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Laura

Page history last edited by PBworks 16 years, 8 months ago

Tim McGraw  (Just saw him in concert!)

 

Laura Haskins

 

Response to Natives and Immigrants 

I think that as a true immigrant I am fortunate that I teach at the primary level, so I really don't have true natives to teach.  They are on their way during our 2 years together and certainly learn by doing and exploring, but I still am able to teach them in the world of computers such as word processing, images and internet discovery.  Now, when it comes to being a Native in the bigger sense they are on their way.  The vast majority of my students have Gameboys (or whatever the version is), tv's in their rooms, and stuffed animals who have a website where they need to care for them.  They are in a world of technology and screen time.  I do find this hard to accept in many ways and am trying to keep my own children out of the loop for now.  I find this whole topic to be fascinating and maybe my views are starting to shift a bit...

 

 

Response to Differentiated Instruction 

 

We have all heard of DI, meeting kids at where they are at and taking them to the next level by taking many various routes that are best for the learner and will yield the greatest level of higher level thinking.  After reading this article I  learned that there are 4 ways to Differentiate Instruction.

 

  • Diff. Content/Topic - Teachers first must assess to see where students are at in a given topic or content area.  This determines who will need direct instruction and who is able to begin independent projects or to compact the curriculum and go straight to the problem/task at hand.
  • Differentiating the Process / Activities - This simply means that teachers need to be aware of different learning styles and that students may reach the desired ends by many different paths (ex. Thinking Maps, tables, graphs  etc.).  Tasks can also become more or less challenging by the expectations the teacher puts on the task.
  • Differentiating the Product- Just as it sounds.  Students end products should be equal to their independent abilities to show mastery of concepts.  Choice of product is an important piece to keep students motivated.
  • Differentiating By Manipulating The Env. or Through Accommodating Indiv. Learning Styles - Teachers must be aware of various learning styles for students to learn best.  We can not not assume that teaching curriculum in a few different ways will hit all learners.  Many approaches are needed.  The article refers to the paradigm shift, which is that curriculum is now defined by what students are able to demonstrate, not what is being taught. 

 

Differentiated Instruction naturally lends to meeting different learning styles.  This was a very informative article. I really liked how it was put in simple terms and easy to understand.  It makes it easier to start putting into practice in our own rooms on a more regular basis.

 

Kathy Schrock's Educator's Guide (click to enter)

 

It took me a while to really appreciate this page.  I know I'm supposed to love this site, but for the first 20 minutes I found it overwhelming and I actually had a hard time finding pertinent information.  I kept searching for lessons and topics I was interested in, but kept finding limited resources or grade levels above mine.  A few times I found that I was linked to a program that I could purchase.  After exploring this site for a while I  realized the site is rich with information, but not specifically for lesson plans within it.  There are many great links to be found, that do have wonderful units and plans, but digging is required.   I will indeed use it as a resource and think I might even have it as the page my browser opens to so I don't forget about it.

 

 I have already made some word puzzles for my first unit from the Puzzlemaker.  I like the clip art section, instead of having to search endlessly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments (4)

Anonymous said

at 2:20 pm on Jul 12, 2007

Hi Laura: I liked reading your responses to what we've been learning. Especially the comments about D.I., something that becomes more and more important for us to tke seriously.

I have one thought about you saying that you aren't really teaching digital natives. I think your kids are more native than you realize. They may not have direct experiences with computers, but technology is a natural part of their world. They look forward to being fluent on the computer as much as they look forward to being fluent in reading. And they KNOW the buzzwords, where we have to trabslate them. When we talk about a record, as opposed to a CD, they don't know what we mean. And a cassette? Forget it!

Anonymous said

at 3:52 pm on Jul 12, 2007

Hey there! I'm so glad you took this course - it's been fun. Tell me about that puzzlemaker site - sounds cool. I found some neat seasonal activity sites on Kathy Schrock that made me think of you and all your seasonal centers -- I'll try to remember to send you the link.

Anonymous said

at 9:17 pm on Jul 12, 2007

Hi Laura - At first I thought we should have been sitting side by side as we seem to have similar feeling about this browsing stuff, but then I realized it's probably a good thing we aren't side by side or we'd be grumbling together. I also found the puzzle makers the most useful - already have a name word search (all the kids' names)ready for the first week of school!

Anonymous said

at 8:43 am on Jul 13, 2007

Laura - You may want to check this site -http://www.dolch-words.com/dolch.html

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