Module 6

                I feel as though the power point slide show on tips for a successful presentation was very beneficial not only for the classroom but for the courses that we are taking thus far. When I see a power point with too much information, I often times loose interest rather than if there were key points to be discussed in the presentation. It is very helpful to have an outline page on your power point before you begin the presentation in order to let the audience know what they will be expecting. It was also very beneficial to have a variety of examples that were good and bad presentations. It was also great to know different colors to incorporate into presentations that are attractive and easy to follow for the reader. I love the idea of ending your presentation by allowing the audience to ask further questions.
                I had no idea that there was a way to save important articles onto the EBSCO website. This would have been very beneficial to know when I first began the graduate school program. It was difficult for me to retrace my steps in finding different articles that I liked. The Web2.0 was a very helpful in being able to refer to important and beneficial websites.  

                I found the website featuring different classroom books along with classroom projects to be a great resource to use in the classroom. I will definitely refer to these projects throughout the school year.

Module 5

       When students were able to work on the computer, the video stated that they were able to explore a variety of language concepts. I really enjoyed watching the students work together to form antonyms. I feel as though students are able to learn a lot when they are paired together. Most of the lessons that are taught in my classroom are hands on lessons just as the video discussed. When I compeleted lessons on homophones throughout my student teaching, I allowed students to work together to create a sentence with the homophones and then allowed them to draw a picture to go with the sentence.

       Whole group instruction, working with small flexible groups, as well as working with individual children are all important aspects to an effective literacy program. The video discussed other strategies to use in the classroom while you are working with a small group of students. Luckily in the classroom that I work in, there are two other teachers due to the teacher ratio to students that is required at my private school. Students are only working alone for a twenty five minute window throughout the school day. This will change if I were to work in a public school system. It is very important during small group time to have explicit instruction that is related to the curriculum and benefiting students in a positive direction. One of the most important aspects that I walked away with was making sure that students are not completing busy work during the center.

       I love the idea of a book that gives you over 300 pictures of different classrooms and how they are set up. I am constantly looking up pictures online on different ideas on how to set up your class. With the book providing before and after pages, it gives teachers a more realistic look into how you can transform your classroom to meet the needs of your students. When I have a classroom of my own, I am going to take the books idea of placing sticky notes on different areas of a classroom whiteboard plan in order to gather different ideas. I am definitely going to read this book in order to gather more ideas on how to plan an effective classroom.

        I have never seen a talking word wall used in a classroom. I love the idea of placing this on the bulletin board in order for students to reference throughout the school day. Not only is this great for students to hear the word several times throughout the day, but it allows the students to avoid constantly interrupting the teacher.

Module 4

            Literacy is very important across all content areas because students use literacy skills in every single subject. Whether students realize it or not, they are becoming better readers in social studies, science, math, etc.  Often time’s in my undergraduate degree, we had to combine literature with a social studies unit.

            I am not as experienced in the field of using RTI because I am currently working at a private school. Through working in a public school with the RTI program, I experienced working with students that were on varying tiers. Often time’s the students that enter into my school have been through the process of RTI and have needed additional help in school because I teach at a school with students with learning differences. This relates back to the previous article in that students need to be able to express literacy development in reading in order to succeed in science. The importance of exposing students to a variety of texts was discussed in this article and I feel as though this is one concept that I will definitely gain as a 1^st year teacher.

            I feel as though this article is addressing the students that attend my school. Most of the students at my school have dyslexia and do not read on grade level. It is amazing to see the transformation of each student’s character as he/she builds confidence throughout the school year by taking a slower pace to learn how to read. Many of the students that enter into our classroom have low self-confidence and doubt their ability to be able to read. They enter into the classroom feeling “beaten up” due to not succeeding in a general ed classroom. It is absolutely amazing to see their sense of self-confidence build within just a couple of months of the school year. They are able to adapt better in this type of learning environment because just as the second tier of the RTI program offers extra help, they are provided with a 6:1 teacher ratio. This means that there is smaller group sizes, more one on one teaching with individual students, as well as moving at a more student friendly pace rather than having to strictly follow common core.

            Right away when the video discussing students expressing their thoughts started, I was interested because it was dealing with 1^st grade students. I feel as though getting students involved in the lesson is very important in order for them to be engaged. I feel as though having students come to the front of the room to act out a story is very effective for students in order for them to visualize their writing. Allowing students to talk about their interests really allows them to build on their background knowledge and therefore they are more interested and motivated in participating in the lesson. We are discussing how to write sentences in the classroom and I am going to suggest this activity to my lead teacher. Using the “magic questions” allows students to add more detail to their writing, which is often times difficult for them to add in their sentence writing.

             Throughout our classroom, we are constantly playing different phonemic games in order to help with students reading and writing. I played a rhyming game with the students and they loved it because it was a game. They did not see it as a typical work station because they were not having to use paper and pencil. This was much more effective because they were engaged in the activity. Each week the students have a different sight word that they try and master by the end of the week. They use all sorts of hands on activities in order to become an expert with the particular sight word. One of the things that they enjoy most is building the word out of play-doh.

            I feel as though my 1^st graders are too young to be able to make a webquest on their own, but some of them may be able to navigate through a webquest with much guidance. I completed a webquest in my undergrad and used it with my third grade students and I found it very beneficial. Students now a day are so savy with technology that they are easily able to adapt to new websites. Webquests are very student centered and I have found in the upper grades that they are actually able to build a webquest on their own with some guidance. I found all of the readings in Module 4 to be very beneficial and relatable to my teaching experience thus far. 

Module 3 Summary

               It is amazing that now a day there has been so much technological advancement that students have to learn how to read and write in a print word as well as a social media world. I never thought about how students were much more exposed to narrative texts rather than expository texts. The article stated that students are more successful on standardized tests when they have more exposure to expository texts. I found it interesting that if students do not develop the skill of retelling a story, then they will have a difficult time summarizing the events that occurred in a text. One tip that I am going to use in my classroom from the article is being careful when choosing texts. If students are exposed to too much difficult vocabulary in a text, then they will most likely feel overwhelmed. I found the chart that was found in the article to be very beneficial as well in order to have a reference of books. The different phases that were introduced were a helpful hint in order to prepare a class when introducing an expository text.

                  I found that the action research paper was very beneficial because I am completing my action research on student interests. This is a great reference to have through the entire action research project. Another piece of information that I found to be resourceful was the Five Expository Text Structures chart. This is a great chart to have when discussing different examples of graphic organizers.

Information Literacy Strategies

                  I absolutely love the opening quote in the video "Encouraging Enthusiasm for Reading" that discussed  that children are made “readers on the laps of their parents.” I can relate to this growing up as a child and reading to my parents as well as relatives. I felt as thought this was a very inspirational video. I really enjoyed the Dr. Seuss quotes because we are going to be celebrating his birthday in a few weeks in my classroom by making green eggs and ham. One of the most important things that I took away from this video was allowing children to express their creativity.

                  I had never heard of the smart table before watching this video. This type of table is incredible for children’s learning. This table seems very adaptive for each student’s learning style. It makes me curious how many schools actually have this type of table in their classroom. I cannot believe how technologically advanced this table is and how effective this could be in the classroom. My students would absolutely love this.

Module 2 Summary

Throughout this power point, I learned that the strategy of strategic reading is when students are grouped together purposefully with targeted strategies in order for students to become fluent readers. I love the idea that this approach has more student-directed instructional approaches in order for students to be more in charge of their learning. This strategy helps students develop a passion for reading which I found very important. I have found that many students have a negative attitude towards reading due to prior experiences.  One of the main components of reading that this strategy discussed was the importance of establishing a purpose for reading a text. I have found that in previous experiences, students are much more engaged and excited to read when they have a connection to the reading.

                  I have found the scaffolding approach to be very successful with students. When teachers are able to model the learning strategy and then students are able to complete the task on their own, they begin to take responsibility of their learning. I really like how the power point addressed the fact that students will reach success levels that they did not think were possible. I feel as though when introducing texts to students, graphic organizers are a great way to organize your thoughts. I have found that when I provide students with a lot of background knowledge before reading a particular text, students develop an interest and desire to read the text. This engages the students throughout the lesson and excites them to begin the story. Throughout my undergrad, I learned about Blooms Taxonomy. I feel as though this diagram is a great reference tool to have as a teacher.

                I really enjoyed this video because I am currently conducting my action research on student’s interests. I love the idea of allowing students to choose from a menu of options in order for them to choose what they would like to complete. Matching the needs for students with different learning styles in the classroom is a great way to provide differentiation in the classroom.

It is amazing to hear in the video that Tomlinson had students that were four grade levels behind in reading.  The idea of differentiated instruction came from this middle school setting. Flexible grouping is a great way to reach all students in the classroom that are at different learning levels. I feel as though the most difficult part about this would be just as Tomlinson said, managing a classroom. 

Module 1 Summary

            If a child avoids tasks that involve reading, it may be a sign that he/ she is not able to read. Without comprehension skills, students are not able to become fluent readers.  I love how the different activities were able to be modified to meet the needs of each student depending on the grade level. Phonological Awareness is something that a child must acquire first.  I love the idea of parents having their children “stretch out the word.” I feel as though this is a great activity for students to be able to get up and physically sound out a word.

              A great activity that dealt with phonics was reading nonsense words with the students. This is an example of an activity that we complete in my classroom.  Having students use different cards to sound out nonsense words is very useful and meaningful. This is a great tool that parents can use at home. When students are reading a story or a passage, the text had the idea of reviewing the words that the students missed in order for them to hopefully read correctly the next time around.  The power point also referred to the students using context clues if he/she is not aware of the meaning of a word. Then, the student would write down the word and look up the definition of the word. We completed this exact activity where students wrote a sentence as well as picture in order for them to have a clear idea of the meaning.  I found this power point to have very helpful tips to use in the classroom as well as for students to complete at home. 

                Throughout the Trip to Hawaii, I really was able to walk away with great ideas to incorporate in the classroom. This was a great model to refer to when introducing graphic organizers in the classroom. 

Module 8: Reading Recovery

            I immediately was able to relate to this video because I am currently working  in a 1^st grade classroom with students that are below grade level.  I found it interesting when the particular teacher broke up the sentence strips by each word. I think this program would be very beneficial for the teachers that teach at my current school. I love how the teachers that are in training are able to watch behind the glass how a tutoring session takes place. I would like to know what other techniques that this program used in order for students to be so successful. I loved how they approach this type of learning to focus on one student at a time and to move from there.