I have really enjoyed my time and work in this course. So many times I have taken classes for my masters and have found the class to be useless. I am kind of sad that this class is over. With this class I have learned a great deal and recognized a lot of things I would like to do better in my classroom to take my teaching to the next level. I absolutely love that we got to pick our own text and apply it to ours and other's blog posts. The book that I chose, 40 Active Learning Strategies for the Inclusive Classroom is a great resource that I definitely plan on using in my classroom next year. I have also enjoyed reading the blogs of my fellow classmates and have learned a great deal from them.
I feel that I provide an engaging classroom already, however the one thing that I learned from this class is taking my teaching beyond the classroom. If I am teaching something get into contact with a specialist from that area and either bring them into the classroom or work with them to further enhance my lessons. This was also my first experience creating a blog and can't wait to create one that my parents and students can view from their home next year.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Instructional Unit
In order to get a jump on the school year, I went ahead and created a unit based on one of our first science units that we will be doing for the upcoming year. The title of this unit is the three states of matter. I tried to incorporate as much music, technology and movement into my lesson as possible. The students at my school are very active and I tried my best to develop a unit they would enjoy and be active participants in. Here is the summary of my unit.
Title: 3 states of Matter
Grade: 1/2
Subject: Science
Technology used
Smartboard
Student Response systems for assessment
http://www.brainpopjr.com/science/matter/solidsliquidsandgases/preview.weml
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A69fwDjJ8ZM
http://www.fossweb.com/modulesK-2/SolidsandLiquids/activities/changeit.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/states-of-matter.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btGu9FWSPtc
Learning Goal(s):
Monday-I can name/draw the 3 states of matter.
Tuesday-I can list at least 5 items for each state of matter.
Wednesday-I can predict what will happen to objects when changes are made.
Thursday-I can explain what happens to molecules in each state of matter.
Friday-I can take an assessment over the 3 states of matter
Core Content:
SC-EP-1.1.1
Students will classify material objects by their properties providing evidence to support their classifications.
Objects are made of one or more materials such as paper, wood, and metal. Objects can be described by the properties of the materials from which they are made. Those properties and measurements of the objects can be used to separate or classify objects or materials.
SC-P-STM-U-3
Students will understand that things can be done to materials to change some of their properties, but not all materials respond the same way to what is done to themSC-P-STM-S-5
Students will observe and predict the properties of material objects
Vocabulary
Solid Liquid Gas Matter Molecule
Friday, July 1, 2011
Co-Teaching Assignment
CONTACT 1
When thinking about this project I set out to find two people that I felt could help me with things that would immediately benefit my teaching. Two things that I definitely need help with in the classroom are technology and music. I have smartboards, student response systems, document cameras, flip cameras, etc. I can use all of these very well, however when it comes to programs on the computers, I am very limited in what I can do. One program that always intrigued me and I feel could be very beneficial with the students is Adobe Photoshop. It seems like this is a widely used program that allows for creativity. I am aware that this is probably a very difficult program for elementary students to learn however I researched it a lot before I sought someone out and found that there are basic tools on this program that the students could use. The first reading content area that we are going to study this year is informational text, so I immediately thought of local newspapers. My dad had previously taken photography lessons from someone who worked at the independent newspaper, CityBeat. I contacted them and was directed to their ART/Production manager. With Mr. Kidwell, the students in my class at 9th District will create the school brochure that can be given as a welcoming to new students who transition to our school.
RD-EP-1.0.5
Students will identify the purpose of capitalization, punctuation, boldface type, italics or indentations to make meaning of the text.
RD-EP-3.0.6
In Transactive Writing,
Students will communicate a purpose through informing or persuading.
Students will develop an angle.
Students will communicate what the reader. should know, do or believe as a result of reading the piece.
Students will apply characteristics of the selected form (e.g., letter, feature article).
Students will use a suitable tone.
Students will allow voice to emerge when appropriate
ACADEMIC EXPECTATIONS
AE 1.1
Students use reference tools such as dictionaries, almanacs, encyclopedias, and computer reference programs and research tools such as interviews and surveys to find the information they need to meet specific demands, explore interests, or solve specific problems.
AE 1.11
Students write using appropriate forms, conventions, and styles to communicate ideas and information to different audiences for different purposes.
ASSESSMENT
When thinking about this project I set out to find two people that I felt could help me with things that would immediately benefit my teaching. Two things that I definitely need help with in the classroom are technology and music. I have smartboards, student response systems, document cameras, flip cameras, etc. I can use all of these very well, however when it comes to programs on the computers, I am very limited in what I can do. One program that always intrigued me and I feel could be very beneficial with the students is Adobe Photoshop. It seems like this is a widely used program that allows for creativity. I am aware that this is probably a very difficult program for elementary students to learn however I researched it a lot before I sought someone out and found that there are basic tools on this program that the students could use. The first reading content area that we are going to study this year is informational text, so I immediately thought of local newspapers. My dad had previously taken photography lessons from someone who worked at the independent newspaper, CityBeat. I contacted them and was directed to their ART/Production manager. With Mr. Kidwell, the students in my class at 9th District will create the school brochure that can be given as a welcoming to new students who transition to our school.
- a. Jason Kidwell
b. ART/Production Manager at CityBeat
Lesson OVERVIEW- Students will be introduced to informational texts through brochures, newspapers, menus, etc.
- Students will be able to read through a variety of informational texts in assigned groups.
- We will discuss the features of informational text as vocabulary. ((e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons)
- Students will brainstorm a list of facts about our school. (There will also be facts provided for the students by the teacher)
- We will come up with 5 sections (one for each group) that our brochure about 9th District can be separated into.
- Specific jobs will be assigned to each member of the group (examples are: Writer, spelling checker, capitalization checker, Punctuation checker)
- Students will create their sections of the brochure.
- We will have SKYPE conversations with Mr. Kidwell of CityBeat to show him our progress and discuss graphics ideas that we would like to see in our brochure.
- Mr. Kidwell, the Art/Production Manager will receive our brochure sections and create a brochure from OUR ideas.
- The Brochure will also serve as our school’s welcoming brochure that will be presented to new students who come to our school.
- Mr. Kidwell has also agreed to come in for a few days and teach the children of 9th District the basics of Photoshop.
RD-EP-1.0.5
Students will identify the purpose of capitalization, punctuation, boldface type, italics or indentations to make meaning of the text.
RD-EP-3.0.6
Students will identify information in a passage that is supported by fact.
WR-EP-1.1.3In Transactive Writing,
Students will communicate a purpose through informing or persuading.
Students will develop an angle.
Students will communicate what the reader. should know, do or believe as a result of reading the piece.
Students will apply characteristics of the selected form (e.g., letter, feature article).
Students will use a suitable tone.
Students will allow voice to emerge when appropriate
ACADEMIC EXPECTATIONS
AE 1.1
Students use reference tools such as dictionaries, almanacs, encyclopedias, and computer reference programs and research tools such as interviews and surveys to find the information they need to meet specific demands, explore interests, or solve specific problems.
AE 1.11
Students write using appropriate forms, conventions, and styles to communicate ideas and information to different audiences for different purposes.
ASSESSMENT
- Observing their Skype conversations with Mr. Kidwell by listening to their input on the brochure.
- Observing and Conferencing with the Groups as they work on their brochure.
- Assessing the finished brochure that the students have created and Mr. Kidwell have created.
Contact 2
Having recently attended the Ron Clark training in Atlanta, Georgia I am very intriqued by the possibility of teaching content through rap music and songs. Our school offers no music or art program so those are the two deficiencies that I am trying to fulfill with my contacts. Ron Clark, and the teachers at The Ron Clark Academy (RCA) write many songs to the popular songs that are heard on the radio. I, however, am not a musical person or songwriter. Our children are VERY into rap and Hip-hop music, so I reached out to a hip-hop artist from Covington I have met a few times. His name is Chad Wagner (Cwags) and he has agreed to teach me and my class how to write lyrics that we can create to the popular songs that are on the radio today. There is no specific lesson that we are going to do with this. It will be a yearlong process. We will contact via skype and via our classroom twitter. Below you will find a video of how Ron Clark uses songs in his classroom. I plan to emulate this to the best of my ability this year. We will also videotape our songs and upload them via YOUTUBE.
ACADEMIC EXPECTATIONS
AE 2.34
Students perform physical movement skills effectively in a variety of settings.
AE 2.22
Students create works of art and make presentations to convey a point of view.
AE 2.23
Students analyze their own and others' artistic products and performances using accepted standards.
AE 2.34
Students perform physical movement skills effectively in a variety of settings.
AE 2.22
Students create works of art and make presentations to convey a point of view.
AE 2.23
Students analyze their own and others' artistic products and performances using accepted standards.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Service Learning
Title of Project: Lions Club/9th District Elementary Recycle for Sight
Grade Level: 2nd
Teachers: Josh Hamilton, Jessica Carrelli, Brittany AllbrightGrade Level: 2nd
School: 9th District Elementary
Overview of Project: The Students will partner with the Lions Club and collect gently used eyeglasses, and sunglasses for underprivileged people in the
People Involved: The Second grade students, staff, and parents of students at 9th District Elementary in
KY Core Content
Students will analyze real-world problems to identify appropriate representations using mathematical operations, and will apply operations to solve real-world problems with the following constraints:
· add and subtract whole numbers with three digits or less;
· multiply whole numbers of 10 or less;
WR-EP-1.1.3
In Transactive Writing,
· Students will communicate a purpose through informing or persuading.
· Students will develop an angle.
· Students will communicate what the reader. should know, do or believe as a result of reading the piece.
· Students will apply characteristics of the selected form (e.g., letter, feature article).
· Students will use a suitable tone.
· Students will allow voice to emerge when appropriate
SS-EP-4.1.2
Students will use geographic tools to identify major landforms (e.g., continents, mountain ranges), bodies of water (e.g., oceans, major rivers) and natural resources on Earth’s surface and use relative location
Procedures
1. The Lions club members will come into class to discuss our partnership.
2. Students will make a presentation to the school as a whole about our service learning project.
3. Students will make posters to hang around the school to promote our “Recycle for sight” project.
4. Students will write persuasive letters to persuade others to donate their unused eyeglasses to our cause.
5. Students learn about the cultures and locate the countries where the eyeglass donations will be taking place.
6. Students sort and count and do various other math activities with the eyeglasses. Glasses are organized by students.
7. Students present our eyeglasses collected to the LIONS club and they share what happens to the glasses now via their website.
http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/our-work/sight-programs/eyeglass-recycling/the-journey-of-a-pair-of-eyeglasses.php
Celebration of our Service Learning Project
The 9th District students will have a cookout with members of the LIONS club upon giving them our donation.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Online Resources
Online Resources
The online resources that I have included are the National Library of Virtual manipulatives. http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html
I also shared a resource for a Koosh Ball game for review questions in any subject.http://exchange.smarttech.com/details.html?id=f0400a83-0731-40fe-a8ad-a98e2aaa18c1. By using these resources in the classroom I can make my lessons much more visual and interactive for the students. The students can come to the smartboard and use the virtual manipulatives to solve problems and to teach their peers. The koosh ball game turns boring test reviews into an interactive game that the children will enjoy.
Videos for classroom use
I love to use songs to accompany all of my lessons. I have found that some children learn a great deal from music about different subjects. We often try to create our own, however these are a couple that I used this past year. The first is a fraction video that I used where the students had to figure out the fraction and show it on their whiteboards as I paused the video. It also showed the children real life fractions.
The second is a song that I used when teaching about solds, liquids, and gases in science class.
The online resources that I have included are the National Library of Virtual manipulatives. http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html
I also shared a resource for a Koosh Ball game for review questions in any subject.http://exchange.smarttech.com/details.html?id=f0400a83-0731-40fe-a8ad-a98e2aaa18c1. By using these resources in the classroom I can make my lessons much more visual and interactive for the students. The students can come to the smartboard and use the virtual manipulatives to solve problems and to teach their peers. The koosh ball game turns boring test reviews into an interactive game that the children will enjoy.
Videos for classroom use
I love to use songs to accompany all of my lessons. I have found that some children learn a great deal from music about different subjects. We often try to create our own, however these are a couple that I used this past year. The first is a fraction video that I used where the students had to figure out the fraction and show it on their whiteboards as I paused the video. It also showed the children real life fractions.
The second is a song that I used when teaching about solds, liquids, and gases in science class.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Effectively Engaging Learners
About Me
My name is Josh Hamilton. I currently teach second graders at Ninth District Elementary in Covington, Kentucky. My school is an extremely low-income school with around 275 students. An overwhelming majority of those students are on free and reduced lunch. I have taught Math only for the past four years because of departmentalization. Next year I will be teaching all subjects, which I am extremely excited about.
3 Ways I Effectively Engage Learners
Book Selected
The book that I have selected to read is 40 Active Learning Strategies for the Inclusive Classroom by Linda Schwartz Green and Diane Casale-Giannola. I just received it in the mail today. I am very happy I ordered this book because after just flipping through it, I found that it is filled with activities that can be put to use in my classroom. Some of these are very familiar to all teachers such as the Think, Pair, Share method. There are many new activities I have discovered in my text so far. One is the Snowball fight where students generate questions and crumble their paper up and have a snowball fight. They then pick the closest "Snowball" to them and answer that question. I cannot wait to use this strategy next year. I love texts like this because they offer strategies that you can use. So many times, teacher reference books offer loads of data and background information but not many resources you can use in the classroom. I am extremely pleased with my text selection.
My name is Josh Hamilton. I currently teach second graders at Ninth District Elementary in Covington, Kentucky. My school is an extremely low-income school with around 275 students. An overwhelming majority of those students are on free and reduced lunch. I have taught Math only for the past four years because of departmentalization. Next year I will be teaching all subjects, which I am extremely excited about.
3 Ways I Effectively Engage Learners
- I have taught Math only for the past four years. The most effective way to effectively engage your students in math is to use manipulatives. Whatever math content I am teaching I always make sure that the students have the math manipulative that goes along with my lesson. It is one thing to just teach students how to subtract with regrouping, however it is integral that the students actually witness and demonstrate how this works by using manipulatives such as base ten blocks. I always have those manipulatives at the student's disposal whenever teaching or working on our math. I also use a lot of virtual manipulatives on the smartboard to enhance learning.
- Another way that I actively engage my students in math is with Technology. We are very fortunate to have many various forms of technology in our classrooms at Ninth District Elementary. We have flip cams, webcams, smartboards (hands-down one the most effective teaching tools ever implemented into a classroom.), student response systems, etc. The smartboart is in use daily in my classroom. Most of my lesson presentation is done on the smartboard. There are so many teaching resources out there for the smartboard. It is one of the most integral parts of my instruction. I also like to pull images from google and create my own interactive math lessons on the Smart Notebook Software. I also try to make sure that the students use the smartboard as often as I do. I like to have them teach content to their peers by modeling and doing interactive activities on the smartboard. The Flip Cam is also a great thing to have in the classroom. It allows me to video tape the students while they are working with math and instantly becomes a resource for the other children. It plugs right into the USB and can be immediately viewed by the class. Sometimes students can learn more from their peers than they can from their teachers. The student response systems (clickers) allow me to immediately assess what is being taught and see what content areas or subject matter I need to re-teach.
- Another effective way that I engage students is through music. We use and create a lot of rap songs in the classroom for all content areas. The students at my school are enamored with rap music and the hip-hop culture so it has been a wonderful way to present math content to them. I also had my room decorated this year with everything hip-hop and the students absolutely loved it. I also use a lot of whole class immediate response using whiteboards, when we are not using the clickers or smartboard. It allows me to see immediately what I need to re-teach and at what level the kids are learning the new material.
Book Selected
The book that I have selected to read is 40 Active Learning Strategies for the Inclusive Classroom by Linda Schwartz Green and Diane Casale-Giannola. I just received it in the mail today. I am very happy I ordered this book because after just flipping through it, I found that it is filled with activities that can be put to use in my classroom. Some of these are very familiar to all teachers such as the Think, Pair, Share method. There are many new activities I have discovered in my text so far. One is the Snowball fight where students generate questions and crumble their paper up and have a snowball fight. They then pick the closest "Snowball" to them and answer that question. I cannot wait to use this strategy next year. I love texts like this because they offer strategies that you can use. So many times, teacher reference books offer loads of data and background information but not many resources you can use in the classroom. I am extremely pleased with my text selection.
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