It's Almost Over!!!

I can't believe field experience is over!! It seems like it just began, and I don't know about anyone else, but I have alot of papers to write!! We had our final unit assessment today for our Social Studies unit. Our GRASP assessment was to have our students take over Channel 2 News and give a news report on the Pioneers. We brought in a few suit coats for the boys and scarves for the girls. We had a microphone and video recorded them. Our studio audience (the rest of the class) was wonderful ~ I had wondered if they would behave or not ~ and our class is so excited to watch themselves on TV tomorrow! We also had our teacher observation today, and he seemed to think it went well..... but who knows?!? Anyway, it has been a learning experience ~ which it is supposed to be ~ parts have gone remarkably well and others have kind of struggled. And I will definitely miss this group of students ~ how quickly they moved into my heart ~ but time moves on and it's back to class with lesson plans, quizzes, tests and PAPERS!!! I have missed all of you though, so I will be glad to see you all on MONDAY!!! Have a great last two days and a wonderful weekend!!

Week 2 Is Almost Over!

WOW!! I can't believe our field experience is almost over.... everyone sounds like they are having such a great time and I am so excited for everyone! Our schedule has been a little crazy, but it is getting better (now that it's almost over!) Anyway, Kellie and I are having a good experience. We began our unit yesterday (Wednesday) and we had WAY too much material for our time limit ~ I always worry about running out of things, so I often over plan. We had to do some cramming and let them have homework, but it went okay. Today was much better with our timing. We are covering the Pioneers and our final GRASP assessment for next week is a Newscast. We are going to video them and let them watch themselves the next day. They seem really excited to do the news and wondered if they would really be on TV!! I understand everyone's frustration with the whole technology part of our field experience. I was not too upset about not being able to show my Digital Story, because I had made my movie on the Ute Indians (we didn't know what unit we would be teaching at the time) ((you can check it out below my last post)) so it didn't really tie into the Pioneers, however, if I had made one to go with our unit, I would have been frustrated as the movie won't play on the teachers laptop and projector. Also, we have learned so many fun things in this Technology class, that I would like to try and apply in the classroom, but let's face it, one computer class a week for 35 minutes, doesn't allow you much time for experimenting with technology! Oh well, like I said in my last post, maybe by the time we have our own classrooms, we'll all have laptops and smartboards, so we will be able to better utilize the things we have learned! I hope everyone continues to have a great experience..... learn lots and we'll see you all in a week or so!!!

It's Fall Field Experience!!

Well, it is finally here! Kellie and I did not begin our field experience until Halloween. It was a little crazy for the first day ~ but what could we expect? It was a party! I did attend UEA Conference on Tuesday, and it was wonderful! Can I just tell you all how absolutely amazing Erin Gruwell was!?! I wish all of you could have heard her speak. I hope we can ALL be the kind of teacher she is, and help the students in our future classes, to reach their full potential! We need to help them see that they truly can become anything they desire. Life isn't fair, and alot of children deal with very difficult situations, but that doesn't mean their future is hopeless. The future truly is in our hands and we have a huge responsibility. I visited the "Idea Fair" and gathered up a pile of lesson plans, ideas, and make-and-takes. I also attend the "Vendor Fair" and got to play with a Smart Board! They really are cool, and maybe we'll all have them by the time we are in our own classrooms! I also got six free books, courtesy of Barnes and Noble~ what can be better than that? They offered alot of small workshops you could choose from, and our own Axel Ramirez presented!! Anyway, I hope everyone is having a great time and learning alot!

The People of The Shining Mountains

Utah is home to five major Indian Tribes. Each tribe has legends and folk tales that get passed down from generation to generation. Watch the movie "The People of the Shining Mountains" and see if you can tell where the Ute Indians lived and another name for "The Utes".

Who Do You Think Lived Here?

Who do you think lived in this house and why? Does it look like a good house to live in? See what you can find out about the people who used to call this 'home'.

First Assignment!

Hello Class ~ the first assignment I have for you in our class, is to view the attachment of Symbols of Utah, choose your favorite and be prepared to share with our class, why you think it is a symbol of Utah.

Welcome to 4th Grade!

I am so excited to have you in my class this year! We will have a lot of fun learning about each other, art, music, math, english and Utah History. We will also have a class blog which you will be able to access each week to make comments and check on assignments. I hope this will be a new and exciting way to keep in touch and current on assignments.