Engaging Students With Vocabulary

Today we had fieldwork for the last time before our spring break begins. For today’s lesson group three focused on reviewing vocabulary terms and using constructive criticism. The teachers in group three excelled in making sure that the students understood the vocabulary terms. For example, when the students didn't first recognize the term “scarcity”, Kathryn used a relatable example to help the students. She reminded the students of the time after Hurricane Sandy hit. Kathryn told the students that the gas became scarce, meaning there was a small supply of resources left. After she explained the word in this manner to the students, they understood what the vocabulary term meant. I thought the activity used in this lesson to review the vocabulary was innovative. I liked this activity because it allowed the students to use the terms in a fun and creative way. Each group had to use the vocabulary words in a specific way. My group, JACK DL Productions had to write a story or poem using the terms. The students showed their use of cooperation skills to achieve this task. After the students completed their projects, all the groups presented their work. I like that the students get the chance to stand and present in front of the class. This is a skill that is very useful for the future. I believe that obtaining this public speaking skill is extremely beneficial for both now and years to come. We finished up the day by using constructive criticism surveys to give positive feedback to one another, thus helping the students to recognize the qualities or aspects that need to be changed in the future.

Time for Commercials!!

Today’s fieldwork was tons of fun! Our groups got to perform and act out their commercials. When we arrived at Bishop Dunn my group handed out the scripts to the students and their costumes. The students were very, very excited to act out their commercial. I was happy that our students were enthusiastic about their parts. As a group Melodie, Caitlin, Megan, and I thought that it would be best that we teachers selected who got what part in the commercial rather than the students choosing. I feel that this was a smart decision on our part because even though the students have improved with their cooperation skills, we still have a little more progress that can be made. After our company put on their costumes we stood as a group and practiced our script before performing in front of the class. I was so incredibly proud of my group!!! Dominique was the narrator for the commercial. She is normally so quiet and shy, but today during our performance she talked loud and clear. Also our “ninjas”, Kyle and Jackson added a little drama and action to the commercial. Overall this lesson was a lot of fun and I feel that this got the companies excited for the rest of the movie making process.

Completing Our Storyboard

On Friday, February 22, 2013 group 2 instructed their second lesson. This group did a great job ensuring that the students remembered their vocabulary. After reviewing the previous words, the girls instructed the companies about words like: capitalist and copyright. The students were eager to be learning about new movie features such as animations and sounds. During this lesson the companies worked on their movies, finalizing the plot, setting, title, and characters. Even though the students were having a good time with this lesson, it was a little difficult for our group to come to decisions. Our students have grown distinctively with their cooperation skills realizing that they must work together in order to produce a successful movie. I’m proud that my group is learning to let their peers have input and work collectively. I feel that if the students continue to work together we will be able to create a detailed storyboard and produce both an excellent commercial and movie!!J

...Now Time For the Venture Capitalist!

Today’s lesson went very smoothly. I liked that the teachers included videos for the companies to watch about cooperation. I think it was very important to display to the students the appropriate way of working together as a team. Another part of the lesson that I feel was very well done was Joe displayed a mock pitch for the students to see. Joe showed the students that the proper way to address the venture capitalist is to give a firm handshake, dress professionally, be respectful, and know how to sell your company’s features. I think it was very smart to show the students both proper and improper etiquette when presenting their pitch to the venture capitalist. It was essential to show the students how to be professional when meeting with the venture capitalist for their companies, in order to get money for their movies. Today the students did a good job understanding that the venture capitalist is looking for certain aspects in a company. I like how the students got involve in answering questions. Today for the first time my company was working together more than they have been in the past. They were learning that it is okay to disagree but they need to also compromise when necessary for the sake of the company's production. I am proud that my group is learning to work together. Congrats to Joe, Chelsea, Rachel, and Matt on a great week of teaching!!!

When Things Don't Go As Smoothly As Expected...

My Favorite Animated Movie: Monsters Inc.

On Friday February 15, 2013 fieldwork was a little different than usual. The fourth grade class came to Mount Saint Mary College for their fieldwork session. I feel that this although was not the best situation for our companies. The students were intrigued by the computers, wheelie chairs and different atmosphere that it was hard to get the students to focus and pay attention to the teachers at the front of the room. After a little guidance the students did begin to listen to the teachers. The lesson started off by reviewing terms such as capital, negotiate, pitch, venture capitalist. I thought that the introduction for the students was one of the best parts of the lesson. For the intro the group of teachers showed clips from their favorite movies. I thought this was a great way to get the students motivated and excited to make their own movies.  The goal with this inquiry lesson was to get the students to explore their video making tools and work on producing their movies. I found that this was hard for my group of students because they didn't know how to properly cooperate with one another. The major issue were that my company was not able to work together to make decisions about their movie. When my company wasn't cooperating I had to use a piece of paper as the “talking card” so that only the person who was currently holding the card was allowed to talk, while the rest of the company members had to listen. I feel that this helped certain students get their points across without being continuously interrupted. It was hard seeing that a couple students got very upset and emotional about the issues concerning their group. By seeing this it helped me realize that these fourth graders must learn good cooperation skills not only for the sake of this project but for daily life situations. Overall I feel like the lessons are going well, the students’ just need to take the time to listen to their group members.

Popping Into The Business World

Today we started fieldwork with a new group. In group 2 are Joe, Matt, Rachel, and Chelsea. I liked how they started off the lesson by reviewing the pie chart from the previous lesson. They showed the children the chart and explained again that the different pieces of the pie chart referred to shares of stock. I think it was smart to show the students a visual reference to help them understand the concepts of stocks. I thought it was very smart that this group used green and red slips of construction paper to engage the students. Each student received a green and red piece of construction paper. If the students agreed with something they were to raise their green slip, and if they disagreed with one of their peers they were supposed to raise their red slip of construction paper. The group then discussed with the students the topics of interest, loan, government, and a venture capitalist. During this lesson the students worked as groups to define some vocabulary. After the group finished coming up with what they thought was their best definitions they had to go to the front of the class and read their definitions. If their definitions were well done the group received 1 BizBuck. After the students that came up to the front of the classroom read their definition they got to throw a soft ball at the smart board. This was a game where the students threw the ball at the screen to pop the balloons. I liked this activity because it got the students excited and engaged in the lesson. Joe did a good job of making sure to call on the students by their names. Rachel and Matt made sure to ask the students deeper questions that allowed the students to think and not just take their first answers. Chelsea did a great job with making sure the students were staying on task and all participating. Another positive aspect that I liked a lot today was that when a group/ company was doing well, paying attention, and being cooperative they were rewarded for their behavior with 1 Bizbuck. I feel that this is important because the students realized that they have the opportunity to be rewarded for their actions. 

Time For Some Cooperative Learning

One company logo- JACK DL Productions
Slogan- HI-YAH It's Ninja Time!

Day 3 of fieldwork went really well. The group instructed their cooperative learning lesson yesterday, February 11, 2013. The lesson started off with the teachers instructing the students with some new vocabulary terms such as capital. I really enjoyed this lesson because all of us student teachers got the opportunity to interact with the students. During this lesson the students had to work with their teachers and come up with a company name, logo, and slogan. After they all agreed on their company features, two students, the Executive Producer and Vice President of Finances had to go to State of Government (Mrs. Benfer).  When they went to State Government they had to pay 1 BizBuck in order for their company to get approved. I liked that this showed the students a hands on approach of getting a company started. After all the student groups had gotten approved by State Government the students took turns as group presenting their work to the rest of the class and other companies. This lesson showed me that it’s not always easy to get the students to agree. I had to teach the students that they will have to compromise sometimes. The students were very involved in making decisions about their movies. This lesson helped the students learn to make decisions both on their own and with their peers. They were able to achieve this by learning their new company positions during this lesson. The positions are Vice President of Design, Vice President of Marketing, Vice President of Finance, Executive Producer, Vice President of Sales, and Vice President of Production. This was important lesson for the students to learn about communication and future decision making.

Exploring Some Movies We Love

Group 1 Stephen, Alicia, Kelsey, and Siobhan Teaching 

Overall I feel that the second day of fieldwork went a lot smoother than the previous day. The group as a whole showed more confidence with one another and the class. On February 6^th, the group taught an inquiry lesson. The group started off by reviewing the terms that were covered in the first lesson with the students. Siobhan did a great job with this, guiding the students through the review. She made sure that all students were involved answering questions. It was great to see that the students recalled most of the words without prompting. This is important because there terms are going to be continually used these next couple of weeks. After the students went over the terms with Stephen, Siobhan, Kelsey, and Alicia they were then split up into four groups according to where they sat in the classroom. The teaching group then explained to the students that in each of their groups they would be assigned an individual role. The students seemed excited about this, as this allowed them each to have their own part and responsibilities. Some of the roles that the children had were material manager, task reader, recorder, time manager, ethics manager, and speaker. The students for example had the roles like a person who kept the time, a person to give positive feedback to the group, and a person who speaks for the group. By giving the students their own roles, I feel that it helped the students stay on task. This lesson allowed the students to think further about movies and companies, by investigating statistics and facts about some famous movies, such as Happy Feet and Ice Age. 

And We’re Off: Let the Fieldwork Begin

This Social Studies Methods class requires us all to complete fieldwork hours. The one thing that makes this class stand out from the rest of the classes we have taken thus far is we get the opportunity to teach in front of a fourth grade class. Our class works together in groups of four. Each group is responsible for writing and instructing three lesson plans during our time at Bishop Dunn Memorial School. We are to teach the students using direct instruction, inquiry, and cooperative learning lesson plans.

Group 1 included Stephen, Siobhan, Kelsey, and Alicia. Yesterday the fieldwork for this course began. The first group worked on instructing the students about the business world, using a direct instruction lesson plan. The group achieved the concept of direct instruction by having one goal. I enjoyed the fact that this group decided to include a movie clip trailer as their introduction to get the students focused and engaged about the topic. I also thought that using a word cloud was an excellent way to pre-assess the student’s knowledge on the topic. By doing this, it allowed the students to get involved and determine whether or not they have previously recognized any of the terms shown that deal with the topic of business that they were about to discuss. Another aspect I liked that Group One did was that they printed out the PowerPoint presentation to look on with as they were giving the lesson. I think this was smart because it allowed the teachers to be facing the students opposed to facing the board. Another part of this lesson that I thought was done well was the student-friendly definitions for the vocabulary terms. It is very important that when teaching the students new terms or concepts that the students have wording that can be easily understood at their level. Next time try to stress the importance of the students responding if they agree or disagree with something by having them show thumbs up or thumbs down. This will show you whether the students have gained an understanding or not. Overall you all did a great job!

Stephen- I liked how you made sure that when calling on the students for answers you used their names. I think it’s extremely important that the students receive this connection from their teachers. I also liked that you made sure the students knew the definitions for the vocabulary before moving on.

Siobhan- You interacted with the students professionally. I liked how you encouraged a variety of answers from the students. It’s important to not just take the first answer a student gives you. I think it’s important that for the next fieldwork session to relax. You did great teaching in front of the class there is no need to be nervous.

Kelsey- I thought it was excellent that you used the board during the lesson. I think it was smart to visually show the students how determine a business’ profit using their problem solving skills. I also liked that during the lesson you knew how to keep the students on task. When a student responded with a silly answer to one of the questions you knew how to properly guide the class back on track. I suggest that for the next lesson you speak up more.

Alicia- During your first lesson you did a great job of getting the children engaged. When you spoke throughout the lesson you were able to grab everyone’s attention. I thought it was great that you didn’t seem nervous up in front of the class. For the future, I think it’s important that you try to refrain from interrupting your classmates when they are speaking. I think it’s great that you want to help or add something in, maybe just try to wait until they are done speaking to do so.

New Year, New Semester

It's common to hear New Year, New Me, but for now I see it as New Year, New Semester. Now that I'm back at school settled in my dorm and the routine of classes, I am anxious to see what the spring semester has in store for me. Before starting this class, I heard many mixed emotions about this course. Some of my peers said it would be hard and a lot of work, while others saw it more as an experience worth learning from. These first two weeks have shown me to keep an open mind about this course and to make sure to work hard. As an introduction exercise, Dr. Smirnova had all of us write some facts about ourselves and social studies on our name cards. This allowed our peers to gain further insight to our past social studies experiences and our personalities. 

I liked how Dr. Smirnova also showed us multiple technology websites and activities to use and create. I made a t-shirt project. I had to decorate the shirt by using pictures that answered questions about myself. The questions were 1. What are the countries of your heritage? 2. What SS teaching or similar experiences have you had? 3. What has made you proud? 4. What makes you anxious about teaching? This activity was fun but wasn't as easy as you first except. It's important that you find pictures that depict exactly what you are feeling, but can also be understood by our peers. I thought this icebreaker was a great introduction to our classmates by allowing us to be creative. I included below the t-shirt that I created. As fieldwork approaches, I'm excited to work with the fourth graders and can't wait to learn new methods to enhance my teaching knowledge and skills!!