Posts

The Importance of Writing

Image
The Importance of Writing  Communication is a necessary part of every day life. More importantly we use writing to communicate not only in work, in school, but also use writing in every day tasks such as email, shopping, traveling, and living. History, record keeping, and art is the basis of writing. Since writing is a main form of communication, and most jobs require writing,  writing is taught from an early age. Words are everything. Words give everything in it meaning. Writing is so Important because all walks of life communicate using writing. There are many different languages and ways to write, but with technology and translation, writing must effectively and proficiently be conveyed to each other to keep the world running , or countries in civil communication.  Communication through writing helps form relationships, secure political deals, conduct interviews, secure business deals, and help students graduate through school. Writing, in all forms, has helped accomplish tasks
Post a Comment
Read more

Balanced Literacy Programs in the Classroom

Balanced Literacy Programs in the Classroom I completed my first year of teaching at Tolenas Elementary school in Fairfield, CA as a K5 Special education teacher.  My classroom was focused on behavioral management, with academics incorporated into it. I had a population of 5 students with 4 para educators. These students were emotionally disturbed, autistic, and had mild/moderate behavioral problems.  I would teach students coping strategies, incorporating social skills into all lessons. My philosophy of reading and writing instruction is that it is extremely important to be literate in the context of the classroom and beyond. Reading is used daily in every day life. Reading is required for driving, grocery shopping, traveling, school, and work. It is important to learn reading from a young age, so that when students get older they will be fluent in reading to succeed in life. “Over 8 million students in grades 4-12 read below grade level, and 3,000 students with limited literacy s
Post a Comment
Read more

Whole Language Learning

Classroom Context I completed my first year of teaching as a K5 Special education teacher for the 2017/2018 school year at Tolenas Elementary in Fairfield, CA. The content area in which I taught was mostly behavioral incorporating academics into instruction. I had a population of emotionally disturbed students, students on the spectrum, and autistic students. My classroom size was 5 students, with 4 para educators for support. In my classroom, at the beginning of the year I established daily routines and rules such as morning circle, raising hands before speaking, lining up before leaving. I modeled proper behavioral expectations so that the students could follow these expectations. Whole language learning is important where I teach because in California there is a reading initiative for how whole language happens, and the set of principles to guide classroom practice. With this whole language approach, students are exposed to written words at an early age, when they are read aloud
Post a Comment
Read more

Pre-Assessment

 Pre-Assessment for Differentiation As a K5 Special Education Teacher,  assessments are used throughout the year to gain valuable information regarding what students know. When teaching unit lesson plans, I like to use formative assessments such as Pre-Assessment at the beginning of a lesson. This helps me identify three groups of students; the five students who answered most, including the most difficult, of the Pre-Assessment questions correctly, the 12 students who have some knowledge about the topic as shown in their score, but need to develop higher order thinking skills, and the 5 students who appear to have limited knowledge about the topic. This link is the Pre-Assessment I developed for ELA lesson about nouns. The objective for the lesson was students will be able to identify and use nouns in a sentence. https://quizlet.com/276686502/nouns-pre-assessment-flash-cards/ After I have identified the three types of students by using a the pre-assessment, I am able to decide
Post a Comment
Read more

Teacher Evaluations

Teacher Evaluations After watching The Teaching Channel Video on YouTube, the two types of feedback from mentors mentioned in the video include formal observations and informal observations. In the video, the first year teacher received formal observation from a teacher who was an expert in her field. In the video the teacher was given a formal observation in three stages. This type of observation makes evaluation a little less intimidating since there is a pre observation, observation, and a post observation. So the teacher gets observed in the beginning , the teacher then receives feedback from that initial classroom sit in, then finally the teacher received feedback at the end to see what improvements were made based on the observation. The video also explained how meeting with the evaluator before the actual lesson was helpful. Meeting face to face with the evaluator builds rapport, as well as provides valuable information about the class. The video explained that evaluations
Post a Comment
Read more

High Stakes Assessments

Image
High Stakes Assessments A high-stakes test is a test used to make important decisions about students, educators, schools, or district’s for the purpose of accountability to ensure that students are being taught by effective teachers. Test scores can help school districts determine sanctions, penalties, funding reductions, negative publicity, awards, public celebration, positive publicity, grade promotion, graduation for students, salary increases, or bonuses for administration and teachers. High Stakes assessments are considered “High stakes” because they can determine whether a student advances to the next grade level or graduates. In California when I was in high school, and still currently in effect, it is mandatory for all high school students to pass a statewide government exam in order to graduate. I currently teach K5 Special Education at Tolenas Elementary in California. This school has statewide assessments that evaluate students based off test scores. The school year begi
Post a Comment
Read more

Differentiated Instruction

Image
Differentiation in the classroom When teaching special education it is important for teachers to make sure that there are differentiated instruction strategies for students. Since not every student is the same, it is important that these differentiated design strategies meet the needs of students to ensure that these students can access the content being taught. In my current special education classroom, I have three third graders as well as one fourth grader. Students whom differentiated instruction would be appropriate for include my students who are affected by autism, and especially one student whose academic readiness level is far below his classmates. In my latest ELA lesson plan unit, the differentiated instruction was geared toward my third grader whose academic readiness level is far below his classmates . When it came to a reading assignment, I was able to differentiate instruction by reading the book out loud as a class,  or having a para educator read the book out lou
Post a Comment
Read more