Thursday, June 18, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
American Idol Post 2
Who watched American Idol last night? I did! I thought it was going to be really bad because of the Disco theme, but it was really good. My favorites were, of course, Danny and I also liked Matt's performance. I thought Allison did a great job, but I did not like her outfit. What do you think? Who was your favorite? I think that Lil and Anoop will be going home. I like both of them, but the other 5 are really awesome. This year has the best talent. Tell me what you think. Leave a comment and share your thoughts.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Activity 8-Task 1
I found the video and links about Google Docs to be very helpful. I learned more ways to use Google Docs in the classroom. Some ways I thought Google Docs could be utilized in the classroom would be by having the students write a book report/review or make a group presentation about a topic. I like the idea of Google Docs because it takes out the process of saving, sending, and confusion that students and teachers have to go through when writing or creating projects. There is no more excuse for not being able to work on the activity or not be able to find it. The students can get any ones feed back and really get engaged in the project.
I think I might use Google Docs with my Social Studies group when we go a project in a couple weeks. I think this would be a great way for them to present their ideas. The other groups had to present the "old fashion" way, poster board. That was no fun at all. I think using the tool would make writing easier and more engaging. The students would be more apt to write and edit each others work.
I think I might use Google Docs with my Social Studies group when we go a project in a couple weeks. I think this would be a great way for them to present their ideas. The other groups had to present the "old fashion" way, poster board. That was no fun at all. I think using the tool would make writing easier and more engaging. The students would be more apt to write and edit each others work.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
PSSA Testing
This week felt so long. I do not know how the kids did it. I was so tired each day after the tests. I also think I got sick because of the tests, well probably not because of the tests, but because of being in the same room for hours with some kids who were sick. You got to love germs! Not really. But the kids did a wonderful job. They really tried and worked hard. The scores should show their effort.
How do you think the PSSA's went? Did you feel well prepared and confident to take them? Do you think you did better than last year? I think you all did a EXCELLENT job! The kids in my room were really trying and had some amazing answers. Good Job kids!! Leave a comment about the PSSA's.
Thanks to Meghan W. for leaving me a comment. You can check it out.
How do you think the PSSA's went? Did you feel well prepared and confident to take them? Do you think you did better than last year? I think you all did a EXCELLENT job! The kids in my room were really trying and had some amazing answers. Good Job kids!! Leave a comment about the PSSA's.
Thanks to Meghan W. for leaving me a comment. You can check it out.
American Idol-Country Week
Hey did you watch American Idol, I did, and of course I have my favorites. My number one guy was, of course, Danny! I think that guy is awesome, and he sang one of my favorite songs!! He did an awesome job. My other favorites were Anoop and Kris, both did excellent. The guys are really good this year. What do you think?! The girls did alright on Tuesday, but they need to step it up. I didn't post yesterday, so I cannot ask you who you think should go home, but I can ask you do you think the right person went home? I really like Alexis and I do not think she should have gone home yet. I think the judges should have saved her, but that is my opinion. Do you think Alexis should have left or do you think someone else should have? Let me know. Remember to leave a comment.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
American Idol Post 1
Good Afternoon,
All right, who watched American Idol last night? I did and I thought most of the contestents did a wonderful job. My favorites were Danny and Kris. I also enjoyed Anoop's performance. I thought the judges were a little hard on him, but I still liked him. Tell me what you think. Write me a comment and tell me who you voted for or who was your favorite. We can discuss each week what we thought of the performances. I will use my blog to comment on each nights performance. I know there are a lot of you out there who enjoy American Idol as much as I do. Jesse even gets into the show. So every Tuesday and Wednesday I will make a post about the show. Comment on what you liked. This should be fun!!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Good Evening,
What a day?! It was a crazy day and it went fast.
This week has been so busy, both in school and out of school. Tuesday's band concert was amazing. The students did a great job! It was wonderful listening to the different groups! Great job to all the groups. Keep up the good work. I am looking forward to the Spring concerts! Last evening I had a wonderful time at Read Across America Night! I am so glad that I got to be part of a terrific program. It was great seeing all the kids. The elementary students were so cute in their PJ's. It was great talking with the kids and seeing their excitement. I also saw a few of my sixth graders, it was nice to see them out of the classroom setting. Tomorrow is Friday and it is the last middle school dance! I am hoping I can make it and show off my dancing moves. Seeing that some of my students do not think I can dance. I can "cut the rug" with best of them!! I look forward to coming and seeing the students.
Today we continued to work on the "Book Bridges". The students are finishing up finding the main idea and supporting details in their children's book. Tomorrow most of my kids should be creating their bridges and labeling them. I am looking forward to seeing how they turn out. Hopefully, the student's "supported" their bridges enough.
Can you smell Spring? I can! I am looking forward to warm, sunny days!! Let's hope Winter moves out of the way and lets Spring come early.
What a day?! It was a crazy day and it went fast.
This week has been so busy, both in school and out of school. Tuesday's band concert was amazing. The students did a great job! It was wonderful listening to the different groups! Great job to all the groups. Keep up the good work. I am looking forward to the Spring concerts! Last evening I had a wonderful time at Read Across America Night! I am so glad that I got to be part of a terrific program. It was great seeing all the kids. The elementary students were so cute in their PJ's. It was great talking with the kids and seeing their excitement. I also saw a few of my sixth graders, it was nice to see them out of the classroom setting. Tomorrow is Friday and it is the last middle school dance! I am hoping I can make it and show off my dancing moves. Seeing that some of my students do not think I can dance. I can "cut the rug" with best of them!! I look forward to coming and seeing the students.
Today we continued to work on the "Book Bridges". The students are finishing up finding the main idea and supporting details in their children's book. Tomorrow most of my kids should be creating their bridges and labeling them. I am looking forward to seeing how they turn out. Hopefully, the student's "supported" their bridges enough.
Can you smell Spring? I can! I am looking forward to warm, sunny days!! Let's hope Winter moves out of the way and lets Spring come early.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Acitivty 07a
Good Morning,
Well, I have fallen a little behind in the course, but I am working on catching up. I have enjoyed reading the different blogs and news on my Google Reader RSS. I have found some very good blogs. There are two that I am really enjoying and learning from.
One of the blogs is Teacher Created Tips. In this blog/website, teachers post different tips and techniques. It is very interesting and I have learned many tips that I never knew about. One of the tips I read about, was Tips for Encouraging Good Student Behavior. The tip that I liked the most was the Red Pen Reversal. The idea is to use a red pen to mark answers that are CORRECT, not incorrect. Basically, you mark the students correct answers and leave their incorrect answers unmarked. This is a silent message that the students need to correct the questions that are not marked. The students know, without you telling them, that the questions are wrong and to go back and fix them. I liked this tip because it allows the students to feel successful and see what they did correct. Too often, students associate red marks with the word "wrong". This is a nice way of letting the students know what they need to fix. There are many more tips on this blog that are useful. Most of the tips apply more to elementary, but there are some tips that would work in the higher grades.
The second blog that I really like to read is Cal Teacher Blog:Reflecting Teaching. This is another good blog to follow. This teacher has good insights and provides good discussion. The one post that I have enjoyed the most was Teaching Patience? In this post, he talks about how we, teachers, need to teach patience. We expect students to be patient and we ask them to be patient. (I know I do, and sometimes it is hard to get them to be patient.) In order for students to be patient, we need to teach them patience. A way to do this, is to show students patience. He says that teaching patience requires patient presentation. We need to be aware of the classroom pace. This article was very interesting and made me reflect on my teaching and the pace of my classroom. I learned some tips and I am going to try to implement them into my classroom.
I am enjoying reading the different blogs out there for us to read and learn from. It is a little overwhelming, scanning and skimming, but I have found my pace. There are just so many good blogs and posts. I find myself reading more and not scanning as much as I should be. But, I am learning and finding the blogs and posts I want to read and managing my RSS feeder. I look forward to reading more.
Well, I have fallen a little behind in the course, but I am working on catching up. I have enjoyed reading the different blogs and news on my Google Reader RSS. I have found some very good blogs. There are two that I am really enjoying and learning from.
One of the blogs is Teacher Created Tips. In this blog/website, teachers post different tips and techniques. It is very interesting and I have learned many tips that I never knew about. One of the tips I read about, was Tips for Encouraging Good Student Behavior. The tip that I liked the most was the Red Pen Reversal. The idea is to use a red pen to mark answers that are CORRECT, not incorrect. Basically, you mark the students correct answers and leave their incorrect answers unmarked. This is a silent message that the students need to correct the questions that are not marked. The students know, without you telling them, that the questions are wrong and to go back and fix them. I liked this tip because it allows the students to feel successful and see what they did correct. Too often, students associate red marks with the word "wrong". This is a nice way of letting the students know what they need to fix. There are many more tips on this blog that are useful. Most of the tips apply more to elementary, but there are some tips that would work in the higher grades.
The second blog that I really like to read is Cal Teacher Blog:Reflecting Teaching. This is another good blog to follow. This teacher has good insights and provides good discussion. The one post that I have enjoyed the most was Teaching Patience? In this post, he talks about how we, teachers, need to teach patience. We expect students to be patient and we ask them to be patient. (I know I do, and sometimes it is hard to get them to be patient.) In order for students to be patient, we need to teach them patience. A way to do this, is to show students patience. He says that teaching patience requires patient presentation. We need to be aware of the classroom pace. This article was very interesting and made me reflect on my teaching and the pace of my classroom. I learned some tips and I am going to try to implement them into my classroom.
I am enjoying reading the different blogs out there for us to read and learn from. It is a little overwhelming, scanning and skimming, but I have found my pace. There are just so many good blogs and posts. I find myself reading more and not scanning as much as I should be. But, I am learning and finding the blogs and posts I want to read and managing my RSS feeder. I look forward to reading more.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Activity 5, Part 1
I was a little overwhelmed by all the "new items" on Google Reader. There was a lot to scan and skim, but I was able to navigate through the information. One item of found interesting was on Students 2.0. The blog/post I read was a student's writing about creativity vs. art.
The student makes an excellent point about creativity and art. The post was very interesting, but one part I enjoyed the most was where he said "...Actually, creativity and art are not so much polar opposites as two sides of the same coin.Sick of the casual metaphors yet? Creativity is used to think of new ideas and sources of ideas. Art is used to translate those ideas into presentable forms. To create a brilliant work, both creativity and art must be used...."( Morgante Pell). I liked how he talked about art and creativity, and that we need both to make brilliant work. I feel sometimes as teachers, we get so bogged down with meeting standards and giving tests, that we forget about letting students show their creativity. In his post, he talks more about how students are not really given the chance to use creativity and how schools fail to see that we need to teach students both the "art"and the "creativity" of learning.
The post was well written and you can tell a lot of thought went into his post. I found it inspiring that a high school student wrote it, and expressed how we, as educators, need to foster a student's creativity.
The student makes an excellent point about creativity and art. The post was very interesting, but one part I enjoyed the most was where he said "...Actually, creativity and art are not so much polar opposites as two sides of the same coin.Sick of the casual metaphors yet? Creativity is used to think of new ideas and sources of ideas. Art is used to translate those ideas into presentable forms. To create a brilliant work, both creativity and art must be used...."( Morgante Pell). I liked how he talked about art and creativity, and that we need both to make brilliant work. I feel sometimes as teachers, we get so bogged down with meeting standards and giving tests, that we forget about letting students show their creativity. In his post, he talks more about how students are not really given the chance to use creativity and how schools fail to see that we need to teach students both the "art"and the "creativity" of learning.
The post was well written and you can tell a lot of thought went into his post. I found it inspiring that a high school student wrote it, and expressed how we, as educators, need to foster a student's creativity.
Activity 4 Part 1
I really enjoyed this activity. I liked reading the different blogs and seeing how people use them. Blogs can be used in many ways and it was very interesting. I got several ideas after reading the different blogs. The blogs got me thinking about what I do in the classroom and what I can do to get students engaged and interested in the material. I especially enjoyed the blog about SSR 2.0 and the blog Duck with a Blog.
I liked the blog on SSR 2.0 because it made some interesting points. I enjoyed reading about how the teacher decided to have students read Blogs during their SSR time. What an interesting way to get students reading! I know it is hard to get my sixth graders to read during our SSR time, and think how much they would want to read if they got to read Blogs. I think about how I read and most of the reading I do is on the computer. I have not sat down with a novel in a long time. I wish I had more time to read like that, but I do not. So, what better way for students to read.
I also liked reading the blog about second grade theories of where the duck went. It was neat to read what they thought. The blog showed another way to post, also it showed that anyone can write a blog. This made me think of what I can do with my sixth grade students. I have decided to try blogging with them. They will write posts/comments about the story they read for Read Naturally. I have to work out the kinks still, but I think it will work and will be fun for the students.
I liked the blog on SSR 2.0 because it made some interesting points. I enjoyed reading about how the teacher decided to have students read Blogs during their SSR time. What an interesting way to get students reading! I know it is hard to get my sixth graders to read during our SSR time, and think how much they would want to read if they got to read Blogs. I think about how I read and most of the reading I do is on the computer. I have not sat down with a novel in a long time. I wish I had more time to read like that, but I do not. So, what better way for students to read.
I also liked reading the blog about second grade theories of where the duck went. It was neat to read what they thought. The blog showed another way to post, also it showed that anyone can write a blog. This made me think of what I can do with my sixth grade students. I have decided to try blogging with them. They will write posts/comments about the story they read for Read Naturally. I have to work out the kinks still, but I think it will work and will be fun for the students.
Publish Post
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Activity 3 Part Two
After reading the comments on the Whiteboard, I feel that we are excited about the new tools and strategies. I also feel that we are overwhelmed on how to put the tools to use. We now have to take what we learn and put it into action. It will be trial and error for awhile, but how else will we learn. I know everyday I learn something new. Sometimes we need to fail to succeed. I think that we all have something we can offer and we can learn from each other. I loved reading what people had to say on the Whiteboard. I also like going to the other blogs and reading what my colleagues have to say. I am looking forward to learning more strategies and tools.
Activity 3 Part One
I was excited to hear about this course being offered. I think I know a little about technology, but I know I can learn more. I registered for this course to learn new and exciting things. I know that I have a lot I can learn. I am a new teacher, somewhat fresh out of college, and I know that this course will help me become a better teacher.
I am looking forward to learning about all the topics this course has to offer. A few expectations I have for this course is to learn about programs, strategies, and applications that I am not familiar with. I also would like to learn how to incorporate more technology in my classroom. Technology is moving so fast, I want to keep up with it. I am expecting that this course will help me to get my students more engaged in their learning.
My goal for this course is to learn new ideas and strategies, and then implement what I learned into my classroom and everyday life. I want to be able to share ideas and work together with other teachers. Working together and sharing what we know can help build a stronger school, which will benefit everyone.
I am looking forward to learning about all the topics this course has to offer. A few expectations I have for this course is to learn about programs, strategies, and applications that I am not familiar with. I also would like to learn how to incorporate more technology in my classroom. Technology is moving so fast, I want to keep up with it. I am expecting that this course will help me to get my students more engaged in their learning.
My goal for this course is to learn new ideas and strategies, and then implement what I learned into my classroom and everyday life. I want to be able to share ideas and work together with other teachers. Working together and sharing what we know can help build a stronger school, which will benefit everyone.
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