Resource Blog #3

Mathalicious

Most kids start to lose interest in math during middle school which is why that it is important that we as middle school teachers find a way to keep them from zoning out or losing interest. One of the things that we have talked about this year is helping students to learn by making connections to the real world. Mathalicious is a STEM Education app that I found that contains interactive activities for kids while using examples that they may be able to relate to better than textbook examples. I chose this specific app because it is also a way to help teachers address the Common Core Standards in a way that may be more appealing to students. I have only seen a couple of apps that related to the standards, and appealed to me as well. Just like any other great app, it does have a free trial to see how it works for everyone individually! 

(157) 

Blog Post #3

In order for textbook readings to be effective, there are certain strategies and ways you can ensure kids are getting the most out of their readings. I can’t tell you the number of times in the past that my teachers have assigned textbook readings when even after reading all of it I still had no idea what the material was about. Because textbook readings are so heavily loaded on content, they are not as easy to understand like other fiction or nonfiction books people read for fun. My favorite strategy in the book is Jigsawing, but since that won’t apply to my content area, which is math, I wanted to talk about Guide-o-Rama Study Guides.There are a number of math classes that are taught in a flipped design. Flipped classrooms are taught to save class time for actually learning and practicing the work rather than going through the textbook. The Guide-o-Rama Study Guides is self explainable because they literally guide you through the text as you read. In my math class, I hope to use this study guide strategy to ensure my students are working on math outside of the classroom, and to get their brain to really understand the material before we practice in class. It is basically a think aloud drawn out that allows students to work individually or with their peers and think through the material. We have to teach students to make sense of what they’re reading, that is part of our jobs.  

(248)

Resource Blog #2

AAA Math

We have spoken many times about how in one classroom there may be students with so many different reading levels. To add, all students learn at different paces, and in many different types of ways. I have been told, many times already, that we should not assume that students already have the knowledge they need before walking into our classrooms. It's important to recognize this, so we are able to give students the prior knowledge if they may need it. It is not only our job to teach them the new material, but also fill in the gaps, if any, that our students have. This resource is is compiled of unlimited practice problems, and a variety of lessons from Kindergarten-8th grade levels; it also give students immediate feedback to prevent them from making the same mistakes if they get something wrong along the way. I like this resource because well it is free, but it will allow me to fill in any gaps my students may have because it has material from elementary to middle school. I will be able to navigate through grade levels easily and help my students gain their prior knowledge they may not have learned in the earlier years.

http://www.aaamath.com/
                                                                                (203)

Blog Post #2

How can you help struggling readers?

In my first post, I spoke about how I was not aware of the literacy rates in classrooms until the first class of LLED. I wasn't even sure what content literacy meant before this class. In the few weeks of class time, I have learned how important my role as a teacher will be, being a content area teacher. Chapter two in Subjects Matter taught me about all the different strategies that good readers have and showed us the three stages of reading. I found one specific strategy that stood out to me; it is building engagement with the text while you read. I'm not too creative so I loved that this strategy uses "activity rather than exhortation"(pg 285). There are many different things that can be done to make reading an activity. I'm going to talk about a simpler strategy to begin with called the "textbook walk." This strategy can be done in any classroom. The teacher goes through the new unit with their students as they read they look for the headings, illustrations, and other highlights in the text. Teachers can also ask students to write down any questions or confusion they may have to be more engaged while they read. One strategy that may require more time and planning was the hunger banquet at Downers Grove South High School that involved their entire freshman class to role play poverty. All the students were divided into high, middle, or low income categories and they received food based on their social class. This kind of an experience really gives kids a new perspective and understanding of poverty. Both of these strategies would be just as effective as well as any activities that are reading before, during, or after reading. Using this idea of building engagement with the text will allow kids to be more engaged as they read, and used more of their physical, visual, and auditory involvements to remember what they read instead of being on their devices or not listening at all during class time.

(338)

Blog Post #1

What is Reading?

Reading can simply be defined as making meanings of words. It is simple, yet complicated to understand. It can be pages and pages of words or extremely brief. It can be informative or for the sole purpose of entertainment. Reading has no limits. Our society sees reading as one of the ways to enhance intelligence which is why it is so important that we learn to read from a young age. In order to succeed in society, the ability to read is essential. From reading directions to reading a textbook, I do not know what I would do without being able to have this gift. You can read about anything that you are interested in or may need to be able to do if it is a new task. Reading allows you to make a variety of connections in different ways, which is why it makes sense why so many people read in their free time.

            Reading was never a challenge for me, I read above my grade level throughout elementary and middle school. Something that may have helped me with that process is ESOL. Because I was born in India, and was not exposed to English until Pre-School, I had extra time during my day that focused on my English language development, and reading and writing in English as well. I wasn’t necessarily behind when I started Kindergarten, which is why I feel that the extra practice during that time helped me build a good foundation for literacy. It was not until the first LLED class when I realized the statistics of literacy rates in our country. With these stats I was surprised as to how many people overlook the ability to read because it is a fundamental aspect of life.

(292)

Resource Blog #1

Activity Circle 

Technology in Education has come a long way from the first devices we were using. Technology plays a huge role on the classroom. I found a resource that is based on a technology platform to help within the classroom; it's called ActivityCircle. The app contains of many different kinds of activities for teachers to assign to their students, and it also allows fellow teachers and students to communicate and share their individual activities with others. This resource will benefit teachers, students, and even parents to get involved in their student's work at home. It is partly free, with the option of going premium for less than $50 for a whole year, which doesn't sound too bad for all the things it has to offer! It can be difficult for new teachers, or even teachers that have been teaching for years to come up with interesting activities for students every day. The link will help you to further understand how everything works, and show you how helpful it can be.

(169)

https://www.activitycircle.com/how-it-works/#sec2