Lesson Planning

Lesson Planning

To be honest, lesson planning is one of my least favorite parts of the teaching profession. I LOVE teaching and coming up with fun ways for my students to learn. But physically sitting down and writing out all the parts of a lesson is like pulling teeth for me. 😂😩

I TOTALLY understand the importance of lesson planning. It is a way to be organized in case you need a sub, keeps you on track in teaching the state learning standards, and keeps students informed about what they are learning and what is expected of them - but that still doesn't mean I like doing it! 

However, I actually really like how we've does the unit plan project for this class. It is easier for me to take on lesson planning by chunking it into pieces. I especially LOVED the 100 questions assignment. It really made me think about EXACTLY what I want my students to take away from each lesson and what I want to ask them. By doing this, I was able to think about the best ways to approach the lesson, assess it, and THEN I was able to get it on paper. Trying to do all of that at once for me is impossible. I like to think about what I think I want to do, reflect on it, come up with new/better ideas, and then implement it. 

My biggest struggle is time. I come up with elaborate lesson plan ideas and then later realize I have no time to make it happen. My question for you is: do you struggle with matching engaging lesson plan ideas and time actually allowed in the classroom? How have you learned to balance the two? 

I thought this was helpful to think about while writing lesson plans... 

Class Reflection

Class Reflection 

Honestly, I'm pretty confused about what this blog post is supposed to be about. The assignment says Chapter 4 & 5, but we already did a blog post about Word Walls and we went over chapters 9-11 this week. Soooo I'm not sure which chapters I need to be writing about! 

However, I must say that I kind of liked tonight's class as a recording! I mean I missed everyone's comments, but to be honest I didn't have a babysitter tonight so it was nice to be able to pause when my kid was being needy for attention! 😂 Also, I just kept thinking about Dr. Steffes being in Mexico and I was a little jealous. 😜

Here's some thoughts I'm having (over the last several chapters) and about class in general: 

• Holy moly! This class is FLYING by! I mean we still have a lot of work to do... but I'm hoping my whole summer doesn't fly by as fast as this class is! 
• As a future elementary teacher, I am excited to be a teacher of nearly all content areas. And while I know reading is a big part of this class, I am becoming SUPER excited about teaching writing. I think writing can be incorporated in EVERY subject *even math!* and I just love watching student progress with their writing skills. Nothing is better than reading student stories. This class has kind of inspired me to think about new and exciting way to incorporate writing activities in the classroom.
• I was surprised to learn tonight about all the words we use in the English language that are technically "borrowed" from other languages. I took a language class during my undergrad in college and it was so interesting to learn about accents, dialects, and language development in general. Language is so complex and yet is so natural to humans. I enjoyed thinking about this because my daughter is just started to say a few words here and there and I love trying to teach her new words (right on track according to our book! She's 10 months old) and watching her learn. 
• Tonight's class made me think about how I would approach ELL students in my class. I grew up in a very tiny town and didn't have diverse classrooms growing up. This is one area I need to work on simply because I don't have any experience on it. Any tips of books to read or ideas of how to learn more about teaching ELL students? 
• I loved the section of the book on "choral speaking and reading" because I think it is such a fun but important part of language development. I think sometimes people feel silly teaching or participating in choral reading, but students LOVE it and it is so beneficial.  I started thinking about songs and then aspects of drama and I just think incorporating artsy ideas like that can really make learning engaging on a deeper level. Teacher's shouldn't underestimate these things. 
• LASTLY, I just want to know how you guys are feeling about the class so far? How has the assessment plan assignment been for you? How do you feel about your unit? 

Half way there! I can see the finish line now! 😜

Word Walls

Word Walls 

I absolutely love the idea of using word walls in my future classroom. We talked in week one about how some students (typically those of low SES) come to school knowing hundreds of thousands of vocabulary words less than their peers. I think vocabulary is so closely tied to how a student learns; if a teacher is using words in her lessons that a student doesn't understand, how can the student learn the objective? Without trying to catch them up with their vocabulary, we are already setting our students up to fail. Word walls can be one easy way to help close that gap between students. Once it is set up in the classroom, it is a fairly quick and easy attempt to introducing vocabulary words to students. Just simply exposing those words and having them in student vision can help students understand the importance of having a broad vocabulary.  Here are some examples I found on Pinterest: 

(http://lifeinfirstgrade1.blogspot.com)
This is what I imagine I will do in my future classroom.
I like how neat it is, the amount of space it takes up, and the bright colors. 

(http://ashleigh-educationjourney.com)
I also like this word wall because it seems very accessible to students. 

(http://lifewithmoorebabies.blogspot.com)
How fun is this?! I think it would be so cool to have the caterpillar
going around the whole classroom. The only downfall with this
is that it is not organized by letter or anything.

(http://yeehawteachingintexas.blogspot.com)
I think this is a good idea for when your word wall gets too full. You can store words that students have become more familiar with in something like this, while keeping the new words on the wall. 

Week Two - Chapter 1, 2, 3 Vocab

New-To-Me Terms from Ch. 1-3

There are a few vocabulary words and ideas that were new to me, or were different from what I have previously learned, from each chapter.

First of all, chapter one mentions the “look-say” method of reading instruction. I have always called this method “sight words.” Basically, it is the idea that students should memorize words so they can recall them on sight.  While I don’t feel like EVERY kid does this easily, I do think it is important to incorporate sight words into the classroom. Some words just cannot be sounded out (come, for example, is a hard one for students). Also, extremely frequent words will become so familiar to students that they don’t HAVE to sound them out. I think sight words are a good way for students to recognize sound patterns like –th, -ight, and –ch. Has anyone ever heard this teaching method called "look-say" instead of "sight words?" Do you think it is an effective way to learn?  

In chapter two, a topic I found noteworthy was the section on “fostering independent work habits.”  I really liked the idea of doing partner reading – where one person reads and another asks questions.  I also liked the idea of having literacy centers that students can work independently at and rotate through without being walked through every step – teachers need to learn how to let their student be independent when it comes to literacy. I like the idea of letting students choose their own writing topics and books – letting them make the choice for themselves. It is important to let students explore their own interests, whereas so many assignments are up to the teacher.

I found the Four Blocks Reading Program interesting from chapter three. I have learned about each of the four blocks (guided reading, self-selected reading, writer’s workshop, and working with words), but I have never heard of it called “Four Blocks.” I will incorporate all 4 aspects of this program into my future classroom, but I especially like “writer’s workshop.” I just like the idea of sharing really good examples of writing to the class and then exploring that further through writing assignments, group write, and class discussion/projects. I always think of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee when I think of these things. It’s not a book that most students would pick up in the library, but it has such a good message and is written wonderfully. There are so many different writing assignments and projects you could do with that book.

Week One Reflection

Week One Reflection 

I think we had a really great first class tonight! It was nice seeing some familiar names... I think I had a lot of you in the teaching science class with Tonya Heavin. Virtual classes aren't my favorite, but it is easier when you know a little bit about your peers. 😊

I'm really excited to learn more about teaching language arts through this class. Language Arts was always my favorite subject as a student, so I really want to learn how to captivate my future elementary students and make them fall in love with it too. Not to mention how incredibly important reading and writing is to a person's future (no pressure to us teachers! 😅). 

We went over A LOT of information tonight and I feel a little overwhelmed thinking about all the assignments that we have over these next (short) 8 weeks. I typically always feel like that on the first day of a new class though. Some people tend to procrastinate and stress in the last few weeks of a class, but I usually always stress the most at the beginning of a class. When I get used to the schedule and more familiar with assignments I tend to mellow out. 😎 Same thing happened with this blog situation - I've never used Blogger or have even thought about blogging, so I kinda freaked at first. Now, however, I feel more comfortable and I actually think I might enjoy this. 

Here's some thoughts and questions I'm having about our assignments: 

• I've only done one other scope and sequence before, so I appreciate the template Dr. Steffes gave us. I think I put too much detail in my last one. How many times have you created a scope and sequence? Does it get easier the more you do it?
• I really want to teach first grade, but will obviously be certified 1-6 and will be fine with teaching any grade. Any time I have to do a unit plan as an assignment though, I always stick to first grade. Do you think I should broaden my horizons and do this unit plan on a different grade?

P.S. Here's a visual of how we all looked as Dr. Steffes explained the upcoming assignments to us tonight. 😆 HAVE NO FEAR... WE'LL FIGURE IT OUT. 

2 Truths & a Lie!

2 Truths and a Lie About Paige 

• I have a dachshund named Ron Weasley. 
• My daughter was born weighing less than 3 pounds. 
• I studied abroad in Paris, France. 

Which statement do you think is a lie?