iPod Article

I thought that the iPod article was really interesting. Using iPods to teach is a great idea. Personally, I am all for using technology, any type of technology, to teach. After all, isn't one of the benefits of technology to be used as a life enricher? Usind an iPod to access and complete school work at any time convenient to the student is a huge advantage. Using an iPod can actually help students work faster, smarter, and more conveniently. Why should education be limited to certain hours, like 9-3 school time? Why shouldn't I be able to access lessons, learning, etc. on a 24/7 basis, 7 days a week, if I so choose? We do it with news, shopping, entertainment. Why not do it for education?! I particularly liked the part of the article that showed that students claimed that the iPod exceeded their learning expectations, allowed for more in-depth learning, was convenient, AND forced them to do more work. They didn't seem to mind the fact that the iPod caused more work because they actually enjoyed the work and experience of using the iPod in a whole new way.

Crazy Professor Reading Video

This video, in my opinion, is a lesson in what NOT to do when teaching children to read. I just thought that the activity was too chaotic and too loud for any real comprehension to actually take place. I would have liked to see the teacher ask the students questions about what they just read. I can't imagine that the majority of them really grasped what they just read with all of the noise and activity going on. It would have been interesting to have hard data about this method. Does it actually work?

I think that this video is proof that you can put anything on the Internet. However, as a teacher you must use discrimination. Just because the video is there on the Internet, doesn't mean that you should actually follow it as a good example. I wouldn't use this method when I become a teacher.

7 Ways to Reinforce Spelling

I watched the "7 Ways to Reinforce Spelling in your Classroom" video on Teachnology and I liked all of the tips given. Although most tips were activities that most teachers use already, I found one particularly refreshing. One rule referred to what steps a student should take if s/he is having difficulty with a word. First step, try to sound it out. Second step, look up in dictionary or around the room to see if it is posted anywhere. Third step, ask a friend. Fourth step, ask teacher. I like this progression because it teaches kids responsibility, to rely on themselves first. However, it also teaches team building and collaboration by having fellow students help out when needed. Good idea!

Local Newspaper Helps Literacy

I went on my local newspaper, the Home News Tribune's website and found that they had a whole section dedicated just to NJ education. There is a lot of helpful information there. Posted below is just one of the items listed at http://www.app.com/static/nie/hntnie/

100 Ways to use the Home News TribuneLearn how your local newspaper can be used to teach students.

Kindergarten--Second Grade Activities
Look through the newspaper and find pictures of ten things you have in your house. Cut out these pictures and paste them on a piece of paper. Label each picture.

Cut out letters of the alphabet from newspaper headlines to spell your first and last name. Paste them on a piece of paper.

Find pictures of appliances that run on electricity. That means they need to be plugged in. Cut them out and paste them on a piece of paper. How many did you find? How many of these do you have in your house? Can you write the names of any of them?

How many happy people can you find in the newspaper? Cut out pictures of happy people and paste them on your paper. Do the same for sad people. Why do you think these people are happy or sad?

Look through the newspaper and cut out all the letters of the alphabet and paste them in alphabetical order on your paper. Then find a word from the newspaper for each letter of the alphabet and paste it on your paper next to the letter the word starts with.

Letters and numbers come in many sizes. Make a display of some of the letters and numbers you find in the newspaper.

Draw three circles the size of dinner plates on your paper. Using the newspaper, cut out food you would eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Group the foods by meal and food group. Paste the foods you have cut out onto the correct plate.

Some people live where it is warm all year long. Cut out four pictures of clothes you would wear in warm places. Now, cut out four pictures of clothes you would not wear in warm places. Write a sentence about whether you would like to live in a warm climate.

Look at the food ads. Find the names of eight things you can eat or drink. Cut these names or items out of the newspaper and paste them on a piece of paper. Put a happy face on your favorite food.

Cut out five pictures from a newspaper. Paste these pictures onto a piece of paper. In each picture, see if you can find: squares, triangles, rectangles, circles, ovals. Use a crayon to go over any shapes you may find.

Find and clip numbers of the same size in the newspaper and paste them on a paper plate to make the face of a clock. Make and attach hands for your clock. Find different times listed in the paper and practice positioning the hands of your clock to represent those times.
Find sets of pictures and words in the newspaper. Create a collage for each set.

Find long words in the newspaper. Cut them out and alphabetize them.

Cutout two comics from your newspaper. Paste the comics on a piece of paper and erase the words. Write your own words in the balloon. Have a friend read your comics.

Find pictures of forms of transportation in the newspaper and cut them out. Paste them on a piece of paper and label each picture. Can you think of any other kinds of transportation? If so, list them and draw pictures of them.

As part of a lesson on safety, clip ten newspaper pictures of things that can be dangerous such as: scissors, knives, ropes, power tools, etc. Write directions for using these items safely.
Look through the newspaper and cut out as many words as you can find that describe size. Paste these onto a piece of paper in order from smallest to largest.

Look through the newspaper and find one example of a long vowel and short vowel sound for each of the five vowels. Clip these words from the newspaper and paste them onto your paper.
Classify comic characters as young/old, male/female, animal/human

A Shout Out to All Experienced Elementary School Teachers

After reading our text and trying to wrap my brain around all of the responsibilities that an elementary school teacher has, I have a few questions that I thought some experienced elementary school teachers might be able to help me with.

1. Do you actually assess students for the first time when assigning them to a reading level or does the school's reading specialist do that?

2. There is such a wealth of resources out there. Does your school designate which books/basals/textbooks you are required to use, do you select your own, or is it a combination of both?

3. How much budget money is a teacher usually given to spend on "items/activities" that they might want to use to teach or reinforce lessons?

Critique of Article for Differentiated Reading Instruction

I thought that this article was helpful. It obviously makes sense to differentiate reading instruction because children learn to read at varying levels. I liked the idea of using online reading guide sites to help with lesson planning for the various levels of readers contained within the class. I especially liked the idea of being able to print your own books and select the topics that are relevant to your class. For example, if teaching students about American Indians during Social Studies, it would be fitting to read them a story about American Indians during Reading time. One downside though, I tried to get on the various websites that were listed in this article and I could only access them if I paid the yearly fee. Since I am currently not a teacher, I was not going to pay the fee. However, I would have really loved to navigate through some of the websites to see for myself what they have available.