Countries and Capitals

     Today in my field experience class we were in the computer lab and the students worked on finding the countries in Europe.  Within talking to Elise and Katie, we discussed how we had to do this in our Geography class for IU.  Even though we took the class not that long ago we still didn't get 100% on the test.  In a way I was a little bit embarrassed knowing that the 6th graders in my class were getting 75%'s on their 1st try while the three of us were struggling working together to get above that.  It was interesting to see how much we improved, in the 30 minutes we were in the computer lab, as well as the students.  

     We had one student that was so determined to get 100% and by the end of the class he was able to reach that personal goal of his.  I thought that it was interesting how he set up is own goal and made it into a game but was also learning valuable information while playing it.  I really enjoyed this website and would recommend it to anyone that needs their students to learn stuff about geography.  There are all different types of  games and it was really fun exploring this web site.

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/European_Geography.htm

     Overall today was really fun (I think it was because of the EXTRA recess....haha).  It was fun to interact with the students and do the activity with them.  In that sense, I feel like I was learning with them which I thought was very effective.

A day "off" is ON!

     Today in our Field Experience, Ms. Coake wasn't there so we had a substitute teacher.  With talking to the other student teachers in my class, I realized that taking a day off takes a lot more planning than assumed.  Knowing in advance that you will have to take a day off for either personal reasons or teacher conferences will be very helpful for your students as well as the substitute that will be teaching your class.  Having the day off is really on if you think about all the work that needs to be done before the day even starts.  Waking up sick as a teacher is almost one of the worst things that can happen.  For the substitute that  teachers your classroom, the schedule for the day has to be very precise so that everything is easy to go through.
     The substitute in our classroom today has been a substitute in the classroom before which was easier for her as well as the students.  It was helpful to have the 3 of us student teachers there to help her out if there was a question we could search around for the answer.  The activities are set but sometimes things are left out that are not always thought out.

     Ex. Doing a Social Studies lesson/activity and needing Atlas' but not knowing where those are affects the lesson.  By not being able to do the lesson without the Atlas's causes a problem.

     For substitute teacher, I could see how it could be a challenge to make it through the day.  Connecting with the students could also be challenging so I think that it is important to give substitute teachers a lot more respect and credit for stepping into an environment that they are not in every day.

Final MGRP

     I learned a lot from doing the MGRP.  I think that it allowed me to see the different types of genera pieces that I would like to include into my classroom someday.  I think that even this  project would be great to incorporate into my classroom as long as my students are picking topics that are relevant to what we are learning about in the classroom.  I think that it would be a great way to incorporate bibliographies into the classroom on a historical figure.

     I have learned a lot in the Cluster that I am taking now and I feel like it has really prepared me a lot more than I thought at the beginning of the semester.  I think that I know a lot more strategies for reading and writing that I can incorporate into the classroom. I really would like to incorporate invitations into my classroom because I feel like the students will benefit from that.  I think that it is an interesting way to open an activity.  

     I have been making a lot of lists in my writers notebook about the books that I would some day like to incorporate into my classroom.  Suggestions from other inspiring teachers has really helped me know what kind of library I would like to have for my students.  Along with fiction books, I have learned different ways to incorporate reading skills into those books and create a productive lesson.