September 29th

Chapter 3
We, as teachers, need to help the students have equal chances. Not only do we need to make sure this happens, but we should also make sure the students know that you are trying your hardest to provide them an equal chance. I liked the example of the teacher who greeted each child individually and had the student put their “troubles” in a basket on their way into class and write down a word they aren’t familiar with (which they go over later on in the day). I liked how it talked about mentors, advocates and partners. I can see the benefit of trying to be all three of them to our students

Chapter 4
I like how it talks about mistakes can be helpful. Even the teachers mistakes, when shared with the students, can be used to show why something doesn’t work, or how to figure out the correct answer when you’re wrong. I liked how the book told about a teacher who created a code word. “Bingo” meant that the students had done their absolute best work. So when the teacher asked if a paper was bingo, and the student answered yes, it meant that the student had worked their hardest and done their best on the paper. I think that you could find a word that means something to your students and have it be a code word for excellence. If the word means something, like an acronym, the students might feel like the word is even more significant. I liked the ‘teach up, work up’ because it reminded me of the saying, “Shoot for the moon, even if you don’t hit it you’ll make it to the stars!” If you give your students work that is slightly above their level, they will still try, and who knows, maybe they’ll be able to make it! But even if they don’t quite make it, they will have tried and have learned something new! I liked how it said that your observations of the students should be 50% on the positive things they’re doing, and 50% on the deficits. I think that is very important; it means you don’t focus on their deficits any more than ½ of the time! Another thing is that while observing the students, keep in mind that whatever conclusion you come to should be taken tentatively because the student is always changing, meaning the student is always doing better!

September 22nd

As for the getting to know you questions, I think that some of they would be great to use! I don’t know if I would use them for my student teaching because I will be coming in half way through the year. The students will already know each other, so I don’t think I’d send this home with them. We could play a short getting to know you game with those questions. For my student teaching, I will talk with the teacher I will be working with.

When I have my own classroom, I will definitely use a set of questions like the ones we looked at. Instead of learning about your students only through observations, I think a getting to know you sheet is a great way to get to know your students and how they learn in a much quicker. It looks a great way to find out about the background of your students. I especially liked the idea of taking the getting to know you papers to the students houses so that you can observe their home environment.

I also liked the content specific inventory. I think the inventory is a great way to introduce your students to a new subject in an interesting way. It is interesting to me, as a teacher, to see how much my students know, and it is interesting to a student to be able to see what they already know and what they’ll be learning!
The papers on the writing evaluation I think would be good for older grades when they’re doing writer’s workshop or some kind of self evaluation of their own or a peer’s writing.

There were quite a few different papers that looked as though they could be fun and/or helpful

Differentiation blog

Readings: Blackboard article, Part 1 from Differentiation in Practice and Chapters 1 and 2 from Fulfilling the Promise

Okay, I'm not 100% sure what is expected from this blog, so I'm just going to talk about what I liked from them.

From the blackboard article I really liked how it gave the guidelines for how to make a good Morning Meetings. It said that morning meetings are the closest some of your students will come to a "breakfast conversation". And how even the students felt that it helped them focus better in school!

The Practice book did a good job of making me aware of what I'm getting into! It reminded me a lot of my last field experience. The teacher, Mrs. Cox, had math groups. Each week she would place the students into math groups depending on their level and then they would rotate through centers, one of which was direct instruction from the teacher. It worked really well for her, but I could see how it was more work on her part. However, if you're going to teach differentiation, its probably a good way to go! I also really liked the baseball camp metaphor. I feel that as teachers we will be doing the same thing the coach did (50% school instruction and 50% life instruction). We will be teaching our students about responsibility, being dependable, honest, how to study, focus, and so many social skills!

I felt that the readings in Fulfilling (chapters 1 and 2) were a lot like the Practice reading...I liked how it talked about every student wanting a personal connection to the teacher. Through teaching diversely I think we get to know the students on a personal level better.I am starting to see how Morning Meetings can help a student find what they seek (purpose, power, affirmation, contribution, and challenge). It makes sense to me that through a morning meeting we can make the students feel a part of a community.