In Class Portfolio

Bio Poem
Web Site Evaluations
Graphic Organizer
Lesson Plan Cover Page
Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan Activity 1
Lesson Plan Activity 2
Video Book Trailer

Dialogue Poem

My Dialogue Poem 

Question 3: Are we too Dumb for Complex Text?

Question 3: " The last paragraph of this article summarizes the thesis and makes a strong statement. Do you agree or disagree and why?

I disagree with the last paragraph of this article. I believe the idea of one hour of slow reading a day is unrealistic. In today’s world unfortunately, children are not going home for one hour of slow reading. They are off to clubs, sports, work, or doing other homework. Most colleges today actually place high importance on how involved students are in their communities and schools so I do place value on these activities.I agree when the author says that, “slow practices that slow down and intensify the reading of complex texts will help,” however I believe this practice needs to take place in school. In school, teachers can provide students with strategies to use and help guide their thinking. The reality is this valued practice won’t happen in the same way at home as it will in school.

I also don’t agree with the author when he says these slow reading practices, “do more to boost college readiness than 300 shiny laptops down the hall- and for a fraction of the price.” I believe in technology, in addition to slow-reading,is a crucial way to prepare students for future college experiences as well as their future careers. I see the potential for technology to make learning more engaging and provide tools for students to succeed in their learning. We talked today about how students can actually enhance their learning online by using the resources to answer outstanding questions they may have while reading a complex text.  And the author claims slow reading is a fraction of a cost of technology. But what does a well balanced education cost? I believe it is priceless. I don’t think you can put a price on something that will aid our students learning and get them more invested. Yes, it may be costly but there are different ways of integrating technology besides buying “300 shiny new laptops” as the author states.

In Class Portfolio: Graphic Organizer For Kindergarten

This graphic organizer is for Kindergarten math involving shape recognition and sorting.

My Ideal Bookshelf

Wordle

Question 6: Our Brains Extended

Question 6: “How could we rethink our K-12 curriculum for the 21^st century, symbolically combining human strengths with the post powerful technology strengths?”

            Today we really delved deeply into the ideas of Mark Pensky. The article, along with the ideas and points of others, really caused me to rethink some of my own ideas about what an ideal curriculum is and what it looks like.

            I believe one way we can rethink our K-12 curriculum is to not separate our subjects as much as we do now. I think Pensky has great insight when he suggests the overlap of curricula across the different content areas. I think the integration of multiple subjects makes lessons more meaningful and substantial.

            Another way to improve the K-12 curriculum is to not negate the importance of teaching the basic skills necessary to build future content. I believe it is important as teachers to lay this framework so that all children have a “tool box” of tools from which to pull when trying to understand new material.  Sonya shared in our discussion the wonderful example of how she learned how to do the formulas without the calculator. Because she was equipped with the fundamental skills she was able to apply it to the math she was learning . Others who had depended whole-heartedly on the technology (calculator) were not able to complete the problems without the presence of the calculator since they didn’t have those basic underlying skills.  

            I think technology should be used to aid or enhance curriculum not replace it. I think there are unbelievable technological resources that can make learning engaging and often more accessible for students.  During the course of this week I have been learning all different ways to incorporate technology into my lessons.  Technology continues to evolve as does education. Combining our human strengths with this technology component can ultimately provide a successful curriculum for students. I think this is a daunting task. We even talked about what it would be like to have to create the curriculum based on Pensky’s ideas. While his ideas are great in theory I can see why teachers would burn out. Therefore, I believe in adopting the pieces of his ideas that can be successful and integrating them in the K-12 curriculum.  Such ideas include the idea of effective thinking. I believe we need to teach children how to think critically. I think as teachers we need to realize that if we want them to think on a higher level then we need to explicitly teach them how to do so The idea of effective relationships is also important.  Providing opportunities in our classrooms to foster relationships, use teamwork, and work cooperatively can help children work together towards common goals. The last idea I believe is worth integrating is the idea of effective accomplishment, of showing the children what to do with what they learned, so they see a purpose in what they are learning.  If children see a connection to their own lives it becomes more meaningful and they become more invested in their learning. 

Book Trailer

Or view it here

Annotated Website List for Teachers

Teachers Pay Teachers

Category: Teacher Lesson Plan Site

Audience: Teachers

Grade Level: All

Subject Area: All

Description: Teachers Pay Teachers is a site where teachers can buy,sell, or share their own lesson plans and ideas. These plans may include lesson procedures, center ideas, printables, games etc. There is a search box if you are looking for lessons in a particular subject area or you can browse freely. It  also has specific categories you can click on separated by grade, subject, price, or resource type. This website has many free resources which is wonderful but unfortunately some can get quite pricey.

Reading A to Z

Category: Teacher and Student Resources

Audience: Teacher

Grade Level: Pre-K-5

Subject Area: Reading

Description: This website is resource for teachers but has many resources to use with students. All the materials on this website are directly linked to the Common Core State Standards. It includes: reading lessons, decodable books, reader’s theater scripts, fluency passages, phonological awareness, phonics, and assessments.  It also has resources for student use such as worksheets, graphic organizers, word sorts,  and flashcards. It has leveled books that you can print across 27 levels of difficulty. I use the books on here for guided reading groups as well as for the children’s book bags they bring home for homework.

Hubbard’s Cupboard

Category: Teacher Planning Site

Audience: Teachers

Grade Level: Pre-K- K

Subject Area: Reading, Writing, Social Studies, and Math

Description: Hubbard’s Cupboard is a resource for parents/educators of early childhood students in the area of literacy and math. It focusses on lesson ideas that are engaging and hands on for students. It is separated into “activities” rather than lessons. The activities are games or activities with hands on manipulatives. With each activity comes a description of the activity along with a picture of what the activity looks like. It also includes a list of online resources for more ideas similar to the one you are currently viewing. The website also includes resources for in classroom use: printable books (by sight words or word families), morning message ideas, writing templates, and center ideas. This site is great but there are no assessment pieces so you’d have to formulate your own to go with the lesson ideas.

Kinderweb

Category: Student Interactive Learning Site

Audience: Students

Grade Level: Kindergarten

Subject Area: Phonological Awareness and Math

Description: This website is for students to play interactive learning games involving basic Kindergarten skills. All of the games involve both a visual and auditory component and are done on a basic level. It asks students a question and the students are given three choices to answer and have to click on the right one. This website is extremely simple. The graphics and visuals are on a basic level but the skills being tested are accurate for Kindergarten. The only printables available are coloring pages of animals and letters. I wish there were printables related to all of the online games offered. I also wish that there were worksheets with content and not just to simply color.

PBS Kids

Category: Student Interactive Learning Site

Audience: Students

Grade Level: Lower Elementary

Subject Area: Reading, Science, Math, Spelling

Description: This is a site for interactive games for children in many subject areas. There is a drop down menu to choose a desired topic. Once you designate a subject, a large list of games appears. Students can drag the mouse over a game to see the lesson goals. If it interests them they can click on it and begin playing. You can also narrow the game choice by game topic such as coloring games, letter games, vocabulary games, measurement games etc. The games on here are developmentally appropriate and are appealing and motivating for children. For letter practice one game lets children drag magnetic letters on a simulated refrigerator. This game could easily be adapted in their own homes on their real refrigerator.

ABC Ya

Category: Student Interactive Learning Site

Audience: Students

Grade Level: K-5

Subject Area: All

Description: This is a site full of games for students that address skills in different subject areas. It would be a great website to use during center time on a current subject you’re using in the curriculum. Many of the games are interactive and test student knowledge. For example, if you have been working on letter sounds there is a fantastic Bingo game that allows the student to play until they get BINGO by recognizing letter sounds produced through the computer. This website is organized by grade and subject.

Have Fun Teaching

Category: Teacher Resources/ Lesson Plan Site

Audience: Teachers

Grade Level: K-6

Subject Area: All

Description: Have Fun Teaching is an abundant resource for teachers. It has worksheets, game ideas, flashcards, videos, activities, and songs that can all be used to compliment your curriculum. It is organized by grade level and within each level you can search by subject. There are even specific flashcards/activities for ESL students.  There are also items for teachers to use in planning such as center activities, behavior management plans,  worksheet creator, lesson plans, smartboard lessons, posters, and thematic units. This website is extremely easy to navigate and is well organized. It would be easy to locate something specific you were looking for.

Know It All

Category: Student Resources

Audience: Students

Grade Level: Elementary- High School

Subject Area: All

Description: This site is an educational web portal with a collection of fun, interactive, and informational websites for K-12 students. The idea is to make them a “know it all” by providing the means to explore the web on their own. It encourages the idea that “smart is fun.” You can browse by grade level or subject and there is a search box if you are looking for something specific. I think the leveling on this website is a little broad. When you click on grade level it is separated into elementary, middle school, and high school and not specific grades. I think the information a kindergartener would look for is a lot different than what a fifth grader would be looking for. I think it should've been broken down my individual grades.

Kidport Reference Library

Category: Student Resources

Audience: Students

Grade Level: K- 8

Subject Area: All

Description: This is a collection of references by subject for students to use for skill building or help on a school projects/assignments. It provides tips on the subject, why it is important,  how to solve/figure out,  examples, and other websites or sources to go to receive more information on the subject. The Kidport website itself is an interactive website for students that encourages thinking and learning simultaneously. The site includes interactives games and videos for children as aids in their learning. I liked this website because it had multiple means of information on one subject. For example if you clicked on identifying words it gives you different strategies to use and examples of the different strategies. Then it gives you links to websites that involve identifying words.

SurfNetKids

Category: Student Resources/ Teacher Resources

Audience: Students and Teachers

Grade Level: PreK-6

Subject Area: All

Description:  This is a resource for both students and teachers. The website highlights what the author considers to be wonderful on the web and makes it easily accessible for students. It involves a directory with subjects/topics and  games that are interactive and can be used to complement curriculum. When you click on a topic it provides lists of links that coincide with that topic. This would be a great site for teachers to show children how to locate information on topics they are learning about in school. It is also helpful as a means to practice skills in the interactive games. Teachers can also use the free newsletter to let parents know what educational sites are available to the children for use at home as well as in school.

Technology Autobiography

           My earliest memories of technology involved coming home from preschool and watching my favorite videos on the VCR. I had many movies on VHS including the classic Disney movies, Kid Songz, Mary-Kate and Ashley, and even home videos. I remember watching the same videos over and over and having to wait many minutes while the tape would rewind. This was how I learned which buttons meant play, stop, fast forward, and rewind. Eventually, I was able to manipulate the VCR myself.
         I remember my dad videotaping me and my sisters using his video recorder and then we would be able to watch them on the TV. All of our TVs were big tube TVs. One of them even had a dial instead of buttons.

The same style TV was also seen in school. Going through elementary school I remember getting so excited when the teacher would wheel in the TV in on the cart. I knew when I saw the TV we were going to get to watch a movie!
    In Elementary school I was also exposed to printers. I remember going to computer class and being so excited to print a copy of what I worked on to show my parents. I remember working as fast as I could to ensure I would have time to print. I remember going on field trips and remembering to pack my Walkman/Cassettes and eventually Discman/ book of CDS. I also always had to have my Gigapet (digital pet) to keep me busy on the bus!
     It was in fifth  grade when my Dad first introduced me to the internet at home. We had AOL dial up internet and had to wait what seemed forever for the computer to acquire internet access. I remember hearing those annoying sounds on the phone when I was trying to make a phone call and someone else was on the internet. We had one house phone and we all had to fight for phone time. It wasn't until high school that I received my first cell phone. It was a simple flip phone but it was such a large advancement at the time. It was the best Christmas present I had ever received and I couldn't wait to go in and show my friends.
     It was in college that I got my first laptop and when Facebook started becoming popular. Facebook was an easy way to communicate with classmates/friends on the college campus as well as maintain friendships while I was away at school. Technology took off from here. I got an IPod for Christmas and was able to put music from hundreds of CDS on one place. I now have replaced my old flip phone with the IPhone that has all the capabilities of a computer. I watch TV on a flat screen  and watch DVDs instead of VHS.  I now read books on my Nook and browse the internet on the IPad. New technology seems to overtake the old.
It is unbelievable to see how technology has drastically changed just over my lifetime and I have no doubt we have only just seen the beginning.