos can be great companions to many lessons, and as Dr. Steffes put it, they can also serve as great "hooks".
