Monday, May 9, 2011
chapter 9-11
I think itinerant teachers are very important. Some students do great with an itinerant teacher. Others may benefit more from a self contained classroom. Having not been or be exposed to itinerant teacher I can't sat anything to specific about it benefits or negatives. However, I do agree it is important for the itinerant teacher and the regular teacher to meet regular. They are both responsible for the student so they need to ensure the student is receiving the best education possible for that student. Communication will also help them to see where the child is really progressing and where the child is struggling when it comes time to prepare the child's IEP. I think itinerant teachers are very important, especially in the area of teaching deaf and hard of hearing students. They help get students the services they need.
Chapter 7
Even if the communication barriers are removed between deaf children and hearing children they will still not be at the same level to learn the same way. There is still a gap in the deaf child's prior knowledge that the hearing child doesn't have. Because of this there are things that will have to be directly taught to the deaf or hard of hearing child that the regular hearing child acquired from listening to conversations, TV, talking with others, etc. So if the communication barriers are removed the children are still different and their learning needs and styles need to be addressed differently. One way to show how the two groups are still different is int he way that you present new information. When reading a book a child who is deaf or hard of hearing will struggle more with the comprehension of the story then a child who hearing. For the deaf student the teacher will need to ask more questions and may need to build on the questions slowly, where as the hearing child may be able to completely tell you what happened in the story without much assistance. Also if you are filling out a graphic organizer of the story the deaf student may need to really talk through the story more to understand where all of the information goes.
These two groups are very different. However, it is important to remember that no two hearing kids and no two deaf kids are alike so we as teachers need to be always adjusting out teaching presentation to meet the needs of each of the students.
These two groups are very different. However, it is important to remember that no two hearing kids and no two deaf kids are alike so we as teachers need to be always adjusting out teaching presentation to meet the needs of each of the students.
Chapter 7
I agree that story problems are very difficult for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. If they do not have basic math skills then the story problems are very difficult because they are written differently and the students have to figure out the problem instead of it being presented to them. Another thing that makes the story problems difficult is the language. However this does not mean that they can not do story problems at all. In my student teaching class all of the students did word problems 3 times a week for morning work. They all did different levels and would need help but the goal was to help them so that next time they could complete it on their own. My teacher used a series called Apple Tree to get the word problems for the students. This series has levels 1-6 total. I will be using this series in the future because I love the way the different levels are layed out and how each level progresses. I will also being teaching my students helpful hints for word problems. One thing would be looking for key words that tell you to add or subtract or multiple or divide. I will also teach them how to look at a problem and see what information they need and what information they don't need to solve the problem.
Teaching science can be challenging for a lot of students, but especially for our students who are deaf or hard of hearing. The language that is used in science books can be at an upper level that many students are not at yet. It is more challenging when there are no signs for many of the vocabulary used to teach science. If I came across this problem I would work with the students to come up with signs that made sense to all of us to help them to understand the various topics.
Teaching science can be challenging for a lot of students, but especially for our students who are deaf or hard of hearing. The language that is used in science books can be at an upper level that many students are not at yet. It is more challenging when there are no signs for many of the vocabulary used to teach science. If I came across this problem I would work with the students to come up with signs that made sense to all of us to help them to understand the various topics.
Chapter 6
In this chapter the authors on focusing on literacy. One activity they suggest to help promote literacy is shared reading. I think shared reading is a great activity for parents and students to share together. The book goes on to explain how shared reading works on different levels and how parents might use it at home. Something that the book mentions is parents should follow the child's lead for focus of attention and duration of activity. This is so important for parents and teachers to remember because if we keep forcing children to read and do activities they don't enjoy then we will turn them off of reading.
This chapter also discussed the importance of phonological awareness skills and phonics skills for children to have. I liked how the book described this two terms. It was very easy to follow and would be very helpful to parents or others who don't really understand phonological awareness or phonics.
The various studies discussed throughout this chapter were very interesting. There are so many different opinions and options for teaching so it is important to be up on the latest research and I think this chapter gave a really good over view of various studies and finding.
This chapter also discussed the importance of phonological awareness skills and phonics skills for children to have. I liked how the book described this two terms. It was very easy to follow and would be very helpful to parents or others who don't really understand phonological awareness or phonics.
The various studies discussed throughout this chapter were very interesting. There are so many different opinions and options for teaching so it is important to be up on the latest research and I think this chapter gave a really good over view of various studies and finding.
Student Teaching
Last week my cooperating teacher invited me to attend the class field trip. I was very excited that she called me. We went to Ponderosa for lunch. The students were very excited that I was there because they did not know that I was coming with them. For lunch each adult was assigned two students. We helped the students through the buffet line. The students had to ask for what they wanted and they had to talk to any staff member that spoke to them. The kids had a lot of fun. My teacher also explained to the students that we tip our waitresses and why we tip them. After lunch we went to an elementary school that was hosting a play by a local sign group about Charlotte's Web. The play was a lot of fun and the students really enjoyed it. I was so glad that I was able to go with them and experience a field trip with them.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Assessment Plan
The content area I want to focus on is reading. Reading is such an important skill for all children. It also carries over into all aspects of the child’s life so it is important to know how the child is functioning in their reading abilities.
The first assessment I would give the student is a running record. A running record is a great way to see what skills the student has and at what level skills are. One way to do this assessment is to use the Basic Reading Inventory assessment tool. Another way is to have two copies of a passage the student is suppose to read and mark on the teacher copy when the child makes an error in their reading. This will allow the teacher to see what types of errors that the child makes while reading. Also while reading the passage the teacher can keep track of how many words per minute the student is reading to determine the students reading rate.
The next assessment I would do would be to ask the student comprehension questions. Being able to comprehend and understand what you read is very important for everyone. However, often children who are deaf or hard of hearing have a hard time with comprehension. Therefore it is important that we as teachers target this skill and continue to build on this skill. Questions that I would ask the students would be who is this story about, what was the problem, how did he/she try to fix the problem, were they successful, what else did they try to fix the problem, etc. Based on the students responses additional questions may need to be asked to make sure the students understood what they read.
There are many different formal assessments that can be used for assessing reading skills. The assessment that I would use would be Accelerated Reader. My school during student teaching used this program. For this program all books are assigned a reading level. The students take a test to determine what their reading level should be. Then the students read a book on that level and take a test on the book. The test consists of 5 to 10 questions about the book. Each book then has a number of points that it is worth. Depending on how many comprehension questions the students get correct determines how many points they earn for reading that book. The students also have a specific reading points goal that they have to ear during each quarter. In my classroom my teacher then gave those students that met their AR goal a little party. This assessment program is great because it tells the teacher how the students are doing reading and comprehending on their own. If they are struggling then the teacher knows to work more one on one with that student to see where they are struggling. The kids from my student teaching placement also responded well to this program because they were motivated to read and they wanted to do well on their tests to earn their points.
The first assessment I would give the student is a running record. A running record is a great way to see what skills the student has and at what level skills are. One way to do this assessment is to use the Basic Reading Inventory assessment tool. Another way is to have two copies of a passage the student is suppose to read and mark on the teacher copy when the child makes an error in their reading. This will allow the teacher to see what types of errors that the child makes while reading. Also while reading the passage the teacher can keep track of how many words per minute the student is reading to determine the students reading rate.
The next assessment I would do would be to ask the student comprehension questions. Being able to comprehend and understand what you read is very important for everyone. However, often children who are deaf or hard of hearing have a hard time with comprehension. Therefore it is important that we as teachers target this skill and continue to build on this skill. Questions that I would ask the students would be who is this story about, what was the problem, how did he/she try to fix the problem, were they successful, what else did they try to fix the problem, etc. Based on the students responses additional questions may need to be asked to make sure the students understood what they read.
There are many different formal assessments that can be used for assessing reading skills. The assessment that I would use would be Accelerated Reader. My school during student teaching used this program. For this program all books are assigned a reading level. The students take a test to determine what their reading level should be. Then the students read a book on that level and take a test on the book. The test consists of 5 to 10 questions about the book. Each book then has a number of points that it is worth. Depending on how many comprehension questions the students get correct determines how many points they earn for reading that book. The students also have a specific reading points goal that they have to ear during each quarter. In my classroom my teacher then gave those students that met their AR goal a little party. This assessment program is great because it tells the teacher how the students are doing reading and comprehending on their own. If they are struggling then the teacher knows to work more one on one with that student to see where they are struggling. The kids from my student teaching placement also responded well to this program because they were motivated to read and they wanted to do well on their tests to earn their points.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Student Teaching
I really enjoyed my student teaching experience. I learned a lot about time management! Everyday was a challenge to fit every lesson in for every student. I really had to learn to focus on what was really important and to make sure that task was completed. Everyday was crazy and most days I didn't even have a second to think, but I loved every minute of it. There was never any time to doubt myself or wonder if this was the right thing or how I could make the lesson better. I just had to do my lesson and move on. This helped me to really build the confidence in myself that I needed to help me to really see that I can really be a teacher and be a great teacher!
Science Strategies
Hands On
A hands-on approach is so important when it comes to teaching science, especially deaf and hard of hearing children. This approach allows children to explore and discover new things by trial and error instead of just reading about it in a text book. This approach really helps students to expand their thinking and really grow in there learning.
http://www.ehow.com/way_5879133_effective-strategies-teaching-elementary-science.html
Group Work
Working together in groups when learning a new concept is another important strategy. If children work in groups to figure out a new concept there are different brains and ideas being tossed around about how the concept works. The students can also brainstorm and work together to problem solve different scenarios.
NASA
The NASA website offers a wide variety of information. There is information on earth, the planets, missions and much more. The information is divided into information for teachers and students. There are interactive games and activities for students to plan and learn. There are also experiments that students can try in class or at home. Another cool feature of this website is that students can ask a scientist if they have a question about something. This website has so many different things to offer both teachers and students to help make learning about science fun!
http://science.nasa.gov/about-us/science-strategy/
Science Teachers
This website is great for teachers! There are a variety of lesson ideas on various science related topics. There are also worksheets already made up on various topics and on different levels. Another great feature about this website is that they are links to other websites about specific topics. These additional resources are great for when you are teaching about a topic and need to know more information to better inform your students.
Additional Resources
This websites all offer additional strategies and helpful tips for teaching science to students. Each of these websites can offer fun activities for students and help teachers with finding additional help.
http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/
http://www.nsta.org/
http://www.ehow.com/teaching-science/
A hands-on approach is so important when it comes to teaching science, especially deaf and hard of hearing children. This approach allows children to explore and discover new things by trial and error instead of just reading about it in a text book. This approach really helps students to expand their thinking and really grow in there learning.
http://www.ehow.com/way_5879133_effective-strategies-teaching-elementary-science.html
Group Work
Working together in groups when learning a new concept is another important strategy. If children work in groups to figure out a new concept there are different brains and ideas being tossed around about how the concept works. The students can also brainstorm and work together to problem solve different scenarios.
NASA
The NASA website offers a wide variety of information. There is information on earth, the planets, missions and much more. The information is divided into information for teachers and students. There are interactive games and activities for students to plan and learn. There are also experiments that students can try in class or at home. Another cool feature of this website is that students can ask a scientist if they have a question about something. This website has so many different things to offer both teachers and students to help make learning about science fun!
http://science.nasa.gov/about-us/science-strategy/
Science Teachers
This website is great for teachers! There are a variety of lesson ideas on various science related topics. There are also worksheets already made up on various topics and on different levels. Another great feature about this website is that they are links to other websites about specific topics. These additional resources are great for when you are teaching about a topic and need to know more information to better inform your students.
Additional Resources
This websites all offer additional strategies and helpful tips for teaching science to students. Each of these websites can offer fun activities for students and help teachers with finding additional help.
http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/
http://www.nsta.org/
http://www.ehow.com/teaching-science/
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