Closure

My last day in my class was a bittersweet. It was great to see how much my kids have progressed and how far they have come but of course it was sad to say bye to all there adorable faces. It was their field day so when I got there they were exhausted but still a little lively. We watched the Magic School Bus and after that they each gave me a goodbye card that they made. Reading all there sweet cards brought tears to my eyes. Mrs. Collins got me a cute little makeup bag and a devotional prayer book for graduates. I hope to go visit them before school lets out so I can see them one last time. This year as been such a wonderful experience and I hate to say goodbye but I know that we are all moving on to great futures.

Three More Mondays

This is my second year as an intern and I have enjoyed every minute of it. Fortunately my two mentor teacher have been wonderful to me and gave me wonderful feedback for when I want to teach. Coming into Ready Set Teach last year I was set on becoming a teacher and after these two years I know that without a doubt this is what I want to do.

Being with those kids for just the hour and a half I'm there is awesome and brings joy to my days. I can only imagine what it will feel like whenever I have my own classroom and get to spend all day every day with them.

As the end is approaching quickly I get more and more sad to leave this all behind but I am thrilled to see what my future holds. I hope to spend these last couple of weeks with my second graders and make so many good memories with them that I can cherish forever. I hope that I can get just a few more tips in before I go and even go by Mrs. Hunkers class and say goodbye to her. This has all been such a great experience and a chapter in my book that is ending wonderfully.

Smart Technology

Math Bingo- ONLY .99 CENTS!! This is a great app that looks easy to use. This would be a fun app for the kids to practice adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing.

Telling Time Free- My second graders have been working on time and are really struggling so this would be a great way for them to get used to it and learn.

Fractions- This is a fun smart board assignment that my second graders could use to make fractions more fun and enjoyable.

Financial literacy can pay off!

I believe that every subject has parts of it that are completely irrelevant to everything and there is no point in learning it because you won't need it in life. I also understand that it depends on what you do in your future as far as your career. For example and second grade teacher will never need to use calculus II where as an architecture might. It all ties back to what you do in your future.

A class I think should be a required class in order to graduate high school is a money management. Whenever you get out in to the real world there are so many people that don't know how to manage their money and end up in debt financially because they were never taught how to manage their money. A course that I have taken through high school that was very helpful to me was my AP English III. My teacher made the class useful because he used examples on how we can use things in the real world.

I feel more prepared to handle money and finance to an extent. I can manage my money but I feel that I could have been prepared a whole lot more because there are so many more things that I still don't know about money and finances. I would feel more comfortable by taking a class or being taught rather than just being thrown out there to fend for myself without any background on finances.

Stevens Blog

Financial Literacy Makes School Relevant

What teachers want parents to know

I as an intern think it is very important for parents to understand that as teachers we are with their kids a lot of the time and spend multiple hours with their children and can see habits, good or bad, that their child are picking up habits. So, I as a teacher want to be able to help correct those habits, not to insult the parents but to do what's best for their child. Also parents need to understand that when kids get a bad grade it is what they deserve not what I just give them.

I think that parents as partners rather than prosecutors is along the same lines as what I just went over. Parents automatically assume that their child is the angel and the teacher obviously is doing something wrong but if parents got it through their head that's not the case then parents and teachers could work together to make their child that much more successful.


What Teachers Want Parents To Know Blog Post

What teachers really want to tell parents article

The Rules

Ron Clarks number one rule was "We are a Family" and I think that this is very important for a classroom for multiple reasons. One of the main reasons I think that this rule is so important because when you are in a family you feel comfortable and at ease. You aren't afraid to be yourself and you can count on others to be there for you when you need the Being comfortable in a classroom is very important so that you can open up to people and eventually open up to your education.

I think that rules are very important in a classroom and in are classroom here are some rules that I would have:

1. Respect. Be respectful to everyone

2. You Must Manage Your Time

3. Ask For Help

4. Be Prompt to Class

5. Fake It Til You Feel It


The Rules Blog

The Ron Clark Academy

Glogster in the Classroom

My Glogster Link

Hire me, please!

Some of my strengths that I would have in an interview would be my outgoing personality. I know that you can not be timid going into an interview so that is where my outgoing comes into play. Being able to open up and keep conversation going is very important, it shows you have confidence in yourself. A weakness of mine would be getting nervous before hand.

I'm sure that there are many ways to fix this but I could start by talking myself through it and trying to calm my nerves. Sometimes I start to get red faced and my palms get sweaty but if I talk to myself to calm my nerves that should help.

Yes I have interviewed for a job and I did a very good job. I got a job and love it!

Give It Your Best Shot

Digital Learning Day

Storybird would be a wonderful tool that I could use in my classroom. It could be an easy way to teach a lesson in a fun way! You can make stories as you go or you can prepare them before and go through it as you teach.

Storybird is an awesome online tool to make fun books and you can access them wherever there is internet access. And it's free!

There wasn't many of my teachers that used any technology that was out of the ordinary. It was mainly just the normal powerpoint or use the projector just like everyday.

Digital Learning Day!

Make It Happen in 2012!

1. I want to make a higher grade in Calculus. I know that this will not be easy but I am willing to give it everything I've got to make a better grade. Last semester I could have worked harder and put more effort into it but I always got behind then slacked off. This semester I am caught up and can really focus on my studies to get a better grade.

2. Although this is not school related I plan to slim up and become healthier. When you're healthier you're happier and when you're happier you are more intrigued in class. I hope to drop quite a few a pounds by graduation. I have already started working out more and watching what I at and I can't wait to see my results.

3. Last semester I started to fall behind on scholarships and deadlines and things. This semester I will start looking at more scholarship opportunities. I will go to the office once a week and find more scholarships. I am starting to fill more and more out that is going to help me pay for college.

Cheers to a New Semester!

The Ideal Classroom

There are multiple ways that people choose to design your classroom to accommodate your students and to help them learn. I really like this article on how she made it in a Starbucks setting. I would definitely love to do that.

If I didn't do that, I will make sure that the desk are put in tables. Having the desk set up in tables provides them to work quietly with the ones around them. I personally think that working in groups helps students learn better.

Lewisville Article

Grinch or Santa?

1. Celebrating the holidays in school is kind of a tradition. It has always been done for years and even if it's not really celebrating Christmas you should celebrate the Holidays.

2. Since Christmas is such a long tradition the kids need to learn the culture of christmas.

3. With holiday break kids are already anxious to get out of school and spend time with family where they lose focus on school so with Christmas parties it gives them an opportunity to tie in what they're anxious for and their education together.

American Teacher

When I started watching this movie I was wondering if it was ever going to get happy! It was one depressing thing after another but then it picked up at the end. After the movie though I did have a different view on this profession, not necessarily bad or good. I've known that going into this job it wouldn't be easy but I never really thought about ALL of the different inconveniences it would bring. If anything I think that it only made me more aware of what I will have to deal with.

One of the biggest frustrations that in the movie and that you hear from all teachers is the pay. Teachers work so hard and put so much time and their own money into their class and get very low pay in return.

The districts could make teaching easier or at least help it to be easier by giving more time for planning so that teachers wouldn't have to work through their lunch. Another thing that would help without increasing pay would be to provide more supplies in the classroom so that teachers don't have to go out and use their own money to buy things to be a better teacher.

I understood the movie for the most part and don't have any questions that I would like to address at this time, thank you.

Why Do Students Procrastinate?

Difficulty Concentrating. When you sit at your desk you find yourself daydreaming, staring into space, looking at pictures of your boyfriend/girlfriend, etc., instead of doing the task. Your environment is distracting and noisy. You keep running back and forth for equipment such as pencils, erasers, dictionary, etc. Your desk is cluttered and unorganized and sometimes you sit/lay on your bed to study or do your assignments. You probably notice that all of the examples that you have just read promote time wasting and frustration.


This is one of my biggest trouble when it comes to procrastination. I will sit in class and day dream about what I'm going to do after school or what I did the night before and then loose concentration then get behind with what needs to be done. 
Also whenever I hear people talking about something interesting, that's off topic, I always find myself listening in on them rather than doing my work. 


Study in small blocks instead of long time periods. For example, you will accomplish more if you study/work in 60 minute blocks and take frequent 10 minute breaks in between, than if you study/work for 2-3 hours straight, with no 
breaks. Reward yourself after you complete a task.


A lot of times I study for a little bit and if I study for too long that's when I will start to day dream or get off task. I can start timing myself and then when it gets to how every long my time is stop and take a break then get back to work to stay focused. 

If I could change education, I would...

I would make sure that our education would be more fun. That is a very cliche answer, everyone thinks that school is so boring. In all reality it really is. We go in to class and get lectures and listen to a monotone teacher that rambles on about boring things.

Teachers need to make class fun. They need to take what interest their students and incorporate it with their lessons. Each teacher needs to learn what helps each student learn and make sure that helps their students learn.

Lesson Planning With TEKS

I actually just spoke to Mrs. Collins about this on Thursday. She is very big on foldables and fun hands on things. She has already asked me to do lesson on the water cycle whenever I'm ready.

For that I will making a triangular foldable that they can draw on and glue into their science journals.

A couple other things I could plan on doing for a lesson is a lesson over force and motion. I could have them do the motions and show me the forces by acting them out.

I could also teach a lesson over the solar system and do the planet models. Have them make the solar systems and hang them around the class room so they could study them throughout the year.

TEKS

My First Week as a Teacher

I am interning at Foster Village Elementary for Mrs. Collins second grade class. I am there for science, social studies, and some math. The first day in class Mrs. Collins was very welcoming and it felt like I had been in there all year. The kids were so sweet and Mrs. Collins took me in just like that. I am looking forward to being in a younger grade and teaching at a lower elementary school level.

Article Response

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