News from Middle Earth

Well here I am. Sitting in my living room. Only its not in Logan or Bountiful. I am kinda in New Zealand at the moment. Every now and again I look at a map and realize that I am about seven thousand miles away from home and it makes me cringe a little bit. How did I get here? Or maybe a better question, why the heck did I do this. Let me explain.

You know that whole Utah bubble thing? Well I grew up in the thickest part of that bubble. Bountiful. I broke out a little bit when I went away to college, but those of us who have lived or still live in Logan know that it really isn't that big of a change. I would like to think that over these past few years I have grown and been exposed to some different aspects of life, but even still I wanted an experience away from home. I wanted to really have to rely on myself. To grow. To do something that I have never done-leave.

So my "normal" student teaching began January and finished the 22nd of February. I was sad to leave my kids, but I was so excited to move away from Logan!! Don't get me wrong, Logan is a great place, but after four years it was time for a well-needed change. I packed up my Logan life for the last time and moved home for the first time in three years. I was at home for five days and slept most of the time there. Wednesday night, Feb. 27th, I packed my stuff and headed, for the first time, to the air port. I was kinda nervous for my first time on a plane but it was only an hour to get to LA. And I was flying with another student teacher Shantel Flannery, which helped a lot. All I can say is turbulence is really freaky. About an hour later we boarded our next flight to Sydney...THIRTEEN HOURS LATER...we got there. Once we did we went to get our next boarding pass and there was a problem getting it so they bumped us back to a later flight. Two hours later we boarded for our flight to New Zealand but there was another problem and we left forty minutes after we were supposed to. At first this didn't seem like a big problem, I got to watch the Hobbit, but once we got in...boy I wish we would have gotten in sooner. So after a long customs line, I found out that my bag with all of my clothes in it was missing. Well it was just on another flight but IT HAD ALL OF MY CLOTHES AND SHAMPOO!! I was a bit upset. So after figuring all of that out we got on a shuttle and a hour and a half ride later I finally got to my host family's home, six hours later than expected.

                         This is how we felt after finally getting off of all of our planes. Just so happy.

Well the rest of the weekend involved church activities and trying to get on a normal sleep schedule. We went to a relief society activity, Institute dance (don't worry they are just as lame here as they are in Utah), drove out to visit the temple and then went to a fireside about dating. So it felt just like home.

Today Shantel and I went to the university to have some sort of an orientation. Really it just freaked us out. We walked around the campus took some pictures, enjoyed the sun and then headed to our school. We got a little tour and was promised with more information tomorrow. Shantel and I are still feeling a lot in the dark, but slowly we are hoping things will fall into place.

So for now. Things are going well. I hope we'll get to the beach soon and I'll have more pictures to share. Just know that I am warm and slowly recovering from jet lag.

Learning from Teaching

Things I have learned from student teaching thus far: 

1) 5:30 AM is an ungodly hour.
2) I will soon have a bladder of steel!
           Serious, training myself to only being able to go at lunch, is slowly killing me. 
3) I want to buy a snuggie and wear it around the classroom. ITS SO COLD!
           I could pull that off, right?
4) Talent assemblies are awesome. 
           A guy shooting an arrow through a Life Savor?! WhaaaaaT?!
5) It will be my daily goal when I have my own students to make them roll their eyes at least once. 
          Corny jokes are so GREAT!
6) Finally getting to do what I have been learning about it rewarding. 
7) High school is fun, and I am excited to be back!

Oh boy has these past two and a half weeks been stressful and by the time 9:00 PM hits I cannot keep my eyes open. But its been getting better as the days go on and I take over my classes on Monday. Here's to hoping for warmer weather (and classrooms) and that my lesson plans go well and don't completely fall apart. 

What's good living this life you've been giving if all you do is stay in one place?

Well my assignment of creating a blog taught me something. I enjoy it. So I figure I might as well keep it going. We'll see what topics come up and what its purpose becomes over time.

With it being the beginning of 2013 there are a lot of "beginning-of-the-year-read-my resolutions-that-I-will-keep-for-three-days" posts. But mine are different because they are easy and I have already been doing them. Plus it is January 6th, so I have been keeping them three days longer than all of those other posts you skimmed over. I had a friend post an article about new years resolutions and have been seeing silly lists of things that you should do in your twenties and thus my list was born. 

Read

        Write

                 Laugh

                          Travel 

                                    Love

Read: I love reading and have done very little recreational reading during college, strictly based on the fact that I am a history major and the majority of my homework is reading. My eyes hurt and I wanted human interaction whenever I had free time so my reading lists were set aside. But now that I am graduating I have the full intention of pulling out those lists and learning through reading instead of taking classes. I read a book over Christmas break called Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. It is a story about a man that was an Olympic athlete who gets drafted during WWII and after his plane crashed above the pacific is taken as a POW in Japan. Oh my goodness was it an amazing story! I highly recommend it if you have any interest in WWII, history, survival, humor, perseverance or an interest in the people that helped secure the freedoms we enjoy today...yeah I went there. 

Write: This blogs survival after my class assignment is partially due to this resolution. I also wanted to be better at keeping a journal as well as writing letters to my friends. If I have learned anything from my literacy class it is that writing doesn't have to be for school. It is a form of communication that I feel is dying out in a sense. We communicate so much through texts and emails, which at the end of the day will be deleted. We are running out of tangible evidence that our society actually communicated with one another. I have kept almost every hand written note, letter, or card I have received over the years and love looking back at their messages as well as the hand writing of the person who sent it to me. Also having a grandpa pass away when my mother was a young child and having never met him myself it helps me see the importance of journal writing. How will the people that come after me have an idea of who I was way back when? Lucky them, they get to read all the mundane events of a Mormon teenager and the many times I wrote "That was the best Fictionist concert I have ever been to!". 

Laugh: This will not be a problem. Trust me. During the summer I was at a friend's house in a big group of people watching Wall-e and laughing quite a bit...usually by myself. Once I had realized that most everyone was laughing at me laughing instead of the actual movie; I began apologizing. By the end of the movie I had an invite to every movie they watched at their house because it made it that more fun to watch the movie along with my laughter. Great. Speaking of laughing here you go. You will love this. 

Travel: As a social studies prospective teacher, I want to experience other cultures to be able to teach my students about them from a first hand perspective. Luckily I will get to do that this year! I will be participating in an international student teaching program and live in New Zealand for two months to complete my student teaching! Man I am stoked! I got my passport in the mail last week and have been making travel arrangements, as well as looking into taking a Lord of the Rings tour. It is my goal to save enough money each school year to be able to take a trip during the summer to better my understanding of this world I am teaching about. (top spots I want to go to? England, Europe (specifically Germany and France), Thailand, Peru, New York City and Washington D.C.)

Love: It is my goal to let the people around me know that I love them more. I am choosing to do this through my actions. Whether it be a note, an act of service, or just simply telling them, I feel that this needs to be done more in my life. Heck, spread the love people. We need more in this world. 

So recap. This blog is staying around so feel free to follow. I want to travel. Feel free to give me book suggestions. And I love you.  

Anyone? Anyone?....Bueller?

Before I write anything more, please watch this video. 

This is the typical history class today, right? Only in our generation it is students begging to watch National Treasure instead of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

What a tragedy. If you have been reading most of my posts you know my position on the importance of history. History is just begging for it's presenters to make it interesting. In my eyes Historians and teachers of history are storytellers. So with that, I couldn't ask for a better connection to incorporating literacy into the classroom.

Many times when talking about comprehension, vocabulary, writing instruction and reading, one instantly thinks of their English class. Well PSYCH! history is taking them over and making students become masters in all of these. Think back to your history classes. You were asked to read a selection of text, analyze it, pay close attention to the new vocabulary in the selection, and then came back to class and discuss what you had learned (or remembered at least). What is this if not the perfect equation of literacy greatness? Here are some of my goals as a history teacher.

GOAL ONE

Teach students how to write. 

GOAL TWO

Help students begin to question their surroundings by developing deeper thinking skills. 

GOAL THREE

Create situations for students to practice discussion and speaking in front of a large group.

GOAL FOUR

Teach students how to read analytically, and how to pick out the important information in a text.

GOAL FIVE

Help students connect what they are learning in school to their actual lives. 

GOAL SIX

Create a successful group of historically-minded young adults that strive to do well in whatever they set out to do. 

Now, I don't doubt that every potential teacher--just about to start their student teaching, rejoicing that they just walked out of their last college class--has these goals. But let me tell you what I have learned during my education here at Utah State that I hope will help me achieve these goals. 

Being able to write well will get you A's in college, and maybe even get a promotion in your job. As a teacher it is crucial to help your students learn how to create a successful paper. First, don't ever give your students a writing assignment and label it a "punishment". Help students develop their voice when writing. Teach them how to write to different audiences. When writing for history classes make them realize if you back up your argument with specific evidence you will always win. My history classes prepared me for writing in college and I want to do that for my students as well.

Social studies classes are a great place to learn about what you really think about the world and life in general. Here at Utah State, I had the chance to create a controversial lesson plan. The purpose was to help students develop their own ideas about these topics by supplying information for both sides of the issue. They then had to study all of the material and be prepared to argue for either side when they came to class. Once in class they were given their position and prepared to debate the issue with their teams. We modeled one of these lessons in our social studies methods class and I loved it. It gets students talking and gives them a chance to practice important discussion skills. The students run the entire class, from how long each side gets to talk, to how they have to be recognized to speak. When we did this exercise in class we had a city council that the teams were trying to persuade to vote for them. I was the Head Chair person and made everyone address me as Madame Chair before they spoke. I probably had way too much fun creating the rules for the activity, now that I think about it. Oral language in the class is one of the best ways for students to learn and teach one another.

Reading in history is one of the most important skills to develop. There is so much material that teachers can bring into class like letters, primary source documents, journal articles just to name a few. But if students don't know the tricks to reading and understanding these texts the meaning will be lost. I hope to introduce comprehension and new vocabulary to my students in a way to help them get the most out of these texts. I plan to have vocabulary for each unit and have them work with the words in at least three different ways. That way they will be exposed to it more times and actually learn the meanings and not just copy down the definitions. By allowing for students to have some sort of choice with what they are reading, hopefully it will be able to connect to what they are interested in. One way of doing this is with a literature circle, which was what my last post was on. History is a great place to look to understand the present. My incorporating current events in with the lessons I can show my students how history is all around us and how these events will be affecting them now as well as well into their adult lives.

I saw this meme the other day. It said "I really wanted to become a teacher to help students pass standardized tests, said no teacher ever." We all are becoming teachers for a number of reasons, whether we had an amazing teacher that influenced our lives, or we love the content and hope to better others lives with it, our reasoning all comes full-circle back to the underlying factor. We want to help students learn. So, we undergo the four years it takes to become a teacher, work for free for a time, jump through the hoops to get certified and licensed and continue to receive training after we graduate all to maybe make some student think a little deeper and learn something about themselves and the world they live in. Its going to be hard and I don't think I will ever not be tired again, but I'm excited. Its going to be good. 

Self-Selected Project

Brittni Darrington, Tyler Moss and I decided to take apart in a small reading circle of our own. As we were finishing up with out clinicals at Mt. Logan Middle School in Logan Utah, the class had just begun a new reading circle project. The students were able to choose from four books all concentrating on the early colonial period of the United States. Once they had been assigned their reading groups, they decided as a group the reading schedule they would follow and then wrote prediction questions. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday were discussion days in class. They broke into their groups and had to be prepared with discussion questions before class began. They would then discuss the book and fill out evaluation sheets on the experience. So to gain a better understanding of what these students were doing in the classroom, we chose to read two of the books that they had the option to pick: The Ransom of Mercy Carter and The Sacrifice. After we had finished reading the books, we got together to discuss our thoughts on the books we had chosen.

The Ransom of Mercy Carter

This is a story about a town outside of Boston during the colonial period. Their community was ambushed by a tribe of Indians who killed many of the adults and kidnapped most of the children. It tells of their journey back to Canada and then of the children's assimilation or "adoption" into the culture and live of the Indian tribes. 

What we liked

This is a side of the story that we don't often see. 

It allows for students to gain a different perspective of how Indians lived during this time.

Challenges inherited ideas about a group of people.

Presents information in a different way other than a text book.

What we didn't like

The story moved very slowly.

While shedding some light on a the lives of American Indians we didn't feel it had

 much historical purpose for our classrooms.

It was very descriptive in some places that didn't matter very much where we felt that the important parts were glazed over and we didn't have a full understanding of the events. 

The Sacrifice 

This story is a side story of a town that was affected by the girls that were doing the accusing people of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials. It tells of a town that gets swept up in the fear and fervor of accusing innocent people of witch craft and follows a family that is greatly affected by it. The story follows two of the family's daughters to Salem where they are imprisoned for witch craft and what they have to go through in order to clear their names. 

What we liked

It is an actual family story of the Author's. 

Accurately demonstrates the atmosphere of the witch hunts. 

Could very easily read and enjoy the story. 

Had historical insights and shed a new light on the same tail of the Salem Witch Trials. 

What we didn't like

Could be below some of the student's reading levels. 

Over all though we enjoyed this book. 

We all felt that this was a great exercise to incorporate reading into our classrooms and allow for information to be presented in a more engaging and informal way than a text book. We loved the idea that students have the choice in what books they would read for this assignment and that they also drove the discussion of the texts. This allows for students to take charge in their education and feel a sense of responsibility in their work. Also by having a variety of books for the students to choose from you will, hopefully, be able to play to many different interests and the students will be able to enjoy what they are reading. Reading and then discussing what you have read is very important skills to take away from the classroom. It allows for deeper thinking and analyzing skills which are important as students progress through their education. In the end, literature circles are a great tool to use in our teaching. It allows for students to grow in their discussion and analytic skills and mixes things up as far as reading for information goes. Plus it is fun and breaks up the normal routine of your classroom. 

The best class you will ever--I mean, EVER--take. Mine.

Picture this. Its the first day of school. 

You've made your classroom all cute, or organized (what ever adjective suits you best)

You've been pouring over the class pictures of your students, trying to memorize names

--(braces, bad hair decisions, acne and all)--

Your lesson plans are ready.

Your outfit is as "teachery" as it could possibly get.

Finally, your first day of school on the other side has arrived.

Finally, you have a classroom of your own. Students of your own. 

You have made it. 

Buses arrive. Students file into the hallways. The bell rings. Students sit before you.

Your mind goes blank. 

WHAT AM I DOING HERE? WHY DIDN'T I BECOME A DENTAL HYGIENIST LIKE MY MOTHER TOLD ME TO?

Worst. First. Day. Of. School. EVER. Let's just all say a prayer that this does not happen to us when we graduate, get hired, go through training, and finally become a teacher. But another scene does beg for out attention. We have all been in classes with one of them. One of those kids who swaggers into the back of the class, throws their stuff to the floor, slides into their seat, raises their hand and in a whiny voice says, "Why do we need to know this? Will I ever use it in real life?" Well whiny kid, let me tell you why this is the best class you will ever take.

The first five minutes of your class will make or break it for the rest of the year. Students will be pushing your limits and testing to see what they can get away with. But the first day of class is important for more than just classroom management reasons. This is the first time they will be exposed to your content and your level of enthusiasm for your subject. The typical first day is expected where you go over class rules and expectations, but it is also and opportunity to show your students how great your subject can be.

History touches every aspect of our lives. If you want to understand jokes in the Simpsons, Psych or any other sitcom now a-days, having a basic knowledge of historical events will make those jokes all that much more funnier. That was one thing I remembered my history teacher said my first day of high school. "You will start to see connections and references in everything you do with the information you learn in this class." Boy was he right. He also showed us examples of that by showing different youtube clips that had references about the content we were learning at the time. It is also great to show how the past connects to the present. One thing that is a possible opening day activity would be to have the students write down a current event that they are interested in and then show a similar event that happened in history.

History has the potential to be one of the most interesting classes a student can take or one of the most miserable. By connecting the students lives to historical events, and showing how much of today's lives are affected by history, we can make history come alive. So when you mind goes blank and you question your career choice, just remember why you became a teacher. We became teachers to make a difference in our students lives and hopefully instill a love of learning. By making things interesting, you can say "this is the best class you will ever take" and really mean it. 

ITLS 4015 Post

Well, multiple classes are now fighting for my blogging abilities; so here is a post for my Technology for Teachers course. If you referred to my first post on this site, I explain a lot about why I want to become a teacher and my ideas about it. But for this purpose I'll restate some of them.

I believe school is something that everyone should be able to enjoy and do well at. It is my goal to incorporate life skills such as writing, speaking and presenting and how to study effectively. I hope to be able to do this through projects and special lectures designed to aid in these topic. It is also a teachers job to make sure their students are understanding the content, if this means staying after and giving extra help I will be willing to do so.

Teaching is something that I always knew I was going to do. I hope that I will be able to succeed and help teach the new generation of students.