Reflection

THE END!!!

Just kidding

I really enjoyed this book. There are some really good ideas that can help build and connect a classroom the way it needs to be. I am excited to implement the things I learned from this book in my classroom. I think the more ideas I can gather to try at the beginning of my teaching the better teacher I will become.

I am excited to try

•  Morning meetings
• Book Keeper
• Mixing lessons
• Small groups
• Large groups
• Different seating charts

I am nervous for 

• Parent teacher conferences
• First day of school
• New students to move in during the year
• Students to not feel safe around each other
• Parents to not know how to help their students 

I really am excited for this new adventure to begin. I am thrilled for what I have learned the last 3 semesters and to apply them into my class. I am excited to be a student for life and now a teacher for life. 

Why do I want to be a Teacher

This quote sums up exactly why I want to be a teacher. My favorite is quote of all is "I can be Mom and Dad, Therapist and Hug-giver, Judge and Rule-foller, and never stop loving."  As a teacher we have to be all of these things even when we want to give up! 

      I had a teacher that was every one of those things to me. It was in 3rd grade she was my idol. I think that she has a huge impact on the reason I wanted to be a teacher. I also had a teacher in 5th grade that taught me to respect myself and then to do my very best work always. This teacher also read the Giver to our class and during that time I HATED reading but I was so into the book. I asked my mom if she would buy it for me and I finished the book that night. I couldn't put the book down. I learned that day that there were some good books I just had to find the one for me. I recently read the rest of the series and could not put the books down. I want to be a teacher to make a difference in a students life just like these teachers did for me. 

Keeper of the Book

I think this section is so important to have. I would probably have a Keeper of the book for the week not for a day. That could get a little confusing. But for the students who are not going to be there or for students that have to leave for specialties it is the best thing for some students. I will have a binder that looks like this.

I would also have a designated spot for this binder to be with enough hand outs for students that were absent and a few extra for students who lost their assignment or that wanted a new copy. I will also have the student who is in charge of the "book" for the week be assigned to do a small explanation of the assignment that was missed. Students will have to earn to be the book keeper. These students will have to have no missing assignments, also they need to use their best handwriting in this book. When I was in 7th grade my English teacher did something similar to this and I thought it was extremely effective. I was absent one day and the rule was to find the "book keeper" ask them the items that were missed and do a quick revamp of the lesson. I will make it a requirement to talk to the book keeper before an absent student can talk to me about what they missed. 

I will have some sort of sheet that looks like this "depending on the grade" Then each section will have a color and behind the correct color the assignments will be placed in that order. I think the more responsibility the students have the better they will understand the lessons. 

Working Successfully with Text

Any teacher who wants to ensure learner success simply must learn to teach the skills required for competence with texts to any student lacking those skills. 

• Determine its structure 
• Predict what will be in the chapter
• Ask questions as they read
• Finding main ideas
• Linking ideas in the text to personal experience and prior knowledge
• Monitoring one's attention, thinking and understanding while reading 
• Making adjustments in reading in response to self-monitoring

    These simple prodding questions can be the difference to if the student understands the text they are reading. I really like the "predict what will be in the chapter" I think as readers students need to know how to predict to keep themselves interested in the book/text they are reading. I have recently learned to love to read, when I say recently like over Christmas break. I have never been the type of girl to pick up a book and carry it everywhere with me and read at every free second I have well over Christmas I made a goal to read 4 books and I DID IT!!! I found myself making predictions constantly, I was also talking to my husband about the main ideas so the books were sticking with me! It was kind of exciting. I never knew reading could be fun I always thought it was punishment. Not anymore!!!   

    Another thing I think could and would be extremely helpful is for students to get in groups and have a "book club" of some sort to keep each other excited and interested in the readings. I also really like the double entry journal we learned about in our Literacy classes. I think the more engaged the students are in the book/text the more excited they will be to reading the material. 

No Excusses

"People spend too much time finding other people to blame, too much energy finding excuses for not being what they are capable of being, and not enough energy putting themselves on the line, growing out of the past, and getting on with their lives."

by: J. Michael Straczynski

     I really liked this section of the reading. I think that in the elementary setting there are to many parents who do not care, or do not have time to care about their child's homework. That is where I come in as the teacher. I have observed where teacher have a before school program where students can come in 20 minutes before class everyday and just have time to work on homework. That is the only thing that can be going on during this 20 minutes. I have also seen teachers let students stay after school for the 20 minutes everyday. I really like this idea. I think I would prefer the before school program. I also noticed that those students who came and got that additional help were the students who would not need to go in the "reteach" section of class. I think this is an effective way to allow students to get homework done in a COMFORTABLE environment. I really like this quote from the reading "A no-excues teacher is formed with one part Mother Superior and one part Marine Drill Sergeant at the core." I came from a home and that was my mom. She was loving but she made sure our work got done. 

   I hope to have that comfort in my class that my students who cannot get the help they need at home that they are willing to come to my classroom to receive that help. 

The Simple Hard Truth

"Those of us lucky enough to make connections with students once or twice or three times know this to be true, because it truth" 

• Students consistently want teachers who respect them, listen to them, show empathy towards them, help them work out their problems, and become humans by sharing their own lives and ideas with their students
• Effective Teachers consistently emphasize that their love for their students is a key element in their success 
• Caring teachers intentionally develop awareness of their students cultures outside of school 
• High levels of teacher motivation relate to high levels of student achievement  

I think as a teacher if you can effectively implement these four bullet points in your classroom every single day your students will react so differently to you. They will gain respect for the classroom, and everyone in it. I can not wait to be able to do all of these things every single day.  

• Effective teachers reteach materials to students who need additional help
• Effective teachers match instruction to learners' achievement needs 

During field my Principal focused so much on reteach. There was suppose to be a set time everyday to do some sort of reteach. The teacher I was with mostly retaught Math, but sometimes it would be a reteach on writing. I was able to observe another teacher during their reteach section and she had groups that needed certain things so she specifically helped them. One group focused on Math, and the other group focused on writing. I thought this was really effective because it make smaller groups so the students can see examples better and they can also work and feed off of each other. 

R.A.F.T.

R- Role
A- Audience
F- Format
T- Topic

R.A.F.T. is an easy way to differentiate any lesson in any subject. I really like the idea of being able to put aside your point of view and writing from someone else's point of view. I think writing is going to be the easiest way to implement this "Tool" but I think there are some awesome ideas for all lessons.

For example this math lesson could be a great idea for a beginning lesson to link math and writing together. It will also help students understand the concept that much better if they are able to write and remember it down.

Another R.A.F.T. I really liked was the First day of school, every student could be the Classroom Sheriff and make a wanted poster to help each student remember what the classroom rules are. I think in my classroom I would have them staple/tape this to the front of their notebook so they will see it everyday. 

After doing the research for R.A.F.T. I think it is going to be easier and a lot of fun for the students to see and research other points of view.

Communication in the Classroom

There is four main reasons there needs to be effective communication in the classroom they are

• Building a group identity

     I have noticed in the classroom to let each student know they have are an important part of the group, to have a group identity ever student needs to have a role in the classroom that they are proud of what ever that role is. In my classroom I will have "class leaders" they will switch weekly but every student in my classroom will have some sort of job every day. It teaches responsibility which requires communication to get the job.

• Ensuring that the teacher has ways of getting to know the students better

   The first few days of school are so important for me to get to know my students. I have already started to gather a few games and ideas for the first few days of school to get to know my students and for the other students to get to know each other as well. I am excited to start building my classroom and for the students to start depending on each other. 

• Enabling the teacher to share his or her thinking about teaching 

     The way a teacher teaches must reflect the personality of the teacher but the classroom must adapt as well. I have seen where teacher that have taught for a long period of time an they teach lessons the same way for all the years but they students personalities change so it does not always work the same. I am excited to try and experiment with different ideas in the classroom. 

• Providing a shorthand for quick communication among members of the classroom community 

    I will have a "Mailbox" for each of my students and when the students want to say something to another student that needs to stay more of a secret they can put it in their mailbox. Also if students have questions, concerns and complements the students can write and put a note in my mailbox and I will address what needs to be addressed. I will also have a question and complement jars and the end of the month read the the complements to the class. 

Classroom Environment

The classroom needs to have both physical and affective attributes. The classroom environment needs to be set day one. The students need that comfort zone set in place early. There needs to be a clear line of communication between the teacher to student, student to student and student to teacher.  There is a huge difference between the three

Teacher to Student

• Teacher respects students readiness to learn
• Teacher understands student and students needs
• Teacher appropriately plans for individual students

Student to Student

• Feel safe learning differently
• Feeling safe to ask questions and not have to be "judged"
• Respect each others property
• Importance of finding friends 

Student to Teacher

• Knowing when to go to the teacher for extra help
• Feeling safe to come to school
• Willing to help each other out in learning 

The classroom environment is the beginning to a successful learning style, the people make up part of that but the classroom itself plays a role as well. What is put on the walls, bulletin boards, the way the positive and negative rewards are put in place all needs to be established to make the environment of the classroom be successful. 

The way I want my classroom environment to be is that everyone RESPECTS everyone in all aspects, learning, playing games, lining up to go to lunch, walking in the hall to go to P.E. and all parts of the day. I have seen the importance of a good classroom environment, while I was at field I had the opportunity to witness how different styles work for some teachers and some students. During center time the class spread out their desks any where in the classroom but could not be touching another students desk and they do their work. The teacher said that this is the only year she has done this in her 10 years of teaching. 

I also have had the chance to see where certain aspects of the "classroom environment" needed to be improved to help students learning. I have also learned that what is one the walls the students only notice if they see it being put up. So involve the students to make the environment work for all. 

Teacher Responds

Invitation

• Respect for you and who you can be come
• Want to get to know you
• Unique and valuable
• Time for you
• We need you here

Opportunity 

• Important things for you to do
• Things are important and open new doors for you to continue to learn 
• Specific role that make you effective

Investment

• I will work to help work for you
• I love to find new paths for my students
• Partner in growth
• Help you help yourself to get to the top

Persistence

• Your growing in learning but not finished yet
• Lets find more then one way to get to the end
• Support is what you will find here
• No end in learning

Reflection

• I watch and listen to you carefully
• I will help you learn to the best of your ability 
• I will ask questions always to make sure your on board

The Student Seeks

Affirmation

• Accepted and acceptable here
• Safe here as I am 
• People listen to me
• People care how I am doing
• Interestes are acknowledged and acted on
• People believe in me 

Contribution 

• I make a difference in this place
• My perspectives are unique
• Help others and the class succeed
• Connections with others through goals 

Power 

• What I learn is useful
• My choices contribute to my success
• I know what is expected of me
• I am dependable 

Purpose

• I understand what I do and why
• I see the importance

Challenge

• I am able to do the work
• The work tests me
• I work hard
• I can accomplish things I didn't know I could 

I think that if teachers we remember that the student needs each of these 5 elements but acknowledge that each section has subsections as well and they are also important.  I really like that they are all I CAN or I WILL or I SEE statements that makes it really personal and realistic for students of all ages to grasp and really and truly understand. I really liked this section of the reading and I hope that I can be the teacher that can give my students academically what they are seeking. 

COGS

  Students Seek

• Challenge
• Affirmation
• Contribution
• Power
• Purpose

  Teacher Responds 

• Investment
• Persistence
• Opportunity
• Reflection
• Invitation

   Curriculum and Instruction 

   are the Vehicle

• Important 
• Scaffold
• Demanding
• Engaging 
• Focused 

Just like any cog in any machine if all the pieces are not working together something will fail or break. Each part of all three cogs are extremely important and are what makes that connecting link so strong. If the teacher and the student are not on the same page space will come between the cogs and stop working. I have seen this in the classroom where the students "cog" has stopped going the same speed as the teacher and eventually the student steps back and the teacher is still going with the curriculum and instruction and the student has no idea what is going on. I like the idea of how each section on the cog has its own individual importance but they will are a killing when used all together. 

In respons to learners

As teachers we can differentiate by responding to a students interest, learning profile or readiness.  We can do this by tiering.

Interest
     

Learning profile

Readiness 

Interest- is a feeling of wanting to learn more about something

Learning Profile- is the way the student learns best 

Readiness- is the students feeling ready to move on and understanding the material

I think as teachers if we can help all of our students feel that readiness in every subject and to feel that they are a master of some sort they will have more self-confidence and they are more likely to succeed in the atmosphere of learning.  I think these three steps seem so simple and yet so important. 

All about ABC's

A Anchor to any learning unit

B Books books books 

C Centers are extremely important and helpful

D Different leaners have different levels but the same needs to learn 

E Exploration in different books to find new words 

F "Free time" for the teacher to have one on one instructional time with individual students 

G Group 1 (lower readiness) Group 2 (higher readiness) Group 3 (highest readiness) 

H Have appropriate time for centers and each student

I Increase students knowledge about each letter 

J Jump in don't be afraid to start exploring 

K Kinesthetic, auditory, visual learners 

L Level 1 and Level 2 

M Materials must be changed often 

N Next step is what is in sight 

O Opening exercises to get students excited  

P Peer, teacher feed back is so important to help get students to that next step

Q Questions to look for or ask 

R Riddles, songs, games 

S Size of the group can be single, paired, or whole class 

T Teach the students to be teachers and let them make a center and teach it to the class

U Unit focuses on each section in the alphabet 

V Vowels and Consonants 

W Writing sentences, writing each letter

X Make the centers eXciting 

Y Young or old the alphabet is important to learn and understand 

Z Zero students should be left out

This section of the reading was really interesting I think that the ABC's centers are so important and how that they can be used for the most basic from learning the sounds, writing to more complex and making sentences and then even more making sense of the correct meanings. With this I really liked that the levels should be there but not leveled and that students can be moving in and out of levels constantly so they are continually learning and improving their knowledge. I also really like that there were a ton of ideas on how each level can be intertwined to get students up and above their previous levels. I also really like how there was focus on feedback on this learning. 

Different Learners Different Lessons

    Putting all students in a one time curriculum to not leave students behind is not what is really going on in the classrooms. All students are on different levels and so in the classroom there should be different levels and lessons for each child. Each child should be in competition with themselves to make more of an effort to continue to learn and to push themselves.  Each child should be able to get a years worth of learning within the school year.
     The curriculum is like a "road map"  each student is their own "road" and they should connect, intersect, and ride along the curriculum so the students get a section of the curriculum in each lesson.
     As long as the child comes away from each lesson learning one section from the lesson being taught the teacher has done their job. As teachers it is our responsibility to learn new ways to teach the information so the students can get the full experience in the lesson.
   I think that this an amazing article and if I as a teacher can get the students excited about the lesson and to teach the information. I am excited to get to learn different ways to teach different lessons so that all the students I have in my classroom. 

Morning Meetings

How important are they really?

Morning meetings could make or break a child's experience in school. There have been multiple teachers who have dared to be different and make the change and implement the morning meeting into their daily routine as a teacher. This 30 minutes of the day should be different than other time during the  day. There are seven main points to a morning meeting and they are

• Class Creed
• Greeting
• Pledge
• Class Business
• News
• Share 
• Class Cheer

The morning meetings bring a class together as a culture, and to let them have the best and safe environment. This is the only 30 minutes of the day that every child can be 100% successful. During the CLASS CREED it is something that each class decides to recite more like a class motto. Each child is encouraged to memorize the creed but it will come for every student eventually. The GREETING should only be done on Monday. This is where a student or the teacher makes an extra effort to greet each child and ask about his/her weekend. The PLEDGE should be done every morning and there should be an emphasize on how important the pledge really is and how it should be quiet and there should be respect. The CLASS BUSINESS is conducted by the classroom there is three subparts in this section they are the vegetables, dessert, and the medicine. Also there is two choices both are the teachers choice but let the student have some accountability by making a decision. The next section is the NEWS this is world news, school new, and anything important that needs to be discussed. This could be the only time some students get to hear the news and the reality of what is going on in the news. The SHARING is probably the most important part of the entire meeting. This is where each student has the opportunity to show they have a voice, and an opinion. Every student should share at least one thing whether it be an answer to a question or asking another student a question. The CLASS CHEER is where they meeting is coming to an end and it is time to begin the regular part of the school day.
   I am so excited to have the opportunity to have Morning Meetings, I think that as a teacher I need to know that my students have 100% trust in me and in the classroom so that they will be able to have the comfort to share what they want. I am excited to get to see different students personalities coming out and shining how they are true star students. 

who what where when why

The 5 W's 

WHO

We should include every child in every classroom, and every situation. When teaching the students we should teach to every child and that means at different levels.

WHAT

We should differentiate in every subject, like guided reading, words their way, and in different groups.

WHERE
In the classroom, on the playground in the lunchroom each child should know they are important  in every room in the school no matter how high or low academically that child is. 

WHEN

Every second of the day it should be on the mind. We can not always differentiate but if it is always in the back of the brain when it needs to brought up it will be there and ready to be used.

WHY

Every child has the right to learn, and to be taught on their level. As a teacher we need to differentiate to each child to let them learn what they really need to. 

Golden Ticket Hallmarks

The hallmarks of a differentiated classroom 

1.  A strong link between assessment and instruction.
2. Absolute clarity about what the teacher wants the student to know, understand, and be able to do.
3. Shared responsibility for the classroom is between teacher and students, in the goal of making it work for everyone.
4. Individual growth is emphasized as central to classroom success.
5. A "way up," usually through multiple and varied pathways, and never a "way out." 
6. "Respectful" and engaging work for all students.
7. Proactive thinking and planning for different pathways.
8. Flexible grouping.
9. Flexible use of time, space, and materials.