Formative Assessment (rough rough) Ideas

Topic: Tress (forests) or Oceans
This is a very rough draft/idea of formative assessment ideas.

• 3-2-1
• Students will write three facts, ideas or concepts that they may know about the topic.
• Students will write two examples that support the topic
• Students will ask one question that they want to know about the topic.

• Odd One Out
• This idea puts multiple groups of words together. The students have to pick one that doesn't fit in the group and be able to describe why it doesn't fit with the rest. I will be able to use words that are connected with the topic that I will be teaching to know if the students know the relationship between the words. 

• Commit and Toss
• This strategy is student based and is a quick way to see what the students think and know about the topic or question posed. The students are given a question or are to define something. They write it on a piece of paper then crumble it up. On teacher signal they will  throw it to the floor in a designated area. Then students are to grab the paper and have to share the idea that was written on the paper they picked up. 

• Paint the Picture
• This strategy is done by the students to be able to show understanding without the use of words or labeling. A question would be posed and the students would have to answer the question and be able to depict it without words or labels. They are encouraged to draw what is in their head. 

These are just some ideas that I found when I was looking around tonight. Nothing is final yet, just starting to think what would work best with my class and being able to get the best results. 

Stay tuned. :)

M&M activity

First off, I enjoyed this activity as a senior in college, I can only imagine how those elementary kids would like it. I think this is a good example of learning when you're not even consciously aware of it. Giving the students a physical example of what is being talked about in class and being able to see where the numbers and data are coming from can make a big deal. Some students might be able to read an article and be able to mentally see what happened in an activity like this, but for students to be able to see a hands on example could make a world of a difference.

Students also get to see what skills that scientists use in real life while categorizing and taking in data. Allowing the students to be able to act as much like a scientists will allow them to connect to this activity. The students will be able to choose how they want to look at the contents in the bag and find a way to take in the data to look at it from the scientist lens. This allows the students to be able to be creative and work together as a class/group to be able to put this information together.

I like this activity that there was a beginning count and then it changed after throwing the the M&Ms. This allows for more discussion about when/why the scientists have to look at the data and make a conclusion why the data changed. I think this will promote some good classroom discussion and be able to listen to each other and come up with the best reasoning and ideas about what happend to the data.

Nature of Science

These readings and the questions that are throughout them are making me so interested. Why did people/scientists do the things they did?!

After reading "People Behind the Science," my head still continued to spin. I had to read it multiple times just to make sure that I understood everything it was saying. The questions at the bottom continued to make me think. These scientists have to use their imagination and creativity to try and figure out the explanation for the "stuff" that makes everything up. Scientists have to stretch their minds to think about all the things that other scientists have been able to prove to see if they agree or if there is more to it. I think the process of science could take a very long time. There are so many different factors and things that could have gone wrong or might even have a better idea and change halfway through the process. I dont think there is one process that will end up the same as another. There is always something new that could be mistakenly stumbled over that take the whole process in a different direction. I think people who do science have got to be curious and love when they stumble across new things or ideas that weren't in the "original" plan. But I guess I dont know if all people of science would like a surprise discovery or not.

Reading "Historical Science Story" was just as interesting as the first. I find myself thinking about how over time people are trying to get to the same goal but finding newer and not exactly better ideas but different ways to be able to study the same thing that scientist and other people have looked at before. Scientists are trying to take a different approach at the same subjects to find out more about the things in the world. Hopefully piecing everything together to be able to create one big bank of knowledge about the same subject, and in this case the plants and animals. This story covered many many years like the first one, but scientists are taking information from one another to be able to come up with an explanation for why things happen the way that they do.

The last article I read was "What's in a Word?" One of thing that stuck out to me right away was where the article said "Learners should understand that scientific knowledge is developed through a variety of approaches, and not one “scientific method." When I think of science and back on my science experiences all I can remember talking a whole lot about is the scientific method. There are so many more ways to go about discovery and science that the scientific method is only a small portion. The science language that is taught in the younger years will carry on through the rest of the students science careers. If we as teachers go about it in the way suggested in the "Introducing nature-of-science
concepts and terminology" section of this article then students might think a little bit differently about how they talk and think about the nature science. I think it would be important to keep the two tables that are in this article close by to and correct yourself as a teacher if this ever happens.

Digital Divide

What is Digital Divide?
The digital divide refers to the gap between people with access to technology and those with limited or no access at all. Some people have may have more access to technology like telephones, computers, television and the internet. The type of area (city vs rural) could play an impact on many of these things. It will be harder to get internet and phone services out in the country while in  a city there seems like an unlimited amount of connection.


How are people trying to close the Digital Divide?
Many companies and people are getting together to spread the technology to areas of the country and world that dont have the technology already. I think the technology should be available to all, but the way they use it should be left up to them.

How might Digital Divide show up in your classes? How will you address Digital Divide?
I enjoy doing projects every now and then. I can see myself having my class use the computers to look up information, or even creating their projects on the computers. I will allow for plenty of class time for the students to work as some may not have the technology needed at home. Another way I will avoid the divide is to have the projects be done in groups, hoping that if the students need technology outside of class time that one would have access and they could work on it.

#elemchat

I was planning on participating in the elemchat today, but some other things came up. I still went back and searched the hash tag "elemchat." The people who participated in the talked a lot about refection on their own teaching.

A user by the name of "tcash" made a very good point by saying "Make reflection party of what you do, not something you have to do on top of it all." This quote makes perfect sense and should be taken into consideration by all teachers. You should want to look back and reflect on what went right and what you could fix and make better for next time. She also makes the point of maybe even video taping and going back to reflect that way. The teachers should reflect about their students, how they are doing, what they need, what they said and how the lesson went. Reflection is key to improving and making sure the students are getting what they need out of the lesson plans. 

I plan on participating in the #elemchat next week and will edit and fix this post. 

Apps in the Elementary Classroom

In this article called Apps in the Elementary Classroom, found posted on a blog called Mom's with apps, it talks about the integration of ipads in the classroom and how it all came about. In the reading class, students can listen to audiobooks, read and interact with electronic books and use a reading fluency test app. For those who struggle with basic math, there are apps that allow you to practice the basic math facts and the flash card application. In music class, there are different apps such as the DoReMemory that helped with repetition with the music. There are thousands of apps out there, it is just a matter of exploring and finding the right one for your classroom.

I think that I would be a fan of the flash cards. I found an app that is called "Flashcards Deluxe Lite", which is an app that allows you to make your own flash cards, or you can browse the internet and use a set that has already been created. It has two smart study modes that keep track on the ones that you have missed and focus more on them. You can organize these cards into folders according to whatever categories you would like. Once you have gotten the card right so many times, it will disappear and help you work on the ones that maybe you don't know so well. You can make the flash cards right on the ipod/ipad or you can make them on your computer and upload them to the app. I think this could come in handy in any classroom setting. You can put math problems on one side and the answer on the other or you can use is for basic memorization of facts and important information.

Technology in the Classroom

I am a fan of the Edmodo. This seems like an easy and useful tool in the classroom that is changing with the technology. This site reminds me of the same set up as facebook. It is easy to control and use this site. As a teacher, we can use it for discussions, real-time messaging, assignments and grading, store and share files, class calendar and other notifications. There must be an access code to become a part of the classroom page, this makes the page only accessible to certain students and not the whole public. This allows us as teachers to see when students turn in assignments, and also to comment, post and reply to what the student have wrote.

I think with all the technology advances these days that students are on the web more often and will enjoy interacting on the computer rather then pen/paper assignments. Edmodo allows for students to post things, hand in assignments and see a class calendar. This could also allow students who don't speak up in class an opportunity to express what they feel in words rather then in the classroom.