My Favorite Internet Teaching Resource

As an intern, training to be a teacher, I am on the look out for awesome teaching resources. In my search, I have found the best one yet! http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/ They have everything I could ever need and even more! I love this website! I especially love how many handouts and worksheets and activities you can "steal" and use. This website could be used for all grades if you get creative!

Virtual Field Trip Prezi

Virtual field Trip on Prezi

My Favorite Field Trip

The most memorable moment I have ever had was when I was in third grade and we went on a field trip. We all went to Medieval Times and got to partake in every opportunity for us to see what it was truly like back then. All these opportunities range from us dressing up in medieval costumes, to use eating a huge drumstick for lunch, watching a jousting match, or even meeting the king and queen. Back then, I though that this was just a field trip where I got to have fun, but looking back, and especially being able to look through a teachers' perspective, I see how educational that field trip was. There is a saying, "There is no better way to learn but than by being immersed in it as an experience." and that is what we got to do. We didn't just read it in a book, or just research it, we got to live the experience to the fullest and learn from the perspective of people living in that time period, not just as a bored student in a classroom. I can still remember everything I learned that day and all the awesome facts I got to hear from people that actually lived in that time period!
 
While they may have actually been paid actors, all that matters to a third grader is how well you can keep their imagination running and going wild, that is what made this field trip memorable.
Please think about taking your students on an awesome field trip! For a list of creative places, go to: Full of fun, educational ideas, but light on the pocket book!

Education and Training Ethical Dilemma

Hello! Today I had the opportunity to read a scenario of an Ethical Dilemma. The scenario I read encompassed a typical high school boys' rise to popularity. The boys' friends decided to berate a religious young lady and make her look very unbecoming in a photo. Now, Mark, the newly popular boy, has to decide whether or not to speak up and step out, or to stand back and be an onlooker. I have had a very close dilemma in my life, so this scenario hit quite hard. I know that I chose to stand out, no matter what the consequences were for me, because Christa, the young girl, did not deserve this, nor did the person in my real-life dilemma. If I could give advice to Mark, I would say, "Popularity does not last, but the feeling of guilt and knowing you didn't stand up for someone does. Along with that, the feeling of knowing you did stand up lasts for a very long time, and it really will mean a lot to Christa."

I stood up and stood out, and I am so happy that I did.

My Year as an Intern

After reading the poem, Roller Coaster, I had some reflection time. Thinking about the ups and downs of the classroom, specific memories come to mind. Having to calm down a crying child, getting the honor of teaching a child a different way of learning and seeing the light bulb effect on his face. I remember my first day and how nervous I was, so nervous that I couldn't even really introduce myself. The moment when my students started to hug on me and the day that they started getting upset that I was leaving, was the most elated day of my interning. Because of my experiences with this second grade class, I have decided that I want to do this for the rest of my life. I am counting the days until my college graduation when I can proclaim being a teacher. If I could change one thing, it would be to not be so nervous in the beginning and have gotten to know the kids so much earlier and have been more comfortable at the start so I could have gotten the ball rolling earlier.

High School Teacher Creates New Educational App

While I was reading articles this morning, I came across an awesome article about a man named Kevin Giffhorn. He started a new educational app, eNotebook, for everyone to use. This app allows people to do many things including: take notes, PDF files, powerpoint files, and more. Seeing how well he could make this app made me think about how hard it must have been. Upon research, I found that it is actually very easy to make an app. Now, I think I will have time to make a few of my own apps so expect a few fashion and photography apps soon!
For the article click here
To see a video on making new apps click here

The Advantages of Technology in the Classroom

I just read an article about technology in the classroom. As I was reading, I found five different bullets I found extremely helpful:

• Editing your works
• Provide supplementary information
• Communicating
• Motivation
• Access to information

  The bullet that has helped me the most would be the "Accessing Information" bullet. Throughout my high school career I have done so much research and so many papers that I didn't personally have the information for. I had to use outside resources and, most of the time, I had to use technology. Without technology, it wold have been extensively hard to write these papers only sing books that you have to search the whole way through for maybe just a sentence or two.
  Another advantage of technology is that the children you are teaching are growing up in the technology era, they are able to relate and do better using what they are used to.
The link to this article is here

Week 4s! My Involvement in TAFE

This year in Texas Association of Future Educators is over, and with that comes  a new year to be involved. Ad with that, my favorite time of year, reflecting time! I am proud of myself for being involved in the fundraising part of TAFE. I love fundraising more than anything, but seeing everyone who was very involved makes me feel like I was missing out on the fun this year. I know for a fact that next year I will be very involved, doing all of the activities I possibly can. A few I know for sure that I want to be in are: Scrapbook Competition, Lesson Plan Contest, and Count on Character. I can't wait to get started!
For more information on TAFE: TAFE Website
If you want to look at the competitions & guidelines: here you go!

Week 3S

This week, I was assigned to read up on Stacey Bess and what she did in the teaching world. She has a book named School With No Name, and she has a movie based off of her book, Beyond the Blackboard. Stacey found herself put into a two-room school in a homeless shelter. At first, she was scared of the dirty but soon grew to love her job as much as the children she was teaching. I have always dreamed of teaching those less fortunate than me, either special needs children, or homeless children. I also have wanted to do something along the lines of a probation officer or work for C.P.S. I have a big heart for people who are hurting or need help and think it would be awesome to be able to teach.
To find out more about Stacey you can watch her movie trailer or read her book or read this article I found on her struggles and achievements.

Week 2S

This week, my class was assigned to respond to an article on bullying. This topic is something near and dear to my heart because as a child, I was put through a lot. At the time, I was hurt over being teased because that kind of pain is very hard to go through alone, but now, I realize that if I hadn't been bullied, I would not be as strong as I am now. Even to this day, people still like to tease me, but I recoil with humor or something witty in return. I know that if someone has to make fun of someone else to feel good about themselves, there must be something seriously wrong in their lives. I truly believe my call in life is to help children, wether it be to teach them, train them to be a better person, or even to be just someone they can go to. This is what I strive to do because if I can help just one child to not feel the way I did when I was younger, I have achieved a great feet.
The article: Star Telegram's End to Bullying
 Short Stories That Move Me

Week 1S

Well it is a new semester here at Birdville ISD, and with a new semester comes a time to look back and improve. Looking back, I realized that I have done better than I thought I had. When I am in the moment, all I can think about is how I could have done something better. Later on, I look at the bigger picture, and I feel very proud of the effort and the creativity I used. My students have come to respect me as a intern in their classroom and as someone who can teach and reinforce teaching. They have all grown fond of me while I am there, even my field site teacher gets excited when I come in. I have grown into a great public speaker, and I am no longer afraid or nervous to get up and teach or talk to the class if necessary. I can honestly say that I have never been more excited to teach in my life.

Blog Assignment January 6th

The article on the new Metroplex classroom and it got me thinking about the positives an negatives to each classroom setup. While the "lounge-feeling" type of a classroom may promote a different study habit it also can lead to the students falling asleep or not focusing as well as a traditional classroom. In a traditional classroom, it could make it hard for a child to focus because of the rigid feeling or the uncomfortableness of it. I want to try and find the happy middle of the two in my classroom. I will have comfortable desks, but still have a homey feeling to the classroom with rugs, or couches, or blankets, and so on. I know that i learn better in a more homey type of environment and I think most people do their best learning when they find the medium between comfort and non-comfort.