Blog #4

• Hey, friends!

Weekly Reflection

I am so blessed to be with you this week sharing this blog and learning about education. There are so many things that I have learned this week in all my classes. Over this week, I was most proud of the fact that I got ahead in one of my classes so that I would not have to worry about it this week. One struggle that I had this week was forgetting about my Spanish Lab, oops!! I forgot to go this week and last week. I made a sign for my room and for my refrigerator reminding me to go to the lab. I also set an alarm on my phone! Learning about edTPA in math class brought me the most satisfaction this week. Dr. Nanney is helping us take edTPA piece by piece and providing us with feedback. It has been the most satisfactory part of my week because I realized that I can do edTPA piece by piece. It won't be easy but I can persevere! My action steps over the next week are to make sure my laundry is kept up with (because doing big loads on the weekend is never fun), work on my PDP, and eat lunch or dinner with at least two friends intentionally spending time with them and being present. I would like to complete these things because they would be really helpful in relieving stress, building relationships, and advancing my professional development. Overall in class this week, I brought a positive can-do attitude. I also helped with research and met with my fellow classmates outside of class to work on projects.

Outside Learning & Research

For my outside learning and research, I have been searching for ways to create a positive and accepting classroom environments through literacy. I found a book called, The Sandwich Swap and it is a really great way to teach acceptance in younger grades. Here is a summary of the book that I pulled off this website: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6644750-the-sandwich-swap

"Lily and Salma are best friends. They like doing all the same things, and they always eat lunch together. Lily eats peanut butter and Salma eats hummus--but what's that between friends? It turns out, a lot. Before they know it, a food fight breaks out. Can Lily and Salma put aside their differences? Or will a sandwich come between them?

The smallest things can pull us apart--until we learn that friendship is far more powerful than difference. In a glorious three-page gatefold at the end of the book, Salma, Lily, and all their classmates come together in the true spirit of tolerance and acceptance. "

Top Tweets of the Week

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This tweet meant a lot to me personally because I had friends and people very close to me experience this situation. Being intentional about building relationships with students outside the classroom is a way to build a strong bond in the classroom. Kids just really want to know you care, and you just may be the only one that does. 

This infographic is a wonderful way to see the inquiry process; it can be very helpful to know when thinking about applying to a classroom setting. Students deserve to have a teacher who knows how to dig deep in learning. This was helpful to me, so I thought I would share it. 

This tweet is absolutely so sweet! It is great to see what would be considered small accomplishments to some being celebrated. It goes a long way when a student feels like their teacher believes in them!  This tweet was SUPER sweet! It is so true, kids deserve it. They deserve for us to celebrate their accomplishments. It may seem trivial to some to celebrate on a test by test basis but it helps the classroom atmosphere! It also helps boost self-esteem for those amazing kids! 

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• Scientific Thinking

  This week we learned about hurricanes in SCED! As a current event that was happening that day, it made it real to discuss what was happening. One really awesome teacher experience that we had today was talking about what we would say if a student asked, "How do hurricanes form?" From there we researched it and made a presentation and then presented. It was really great!! I felt like this was helpful to me. This week had a text facilitation from Chapter https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1S9JGaGqppMEuW8uVJ8wNrUNtBlaqeME-s7Hbhxj412U/edit?usp=sharing  It talked about scientific inquiry and involving students in their learning using the 5E model. Although I am still unsure of how fond I am of the 5E model, I am learning more about it. This week I learned how important it was to know the content that I am responsible for teaching. I realized when Dr. Parker asked from the perspective of a student, "How is a hurricane formed?" that I needed to review my content for 5th-grade science. This relates directly to NCPTS Standard 3 Teachers know the content they teach! This directly affects my future classroom because I most assuredly would benefit from knowing my content!! 

EDUC 350

In EDUC 350 this week, we had the wonderful experience of getting a lens into the life of poverty vs wealth. It was an eye opening experience. We each drew slips of paper out of a cup to tell us our socioeconomic status. The low SES group got torn papers, two markers, a paperclip and an envelope. The high or middle-class SES group got many resources such as posters, food, many markers, technology etc. The point of the experiment was to give us an understanding of what many students go through every day! Going through this simulation reminded me that what my students are going through directly relates to their home life. It is important as educators to note, we must be aware and alert to what is happening in these kids lives. One way to do this is to keep relationships open with parents. NCPTS Standard 2 says, "Teachers work collaboratively with families and significant adults in the lives of their students." In my future classroom, I want to ensure that students and parents feel as if we are all working together to ensure their student is getting the best education that they can. 

I will sign off with some words of encouragement. If teaching was easy, a lot more people would be in the profession. You, yes you reading this blog, are valued, loved, and appreciated. Thanks for your hard work because #kidsdeserveit. 

-Mallory