Zoo Burst :)

TPACK Voice Thread

Instructional Strategies.....

The strategies that I can not live without for teaching primary reading...

1) Comprehension: Knowing the W's of a story.... (Summarizing, predicting, asking questions, etc.)
2) Teaching Sight Words...(Decodable books, sight word bingo, put together books~"I See A"...?)
3) Read Aloud...(Students are able to see you model strategies)
4) Think-Pair-Share... ( I believe that it is important to teach these to the students at a young age so that they are able to start connecting in various ways with what they are reading....
5) Phonics.... (Flash cards, Chart paper for beginning rhymes, etc.)

Youth Gangs: Los Anglels

Gang Violence: Why Should They Stop? Alternatives! - Documentary from Director Reuben L. Nevels, Sr. on Vimeo.

Understanding By Design: Stage 1

Social Situation: Fitness Center

This past weekend, I chose to observe a social situation at the gym that I am a member of, XSport. I have been a member of this gym for over 6 years. I take classes at this gym, I have trained at this gym, and have spent countless hours of my days in this gym. Thankfully, that has given me the opportunity to observe some rather interesting characters at this gym.


The Actors: The actors of this gym are the members of they gym themselves as well in some situations the staff that works there as well. I often find the most interesting part of the gym being the free weight area. Now at this gym there are two sections of free weights and although might seem sexist... one is considered the area for "men" and the other lighter weights area is considered the area for women. However, I take it upon myself to use the area with some of the heavier weights when I do my work. It sometimes amazes me at the types of people that I see in this area... They are men trying to compete with other men for the the attention. Who's attention, I am not to sure...


The Activities: During this specific observation there was a group of men, one more muscular than the other. One specific man is much to big for anyone's own good... He needs to have the attention on him all of the time and so he chooses to wear clothes that I feel should be banned for the gym altogether. The man was simply doing barbell curls. Now I am not sure how much weight he can curl, I am sure it is an obscene amount but, it seems like all the men just flock to him so that they can help him or just watch and adore him. He did as many as he could by himself but then refused to stop until his "groupies" spotted him and even better he had a different set of "adoring fans" take the weights from him to put them back because they didn't want him to hurt his back. One guy said that he needed to focus on the muscle group that was being worked that day.


Overall, these men that I observe never cease to amaze me. The man continuously shocks me at the amount of crazy that he is able to go through but, this observation just proved that no matter what social group you are in, or what activity you are trying to accomplish, there is always going to be someone that the people generally flock to.... Now I don't know this man personally but, even after his activities I saw him help the others with their exercises so clearly he has a good heart :)

ESR 505 Teaching Video: "Saved By The Bell" We all remember Miss Bliss :)

Animation Video (ADDIE)

ADDIE Design Model

ADDIE Model Voice Thread:

Philosophy Statement

Philosophy Statement:

Although throughout my undergrad teaching certification program I was always taught to think about my philosophy, there was never a specific time where I had to write it down.  It was never collected and never checked over to make sure that I had the right idea because the truth is…there is no right idea.  As a teacher, you are seen as an individual that is part of a group.  You have your own ideas about how you hope to run your classroom and teach your students in the most effective way.  A part of me understands why this was never really turned in because looking back I feel as though much of what I had previously believed would now be different.   To me that is something that makes a teacher unique…understanding that every day there is something brand new to learn. 

First and foremost, I believe that a teacher needs to create a safe learning environment in which students feel welcome and not only are they not afraid to try but, they are eager to learn.  As a teacher it is your responsibility to make sure that your students are not afraid to take risks in the classroom.  I have found throughout my many experiences in the classroom as well as my own thoughts that often times it is the incorrect answers, the tangents, and the conflicts with in the classroom that make the greatest teachable moments.   The teacher in the classroom needs to make sure that the students learn a sense of togetherness with one another where their learning is based off of support rather than demeaning one another. 

I believe that each and every child in this world not only deserves the chance to learn but, contrary to many people’s belief has the desire to learn.  As a teacher it is our job to place that motivation upon our students.  There will be times where it may seem as though the students do not wish to learn but, that is not the case.  It may be that the child is not being challenged enough by the material, it may be that the material is far to challenging for the student, or it may simply be that the material has no real connection to the student and therefore he/she has no willingness to learn.  Whatever the case may be, it is the teachers job to figure out how to change that and bring every student back in.  As often as it can be done and with maximum effort instruction in the classroom should be 100% differentiated to make sure that it is meeting the needs of each of the students.  No one is saying that it is going to be easy but, as a teacher I have to find creative ways to make sure that I am giving each student in that classroom a chance to learn and to shine.  These students don’t have time to wait for their education anymore.  Their time is as precious as ours and we need to make sure that we never lose sight of that. 

I truly believe that your students are a reflection of you as teacher.  It is important that you hold your students to the same expectations that you have for yourself.   The classroom should be seen as a never ending playground for the students where learning is always occurring.  However, I believe that in order for that to happen students have to have a part in constructing their own knowledge.  I believe in a student centered classroom in which the students are able to learn not only from their own attempts but from the modeling of the teacher.   Both our time and our students time is something so precious.  We need to make sure to make every moment count.

I know that this philosophy is going to continuously be reworked down the line and I believe that it is going to always keep me on my toes.  I became a teacher so that I could have my own strong beliefs but always hold them loosely for the benefit of my students.  I became a teacher so that I could make sure that each student had a fair chance in their lives.  I became a teacher so that I could prove to my students that I do believe in them but, I will push them to their limits until they believe in themselves.    I became a teacher so that I could make a difference in the lives of our future J "The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." William Arthur Ward

First Post

Hi :)

This is the first time that I have ever done anything remotely blog related so feel free to help me out!  I am excited to read the posts and ideas that we are going to be sharing with one another.  I like the idea of this blog serving as a portfolio for everything that we will be doing in class.  Hopefully, I am happy with it! Check Back Soon.... :)