Objectives

I recently had my last observation of the year and my principle and I were discussing how important that the students know what is expected of them or what we want them to learn. The objectives of our lessons should not be a mystery to our students. I've been pretty good at writing my objectives on the white board for PE. I think it can be difficult at times to "point" to them or refer to them when teaching since we're always moving around in PE and the area we have to cover is larger vs. the classroom setting. I've been working on leaving extra time for closure of the lesson/review of the objectives so I can refer to them at the end of class. I would love if PE could also have a smart board on wheels! That way we could move it where we needed it and I would love to show videos more videos with skill demonstrations or stories in the news that are unit related without a projector and laptop. :) Someday...

More Assessments...

I'm continuing to implement more assessments. I've been trying to do more formative assessments too to help give me feedback about what the students are learning and then I can adjust my teaching/lessons based upon the feedback.

As for technology, I would love to implement more technology into my lessons; however its nearly impossible since we don't have computers, monitors, Smartboards, etc. in the gym. We've been looking into getting some of these tech devices for P.E and it would make it possible to try so many new activies and lessons!

Technology

As I reflect on our last phase 2/3 meeting, I realized that there are so many more technology opportunities out there, but I feel limited to the usage of it due to my teaching of a primary grade. I talked with a Spanish teacher at the junior high or high school, and the things they do with technology are so cool! Although I don't feel inadequate in the technology realm, I do feel that my students are getting a sufficient amount of access to various forms of technology. It helps that I have a smartboard in my room to allow for more hands-on learning.

Is there anyone that uses blogs, wikis, etc. in second or third grade? I haven't attempted them, because the thought of kids trying to type a decent amount sounds painful. Plus, I know that most of my students in my class do not have access to computers or internet at home.
Andrea

Technology

I missed the meeting about technology networking and how is it going in my personal or professional life. It is very difficult right now as a professional to by network, I feel do to the amount of time that it is taking to write our own curriculum and gather materials. I feel that I use the internet, searching blogs, or post boards more for resources or curriculum not so much time for posting my own thoughts or information. I think that it would be beneficial to try to network more but due to the time and pressure of keeping up with all the subjects that we have to teach, I don't have the extra time. I don't know if it is just me that has this issue about finding the time to sit down and use the technology or if others are able to network through technology and keep up with it all.

Guided Groups and Strategy Groups

I have been really trying to work with my students by pulling them for strategy groups. I feel as though it still is falling into more of a guided reading group. The students that I am pulling at a certain reading level tend to need the same strategies. I have broken them down in a fluency group, story elements group, problem/solution group, sequencing group, and a literature circle for my high students. I have then been pulling activities at their levels that are based on these skills that we are working on. I am not sure about what I am doing or if others have any ideas about this. I feel right now that I am working in small groups and trying to meet their needs the best that I can.

Reader's and Writer's Wrokshop

September 2010
I keep going back and forth about my professional goal.  I really want to work on both the reader's and writer's workshop.  I feel like I have the Reader's Workshop figured out and implemented in my classroom.  It is running smoothly and the kids are responding well to it.  I do a 15 min mini lesson, followed by 45 minutes of small group instruction, and 5 minutes of sharing at the end that foccuses on the skill taught during my mini lesson. 
One thing that I would really like to do this year is implement Literature Circles into my Reader's Workshop.  I have done Literature Cirlces in the past but have made them more a guided reading groups. I would like them to be in addition to their guided reading group. I would like for the students to run their own literature circle with minimal teacher interaction. Any ideas??

Leann Ferrell

Visually confused!

       When looking back on my professional goal of posting and verbalizing content and language objectives in the classroom, it got me thinking about other things I post in the classroom. Being a neat freak and leaning a bit on the side of less is more as far as visual distractions, I am having difficulty deciding what to post and what not to post.

       I keep my objectives on key rings so they are easily accessible, but out of sight. However, I keep the essential questions for the month out and visible to the students. My big question is......when looking around your classroom, how do you decide what to put up on the walls and what not to put up?

     Also, when it comes to posting vocabulary, I am thinking of spending some time this summer typing and printing the vocabulary, found in the quarterly check-in, for each subject area. I will then put them in a binder by month, so I can easily place them in a pocket chart where studetns can see them. Is this a good use of time? Do you find your students really using those vocabulary words in their writing. I guess I am stumped when it comes to encouraging first graders to use the resources posted in the room without overstimulating them so that the things posted don't become meaningless. 

    As first grade teachers we post more than the upper elementary grades. It seems we find ourselves putting up a lot of the fun crafty projects along with several anchor charts with pictures, class schedules, manipulatives, number charts and word walls. Any ideas on how to manage space in an organized manner?

Pictures to come soon.......

More Things To Learn

The exciting news in my classroom this month is that we got a SMART board! Since my goal was to grow and develop professionally, learning all of this new technology fits in perfectly. So far what I've been doing is just "dabbling". I've been borrowing things from staffshare (thank you professional network!) and taking things off of the smart notebook exchange website. I haven't made anything too fancy on my own yet but I'm super-excited about what an impact it has had on my classroom!

Behavior has been better because all of the kids know if they want to come up and use the SMART board, they have to be quiet and listening. Also, I get through things so much faster! It's much easier to have to up and ready to go than messing around with writing it on the whiteboard. One fun thing I started doing is recording myself writing in cursive and having the kids play it for themselves to see how I wrote the letters. It's so cool!

I feel like I'm on a pretty steep learning curve right now but at least I feel excited about it! Does anyone have any ideas for other fun ways I can use the board or places to find resources? Doug Keddie has been a god-send but the more information the better!