Blog Entry 1+-Planning Instruction

◦If you are currently teaching. Address the following prompt: 
Think about how you plan instruction for units and lessons.
I typically like to plan about a month in advance in a general overview which includes weekly science, social studies, writing, math and phonics lessons.  I do break it down by day within the month, but don't plan the actual lessons until the week beforehand.  (Sometimes, if I'm crunched, it's the week of.)  The math is a pre-set curriculum which I must follow, the science and social studies are the same basic set up, but there is more flexibility in the order and speed with which we cover those materials.  The phonics lessons are taken from a phonics book from Fountas & Pinnell, and based loosely on their monthly schedule of lessons.  As noted earlier, I have to follow the math curriculum set up as is, so there isn't much choice in the matter-that's pretty much a day by day lesson already planned for me.  The first grade teachers do allow for a "game day" Friday, in which the kids rotate through centers which involve "games" based on things they've learned throughout the week.  The writing is the only subject I have complete freedom to cover as I see fit.  Thus far, for the past 4 weeks or so, we've been focusing on what comprises a sentence, and how a sentence is different from a line.
Where do you do this?
I typically plan the units/lessons in the classroom as I have all the materials at the ready, and I am able to make copies as necessary or organize the learning process within the actual space.
What materials do you use?
For social studies & science, I use the "big books" provided by the district.  The classroom teacher has a great supply of science tools should we come across an experiment which can be helpful to the lesson or unit.  For math, I use the teacher's guide for the lessons as well as student workbooks and a "home-links" book for reinforcement.  I also do a review of skills every day in math for which the kids use personal whiteboards and markers.  For full group activities I use the large whiteboard, the easel whiteboard on the carpet and the overhead projector.  Occasionally I will use poster paper, if we are brainstorming something that needs to be used multiple times, or can be shared out in the hallway.  To keep the kids engaged, I do have a jar of sticks with each person's name, to answer as called upon via the pull of a stick.
How do you decide what to teach? How do you decide how to teach it? Give an example from your practice.
I have come to realize that I don't have a lot of flexibility in deciding WHAT to teach.  I basically follow the order of the books provided.  I have begun to adjust the science and social studies to fit with the weekly themes the entire first grade uses.  I do get to decide HOW to teach lessons based on the kids in the classroom.  There are many in the room who need constant action and engagement, or they become distracted.  This is where the personal whiteboards come in handy as well as the name sticks.  If we are having a good day, we will work more on the carpet, or bad days we work more at our desks.  The plan for a specific lesson can change based upon the behavior of the day.  I do feel that I am in a constant state of flux in terms of HOW I teach lessons, because I adapt it to whatever the need is at the time, and I think that helps the kids to tend to respond well.

Success!

I have posted my final (which is VERY similar to my draft) and a great weight has lifted from my shoulders.  I realize I have not read as much as I should have in the past several weeks, and was hoping to remedy that issue this weekend, but visiting family and extra work hours got in the way.  As my full time summer job starts Monday (tomorrow), I doubt the time will be flowing any freer, but I do hope to "continue" some technology reading to keep updated.  I find it stimulating, but difficult as I'm generally not attached to my computer.  While I'm generally fluent with technology, I'm still not a lover, and prefer to do things face-to-face.  Thus I enjoy a book in my hands and a physical presence to speak with.  Despite those preferences, I do thoroughly appreciate all the tools technology and especially the internet provide.  I just wish I had the gumption to use it all regularly.  Perhaps my next goal...

Final project draft 1

Draft 1...considering I started from scratch 3 times, I'm getting to the point of being pretty happy.

What I learned in Educ 675 on Prezi
 

Draft and questions...grrr...

The grrr always translates to frustration on my part.  It has taken me MUCH longer than it should have to come up with a final presentation idea.  However, I'm still not certain what I'm doing is what I want to be doing.  I am currently attempting a Prezi with technology I've learned and used over the quarter.  However, I'm now stuck trying to insert a picture or a website into the Prezi but am having a little difficulty as it only seems to like PDFs.  So my thought was to include a time line of technology in the classroom, but once again I had to go on an excursion to find a site that produces time lines to my preference.  As I have been working with 5th grade students on multi-tier time lines, I was hoping to find a site that would allow me to create them, however I was unsuccessful.  I did find an interactive site that I really enjoyed and was easy to work with called www.timetoast.com.  It presented things in a more exciting version than the xtimeline site suggested in the discussion and could be displayed in two different styles, the interactive time line view and the list view.  So, there has been some mild success.

Web2.0 Staff Development

Created to share some of my experiences with Web2.0 tools, this Web2.0 Presentation was an exercise in linking and explanations.  I would like to try this in using the Prezi tool, but for the time I felt more comfortable attempting a Google Presentation, which was also new to me.  Perhaps with some more input it could be more creative, but I think I would take these bones and attempt the Prezi next before making this any different.  I believe I would use the more traditional PowerPoint program before the Google Presentation, but perhaps that is because I am more familiar with it.

Weebly question

Has anyone found a way to post a sound byte on Weebly?  I reocorded myself and attempted to upload it, but I could only find picture and video uploads.

State Standards & Student Growth

I found this study intriguing:
State Standards & Student Growth: Why State Standards Don't Matter as Much as We Thought 
I found it as I was researching the MAP Test one of the schools I work with uses for it's primary students. It was written by several researchers based at the Kingsbury Center, which created and maintains the MAP Tests.

In a nutshell it says that researchers John Cronin, Michael Dahlin, Sarah Durant, and Yun Xiang report despite low or high state standards, students who are performing above the proficiency standard are not progressing as much as students who are below the standard.  The study suggests that NCLB and state standards force teachers to focus their energy on "bubble" students so that their schools maintain their AYP.  I'm not completely certain how this correlates, but there is a mention that (I believe) students above the proficiency level advance a difference of between 2-4 weeks of teaching.

Anyhow, interesting reading...certainly makes you wonder about how standards differ between states.