I have been thinking about what I am going to do to present the books I am currently reading, "Reading Essentials." I have decided I am going to use one of the web 2.0 applications to create an engaging presentation for my classmates. I am also going to create a hand-out, possibly a brochure, for my classmates to take away from my presentation.
I thought this would be more appropriate than using PowerPoint, because I am notorious for creating a PowerPoint and reading all the slides to the class. My goal is to use something new so I can explore something new, and also so I will be more engaged as a presenter. This week I am going to explore a couple different web 2.0 applications and decided which one I am going to use for my presentation.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Share Your Reading Life
In my classroom I am always trying to get my kids excited about reading. I was fortunate enough that my mother saved all my childhood books, so I have several books that interest my students. They love when they get to go and choose one of my books to read (or look at the pictures) because they get to make the choice.
One thing from the text that stood out to me was that I need to encourage my students to recommend books to each other. This will help them get excited about reading from their peers.
My students are required to fill out a reading log every night and I fill out one as well. Anytime we read a book together in class I will write it on my reading log to model for the students how it works.
Another area that stood out to me was as a teacher we need to examine what we do as a reader and make our thinking and practices visible to our students. When ever I read stories to my kindergarteners I use think alouds all the time. This is very important for me because now that we are half way through the school year when I do a think aloud my kids will actually raise their hands and extend about their thinking as a response to my think aloud.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Bonding with Your Students
The modeling by people that we love is
what changes us.
-Don Holdaway
You would not know how many
times during the school year my students accidently call me “mom.” Although I
do not have children of my own, I consider my students my children! I think
having a bond with your students will allow you to help them learn.
To bond with
your students means that you:
-Treat them and their
families with respect.
-Act kindly toward them.
-Show that we care about them.
-Listen to them.
-Keep them safe.
-Celebrate their efforts
and accomplishments.
-Know their interests and incorporate
those interests into the curriculum.
-Provide optimal learning
conditions.
-Make sure they succeed
from the very first day.
-Have faith in them as
learners.
-Value them as
individuals.
Teaching kindergarten,
most of my students still love being loved. They tell me every morning how much
they missed me, come up to me during all times of the day just to give me a
hug, and many of them tell me they love me. I completely understand the
importance of bonding with my students and I always work hard for each and
every one of my students. I never belittle my students and I am always striving
for success for every child in my classroom. I model for them constantly about
how to be respectful and responsible and try my best to build a classroom
learning community where all students feel safe.
As this chapter continues
the author discusses how to encourage shared decision making in your classroom.
You should tell students stories of things that happen in your life. I do this
every after every weekend with my students and sometimes I wonder why they are
so fascinated with the things I do! As a teacher we need to value our students’
stories and read stories aloud to them. We need to get to know our students as
readers and learn about their reading lives at home. Most of all we need to
enjoy and celebrate our students!
Reading Essentials
I have chosen to read the
book “Reading Essentials: The Specifics You Need to Teach Reading Well” by
Regie Routman. Being a kindergarten teacher I am very excited to start reading
this book. I would like to learn the essentials of reading so I can develop new
ways to teach reading to my students.
When I began reading the
book I was instantly engaged. The first chapter really spoke to me. The title
of the chapter was Simplify Your Teaching
Life. The author goes out to schools and into classrooms to help teachers.
She stated that if we want our students to be excited about literacy, they need
to have teachers who love coming to work, who are literacy learners themselves,
who find ways to make curriculum relevant to children’s lives and who can put
high stakes testing in perspective. With that being said I could not agree
more! As well, she states that many times this is not possible because we are
constantly exhausted from an overstuffed curriculum and have no time to
collaborate, reflect, and renew ourselves.
Having only been a teacher
for a mere three years I like to believe that I could do all the things I
needed to do in order to get my students excited about literacy. Sadly, I feel
completely overwhelmed with the amount of work I have to do on a weekly basis
and find myself struggling to find time to reflect on my lessons or collaborate
effectively with my team.
Something I always need to
remember is that there is no one “right” way or best way to teach. The answer
depends on your students. As teachers we often complicate our teaching lives.
We are so focused on the programs instead of the students. We have elaborate
time consuming management systems rather than simple and effectives ones. The list
goes on and on. We need to view teaching ad an art supported by science.
How can we get back to the
basics of what really matters in teaching and learning?
- · Inspiring ongoing curiosity and a love of learning.
- · Acquiring the skills and tools to learn and go on learning.
- · Guaranteeing immediate and continued success.
- · Ensuring that learners become thinking, probing users of language.
- · Implementing challenging and relevant curriculum.
- · Establishing and sustaining collaborative and caring communities.
I am excited to continue
reading and blogging about this book!
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