Hire me!

In this blog post, I will discuss two main skill sets that make me marketable as a teacher:

      Even when the size of a class is small, there are still large differences in the learning styles of the students. When planning my units and lessons, I incorporate a variety of differentiated instruction methods and activities. I incorporate non-fictions texts, songs, movies, video clips, news articles, and other forms of media that relate back to their lives. I also incorporate many different assessments so that a wide variety of learned have the opportunity to excel. While I do utilize writing assessments, I vary the writing assessment prompt. I also incorporate creative writing in order to allow the student to express themselves in written word. I also address the needs of other students by incorporating activities like drawing, singing, acting, and other creative outlets. I believe that if I can address the individual needs of each of the students, I can instill a confidence in them that will allow them to be successful in their lives after school.

     Although a teacher should be an authority figure in the classroom, the students should feel comfortable enough to express their thoughts and ideas. I provide such a classroom by ensuring that every voice is both heard and respected. This will provide a model for the students on how to interact with others, be attentive listeners, and show respect for differing perspectives. I also believe that a teacher should be a comforting presence in the classroom. While I believe that teachers should be able to be stern in terms of classroom management, it is always important to have a sense of humor. If I can make a student laugh while simultaneously correcting his or her behavior, the student will be able to realize that although I am the authority figure, I am a figure that can relate to his or her life on the same level.

Goals and Responsibilities of Teaching

     Teaching is a career that is constantly changing. No week will ever be the same, and no lesson will be the same, even if I teach it three times a day, As a teacher, my goals are to continue to grow as a professional every day. I want to be able to instill my passion for literature in the students by modeling my excitement and starting and ending each day with a positive, enthusiastic attitude. I also want to connect with the students by connecting with the on their level. If I try to relate the work to the students as much as possible, it gives them the opportunity to find learning exciting. I can use the students' interests and goals to guide my own developments as a professional. Most importantly, I want to encourage the students to work hard. With my encouragement, I want the students to know that they can accomplish anything.

Educational Apps

This is a list of educational apps that I have found. I would use any of these in the classroom!

1. iBooks- a free app that lets students browse, download, and read classic texts from the literary canon. 
2. Poplet- an app that allows the students or the teacher to create intricate and interactive graphic organizers. 
3. Storyline - an app for creative writing. It gives a writer the situation, scene, and characters. It's up to the students to fill in the rest!
4. Sling Note - a free app that allows students to view a browser while simultaneously taking notes. Great for the common core standards!
5. Flashcards Deluxe - an app that allows students to create their own flash cards for review. Although it costs $3.99, the flash cards are fun, interactive, and can be customized. I think it's worth the cost!
6. Easybib - an app that helps students create accurate bibliographies. A student can store info and learn how to create any format of citation, from MLA to APA!
7. The National Archives App - allows students to access primary documents from the National Archive. This app is great for providing historical context to a literary work!
8. PicCollage - an app that allows students to create digital posters. Students can use photos, stickers, texts, or other pictures to create their very own poster!
9. WordPress - an app that allows students to create their own blog within an educational setting. Classmates, parents, and teachers can view the blog. Students practice personal writing while mastering technology. 
10. Grammar Up - an app that quizzes students on different topics within grammar. Great for test prep and review!

How Can Students Assess Their Own Performance

      Many times, the teacher is the sole provider of feedback in the classroom. However, it is important for the students to be able to assess their own work. Some of the ways that I have incorporated this form of assessment is by having the students peer edit each other's work. By doing this activity, students not only develop the skills they need to provide constructive criticism, but they also learn that about the different perspectives that are present in the classroom. Another way in which I have students assess their own work is to talk with them one on one. Although time is always an issue, I try to conference with each student one on one, especially after they have submitted a major paper or assignment. I always start the conference by asking the students how they think they did, what difficulties they had, and what they would do differently if they had the opportunity to try again. I think this practice is important because it teaches the students to reflect upon their own works. If students can develop strong metacognitive skills, they will learn the tools they need to improve upon their work and they will develop a sense of pride and responsibility when it comes to completing a task.

My Evolution

       When I first started my student teaching, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get the kids to quiet down and do their work. After all, I'm only three years older than they are! I wouldn't listen to me either!
       However, I have discovered that teaching is more of a give and take relationship. Although I am somewhat stern, I have realized that you just have to let kids be kids. I can't get upset over every little side conversation because then I would spend the whole day being upset. I have learned how flexible one must be in order to be a teacher. I have also learned that being a little bit nice goes a long way. If I can show the students that actually care about their well-being, they are more likely to cooperate with me. I have achieved this in several ways: by staying after school with them, by going to school events, and, sometimes, having short conversations about how they are before starting class. The students respond well and it allows them to see that I actually do care. In terms of evolution, my flexibility has developed tenfold.

SMARTBoard Lesson

This is a lesson I created on Romeo and Juliet using the SMART Notebook program.

Pinterest Educational Resouces

This is a list of educational resources that I compiled using www.pinterest.com. I thought this website was just for pictures and for planning weddings, but I found some great stuff for teachers on there, too!

http://pinterest.com/kaycteacher/teaching-resources/

How can I become more deeply reflective?

   I never really like doing journal assignments or reflections for my other education courses. I thought it was a waste of time, and I never saw how it would improve my skills as a teacher. From my student teaching experience, I have learned that I couldn't have been farther from the truth. As I am student teaching, I reflect on everything that I do. Throughout the day, I am analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of my lesson. When I am sitting at home watching television, I am thinking about how to improve my classroom environment. Professional reflection is an important tool that every teacher should utilize.

    Whenever I give a written assessment, I analyze the papers for errors or confusions that most students seem to have. I try to base my future lessons on how to correct these errors, as well as reflect on my past lessons to see how I could have improved my skills. Currently, I am working on grading literary analysis papers that the student completed on The Canterbury Tales. As I am reading, I am making note of the things that I should go back and revisit. I think that this will benefit both me and my students. The students can learn to improve their literary analysis and writing skills, and I can learn how to be more effective when it comes to lesson planning and delivery.

Popplet

This is a popplet I made about Frankenstein. It is a graphic organizer designed to help the students remember the pivotal events in the creature's life that caused him to behave in a vengeful manner.

http://popplet.com/app/#/936018

A lesson that didn't go quite as planned...

     This week, I designed a lesson on the first hour chapters of Frankenstein. My original plan was to cover the first four chapters of Frankenstein by splitting the class into pairs, assigning each pair a chapter, and having them take on the role of a teacher by pulling out key events, characters, and important lines that they feel every student should know in order to gain a full understanding of the text. I thought that this lesson was going to be interesting and engaging, and spark a great class discussion. However, my plans were derailed. 
     I has stressed to the students during the previous class period that they needed to complete the reading for homework in order to be able to participate in the activities for the following day. Unfortunately, out of twenty students in the room, only nine even attempted to read, There was a split second when I was in front of the students that I just wanted to cry and scream in frustration. However, I thought about it quickly and split the room into two groups: those who had read and those who had not. The students that did not read were asked to read and annotate in class while the other group began my planned activity. 
     Even though my lesson did not go quite as planned, I was very proud of the way I handled the fast curve ball that my students threw at me. I was able to think on my feet and be flexible in order to fit all of the students' needs. I think I also succeeded in holding every student accountable for his or her own work. Instead of moving on and having the nine students carry the whole class, I decided that it would be better to ensure that everyone completed the assignment. I was also glad that I didn't have to hold any student back by allowing the prepared students to move on. 
      One of my biggest fears about going into the teaching field was that no one would do their homework, leaving me unable to finish my lessons. However, based upon today's results, I know that I can handle that awkward situation better than I could have ever possibly imagined. 
     

    

  

Delicious!

This is a list of educational resources that I compiled using www.delicious.com. I think this website is useful because it allows its members to find helpful links from all over the web without having to open a million tabs!

https://delicious.com/kayleighc814

Back in my day...

     Being 21-years-old, it was not that long ago that I found myself in a seat in a high school classroom pleading with the clock to go faster. Days never seemed so long, and when the bell finally rang, one would have thought that I was the star of the track team. I think that the reason why I was disengaged from my classes is because the material was often presented in a boring, dry manner. I think that drawing on my past experiences as a high school student will only strengthen my performance as a high school teacher.

    One aspect of English class that I absolutely loathed as a student was poetry. I never understood poetry, and it was presented in a manner that did not allow me to engage with the text. Instead of unlocking the complicated language of poetry, it was more important that I was exposed to the poem. I think that as a teacher, I will try to present poetry in a way that inspires the students to dive deeper into the text in order to understand its true meaning. One way that I wish to achieve this is by reading the poem with the students first. Next, I want the students to point out details that they think are significant or present any questions that they may have. Then, I want to analyze the poem as a whole class, rather than leave the students to their own devices. I think that if I am able to incorporate these strategies, I will be able to save my students from the fate that I suffered in high school.

A Self-Portrait

Here is a self-portrait I did using www.picassohead.com! It was a great way to express myself! I think this website will be useful for helping students to visualize the characters in the texts they are reading.

Frankenstein Comic Strip

This is a comic strip that I designed to illustrate a basic version of how Mary Shelley came to write Frankenstein using www.makebeliefscomix.com. I think that this is a fun activity for students to do! Not only do they have to know the plot of a text, but they have to create their own original dialogue between the characters! I only wish that the website was not so limited in the number of images that you can incorporate into your comic strip!

Effective Lessons

     A teacher never knows if a lesson will go over well. However, there are certain characteristics that all effective lessons should contain. First and foremost, it should be student centered. Students do not learn well by listening to a boring lecture from the teacher. Effective lessons should be as interactive as possible. Students should be in the front seat, while the teacher takes on the role of a "back-seat driver" to guide them. Effective lessons should also be interesting to the students. Regardless of the level of interaction, if the students can't get interested in the material, they will not learn. Effective lesson should be interesting enough to motivate the students to do their activities and inspire the students to learn.

    Assessment should not always be a test or a quiz. I think that students should be mostly assessed based upon their participation in class discussion. Students are sometimes hesitant to complete written assessments in class. However, I think that if the teacher is able to facilitate an interesting discussion, the students will demonstrate their mastery of the subject at hand. I have found that many of my students are unmotivated to complete written assignments. However, if I am able to spark their interest with interesting discussion questions, they open up and blossom!

"Ms. C, you crack me up!"

      Even though I am in the process of learning to be an effective teacher, it is my students that are the main focus of my semester. Yes, I have a lot of other homework and lots of paperwork to fill out for certification, but I try to never lose sight of why I chose this career path in the first place: the students.

     One goal that I have successfully met thus far is to have the students like me. I have achieved this by having a light-hearted and humorous demeanor in the classroom. I strive every day to make sure that I am not only educating, but entertaining as well. I believe that this has led me to build such a strong rapport with my students.

     It is important to have a good relationship with the students because frankly, it makes everyone's lives easier. If the students like you, they will want to work hard for you. A teacher can gain the respect of students by being able to have a good time, but being stern and following all of the rules that are in place. If the students respect a teacher, a trusting relationship can be built. I think that every teacher should strive to gain their students respect and trust in order to be an effective teacher.

Frankenstein Wordle

This is a wordle I created after my students and I worked through the first few chapters of Frankenstein in order to characterize Victor Frankenstein. They made some very smart and perceptive contributions!

Questions, anyone?

      My students have grown to hate this annoying habit that I seem to have: whenever I ask a question and a student volunteers an answer, I immediately ask, "Why?" Students do not like this habit because they actually have to explain their rationalization. However, I think it is important to always ask "why?" because it makes students reflect on their own thinking processes. Also, I feel like this is good practice for real-world situations. As adults, people ask us to explain our ideas and thoughts all the time. If I can get the students to practice this skill in a safe, controlled environment, then they should develop the ability to explain themselves with clarity and ease.
 
      It is important to ensure that questions asked in the classroom are not just "right and wrong" questions. I try to avoid these types of questions by always trying to engage the students in a full classroom discussion. If every student is allowed to be heard, then differing perspectives and ideas pop up in the conversation. If I can use student responses to yield more questions, I will certainly take that opportunity.

      One way that I like to incorporate higher-order thinking is to ask the students why they feel a certain character in a text is behaving in a certain way. We look at the actions and motivations of the character to determine what that reflects about the character's personality. I will prompt the students by first asking what the action was - a right or wrong question. Then I ask the students to think about why that character might have performed that action - what were their motivations? Lastly, I always ask the students to infer what that action reflects about the character as a person. By following this three-tiered questioning strategy, I think the students can gain a deeper and richer understanding of a text while gaining the skills to interpret, infer, and make judgments for themselves.

New teacher, same old worries

     As a new teacher, I am nervous about a lot of things that I am going to have to deal with in my career. Will the students like me? Will I get good reviews from the principal? Will I be able to field any curve ball thrown at me? I know that the answers will only come with experience, but that doesn't make me any less nervous for my teaching career.

     Even though I have only been in front of the classroom for a few days, one aspect of teaching that I have been successful in is my classroom management skills. Currently, I am teaching three periods of second-semester seniors. By this point, they have almost mentally checked out, and they can be a handful to work with. However, I am been successful in my classroom management largely because of my sense of humor. Instead of getting angry and threatening the students with more work, I try to make them laugh. I rationalize this because I would rather have them laughing at a joke I made and pay attention than hitting each other with pencils in the back of the room. I have found that the students respond well to my sense of humor, which is allowing me to build a great rapport with them. However, I am also not afraid to be stern when I need to be. And because we spend so much time laughing, the students know that it is a serious issue when I am not smiling. I am proud of the way I am handling my students. What was once an anxiety has now become an enjoyable experience. I think that in my future career, I will continue to implement this style of classroom management.

What makes a "star" teacher?

       A lot of my friends have majored in subjects like English or History. Now that we are approaching the end of our college careers, we are starting to panic a bit about the next step. Will we get jobs? Are we going to have to live with our parents for the rest of our lives? What are we going to do with ourselves? Despite the anxiety, we all manage to meet up several times throughout the year to talk about the future. However, my friends have been saying things that make me a little upset. When I ask my friends who majored only in English about their future career plans, they often say, "I don't know. Maybe I'll be a teacher. That seems easy enough, right?" Not only does that statement completely invalidate everything that I have been working toward for the past four years, but they could not be further from the truth.

       Teaching is not an easy job. Not only does a teacher need to know his or her subject area, but how to manage the students and design lessons to be both enriching and engaging. I have observed a lot of teachers over the past few years, and I have seen things that I want to emulate and things that I want to run away from. However, I know that to be a star teacher, a person must have a passion for working with children. Teachers seem to speak another language; they know how to be professional and get their point across while simultaneously communicating with the students on their level. One thing that I know a good teacher must be able to do is understand the students and where they are coming from. Not every student will sit quietly and read The Canterbury Tales. However, a good teacher is able to break through the students' confusions, frustrations, and, frankly, laziness in order to help them understand the material.

       However, a teacher cannot be effective if he or she is not passionate about his or her subject area. Star teachers are a model for their students. Good teachers need to be excited about their subject areas, even if they have been teaching for fifty years. I believe that moods are contagious. A good teacher is able to translate the love of reading, writing, and learning into a way that is accessible to the students. Even if I have to teach a book that I absolutely despise, I will make it seem like it is the best thing I've ever read. A good teacher not only enjoys working with children, but loves his or her subject area enough taht it inspires the students to want to love it, too.

Interview with my cooperating teacher

February 7, 2012

     This week, I sat down with my cooperating teacher and asked her the following questions:

How do you pick your battles in terms of classroom management?

• Before you pick your battles, you must know what kind of support you have from the administration. If there is little to no administrative support, it is important for teachers to give students the idea that there is strong support in order to deter disruptive behavior. 
• It is important to have a good report with your students. At the beginning of the year, make sure it is clear to your students that you are going to be fair in judgement. 
• If you are at the end of your rope and you must yell in order to stop disruptive behavior, follow up with the question, "Is that how you want to be spoken to?" This question is designed to make the students reflect on their own behavior, hopefully showing them that if they want respect, they must also be respectful to the teacher. 
• It is important that the teacher be respectful to the students. If the teacher is ever wrong, or makes a mistake, the teacher cannot be afraid to apologize. Apologizing sets a good example for the students in terms of taking responsibility for their own actions. 
• It is important that the teacher be firm in discipline. The teacher must not be afraid to enforce the rules. At the same time, the teacher must never hold grudges against a student. Each incident should be considered isolated, and each day is a brand new day in terms of student behavior. 

How do you incorporate technology into the classroom?

• The teacher should not incorporate technology for the sake of technology. It is important that the lesson and learning objectives be the "star of the show". My teacher gave the example, "you don't go to a basketball game to watch the basketball".  However, technology can be a useful tool if it is used to enhance the lesson. 
• If students are struggling on a writing assignment, my teacher will allow the students to use a computer. This allows the students to get down their thoughts in an easier way. Computers also make it easier for the students to peer edit and revise their writing. 
•   Videos and film clips are effective ways of incorporating differentiated instruction. My teacher will show clips from film adaptations of the text that the students are reading, as long as the clips are accurate to the text. My teacher will also utilize music to set the mood for a text, or use audio or video clips from lecture notes on a related topic. 

Is your classroom more student centered or teacher centered? 

• This is determined in terms of the lesson the teacher has planned. The teacher should utilize both approaches to teaching, depending on the type of lesson and goals of the lesson. 
• It is important that the teacher knows how to utilize both approaches. A teacher should have an array of skills and tools in order to make his or her lessons effective.
• It is also important that the teacher understand how to take command of the classroom when it is more appropriate for teacher centered lessons. 
• The appropriate approach is usually determined by the efficiency of each approach in terms of the daily lesson as well as the time constraints that the teacher faces.  

How do you involve parents?

• If a student is having trouble completing the assigned work, the teacher should encourage his or her parents to email the teacher for daily assignments. 
• It is important to only call parents when necessary. This includes when a student is failing, when a student constantly exhibits disruptive behavior, or when a student often has an attitude, making the student difficult to teach. 
• When speaking to parents, it is important to only use positive words. Ask the parent for help, ask them to encourage the student to complete his or her work, and ask the parent to encourage good behavior. By asking for help and using words like "encourage," the parents feel less defensive of their children and are empowered to make the necessary changes. 
• In my teacher's experience, parents are generally receptive to teacher phone calls and conferences.