First Week Back After Spring Break

This past week I continued with the newly implemented routine. The students were chatty and easily distracted this week, but I think staying consistent with our schedule significantly reduced off-task behavior. As the year comes to an end I know it's going to be tough to keep the students' on-task and focused. This is why it's so important to keep this new schedule going and stay efficient.

6th Day

It's the second day into the second week of implementing my inquiry plan (the new schedule). It's also the week before spring break. The students are chatty and excited but they seem to be staying on task better than before this new schedule was implemented. I video taped the small group that works with the Title I assistant today. I just watched it and was please with the students behavior overall. I was told by the Title I assistant that they are usually "wild" during this time, but I think having the camera there eliminated that today. I did notice some students not following along while others were reading and looking "bored". I will point this out to the students when we watch the video together and ask them to give me suggestions on what might help them to enjoy the small group more. Now I just need to figure out how to upload the video!

*I will be taping my small group tomorrow.

Second Day of Inquiry Plan

So, today was the second day of implementing my new inquiry plan. My students have been "chatty" the last couple of days but other than that they have been staying on task well and seem to enjoy the extra reading that is taking place. It seems that the students really enjoy breaking into two groups; I'm thinking because they get more individualized attention. I have also noticed already that my more hesitant readers have a new found confidence when reading in our little group. I'm excited to see more improvements!!

*The reading log has really caught on yet. I think I might try a more involved approach with certain students. I was thinking about giving them a choice between 2 or 3 chapter books. I'm hoping this will help them during their silent reading times.

TASK FIVE

Article: Ten Steps to Better Student Engagement

This article relates directly to my classroom. I was happy to see that I am currently implementing some of the steps from the article. There are some steps that I can implement right away such as: creating an intellectually safe classroom. This concept was so simple yet I haven't been doing it. The first independent task a child is given should be simple enough so everyone can do it without assistance. This allows for confidence to build and more effort in the following activities that become more challenging.

This article allows me to see that creating an active learning environment takes time, patience , and hard work. However, it also shows me that there are ways to begin increasing student engagement immediately and with instant feedback.

This will fit into my inquiry plan well I believe. I don't see any reason I could not implement all ten steps in my classroom.

Video: Power Teaching and Classroom Management

This video was very fun to watch. It is about using 6 techniques of power teaching to engage students and ensure comprehension of what is being taught. I don't use this in my classroom but I do try and find silly ways (dancing or using a funny voice) in order to re-focus my students for to get their attention. Watching this video showed me that classroom management isn't all about consequences and rewards. It's about making your classroom a fun and active environment. It seemed like when this occurs, classroom management takes care of itself. I would like to implement some of the six techniques of power teaching in my classroom; I think my kids would have fun with it.

Blog: Teaching Strategies for Motivating Students

This blog was mostly about responding positively to students and to not try and instill "fear" in them. Smiles and encouragement are much more motivating than harsh words and ridicule. I found these statements to be pretty obvious and I do stay away from negative words and always use encouragement with my students. There was one part of the blog that suggested bringing more humor into teaching. I am silly with my students often but I never thought about bringing in props. The blog suggested a clown nose or mustache to wear while teaching-just to make the day more interesting. I thought that was a fun idea...who says school always has to be serious? This blog just put more emphasis on making classroom management fun and that engagement and management go hand in hand.

Domain 2

• The component from the domain I am most comfortable with is creating an environment of respect and rapport. I have always been able to build a strong rapport with my students relatively quickly. I see my students as “little people” which I think helps to develop a mutual respect between us.
• I believe the component from this domain that most strongly ties to instruction is establishing a culture for learning. When a teacher is excited about learning the students are excited about learning. When the students have a clear understanding of the goals and purpose of each lesson I believe they feel more willing to do their best and work as hard as they can. As stated in this part of the chapter a culture for learning implies high expectations for all students. This combined with a positive classroom environment allows students to take risks and reach that higher level of learning.
• I would like to focus on managing classroom procedure. I feel this is a weak point in my teaching. I am interested in reading about how I can improve upon this component to create the best learning environment possible for my students.

Task Two

The purpose of curriculum is to guide teaching; provide teachers with clear goals of what is to be accomplished in the classroom. We, as teachers, are the implementers. We put the curriculum into action. We are given a document and it's our job to decide the best way to use it. This means that all teachers, I believe, should be implementing curriculum differently. I believe this because all students are different therefore all classrooms are different; which means that in order to meet the needs of students our instructional strategies should be varied. Even though we are all teaching the same content (at each grade level) the way we deliver it should often look very different.

I do not believe we have as much control in designing curriculum as we should. I agree with the J. Curriculum Studies article that the more teachers are involved in developing the curriculum the better understanding there will be. If teachers are teaching something they understand and more importantly believe in; better teaching practices will occur.

The curriculum that I have I enjoy teaching. I feel everything that goes on in my classroom is relevant and important. I provide real-life examples to my students as often as I can so they understand not only the content but the reason why they should know it. There are some things that are not in the curriculum that I do teach because I feel it is important-such as manners, good character, ect. My goal as a teacher is to not only provide the students with the curriculum they need but also skills and life lessons in order for them to be well rounded individuals.

Task One (Article Reflection)

Since entering the undergraduate program at NKU I have heard the word curriculum. As I took more classes I began to understand what curriculum really was. It wasn't until I began teaching when I felt I fully understood the meaning of curriculum. I found these articles insightful and was surprised to read how in-depth curriculum actually is. We need to consider curriculum because I feel it is the basis of any meaningful education program. Without curriculum educators do not have a "guide" to lead his or her instruction. The type of curriculum is also important and as we know, varies from district to district; state to state. One curriculum may not be better than the other. However, after reading these articles it appears that curriculum should never be left unexamined. In other words, a curriculum can always be improved upon, just like the teacher themselves. I feel that a fused curriculum fits my current role best (as a second grade teacher). As we all know, there is never enough time in the day. In order to get Science or Social Studies in every day (or close to it) I integrate it into my Reading Centers each week. I also try to intertwine (or fuse) reading and writing as well. I try to find a common theme among the subjects each week. Something as simple as: "This week our story is about a little girls who draws pictures of winter to cool her neighbors down in the hot summer weather." So, in Science this week we will be learning about....you guessed it....weather! I am most attracted to this model I would say but I also enjoyed reading about an open curriculum. I try to engage my students in conversations often and try to allow them to generate as many of their own questions as possible. It's limited of course with 2nd graders. I can imagine how interesting this type of curriculum is in a high school or even middle school classroom. It seems that an open curriculum would create excitement about learning. A "modern" curriculum appears to be one that is hands-on. One that allows for higher-level thinking and going beyond the text book. I have to say that I do like this approach. I have always felt that teaching should be student centered. Kids/young adults need to get "their hands in it", I feel, in order to truly understand the concept being taught. That in addition to the building of questions. Meaning, the teacher asks a question that in-turn triggers another, and that another, and so on. As a teacher there is nothing more exciting than seeing your students excited. The "modern" approach, I think, would be a way to make that happen.