I also have exciting news! I have officially joined the "cool kid club" as it is being called on Twitter and bought my very own iPhone! I've already been using it in my classes and it is incredibly helpful, especially since I am trying to document my student teaching for both my blog and for my teaching portfolio.
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My screen is already dirty from how much I have been using it but don't you love the case! I knew that I would never survive without an Otter Box as I've dropped my old phone so many times I've lost count (plus it is pretty and the students love it!) Although my iPhone is a wonderful resource on it's own, here are some other resources to start off your week. As always, I will be adding these to my lists of resources under the Fav Websites heading.
1 ) Intercontinental Cry
- Intercontinental Cry features important information about the many
Indigenous groups around the world including current news, biographies,
videos, maps, and more.
- This website is very comprehensive and features information on over 470
groups from every part of the world! I am impressed with the variety of
information they have on SO many Indigenous groups and am using this
website as a starting point for an inquiry project in our Grade 11 World
Issues class.
2 ) Science Netlinks
- This website features science lesson plans, tools, resources and news
updates for every class from K-12. Science Netlinks has a very user-
friendly search option that allows you to select the grade, subject, type
or research and put in any keywords you need.
- I really like how much information is included in the resources! Some lesson
plan search engines can have material uploaded by anyone but the standards
put in place by the website's teams really shows through in the material they
have available.
Happy Monday everyone!
Cool iPhone! I have an imitation iPhone... it is some kind of $40 Android!
ReplyDeleteI'm just so happy to have a "smart" phone. I've always had the $0 phones that come free with your contract but they can only ever text or make calls. It is nice to have something with SO many options
DeleteHi there,
ReplyDeleteI am a new teacher (5th grade) as well, down here in Texas. I just got my first iPhone (the 5!!) too! So fun. I don't know if you have heard of Classdojo but I am using it as a motivational tool for my class. Classdojo is kind of like a super improvers board, except it is electronic. My kiddos love to earn points and increase their weekly score!! The cool thing is that Classdojo is not only on the computer but also it is an iPhone/android app. I can give points everywhere the class and I go!! Good luck in student teaching.
Kathy
Welcome Kathy! I always love meeting new teachers! I have actually heard of Class Dojo and I made a tutorial on how one might use it along with WBT strategies :) I am not sure if you use any WBT strategies in your classroom but if you are interested in checking out the tutorial I made here is the link http://misslwholebrainteaching.blogspot.ca/2012/10/whole-brain-teaching-wednesday-class.html
DeleteRight now during my student teaching I spend most of my time in Grades 9-12 so I think they are out the age range for Class Dojo but it is definitely a good resource! I would use it for sure if I was in the younger grades :)
Hi again,
ReplyDeleteYes, I know all about WBT. I attended one of the 3 day conferences this past summer in Louisiana. It was absolutely awesome! Also, I used several strategies when I was a student teacher last year. I have enjoyed your blog since about July, I love all your recommended websites!
When I started teaching in August I was so excited, ready to use WBT and all the other amazing great teaching techniques that I learned in my education classes but then something happend on the way to school. REALITY! Once I got going on the job it was overwhelming, mind-numbing overwhelming. Being bombarded with so much stuff that is required by the school or district, then add on classroom management, teaching and developing my own curriculum! It is crazy. I do planning with other teachers but the reality is..they share some websites and worksheets and how I use them or supplement them is completely up to me. Yes, I have a mentor but she would rather I not bother her, so she is no help. It is really survival of the fittest.
I literally spend 12-13 hours a day at school. Needless to say, all my WBT intentions are still just intentions at this point for so many reasons. Mostly because I am so overwhelmed all the time that I can hardly breathe. I have 2 hours and 15 min. with 2 groups of 24 kids but I have to teach math, science, social studies and English/Reading in that time frame. I am the English half of a Dual Language team. I teach all content in English and my partner teaches the same topics in Spanish. The goal is for bilingual, biliterate and bicultural students. Great concept, but for this new teacher squeezing in 4 content areas in basically 2 hours is intense.
My district and most schools in Texas are literally TIED to the state standards. EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING is tied to the state test. If the topic is not on the test, I am not allowed to teach it. This testing reality was hard to swallow when I realized how test driven public schools are now. I hope it isn't that way for you.
Sooo...circling around back to Classdojo. Lately, I have used it as a kind of game, instead of picking kids, Classdojo has a random selector and I let it chose the names. "A point for answering or trying to answer the question". Kids love it. When they accumulate enough points, I said 25 per week, then they can have the privilege of sitting in a special chair for the following week (I have a few lawn chairs that they are dying to use!)
Over the last couple months, I have learned kids like grown-ups love a little friendly competition no matter how small the rewards. I also, work for Weight Watchers and our little gold star stickers might as well be real gold to my members!!
Once you get to a point in your teaching, you might find Classdojo a useful tool.
One last point, I too, have struggled with the "I am white, middle class and my students are hispanic and low income", how could I possibly relate to them. I did a lot of research in this area finishing my masters last spring. What I learned is not to deny the differences, recognize and acknowledge them. The studies show that accepting and discussing the differences was more productive to the relationships than avoidance and denial. My goal is to embrace my students culture differences and welcome them into the classroom, I do not want them to feel they need to "check their culture" at the door when they enter the classroom. I suspect your student that challenged you has had to "check her culture" at the door, one to many times. Just a thought anyways!!
Sorry for going on so long. It is nice to chat with another new teacher!
Kathy
PS-my email is mallory59@gmail.com, if your interested, you can email me and then I can send you links etc. of what I find when developing my lessons. Blogging takes time and I have none!