An Adventurous Semester of Firsts...

 I will never be able to relive my first semester of teaching. I was more nervous my first day in the classroom than I was when I spoke in front of thousands of people, or when I taught a Ladies day in Spanish. I have done many things in life, but teaching by far has impacted me the most.

Most individuals enter this career believing that they can make a difference in the lives of their students. While we do usually have a large impact on the lives of our students, our students have an even bigger impact on us. My kids (yes they are my kids, so don't mess with them) have changed me. I did not know that someone's heart could be big enough to love, care, challenge, and motivate around eighty students. I love what I do, and I truly have a passion for improving myself so that I can inspire students to do the same.

While this semester has been a roller coaster ride, it has taught me more than I ever learned while I was in school. I do not say this to offend any of my previous teachers, but they even said "experience is the best teacher." Now I know why they say this.

I have laughed, cried, sang, danced, created, played games, been a friend, mother, teacher, mentor, advisor, counselor, and transformed myself into the person my students have needed me to be. If you asked me what the most important trait to have as a teacher is, my response would be flexibility. Without being flexible, students will not connect with you, and then they will not grow and rise to the levels and goals that you know they can surpass. One of the most important lessons that I have learned is that belief in your students will not only cause your students to be successful, it will show them how to be successful.

Can't, won't, and excuses are not permitted in my classroom. Excuses are for people who have given up and aren't going to put forth any effort. It is my prayer that by the end of the school year, not only will my students have grown in knowledge, but that they will have gain life skills that will ;rogress with them throughout the rest of their lives.

Super Speed Reading 100

         What is a fun way that students can learn to read? Using Super Speed Reading. It takes two minutes a day and focusing on the words that appear most within the English language. These words are generally referred to sight words. The students are paired up into partners based on their ability academically so that they can push each other to read more words per minute while becoming fluent readers as well. This model works best by using different techniques to slowly introduce words into the students’ vocabulary. Generally, this is done through repetition of the same words. The students help one another when they cannot read a word.

       This model is very successful based on the students’ intrinsic motivation to beat their own record. They are not trying to compete with their classmates. They are strictly competing with themselves. This in turn causes them to have a strong desire to get better and more efficient at reading common word of the English language.

       Because this is intrinsically motivating the students, this “game” is something the students are excited about. The students remind the teacher to play this game. I believe this game can be implemented into any classroom to effectively learn important vocabulary for each subject area. In Tennessee, teachers could use sight words and the Tennessee academic vocabulary. I even think this game could be used for matching definition to terms with older students.

       This game is highly effective with students and allows for a more desirable way to learn definitions. The game is easily adaptable and useful to any academic setting. Students respond well to highly competitive environments. 

Online Standardized Testing is On the Rise

Michigan has recently rewritten their standardized test and by the school year 2014-2015, all students in Michigan will that their  comprehensive state assessment online. Is this going to cause all of the schools to obtain a computer for every student? Will it cost less in the long run? These, along with many others, are details that Michigan is going to be working out these various detail. Many other states are looking at this model to create tests like the one in Michigan.

The age of technology is rapidly growing.

Amazing Classroom Management Technique

Smartboards are the new "thing" in the world of education. Kids love using them, they make classrooms more interactive, and allow teachers to provide a more flexible forms of education to includes multiple learning styles. Why not use it for classroom management as well?

The website http://teach.classdojo.com/#!/classes/4f3fd6e2d12d60c9581a80f9 has done precisely that. It allows you to input quickly on a smartboard if a child does something well, or bad and what it was. The get points or have points taken away for good or bad actions. It is great, easy, and the kids love it. They each get a monster and it is easier to do behavior reports.

No More No Child Left Behind. Good or Bad?

As Tennessee decided to file for a waiver for the NCLB act for TN, many teachers and administrators raised their eyebrows to how this would effect progress. Once we got the waiver however, another plan has already been implemented to keep pushing schools to succeed. NCLB is often used as almost a curse word when used in a school system.

While the idea was wonderful, it ultimately failed. It set unrealistic standards that there was no way for some school systems to meet due to how fall behind they had fallen, however it did cause states to focus on these school and raise awareness to how badly these situations were. This was positive because the governments, state and national, took the necessary measures to improve schools. However, these schools are still not meeting the standards the national government presented.

With Race to the Top, the new program implemented in Tennessee, goals are more oriented toward the needs of Tennessee schools. This system is also by no means perfect, but it can be altered a lot more quickly as the state deems necessary for improvement of the education system.

20 Ways to Make Technology Work in Schools

In this article, the author discusses twenty ways to make technology work in schools. They are:

1. Use the Web Better
2. Make Vocational Classes Real
3. Teach Yourself Better
4.  Store Assignments Online 
5. Create Life Resumes
6. Bring Your Own Technology to School
7. Make It Safe
8. Make the Rules Clear
9. Assist Students with Special Needs
10. Boost Reading Scores
11. Make STEM Work
12. Practice what you preach 
13. Get Grants
14. Keep In Tough
15. Use AudioVisuals to teach ESL
16. Cut Costs
17. Use Ebooks instead of Textbooks
18. Go Open Source
19. Improve Math Scores
20. Track Your Technology

These are all explained in depth within the article and give current example of schools that are using such  technology. This article is strong and worth reading.

http://go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?retrieveFormat=PDF_FROM_CALLISTO&inPS=true&prodId=GPS&userGroupName=tel_a_freehu&workId=PI-0TAL-2012-JAN00-IDSI-12.JPG%7CPI-0TAL-2012-JAN00-IDSI-13.JPG%7CPI-0TAL-2012-JAN00-IDSI-14.JPG%7CPI-0TAL-2012-JAN00-IDSI-15.JPG%7CPI-0TAL-2012-JAN00-IDSI-16.JPG%7CPI-0TAL-2012-JAN00-IDSI-17.JPG%7CPI-0TAL-2012-JAN00-IDSI-18.JPG&docId=GALE%7CA277519597&callistoContentSet=PER&isAcrobatAvailable=false

On the Farm

Animal Barnyards: This is a great sorting game. I made this one where I could change the topic. For this specific game, I used word families and various words from the word families on the animals. 

Animal Multiplication:  I found this great template for teaching multiplication that would be great for your visual learners. It would help them learn their multiplication because they would remember the various animals and equations.