Blog #6 What I learned...

I chose to look at Heidi's blog. I found it interesting because she used the same differentiation idea that I did which I felt would benefit me because I was able to already know how the task worked and be able to see what she had caught about differentition that I had missed. I liked how she emphasized that this activity would help students look for heros in our every day life instead of ones like Superman. I believe this is important because it makes the project more meaningful to the individual student which is definitely part of differentiating. I also liked that she showed how she would differentiate in three different tiers. Planning plays a huge role in differentiating. If we as teachers are willing to take the time to plan our activities out to our students needs then both us and the individual students will benefit greatly.

Heros Unit Blog #5

As I was looking at the different unit ideas for differentiation I found that I really liked the "Cube It" idea. Even though this could be used as something to do with math or spelling, I also felt like it could be very applicable in this activity with Heroes. I thought it would be really fun to have them do this as maybe a follow up activity. I think I would first use one of the reading character activities and then as they come to see why the person they have researched is known as a "Hero", they can find their own real life hero. By doing this they would realize that heroes aren't just a thing of the past. They aren't just found in history books or during wars, but they are created all around us. We can choose to be a hero as we think outside ourselves and conquer our own hard things that may happen in life.

I think the kids would also think that this is an engaging and respectful activity because it's not just something that they write on a piece of paper, never to be looked at again. but it has engaging questions that are presented in a creative way. It is something that applies to them, and therefore it is something to be cherished and respected.

Blog #4 I'v got a golden ticket;)

5. Shared responsibility for the classroom is between teacher and students, in the goal of making it work for everyone.

A Non example- The teacher makes up 15 rules, places them on the board, and has the students recite them. She then tells the class that there will be consequences for not following those rules.

Example- The teachers asks the students to write down what a good classroom looks like (what is expected of the teacher, what is expected of the students, what does it feel like, etc.). Then after all students ideas are posted on the board they are discussed and then together as a class they decide what to make the classes own set of rules.

Help Students Realize Success is the Result of Effort
This is an area in which I would like to learn mor to be able to implement it. I think that so often we as a society get in our head that those people are smart, and those people are not, or those people succeed and those people fail. If you are in the group classified as being a failure then it is hard to get out of that and feel like you can ever acheive the goals that you desire. I want that to not be present in my classroom. I want students to understand that even though success may seem to come easier to some students, all can do it. All can succeed based upon what they are willing to sacrifice for it.