Thursday, October 22, 2009

Quiz Continued...SSTC














Act I

pg. 1 line 11 -follies
pg. 2 line 30-discretion
pg. 3 line 74-pewter
pg. 4 line 91-superfluous
pg. 9 line 6-squire

Act II

pg. 15 line 20-militia
pg. 16 line 52-quarrelling
pg.16 line-39-attentive
pg. 17 line 70- extragvagant
pg. 18 line 94-impudent

Act III
pg. 43 line 176-plundered
pg.44 line 207- brute
pg. 46 line 248- bawling
pg. 48 line 299- acquaintance
pg. 48 line 304-Egad

Act IV
pg.51 line 8- constance
pg.51 line14- elopement
pg. 52 line43- rogue
pg.53 line 64- prudently
pg. 54 line 89-entreaty
Act V
pg.66 line 15-peremptory
pg.72 line 46-rebuke
pg.74 line 80-thicket
pg. 81 line 111-levity
pg. 82 line 141-contrivances
Characters Music
Constance Neville
Sir Charles Marlow
Pimple the Maid
Diggory(Dick Muggins)
Roger
Thomas(Jack Slang)

week 8-post

What do you think are the top 3 things you need to know when talking with parents?

Before I watched the film, I think I was pretty narrow-minded on how to approach a parent concerning their child in the classroom. I thought that the teacher did all of the talking, recipricating the struggles and success of the child focusing more on how the child conducted themselves in class as opposed to home. I knew that input from the parent was important but not as important as what the video had explained. I figured that I would be mindful of why I am speaking to the parents and try not to attack the student nor the parent, try my best to be respectful and patient, some parents might be angry about a grade, or something the student had said to them about the class, and to be respectful of their background and culture as to not offend a tradition and blame their culture for bad grades, bad behavior, etc.

After I watched the short clip I found out that, as a teacher, you want to hear feedback from the parent and how they think the classroom is being ran and what the child says about school when they come home, and how important that is to become a good teacher. As a teacher I need to learn to take those comments from the students and their parents and instead of ignorning them, learn to modify my procedures to help both the student and parent become more accepting of how the classroom is operated. Also to incorporate classroom activities while talking to the parent, make them feel like their input is important to the success of the student. Be careful not to give a negative association to the parent about their child. Let them know that good things are going on in the classroom, positive attitudes rubb off on other people, if I stay positive the parent will be positive. Use the conference as a back and forth dialouge, make sure you ask the parent about how they feel about the progress of their child and what THEY think is their child's weak areas, what might help them to succeed in the classroom.
Helpful Tips to future Teachers
"Home-School Communication: The Parent-Teacher Conference"
Click Me = ]

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Entry 8-Quiz

ChalkBoard Activity
1)What kind of activity is this?
This activity was interactive, because it forced us to get up out of our seats, leave our comfort behind, and write on the board, cramped next to people.
2) How does it challenge you?
It was a bit challenging because you had to think of something to represent the "umbrella theory" in your own words, and we all know that nothing is better than the original umbrella! I did a Ferris Wheel, which took place of my original soccer ball idea. I thought it was a good metaphor because a ferris wheel has spokes, which resemble all the different aspects of the same disorder.
3)What background knowledge are you using to complete this activity?
The background knowledge i used to complete this activity wasn't much. I pretty much only used it to think of the ferris wheel.
4)How much do you love this blackboard compared to the other blackboard?
This blackboard ALWAYS works.

Hallway Podcast
1)What kind of activity is this?
This was interactive and technological. We had to learn how to use the camera and post a podcast onto the blogger which I have done. below = ] we had to use the resources we were presented with, which was the other students in our group.
2)What does it enable students to understand?
This forced us to understand how to record a podcast and post it to our blog, understand the technology used and understand why these skills are beneficial to us. In our own classroom when we become teachers we will know how to incorporate students who have difficulty writing, to use podcasts to express themselves.
3)How does it provide a way to make "flexible" grouping?
Flexible grouping is when you use your group to help you figure out the task at hand. The professor didnt allow questions, so we had to rely on each other for answers and help.
4)What does a workshop model like this enable teachers to do?
This helps teachers learn different techniques to help their students succeed that might have trouble expressing themselves in a typical format such as writing. Doing podcasts will allow room for the student to be more comfortable expressing themselves via technology instead of writing.

5-Picture Story





It was a beautiful day at NU so the four of us decided to go into the DO NOT ENTER zone of the falls, because we had a craving for the forbidden vending machine. This vending machine was a treturous journey down the gorge, but we all knew we could do it together! So Jenny, Jill, Kalani and I all got on our best hiking gear and got ready for the challenge. We came across many obsticles, but none so dangerious as "The Hole" we decided that we had to jump over it in order for us to reach the snacks. We did it! and then...we feasted.

The End.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Entry 7 Chapter 6

We had a long weekend, so I didn't have to go to learn and serve for the second week. = ] I know that it's not a good sign that I'm kinda happy about this, but regardless...I am.
Chapter 6
1) The role of collaboration among the educational team is critical in meeting the needs of children with communication difficulties. What should be done to ensure that professionals have what they need to allow for this collaboration?
I believe that what should be done in school systems nation-wide to ensure that teachers, and other educational professionals, have what they need to help the success of their students, is to make it mandatory for school districts to supply trained professionals that can help other teachers and students when necessary. Also, I believe that government funding should be available to the school districts that may need financial assistance in order to supply these trained specialists.
Tips for Special Educators
NYS Special Ed.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Entry 6 Learn and Serve 1st visit

I am currently placed at Gaskill Prep. in Niagara Falls. My first impression was "oh my God, I am going to get chewed up and spit out, and/or my car is going to get robbed"
This school is in the heart of the falls, with street parking only. I came to class dressed in Gucci and Coach...I stuck out like a sore thumb.


My teacher was absent that day, (which has ironically happened to me at every single placement I have had) so I had to work under a substitute. She is actually a Grad Student here at NU, and has subbed at this school many times and knew what she was doing. However, because she was a sub she did not have a lesson plan, so I just stood in the classroom...observing the children doing a worksheet for two hours.

I personally have had terrible expericences with learn and serve up to this point, I have not done anything even remotely close to teaching, just watching and being bored, counting to minutes until I can leave. When I came to NU, I was told that the education program was great! And that Education majors get put right into the classroom and love it! Sadly, this has not been the case for me. = [
I love teaching, I have tutored since 10th grade and I love the feeling of helping others succeed. Unfortunately, I do not feel that way when it comes to learn and serve, I dont feel that it benefits me because I am not teaching or doing, just watching.


I hope that in the future I can get some great teachers that I can learn from!!
reflecting back to this post now 20hours of service later, i regret saying a lot of what I did. Yes I did stick out like a sore thumb every time I went to Gaskill, but no one made me feel out of place. Everyone there was great. And if you think about it, they have to be great! some of these students come hard homelives, and the falculty needs to know how to address that, and they do. All the teachers I had the pleasure of meeting, no matter how brief, had a great outlook on the prospect of their students, which is what a lot of those kids need. They need someone to believe in them and motivate them to do great things with their future, and the falculty at gaskill do a great job of shining a light on every student's future.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Entry 5 (chapter 4)

Since we did not have class this past week, I thought I would discuss in this blog entry the importance of being able to identify children with learning disabilities in a classroom setting.

One of the important topics in chapther 4 was the discrepancy model. One major problem I have with the model is one that is touched on in the chapter; "discrepancies between IQ and achievement/performance may exist for any number of reasons; thus, this approach is really just helping us find children with 'unexplained underachievement' that may, or may not be due to a learning disability"(pg. 112)
What this quote is saying is something I agree with 100%. Even though it is very important to be able to identify an exceptional student early on, (as we learned in chapter 3) being young can also be a disadvantage. Students could have enviromental influences that cause them to not be motivated in school, not care to do well, and just flat out not care about school at all, therefore causing the teacher to believe the student is struggling with material and believe it could be a learning disability, when in reality it is just the mind set of the student not wanting to learn. This goes into what was discussed later in the chapter: "Not all children with academic problems have learning disabilities" (pg. 124) Which further supports my point that even though the model, and detecting disabilities at a young age is critical to providing the best education and support system for the child, sometimes it can be misleading.

I was told that for this post, I had to include a Podcast...which involves a webcam..which I do not have. I was told if I do not have a webcam, to include a powerpoint slide show..which I also do not have. = [
INSTEAD!! I figured I would show that I know how to include a movie by adding a sample video that came with my computer...yes, I know what you're thinking..."A sample video?" but hey!! at least I am "Tech Savay!!" YAY!! = ]

PS!!! My answer to "What is service learning?"
"Service-Learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities."
Yes...I
googled the answer. = ] CLICK ME
why is service learning important to me?
I believe that service learning is much like what Niagara does with education majors: Learn and Serve. Because the integrates education majors into the classroom to observe, and take in the enviroment of the classroom and really see if this is the career that they want for the rest of their lives!! In a way teachers do influence their students with civic responsibility and to stregthen communities just be teaching children within the community.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Entry 4 (Chapter 3)



In class last thursday we discussed chapter 3 and the importance of early childhood intervention. My reaction to the reading is that I became very aware of how important it is to be aware of the warning signs and catch "abilities" at the earliest stages possible.

What I found the most interesting were all the studies that were conducted to evaluate the long term effects early intervention had on children. The results of those who did attend pre-school, and those who did not were astounding. Those who did partake in the study and did go to pre-school ended up with a greater percentage of going to college, landing higher paying jobs, and becoming more socially adaptive to their surroundings. Early intervention has come a long way in the past few decades and starts even before the baby is born. Pre-natal care is essential to a healthy baby!!

Class activity wise, I enjoyed going out and taking pictures, it allows everyone to express their own creativity and gives everyone a chance to stretch their legs in the middle of the 3hour class. I also really appreciated how Professor Mclaughlin took time to speak with us one on one to discuss our own personal interests and the goals we wish to accomplish etc. etc. I think that made a difference in the class. Professors in college dont typically take time away from class to sit and discuss with their students anymore, nor do they care to accomplish some sort of connection with them. I do really enjoy all the crazyness of our classroom, and the great personality and energy Shelley brings to the classroom so early in the morning!! Very inspiring for a future teacher to experience.
Here are some good websites to check out!
CEC Home page
WNY Parents