Would You Rather?

Would you rather do a worksheet or play a game in school? It does not matter what grade you are in, everyone would probably rather play the games. Hands on activities seem to benefit students, more than worksheets. Most of the time you do not realize you are learning if you are doing something fun. In my practicum in a kindergarten classroom we are doing math games and I am able to see how much the kids enjoy them while learning math.

Today I was playing the game "Sneaky Snake" with a group of students. In this game each player has 12 spaces numbered 1-12 that they are trying to fill up. You roll 2 dice at the same time, count (or add) the number of dots on the two dice and you put a chip on that number. You can see by the picture what the game looks like.   

The first boy rolled and got two 6s. One student said "thats 12!" The boy who rolled the 6s was not sure, so he counted the dots, and learned that it was 12. The game continued on and every time someone got two 6s everyone knew the answer was going to be 12. The same thing happened with getting the number 9. Someone rolled a 5 and a 4, we all counted the dots together and learned that the total was 9. From that point on they all knew what  5 and 4 made without having to count the dots. I was amazed that these kindergarteners were picking up on adding so easily.

If I had just told the students 5+4=9, they more then likely would not have remembered. Since the students were actually engaging and having to figure the things out on their own, they started learning addition. This shows that hands on activities are very beneficial and the students do not even realize they are learning. I feel like it can be beneficial in any classroom to do an activity instead of a worksheet to learn new information.    

All You Need Is Love

Every teacher has had that one student that always acts out and disrupts the class. What is a teacher supposed to do? Send them down to the office everyday or take away their center time? A teacher could easily do these things, but more then likely will not see improvement. There is something else you can do for these disruptive students that seems to very beneficial.

I am currently doing my practicum right now with a kindergarten class and there is a student who has behavior issues. Constantly talking, not listening, and acting up causes him to be sent to the office often. He always cries and screams when he goes to the office, but it does not change his behavior. Recently the teacher and myself have been working with him one on one. If he is given positive attention he is a hard worker. Sometimes it seems like yelling and punishment is the only thing you can do, but it isn't.

Most of the time students who act out and are disruptive have an underlying issue. If you show these students you care, you will most likely see an improvement in their behavior. The student mentioned above is doing significantly better and rarely gets sent to the office. You may get frustrated with your students, but showing them positive attention and care can go a long way.

When to be their best friend

Most people decide to go into teaching for the main reason that they love kids. They may also hope to help children grow and explore, but in the end they just love kids. It is so exciting to step into the classroom everyday and hear stories about the children’s new shoes and their trip to Wal-mart. Young children are so excited about the world and I love listening to their stories and getting to know them. Through talking with children you gain a love for them, but sometimes you have to put that love on the side and become that harsh teacher.

It can be hard saying no to a cute face that seems so innocent. For example, one day a student was acting out during shared journal. I told him I wanted him to make the his own choices, but if he couldn’t make the right one then I would have to make it for him and that would be sending him to his seat. He immediately stopped talking, but less then five minutes later he was talking again. I told him to come sit next to me and he looked very upset and promised he wouldn’t do it again. I wanted him to stay with the group, but he just couldn’t do it. He angrily got up and moved to his seat. Even though he was upset with me, a few minutes later he was telling me a story about his dog. He was upset at the time and it was hard to see him like this, but in the end it was very beneficial.

           

You want everyone to like you and you want all your students to say how great of a teacher you are. Even though you want to be this “cool” teacher, sometimes you have to learn how to be firm. It may seem like your students will be upset with you, but in the end they know you will always love them. If you do not follow through with rules, your students will not respect you and will walk all over you. You want to be friends with all your students, but sometimes you have to be firm and follow through with the consequences to gain respect in your classroom. 

Individual students

            Have you ever gone to class, taken good notes and studied for the test, yet got a poor grade on it? Practically every student can relate to feeling frustrated about testing. No two people are the same and everyone is different physically and mentally, yet today’s education program is catered to a certain type of learner, who learns by taking the same type of notes and tests for every subject. Assessments are a major part of our education and can be structured in multiple ways, but in my educational experience many teachers do not vary their lessons for students. Many students have hoped for an improvement to the education system so they are taught with consideration to their individual differences.

            I am currently doing my practicum at an all Kindergarten classroom and I am able to see first hand the different types of learning styles. Some of the children seem to sit there without saying a word and just take everything in. Others will blurt out, and always want to come up and write on the smart board. It is important to help all students grow and not ignore the different types of learning. While it is very important to teach toward all students, it is also important to ensure that no student is getting lost. Overall, it is very difficult to be a teacher, but people are not made to be teachers they are born to be teachers so those who are passionate about teaching will do whatever it takes to ensure all their students are learning. 

Standards

Standards are used by all teachers to ensure that their students are learning the correct material. While the standards are there to help the teachers and guide them, there are a variety of standards offered. Three standards that were explored were the ISTE standards, the Common Core standards, and state standards. Even though these three have the word “standard” in the name, they varied a significant amount when it came to the use of technology and students.

         

ISTE standards looks at a very broad perspective with technology and introducing it the classroom. Some of the things it covers is communication outside the classroom, how to use technology safely, transfer of knowledge, promoting creativity and research. One thing that the ISTE standards does is provide standards for both the teachers and the students on these areas of technology. I feel as if it is important for the teacher to look at these standards because it shows exactly what is expected and they can compare teacher verse student uses. 

         

The Common Core standards start looking at where to include technology into your classroom. For kindergarten through fifth grade, they expect you to use technology in all areas, for example English and literature. The literacy Common Core states that in kindergarten through second grade the students are expected to start exploring the use of the keyboard and once they get old enough they should be using the computer to write papers and do research on their own. These standards are more specific than ISTE, but the state standards are the most detailed.

        

The state standards want to ensure that all students are getting a great education and that is why I think they are the most detailed. When it comes to technology they have high expectations and the Alabama state standards want kindergarten through third graders to learn the proper posture, finger placement, and start using the Internet. From third through fifth grade they should be taught how to troubleshoot, publish things online and protect information.

While the ISTE standards may not seem as useful as the state standards because they are specific, they are still very helpful. It is important to start with an overview of things before you look at the detail. While it may seem confusing to some to use different standards, it may help to look at all of them to ensure your full understanding of including technology into the classroom. Some of the standards may also seem too advanced for the children and I feel as if they may be. I think the standards have the students’ best interest, but may be pressuring the students to do too much. It is important to look at all standards to make sure you are helping your students as much as you can.