Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Web Tools

I thought the web tools were really great. I really like the flash cards website cramberry and I also like the webpage with the rubric that I made for my lesson plan on science. I think these webpages will be really useful in my own classroom. the check list is reall good when you want to make sure all your students are on the same page and learning your or my material. Even though they are free and not the best web tools they still help you out in your classroom and keep the teacher me on track.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Webpages that would be good for my lesson plan

I found some websites but I don't know how to insert them into my google site.
http://www.epa.gov/recyclecity/print/textonly.htm

http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/saving_energy/RECYCLINGFactsGamesCrafts02.PDF

http://www.mbgnet.net/

http://www.chewonki.org/cleanwater/water_pollution.asp

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

~Good News~

I just found out that I am going to be MOMMY!!! I am due on October 18th!! I am hoping for boy but as long as my baby is healthy then I will be extremely happy! But I am just even more stressed than I should be... new job, pregnant, and attending school... but I will get through this... :)

Reflection Question Answers

Reflection Question:
1. Marilyn realizes how important it is to keep student's learning styles in mind when planning instruction. What activities do you think will be helpful in addressing the learning styles of your students?
I think some activities that would be helpful in addressing the learning styles of my students would include: learning centers, reading books on certain topics, and using technology. These three things are very important to me because they all cover a wide range of learning strategies. These topic or activities can help in ranges from actually playing games on their own, discussing live events that tie into some sort of book and seeing how it relates, and letting students get on the computer to play games research and read. If I have a child in my class with some sort of disability then I will have to do the same project with them but make it easier for them in the process.

Reflection Question:
2. Marilyn felt comfortable consulting with Juanita's expertise. How would this type of collaboration help your instruction and benefit your students?
I think meeting with a specialist in the area that you need help with will benefit my instruction and benefit my students because they can help tie everything together. Meeting with someone to tell them your thoughts on what you would like to tie into classroom lectures and learning can help you become more organized and have a plan already in place for your class. The students will benefit because you have planned activities for them and have assigned readings. This will help them learn at a quicker rate than if I didn’t have something planned at all. This makes the classroom a better learning environment and a funnier place to be everyday.

Reflection Question:
3. How is Marilyn using graphic organizers to enhance the lesson? How will the use of graphic organizers help Oscar?
Marilyn is using graphic organizers to enhance the lesson by making the student fill out their own graphic organizer map of the same organizer information. This will help her students to better understand what they are reading about, and helps them with guided thinking. This will help Oscar because even though he can’t see very well, when she reads the book to the class he can hear her and be able to picture things as she explains them. When he does his own graphic organizer this will help him with staying focused on the content material, depict the relationship between fact and concepts, and rethink prior knowledge that dates back to the old.

Reflection Question:
4. A WebQuest was used to help students navigate the Eric Carle Website. Reflect upon your experiences using the Web to locate information. What difficulties have you encountered that might be addressed by using a WebQuest?
By my experiences using the web it allows access to websites and information very quickly and lot easier than other way of accessing information. Some difficulties that I would look out for when having your class look up things on the web are bad websites with false information. Not all website are insightful or updated. Also depending on what grade level they need to be able to understand what the website in giving them. If you give them specifically what you want to them to research and once they have found it you tell them if it’s a good source or not, eventually they will see what sights are good and which ones to stay away from.

Reflection Questions:
5. List and describe three benefits the students gained from being included in Oscar's small group.
I think working putting children into small groups they don’t feel pressured at times if they are not sure of the answer. They are also surrounded by friends from their own class so they feel more comfortable talking out loud with the teacher. I also think with Oscar being in a small group with others it helps to learn and participate because he won’t feel excluded from the class being in a group with them.

6. Do you think Oscar's experience would have been as powerful if he would have worked in isolation with Juanita? Why or why not?
I don’t think Oscar’s experience would have been as powerful if he would have been isolated. When he works in a group I think he would feel more comfortable. He would want to be involved and answer questions and just be treated like everyone else. If he was isolated he would wonder what was the rest of the class doing since he isn’t included and he wouldn’t stay focused.

Reflection Questions:
7. Describe three ways in which Marilyn’s use of technology addresses the needs of her class and allowed all students to participate in the lesson.
Three ways that Marilyn used technology to address the needs of her class and allow students to participate in the lesson were: using Webquest, watching a video, and making their own iMovies. Using webquest helped them become familiar with using the web to research. Putting on a movie of the author’s work so they can see how he illustrates and explains his pieces of art helps students with creating their own pieces of art. When the students created their own iMovie, it helped them to become familiar with presenting their work to the class and reading aloud there thoughts on their learning experiences.