Sunday, March 24, 2013
Good Week
This week was not as bad as I thought it would be. My students were really cooperative. Then again, it was a pretty laxed week besides the final exam, presentations, and the portfolio submissions. I am not as pleased though with the amount of missing assignments. I might have some students failing my class. And of course, the student that I have been having problems with. I appreciate the suggestions made by Dr. Rivera regarding my timing strategies on certain tasks. I tried it the rest of the week and I tell you, It really helped. I created a better structure for my classroom. The students did not feel lost, but some did feel the pressure. Behavior problems still occur during my 4th period, however we did discuss the problems. I am feeling the pressure for the last two months of the school year.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Flexibility is a Must
This post is a catch-up post from last week.
The College of Cardinals elected Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio to be the 266th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church last Thursday. He took the name Pope Francis in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi. The election of the first Pope from Latin America played well into my unit on Latin America so I did a quick lesson plan change that morning and hoped for the best. I had each of my classes report to the Library Media Center for their scheduled blocks. I prepared a playlist of videos to show my students what was going on in the Vatican and to show them our new Latin American Pope. We talked about the significance of a non-European Pope, the significance of the name Francis, and our hopes for the church under new leadership. My students were buzzing with questions and I tried my best to answer them but there were a few that I just had to say I'd get back to them because I just didn't have an answer.
After our conversation about the Pope, I segued into current events and assigned each student a Latin American country and had them use the computers in the LMC to research one article regarding their country and to summarize or restate the information mimicking the form of "tweets" or short posts on the social networking site Twitter. They did not actually use Twitter but instead used Microsoft word to compose their "tweets" and then emailed their finished products to me. I value the skill of understanding concepts well enough to state them simply and I want to help my students hone in on it and use it not only in school but also in their lives in general. Using a social networking site that they are familiar with allows the students to use pre-exisisting framework in their minds and make accommodations for the new information they researched.
The College of Cardinals elected Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio to be the 266th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church last Thursday. He took the name Pope Francis in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi. The election of the first Pope from Latin America played well into my unit on Latin America so I did a quick lesson plan change that morning and hoped for the best. I had each of my classes report to the Library Media Center for their scheduled blocks. I prepared a playlist of videos to show my students what was going on in the Vatican and to show them our new Latin American Pope. We talked about the significance of a non-European Pope, the significance of the name Francis, and our hopes for the church under new leadership. My students were buzzing with questions and I tried my best to answer them but there were a few that I just had to say I'd get back to them because I just didn't have an answer.
After our conversation about the Pope, I segued into current events and assigned each student a Latin American country and had them use the computers in the LMC to research one article regarding their country and to summarize or restate the information mimicking the form of "tweets" or short posts on the social networking site Twitter. They did not actually use Twitter but instead used Microsoft word to compose their "tweets" and then emailed their finished products to me. I value the skill of understanding concepts well enough to state them simply and I want to help my students hone in on it and use it not only in school but also in their lives in general. Using a social networking site that they are familiar with allows the students to use pre-exisisting framework in their minds and make accommodations for the new information they researched.
Beware of Competition in the Classroom!
I decided to play a review game with my students yesterday to help them prepare for their unit 3 test. I found a cool game called Bluff online and put a KeyNote presentation together with questions and answers. The winning team's reward is choosing the movie we'd watch after the test tomorrow (from a planned list, of course). I didn't think it would get too competitive because the reward wasn't extra credit or anything like that but boy was I wrong! The teams were getting so competitive that some students were getting mad at their teammates when they missed a question or when they lost points because someone spoke out of turn. I had to remind the students to be respectful to one an another. Other than fierce competition, each class went well. It was obvious that some students worked on their study guides over the weekend and even more obvious that some didn't even bother looking at it. I'm excited to see how they all do on their test tomorrow.
Friday is Parent Teacher Comference and I'm getting a little nervous because it is my first conference as a teacher. I'll definitely remember to start with the positive and move on to what needs improvement.
I hope everyone's last week before spring break is going well!
Friday is Parent Teacher Comference and I'm getting a little nervous because it is my first conference as a teacher. I'll definitely remember to start with the positive and move on to what needs improvement.
I hope everyone's last week before spring break is going well!
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Experience after the Spring Break
This past week was a bit smoother than last week, considering that my students and I attended the Charter Day festivities this past Tuesday at the University of Guam. This week I decided to have the students be the teachers. They were responsible for presenting the information that I provided for them. They were also responsible for leading the class discussion, in a group of 7 or 8 of them. Experience: I was really pleased because my student that I have been having a hard time with "the one I also bring up in class" was participating, he was taking the lead on Thursday and Friday. He was reading and writing and I was amazed. I tried something different, I assigned leaders of the group, and out of curiosity, I decided to make him the leader, and he took it seriously. I will be trying this again next week.
Can someone please tell me how the students will be acting after they return from Spring Break, considering the Summer will be fast approaching.
Can someone please tell me how the students will be acting after they return from Spring Break, considering the Summer will be fast approaching.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Its only one more week until spring break...
This week was one of the most hectic weeks I have ever experienced in terms of working at my school site. The demands that were placed on the teachers of IMS has been increasing since the middle of the year. I have heard this advice from other people that I need to roll with the punches and do what I am told. Thankfully, I am allowed to vent on this blog and voice some concerns I am having with this process. Admin. oversees the planning of these schedules. Was it really necessary to have a mini-course day after a school-wide field trip and a day before the math culminating activity/half-day teacher staff development! I mean it seems as if admin. wants to rush into completing these tasks due to the impending spring break. What is a simple decision to them takes its toll on the people who they rely on to execute these plans, the teachers. I am not alone in my frustrations as other members of my team feel the same way. What do you think fellow interns/student teachers?
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Importance of Chamoru Month
Buenas todos hamyo!
This is my first blog for the course, so hopefully I can get some feedback from all of you and utilize this blog to its maximum potential. As we all know, this month is Mes Chamoru, or Chamoru Month. We are supposed to be using this month to perpetuate and promote the indigenous culture and language of our beautiful archipelago, but it seems that most of the students don't see it as an opportunity to to just that, they see it only as an excuse to have a fiesta and "party out."
This is rather disheartening because living the culture and language is something that should be near and dear to all of our hearts, but we do live in a very colonized and American society, so its understandable. I'm trying hard to get the students to understand the importance of learning the language and culture, but some of them don't seem to care because they see no economic value to it.
I've shown examples of cultures who have completely lost their language and indigenous practices and how we do NOT want to be like that and it has gotten through to quite a number of them. Also, during lunch time I showed the movie, "Avatar", and used it as an example of outside nations coming into a peaceful and stable society and taking over. I compared the humans to Spaniards, Japanese, and American soldiers and forces who controlled us, and the Navi people as the indigenous Chamoru race. I found that doing this really made a difference and kind of rallied a sense of pride amongst my students because they now saw what was taken from them and how hard our people had to fight for what little we still have left.
Please educate your students this month on the importance of celebrating Mes Chamoru!
This is my first blog for the course, so hopefully I can get some feedback from all of you and utilize this blog to its maximum potential. As we all know, this month is Mes Chamoru, or Chamoru Month. We are supposed to be using this month to perpetuate and promote the indigenous culture and language of our beautiful archipelago, but it seems that most of the students don't see it as an opportunity to to just that, they see it only as an excuse to have a fiesta and "party out."
This is rather disheartening because living the culture and language is something that should be near and dear to all of our hearts, but we do live in a very colonized and American society, so its understandable. I'm trying hard to get the students to understand the importance of learning the language and culture, but some of them don't seem to care because they see no economic value to it.
I've shown examples of cultures who have completely lost their language and indigenous practices and how we do NOT want to be like that and it has gotten through to quite a number of them. Also, during lunch time I showed the movie, "Avatar", and used it as an example of outside nations coming into a peaceful and stable society and taking over. I compared the humans to Spaniards, Japanese, and American soldiers and forces who controlled us, and the Navi people as the indigenous Chamoru race. I found that doing this really made a difference and kind of rallied a sense of pride amongst my students because they now saw what was taken from them and how hard our people had to fight for what little we still have left.
Please educate your students this month on the importance of celebrating Mes Chamoru!
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Group Work and Snowballs and Rowdy Students, oh my!
Buenas tatdes!
Yesterday was a crazy day. I got to school early to print my lesson plan and handouts for my classes but the internet was down in the village so I couldn't access my cloud drive online. I had an early morning freak out session and then remembered I could tether my phone to my computer to access my drive...technology: can't live with it or without it! Crisis number one of the day was an easy fix.
Dr. Rivera came to observe my 5th block. Since I had such a heavy lecture last week, I decided to break down the last two sections of the chapter we're working on, grouped my students in groups of 3 or 4, and assigned each group a small section in the chapter to read and outline key points on a guided outline I provided them. After the groups outlined their key points, each group presented their section to the class. Originally, I wanted the rest of the class to take notes during the presentations but I learned quickly that it wouldn't work out for the amount of time we had in class. My quick solution was to just have each group present their information to the class and then I had them turn in their outlines so I could consolidate all the groups' outlines into one and will distribute the consolidated outline in our next class meeting.
My students were particularly rowdy yesterday. I don't know what it was but there were a few groups who wanted to talk about everything and anything under the sun--except what we were studying. It was so tiring trying to keep them on task.
After the group presentations, we did a snowball activity. Each student was instructed to write down one thing they learned from the sections we covered in class and one question they had regarding the sections we covered. Then we formed a circle around the classroom, crumpled each paper, threw them around for a minute, and then read each one aloud. It was somewhat chaotic but it was manageable.
I definitely need to try assigning groups instead of letting students choose their own groups. I didn't want to do this at first because I can just imagine the time that will be wasted while the students complain about their group members. Also, most groups stay on task even when they choose their own groups....I only have issues with one or two groups in each block I teach.
Anyone have any alternatives to lecturing that have worked well in your classrooms?
Yesterday was a crazy day. I got to school early to print my lesson plan and handouts for my classes but the internet was down in the village so I couldn't access my cloud drive online. I had an early morning freak out session and then remembered I could tether my phone to my computer to access my drive...technology: can't live with it or without it! Crisis number one of the day was an easy fix.
Dr. Rivera came to observe my 5th block. Since I had such a heavy lecture last week, I decided to break down the last two sections of the chapter we're working on, grouped my students in groups of 3 or 4, and assigned each group a small section in the chapter to read and outline key points on a guided outline I provided them. After the groups outlined their key points, each group presented their section to the class. Originally, I wanted the rest of the class to take notes during the presentations but I learned quickly that it wouldn't work out for the amount of time we had in class. My quick solution was to just have each group present their information to the class and then I had them turn in their outlines so I could consolidate all the groups' outlines into one and will distribute the consolidated outline in our next class meeting.
My students were particularly rowdy yesterday. I don't know what it was but there were a few groups who wanted to talk about everything and anything under the sun--except what we were studying. It was so tiring trying to keep them on task.
After the group presentations, we did a snowball activity. Each student was instructed to write down one thing they learned from the sections we covered in class and one question they had regarding the sections we covered. Then we formed a circle around the classroom, crumpled each paper, threw them around for a minute, and then read each one aloud. It was somewhat chaotic but it was manageable.
I definitely need to try assigning groups instead of letting students choose their own groups. I didn't want to do this at first because I can just imagine the time that will be wasted while the students complain about their group members. Also, most groups stay on task even when they choose their own groups....I only have issues with one or two groups in each block I teach.
Anyone have any alternatives to lecturing that have worked well in your classrooms?
Friday, March 8, 2013
Never forget your word search puzzles!
March 8
Today wasn't very good for me. I used today as a catch up day, so that my students could finish assignments I gave them this week. I really do not like days like this because it seems that if students are done early they have no self control at all. I totally forgot to print out some word search puzzles prior to this. Thus, the students who were finished early had nothing to do. What a day! I need to remember the word search puzzles for next time. On the bright side, teaching essay writing this year vs. last year I have found to be more successful. Students are better grasping the concepts so my self efficacy is higher.
Today wasn't very good for me. I used today as a catch up day, so that my students could finish assignments I gave them this week. I really do not like days like this because it seems that if students are done early they have no self control at all. I totally forgot to print out some word search puzzles prior to this. Thus, the students who were finished early had nothing to do. What a day! I need to remember the word search puzzles for next time. On the bright side, teaching essay writing this year vs. last year I have found to be more successful. Students are better grasping the concepts so my self efficacy is higher.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
March 7 Reflection
Today was a long, tiring day. I had three 75-minute blocks. My students were surprisingly well-behaved and attentive, even though it was a long lecture. We are doing a unit on Latin America and the lecture focused on Mexico and the Caribbean. At the beginning of class, we went over the countries that would be on their map test next week. Then I explained that I was going to collect their notes at the end of class and they would be counted toward their participation grade. This seemed like enough motivation for them to be attentive because they all were engaged in the lesson and asked really good questions, which let me know that they were not only paying attention but also that they were thinking about the information and applying it to a "bigger picture" in their minds. To tap into their prior knowledge base, I started my lecture by asking them to compare two pictures: one was of the Spanish conquest of Guam and the other was the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Many students were able to draw connections between the influence of Spanish colonialism on the lives and culture of the natives of both Mexico and Guam. My lecture ended up being longer than I planned because the students were asking really good questions regarding the material being presented. As a closing activity, I passed out the lyrics to "War" by Bob Marley and we listened to the song as a class. After the song, we discussed how reggae music in the Caribbean was influenced by social problems and was also used to influence social change. My students were really receptive and responsive during discussion. I plan to use music again in future lesson plans.
My main concern at this point is learning new ways to differentiate instruction. My class size ranges from 26-28 students and there is a wide spectrum of learning abilities in each class. Suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
Week 1
Hafa Adai Colleagues,
It was a pretty hectic week, but an experience nonetheless. It really is my fourth period class. It is the largest class, not to mention, the last period of the day. It takes a while to settle them down. But as soon as I do settle them down, it's smooth sailing from there, most of the time. I have had some bad experiences this week especially when it came to homework submission. My students had two assignments due this week and at the most 3 people turned it in. I had to use Thursday as a day to make-up and catch up with assignments, and it delayed my lesson, one day. But I am flexible. Most of the excuses I heard was "I forgot," "I was lazy," "I was tired," "I had to clean the yard," etc. Should I be more strict on homework and assignment submission?
A Teacher in Need of Advice.
It was a pretty hectic week, but an experience nonetheless. It really is my fourth period class. It is the largest class, not to mention, the last period of the day. It takes a while to settle them down. But as soon as I do settle them down, it's smooth sailing from there, most of the time. I have had some bad experiences this week especially when it came to homework submission. My students had two assignments due this week and at the most 3 people turned it in. I had to use Thursday as a day to make-up and catch up with assignments, and it delayed my lesson, one day. But I am flexible. Most of the excuses I heard was "I forgot," "I was lazy," "I was tired," "I had to clean the yard," etc. Should I be more strict on homework and assignment submission?
A Teacher in Need of Advice.
Hi fellow interns
I am pretty much new to this online blog experience. I will try my best. For the most part, today went well. I am noticing that my students are acting out at a higher frequency lately. I feel that it's due to it being mid-third quarter. Are the rest of you experiencing something similar?
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