SC.5.E.5.2 Recognize the major common characteristics of all planets and compare/contrast the properties of inner and outer planets.
Before we began learning about the properties of inner and outer planets I decided to spend some time learning about our own planet. I wasn't 100% sure what their background knowledge already included. We read Scholastic's The Magic School Bus: Inside the Earth in order to get some discussion started. Reading this allowed me to find out what my students already knew about the content. It also was a way to introduce the vocabulary we would be using throughout our unit on Space. After reading, they were to use clay in order to create a model on earth. In their science journals they had to explain which layer each color represented and why they chose that color to represent that layer. The kids loved making their models and having them write their reasoning in their science journal held them accountable for what they were doing. I love how everyone's turned out so different yet their explanations were so similar!
SC.5.E.5.2 Recognize the major common characteristics of all planets and compare/contrast the properties of inner and outer planets.
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You could say I'm a pretty emotional person, but today my kids really brought it out of me. They didn't all make a 100% on a math test or all get moved to green on our behavior chart for being such excellent learners... They were actually being extremely talkative and were having a hard time staying focused. I was frustrated to say the least. We had just finished our read aloud and I was preparing to model a writing piece for them. I had just got done making two of my girls sit with each other since they couldn't get along when one of my boys walked up to me and said, "Miss Ortiz, can I please say something to the whole class." I'd had it. They had pushed every button possible and I honestly just wanted two minutes to breathe. So I said, "Go ahead, let's hear it!" As he stood in the front of the class with his hands crossed in front of him, everyone got silent. I couldn't wait to hear what he had to say. Mind you, this is one of my friends who just loves to talk and always has something a little off the wall to share...
He said, "Guys, I think we've all forgotten about our friendship chain. We really need to work harder at earning our pizza party!" Immediately three hands shot up in the air. I called on one student..."Yeah guys, and we need to be respectful to each other and especially our teachers because they work so hard." Called on another student... "I think that we need to be nicer to each other too because we've all been mean today". It's as if I was sitting in a locker room with old teammates, venting and talking to one another and pepping each other up to come back in the next inning. They're 6 and 7 years old...it was BEAUTIFUL! This past year we have had students in and out of our classroom due to teachers moving as well as the transient population of students at our school. From the beginning of the year we worked on building a community in our classroom and making sure that our friends felt welcome, comfortable, and happy. We had at least 3 "Family Meetings" every week where we practiced social skills such as greeting one another, making eye contact, shaking hands, and being good listeners and speakers. I wanted my students to feel that they had a voice in our classroom and that their ideas, wonderings, and concerns mattered. However, having friends come and go as often as ours did made it really hard to keep that community. We all know that time is of the essence when you're a teacher, so you have to do as much as you can in a short 8 hours. What I have realized is that it doesn't always have to be a planned out lesson to integrate community building in a classroom or in a lesson. I am constantly reminding my kiddos of what good listeners look like and also why it is important to be a good listener. We don't "listen" because the teacher tells us to. We listen because we all have great ideas and we all like to be listened to. If we want our friends to listen to us when we share then we have to remember to be respectful and be good listeners when our friends are sharing. Any and every chance I get to use a character building read aloud- I do. The kids love it!! They can relate to those types of books, so engaging them is effortless. We're fabulous one week and so incredibly mean to one another the next. I guess it's almost like a big group of brothers and sisters. However, when they're mean- they can be really mean! I decided to start a "Good Friend Chain Link". We stopped in the middle of a math lesson one day and I told them how disappointed I was in how mean they were being to each other. I explained that from now on I would be looking for kids who were being good friends. Each time I catch them being good friends then I will record it on a strip and add it to our chain link. Once the chain link touches the floor then we will have a pizza party. You say pizza and their eyes pop out of their head- it's great!! Today I had to turn my head as my eyes filled with tears. As much as they drive me bonkers EVERY day, today reminded me why I want to do this for the rest of my life. My kids HAVE learned something this year and they have matured so much in 7 short months. They realized there was a problem and they started a class discussion in order to solve it. They DO know that their opinions matter. ...dEFINITELY WON'T STAY THERE! As part of our course work for the Residency Internship we are asked to engage in inquiry. In our first year we conducted an inquiry into the context of our schools and an inquiry into an individual learner. What seemed like a task at first has turned into second nature. I find myself wondering why every day... This year in our final internship we again were asked to engage in an inquiry as part of our coursework. This year we were offered the opportunity to submit our work to present at the National Association for Professional Development Conference. Myself and three classmates submitted and were accepted! We got to spend four days in Vegas attending the conference. I presented my Inquiry on the use of language and its affect on student independence with my partner who conducted the same inquiry in her kindergarten classroom. She and I were also asked to participate in a presentation on Content Coaching in our Residency Program. On top of that, I also presented with a group on the use of Promethean Technology in classrooms, specifically the ActivTable. Talk about a busy four days!!! Who knew talking to a group of people could be so exhausting! In the Content Coaching and Promethean Technology presentations I had to present to small groups. As a group we were trying to set up our presentations the way our classrooms work. We started whole group to introduce the presentations and then split into small groups where the audience could rotate and learn from different presenters. I was extremely nervous to present to an audience that included classroom teachers, principals, and university faculty members. I wanted to make sure I made sense and that everyone understood what I was trying to say. It was very similar to teaching...except for the fact that the audience had a lot more experience than I do! Presenting my work with Promethean's ActivTable was surprisingly easy! Everyone was so fascinated by the technology that they dived right in and started firing questions at me. My presentation turned into a discussion on the many ways we could use the table in our classrooms. What was most exciting was listening to teachers brainstorming ways they could fund the technology in their classrooms and schools!! When presenting with my classmate in the content coaching presentation, again it felt so easy and familiar. We sat down in a circle (like we do during our family meetings in class) and we discussed our experiences with content coaching in our program. It was nice to share our experience with people who are not familiar with our program. Some were surprised at how much time and effort goes into it from all parties involved. We shared the pros and cons of our experiences with content coaching. There really were no cons other than wanting more TIME! ...but what teacher doesn't need and want more time!? Presenting with a content coach, partnership resource teacher, collaborating teacher, and professor really brought a lot about our program into perspective. There is so much going on at one time and everyone seems to be gaining from this experience with the UTRPP. This is only the third year of the program and so much has been accomplished! I felt honored to present with our team and a little sad that I won't be a part of this partnership come next fall. My favorite presentation of the day was most definitely our poster presentation. This presentation was on language and its influence on student independence. After studying abroad in England this summer I became extremely curious!! The teacher I was assigned to for my internship was phenomenal. The way she spoke to the students was so fascinating to me. She didn't baby them and the language she used seemed so strategic yet so natural. My time was limited with her, but I knew what she was doing was working because her year 1 students (what we could call a mixture of kindergarten and first grade) were problem solving in ways I hadn't seen my 5th grade students do the year before. For an hour and forty five minutes we shared our inquiry with teachers, principals, and faculty members- back to back to back! I was so excited to share what we had learned and how our research impacted our practice as educators. We are planning on publishing our inquiry, so I will make sure to share as soon as that is done! Attending the NAPDS Conference was an amazing experience as a pre-service teacher. I had the opportunity to share what I have learned with teachers from all over the country; it wasn't your everyday college class presentation. What's best is that they were eager to listen! At one point during one of the general sessions I looked around and thought to myself- "Wow! I am sitting in a room surrounded by outstanding teachers. These teachers are paying to be here, to learn from other teachers in order to better their practice." I've always heard the saying, "You are who you hang out with" and that day I started to believe it. It felt so good to be surrounded by educators young and old that are extremely passionate about education. These are teachers who truly understand the meaning of professional development. I felt honored to be around such amazing people. I felt even more honored when I realized that I am a part of an outstanding program and university. Our partnership must have had the most teachers present at the conference! One thing that will be a challenge for me is the fact that there is no such thing as mastering teaching. You are forever learning and forever growing. Although it may be frustrating I also find it thrilling...
My journey will never be over. There will always be room for improvement, but I will always be a better teacher than I was a week ago... Today in our math course we learned... Concave: the curve is similar to the inside of a cave! Line test- the line will touch the shape in more than two places. Convex: the curve or line is bending outward. Symmetrical: pretty models have a symmetrical face. Asymmetrical: not the same on both sides. It is important to know that it depends on where the line of symmetry is drawn on the shape. Polygon: a closed 2d shape with many straight edges. Regular polygons: symmetrical and all angles and sides are congruent. Irregular polygons: non congruent angles and sides. Triangles:
Right: has one right or 90 degree angle. Acute: has one angle that is less than 90 degrees. Obtuse: has one angle that is greater than 90 degrees. Convex QUADrilaterals: Kite- has two congruent and adjacent (touching) sides. Trapezoid- at least one set of parallel sides. Parallelograms:
We have just started our math unit on adding and subtracting two digit numbers. I have taken lead in planning for math and I have found that it takes more time than I thought. I LOVE math!! It has always come so easy to me. However, when teaching 6 and 7 year olds the basics of mathematics, things can get pretty tricky. Model, guide, and releasing for independent practice doesn't always work when teaching math. Sometimes it's best to take a different approach. I don't remember using manipulatives when I was in school (I also have the worst memory I've ever known) but through my mathematics course I have learned about the standards of mathematical practice, and SMP2 is one I find to be most important. SMP2 is reasoning abstractly and quantitatively. Using formulas and tricks is easy peasy however, we are doing a disservice to students by not teaching them the WHY behind the tricks and formulas.
I think my eye opener happened last year in 5th grade when I was teaching subtracting using 3-digit numbers. I was taught to "borrow sugar from my neighbor" when subtracting. My mentor had to explain that when we borrow we are regrouping tens and ones...duh!!! (I would never win on the show- Are you smarter than a fifth grader. Sad sad life!) This is when I realized the importance of understanding the content that I teach. When planning for math I now think about what my kids know, what they need to know, why they need to know it, and how I am going to get them there. It's such a mental process! Lately I have really worked at using fun, content rich, engagements/hooks. When I say content rich I mean that my students are thinking about processes and strategies that they will apply in the lesson I am teaching to meet the objective. Because of this I have been trying to make sure my questioning makes sense and is guiding my students' thinking rather than having them guess what is in my head. Today my math content coach came in to observe my lesson on using the hundreds chart to add and subtract. We started at the carpet with our hundreds charts and counted to 100. Then we created a "100s Chart Cheat Sheat"! I should've thought of the word cheat before using it because right away I had my little sneaky ones saying, "Oh yeah! I'm gonna cheat!!" Oops... We created the chart by sharing patterns we found when counting by ones and when counting by tens. Moving right: counting up, moving left: counting back, moving down: counting up by 10, and moving up: counting back by 10. Tricky but helpful I hope! While the students were working independently I walked around taking anecdotal notes. I realized that some kiddos when adding 50 to 27 for example, would miscount the number of tens being added so instead of landing on 77 they would land on 67 or 87. Something else I noticed was that some kids were still counting on, even when adding 30. I had to remind them to use the strategy that would take less time! Based on my anecdotal notes my collaborating teacher and I agreed that they needed more practice with using patterns in the hundreds chart to count. I'm really looking forward to the feedback from my content coach! "Alright scientist, I am bringing a container filled with a strange concoction to each of your laboratories. I need your help in making some observations." Today we started our unit on water in science! When planning and teaching science I am really trying to implement the 5E Instructional Model. I started by letting them make observations as my engage and explore. Immediately they told me it was water, which I had already anticipated. I had everyone pause and gave them a scenario. "What if Martin the Martian asked you about what this container was filled with, how would you explain it to him?" One student shouted, "It's WATER Miss Ortiz!!!" So, I had to explain that Martin had never even heard the word "water" before. From here I had the students work in their table groups to come up with different explanations of what water is. I was happy to see that my kiddos have already turned into scientists! I didn't tell or ask them to take out or record in their science journals. However, when I stopped to listen to one of my boys he asked me if he could take out his journal to record his observations. (BIG SMILING HAPPY FACE!) I was so happy inside!! I made a point to share his idea with the class and immediately all my little scientists hurried to take out their journals. After walking around and listening to their thinking within their table groups we came together and below is a chart of all the ideas the students shared. Looking back now I wish I would have written student names next to their shared thinking. I have done this before and it works in two ways. 1. Who doesn't love seeing their name written on a board?! and 2. I can use it as a means of data- showing me where each individual student is in their thinking. They're so smart!! I mean water does seem like a pretty basic object to describe but I feel I really got them to think more deeply about water and what it really is. I love when they share their thinking and in turn makes me think more about my thinking! They're brilliant when we allow them to be. We continued our discussion about water today before reading a book about the water cycle. Yesterday we shared what we already knew about water and so reading this book was a means of explaining where water truly comes from. After reading this book we seemed to be on a positive train about water, so I asked if water was always helpful or a good thing? They were very quick to share ways that water could be dangerous. We recorded in our journals after we created a class chart about ways water is helpful and ways water is dangerous. I'm looking forward to the rest of our investigation! Our team leader recently shared a website with us: http://www.storylineonline.net/
I love it!!! There are books that are read aloud by different celebrities. My favorite part is the way the illustrations move around, which they couldn't and wouldn't do in a read aloud done by the teacher. My students love read alouds. It seems to be the only time I can get the whole room silent! However, there was a different kind of silence today, or maybe there wasn't but it felt very calm in our room. It was as if I was sitting at home watching cartoons with my little brothers. We turned the lights out and turned the volume up and for 10 minutes, enjoyed a good book being read to us. I pulled a seat up next to one of our table groups and I enjoyed the book as well. We listened and laughed, it was great! The book we listened to was Enemy Pie by: Derek Munson. The reason we read this book was because we have been having some issues in our classroom with getting along. Afterward we talked about the problem and solution in the story and we made inferences on why the dad lied about what was inside of the "enemy pie". My kiddos are so smart- they were able to tell me that it was because he wanted them to get along and they knew this because the dad made him spend the day with his enemy before giving him the pie. :) We're inferring in 1st grade- I love it! I was excited to use my Promethean board because I believe there is a lot of power in using technology in elementary classrooms. Our students have grown up around technology: iphones, computers, video games, etc. For the most part, they are surrounded by technology so why not use it to our advantage in the classroom. Any mention of my Promethean table and board and my kids are anxious for the directions I am going to give or the students who will be chosen to use either of the two. Of course I still believe there is so much that students gain by watching you their teacher read them a book, but this is just another way to keep things exciting during reading! Goals for students when learning Geometry: shapes and properties transformations locations visualization Van Hiele Levels of Geometric Thinking explains the development of geometric thinking. There are five levels, but they are not age specific. They are specific to understanding. You could be in high school at a level 0 because the foundation for geometry was never built. :( You're simply going through the motions, using formulas, and not truly understanding the whys for what you are doing. In elementary schools we are responsible for Levels 0-2- NO PRESSURE! We were also given a website as a resource for science and math learning trajectories K-8.
I may be a little biased but I truly believe USF's Urban Teacher Residency Partnership Program is the BEST!!! In only two years I have met so many people and have been given tons of opportunities in the education world. The professors that work within our program truly feel like family. It feels like I have a few extra aunts that are constantly looking out for me and I love it! Every other day we are given another task or activity that can sometimes feel overwhelming because of everything that is thrown at us (course work, internship work, inquiries), but in the long run is only giving us more experience and insight in becoming a teacher. Our science professor and now content coach, Jeni Davis provided our program with the opportunity to attend Hillsborough's 34th Annual Regional STEM Fair. What was most exciting is that we were asked to attend as judges!!! Last week we were provided with a training that took us through the process of the STEM fair. The training was helpful to me as an incoming teacher because I was able to learn more about what my students should be doing and learning. On Mondays our science block is considered "Inquiry Monday". During this time we guide students through a long term investigation (LTI) while integrating and teaching the process skills. In our science course we learned how process skills, content, and the nature of science are not things to be taught in isolation. Instead they should all be connected and integrated. When things are connected they make more sense! It was interesting to hear the students speaking about their investigations. Having taken my science course and the STEM fair training it was very easy to point out the students who had gone through a scientific process in order to find answers in their investigations. It was easy to ask questions in order to better understand the students' thinking however, this was hard to put on a rubric! Grading students on a scale from 1-5 for each question asked was extremely difficult in the end. It was easy to see which students understood the purpose and process of their investigations but having to rank the students who spoke so well on their investigations was rough. A tie breaker for me was the students' journaling. A handful had beautiful science journals! They recorded in their journals every other day if not every day, like a true scientist! Some on the other hand only recorded the processes. Recording in science journals is something the STEM fair is really pushing for and so I took this into account when making my decisions. Overall, this was a great experience! I got to meet science resource teachers from neighboring schools and I got to see students outside of school which I don't get to do a lot of being in such a huge city. I don't think I enjoyed being feared (as a judge). It was definitely a role to take on. I smiled and interacted with the students just as I do with my own, but you could still feel their anxiety! We were looking over the boards before the students joined us and when they walked up their posture straightened up and a few quickly introduced themselves. It was so cute, but I felt so bad!!! I complimented each investigation and thanked each student for sharing with me. I look forward to working with my students next year and preparing them for STEM fair. I think the best part was hearing the students speak about their investigations. I felt a sense of pride for their teachers. I could tell how much learning had happened in their classrooms just by the way they were speaking. I can't wait for my students to speak at a science fair or on their learning and for it to somewhat reflect on me as their teacher. It's only been 100 days!?! It feels like more than a year already with my kiddos! Today we celebrated our 100th day of school! :) The looks on their faces when they walked in and saw me dressed as a 100 year old Miss Ortiz was priceless. One student asked, "Why didn't you take your rollers out this morning?" HA!! Even funnier, a few kids were arguing about whether or not I was really 100 years old when one said, "No, she's only 40 something." WHAT!?!? I'm nowhere near 40...my heart broke a little hearing that. Our day was full of fun 100 day activities. From counting 100 fruit loops, racing to write 100 words, to drawing what we might look like at 100 years old- the whole day was fun filled. However, my favorite part was when I got to hand them their "100 days smarter" certificate. I called each student up individually and deepened my voice a little to sound more professional and official and I said: "Congratulations ___________, this is a certificate of achievement stating that you are 100 days smarter on this 100th day of school." I shook their hand nice and firm and handed them their certificate. I was trying to have some fun with it and didn't realize how honored they would be to receive this certificate. Their reactions were priceless!!! Below are some things my students said: "Look what I got guys! I KNEW I was smart!!!" "My mom is going to be so proud!" "Oh my goodness! I'm smart!" It was the funniest thing! However, I realized something. We clearly don't take the time to recognize our students for their hard work. Of course I praise them when they are being successful whether it's verbal, a marking on their paper, or a sticker...but never anything as awesome as a certificate. I forgot how exciting certificates were until today. I LOVED receiving certificates when I was in school. I realized today that I need to recognize my students more often and make them feel SMART and PROUD more than on the 100th day of school.
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Author:Throughout my experience as a teaching resident I was required to reflect once a week. Now it feels second nature. I reflect constantly...before, during, and after every single lesson. To the left you can find these reflections. Feel free to ask questions or give feedback! I'm still learning and will take whatever I can get!!! Archives
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