Lesson Planning Weblinks

Here are some great resources for lesson planning for English Language Arts and more!

1. NCTE- National Council of Teachers of English
This website is designed around all of the needs of English teachers. It has everything from grammar to advanced literacy practices. The website is not only divided into practices but it is also divided into grade level. I suggest using this website to liven up a lesson plan. It is easy to find what TEKS you are needing to match and this website helps teachers integrate fun and complexity into lessons.

2. ReadWriteThink- Lesson Planning Tool
This website is handy and well organized. This site separates by grade level, lesson plan type, learning objective, and theme. It is useful because if you draw a blank when lesson planning for a boring TEK then this website will assist you in finding the perfect fit. Whether you need a full lesson or a short mini lesson, this site will help.

3. UE- Using English
This website gives the user many options such as testing opportunities, references and resources, and even articles. If you ever want to advance a lesson plan then try this site! UE will give you great resources to give to your students or even supply you with text that can help you create critical thinking from your students.

I'm excited to use these sites and I'm sure you will enjoy them just as much as I do!

"Does Spelling Count?" Article Response

 I recently read a semi-contreversial article named, "Does Spelling Count?". In this article the author expressed how she viewed the current education system and its ways of putting learning into subjects. Her view is commonly known as problem-based learning or project-based learning. This type of learning isn't restricted by subjects. The author asks a good question, "How did these skills become the be-all and end-all of education? How did "math" become a stand-alone subject that has to be taught between 9:15 and 10:00 five days a week?". She understands the positives to having education divided into subjects, such as teaching children order and having steps in the learning process...but she does't ignore the negatives. Why put subjects on learning so that as a product, true education is suppressed? Why create a boundary on ever-so-reaching concepts? Why constrain a certain way of problem solving to the name "math" or a certain way of expressing ones thoughts or ideas to "english"? The authors main point is to draw attention to the idea that maybe by having subjects in school we are actually just limiting our children rather then expanding their knowledge. 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading and evaluating this article! This article definitely made me think about what I prefer on a topic that I originally thought was non negotiable. Who would have thought there was an option on how schooling has been done for centuries? Not me! But now that the idea is a plausible one, it sparks my interest to say the least.  But I must say, as much as I enjoy the thought of this, I am skeptical when it comes to applying it to our schools. How would we create such a change without too many protesters? Will we only know if this method is successful by trial and error? Will we really have to put children's education at stake to experiment with a new method? Is it worth it? These questions may remain unanswered, but at least we have given them the thought, right? Because in the end, very good action begins with a good idea. 

TAFE Plan for 2014-2015

I am so excited for TAFE next year! I plan on competing in Job interview, Impromptu Speaking, and Service Project and My TAFE Moment is an option to choose from as well. I think that these would be good for me because I am a confident speaker and I am good with my words. And the service project is a good option because I have this year as an advantage, plus volunteering is my favorite thing in the world. I plan on executing my plan by coming after school and taking my own time to work ahead and be completely prepared. I also want to get lots of advice from the wise, Mrs. Stevens. I am so pumped for the next year that I will not let deadlines be the deciding factor. And I hope to be have a leadership position next year as well. I would like to be the President of the class or at least a VP of LES again. I want to be involved as much as Mrs. Stevens will allow me.

My Favorite Memory with Interning

It is really hard for my to pick my favorite memory because I have had so many great opportunities and experiences this year. At first, my favorite memory was when in the midst of all the anxiety of stepping up in front of people who are barely 3 years younger then me and being so nervous about them just liking me, I checked my Instagram and I had twenty-five new followers. I had twenty-five set of eyes watching my every move… but instead of finding this nerve-racking like it may sound, I found comfort and hope in the fact that my students wanted to know me on a personal level. I had done something right… my kids already liked me. And on a side note- many teachers claim that it shouldn't matter if your students like you or not because you aren't there to be liked but to teach. To me, that's complete rubbish. If a student doesn't like you it's nearly impossible to get respect. If a student doesn't like you or doesn't respect you, how can you think that you, as a person who isn't liked or respected, will get through to them and teach them things that they probably don't really care about. You can't. Not to mention the relationship aspect of teaching. Relationships are the basis of a strong educational experience. Being liked is just a realistic factor of teaching, it isn't only important, but necessary. My other favorite memory is when I had to help one of my students with writing their essay. It is easy to get a student to find the correct answer with giving them clues or keys to understand… but it is a totally different story when you must get the student to find and understand a whole concept. I was having to teach how to properly condense writing without taking out details you need. I worked with this one student for most of the class period because this is a skill that he must have and his writing was strong, but extremely lengthy. After finally getting him to not only understand but to also feel confident, he finished revising his essay. Then after having time for the essays to be graded and returned, he proudly rushed up to me to tell me that he received a 4, the highest grade for an essay. I was beaming with pride… to many people this would be a good moment because their student got a good grade or because the student no longer needs the teachers help anymore, but to me this moment meant the world… I had helped a student reached their goal, I had done my job as a teacher. My sweet student quickly yet softly replied with, "It's all because of you. Thank you." and then I was able to reply, "Oh no, it was all because of you!" My student and I both left with smiles that day. Despite how cliche and cheesy this story sounds, it is completely true and I will never forget it.

My Year

Here is a video I made composed of some of my favorite memories. I hope you like it!

ThingLink

The Fear of Failure

    The fear of failure is beginning to control todays society. Many see it as a positive, because it causes people to work harder to prevent themselves from failing...but this concept is wrong. Without failure, how do you really learn what true success is? Without failure how do you appreciate success and its worth?

    As a current student, weirdly enough, failure is one of my good friends. The more I fail, the more I realize that I have room to grow. If I were to never fail, I would have no want or need to try harder. And without the want or need to try harder, I wouldn't push myself. Just because you aren't "failing" doesn't mean that you are succeeding. To succeed, you must fail. And to fear the stepping stone to success is just illogical.
    I've also put thought into how this would come into play as I begin my career as a teacher. And my stance stands strong. Failure is a teacher and one must learn from it. If I expect my students to learn from their teacher, then I must learn from mine. Failure is a good teacher... it doesn't just tell you what you've done wrong, but also shows you what you can do right from now on. I hope people don't take this teacher for granted. When I embark on my career, I plan on showing my kids that failure isn't something to be afraid of...because it has all the right intentions. Failure is purposeful and exists to make life easier. It isn't there to be bothersome but instead, to help you see what you did wrong so you don't trouble yourself and repeat it.   
    Many students believe that a bad grade indicates failure, but I disagree with this as well. A bad grade doesn't indicate failure, it indicates that the student doesn't fully understand the topic or that they didn't have time to finish it, or maybe even that the teacher didn't teach to his or her ability...but it doesn't indicate failure from the student. To say that a bad grade indicates failure would be to call all of my students failures. Everyone gets a bad grade every now and then and it has no reflection on their level of success. 
    Many students also believe that their grades indicate their knowledge. This in certain circumstances can be true, but very rarely. The grading system is simply the easiest and most effective way to evaluate a students progress at the moment. It can not gage a students intelligence. Intelligence is a concept that is far too broad to be held down by a grading system. "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."    
    And lastly I want to touch on criticism. Criticism can be used as the sticks and stones or it can be just what someone needs. The key is to keep it constructive. If criticism is used for the pure purpose of critiquing then it isn't needed. Sure, it's a good tool to learn how to take criticism such as this and to not let it effect you...but if one has to purposefully block out or strategically take in criticism so they don't get hurt, then is isn't useful and I would advise to against using it.

 Failure shouldn't be feared. It should be viewed as a friend. "Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement" - C. S. Lewis

 

Click here to view some more inspiring quotes on failure!