Ah making a online portfolio!

This process has been scary , exciting and very rewarding! Putting together an online portfolio is tricky for me because I needed to be sure each part was there and saving correctly. Although I have been extremely overwhelmed , seeing it all  come together is such an AWESOME feeling! I am so grateful for Dr. Smirnova and her wonderful tips. These tips will not only make me a better teacher but also a better learner! I am so glad I took this course. In addition , it is so important to continue blogging. One of my good friends who has become a teacher has started a blog with her co-workers . This blog is so inspirational and makes me so very excited to someday have my own classroom and to be sure to blog all of my thoughts, experiences , fears and hopes! I am so glad I became a blogger and SO glad I have become more comfortable with the wonderful technology I have at my fingertips! This technology will be invaluable to me as a teacher and it something I must help my future students to become comfortable with is as well!

Mock Interview!

I loved the mock interview activity. I loved it because I believe we practiced a nerve wrecking activity with the comfort of our peers and professors. One may be an excellent candidate for teaching , but he or she must be capable of performing their best on an interview. In addition , it is so important to be prepared for the various types of questions and the best tools to have with you in order to look prepared and find success! MSMC does a wonderful job or preparing its students. The career center is filled with tips, tricks and tools! In addition , Dr. Smirnova helped my class to become more confident and prepared for our future job searching as well. In addition Pinterest and other resources has some great info! Check it out!!!

Artifcat Bag

In class today , we explored one another's artifact bags. This was an engaging activity and each of us were able to see each other's creativity and our thought process. Each of us , in group two, had an economic and movie making theme . Our bags were each different sizes and themes. My bag, green, was to represent money. Chelsea's bag , with the Disney princesses, tied into the Disney movie making theme. Joe's bag was a solid brown because he did not have bag to go along with his.

Inside my bag, was printed out money from the early 20th century.I included the money so that students can see how different money looks today! Also, I want them to realize how much more things cost today compared to 1920. A second item in my bag was a postcard with Walt Disney on it. I aged the postcard through burning the edges a bit. The students cans see how long Walt Disney has been around and how much of an influence his company has had on the world. The last thing I included was a stock chart which showed how stocks have changed over time. I taught the fourth graders at Bishop Dunn about stock and felt that this was an excellent item to include in the artifact bag.

The artifact bags are an awesome way of engaging all of the students in a social studies topic and pushing them to make connections to their lives and to current events. I will definitively use this activity in my classroom for many different topics.

Geography!

      Hi everyone! Geography is such an important element to teach because the students will understand what is happening in the world, why it is happening and how it affects other people around the world and themselves. Geography is so unique because it combines both physical and cultural characteristics of the world. Geography includes all 10 social studies standards which shows how important it is to the students learning. 

I was looking at Pinterest and found a pin about an interactive iPad/ iPod app . The app is entitled  Whole Wide World for ages 5-8. A woman blogged about the app and stated; " Play the world one game at a time. Whole Wide World takes you on a fun journey of sight, sound and play. Learn about the monarch butterflies of Mexico and the giant rocks of Iceland. Ride a Kangaroo in Australia, find hidden objects in China and much more! Fill your scrapbook with postcards from around the world and learn fun facts about cultural and geographical wonders. Start with three exciting destinations and then choose where to go next on a learning journey unlike anything else! " (her blog) 

I downloaded the app on my iPad for free! However, there was a version for only $2.99 which allows the student to visit more areas and have many more interactive learning opportunities.  The app is very user friendly for the student and he or she is able to chose an explorer and purchase a ticket and explore many different areas of the world. The student will learn the geography of the various areas and the culture of the areas as well.  It is a fantastic app which the students will feel as if  they are playing a game , but they will also be engaged in a hands-on learning experience of geography! I am excited to try this app out when I do have a classroom of my own :)

Last group: day 1

I thought you all did really well today. Each of you seemed calm and knew what you were talking about :) The students were engaged and seemed to grasp the material and if he or she was unsure you re-explained it well. Everything is a bit rushed with the movie, but that is not your fault whatsoever... Wednesday should be enough time to finish up :) awesome start and keep up the good work !!

Last Day of Teaching- Group 3

Yay group 3 you're done!! You had your best day yet. Each of you described the topics well and treated the students as business men and women! I felt you became more confident over the courses and seemed to have a lot of fun with the assignment.  Awesome job and I hope you enjoyed your experience.

Day Two: Group Three

Amazing job today girls! You spoke clearly and provided the students with excellent information and knowledge. I think that you allowed them plenty of time for their commercials and they seemed to have so much fun with the assignment.  In addition , I believe you provided the students with examples which they could understand and also had an excellent intro and closure. Great job making them feel like companies and employees as well.

Yayyy Group 3, Awesome Job!

Hi,
Group 3 you did a wonderful job for your first day and the lesson went very smooth. I thought you all knew what you were talking about and each engaged the kids well. I feel each group is doing better and better each time , which is wonderful. I think that we need a bit of time to discuss the commercials before diving right into them Monday but I know that we are on a time constraint. Great job again and I am excited about seeing how this whole project turns out.

Quick Thought for Today

Hi everyone,
For my work study job ,on campus , I work at the writing center. I help one of the professors with a project or just tell people coming in where to go or where to find what they need. However, I have the opportunity to see the many people whom take advantage of the writing center. These students come to have a paper read over and revised. I spoke with one of the tutors today and she could not believe how terrible one of the students writing was. In addition , I have read over papers for friends and am surprised by the lack of writing skills. I am , by no means, an amazing writer. However, as future teachers I feel we all have a duty to better ourselves as writers in order to be  excellent models for our future students. If you do not feel you are a great writer or think that you need some improvement, come stop by the writing center and make an appointment.   It is located downstairs near the dining hall in room 12 :) The tutors will give you insight and help you to acquire better writing skills.

Last day of Teaching

I thought our last day went pretty well for the most part. I am just happy to see the students enjoying this project and getting something out of it , that is all that matters. I felt most confident today and was finally not calling the students guys! I am glad to be done and I feel I made some wonderful connections with the students! I also thought that it was so great to have the experience of teaching a whole class. The picture , to the right, truly describes all of the different steps and ideas involved with teaching.

Stumbled Upon this!

Hi everyone!
I found this today on pinterest,  of course. I am on pinterest all the time , if you have never tried it out , you should! I enjoy this picture because it reminds me alot of our SS class. It reminds me of our class because Dr. Smirnova is always trying to get us try new things and to have an open mind. I believe it is important in life to have an open mind and be willing to try new things. Moreover, this is essential to pass onto our futue students and even the students we are working with now! I want them to feel as if they can conquer anything they set their mind too and have little fear in life.  I used to think teaching was only about teaching skills in reading ,writing and math... but I have come to realize it is also about teaching students about life and the meaning of it!

An interesting Article: Explore, explore , explore!!!!!

Hi Everyone ,

I stumbled upon this on pinterest: check out the blog. I believe that reading and reflecting on other's blogs or posts is essential to becoming an amazing teacher. Moreover, it is so silly not to use someone's ideas that they are sharing to build on and expand. 

First day of teaching!

Group Two : Day One

I had such a blast co-teaching today with my group members  I was worried it wouldn't go over smoothly but for the most part I thought it was awesome. There were a few things I wish we could have changed ; such as, spend a little less time to fit everything in better but it is tricky to rush such a large project. I couldn't ask for better group members or better support from the rest of the class, thank you all! I hope the next two sessions go great and the students continue to enjoy this project.

Group One ,
I thought that today for your cooperative lesson it was a bit scrambled and there was not much explanation or central focus. However, as I prepare my lessons for the upcoming sessions, I realize there is SO much to fit in and not much time whatsoever. In addition, I feel that some of the concepts are tricky to teach with so little time. I feel that you guys improved over the sessions and became stronger teachers. You were so brave to go first and helped to model for us how much was involved in teaching this topic. Thank you all for going first and giving it your very best.

Rachel :)

Dear Team 1,

I thought  you all did well today and improved from last time. In addition , I believe this lesson was more entertaining and went more smoothly. You guys did an inquiry lesson and it was much more entertaining than the first day! I loved that you reviewed inquiry with them.  Awesome job and it truly seemed  liked the students enjoyed the session as well :) keep up the great work !


Rachel

Group 1 : day 1

Dear team 1,
I thought you did a wonderful job on your first day with the fourth graders. You kept the children very excited about learning new terms and showed them how important it is to have this new knowledge. Moreover, I loved how you had each group practice saying the words and asked them if they agreed or disagreed. The only negative I noticed was that it seemed like you were not all on the same page as a group , I know how hard working in groups is and especially presenting. Overall, awesome job , keep up the good work :) I believe the lesson was direct instruction . In addition , I think that you reviewed too many terms at once.

Rachel