Read a louds:
- On the sixteenth day of class Mrs. Jackson read One by Kathryn Otashi. This was a simple book with simple concepts but it had a strong message about bullying, it only takes one person to stand up against a bully. This book used colors and numbers as characters, so it would be a good book to use in a math lesson for younger kids or maybe in an art lesson where you learn to make the different colors from the primary colors.
- On the seventeenth day of class Sarah read Your are Special by Max Lucado. This was a story about wooden people and if you did some thing well then you received a star and if you did some thing bad you would get dots. Well the main character had a lot of dots, when one day he meet a girl who did not have any thing on her. She took him to the wood carver who told the boy it didn't what the others labeled him, all that mattered was what the carver thought. This would be a good introduction to a lesson about self image and self worth.
- On the eighteenth day of class Margaret read The Very Little Boy by Phyllis Krasilovsky. This book was about how every one feels so small and powerless when they are younger but eventually they will become bigger and more powerful. You could use this in an activity about height and track the students height all year long. Also this could be used in a science lesson where you give students a seed and watch it grow into a plant.
Learning Experiences:
- In class we had a disability day which was very enlightening. I used to think that people with physical handicaps could just use the elevator instead of stairs, but its harder than that. When I was in the wheel chair trying to roll up the ramp I broke a sweat. When we had to put the goggles on to see what it was like to have a vision impairment I felt so alone and scared because I couldn't see anything, like I had to put the book up to my face to read the title. We also had to do a maze in the mirror without looking at the maze, which made you feel like some one who has a dyslexia. This was very frustrating because you had to learn how to move your hand in the opposite direction than what you saw. It was also frustrating when you had to pick a letter out of a bag while you were blind folded. It was so frustrating because a lot of the letters look similar so it was hard to distinguish between the two. We also spent several days talking about autism and how we do not know what exactly causes it. I think it is so awesome that kids with autism are being able to show how they feel finally with the help of technology, especially with ipads.
Current Event:
Quote of the Week:
- "The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you."
B.B. King
- This quote is so simple but so perfect and true about education. Once you learn something, no one can ever take it back. It also relates to the fact that knowledge is power so when you learn some thing you have power over the others.
Observations:
- Now that I am more knowledgeable about those with special needs I am noticing than more and more people may have a special need and they have just hidden it. It is great to see that people can over come their disability and live a normal and happy life.
Reflection:
- Learning about special needs has made me realize how hard it is on the parents of kids with special needs. Also when we learned about all the paperwork that teachers have to do to make an IEP for their students, especially when my mom is one of them.
Read-alouds
- On the eleventh day of class Lexie read Who said Moo? by Harriet Ziefert and Simms Taback. It was a really cute story that would be perfect for preschool kids who are learning about animals and the sounds they make. The lines in the book were very simple so it would be a good book to help some one learn how to read.
- On the twelfth day of class I had my read about! I read Cosmo's Moon by Devin Scillian, which was one of my favorite books when I was little. I really liked it because the author signed it and I loved the pictures. Cosmo's Moon was a story about a boy who had a moon following him, which affected certain things in the story. Since the book talks about the effects the moon has on things, I would use it as an introduction into an astronomy lesson.
- On the thirteenth day of class Hannah S. read Muddy Paws by Mira Butterfield. It was a story about a boy who just got a puppy and was trying to name it. He kept asking others what he should name him and then he decided to name him after one of his own traits. It would be a good book when you are talking about who you are as a person with a class. You could have them write a journal entry about why they think they have the name they have. I loved this book because it had such a cute puppy in it!!
- On the fourteenth day of class Sandy read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. I remember hearing this book alot in school when I was younger. The story is very simple but it would be a good book to use in a science lesson about butterflies. After reading this story to a class you could have some caterpillars and watch them change into butterflies. I remember when we watched them change in to butterflies when I was in second grade. I also really liked how the pages weren't full pages, it made the book so much more interactive.
- On the fifteenth day of class Ellory read A Little Something Different by Cathy Scott. First of all, it was really cool that her mom wrote the book! The book talked about two characters, one who was normal and the other who was really small. It talked about how they could use their differences to accomplish something. I really liked the book because it talked about their abilities and not their disabilities with their sizes. This would be a good story to show how when you work together you can accomplish something that you may not have been able to working alone. It would be good for a math lesson as well, you could give the class a work sheet to show which one is smaller and bigger.
Learning Experiences
- In class we learned about different learning styles and multiple intelligences, which we did an activity to learn what style of learning we had. It was interesting to see how other people in the class learned. We also developed lessons to teach to the class that incorporated multiple intelligences. I created a lesson where I read a book while showing the pictures on the smart board. Then Amanda placed different types of Jolly Ranchers around the class room and had the class identify with what flavor they felt most like. It showed me that a lot of planning goes in to making a lesson to teach.
Current Event
- http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/09/26/05personalize_ep.h32.html
- I found this article to be very interesting, but also very true. I know it helps when your teachers get to know you as more than just a kid in a seat. When my pre-cal teacher uses examples that dealt with soccer I remembered them more because I made a connection with them. I think that personalizing education is very beneficial to those who struggle especially in math because that can be very challenging for some.
Quote of the Week
- "Be the first one to the window" -Carol Jackson
- I really liked this quote because when Mrs. Jackson said it in person you could tell she truly believed that. Also I liked it because teachers who incorporate whats going on around them always make learning easier and more fun.
Observations
- After talking about the different learning styles and how people learned, I realized that I like it when I have shorter notes and bullets. I do not like when I take notes in rows. I also realized that most people learned better when they can move around and group up with people who are similar to them, when I taught my lesson in class in realized that the class responded better when there was movement involved and of course, food!
Reflection
- Fabulous Food Friday is always soo good! I also really like reading the about The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, it's really cool to see things how some one with autism does and how they write.
