Monday, May 3, 2010

When All is Said and Done

How did you (and your partner) prepare?
--My partner, Geraldine, and I got together on different occasions to prepare for our lesson plan. During our time in the computer room we had time to discuss some ideas for a lesson. We made sure we met up outside the classroom though to actually get the ins and outs of our lesson.
Explain the objective and assessment measures of your lesson.
--Our objectives included; Students will read a poem called “Gone with the Wind”, Students will write about an adventure as a butterfly, Students will design their own butterfly.
To assess the students, we basically walked around the room and saw how the students were working and how they were working on the class story.
Was your lesson plan executed exactly as it was written?
--Unfortunately our lesson plan was not executed exactly how it was written and that could have been due to minor behavioral interruptions as well as effort on our part. Maybe some things could have worked out better.
What was the most important thing I tried to teach your students?
--The most important thing we tried to teach the students was to be creative writers. If we wanted them to accomplish anything, it would have been to create a descriptive and well developed story about their adventure as a butterfly, which was in the lesson.
How do you think it went?
--For the most part, I think it went good. We were able to listen to our podcast, and also the students had fun drawing butterflies and creating the story. Although they did not write what we thought they were going to write, it was still okay.
What did you learn from your students?
--I learned that students will sometimes get out of control and the most important thing is to try not to lose your cool because the students can read body and facial language.
What would you have done differently?
--I probably would have had the students been more active. For example, we could have made them stand up and become butterflies, waving their arms around like wings, walking around the room, just basically being more active. Also I would have liked to have had a copy of the poem and the hat so we could put the numbers in it. The hat would have added a bit more excitement.



How did you and your partner plan to use the podcast in your lesson?
--We had the students first make an inference on what the poem would be about using just the title of one of the poems on the podcast, 'Gone with the Wind'. Then we had the students listen to it twice
Did you use it during the class lesson? Why or why not?
--Yes, it was the first activity
How did your students react to the podcast?
--It was pretty clear so they heard it.
How do you think it went?
--I think it went fine since we were able to successfully move on after that point
What could you have done to infuse the podcast into the lesson more effectively?
--I think it was used effectively
Do you have any other ideas of how you would use podcasting in your lesson or future lessons?
--Yes because there are always stories to be heard.


I think my classmates did pretty well on their lesson plans. Due to the amount of behavioral issues in the classes, the lesson plans did not always come out how my peers would have hoped, but they were able to get past it. I know it was really hard for some groups to have a successful lesson, but I feel like we all did the best to our abilities. Hopefully real elementary students are not as bad. I did learn some ways that worked and did not work while watching the groups present their lessons. First off, turn the lights on and off, or clapping, is not always a great method to get the students attention. A more effective way to tend to student behaviors is to have a good token economy system. I believe it was Jessica and Lauren who had a perfect example of a good token economy system.
I enjoyed most of the lessons that my peers were presenting. Also, I give the first two to go, Melanie and Olivia kudos for actually going first and at the end, having a good lesson. For them two, the behaviors got out of hand and they were forced to improvise, which worked out for them in the end. Katy and Kathy were also well prepared for their lesson, and they also had a real turtle, which real elementary students would have enjoyed.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

The Finale...

The last blog in the computer room :( But of course I will continue my own independent blogging. Today me and GeGe got our work done YAYY!! We posted our questions for our podcasts so everyone should definitely check it out!!

Questions for the Poems

“Going Nuts”
1. What kind of animal is featured in this poem?
2. How many of these animals are there?


“Midnight Snack”
1. What do the raccoons do before they eat?
2. Do you do anything similar to that before you eat?



“Tool’s Gold”
1. Why do the otters have a confused look on their face?


“Gone with the Wind”
1. Why did the butterflies fly to Mexico?




If you listen to our podcast, you should give these questions a shot!

Back In Action

With all the snow days we've been having, it puts at a setback for completion of all the assignments. But I think we can get through it. Today GeGe and I are going to finish writing out our questions. Last week we finished podcasting our story, so I think we're at a good stage right now. We're also most likely going to begin to discuss our group lesson plan and I cant wait to actually do them!!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Success!

Today's class was successful as it was enjoyable. My partner GeGe and I finished reading our book, which means we have completed a podcast. We had a good time recording our podcast because we werent always perfect, so we had to keep re-recording. Other groups in the room were also doing their recordings. It was fun and entertaining to hear the other groups read their stories. Anyone walking in to this room would be able to tell that this is a group of students that enjoy doing their work.

Cloudy, with a chance of PODCASTING!!

Hey guys! Christine is back! Today in class I will try to get all my stories read with my partner. I know we will finish, most likely. I can not wait for that to happen. I want to listen to our finished product, I know we will be satisfied with it because my partner and I are two very cool people and we like to have fun!

Friday, February 19, 2010

Oh yeah!

Today my partner GeGe and I just practiced reading the mini stories. At the end though, we found others had started to record their books. We found it a little humorous because we thought we were only supposed to practice. Next class though we will do some recording. We attempted to record at the end but failed miserably, but it was still fun :)

Day 2 podcasting

Excited to be back at the computer room, continuing my blog and podcasting. I find it very fun, entertaining, and helpful especially for the future. Although its been awhile since we had class, I still independently worked on my blog. I made it prettier :) And today I hope we get to do more podcasting, be able to listen to other groups podcasts, and give and recieve feedback!

Friday, February 12, 2010

Podcasting.. Day 1

http://blingpinkyring.podomatic.com/entry/2010-02-12T08_42_41-08_00

When my partner and I were making our first podcast, we had a good time. It was not really difficult. We had fun thinking up a login name and also recording our four line skit. She and I are all about having a good time so we may act silly, but we are serious about our future as educators :)

First Day

Hey heyyy!!! Its Christine of course!! Today is the first day in the computer room. Im pretty excited because this means we will be recording our books soon. My partner is Geraldine, but everyone calls her GeGe. The book we will be reading is Lessons That Count: Math Fables. The book contains a variety of short stories about math. We most likely wont be reading all the stories, maybe about two or three. Im looking forward to reading and recording our stories; I want to hear the outcome. Anyway I think we're about to get started so I will be updating soon!


ONE LOVE!!

Friday, February 5, 2010

Lessons That Count !!

The book my partner Geraldine and I will be doing is called Lessons That Count: Math Fables by Greg Tang. This book contains a variety of stories about counting, numbers, and math. Since there are many short stories, we will be reading only a few of them.

Friday, January 22, 2010