Blog #7

For Blog #7, carefully read Figure 6.1 on page 70,  Figure 6.2 on pages 75- 78, Figure 6.3 on p. 79, and Figure 6.4 on page 80.  Really looking at this unit makes Carol's words on the surrounding pages inspiring and engaging.  So, after you have read the unit in the pages listed above, find 3 subheadings in the chapter that are very clear to you now.  Compare and contrast Mr. Johnson's ideas, YOUR ideas for your own class, and the 3 subheadings that are especially meaningful in that comparison. (By "subtopics" I mean the 1- to 2-paragraph sections surrounding the Figures in chapter 6.).  Is there something in what you are required to teach for which you could "plan the engagement" in similar ways?


I really enjoyed all of the subtopics Carol talked about in "Additional Strategies for Important, Focused, Engaging Curriculum and Instruction". When I read information like this it just gets me so excited to teach. If I wasn't a teacher I think I would have liked to work for an ad agency or as a radio personality. The reason an ad agency sounds appealing to me is because I have a very creative mind. I can think of little jingles, I visualize all these great things and how they'll be executed, and I get ridiculously excited about it and will do anything I can to make it happen. It will be the same way when I have my own class. I am willing to do the same thing for my students. I want the work to be fun, varied, and so engaging for them they can't wait to get started. When I interviewed for this internship opportunity I mentioned something along those lines in my interview. I believe school is a place to work hard an do your best but nowhere did anyone ever say that it had to be boring, monotonous, and tedious. It is an adventure. 


Focus Student Products Around Significant Problems and Issues. I love this idea. Mr. Johnson did such a great job of this when he introduced the various ways of creating a ship that was buoyant and varied the process to coming to the same understanding. Though there may not have been a problem with buoyant ships in his area, it is a real world problem to be able to figure out how much cargo a ship can carry based on specific mathematical equations. I thought it was a very interesting way to introduce the concept of buoyancy and make it hands on. I want to be able to do the same thing in my classroom. I want to be able to create several routes, based on interest and readiness, to learning the same principle in every are of the core. I understand that I will not be able to differentiate every piece of instruction nor do I need to but I want to be able to do when it would be a benefit to my students. I will use the same method of using real life problems and finding a way to solve the issue. The part in the text when it talks about the students figuring out how to help the construction situation by the school stuck out to me because of all the construction that is always happening in Utah, especially Utah County. When students have a real issue to solve they are more likely to be motivated to find  a solution and realize that the things they are learning in school is not just busy work to get them out of the house. It is preparing them for the real world and having a successful life. It is helping them become contributing members of society. It is preparing them to be heroes in their own way.


Using Meaningful Audiences. I love this too! It falls along the same lines as the previous subtopic. Mr. Johnson uses his audience as the people at the ship engineering corporation. He gave the students a different audience which enabled his students to know that they were going to have to convince this company that their way was the best. He was able to place some coopetition into this assignment. Another way to do this would be to have an actual audience like if you did a unit on plants in 2nd grade. I think it would be great if you had the students write a letter to an organization that they could ask to donate plants to them. They could write about what they were learning about and how much it would mean to them to have plants to take care of and enrich their knowledge. This would help reinforce what they would be learning and they could practice writing. You could differentiate it by changing the product or the process.  This is a completely do-able thing for me. Especially now that I am becoming an expert in the area of RAFT-ing. I'm a huge fan of it.


Look for Fresh Ways to Explore and Present Ideas. This is my favorite of all. My area of expertise, if you will. This wasn't extremely evident in  Mr. Johnson's buoyancy lesson plan. He brought everything together by creating different ways for the students to document their findings or come to their own conclusions. I think it would be great to be able to provide students with their own way of presenting what they learn. At the school I am interning with my team informed me that the third graders will have a book report due every month. I asked her if there were different ways for the students to present what they learned or if their were specific guidelines they had to follow. One of the teachers told me they had specific guidelines but if I wanted to alter it I could. I really appreciated them being open with that because I would really like students to be able to express what they learned from their reading using their own talents and given abilities. I know that this will also be a great motivation for them to read.  IT is also a way for students to get to know each other's talents and what they are capable of. I also want to make it interesting enough for them to stay engaged and create ways for all of my students to be  a little more challenged and think "outside of the box." Using cartoons, multimedia, skits, a paper, a diorama, creating a book, presenting information, pretending to be a character, interviews, etc. The sky is the limit! There are so many things you can discover about your children as you provide different ways for them to express themselves. Everyone is good at something and I want my students to know that about themselves and about each other.