Last Class Ever. . .

Eight weeks have gone by so fast. HOW? As I have said before, I have a love/hate relationship with summer classes. I love that we can do the assignments on our own time, we don't have to look socially acceptable, and really don't even have to leave the couch :) Okay.. I leave the couch, I promise. However, it is also a bad thing that we can do things at our own pace.. I am notorious for doing things last minute if I can. In my other summer class, I have papers due every Sunday night at midnight. I work Sunday's from 10-9pm... then I'd go home and write my papers. I think I just like the challenge.

Anyway, I have really enjoyed this class these past eight weeks. This is my second Hybrid course (both being with Dr. Steffes) and she has been great. Even though this is a summer class, I feel much more connected to the class than other summer classes I have taken. I enjoy blogging a lot and seeing others' blogs. It is much better than doing the D2L discussions because we can make it our own and get creative with them.

The blog posts we have done about book lists are my favorite. I cannot wait to go back and look at them when I get a classroom of my own. I am hesitant to start building my classroom library, just because I have no idea which grade I will be getting. I am not set on primary grades or upper elementary. I think there is good and bad about each grade, so I am still waiting to collect books.

Teaching language arts is so important when it comes to being an elementary teacher. Students are literally learning life skills they will use the rest of their lives -writing, language, communication skills, etc. I am grateful to have taken this course this summer and I really look forward to teaching language arts with my future students one day soon. :)

Books on Presidents!

Here I have researched various books about presidents that will help students gain insight on past presidents' experiences, challenges, early life, etc. was like for them. It is important for children to know about the presidents, as they are a key element of our nation's history. It is also important for children to understand why we have a president in office, and what it means to have a democratic society. Enjoy.

1. What Does the President Do? by Amanda Miller. This has current president, Barack Obama, on the cover page and is a very engaging/factual resource.

2. Scholastic: I Grew Up to Be President by Laurie Calkhoven. Personal favorite.

3. Lives of the Presidents by Kathleen Krull. This shows more of the maternal side, as well as random facts, of these presidents.

4. So You Want to Be President? by Judith St. George. This story helps kids understand more of the judicial system side of the presidency.

5. If You Please, President Lincoln! by Harriette Gillem Robinet. This story talks about the Emancipation Proclamation and slavery.

6. Franklin D. Roosevelt by Sue Vander Hook. This story is all about the life of President Roosevelt, the only president to be elected four times.

7. Brain Quest Presidents. I loved doing Brain Quest challenges in school. This little game/book will help students gain insight about the various presidents in a fun way.

8. Presidents FYI by Gary Drevitch. This book has random facts about different presidents that will surely spark a conversation in the classroom or lunch table.

9. Discovery Welcome to My World: Presidents of the USA by Parragon Inc. Many interesting facts!

10. Presidents' Day by Anne Rockwell. This book, I believe, is a picture book with different facts about presidents and Presidents' Day.

10 Books about Kindness

Teaching kindness in schools is not only encouraged, it is now part of the standards and mandatory for teachers. Here I have come up with a list of ten books that teach children kindness:

1. I See Kindness Everywhere by Shelley Frost.

2. Kindness is Cooler, Mrs. Ruler by Margery Cuyler

3. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

4. The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

5. How Kind! by Mary Murphy

6. Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud and David Messing

7. Rude Cakes by Rowboat Watkins

8. Wonder by R. J. Palacio

9. My Mouth is a Volcano! by Julia Cook

10. What does it mean to be kind? by Rana DiOrio

10 Books: Making Connections

The ability to make connections while reading is an important part of comprehension. Good readers are constantly making connections. The books that popped up when I searched included: 

1. The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant. This story relates the anticipation and joy that comes from relatives coming to visit.

2. Ira Sleeps Over by Bernard Waber. This story helps students make connections to having their first sleepover/using a stuffed animal at night to sleep. 

3. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst. This story helps students to put things into perspective when they, too, have a bad day. 

4. No, David! by David Shannon. This story follows David, who gets told no quite often for doing things he should not be doing. 

5. The Girl Who Hated Books by Manjusha Pawagi. This book would be great to connect with the students who do not enjoy reading. They just have to find the right book to be hooked. 

6. Earrings! by Judith Viorst. This author, again, is great at helping students make connections. This story is about a girl who desperately wants to wear earrings. Kids can connect to the idea of wanting something so badly and doing whatever they need to do in order to get it. 

7. I Hate English! by Ellen Levine. This book would be great for the students who are trying to learn a new language and are struggling. 

8. Ruby The Copycat by Peggy Rathmann. This story would be great for students who are copycats, or students who find themselves being copied by other students. These students will learn all about how awesome it is to be yourself. 

9. Waiting by Kevin Henkes. This book gives children a different perspective on waiting and being patient. Great for making those connections.

10. Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes. This book is great for making the connections to the teachers and relationships to teachers in schools. 

Word Walls in my Classroom

I loved our discussion on all the different techniques and ideas that revolve around word walls. Naturally, I think we picture a wall in the classroom that is designated for words to help the students. But I think the possibilities are endless and it does not have to be limited to a designated wall. Personally, I think my "word wall" will be on a wall, and I am leaning towards a Scrabble themed classroom. If this is the case, I will definitely make the large-scale Scrabble board that students can play with and make words out of with bigger Scrabble tiles. I also want the students to be able to touch the words or recreate the words, and to make this happen, I want a large roll of butcher paper hung on the wall for the students to practice writing the word wall words <-- this could be a station or an activity to do if a student gets free time. It's exciting thinking about my own classroom. Time is definitely ticking away and we are getting closer by the minute.

Teaching Language Arts: Class 1

After the first night of EDUC 337 Teaching Language Arts, I felt like we reviewed a lot of important information that will definitely be useful to us throughout these eight weeks. First of all, it is really hard to get into the mindset that the words 'summer' and 'classes' can go together. Anyone else struggle with motivation on summer classes? I am trying my best! Dr. Steffes is awesome for those of you who have not had her yet. I am looking forward to this class, but maybe next week I will nap beforehand. :)

Since I usually attend the residential campus in Columbia, MO, I found that many of my classmates there took EDUC 337 in seat. Personally, I chose to take Environmental Science Lecture and Lab online during that time (yikes) in order to get it out of the way. I think this hybrid course will really be engaging and help us to learn how to teach language arts to our future students effectively.

As far as resources go, I feel like we are already well on our way to being prepared for the integrated unit plan. We now have the two websites (I made sure to bookmark them!), our thorough syllabus, PowerPoints, our textbook, and email communication for further help. Moreover, I am glad that there are ten students in this class, as it will help us to be more engaged, learn from each other on a greater level, and have more time to discuss our lesson plans as a class.

When it comes to teaching language arts, or really anything, it is critical for teachers to have a wide depth of knowledge about the subjects they are teaching. We cannot expect our students to reach the mastery level on the content if we, ourselves, have not mastered the content. The more time and effort teachers put into learning the material and teaching a variety of concepts to students, the more likely the students are to learn the material and master it. We have big shoes to fill, guys.

Thoughts about EDUC 338

How did eight weeks go by so fast?

This course was wonderful for me. It was my first time using Blackboard and having a hybrid class, first time using a microphone to communicate with my peers, and my first time making lesson plans with reading strategies. I am so glad that creating 10 lesson plans was on the agenda for this class because I feel that most of my learning came from figuring out how to effectively incorporate reading strategies into any content lesson.

Dr. Steffes is an awesome teacher. I was nervous about having technical difficulties and the teacher not being friendly or understanding, but Dr. Steffes is the total opposite. I love how laid back she is and how she does such a small portion of lecturing; most of our class time is spent discussing, which is great!

I love using reading strategies in lesson plans now because they truly help students learn the material and to be able to communicate their thoughts and ideas through these strategies.

I just finished my fieldwork in a second grade classroom and taught my lesson TODAY. I was so nervous that I forgot to eat today (which NEVER happens). Ha. I love food. Anyway, the lesson went really well and the students were on their best behavior. I was sad to leave them for the last time. We used exit slips as our reading strategy and the students were to choose a stage of a turkey's life cycle and write an exit slip about it. Then, they were to come up to the board and place their sticky note under the appropriate life cycle stage. It worked out well and I was so relieved.

One more day of finals and we are done, guys. I cannot wait to move back home and eat my parents' food for three months. I hope you all have a great summer! I am going to take EDUC 337 with Dr. Steffes this summer, so I may see some of you.

Mollie