Blog #8

1. I really liked Kim Malo's blog post:

"When life works as it should, we dream dreams, make plans, aspire to be more tomorrow than we were yesterday. We are invigorated by challenge, strengthened by working toward it, and ennobled by attaining it."
I really like this because I believe it is true. When life is going well be have hopes, dreams, and plans. We are Strengthened by trying to meet those plans, and meeting them. Everyone needs to have challenges in life and feel what it is like to work towards them and accomplish thinks they thought were not possible. What a great chance as a teacher I have to challenge students and teach them how to dream and work towards dreams. I hope that I can show them I have dreams, and I challenge myself and work hard at those dreams accomplish able or not. I believe that people are happier when they have dreams and are trying to be better tomorrow than they were yesterday!

I completely agree. I love optimistic quotes like this. I actually just started a whole new blog called " Gallery of Goodness" it's where people can post their inspirational stories, thoughts and quotes to uplift others! I'm a "glass is half full" kind of person and I believe staying optimistic will help you be a better teacher and give your students a better learning experience.

2. I liked what Katie Jones had to say:

The five specific ways in which a teacher can respond to students' need for affirmation, contribution, power, purpose and challenge are: Invitation, Opportunity, Investment, Persistence and Reflection. I really like the idea of persistence and that there is no finish line in learning. We need to teach and show are students that we (including the teacher) are "all on a journey" and "none of us is ever through striving."

I loved that she said we ALL are on a journey and none of us is ever through striving. No matter how old you are, doesn't mean you're finished learning. If the teacher allows herself to teach AND LEARN with the students, she will be that more of a influential teacher!

Blog #7

1. I could picture myself using the "RAFT" strategy.

2. I really enjoyed the idea of this! I think students would love this and it would add an extra spin on things. It will help them get their creative juices going and they will feel extra smart, funny, and special. An example of using RAFT would be:

If you're teaching a lesson on plants, the students could write a letter using RAFT:

ROLE: Soil

AUDIENCE: Plants

FORMAT: Romantic letter

TOPIC: I need you so I don't erode.

This helps them be creative and have fun while learning and writing down facts and what they've learned so far about soil needing plants.

You could do this with ANY subject! It's fun!

Blog #6

I really liked that film we watched about that teacher who differentiated his classroom and put them into different groups. I think it's important to differentiate for readiness and interest all the time. No matter the topic being taught, it's important as a teacher to be aware of each student and their needs in your classroom. The students in the video seemed very content in the groups they were in. Well, I shouldn't say content, but they were happy. They were also pushed to a more challenging level that worked for them! Not everyone is the same. I definitely think our lessons as teachers should be interesting to the students. We can find out their interests by getting to know them, asking them questions, paying attention in morning meetings, paying attention to their assignments and how they're preforming. I think no matter what level a student is on, teachers can differentiate for readiness and interest.

Blog #5

Classroom Operation p. 44-46

* Learners should be clear on what guidelines exist

*Classroom guidelines are best as agreements forged to ensure a classroom that supports maximum sucesss for each of the learners!

*There are 4 general rules:

1. We will show respect for people, their ideas, and their property.

2. We will work hard to ensure our own growth and to assist the growth of others

3. We will persist, even when things are difficult and uncertain.

4. We will accept responsibility for the quality of our work and for our behaviors and actions.

*Class should be governed on "what we need to succeed."

*Students will start to focus on their individual growth when the teacher praises him/her for "growing."

*Students strive to be X-factor learners

*"Try 3 different ways before giving up"

*Students keep records of their status, assignments, and resulting grades.

*Time is valuable: Let students know you want them to work with you to be good stewards of time.

*Fair is ensuring all learners get what they need to succeed: It's more productive to think about crafting a classroom in which people work toward making sure each person gets what he needs to grow and develop as fully as possible.

* Teach up, Work up: Classrooms in which students come to realize that the teacher teaches for intellectual challenge and come to enjoy meeting that challenge and come to enjoy meeting that challenge are dynamic places for everyone involved.

I can't wait to try these ideas in my future classroom!

Blog #4

A-1) Based on Principal Allan's presentation on Wednesday, what are your current thoughts about morning meetings and their potential to build a caring, trusting community in a classroom? What are you thinking in terms of trying morning meeting, yourself, when you are a teacher?

Ok, first of all, WOW. I can see why you think she is so amazing, because she is! I felt SO rejuvinated after I left that class period listening to her speak. If I could hear her speak at least once a week for the rest of my life, I would be thrilled. Just listening to her made me even more excited to teach. It made me want to do every thing she does! I can tell that children just love her and admire her. I want to be her! I love the fact that we still have teachers like her in the world. I kept thinking how LUCKY those kids were to get HER as a teacher! I know they will never forget her and I'm sure owe part of their love for education because she planted the seed in their souls. I wish she could mentor me each day my first year of teaching... and the rest of my career. Then maybe I can be half as good as she is. :) But seriously, that's my goal in the end: to leave footprints on the hearts of each of my kids. I hope they know how special each of them really are. I believe with all my heart that morning meetings work MAGIC. I will definitely do morning meetings EVERY SINGLE DAY in my classroom because I can see how it builds TRUST and love between the teacher and peers. I loved how she said her classrooms formed UNITY and they loved each other. WOW. WOW. WOW. I seriously can't say enough about how I felt and what I was thinking as she was speaking to us the other day. I laughed and I cried and it gave me so much hope. Morning meetings are such a wonderful thing and I wish every single teacher would do them because if they're not, they're really missing out. Come see me in 3 years... my classroom will be rockin!

B-1) In chapter 3, Tomlinson discusses five specific ways in which a teacher can respond to students' needs for affirmation, contribution, power, purpose, and challenge. What are those five ways (list them briefly, from pages 27-35)? Explain what really speaks to you about Tomlinson's discussion of these specific responses.

The Response of Invitation: The teacher needs to reassure the student often that he/she is accepted and loved in the classroom by saying : I believe in you, I have time for you, We need you here, etc. The child will feel valued and important.

Response of Opportunity: This requires hard work, but it's hard work with a purpose. I love this quote: we don't just keep them busy. We're giving them an opportunity. Giving students an opportunity gives them a voice in what and how they learn.

Response of Investment: Invested teachers share their thoughts about the classroom with students. Invested teachers make links with students lives outside the classroom as well. and Invested teachers are personally engaged in what they ask the students to do.

Response of Persistence: The teacher who genuinely believes in the possibilities of each individual is not easily discouraged. The teacher doesn't question the educability of any student. In the eyes of a persistent teacher is that when a student fails, the teacher fails.

Response of Reflection: This teacher says " I watch and listen to you carefully, I make sure to use what I learn to help you learn better, I try to see things through your eyes, How can I make this better?"

I absolutely loved reading about all these things... because all these things is something that makes up a really great teacher like Sylvia. A lot of people think that you have to be on your "high horse" as a teacher and you must be stern and not be friends with your students.... I say WHY NOT?! Don't the BEST students come from warm, friendly, caring, loving, nice, inviting teachers? Why ruin a child's love for school and their relationship with the teacher by being a grumpy old log? I don't get that. Teacher's should love their job and love each of their students. Each of these 5 things can help me get closer to becoming the "world's greatest teacher" and more importantly , my students will feel important and valued because I will be each of these 5 things and more!

Blog #3

Out of the inventories I LOVE the Attitudes and Interests sheet. I personally have always loved when my teacher would ask me personal questions. All young children absolutely love to share their personal lives. It was always rare for me to have a teacher ask me personal questions, like what's my favorite hobby? What's my favorite dessert? etc. I think by handing out this worksheet and letting the students fill it out ~ it makes them feel important and it makes them feel like they have a voice. Not only that, but it gives the teacher a better idea of what their interests are and helps her with lesson planning. This is a win/win situation for everyone because if the teacher is teaching about something interesting, the students will have a better desire to learn.

I feel the same way about the Interest Survey. Anything that lets the student have a voice is always such a good thing. The student will love the teacher for letting them voice their own opinion. I also think these worksheets are good so they don't feel pressured from the rest of the class. This is between the student and the teacher only. The student should feel safe enough to express how they're feeling about a subject or topic and let the teacher know their likes and dislikes. I really wish I had teachers that did this for me. I think it works wonders with children and education.

I also love the " What Do You Want To Learn About Rome" worksheet. Seriously, these worksheets are awesome. This not only gives the child a voice and opinion, but it lets the teacher see what the student already knows or wants to know about Rome. This lets the student stretch and think about what they really know about Rome without being penalized for getting any questions wrong. All the student has to do is fill out the worksheet as best they can. This is always good when the student isn't being graded for voicing their own opinion on a piece of paper. This allows them to fly. The teacher is now able to tell what students already know about Rome and she can form her lesson plans around what the students said on their worksheets.

ps- I LOVE the love scene in the Sound of Music with Maria and Captain VonTrapp! What a beautiful scene. I didn't appreciate that scene when I was younger :) but now that I'm older, I absolutely adore it. What a beautiful flick The Sound of Music is! And Oh I sure hope you treat yourself to owning the DVDs of Anne of Green Gables! You will never regret it!

Blog #2

"I have found that by giving the students a say in what they will learn about, I can improve the chances that each of them will participate in and benefit from the unit activities." - p. 60

I believe this with all my heart. Sometimes I feel like teachers get on a bit of a high horse and want to teach and do what they want to do, but when they realize that they have 25 little ones counting on the teacher to mold, lead, and guide them towards their future, the teacher should be less worried about what SHE wants to teach, but what the little students are eager to LEARN. When teachers realize that even though these students may be young, they have such a yearning for life. They want to know about the world around them. They are curious about many, many things. Why not let your students have a say in what they might be interested in learning about. When teachers allow the students to broaden their horizons and learn about something they're interested in, magic happens. Light bulbs turn on and suddenly, these little children's lives are changed. When they're in college, they'll look back on their 2nd grade teacher who let them explore and learn about things they wanted to know more about... and they thank them... because their love of learning started at such a young age.

ps- I LOVE that you love Anne of Green Gables! I'm not surprised. That Anne is hilarious and I laugh and laugh every time I see this movie. It's so wonderful and good for the soul! You should look into purchasing the DVDs on Amazon! It is SO worth it to own! :) My favorite things about the Sound of Music is of course the sound track. I have so many favorite moments in The Sound of Music, but if I have to choose: I love the scene when they're out on the town and Maria teaches the children to sing and they sing all over town. I also love the scene with Liesel and Freidrick " I am 16 going on 17." Oh my goodness, I love all of it! :)