Week 5

Lesson Plans

This week we were given the opportunity to present one of our lesson plans. I always worry about my lesson plans. To me, they look like fun and great ways to help students learn but I often worry that they will come off silly to other people. Presenting these lesson plans to my peers and to our professor gives me confidence. I feel that I could get in front of a classroom of students and that they would understand and grow from what I have to teach them. 

I love the set up that we have been given to create creating our objective. I had Dr. Steffes in my classroom Management class and she showed us how to use these steps to create lesson plan objectives. It was a game changer for me. Before then I was always missing parts of the objective now I just fill it in step by step. I am then easily able to refer back to it throughout my lesson plan to make sure I am fulfilling my objective.
 

Presenting in front of the class also helped me see the areas that I had made assumptions. For example, I made the assumption that people could easily see how students would be making predictions and testing these hypotheses. But, when I presented I was able to step back and view it from the perspective of someone who was not setting in my mind. As teachers, we might not always be there. We need to have lesson plans that are clear enough for our sub to pick up and follow.

Off Week

The assignment for this week says that it is an off week. It told us to catch up but I already did so I thought that I would take a look at some graphic organizers.



I really like KWL organizers. I think that they help the students really think about what they already know about the topic. Too many times students will just say I don't know but if they take the time they have a lot more schema then they ever realized. I also think that it is important that students take the time to reflect on what they would like to learn more about and how to make sure they are being relevant to their reading. Then students are given the time to reflect on what they have learned. How many times do we hear our students or even our own kids answer the question "What did you learn at school today" with an "I don't know" or "Nothing". I believe that when a student takes the time to acknowledge what they have learned there is a better chance of it sticking with them.


I call this one the main idea burger. It helps students really look at what the main idea was and what details were available to help support those ideas. Sometimes as advanced readers we make assumptions that our students can see the main idea clearly. This sandwich helps them piece together they why.

5 Fun Ways to Teach Vocabulary

Eye Spy 

Give students a list of words to search for in a text or have them find unfamiliar words. You can award points to the words based on different criteria This can be done as a pre-reading activity.

Word Pairs 

Give students words in pairs and have them evaluate if the words are the same, opposite, go together, or are unrelated.

Games 

Real games can be a great source of vocabulary play and practice. Examples of games include Balderdash, Taboo, Blurt, and Scrabble.

Word Wheel 

Students spin the wheel to see if they will draw, act out, rhyme, define, given a synonym or antonym of the word.

Vocabulary Photo Album 

Have students clip pictures that represent the vocabulary word. These could be placed in a photo album or in a word journal.  

Week 2
Word Wall Ideas

This one is very simple but I like it because I know that wall space is very limited in the classrooms that I will probably be teaching in. It is also easy for students to find the word if they know the beginning letter sound. This would be grade appropriate for 1st grade.

I like this one because it also introduces the idea of word families and blinds. It is still very simple and would fit into a smaller space.

Once again you can use word families and images to help make the connection easier.

I like this one because it makes the words more personal to the students. They can take them down and use them. It could be used in writing or even in games.

If I had enough room in my classroom though, something like this would combine the best of both worlds. I would put the words on an index card going down the row of letters and then have the flip ring for individual students use or games. But if space was in short supply I might have to get creative with it.

Week 1 Reflection

It was mentioned during the class about taking the time to read. I like the idea of spending some time reading. I feel that because of how busy we are will school work we have no time to actually read on our own. I would even love taking a few minutes just to read a stupid romance novel anything besides a textbook. So, I really love the idea of using some time to read. I would prefer the time at the end of class. The reason that I feel that way is that I am a planner. If I am given time, in the beginning, I will try to read but end up planning for the class.
This is the only class that I have done blogs but I really like it rather than discussion post. The first time I did the blog post I was so nervous but Mrs. Steffes is very good about explaining how to post a blog.
I have to say that I love the calendar that was put for assignments on D2L. With my son coming back home from deployment and the trips that we have scheduled for this summer I will really need to plan ahead and this will be a huge help for that.
We also looked at the Unit Plan- I am a bit worried about coming up with 10 lessons that I would use for my standards but I will do my best.
We then discussed Chapters 1, 2, and 3
Chapter 1 was basically a history or an overview of language arts
Chapter 2 looked at a positive learning enviroment- I like the comment about not conferencing with our students but conversing with them.
Chapter 3 discussed the emergent reader. With several years of working with preschool students, I can attest to the importance of symbolic language. We talked about the zone of proximal development and helping them build a schema to work with.

EDUC 337

Blog Week #1 Introduction

Hello, everyone, my name is Rebekah Hedgepath. I am a preschool Paraprofessional. I work with students who have tested high enough to not need special services but low enough that they are already at risk for failure in school. A lot of my students deal with behavior issues. I am working on my post-Bacc elementary education certification. I hope to work with Pre-k, Kindergarten, 1st or 2nd grade. I have actually really come to love 1st grade. I love all of the new concepts and ideas that are introduced to them. It oddly reminds me of my own preschool classroom.
I am a military spouse. My husband has worked full time for the Missouri National Guard for the last 22 years. We have been happily married for 24 years this May. He is an amazing helicopter pilot and absolutely loves to fly.
I am also a proud ARMY mom. My daughter graduates college this year and is also ROTC. She leaves just days after graduating to her training in Fort Huachuca Arizona and will be there for training and then leave for Alaska. She will be graduating with a dual degree in Foreign Politics and National Policy. She has a minor in Military Intelligence and a Focus in Russian
My middle son returns from his first military deployment sometime next week. He won't tell me when because he wants it to be a surprise. I have missed him like crazy and I can't wait to see him. I am very proud of him but I am glad that he will be going back to college and continuing his degree. He has continued to take classes from UCM while he was deployed so he will hopefully not be too far behind. He is a fine art major and is a beautiful existential artist. His fine art degree will be in graphic design with a minor in typography.
My youngest son is finishing up his Junior year of High School. He is my science geek. We will be taking some trips this summer to check out a few of the colleges that he is interested in. He is planning on getting a masters degree in aerospace engineering. He also loves to talk philosophy with me.
My kids have really broadened my reading focuses. My daughter will read a military book or a book on social justice and want to discuss it with me. My middle son will want to share books about different famous artists and why they created what they have created. I am reading a book about Piccaso right now with him. My youngest loves to discuss philosophy and I recently re-read one of the old Greek philosophers. I love the variety that they provide for me.

Two Truths 1 Lie

I have lived in 5 different states 

I love museums 

I am terribly afraid of heights