Hi, all! My name is Gabby DeHart and in this blog I will share what I have learned or am currently learning throughout my journey to becoming an Elementary teacher.
I chose to look back at my hometown school system. I come from a very small town in Oklahoma and from what I remember, there wasn’t much in the way of technology-based learning. However, when I got in touch with my old school, I was surprised to see that there is a significant amount of technology in the elementary buildings. Unfortunately, in a district that runs of back-to-back fundraisers, the elementary Principal was telling me that not every class has the privilege of using iPads, tablets, or laptops. He said that the majority of teachers with those luxuries had to apply for very competitive grants, crowd source through sites like DonorsChoose.org, or spend their own money while utilizing a teacher discount. The Junior High and High school are still seriously lacking in technology-based learning, only having the library and a computer lab for all of the students to use.
Liz Kolb’s BYOD (bring your own device) strategy would be incredibly useful in rural towns like mine. Almost everyone has some type of smart device that can connect to Wi-Fi, which schools already have, and this would solve the problem of the school taking on the costs of implementing technology into the classroom. This would allow for a more tech inclusive environment that would not only prepare students for college but also bring a new excitement into learning.
This week for class we had to make a weekly newsletter and brochure for an end of unit activity. We were also tasked with creating rubrics to grade the assignment. I got confused and created a rubric to grade the unit activity, so I’m going to include that too. Enjoy!
Materials: Is Your Mama a Llama? Written by Deborah Guarino and Illustrated by Steven Kellogg
A – Analyze Learners by reviewing the academic abilities, learning styles, and prior competencies of the students.
S – State Standards. Oklahoma state standard 2 says that “the student will demonstrate the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate large parts of spoken language (e.g., words, syllables, onsets, and rimes) and individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words.”
S – Select Strategies, Technology, Media, & Materials. I chose the book Is Your Mama a Llama and created a PowerPoint presentation.
U – Utilize Technology, Media, & Materials. I chose to only use the book and a PowerPoint presentation so that the students can focus on the objective of the lesson which is hearing words and creating a rhyming one. Later in the lesson, I will have students interact with the Smart Board by writing on it. This ties back into Print & Writing Awareness by expanding the modes of writing they are familiar with.
R – Require Learner Participation. I do this by encouraging group discussion and small group work.
E- Evaluate & Revise. I will evaluate students throughout the lesson, as well and review their worksheets and exit ticket answers. I will revise accordingly and revisit the lesson if necessary.
Procedure:
10:00-10:15 à Show a PowerPoint presentation made up of pictures of animals not mentioned in the book Is Your Mama a Llama? Start with domesticated animals, such as cats, dogs, and rabbits, then move on to wilder animals, such as deer, bears, and lions. Discuss the notable characteristics of each animal with the students, using the PowerPoint as a visual aid.
Standard 6 - Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals.
10:15-10:25 à Read the book Is Your Mama a Llama? Emphasize the rhymes and encourage students to use their ability to recognize notable characteristics of animals to make educated guesses on which animal the book might be describing.
10:25-10:50 à Reread some selections from the book, omitting the matching rhyme, and have students “fill in the blank.”
For example, She hangs by her feet and she lives in a cave. I do not believe that’s how llamas _______. (behave) Then, invite the students to think of new rhyming words to fit each sentence. Continuing the afore mentioned example, She hangs by her feet and she lives in a cave. I do not believe that’s how llamas _______. (gave, save, wave)
It is important to note, that since this lesson is focused on sound matching, the answers don’t have to be logical. It is only important that students are using rhyming words.
10:50-11:00 à Break the students up into groups and hand out a Rhyming Sentences worksheet. Complete the first sentence with the class as an example. Write the sentence “Look at that man jump over the ______.” on the board and come up with 2-3 rhyming words. (can, fan, pan)
11:00-11:25 à Give the students ample time to complete the worksheet. Go around the class and help as needed.
11:25-11:50 à Have students stay in their groups. Begin going over the worksheet by calling on a group and have a group member come write their word on the Smart Board. Have one member from each group who had the same word come up. If there are groups left unrepresented have them come up and write their word. Once all groups have come to the front of the classroom, write a new word that fits the sentence, and discuss with the class other words that might fit. Continue this pattern until all 10 sentences have been reviewed.
Standard 1 - Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving and demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences.
Standard 7 - Students use digital tools to broaden their perspectives and enrich their learning by collaborating with others and working effectively in teams locally and globally.
11:50-12:00 à Have students turn in their worksheets and return to their desks to write an exit slip about what they learned from/during the lesson.
This week our assignment was to create a Twitter account and report back how we found the experience. I have a personal twitter, and have had it for eight years now. I started my account when I was in high school and mostly interact with my peers from those years and friends I've made throughout college. I decided rather than worrying about how my tweets/retweets would be perceived, it'd be better just to create a new account, specifically in the light of being a developing, young professional. It was a jarring experience to go from interacting with people I know personally, that I am allowed to joke with and challenge, to being prim and proper. I hope to become more comfortable in this realm of professional development as time goes on. I am still working on becoming more involved in teaching groups and conversations, but seeing as I am still a teaching candidate, I am more than wiling to sit back and soak up the knowledge from more experienced teachers.
Feel free to follow me on Twitter, though I'm not very active: @/teachmsdehart
Hello, my name is Gabby DeHart! I am currently a college student studying Elementary Education. I have lived in Oklahoma my entire life, and I am excited to teacher here after my graduation. On a more personal note, I enjoy dogs of any breed and reading, I almost always have a book with me. Oh, and about those dogs: I currently own six of them. They range from pet shop dogs to strays off of the side of the road. I have one Pitbull, one Pug, one Chihuahua, one hound dog, two weenie dogs that are siblings. I paid for the Pug nine years ago, but the rest of the dogs come from the streets or families who couldn't take care of them anymore. Rescuing animals, specifically dogs, is one of my passions. I also have two cats. I am looking forward to sharing what I learn in my education.
