Unit Plans, Unit Plans, Unit Plans!

During my professional sequence II experience I have become very well acquainted with a little thing called a unit plan.  I not only have to write one, but I have to write three.  I have to write one for social studies, one for science, and one for language arts.  Each unit plan must be done according to the IUP Unit Plan Format, and it must be done well.

When writing a unit plan it is more important to start out with goals for what you plan for your students to learn during the unit.  If you don’t know what your goals are, then why are you writing the unit?  You need to know what is the important information of the topic you are teaching, and what you want to accomplish during the unit.

Once you have your goals, you need to align them to the PA Academic Standards.  Writing objectives for each standard will show how exactly your students will learn the information for that standard.  Once you have your standards and objectives organized, then you can plan out all the lessons.  A common mistake is that people will try to find fun activities on the information they need in their lesson and then just try to put those activities together.  When you do this, your unit plan can often leave out a lot of the goals and standards that were important to the unit.

I’m not going to lie, writing all these unit plans has been an overwhelming task.  Writing just one unit is a lot of work, but add two more on top of that and you start to feel like you’re barely treading water.  I like to think however, that after my experiences doing all of these I will become much better at it, and be more prepared for my future as a teacher. 

I feel like the most important thing to remember when writing a unit plan is not to let yourself become frustrated and overwhelmed, because that only makes it so much harder to concentrate.  Although the standards are important to align units to, thinking about writing a full unit plan, perfectly according to IUP’s format, is a bit intimidating.  And three at one time has only added to the stress. 

I think it’s much better to think of the unit in terms of your students.  Instead of thinking of them on projects to be graded on, it is better to think of them as real lessons.  How could I organize this information to make sense to my students, and what is the best way to help them learn?  These are the most important questions! These are the questions that I need to ask myself in order to write a good unit plan… or in my case three!

Reflection of a Memoir

Writing a memoir was a fun but tough process.  I wasn’t sure how to start out, and it was difficult coming up with an idea.  I feel like the brainstorming process really helped me focus on memories and choose a good one to write about.  Once I got started I really enjoyed the rest of the process.  Making the digital storytelling video was a  lot of fun.  It took me hours to put it together, but I didn’t mind because I wanted to show my story through the video.  After I was done, I even took it home and had my sister and mom watch it, because I was proud of it.  I think it’s good that I got to a point with my writing and digital storytelling that I was excited about it and I wanted to share it.

Wanting to share a piece of my writing isn’t a feeling I often have.  However, my memoir was something that I actually wanted to share, and I was happy to share it with my classmates.  After I finished my final copy I got into a group and shared it with three of my classmates.  I first showed the digital storytelling video, which would have been better if the computers had sound.  I felt like the songs I had chosen for a video really helped tell the story, so it was disappointing that they couldn’t hear that.  While I was reading my memoir the people in my group were all very into the story.  They gasped and laughed at certain parts, and it made me happy that they were enjoying reading it as much as I enjoyed telling it.  Afterwards they all told me that it was written well and was a good story.  They really couldn’t think of much to criticize, and it made me feel good that all my hard work during the writing process had payed off.

I think using the 6 traits of writing really helped me along the way.  I kept my writing focued on the main idea, and I organized the information in a way that made sense and was easy to read and follow.  I feel like my voice really comes through in my memoir.  I didn’t want to write it like  stiff college paper.  I wanted my personality and voice to be apparent to the reader, as if I was actually telling them the story myself.  I also tried to make the words and sentences flow well, and I checked over the paper after I was done to make sure there were no grammar errors.  I also had a couple other people read it as well to make sure they agreed that I had all those elements.

I feel like this memoir shows a very good writing performance from me.  I used the writing process to brinstorm, draft, and write my memoir.  The writing process I used really helped to strengthen my writing, and it let the story flow out of me.  I feel like I definitely grew as a writer throughout this process.  I learned so much about the 6 traits of writing and how to use them effectively.  My eyes were truly opened to how important the writing process is, and my experience and growth through writing this memoir will by far make me a better teacher in the future.

As a teacher I will now be able to encourage students to share their thoughts not only through their writing, but also through a digital storytelling version of their writing.  I will be abe to guide them through the writing process, and they will learn to use the process to grow as writers themselves.  I can instill in them the importance of the 6 traits, and help them to incorporate them into their writing.  I will be a better teacher because of this experience, and I will be able to help students create writings that they will be proud to share.

My Finally Finished Memoir

After a long process I finally finished my memoir!  Below are the final versions of my digital storytelling video and my memoir entitled The Day the Beach Played Rough.

Digital Storytelling of Memoir

The Day The Beach Played Rough

Memories are a funny thing.  Sometimes the moments in life you think will make the biggest memories actually turn out to be not so important.  Sometimes it’s the little things, which may not seem so important at the time, that end up leaving us with lasting memories.  Then there are those other times when a moment you never expected just kind of jumps up and grabs you, and you’re left with a memory you never intended to have.  That’s what happened to my two sisters and me one day when we were at the beach.  You know how people are always saying to try new things?  Well in this case, maybe it wasn’t such a good idea.

It was a warm summer day just like any other.  My family and I were in Daytona Beach, Florida, a place we had been vacationing every summer since before I can remember.  By this time the beach was like an old friend.  Of course, we had had our rough tumbles in the ocean, and I’d be lying if I said I had never been burnt a few times by the friendship.  Nevertheless, I loved the beach, and the good times far outweighed the bad.  On that day, however, the beach decided to play a little too rough with my sisters and me.

It all started when my younger sister Jenna saw something in a store that she desperately wanted: a skim board.  Now to tell you the truth, I don’t know where this whole skim board interest came from.  Being seven, Jenna was no tremendous sport fanatic, and I had never even heard of a skim board before.  I personally think she just wanted it because it was pretty tie-dye colors, but being the baby of the family she got everything she wanted.  My parents bought it for her, and that was one purchase they later regretted.

When we got back to the hotel, being young and naive, my sisters and I couldn’t wait to go down to the beach and master our new toy!  The three of us got on our bathing suits, lathered up in suntan lotion, got our board, and headed to the ocean.  My older sister, Heather, carried the skim board and got to try it first because “I’m the oldest,” she would say, which apparently in her eyes made her the queen of the world or something.  I’ve got to admit that watching her awkwardly try to balance on this thing while the tiny waves knocked her over was a bit enjoyable.

We took turns trying to figure out how this skim board thing worked.  We tried to go beside the waves, into the waves, and every way we could think of, but none of us could really get it moving.  Then we realized that if we went to the very edge of the ocean with the shallowest water, we could skim just a little.  The problem with our thinking was that we didn’t think.  We never thought about what would happen when the water went back down.  Well let me tell you, when the water goes back down the board stops dead in its tracks, which was something I was about to learn.

It was my turn, and I was ready this time.  I saw the wave coming, felt the sand under my feet, and grasped the board tight in my hands.  I threw the board and it left my hands with the power of a rocket.  I quickly followed it and matched my stride to its speed.  Then I jumped on.  For a split second I was on top of the world.  I was doing it!  I was riding the wave like a champion!  Then something happened so fast I didn’t even know what had happened.  One second I was on the board, and the next I was on the ground.  Before I even had a chance to open my eyes I could hear my sisters running over.

“That was AWESOME!!!” they yelled.

It sure didn’t feel awesome.  I was flat on the ground, and had landed with the board under my hip.

“Christa, you did like two complete flips in the air!” Heather informed me.

At this point I was still lying there dumbfounded.  The sand was hard, and my hip really hurt.  I looked down and saw blood gushing from my leg.  All the skin on my hip was completely gone, and I started freaking out.  I jumped up and didn’t know what to do so I started to cry.  Heather told me to go run in the ocean to clean it out.  In complete hysteria, I listened.  If you don’t know, salt water really stings an open wound.  Especially one that is the size of a watermelon, at least that’s how big it seemed to me.  As quickly as I had run in there I ran back out.

My sisters helped me back up to the room, and my parents were stunned at the commotion of us coming through the door.  We had only been gone a half hour at the most.  My dad ran over to the drug store and got me some major Band-Aids.  They were the biggest Band-Aid I had ever seen, and they were uncomfortable.  They were however, waterproof so after I had composed myself, I was able to go back down to the beach.  One thing was for certain, I was not getting back on that thing again!

To this day I still don’t know why my parents didn’t take away the skim board at that point.  I thought my leg was a pretty good reason never to ride that thing again, but my sisters apparently weren’t as scarred by my experience as I was.  So I laid on my warm soft towel on the sand and watched them make fools of themselves on that board.  I watched them stumble and fall, it was actually quite entertaining.  It was like I had a front row seat to a very impressive comedy show.

Then I saw Heather try to catch a big one.  It happened fast, but it looked like slow motion.  The board stopped in the sand, but Heather was still moving.  Her feet went up into the air, and she came straight down on the board right on her behind.  It looked like it hurt!  She got up eventually and hobbled around for a while.  Then it was Jenna’s turn.  I watched as the same thing happened to her, but this time she came down hard on her elbow.  My mom, who was sitting beside me finally decided enough was enough.  She got up and took the board away, however it was too late.

Later that night Heather couldn’t sit down at all.  I thought it was kind of funny to be honest.  My mom said she probably bruised her tailbone.  The real problem as Jenna though.  She held her arm like it was in a cast.  She wouldn’t move it for anything.  The next day my parents took her to the hospital and as it turned out a cast was just what she needed.  She had broken her elbow when she fell down that last time.  That night was the last time we ever saw that skim board.  My dad took it out to the dumpster, and none of us ever rode on another skim board again.

The beach had not been such a good friend that day.  It took a while for my leg to stop leaking out this icky fluid from my watermelon-sized “strawberry,” as my dad called it.  Heather ended up getting a pillow to help her bruised bottom not hurt so much to sit on.  And poor Jenna was stuck in a cast for weeks.  Eventually our scrapes, bruises, and breaks healed though.  The beach and I mended our friendship the next summer when we visited again.  Looking back I really don’t know if it was such a good idea for us to try out skim boarding.  It may not have turned out well for any of us, but it was a very memorable experience for each of us.  Memories are funny that way.  I don’t necessarily remember all the great times we’ve had at the beach, though there have been lots.  This particular memory was one of those that, even if you don’t want it to, jumps up and grabs you, or in this case knocks you down pretty hard.

The Drafting Process.. The red pen is your friend :)

When writing my memoir coming up with a topic was only half the battle.  The next step in the process of writing my memoir was to write a draft.  Before writing the draft I brainstormed details I could write about the story.  Because I chose a story that I was very familiar with, coming up with what to add wasn’t very hard.  I used my writer’s notebook to keep all my prewriting and drafting exercises together.  As a teacher, I will have to make sure my students have some kind of writer’s notebook to keep themselves organized.  It really helps out during the process, because then you don’t have to worry about losing anything.  Anything you want to write goes into the notebook, and then you will always have it there to refer to later in the writing process.

Once I had come up with the main points, I then focused on the introduction.  I really needed a way to start off my story well and get readers interested.  I have always felt like the introduction is the hardest part of writing a paper.  Once I get started, then usually I can keep writing, but getting started is hard for me.  There are so many ways to start a paper.  Here is a helpful site I found on writing an introduction.  Asking a question usually hooks readers.  A quote can make them feel interested and make a connection to the topic.  I wanted to use something that would keep my audience thinking and wanting to know what happened on that particular day.

After a few “dead end” intros, I was able to come up with one that I thought was a good way to open my paper.  Then it was time to start writing.  I actually found that writing the memoir was quite easy and enjoyable.  The words just flowed out of me, and I felt like I was telling a great story.  This is exactly how I want my students to feel as they write.  I don’t want to constantly give my students topics to write about where they have no idea what to say, and it takes them hours to get words down.  This is very frustrating for students and a big reason of why a lot of students hate writing.  They are forced to write about things in school that they don’t want to write about, therefore the writing is hard and they learn not to like it.  If we give them topics they enjoy, writing about them will be more enjoyable, and students won’t develop such a negative view of writing.

With my draft neatly printed on pristine paper, I was ready to share it with my group.  Peer reviewing is a great way to edit papers, and I believe it should definitely be used with students.  It not only gives the writer feedback on how to improve their paper, it gives the peer reviewer experience editing a paper and also critiquing another paper.  My peer reviews showed that my group liked my paper, but there was some helpful criticism that I needed to make a few changes. 

I liked the peer review process that we used in which we were to give three positive feedback points and then a push, or something to improve.  This is a good exercise to use with students, because I think often when a student’s paper is edited all they see are a bunch of marks made in a red pen.  The red pen points out everything that the student did wrong and can sometimes completely tear a paper apart.  This can lead students to feel inferior about their work.  Giving positive feedback lets students know that their work is good.  The “red pen” isn’t something that is meant to break your paper down.  In fact, it’s meant to build your paper up.  Any first draft can be improved, and it’s important that students realize just how imperative the drafting and editing process is to get a well written final paper.

Writing a Memoir… Where to begin?

Writing a memoir can be a daunting task.  My first thought was, “My life isn’t interesting enough to write a memoir.”  I couldn’t think of anything good to write.  My family doesn’t really have any stories that have been passed down, or that have followed me thoughout my life.  Of course I have plenty of memories, but none that I could think of that I could really make a memoir out of. 

Before I began the process of writing a memoir I thought that you had to have had a great experience that was important and life changing enough to deserve the recognition that a memoir would give to it.  This turned out to be a major misconception I had.  A memoir doesn’t have to be a great life changing experience.  A memoir can really be about any memory you have, even if you think it’s small and unimportant, that memory could turn into a great memoir.

Even after realizing that I didn’t need to have a fantasticlly important memory to write about, I still found myself stuck on where to start.  In all honesty, this was the most challenging part of the entire memoir writing process for me.  I had no idea which memory to choose, and I felt like I had tons of memories bouncing around in my head and I couldn’t find a good one to use.  What I really needed was to get my thoughts organized.

I have recently been using EverNote as my writer’s notebook.  It is a site where you can keep an organized notebook online.  I really like using it, because it’s simple and available to me on any computer that I’m using.  In class we looked at some examples that a class of students had written that included six word memoirs.  I never thought that such small sentences could make such powerful statements.  I wrote a couple of my own to get my juices flowing.  One that I came up with was “That one single day changed everything.”

Now, I had a day in mind, but in the end I didn’t go with it.  I continue by writing a 25 word story about it and decided that it wasn’t the direction Iwanted to go with my memoir.  So I went back to the drawing board and tried a different approach.  I made a list of important people in my life, and it of couse included my dog.  I began to brainstorm ideas about what I coud write about him.  I was led to the first night I got him and he ended up getting lost.  But then I looked back at the list and thought about my sisters.  Instantly this one memory of us at the beach popped into my head, and I finally had my memoir topic!

I began by getting down the main ideas on paper using just words, then putting those words into sentences, and fnally having the beginning of my story.  It took a while to think of a good topic, but after much brainstorming and memory searching I finally came up with one!

Digital Storytelling

Digital storytelling is a great way to get students excited about writing and showing their writing in a digital fashion.  Digital storytelling is pretty self explainitory.  It is simply telling a story digitally, using technologies that include pictures, video, voice, and music.  You can use some or even all these components to bring your writing to life, and it allows students to be creative and have a deeper connection with their story and their writing.

Digital storytelling is a fantastic tool to use in the classroom.  Sixth grade teacher, Kevin Hodgson, created a helpful site that introduces digital storytelling, gives some examples, and even gives some resources for creating your own digital storytelling videos.  One tool to use with students that Hodgson highlights on his site is voicethread.  Voicethread combines image and voice.  You simply arrange pictures and/or video to tell your story and then add your voice to them.  The best thing s that it’s simple for students to use, and it’s something they will have fun doing.

I used digital storytelling for the first draft of my memoir.  I liked being able to plan out the story with the video first as opposed to just starting on the draft.  The video an pictures really helped the story unfold naturally, and it made the process of then beginning  write my actual paper much easier.  As a teacher I would definitely consider using this approach with my students.

Before I began, I first had to choose a resource to use to create my digital storytelling video.  I was surprised at how many there were to choose from.  One that I had used before for my about me video was animoto.  Animoto is very easy to use.  It allows you to upload videos and add music, but if you use the free version it limits your video to 30 seconds, which is somethin to consider with students.  I also checked out Little Bird Tales.  This is intended for younger students, but I think older students may enjoy using it as well.  This allows you to upload pictures or video and add either your voice or text. 

Although I looked through many resources onine, I found myself having trouble fining one where I could add elements and minipulate my story the way I wanted to.  The program I ended up using was Window’s Movie Maker, which is a program included on Windows computers.  Although this program is a bit more confusing than many of the online ones, once you get the hang of it, it’s really not that hard.  This allows you to add pictures and videos, written text, music, voice, and you can really do a lot with it.  You can even add transitions and title slides.  I tried to include all four aspects, image, video, voice, and music to my digital storytellin memoir draft, however I didn’t have a microphone available to use, so instead of using my actual voice I used text to still incorporate my voice into the video.  I then uploaded my video to YouTube so I could link it to my blog.  To view my digital storytelling draft click on the link below. 🙂

Click here to watch my Digital Storytelling Draft!

Why is differentiating instruction so important?

Educators nowadays are talking about differentiating instruction.  “Differentiating instruction is soo important”… “Differentiating instruction is something every teacher needs to do”… “Differentiating instruction this”… “Differentiating instruction that.”  But what is differentiating instruction and why is it soo important?  As a future teacher I find myself asking these questions, and after learning about differentiated instruction, I agree that it is important to each and every student’s success.

According to an article by Carol Ann Tomlinson on readingockets.org, differentiating instruction is tailoring instruction to meet students individual needs.  When a teacher uses more than one method of teaching, this is considered differentiating.  There are four elements that can be changed during differentiation:  content, process, products, and learning environment.

Since classrooms are now including all students, there may be varying learning levels in one classroom.  There can be special needs students and gifted students all learning in the same environment.  This is where differentiation comes in.  A teacher can first differentiate the content being taught.  This could include having students read books a different reading levels, having in-class ability grouping, and much more. 

Differentiating the process is changing how the students learn the material.  Some students learn best by listening, whereas others learn best through seeing or even using manipulatives.  For those tactile learners, teachers should provide manipulatives, but they should also provide a visual to aid those who learn best that way.  Differentiating process can also be providing different lengths of time or support to students.

Differentiating products is giving students different options on what they’re graded on.  This could be used during any kind of project or book report.  Giving students options allows them to choose a method that best suits their learning style, but they are still coming up with a product that you know satisfies your objective for the lesson.  Although the products may be different, each student has learned in their own way.

Finally, differentiating the learning environment could be providing students with quieter places if need be.  As a teacher, it is your job to set guidelines for the classroom and make sure students know how the classroom works.  Allowing students to work in the back of the room in a “comfy” spot could be considered differentiating the learning environment as well.

In the book “Can We Skip Lunch and Keep Writing?” by Julie Ramsay, she talks about how one size does not fit all.  She tells how her class needed work in different areas.  Even though they all had to do one project, there were multiple ways for them to learn.  Each group was targeting a different area, and this shows how differentiated instruction can work well in a classroom.  Although differentiating may provide a little more work as a teacher, it will add to the success of students in the long run, which is what matters most.

From just reading to “reading like a writer”

Anyone can simply read a paper, but being able to “read like a writer” is a little different.  What is reading like a writer?  It’s not just reading for the entertainment of reading.  Reading like a writer is being able to analyze the paper you’re reading and pick out certain writing traits that are essential to any well written paper.  Reading like a writer is just as it sounds:  Reading like a writer who knows the traits would read.  It is being a little pickier, and a little more in tune to what a good piece of writing should contain.

So what are these so called essential traits?  Well, there are in fact 6 traits.  Education Northwest has a great page on these 6 traits of writing.  It gives a brief definition of each trait and some examples.  This site actually calls them “6 + 1 traits” because they add in presentation as an extra trait.

The first trait is Ideas.  The idea is what the paper is about.  It includes the theme, the main idea, and all the supporting details.  It is very important to have a strong idea in a piece of writing, otherwise readers won’t be interested and they may even be confused what exactly the point of the writing is.  The second trait is organization.  It is important that the ideas in the writing are organized in a logical way that will make the most sense to the reader. 

The third, fourth, and fifth traits are voice, word choice, and sentence fluency.  First of all, having voice is when your readers can hear you in the story.  They can get some of your emotions from the writing, and “hear” you telling it.  Word choice and sentence fluency both make writing appealing to readers, and they make reading the piece easy and enjoyable.  These three traits all help the reader get a sense of the writer and take pleasure in reading the story.

The sixth trait is conventions.  This is simply the correctness of the paper, meaning there are no spelling or grammar errors.  Having an error free piece of writing makes it seem more professional, and the reader will think more highly of it.

Every good writer considers these traits when writing their own paper.  Therefore, if you want to read like a writer well, you must consider each of these traits when reading someone else’s writing.  As teachers, we need to teach our students these six traits, and have them reading like writers.  This not only strengthens their ability to critique someone else’s writing, but it also strengthens their own writing ability.

Love that Poetry

Poetry has never been something that I have particularly enjoyed writing, especially when I was younger.  To me poetry always seemed like something that was supposed to be elegant and masterfully composed, containing flowing words and hidden meanings.  It was a thing to be admired, created by great poets, but not something I felt that I could really do myself.  Of course, as a student in school I would put up with teachers’ attempts to create a “poet” out of me, but I never thought anything I wrote was good enough to be considered real poetry.

As the years went on I realized that writing poetry doesn’t have to be such a daunting task.  Being able to write poetry isn’t some magical gift only bestowed upon those great enough to compose it.   Writing poetry is really not that hard.  In fact, it’s actually quite fun.  It’s a great way to express feelings, or get a thought out, while not having to use many words.

Poetry uses a different form than regular writing, which is why I believe many students are afraid of it.  Students are taught the writing process and how to write five paragraph essays from an early age.  They get comfortable writing in a certain way, and then when asked to write a poem, they freeze up and don’t think they can do it.  As a teacher, I want to be able to show my students that poetry doesn’t have to be scary.  It comes in many formats, and anyone can write poems.

The first part of the problem is that the poems that kids are exposed to when they are young are usually the cutesy rhyming kinds poems.  They grow up reading poems like the ones by Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein, and then students are stuck with the misconception that poems need to rhyme.  Now, I am not saying that they shouldn’t read Dr. Seuss or Shel Silverstein’s poems.  I am personally a big fan of both.  In, fact one of my favorite books of poems growing up, and to this day, is Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends.  However, I think it’s important that young students are exposed to many kinds of poetry, so they don’t get stuck on the idea of rhyming.

The second part of the problem, I believe, is that once students get older and are expected to study poetry, many of the poems used in schools are hard to understand.  Works by Shakespeare are great, but it’s hard for students to connect to something they don’t comprehend.  Students are taken from the simple poems of the elementary days, and jumping to complicated works that use unfamiliar language.  This causes students to get frustrated, and therefore not like poetry, when in reality poetry can be so enjoyable.

I just finished reading Love that Dog, by Sharon Creech.  I loved it!  It tells the story of a student named Jack who hates poetry.  He feels that only girls write poetry, and he doesn’t think he can do it.  However, his teacher won’t stop assigning poems for him to write.  The book is written sort of like a diary, and it tells Jack’s story through poetry that he writes.  Throughout the story the teacher provides the class with many different examples of poems, and one really inspires Jack.  His attitude about poetry transforms throughout the book, and in the end he is able to tell a touching story through his poetry.  I think a lot of students would enjoy this book, because they will be able to relate to how Jack is feeling.  Poetry is important for students to learn, and as teachers it is important that we get our students inspired and excited about writing poetry!

To Blog or Not To Blog… To Blog!

Blogging is a great way to make connections and get your voice heard.  I had never considered making a blog before this, but I now realize that it can be very beneficial.  When you write something, you write it for a reason, so why keep it all to yourself?  A blog is a great way to let other people see your thoughts and ideas.

I think blogging is a great resource as a teacher, because you can not only put your ideas out there, but you can get ideas from other teachers.  There are so many great teachers out there who have a lot of great lessons and ideas for their classroom.  It’s a good thing to be able to share and pass around a little of that greatness among teachers.

Blogging is a good tool to use with students as well.  Students have grown up with technology and are comfortable with it.  Give them a page that they can customize, make their own, and write their thoughts, and students will be enthusiastic about writing.  Their writing will not only benefit, but thrive.

When writing a blog however, it’s important to keep a few things in mind.  Richard Byrne has some good tips on what you should know about blogging if you are goingn to start a blog.  The appearance of a blog should be attractive to readers and easy to read.  The posts on your blog should be relevant, and most importantly you should post consistently.   If I ever have my students make a blog, I will be sure to have them post consistently, just as I will be with this blog.