Final Blog Entry

I have found technology integration within curriculum and across instruction to be extremely motivating for students. Students thrive on new and innovative ways of learning. As a teacher, I am increasingly interested in the educational opportunities presented and find technology integration to be widely popular amongst professional development gatherings.

During the month of September I used technology in the classroom. The fourth grade social studies curriculum requires students to become familiar with the six regions of the United States. Students worked in groups of three and were responsible for inquiring about weather, culture, food, religion, monuments, transportation, and schools concerning their particular region. Students used helpful websites, watched specific videos, and used literary sources to retrieve information. According to Grappling’s adaptation of technological uses, it was not necessary for technology to be apart of this project, but as a teacher I felt that its practice was essential to a child’s success in life.

I truly felt that this technology enhanced project strengthened student learning and understanding of this information. Students not only acquired facts about their designated area of study but they also learned seemingly simple tasks such as logging onto the internet, conducting an online search, and the use of a word document program. As confirmed in Grappling’s technology literacy uses, research of this project is done not only for students to become “experts” on their designated region but to also learn the tools and processes that technology has to offer. More importantly I felt that this project allowed students to gain the life skill of computer use that is so often prevalent in today’s world.

The end is near!!!

I cannot believe that my first year of teaching is coming to a close!!! I am amazed by all of the things that I have learned. I have to be honest and say that I am ready for a fresh start. I know that behavior management is something that I need to work on. I plan to be more consistent next year! I will be teaching 4th grade again so the curriculum will be familar to me. I also am looking forward to not having fellows coursework hanging over my head. I will be able to make my kids my #1 priority :)

MAP test

As the Map test draws near I am getting more nervous than I ever expected! I hope that my kids are ready. This week we have been doing so much map practice...I do not think that the kids are enjoying it much at all! I just keep telling them to do the best that they can, that is all I can ask of them. I plan to bring in mints, smart water, and some fresh fruit, anything that will get their brains working! We will see soon i guess :)

Spring Break

Spring break is finally here!!! I think that this break will benefit both me and my students. We need a time to relax and rest up for the big MAP test in the coming weeks. I cannot believe that there is only a little over two months left of school!! Time flies :) I often have to continue to remind myself to be consistent with my students. The expectations that were put in place during the first few weeks of school should continue being enforced. I find myself being more lenient on my students. For the success of my classroom to continue and for the sake of my sanity, I need to often remind myself what my fourth grade classroom should look like. I hope to end my first year of teaching on a positive note!

Behavior

I have implemented a new behavior system this week and it seems to be off to a good start! I have this problem of giving my kiddos reminder after reminder. I need something visual. Each child gets three sticks. One is a waring, another is the loss of half of a recess, and the last is the loss of the entire recess and a note home. My kids are responding well to the consistency that has been present in my classroom this week. I hope that I can continue it!

Big Bad Bully

Today was probably one of the worst days for student bullies in my classroom. Bullying is something that is simply not tolerated in my classroom. During our class meeting today, I was informed that many conflicts arose during the lunch period. I did my best to find out who was involved and exactly what happened. Consequences were given and everything was straightened out. I tried to convey to my students how serious I take bullying and how it will not be allowed. I expressed that my classroom will be a safe and caring environment no matter what. Name calling has been another issue. I have an open relationship with my students and encourage them to drop me notes letting me know if there is something going on that I need to know about!

Cooperative Learning

I was fortunate enough a few weeks ago to meet with a "star teacher." This person came into my classroom and showed me how to implement a variety of different strategies. I have been using this time off to put some groups of students together in a organized fashion and also to create the tools necessary to implement the strategies that she taught me into my everyday classroom curriculum. I have become so interested in this style of learning that I have decided to complete my action research on it!! Hopefully all goes well :)