Literacy in the classroom

Module six was very informative. I learned so much about how to create an effective presentation. Some of the things addressed I was doing correctly and some I was doing incorrectly. I need to remember to be brief on my slides and not write too much as this will cause a loss of interest to my audience. At times I want to write a lot down, but I need to remember how to be a truly effective presenter! This module has helped me to have the knowledge I need to create effective presentations in the future. I was most impressed with the video on the slide master. I had no idea you could use the slide master to make changes to every slide. What a time saver this will be in the future! The EBSCOhost reminded me a lot of the KSU library sight that we often are asked to use to find creditable journal articles. I was impressed with its many features that I knew nothing about like the ability to save articles, email them right from the site, and being alerted when similar articles are...

Module 5 The theme for this module was the importance of literacy and a balanced literacy classroom. Literacy is such an important aspect of life. It affects us in so many ways that we would never take the time to notice until it was taken away from us. Literacy is all around us. It is not just reading or writing; literacy is everywhere! Being literate is a factor that affects the outcome of our lives. As teachers we need to fully grasp and understand this. We need to do whatever it takes to help create literate students so they may be successful in the future. Balanced literacy is a valuable way to teach literacy concepts in a classroom it allows literacy instruction as a whole group, small group, and individual. This form of teaching allows teachers to successfully work in small groups and with individual students while others work in literacy centers. This better allows for the specific needs of students to be met. To begin a balanced literacy program it is imp...

Module 4 Summary RTI The information given on the RTI and the process was very helpful and interesting. Being in pre k we do RTI, but it is not a process that we go through much. I was excited to be able to get a more in depth understanding of the RTI process and the three tiers. Tier one is the frontline of prevention and getting our students on the path they need to be on to be successful in their future. I have read several articles about the importance of RTI and how beginning this process for a student who is falling behind at an early age has dramatic and beneficial effect on the students’ future. The availability of this type of program that offers support and strategies to both student and teacher is an amazing resource. Videos: Writing express with first graders- writing sentences (youtube) I absolutely love the strategy the teacher in this video uses to teach students how to create and extend sentences. This activity is a great teaching tool as it mode...

Encouraging Enthusiasm for Reading This video was so touching and inspirational. It opens your eyes to see just how important reading is to a child. By reading to a child you open up the door to a new world they have never seen.  If parents would simply take the time to read to their child a love for reading will grow within them. Often times I will hear my son playing and then all of a sudden he will get quiet. I go to check on him and he is sitting in the middle of his playroom reading a book it melts my heart. My two year old has a love for reading like I have never seen. This love for reading was instilled by simply reading to him as a newborn. Every day I would read to him and now before bed. Often he brings me books to read to him saying, “read mommy.” Yes I may read the same book all the time, but it’s worth it to see him read to himself.  Using the Smart Table for Collaboration  I love the smart table!! My principal is considering getting one to pilot a...

This has been my favorite module so far! I continuously found myself saving pictures and screen shots of various ideas I want to print and use in my classroom now and in the future. Videos: Goals for differentiated instruction This video was very informative. I loved how it addresses strategies for differentiated instruction. I use the strategy of differentiated instruction in my own classroom, but I learned a lot from this video. It is important to remember that differentiated instruction is about engaging and challenging your students. It’s about creating flexible and varied approaches for students to meet the learning outcomes. In my classroom, I group my students in various ways and then choose an activity with a goal in mind to best fit the needs of that particular group. I love the idea of allowing students to choose the method they will use to present their learning. I will have to see how well this works in pre k. The story of differentiated instruction Thi...

Struggling Readers Video This video discussed the importance of helping students who are struggling readers and giving suggestions to help students grow and develop in reading. Many great ideas were presented that I am excited to use in my classroom. For phonological awareness, the nonsense word game is a great activity that will grab students’ attention. Students will not feel that they are learning, but just playing a game. The vocabulary sketch was also a great idea. I teach prek and I would love to use this as large group activity or even a small group activity to begin helping my students develop strategies to tackle unknown words. The sundae organizer is my favorite. This visual gives students a fun and fresh way to look at the parts of the story. Expository Texts PowerPoint Students often have trouble understanding expository texts because they are unable to identify the text structure. This PowerPoint gave specific examples of how to use graphic organizers to help ...

Describe what you found most interesting during our trip to Hawaii The Trip to Hawaii presentation was very attention grabbing. I enjoyed how the theme of the trip was carried throughout the presentation from beginning to end. I was very intrigued by all the different types of graphic organizers. I have used several of the organizers including the venn-diagram, problem-solution, beginning, middle, and end, and web. I mostly use graphic organizers during reading and writing so I was interested in seeing how graphic organizers could be used in other subjects, especially the math setting. Graphic organizers would also work great for science (vocabulary) and social studies. Another aspect I enjoyed was the use of the animal pictures to give students a key for how they should read; slowly, quickly, or scan. This is a great way to teach students different ways of reading when looking for different types of answers or information. Some answers we need to focus in and read slowly to under...