My Plan for the week:
It is the end of summer break as we know it! School for teachers officially starts this week. The kids will be strolling through the doors with brand new binders, pencils and locker decorations on the 25th. I am excited to see the class roster - as well as the size of classes I have been tasked with controlling :). On Wednesday, I will be reporting at the bright and early time of 7:30 AM. (Since starting this post, I have received my class roster and have found my class sizes to be around 38 students) Some may think that 38 or 40 students is a lot (as do I!) but it becomes second nature in no time at all. Class expectations are the number one thing you must decide upon before beginning the class. This weekend, I am finishing up the decorating and table set-up in preparation for my 190 +/- students that will walk through my classroom doors.
What I did/Where I went:
This week has been extremely busy. With moving my classroom - packing and unpacking - hanging posters and getting my classroom ready I was slammed. There were plenty of beginning school meetings to attend as well as paperwork and new name tags to retrieve. I'm hopeful this school year starts off with a bang and the incoming 8th graders are more respectful and ready to learn than last years. Although I didn't have many problems, I saw a level of laziness from many students that I was unable to change. I attempted to motivate through labs, hands-on-activities, and outdoor activities. I have been told that the incoming 8th graders have a great behavior record and were prepared to learn last year. Other than working on my classroom, I didn't do much else. This weekend, I have spent most time at home minus a quick trip to the dog park. I needed to relax and get my groove on!
What I learned:
First off, I think this is extremely exciting - My school is a five star school in the Clark County School District (out of five stars). We were afraid we were going to drop a star since one entire grade level couldn't be tested for mathematics. What this meant is that all scores are based entirely on the 7th and 8th grade students. Well, they did fantastic! In reading and writing - we have an increase in scores and a gap that is closing quick. My subject - science - went up 5 points in one school year. Needless to say, the principal is very pleased with the results. Is it the kids? Is it the teachers? Is it the parents? I'd have to say that it is a combination of positive behaviors from all involved. Educating our youth is important and when a positive approach at teaching and learning is valued, kids learn. I'm very excited to see what happens this year.
Live binders is kind of neat. We used this to show our favorite web page but I noticed that you can click through the entire website on Live binder. I thought this was fantastic. Live binders has many different lesson plans for all grades and subjects. It can be difficult to weed through the many lessons but worth the time when you find a fantastic lesson.
One of the other students in my education class used Popplet as a demonstration and I thought it was kind of neat. I decided to create my web 2.0 by using Popplet. I know that I always like a PDF version of a step-by-step how to guide. Popplet allows you to create this. I am happy for my progress. Here is the link to the Popplet and how to set up an account and create a test in Socrative http://popplet.com/app/#/1992713.
What I decided for my website:
When looking at the rubric for my website, I realized that I was missing one or more of the required pages. Because I teach 8th grade science, I didn't find a parent page to be as useful as a lesson page. I have decided to add a page for parents that will talk about upcoming lessons and tasks the students will encounter. I am making my final changes. During the last class meeting, another student commented on my website about needing more color and photos. Although I do like colorful websites, I don't believe color makes a website any better. I firmly believe in ADA compliance and believe that my students (with more pictures and miscellaneous colors) may be sidetracked by material I added for aesthetic purposes. This is why my website is white.
My Plan
for the week:
It was an extremely busy week. I barely had time to think much less clean the house! With school starting in just a few days, I have been working on new lesson plans for the beginning year and preparing my documents to be printed. The school printer (her name is Anita) requires everything to be turned in at least a week prior to needing it. With everyone throwing their orders in, it is going to be difficult to have everything I need for the first week of school. Wish me luck!
What I
did/Where I went:
This week, I was able to visit with family as much as possible. I've been visiting my father at his hotel to sit in the jacuzzi. I've needed it this week more than any other week. I found out this week that I may not be able to start my English Masters until the spring semester. All of my references have returned their questionnaires so I'm hopeful to be accepted. I've also visited Arizona. There are so many mountainous areas to die for. I'm often impressed at the grandeur of the canyons and obvious faulting of the mountains over the years.
What I
learned:
Book talks - Book talks are one of my favorite things that I have ever put together. Because I chose to take English classes in addition to my degree in science and social studies, I was fortunate to take young adult literature and library media as a class. In these classes, I was required to create book talks to be used with an English language arts class. Book talks are so important in creating interest and desire to read. I have many to share with anyone that would like to use!
#Hashtags! - who doesn't love hashtags? I will definitely keep the list of hashtags on the website provided.
Facebook as an educational tool - Call me old fashioned but I have noticed that my 8th grade students are starting to pull away from facebook. They have begun using other social media sites and these are often on a one-on-one basis and less on a group of people together. Examples include - twitter, instagram, and vines.
What I
decided for my website:
My website will be a work in progress. Originally, I thought I would upload as many lessons as possible but I have decided that would confuse my students. It will be important to keep up on my website on a daily/weekly basis as to decrease the amount of confusion my students will face when looking for an assignment.
My Plan for the week:
School has not begun in Nevada. The first day for teachers is on August 20th. Since last week, I have learned that I will be moving my classroom. I have received information that one of the other teachers have decided to leave and they have been replaced. It seems that when a new teacher comes in, they receive my old classroom (the classroom is not completely set up for science curriculum but works). Although I am writing this late in my week, I have been preparing my class rules and the first few weeks of school lesson plans. In addition to this and because I will be finished with this MAT degree on August 26th, I have been looking at my next program. I sincerely have a passion to teach English at the undergraduate level and understand that I can find jobs that match this desire once I receive at least 18 credit hours in English past my original Master's degree. I have applied at Northern Arizona University and hope to start with the fall term (pending my references send in the letters I have requested). The program seems to be something I am interested in - MA in English with a concentration on Rhetorical writing as well as teaching English.
What I did/Where I went:
This week I didn't get out much. I have been relaxing as much as possible and visiting with my grandmother and my father when they come to town. I've taken advantage of the apartment complex's swimming pool and Jacuzzi as much as possible. With the new school year beginning soon, I would love to get out and go camping a few more times. The Vegas heat is killer so I have to go to an area that has lower temperatures year round. As I've discussed in the past, the grand canyon has a fantastic campground I would like to try out. The distance of travel is four hours so it's something that can't be done in a two day trip. I just can't wait until September and October when I can take the camper 30 miles away and be nice and cool.
What I learned:
For some reason, I remember studying different types of fonts at one time. When writing a journal or blog, I have always stuck with the traditional New Times Roman font. Call me a creature of habit, but I like the way it looks and it's something I've used for years. Nothing drives me crazier than having font that is all frilly and circular. I have a problem following along and I imagine my grandmother can't read it at all. (I am a grandma's girl - totally!) In addition, as I've always known, never shift your font type. I mean, once in a while to make a point but never on a regular basis.
Google hangout - really?! I don't have time to chat with my sister across the country. I love to see her face while talking - probably should use skype or facetime to talk with her more often. I guess with every company trying to stay up on technology, there becomes an overabundance. I'm not really interested in Google hangout. (Couldn't they have named it something more professional?!)
What I decided for my website:
When I originally began creating my website - including last week, I thought I was going to have different pages under each page but when looking at it on my cell phone and on my ipad, I realized that the original page that had pages under it needs to be finished and then isn't often visited. It's difficult to explain but it makes sense when looking over the website. Instead of having visitors click on the actual page and then follow the subpages, I have decided to place links into the main page for the visitor to use. It seems this way, they get the full use out of my website. I should be completed with my website this week.
My Plan for the week:
There are numerous different web 2.0 programs that can be introduced to a class of scientists. As a general rule, many of the web 2.0 applications on the internet focus greatly on the younger crowd - those in elementary school or young middle school. I have been researching ways that I can use web 2.0 applications in my classroom but mostly by using student cell phones. I will be researching ways in which I can create a BYOD document to be used at the school in which I teach. It is almost necessary to use this when computer access is at a minimum. Currently, there isn't a BYOD document in use and cell phones are practically taboo in the classroom. I do believe, in some manner, that administrators just want to be sure that technology in the use of cell phones doesn't border on inappropriate usage. I am researching new ways of incorporating this in my classroom and must present my ideas to the principal at my school the second week of August.
What I did/Where I went:
This week, I have been focusing greatly on creating lesson plans to begin my school year. I have created a new syllabus for my students and turned it in for approval. Although school doesn't start for another three weeks, I need to get my print orders turned in before others (there is a full time employee that does all print work at each school).
The month of July was the first month in my new place. I have been working on getting it feeling and looking like home. The heat coming through the windows in my living room has been outrageous. My electric bill was over 100 dollars, which seems like a lot considering the apartment is so small. I have added curtains to four different windows and as of today, I can definitely feel the difference in the heat - either that or its the rain that has fallen on the desert floor. Did I say rain? In Vegas? Yes! The temperature outside hasn't reached above 90 today. It's been fantastic. One of my favorites, and one I have used before is readwritethink. Readwritethink has many resources that can be used in any grade level of education. One favorite I found on this website is teaching about literacy and vocabulary regardless of the content. I don't believe enough reading comprehension is pushed in the science classroom and my goal every year is to teach this to my students.
What I learned:
This week, I learned how to use Weebly a little more. Originally, I was trying to figure out how I was going to follow along with my original plans for my website. During our weekly meeting, I realized I could make pages that were secondary to my original pages. Because of this, I am able to create a website that resembles my original idea.
Tech integration in the classroom is very difficult in my school. Because I work in a school that receives no Title 1 money, it is difficult to provide a technology integrated classroom. As I discussed earlier, I am working on ways of using BYOD in my classroom. When researching tech ideas, I loved this website, http://edtechideas.com/2012/06/01/49-cool-summer-sites-for-kids-and-teachers/. I believe that if we offer the assistance and guidance to further content learning while students are out of the classroom, students will take advantage of it.
What I decided for my website:
It seems impossible that I will be able to use as many links as I originally planned for my lesson plans. I am going to need to separate each lesson as I go. Because I have more than 2 G's of lesson plans for the year, I am going to add these as I progress through the year. I am, however, going to add the lessons for the first few weeks of school to my website. I don't want my students confused by the enormous amounts of material that I "could" put on the website.
In addition, I am going to create another page that speaks of the rules in my class and the procedures my students must follow to be successful in the class.
