Technology Update

The last time I blogged I mentioned a few ELL students I think would really benefit from using iTouch's in the classroom. I still think the Touch is a good tool to be used for differentiated instruction.  I have been thinking about the process of teaching the students how to use the touch.  The simple act of teaching a student how to use the Touch before allowing them to actually use it, can be very time consuming and even over whelming for a student who is having a heard time reading to begin with.  Not saying I don't think we should use Touches in the classroom, just that time needs to be taken into consideration.

These mini computers can be very useful for students and teachers.  They may not be a full computer, but they can still help students at different levels further their education, allowing them to use multiple apps designed for a specific learning target.  They are also useful for students to find a comfortable place in the classroom to concentrate on learning.  For teachers, they are a great way to assess a students learning and keep on going records of every student anywhere in the school building.

I haven't been able to physically use my Touch in the classroom with these particular students yet, so my opinion could change.  I have a great MT, but she doesn't use much tech.  As I slowly move into my full time student teaching, how can I incorporate more technology into the classroom without freaking out the kids and still respecting my MT's style?

Differentiated Instruction

David, Elisa, and Shawn (pseudonyms) are all students in my classroom that would benefit from differentiated instruction.  David is an ESL student and has minor trouble reading and writing; he is currently and a level 3.  Elisa is in our special Ed program and is an ESL student.  She has trouble with her reading and writing as well.  Due to David and Elisa’s trouble with reading and writing they also have trouble with math, as they need assistance when reading a math problem.  Shawn is a student who is very active and has notable difficulty concentrating in class.  He is perfect for differentiated instruction because it allows him to be active in different ways while still gaining knowledge. 

The iTouch has thousands of applications to help all three of the above mentioned students.   Having access to iTouches in classrooms would help differentiated instruction because it allows students to use different apps that are at different learning levels.  There are tons of apps available in all subject areas that fit with classroom objectives.  David and Elise would benefit from the iTouch apps that allow them to translate from their native language to English.  There are audiobook apps that the students can read along with.  The audiobook apps are great because they model specific reading skills and as we learned from the Optimal Learning Model, modeling the skills we want our students to learn is a key step in the learning process.  The iTouch would also help David and Elisa with math as they could use math apps to do practice drills.  Reading would not be an issue as they could use an application that would read the problem to them.  Shawn would benefit from using the iTouch as a computer learning system.  He is very active and frequently gets up to use the bathroom or get a drink of water always at the time of instruction and/or learning.  He consistently talks about his PS3.  I believe Shawn would look at an iTouch as if it were a video game.  He would practice math and reading while getting the entertainment he usually gets from his PS3.  Most kids like playing video games, so the idea of playing with a video like game on an iTouch will keep interest high.

One of my concerns for bringing iTouches into the classroom is the maturity level of some students.  There would need to be clear expectations and consequences if those expectations are not followed.  There has been mentioned that the $200 iTouch would replace the cost of buying a desktop or laptop computer.  I don’t think iTouches should replace a computer system, but only help to enhance the learning in the classroom.

Do as I say and as I do!

The idea that kids do as they see is completely true. They may not even know what it is they are doing, but they do understand that they saw a parent or adult doing it; therefore, they should do it too. My 4-year old niece, Kaylee, is the perfect example of this. A little while back she broke down into tears because she realized she didn’t know how to read and really wanted too. The few days a month I see her, my husband and I take the time to incorporate even more literacy into her daily activities. We will write our grocery list with her then go shopping. While being at home or out and a bout we will point to letters and objects and ask her to tell what it is. Most importantly, we read tons of books to her. Our weekend always starts with a trip to the library to return books and pick out new ones. I do, however, have to give her a limit on the amount of books we can check out at one; if I didn’t we would need a cart.

When reading to Kaylee, I had started incorporating ideas I later read about in Fox. For example, I always point to the title and follow the words with my fingers. Following the words with my finger has led me to automatically do reverse sweep to get to the next sentence. In the video below I ask Kaylee to read to me. Take a look at her reading skills!

I was completely surprised when Kaylee started to attempt to follow the words with her finger.  Of course she wasn't reading, merely singing and telling a story, but she has a clear concept of how to navigate around a page; including the title. Automatically my mind went back to working with my k-buddy and creating a ELP.
Kaylee
Book handling........CHECK
Title.......................CHECK
Reverse Sweep......CHECK
Letter knowledge...CHECK
Word knowledge...CHECK
I think we are off to a good start!!!

How many cupcakes are there...really?

Last weekend Kaylee and I decided to make cupcakes for a birthday party.  This activity was perfect for the "I do", "we do" "you do" teaching process.  First I showed Kaylee how to scoop out the batter and pour it into the cupcake pan.  Then we did it together; meaning, I held my hand over hers and we poured the batter in together.  Finally, and this was a very hard step for me to take part in, I let her do it all by herself.  While half of the batter ended up on the counter, as I suspected would, she gained confidence in doing something all by herself.  It also helped her take ownership of the activity.  Since she poured the batter in the pan, the cupcakes were now hers and she decided it would be best if she sat in front of the oven and watched them bake...this lead an interesting conversation.

Hmmm...a 5 to 3 ratio.  I'm not sure if that is fair, but according to Kaylee it is.  It was great to see her trying to figure out how many cupcakes we made total.  I noticed that she can confidently count to 12, but after 12 she starts acting all crazy and just throwing random numbers out.

I know she is not close to adding and subtracting, but the moment presented itself so I ran with it.  When I asked her how many more cupcakes she would have than me, she knew she would have more but was unable to figure out exact amount.  Because she said I would get 2 cupcakes she thought the difference was two and even after we figured out she would have 3 more than me this same logic followed as she then said "oh I forgot, I'm going to surprise you with 3 cupcakes."  I loved asking her these questions and seeing her mind in action!

Princesses and Zombies, oh my!

As promised, Halloween excitement!

This year my beautiful little niece couldn’t make up her mind about what she wanted to dress up as for Halloween. Her girly side was telling her to be a pretty princess, while her tomboy side was telling her to be a gruesome zombie. Being the creative genius she is, she decided to be a…..you guessed it; a zombie princess. She wanted to wear a pretty princess gown and makeup except she wanted her makeup to make her look dead. Zombie makeup! I don’t know about any of you, but I couldn’t resist such a cute girl with an idea like this one. Oh and did I mention how excited I was to paint her face!

So by now you may or may not be wondering how I created such a look, but don’t worry, I have created steps so you can one day create your own zombie princess.

Materials required:
A cute little girl
A Princess dress
White face paint
Black face paint
Red face paint
Fake blood
White setting powder
Black coloring hair spray
Q-tips
Comb

Step one: I recommend this be the step you put the dress on as it may be harder once all the makeup has been done. Buy a cute dress or if you are talented enough, make one!

Step two: Apply white face paint over entire face followed by the white setting powder.
     •The white setting powder will keep all makeup from smearing or rubbing off.

Step three: Mix some black and white face paint together and strategically apply around eyes to give the dead look. Then add a small layer of red paint just under the eyes.
     •Again, apply setting powder

Step Four: Place q-tip in black paint and use to create a cut or sore on child’s face.


Step Five: Fake blood time! Apply fake blood coming out of eyes and nose. Apply fake blood around sore or cut created in step four.
     •Apply more setting powder

Step Six: Take comb and tease hair….back comb hair until it is out of control! Use the black hair spray to create a dirty look.

Optional: you can rip up the dress to create an overall zombie look…I chose not to do this as my niece wanted to keep her dress for dress up parties.

And the final product......

I must warn you, the clean up is scarier than the little zombie herself!

Yes!  This is what my bathtub looked like after my little zombie princess took a hot bubble bath.

Yuk! That is not my nose!!

Wednesday I taped the first lesson I taught at my dyad placement.  It was a math lesson comparing linear and nonlinear relationships.  I didn’t want to jump to the obvious, but I am afraid I’m going to if I were brave enough to show you my video you would see how the camera added like 3 inches to my nose.  I clearly had a fake nose glued on ;)  I mean there is no way that the nose I saw in the video is the same nose I look at every day!  Come to think of it, my voice didn’t sound like my voice either; well, at least not the voice I hear in the shower or car when I am singing.  The voice on the video sounded an awful lot like my mother’s voice.  I’m starting to think that maybe my mother was teaching the lesson or some evil Halloween spirit took over my body.

All the laughs aside, this is my reflection after watching my video the first time and I now understand why my professor said not to write a reflection until after watching the video multiple times.  I took my professors advice to wait to write a true reflection of my video. 

Stay tuned for a Halloween treat!