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10!

I have really enjoyed our literacy class this semester! The best part about this course is that we are now prepared for the push for literacy in our classrooms! I remember my first day in field, on our way to lunch, there is a huge bulletin board that discusses how literacy is implemented throughout the school! I loved seeing this because I understood why GGC added this course for us to take! Literacy in math is a lot easier to incorporate than most people think. Students need to be able to explain procedures to obtain their answer. I have witnessed several times throughout the semester where students have talked me through a problem and then realized where they made a mistake and/or figured out what they do not understand. My CT uses a strategy called R.A.C.E (restate questions, analyze, calculation, explain) that assess how well students are understanding the question. Students have to write at least 2 sentences per section which allows them to think about what the question is asking instead of just seeing numbers and adding, multiplying or dividing. During the course of this semester I have witnessed students struggle with word problems, and to be honest I'm not a fan of them either! There were countless times this semester when students see a word problem they pull out the number and just pick a operation and write down an answer. If students would use the R.A.C.E strategy for all of these problem I believe they wouldn't get so overwhelmed. 

I do have to admit at the beginning of the semester I was really excited about middle school but I now I don't think its for me! I do love the students but I do like the responsibility of the high school students versus the middle school students. It was a great experience all in all!

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BLOG #8

Assessment. I think is the scariest part of this job! During both semesters of my student teaching I have helped develop test. I have gained a lot of insight about how teachers pick certain problems. There are many questions that have to be answered when writing each test question; Did we cover it?,  time spent of each topic, questions that reflect the way each topic was taught. My CT’s used several forms of assessment throughout each lesson. The assessments included in each unit are; quizzes, daily grades, exit ticket, USA test prep/e-class. Students will receive at least one of these grades every day which means they are assessed at least once a day. 

I remember assessments to be stressful. When I was younger I always strive for A’s and B’s so if I received a bad grade on a test I would freak out! I always stressed out before test which made them my least favorite part of school as a student. I remember standardized test like it was yesterday. My mom would wake me up extra early to eat a good breakfast before the “big” test. I hated these days at school because I knew the consequences if I failed. There was so much pressure as a student but always seem to pass the standardized test.

I believe involving Literacy in each subject is important because the students depth of knowledge increases. If depth of knowledge increases, students are able to think critically which is key to taking standardized test. I have used a R.A.C.E strategy for warmups several times during this semester. This strategy uses literacy to recognize, analyze, calculate and explain a problem. Students have to think critically to break down each problem. This strategy also activates prior knowledge. I think students will succeed more on standardized test when more literacy is used throughout all subjects!

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BLOG #8

Assessment. I think is the scariest part of this job! During both semesters of my student teaching I have helped develop test. I have gained a lot of insight about how teachers pick certain problems. There are many questions that have to be answered when writing each test question; Did we cover it?,  time spent of each topic, questions that reflect the way each topic was taught. My CT’s used several forms of assessment throughout each lesson. The assessments included in each unit are; quizzes, daily grades, exit ticket, USA test prep/e-class. Students will receive at least one of these grades every day which means they are assessed at least once a day. 

I remember assessments to be stressful. When I was younger I always strive for A’s and B’s so if I received a bad grade on a test I would freak out! I always stressed out before test which made them my least favorite part of school as a student. I remember standardized test like it was yesterday. My mom would wake me up extra early to eat a good breakfast before the “big” test. I hated these days at school because I knew the consequences if I failed. There was so much pressure as a student but always seem to pass the standardized test.

I believe involving Literacy in each subject is important because the students depth of knowledge increases. If depth of knowledge increases, students are able to think critically which is key to taking standardized test. I have used a R.A.C.E strategy for warmups several times during this semester. This strategy uses literacy to recognize, analyze, calculate and explain a problem. Students have to think critically to break down each problem. This strategy also activates prior knowledge. I think students will succeed more on standardized test when more literacy is used throughout all subjects!

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Blog #4

I have been able to observe several other teachers, besides my CT ,so that I can see a variety of teaching strategies. Last week, I observed a 7th grade math teacher. When I walked into the class the students were starting to work on their daily warm-up. Warm ups are a great idea because it preparing the students for the lesson ahead as well as activating prior knowledge. The teacher went over the warm up and then collected homework from the previous night. I was so excited to hear that their homework was to write a poem about two vocabulary words. The teacher read several aloud and they were hilarious! The teacher said that since they were learning about poems in 7th grade language arts that she wanted them to use what they were learning in that class and apply it to math. I will definitely use this strategy in my classroom!

I have slowly started to teach parts of each lesson and today I was able to teach the “think-aloud.” Students were given a question about the lesson I was going to teach them. I gave them 5 minutes to write a response. I began the think-aloud by questioning how they interrupted the question and what it was actually asking us to do. Several students could figure out the first step but struggled with the second step. I decided to question them through the second step so I could start the lesson and explain why the second step is necessary. I noticed that during the lesson the students were more engaged that usual. I believe the think-aloud kept the students engaged because they wanted to know why the second step was so important. I think this is a great teaching strategy because students think deeper rather than starting the lesson with calculations “plug and chug.”  I will use this teaching strategy again this semester and see if the engagement is the same or better than this previous lesson. 

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Literacy in my free time

There are many activities I enjoy during my free time which include scanning through Pinterest, watching documentaries on Netflix and painting. I enjoy looking through Pinterest to find ideas for easy dinners, DIY decor, and ways to save money. I read through recipes a lot because Im looking for quick and easy dinners. I also look through DIY home decor because craft projects are enjoyable! 

I love to find documentaries on just about anything from the Egyptian pyramids to interesting places to visit and even how people live while in prison. I hate trying to find new shows because there is so much on Netflix and it gets overwhelming so if you have suggestions, let me know! I also love watching the office, its always sunny in Philadelphia and Brooklyn 99. 

I’m an after school teacher two days a week so using literacy comes with the job. I am able to help the kids with homework and listen to them read for the required 20 min per day. I enjoy helping them especially when I am able to teach them information they did not understand in class. 

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First Blog EVER!

As a young student I always loved reading until we started “chapter books” in 4th grade. I was never successful with reading comprehension which lead me to not enjoy the “chapter books” we were assigned to read for class. I remember after our reading assignments we would have to summarize the chapter and I would miss a lot of major details. Reading in elementary school wasn't the best experience until I read “she said yes” which changed my mind about reading. I remember being excited that I actually found a great book! 

My entire life I have struggled with writing. My problem is writing exactly what I'm thinking. Im very self conscious about my writing skills because I had to go to writing summer school when I was in 4th grade which made me upset because I excelled in all other subjects. I was embarrassed to have to go to summer school which made me hate writing even more. I want to get better at writing so feel free to TEACH ME!