The UNconference

The UnConference-EdCamp
That was fun. I really enjoyed talking with my peers. I got some great ideas to try out in the classroom. I'm going to try out the Boston Massacre idea that I got from Jay. I'm also going to make some flip books to go along with the American Revolution symbols. Thanks Julie!!! Julie also shared something that Adam does with the Declaration of Independence. I'm looking forward to trying out all these great resources and ideas. Thanks!!! I made it to 2 of the groups. Wish I had more time to check out the rest of the groups. EdCamp was definitely beneficial for me. I needed that help. Thanks everyone!

Wordle

Really cool. I'm now trying to figure out how I want to use wordle with my class. I just need to remember that the words that are used the most will be bigger.

Tier ! Direct Instruction: The Historical Method

Response to Tier One of the Historical Method.

The best way I can show my understanding of the hand out is by explaining how I put it into practice. When teaching about the first inhabitants in the Americas, I made a timeline which the students also made. We also did SPEC activities for the different groups of people. This lends to the main idea and understanding of the people of the time. We also had a discussion comparing the past to the present using the SPEC format. I also checked prior knowledge and filled any  gaps. For example: Defining B.C. and A.D. I also have a packet which is set up for students to write down important sequential events and facts. So far the students are engaged. 

Friday, October 7, 2011

Mid-morning, before lunch:
In our group, we discussed the type of writing we want to use and with which piece of literature or primary source document. We thought we'd do Response to Literature with the Scarlet Stocking Spy. The only issue with using a story like that in our classroom right now is that the Revolutionary War won't be taught until later. Then we decided to do Persuasive Writing and using the story George VS. George. Then we found out that our project needs to be done in January which won't work with our time line in the classroom.

Later in the day...
We're all set. We will be using 3rd person Narrative with explorers!!!


Good luck team. I enjoyed working with you all today!

Summer and History

I thoroughly enjoyed all the presentations this summer. Anthony always brings a great energy with him and lots of great ideas. And a wow to all the insight and info we received from Sharon. Fran shared some great books. Jay went to our librarian when we got back to school and gave her a list of books.

For the first day of school, I shared with students my hero and had them write about one of theirs. For Back to School Night, I asked parents to share with their child one of their heros. Whenever I have a free moment, I grab the Heros book and read about a hero. So a big thank you to Dennis for sharing his book.

Just was thinking after our 2 days how grateful I am for all the information we received.

I liked the 9 best practices for 2 reasons. It validated what I'm already doing. I also learned some fun teaching ideas from Dr. Bobbi and my peers.

With all the technology from Adina, all I can say is WOW! As much as I wish we had a month to spend with her on power points, building a livebinder, and tweeting, I'm was really impressed with how much she gave us in such a short amount of time. And because time was a factor, she gave us all the sites to go to for tutorials and other resources.

So a big thank you ladies!

I'm figuring out how I want to set up my livebinder. I'm thinking of having each tab be grouped by subject: math, LA, Science, etc... Any other ideas would be appreciated.