Reflection
During this class I have found many different resources that I can use in my future classroom. I found websites that have material such as worksheets, games, and activities for students. I have found websites that schools use as a resource. I plan to use the websites to get worksheets for my students to work on. I also plan to have my class participate in some of the activities and games that I have found. I also found instructional strategies ideas. I do plan to use most of those. I really liked the idea of reflection and having my students write a small paragraph about what they have learned. I have found ideas about having students reflect and one that has them practice their multiplication. I also want my students that are not proficient in their multiplication tables to practice them using an online resource. I have also found lesson plans that I would like to use in my own classroom one day. During this time I have also read some very interesting articles. These articles have told me that many students are not taught how to read after the fifth grade and that many text books are written two grade levels above the grade the book it for. I have also read articles about “I” poems which I also hope to use in my high school math class one day, by having students write and “I” poem about different formulas. I have also learned what a multigenre paper is, from reading an article. I liked the idea of this and would try to use it if I was going to teach English. I also read an article about how important vocabulary is even in the upper grades. The article gave great ideas of incorporating vocabulary into a lesson and even had some fun activities. I plan to use at least one of the activities that I found in the article.
I found the website www.learnnc.org to be the most helpful and useful. I had a harder time finding grade level appropriate lesson plans on many websites; however learnnc always had something that I could use. I do plan to use some of the lesson plans when I start to teach.
I do plan to continue finding resources, I honestly don’t see why not. I plan to find many different worksheets from websites like http://illuminations.nctm.org/. I also plan to be continually looking for fun and interactive activities my students can participate in and still learn math.
I hope to continue with my blog. I really want to have a class blog because I feel that it could be a resource to my students. I like the idea of them getting home and having a place to go on the internet if they need help with what we are doing in class. I also think that a teacher can make having a blog fun by having students to post on there notes for the day and even have opportunity for extra credit.
Lesson Plan #2
Reference:
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/2897
What I like:
I really like how this lesson plan starts basic by having students use the distributive property, and then it advances to the FOIL method. It also has students find the area of a rectangle. I like having students work in groups. I liked how you give your students problems to work on note cards and that as you do that you’re also putting them into groups but they do not know they are being put into groups and that they assume each problem is different.
How I would use this lesson plan:
I really like this lesson plan. The first time that I used it I would not make any modifications, however if I would make changes as needed.
Lesson Plan #1
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/3074
What I like:
I like how this lesson plan involves food and is hands on. I also like how students get to cut the cookie themselves and make their own arc and angles. I like how each group will have different answers from other groups but the answers from group to group will not vary too much.
How I would use this lesson plan:
This lesson plan says to put students into groups; instead I would rather have them do this with one other person. I would have students in groups of two but each student would still have their own cookie to work with they would just do the math calculations together. It also says to use plastic knifes; I would probably have my class to use the handle part of a spoon. Having a plastic knife in schools is a big issue with the zero-tolerance policy, and I would feel nervous with my students using them.
Vocabulary Instruction
I really liked the article A professional Development Initiative for Developing Approaches to Vocabulary Instruction With Secondary Mathematics, Art, Science, and English Teachers. The authors of this article inform the reader that learning vocabulary is a very important part of students learning. Vocabulary can be taught in any class and at any grade level. I liked this because it reminded me that I will need to provide my future students with vocabulary words. I also liked how this article gave different examples that were each in different content areas. I liked how students wrote “I” poems as well as poems for two voices. I liked the idea of poems for two voices because it would allow students to compare and contrast two different concepts. I also liked how students were to look up the synonyms and antonyms for the vocabulary word because that gave them a deeper understanding of the definition. I also liked how the teachers did not have the usual test question on their test but instead more “interactive” questions. I would have to say my favorite activity that I read about in this article would be the science glossary entries. I would like to use this with my class. I would like to do this as a class after starting a new topic. As a class we would look up the definition of the vocabulary word. Then as a class we would make out own definition and an example. Then we would discuss if there was anything in particular we would want to make note of what not. I would also like to include a break down of the word were we would find the definitions of its root word and its prefixes/ suffixes and other related words. I liked this article because it gave really good ideas that incorporated vocabulary words in to the lesson and they were creative ideas.
I also liked the websites that were provided. I like the idea of teachers having a blog and or class website that students can access as well. One of the websites that I looked at said that the teacher assigned certain students to go onto the website and put the daily assigned homework and that it was part of that students homework and grade to do so. I want to have a class website and I have also thought about how I would like for my students to be able to add to it as well.
The multigenre paper
The author of the article The multigenre paper: Increasing interest, motivation, and functionality in research begins by informing the reader that the traditional high school research paper has received quite a bit of criticism in the past. They then provide us with some quotes from those that have criticized it, some saying how teachers dread it as badly as students do. They then tell the reader there are other approaches to this assignment. The author tells of a few ideas that others have tried using with this assignment before telling us about the idea that they came up with. The author came up with the idea of a multigenre paper. The author starts off by saying that one of the hard things about getting this paper started was that there were no examples to provide to the class and also that there was no real definition of a multigenre paper. Because of these things the class of secondary English education majors made their own rules. As a class they discussed how they would be graded and such. The author goes on to explain that a multigenre paper is not like most papers where you tell when someone was born and died and other important things in their life, but instead it is a paper where you create these things. What was meant by that is that you would create a birth certificate to tell when someone was born instead of writing about it in a sentence. Instead of writing about how someone wrote letters to family and friends they actually write an example letter. The author tells how they had their students use a certain number of different genres in writing this paper and they give a list of the different genres that were used. Many of the students loved this idea. Some liked it so much that they later used it while student teaching and some told their parents about it that was also high school English teachers. Many students said they felt they had learned more writing the paper this way and that they also felt closer to their topic. College students and high school students seemed to feel the same way about the paper. The author then provided the reader with examples of two papers and endnotes that students the college students had written.
Question #1 Would students benefit from writing multiple “mini” research papers instead of one big research paper?
Question #2 Do students miss out or lose something by not writing a traditional research paper?
Question #3 Does writing a research paper do more damage than good when it comes to students attitude about writing?
The “I” poem
The author of the article “I” poems: Invitations for students to deepen literary understandings begins by informing the reader that many of the novels students read during elementary school is written as first-person. Then they go to say that having students to write in first-person gives them the opportunity to express themselves. The author then introduces the “I” poem. The reader is informed that when students read something and then write about it they will be more likely to express the way they felt, emotions, and if any prejudice. Students are also going to better understand and remember a selection when they reflect on what they have read. A way for students to reflect on a story is to write an “I” poem about something in particular in the story they have just read. Also, writing “I” poems before reading can help to build a background for students. Having a background built can help them to better picture the story in their own minds and to have a wider vocabulary before even starting the book. This is also a way for students to reflect and respond after a reading. This is when students can become a character in the story and write an “I” poem in first person about that particular character.
Question #1) What are other methods to cultivate prior knowledge before reading a selection.
Question #2) Would it be a good idea or a bad idea to have students to write an “I” poem in the middle of a selection?
Question #3) Is an “I” poem the best method of a written response to a reading?
Instructional Strategies #4
Title your post:
Instructional Strategies #4
Your Name:
Jessica Llewellyn
Name of Strategy:
FreeRice: Multiplication Table
Source (Where did this come from?):
Free Rice
Link to the Strategy: http://www.freerice.com/index.php
Click on the tab “Subjects” near the top of the screen. Under the subject “Math” click on Multiplication Table.
Give a thorough description of the strategy and how it will be implemented. This should be a summary of the strategy according to the original source:
This website quizzes students. They can choose different subjects to be quizzed on. For every question that is answered correctly this website donates 10 grains of rice to the UN World Food Program. If they answer a wrong question they get an easier question. Whenever you do get one wrong FreeRice will repeat it a few turns later to give the player a second chance.
Explain what part of the standard course of study is addressed by this activity.
7th Grade Math.
Objectives 1.02. Develop fluency in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of rational numbers.
Explain why you think this strategy will work. How does the strategy help your students learn?
I feel that many high school students depend on their calculator too much. Every high school student should know their multiplication tables, however many don’t. I feel that this is a result of calculators. It is important for students to retain their multiplication tables. I feel that FreeRice is a great way for students of all ages to do just that, while at the same time helping a good cause. Knowing their multiplication tables help students when it comes to factoring and etc. in math classes, at the same time not knowing their multiplication tables hurts a student in the math class. I feel that quizzing students on their multiplication tables will help them to remember and recall something they have already learned. I also feel that quizzing students and making them think about the answer instead of letting them put it in the calculator works their mind and helps to keep it sharp and to keep them from getting lazy.
Instructional Strategies #3
Title your post:
Instructional Strategies #3
Your Name:
Jessica Llewellyn
Name of Strategy:
Vocabulary Word Maps
Source (Where did this come from?):
Reading Quest
Link to the Strategy:
http://www.readingquest.org/strat/wordmap.html
Give a thorough description of the strategy and how it will be implemented. This should be a summary of the strategy according to the original source:
A vocabulary word map is a visual organizer that help student think about new terms and concepts in many ways. The students new term goes in the middle of the map. Around the new term students put the definition, synonyms, antonyms, and a picture or sentence.
Explain what part of the standard course of study is addressed by this activity.
This activity can be used for any standard in the standard course of study.
Explain why you think this strategy will work. How does the strategy help your students learn?
I feel this strategy will work with any high school math class because it can be used for any new topic. There are a few things about it I would do differently. I would still have my students put the new word in the middle. I would also want my students to put the definition and the formula and a picture which would probably be a graph. Then instead of the synonyms and antonyms I would instead want my students to put an example of a math problem worked in the particular method and then I would have them choose what to put that will help them to remember the topic. I feel this strategy will help my students as a postreading. It can be used to help them while working on homework at home. This could also be a resource for them while studying for the test or the final exam.
Instructional Strategies #2
Title your post:
Instructional Strategies #2
Your Name:
Jessica Llewellyn
Name of Strategy:
Math Matters: Off-Road Algebra
Source (Where did this come from?): Hot Chalk
Link to the Strategy:
http://www.hotchalk.com/mydesk/index.php/math-matters/387-math-matters-offroad-algebra
Give a thorough description of the strategy and how it will be implemented. This should be a summary of the strategy according to the original source:
This website tries to make math fun and relevant by the use of technology. This multimedia is about the world of off-road motorcycle racing. It has pre-algebra and algebra I problems with step-by-step solutions. This website likes to incorporate something fun with math so students can learn math while relating real life mathematical applications.
Explain what part of the standard course of study is addressed by this activity.
The problems in this multimedia are from Pre-Algebra and Algebra I. It provided a link to a PDF file that gave the NCTM Standards for all of the 30 problems. http://www.hotchalk.com/mydesk/images/stories/MATHMATTERS/HotChalkMathMatterOffroadAlgebraStandards.pdf
Explain why you think this strategy will work. How does the strategy help your students learn?
I would use this multimedia teaching tool as a “during reading” tool. First I would teach my students the material by giving them formulas and working examples. Then I would show them the multimedia. This would grasp their attention and give them a real-life application of math. I feel this multimedia video is good for students because it includes visual, auditory, and incorporates multimedia in a very interesting subject matter. Because the subject matter is motocross and many high school students are interested it motocross it will grab their attention and they will hopefully get a better understanding of the material. Many students can learn from their teacher but at the same time there are many students that can learn even better from multimedia. This could also be a tool for those students that understand the material in class but don’t when they get home.
Instructional Strategies #1
Title your post:
Instructional Strategies #1
Your Name:
Jessica Llewellyn
Name of Strategy:
Reflection
Source (Where did this come from?):
Pennsylvina Department of Education
Link to the Strategy: http://www.pde.state.pa.us/reading_writing/cwp/view.asp?a=196&q=98199
Give a thorough description of the strategy and how it will be implemented. This should be a summary of the strategy according to the original source:
There are some things that students need time to think about what they have just been taught when learning a new concept. Having students write about the new concept in a new journal or a small paragraph in their notebook will give them the opportunity to think about what they have learned. You would most likely want to give students a prompt with questions to answer to insure that they don’t take this as an opportunity to free write. As a teacher you could type up the reflection topic and pass it out to students to write on and keep for themselves in their notebook. I would like to use this strategy after teaching my students a new math concept. I would like for them to write a reflection on what they have just learned in class. This would be kept in their notebook. In it they would tell what the math concept is and how it works. They would also tell ways they can remember how to do the problem. I would also like them to reflect on real life applications; having real life applications would hopefully help them remember more about this topic. Although it is not particularly recommended for teachers to take grades on this I would like to take a homework grade or quiz grade for students writing the reflection. It would be a fairly easy grade that would help them assuming they just write the reflection.
Explain what part of the standard course of study is addressed by this activity.
This could be used for any math class at nearly any grade level.
Explain why you think this strategy will work. How does the strategy help your students learn?
I feel that this strategy will work because having students reflect on material they have recently covered it will reinforce the new skills that have been learned. This would be useful when it comes time for students to study for a test or a quiz. The reflection will have how to work the problem and ways to help students remember this. It will also have real life applications. Reading a reflection that they themselves have wrote will hopefully help a student to remember and understand the material for a test or end of course exam.
