Welcome!

1. Welcome! Miss Abrego’s Wiki Presentation NatalyAbrego EDRL 442; Fall 2011 Instructor: Karen Powell

2. Why do I want to be a teacher? When I was young, I never knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up. One day in high school, I received the opportunity to get a free-ride scholarship to become a teacher. I decided to take it and give it a try… who knew that I was going to fall in love with teaching! You know that feeling that you get, that instinct feeling telling you that something is totally right? Well, that is the feeling I get every time I teach in front of a classroom! I found my calling and I can’t picture myself doing anything else. I love working with young students and seeing how these young minds grow as they learn things that they will carry with them forever. I believe teachers have the best and most important job there is- teachers set up students for their futures. I am up for taking this task, and I am willing to do what I can to see every student succeed. I want to be the teacher that I never had… one that actually cares, and puts in that extra time just to make sure that students receive the best educational experience possible. The best teachers, teach from the heart… not from a book.

3. Collaborating with other teachers is always a great advantage: • Talking to a student’s teacher from previous grades can provide a greater insight to the student’s needs. She/he can provide ideas and strategies that they used to help. • Other teachers can serve as a mentor. They can provide veteran advice whenever it is needed. • Teachers can provide several suggestions/ideas about what they did when they taught a certain subject, or provide tips on how to enhance your lesson plan. • We must remember, even though we are teachers, it doesn’t • mean we stop learning! Working with other teachers helps us get additional resources we can use in our own • classrooms, and not to mention… the more ideas you hear, the more ideas you get and can even inspire • new creative ideas as well. A teachers mission is to always provide the best educational experience possible.

4. The value in differentiated instruction: • “Changes the pace, level, or kind of instruction teachers provide in response to individual learners’ needs, styles, and interest” [Young & Hadaway, 2006]. * • The teacher takes into account all the factors that can effect a student’s learning. • Differentiated instruction incorporates strategies to • address all the many learning styles there are in • one classroom… • In other words, it is a way a teacher delivers the same content in a way that reaches every one no matter how they learn. • When a teacher uses differentiated instruction, it requires on-going assessment. • On-going assessment provides the teacher important information about the students acquired knowledge, whether content needs to be reviewed or if the class can move onto the next task. • It is a tool teachers use in planning the next academic learning task in a way where the students can all be successful. *Young, Terrell. Hadaway, Nancy (2006). Supporting the Literacy Development of English Language Learners Increasing Success in all Classrooms. International Reading Association Inc., Newark, DE.

5. Showcasing students work: “Our class book…” I plan to make a book of students work to demonstrate all the progress throughout the school year. I want this book to be like a scrapbook that includes pictures of the students actually doing the work in order to properly show that they’ve really worked hard! “Student Presentations…” I would like to use technology to my full advantage. Whenever students have a class presentation, I would like to tape it. At the end of the school year, we can have our “Class Best Moments” movie day where the student’s families would be invited to see all the wonderful learning experiences we’ve had!

6. My teaching philosophy: • Interactive learning! I believe students learn best when they have the opportunity to interact with their peers, share their thoughts, and hear others opinions in order to extend their knowledge. • Through interaction, students have the opportunity to define their own learning and have a better chance of retaining information. I plan to incorporate interactive learning through centers and working in small groups. • The lovely thing about an interactive classroom is that parents are always welcome to join in on our learning process! I have high expectations for all my students, and I believe every student has the potential to be successful. • Through interaction, we hear others thoughts, we • express/defend our own, and then we reflect and reanalyze • our own opinions- I believe that interaction is a great way for students to begin to think about their own thinking which promotes the idea of self-monitoring and a sense of independence. • To further enhance on this notion, I also want to do student conferences wherever I believe is necessary. I will also provide rubrics so as to help students become their own self-monitors. • I believe that teachers are guides to students in the journey of learning. Of course, there are times when teachers need to do direct instruction therefore it is not a type of instruction that will be ruled out completely.

7. Getting the family involved in our classroom… • I plan to give my students projects to do regarding various topics. When it comes time to present these projects to the class, I like to invite the families so that they can see their little learners achieve greatness. • Families are a students number one supporter and I believe a teacher is a near second. I would like to invite parents into the classroom to read books to the students or to present additional information they may have regarding a subject. • Whenever there is a school event, field trip, etc. families should be able to get involved to see that education can be fun regardless how old you are. All about the family!

8. Teaching writing… • I did a 4th grade lesson unit on writing based on the book, “Oh, the places you’ll go!” by Dr. Seuss. • I first focused on the writing process by having students write stories about themselves and their families. • Students were also learning about the writing traits through learning center activities. • All of this lead to students publishing their own short story- they wrote about their past, that is leading them to all the places they can go… • At the end of the unit, students were assessed on the published book. • Students presented their stories to the class and to their families where they had the opportunity to “Meet the Author” and ask further questions if they wished.

9. Key Components of a Lesson Plan… • Introduction: • Providing insight of who you’re teaching, what they already know, what you’re teaching and how long the lesson unit is and how many days have you taught it. • Objectives: • It is important to include the standards that the lesson plan is written for. These standards help the teacher and the students what the expected outcome for the lesson is. • Teaching Strategies: • The lesson plan must include how the teacher is going to reach every student. This also includes the list of additional materials that will be used to help enhance the lesson plan. • Procedures: • This portion explains how the steps a teacher will take to teach the lesson. In addition, it explains what the students will be doing; assignments, grouping options, etc. • Assessment: • Perhaps the most important element of a lesson might just be the assessment. This portion provides the teacher with evidence of whether students meet the objectives or not. It also helps the teacher to determine the next learning task.