EDUC 337- Week 8

Silent Sustained Reading (SSR)

In my classroom, I would love for the last 15-20 minutes of the day to consist of silent reading. I think this would be a beneficial way to end the day as well as get the kids ready to leave for the day. I would also incorporate this time as catching up on homework time. If there were any assignments students needed to catch up on, this would be their opportunity to do so.
There would also be a separate time to read aloud, which would be another time during the day.  I would also use that read aloud time as a segway into another subject. I feel like reading gets kids calm and ready to move on to the next thing.

Week 7- EDUC 337

Realistic Fiction Book List

I love the adventure all of these books bring and the sense of reality and life lessons these books teach kids.

The Adventure of Tom Sawyer

By: Mark Twain

 

Let the Children March

By: Monica Clark-Robinson

 

Weedflower

By: Cynthia Kodahata

 

Rosie and the Treasure of the Three Nuns

By: D. Boyd

White Bird

By: R. J. Palacio 

 

A Scarf for Keito

By: Ann Malaspina

 

The Story Collector

By: Kristin O’Donnell Tubb

I Am a Star

By: Inge Auerbacher

 

Imagine… The Fall of Jericho

By: Matt Koceich

 

Miranda the Great

By: Eleanor Estes

Week 6- EDUC 337

Author's Purpose: Book List

I Need My Monster: This book is about a boy who needs his monster under his bed. His current monster isn't there anymore so he is looking for another one to fill the spot.  

I Wanna Iguana: This book is about a boy who is trying to convince his parents that he needs a pet iguana. He even goes the lengths of writing his argument out to his mother.  

 



 





Rainbow Weaver: A young Mayan girl isn't allowed to use her mother's thread to weave, so with a little ingenuity, she discovers how to repurpose plastic bags to create colorful weavings. Based on an actual recycling movement in Guatemala.
 
Where Oliver Fits: Oliver has always dreamed about where he will fit. Will he be in the mane of a unicorn? The tentacle of a pirate squid? The helmet of an astronaut? When he finally goes in search of his perfect place, he finds that trying to fit in is a lot harder than he thought. But like any puzzle, a little trial and error leads to a solution, and Oliver figures out exactly where he belongs. 
 

How This Book Was Made: You may think you know how this book was made, but you don't. Sure, the author wrote many drafts, and the illustrator took a long time creating the art, but then what? How'd it get into your hands? Well, open the cover and read through these pages to find out. Just beware of the pirates and angry tiger.
 

Tower's Falling:  When her fifth-grade teacher hints that a series of lessons about home and community will culminate with one big answer about two tall towers once visible outside their classroom window, Deja can't help but feel confused. She sets off on a journey of discovery, with new friends Ben and Sabeen by her side.
 

The Most Magnificient Thing: The girl has a wonderful idea. She is going to make the most MAGNIFICENT thing! She knows just how it will look. She knows just how it will work. All she has to do is make it, and she makes things all the time. 
 

Wishtree: Red is an oak tree who is many rings old. Red is the neighborhood "wishtree"—people write their wishes on pieces of cloth and tie them to Red's branches. Along with her crow friend Bongo and other animals who seek refuge in Red's hollows, this "wishtree" watches over the neighborhood.
 

The Word Collector: In this extraordinary new tale from Peter H. Reynolds, Jerome discovers the magic of the words all around him -- short and sweet words, two-syllable treats, and multi-syllable words that sound like little songs. Words that connect, transform and empower.
 

Sick Simon: Are germs gross, or great? Sick Simon learns how to be health-conscious during cold and flu season. Simon is going to have the best week ever. Who cares if he has a cold? He goes to school anyway, and sneezes everywhere, and coughs on everyone, and touches everything.
 
 

EDUC 337 - Week 5

Lesson Plan Reflection

After sharing my lesson idea with the rest of the class, I am super excited to see what it'll actually look like one day. I always feel so prepared for teaching these lessons after sharing them and getting feedback about what should be done differently. I like getting feedback from other students and hearing new ideas that might work better. Creating lessons are fun and can be so creative. Everyone's lessons looked super engaging for the students and covered great material. 

Week 3- EDUC 337

 Making Vocab Fun!

1. My first idea of making vocabulary practice fun would be to incorporate sports. This first game would be a ball toss and whatever word it landed on, that's the word they had to give the definition to. I would let them do this in groups of 3-4 to keep the games going faster and more students would get to take a turn.

2. My second idea would be to incorporate basketball. I got this idea off Pinterest. A small basketball goal would be hanging up on the door or wall. All the words would be written on the board. The class would be split into two teams and I would read a definition. The first team to buzz in or raise their hand would get to answer and if answered correctly, they would get a chance to shoot the ball for a point.

3. I like this next idea because it makes kids think of the definition by breaking down the word itself.

4. This idea would be fun for kids who are more creative and imaginative. The students would draw a vocab word and have to to create a comic strip out of the word drawn. This could be a quick filler activity for transition times. 

5. The fifth idea consists of partnering up another student and rolling a dice. I like this idea because it allows for multiple ways in which students can learn their new vocabulary words. 

Week 2 - EDUC 337

Word Walls

I love the idea of word walls. The concept of a word wall isn't used as much as it should in the school I work at now. It's a great way to get students to think of other word choices for simple words.  I love how word walls can be categorized by subject, parts of speech and affixes. This concept can be used for most grades k-8. I'm excited to incorporate my own word wall in my future classroom. My favorite word wall example is the affixes model. It gives students the definition of what the prefix or suffix means without giving the meaning or definition. This allows for students to still use context clues to figure out words. 

EDUC 337- Class #1

Give a "glow and a grow"

In our first couple of chapters, there were a few key points that stuck out to me. The first my (which is my favorite) was give a "glow and a grow." This phrase refers to giving students honest praise along with specific direction on how to improve. An example would be:

"I love the way you used the pictures in the book to make a prediction, but what is the author trying to show us or make us aware of? What's the title of this book?"

Another key topic I enjoyed was the ways in which teachers can create an enticing classroom. This includes desk/tables efficient for natural movement; colorful boards, signs, calendars, etc; organization; and a table or area for small group work.