Welcome to Week 5 for Science and 435

Every time I go into the school I have a new learning experience.
For this week, my most proud moment did not take place inside of the classroom. Nurturing and kindness with an edge of sternness pays off. I walked past the YMCA on the way to the school parking lot. I had just finished discussing lesson plan strategies with my CE. It occurred to me to stop by and see if the two students from my CE's classroom who go to YMCA were still there. These students are special low average reading students who I have been helping. Both of them came running toward me to get a hug. I know that standard 2, teachers nurture and provide a good atmosphere for their classroom would work well to apply to this situation. I think about the students every day even though I only work at the school two full days a week.
The thing which gave me the most struggle this week was Monday's math lesson. It was not the content itself, but rather the behavior. I will definitely have to work on my CE's strategies with making sure students are not misbehaving. She makes sure all students are crisscross applesauce, hands on knees, mouth closed, eyes on the teacher, and ears open. I mentioned in our 435 meeting that one of the students had to go to the bathroom at the beginning of the math lesson. She then stayed in the bathroom almost the entire time. Also, one of the boys was practically laying down on the rug. Unfortunately, I did not address this issue in the lesson because I was concentrated on the concern that students were understanding the material. Next time I teach a lesson, I can promise you those students will not get by with so much from Miss. Welch.
The thing which gave me the most satisfaction this week was to learn the game “Get under the Bus Guss.” Students practice their fry words by standing in two opposite lines. Each student needs to answer the word. Whoever answers the word first gets to stay at the front of the line. If students do not know the word or say the word after the first person said it they have to go to the back of the line. The students love the competition.

Another activity which brought me satisfaction, I was able to sit in on the group work between 8:40 to 9:40. One of the teachers from the other classes came into my CE’s classroom to do group work on phonics. She worked on phonics with the students for sounds “an” and “ack.” Students remember “ack” by the clever cat for “c” never gets behind kicking king “k.” Students used the app ABC Magnet Life For Kids. I would encourage you to download this app if you are in the lower grades. It is a good technology tool for students to move the letters of the alphabet around to form different words. The teacher would have students put "an" or "ack" on the iPad screen and then students would put consonants next to the letters to make a word. This technology tool also goes with teachers facilitate learning in their classroom standard 4.Teachers use different techniques such as an Ipad app as a tool to help students learn more easily. Which do you think is easier a whole bunch magnet letters or a simple app which causes no distractions nor makes a mess? Of course, it is the technology which is so much simpler to use.
For the action steps next week, I plan to call my CE at least twice next week so that I can find out what is going on in the classroom. I will be out of town next week so unfortunately, I will not be able to visit the classroom. I also plan to develop my unit even more. My unit will be about the change of the seasons from summer to fall in the reference of leaves. My goal is to work ahead so I will not get behind in my school work.

For the contribution in classes this week, the online group meant on zoom to discuss the water cycle and science fair project. I found a great game to incorporate into our hyperdoc on the water cycle. We also worked on the arrangement of what would be great engaged topics versus evaluation. As a group, we also discussed how to be specific in the evaluation project so that students would know: exactly what to do for content. For next week, we all plan to meet on Monday night at 7:30 to discuss our next steps for both projects. My plan is to work hard on establishing backgrounds for the slideshow and coming up with two more great water cycle sites.
For the outside learning and research this week, I looked for a children's book website, This website has books categorized as award books, science, math, history, to name a few. Underneath each book is the age-appropriate grade level. This would be a great resource for finding new books for a certain subject. http://www.the-best-childrens-books.org/
Another great book for incorporation of both math, language arts, and culture is MathStart books. Stuart J. Murphy writes books based on math principles, but they are entwined with such a clever story that students do not realize how much they are learning. He also has different levels 1, 2 and 3 for different age levels. I have the book called "Rodeo Time" which has children using a time management to get to a rodeo game. Please check out this series. It would be a great way to make math lesson more interesting. Click here to look at books written by Stuart J. Murphy.

Welcome to my Top Tweets of the Week

Teachers must be critical thinkers in order to be a learner and an active planner for her classroom. I like how this picture shows the process of the critical thinker's steps. First, I must gather up information about the objective or idea I am thinking about. Secondly, I need to decide if the objective or idea is good based on the research. Sometimes we gather information and decide on an answer without even thinking about whether there is something important which is missing. As teachers, we need to think critically and teach our students to think critically as well. 

 I love this poster I found on twitter because it gives students no excuses in not learning. The phrase "I can't-do it," is flimsy and untrue. As teachers, we need to see the best in our students. If we do not expect them to do the best that they can do, why should students even try to excel? As teachers, we need to constantly encourage students to embrace challenges and never give up. Students may make mistakes but so do teachers. The best way to utilize a mistake is to see it as a learning experience.

Check out this neat picture. I was searching for current events for science today and I came across a fascinating discovery. Scientist discovered a dinosaur's tail integrated into a rock of amber. What a great picture to start with a dinosaur lesson or a rocks and minerals lesson. The teacher could talk about how rocks preserve things such as fossils preserve imprints of nature. 
For science understanding this week I would like to shout out a Bravo to Gabrielle, Lindsey, Sarah, and Mallory. I think you all did a great job on your hyperdoc. I like how you put your objectives which will be the core focus of the hyperdoc at the beginning slides. You also draw your audience in by having them to watch a short video of what separates knowledge, understanding, and memorization. One clear example I liked about constructivism was found in one of your hyperdoc website links. Teachers always use constructivism when they ask students why they answered a question that way. It does not matter if the student answered the question right or wrong but how they know the why of how they achieved the answer (Lynch,2016). Your infographic helped break down the different parts of scaffold learning such as setting the goals, promoting support, asking critical thinking questions, and giving the materials. Students also have different ways to explain the information such as creating videos, a padlet, and a chart to show what they have learned. I love how you did the animated motion pictures. Can someone tell me how to do these? I would love to learn how to insert those in google slides. I also like how you used google forms and google docs for assessments. I will definitely be incorporating some of your techniques in the next hyperdoc I do. Thank you.
As for current events which are happening
For this blog, I wanted to bring up the idea of depression. I know many people in Rutherford County have a poor income. In Rutherford County, I serve a title one school which means the students who attend the school are from the lower income bracket. I found this interesting article where a study has been done that  1 out of 4 girls is depressed at 14 years old (University of Liverpool, 2017). Though I know this is high school age, the article said that students who were living at low-income homes were more likely to be depressed. Depression causes stress and stress cause health problems. When I looked at this article I thought about how we as teachers can make such an impact on our students. The information in the meeting I attended for Rutherford County school mentioned how important a smile was to a student. Your smile may be the only smile the student gets during the day. As I think of the students in my assigned classroom, I sometimes wonder what their home life is? One girl came into the classroom a couple of weeks ago and was in tears because of "family issues." One component of scientific methods is for teachers to research ways that we as educators can create that positive atmosphere in our classrooms. A component of NCTCS is that standard 2a Teachers create a nurturing and caring atmosphere for their students in the classroom. For science instruction in the levels of stress, I will have students try breathing exercises, listening to music, or exercising. Sometimes these methods can help relieve stress. Fortunately, Forrest Hunt has a full-time guidance counselor who will also help students who are coping with stressful issues at home.
I hope all of you have a wonderful week.
Remember to think of the "Why" of your wish to be the teacher. Even though teachers get emotionally stressed and tired, we live for our students.
Work Cited

Lynch, M. (2016, November 19). SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM IN EDUCATION. Retrieved from The Edvocate: http://www.theedadvocate.org/social-constructivism-in-education/

University of Liverpool. (2017, September 21). One in four girls is depressed at age 14. Retrieved from Science Daily: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/09/170921110706.htm