Twitter Chats To Grow Your PLN

This week I participated in my first Twitter chats. I took part of #educoach on Wednesday at 10pm. I also participated in #atPLC at 9pm on Thursday and #PLC101 at 10pm on Thursday. I had participated in twitter "chats" during conferences, but these were my first REAL chats. I LOVED IT!!!
I wanted to write just a little bit here about how I think they can be beneficial to your PLN.

1. You connect with other educators
2. You can easily ask a question and get a variety of answers from other educators.
3. You can earn PD hours for just chatting with new colleagues and friends.
4. You can find new workshops and conferences to attend.

Summer Professional Development # 7- Kean Institute for CommonCore-Statewide Teacher Conference

Today, August 8, 2013, I attended the Kean Institute for Common Core-Statewide Teacher Conference at the Kean University STEM building. WOW! It is such a beautiful building. I got a free book when I signed in! I was so happy to get a free book, especially since they were on my reading list. Our morning keynote was given by Dr. Tracey Severns, Chief Academic Officer at the NJDOE. She presented about the Role of the Teacher in regards to the Common Core Standards. She showed us one of those e-cards, and it was true for a lot of us. We are so OVERWHELMED with all of the things we need to do to be great teachers.

Tracey gave us a lot of great information regarding the CCSS and the PARCC assessments. Then we split up into groups based on our subject area and grade level. I went to the middle school group. It was great to get a grasp on the CCSS and how to implement them into the classroom setting. We had a nice lunch and a really moving lunch keynote. We sometimes forget that we do ACTUALLY matters. Check out the following speech from a then ten-year-old boy. It's SO good! 

After lunch we broke into our groups again. This time, we took a closer look at the actual standards. We gathered ideas and resources on how to implement them in the classroom. Overall, it was great. I am excited and can't wait to really try to dive in and teach these standards. 

Summer Professional Development #6- EdmodoCon 2013

Yesterday, Wednesday August 7, 2013 was EdmodoCon 2013. I was excited since it was my first EdmodoCon ever! I missed the keynote because I was at the gym but was able to catch the first mini session from the LeanIn company. She spoke about creating girls who want to take on leadership roles. We usually do not expect that of women and girls, because most of our country is run by men. Then I watched the first session about integrating the Common Core Standards into Edmodo. It was very interesting. Then I got a phone call for an interview, so I was unable to watch a lot of the afternoon sessions. I logged back in around 7:00pm and saw the last few sessions- Flattening the Classroom with Edmodo and Rethinking Collaboration in the 21st Century. Overall it was a great learning experience.

Tutoring Session #3

        Today was yet another great day. I am always impressed with the work that the child puts forward each week. She worked really hard on her math worksheets while I reviewed her homework from the previous week. She really enjoys math topics. She did have a little trouble counting some money. I made sure to give her a few word problems that deal with money for homework this week.

        After we reviewed her math worksheets we started working on her summer reading project. Last week we had answered questions on the book to get her thinking about the question at hand. This week, we worked on summarizing the book. Not every teacher will have read every book, so a summary is a great place to start. We almost completed the summary portion of her project. I hope to work on the first bullet point, and possibly the second one, when she returns after vacation.

        During this writing time, I had to prompt the student for several sentences. Starting them can be hard, so it was not a horrible thing. The problem arose when I would ask her what happened next, and she couldn’t quite tell me. I will try to help her differentiate between main ideas, and details. She knew the story well. I am happy she is still reading it.

We have not read a fiction book together during our session for two weeks. This week we did not read a non-fiction book out loud either. I apologize for that, however, we have been going back to the text of Belinda the Ballerina often for the project. She has 5 books with her- Belinda the Ballerina (F), Jamaica (NF), G is for Garden (NF-Picture Book), The Blind Men and the Elephant (F-Level K), and The Reluctant Flower Girl (F).

I look forward to seeing her work from this week, and to hearing about her wonderful time in Jamaica.   

        I am very excited for all of the progress she is making so far.

Tutoring Summary # 1

About 3 weeks ago I was at the school I did my student teaching in. I stopped by my co-op's classroom to say hello. During our conversation, she offered me a tutoring position with one of the student's I had taught. The mother had asked for a tutor to help her daughter stay on reading level throughout the summer. I was very excited for the opportunity and jumped at it. I spoke with the mother and with my co-op to gather ideas of what to focus on during our sessions.

On Monday, July 1, 2013 I had my first tutoring session. It lasted 2 hours. We focused on math and reading.  I will also do some writing with her.

Before we began learning I showed and explained all that I had for her. She has a writing journal in which I would like for her to write in daily. It can be a letter to me, a story she makes up or a description of what she has done during the day. I showed her the reading folder she has, her homework folder and her reading journal too.  Then I gave her the option of whether to start with math or reading.

When she said math, I was able to assess where she needs the most help. I gave her two timed math fact pre-tests. These were only using the numbers 1-10. The first one was an addition paper. The second one was a subtraction paper. After that I gave her another “pre-test” with a variety of math topics learned in 2^nd grade, such as time, money, and comparing numbers/fractions. 

We then did some reading. She picked out a book for summer reading. I also picked out a non-fiction book for her to read. It was a biography on Harriet Tubman. Then we read another fiction book called Jamaica's Find. We also worked on some sight words. It was a great time and I am excited to see her progress. =)

 

Classroom Libraries

I am SO excited for my own classroom one day. I enjoy looking at books for my own room. I fully believe in having a GREAT classroom library. Today while I was subbing, I stopped by the Scholastic Book Fair. I picked up several new books for my classroom library.

1. When I Grow Up by Al Yankovic
2. Pete the Cat Rocking In My School Shoes by Eric Litwin
3. No Jumping on the Bed by Todd Arnold
4. Twinke, Twinkle Little Star by Jane Cabrera
5. Meet the Monsters by Billy Wrecks
6. Pinkalicious Fairy House by Victoria Kann

The new books for my collection. =)

Check out my board on pinterest for my wish list of books- http://pinterest.com/mstamer790/classroom-library/

I am very excited to have my 1st Pinkalicious book for my classroom library! 

AVPDS -A Very Professional Development Summer

Every summer since I started college I have had a "productive" summer. I worked, took classes, and spent my time wisely. I was excited for a summer off---until I realized that I am NOT the kind of person who can sit around and do nothing all day long. I have to be productive. So, what better way to be productive than enjoy professional development and grow in that way? 

I have to admit I am awfully exited for all of the PD I'll be attending. At times, I'll have a conference or workshop every day and other times I'll have something one a week. I will be updating my blog after each experience. 

As of 5/26/13:

• 7/8 SMART Board Basics @ Kean
• 7/15-7/18 Writer's Workshop @ Rider
• 7/22 All Things Google @ Stockton
• 7/31 EdCamp STEAM @ Linwood Middle School
• 8/8 Common Core Conference @ Kean
• 8/12 EdCamp Leadership @ Kean
• 8/15, 8/19-21 SMART Board Certification @ Kean
• 8/22 TeachMeetNJ 2013 @ Stockton

It's going to be AVPDS!!

Use the hashtags #summerPD13 and tell me what you'll be doing this summer. =)

Job Portfolios

The Teaching Portfolio is something that is always talked about in college, and even after. Several questions come to mind: (1) What should go into a portfolio? (2) How much is too much? (3) Is this important? After careful consideration, I've come to realize that the portfolio is IMPORTANT, even if it is just for your own sanity.

Start with investing in a good binder. I got one of those art porfolios from ACMoore. I actually had to get two because my first one, with 24 pages was not enough. I had to get another one with 48 pages in it to help me hold all of my materials. You can even decorate it however you want. I kept it professional yet "cutesy".

Then make sure you have a cover page. I found this adorable stationary at Staples and use it as my cover pages for each of the sections in my portfolio. 

What are some things to have inside your portfolio??

1. Copies of your resume and reference sheet. I also have another sheet that expands on my awards and volunteer experiences. 

2. Copies of your transcripts and teaching certifications. 

3. Next would be copies of all of your recommendation letters.

4. After that, I have copies of other certifications and some professional development certifications. I also include my PRAXIS scores. You never know who wants a copy of them at an interview.  

I know have a separate binder just for my professional development certifications. It's an easier way to keep track of how many hours I accumulate throughout the year. 

How do you organize your portfolio?

Teacher Tip of the Day

Tip #3: Be as professional as you can. When you go on an interview, make sure you have a professional bag with you and that your phone is out of sight and SILENT. Wear a nice watch, not one of those chunky ones. Have a business card to help distinguish yourself against the other candidates.

Teacher Tip of the Day

Tip #1: Make content relatable to the students. If you know your students enjoy texting (who doesn't?!) then make your math problems be about texting. Have them decode text messages in English class. Translate them in your languages class. Or, give them a fact about how many texts are sent out each month, by an average student. Have them discuss what mathematical problems could be derived from the fact.

If you give a person a fish, you feed them for a day. If you teach someone to fish, you teach them for a lifetime.

Teacher Tip of the Day

Tip #2: Make the most of the Common Core Standards by making sure that you keep a checklist of which standards are addressed by certain assessments. This can make lesson planning, reporting back to your superiors and your record keeping easier.