My Favorite Internet Teaching Resource(s)

I have used many teaching resources in helping me create my lesson plans, but my favorite resources are Pinterest and Busy Teacher.

First, the reason I like Busy Teacher is because of how easy it is to navigate and find certain things that I am looking for. I know of many teachers that use Busy Teacher as a great teaching resource. A disadvantage of Busy teacher is that it is only for grades K-6, where as, many other websites are for all grades.

My all time favorite teaching resource is pinterest! Pinterest is an incredible teaching resource for any teacher of any age. I have used it for each of my lessons to help me plan different parts of them. It has been a very helpful resource, it's not just for clothes, art projects, or funny quotes, it is for much, much more. The down side to pinterest is that it can be hard to find certain lessons. You need to be kind of vague when searching for lessons.


Both of these sites are very helpful, and I love them. I hope you find to love them as much as I do!

My Virtual Field Trip

Today my blog will be about the State Fair of Texas! I will be giving you all the important details of the state fair, from price to what's good and what to bypass if you are in a hurry, visit this link to see a prezi of my virtual field trip!

First off the objective of the trip. For most people, they go as family time or you can make it a school field trip, either way you are spending time with people around you. The goal for you and for the state fair is for you to have FUN! Eat all the different fried foods, play games and just enjoy eachother's company.

You may be wondering how much the state fair is, well here's your answer!
General Admission: $16
Senior Citizen (ages 60 & over): $12
Child (age 3 up to 48" tall): $12
2 and under FREE
Seniors 60 & over FREE on Thursdays (October 4, 11, 18)
Parking is $15 per used space.

Next, what are the hours? Since the state fair is only open certain days of the year here they are (the days and times)
September 28, 2012 - October 21, 2012
Gates open on Friday, September 28, 2012, at 10 a.m. Midway hours and Museum hours vary.
Exhibit buildings open at 10 a.m. daily and close at 9 p.m. Sunday - Thursdays. Buildings remain open until 10 p.m. each Friday and Saturday.

Have any more questions? Visit the State Fair of Texas website!

Field Trips are Fun and Educational

When you are little the one thing you look forward to most about school is a field trip, or at least that is what I looked forward to, and I still do! My favorite field trip would most definitely be the field trip I took last year with the class I interned in. We attended the Dallas World Aquarium, I had been there before and getting to go with my class and the rest of first grade was so cool! Yes, 5 classes of first graders was chaotic and stressful, but in the end my teacher and I really enjoyed ourselves seeing all of the different animals. Getting to see the kids faces and hearing their comments after seeing each of the animals was unforgettable. They were so fascinated by each and every animal and I am so glad I got the oppurtunity to attend the field trip with them, I was truly blessed with a great class and a great mentor teacher.

To see the aquarium, check out their website! Click here

What Would You Do?

If you would like to read FEA, or future educators of america's, ethical dilemma I am about to blog about please click here to view it. Now to begin the blog!

Mark has many decisions to make and some of them are going to be very hard to choose from because it could involve him potentially losing friends that he just made. The problem is some may not be the thing he wants to do but it is the best situation for him and everyone around him. 

Here are a few things I would possibly do:

• Talk to a higher authority
• Leave the face book group
• Say something to the person who posted the picture.
• Stick up for the person being made fun of.
• Tell the person who is getting made fun of.

My Year as an Intern

The poem, Roller Coaster is kind of like this year as an intern.
This year has had many ups and downs, like being on a roller coaster, in my classroom. Some ups in the classroom were coming back the second semester and the kid were so excited to see me, their smiles when I come in each day and then just getting to learn more and more each day about them. Some downs about the year was coming back and seeing some of my kids had moved, and also having to say goodbye to one many of my kids during the first and second semester. Having these ups and downs made me really think about if I want to me a teacher and this experience solidified that I really do want to be a teacher.
My mentor has taught me so much this year. She has taught me all about how to improve my lessons, handle situation with kids when I am in the classroom and how to teach lessons with more confidence.

If I were to change anything I would have done this year as an intern I probably would have changed the way I presented my first lesson. I would have redone my poster in order to make it look neater and figured out a more organized way to present my lesson.

High School Teacher Creates New Educational App

The app that Kevin Giffhorn created could be useful to all ages. Starting with elementary school, these kids won't use the app as much because their still young, but as they get older they start to realize that taking notes and listening is very important.  Middle school students are just starting to realize that they need to take notes in order to pass quizzes, tests, etc. This app is going to apply most to high school and college age students. This age is to the point where they are taking notes everyday, notes that even teachers don't say, they take from the book and make their own notes. If they aren't in class they can pull up power points and word documents they might have used on their iPad and with this app they won't have to convert it.

I have not ever considered making an app but if I were to ever think of one I would definitely want to because it could be fun making one and showing it to the iPad world. If I were to make one for the classroom I would want to make it so I could use it often in my classroom, so that way it is not just a one time use kind of thing.

If you would like to read about Kevin Giffhorns app visit this article. Click HERE

The Ron Clark Story

The movie The Ron Clark Story was a very inspiring story. In this blog I will be talking about my three favorite rules that were most important in his classroom management.

Rule 1 is say thank you within three second of receiving something. Manners are very important in any classroom and by using this rule it not only teaches kids manners but it helps them control the way they act.

Rule 2 is respect other's ideas and opinions. By having this rule in the classroom they are learning that not everyone in their life is mean by respecting their peers they are making friends and learning how to deal with harder situations in real life.

Rule 3 is Perform random acts of kindness. by performing random acts of kindness you are showing other s that you care about them and it also teaches the kids about respect and it could improve other people's self confidence by another being kind to them.

If you would like to read about the Ron Clark Story and few his other rules, HERE is a link to a website about the movie and the rest of his 52 rules he used while teaching.
Some rules that I would use in my classroom would be that no matter what respect your peers, without respect in the classroom with their peers the classroom could feel chaotic and it can be avoided.
Another rule I would use is be honest, without honesty you can not trust your students or your peers. One wrong move can change everything.

The Advantages of Technology in the Classroom

Technology is an easy and fun way of teaching in the classroom. The author, Eric Schriener, writes about 5 ways that technology can prepare you for the real world. The five points he covered were:

1. Accessing Information
2. Editing of Written works
3. Providing Supplementary Information
4. Communicating
5. Motivating Students

Using technology in the classroom makes learning fun. Rather than just sitting in the library kids can engage by using technology and are learning new skills at the same time. Having technology in my life has prepared me a lot for the real world. The point he said about communication applies to my life a lot, because I use communication a lot when I talk to other relatives as references for jobs or college applications. Having technology in my life makes things a lot easier in life and makes things a lot more fun. 

To see the article click here. 

My Involvement in TAFE

This year in TAFE I have participated more than I have participated in the past. This year I sold cookie dough, I got the opportunity to go to the region conference in Denton at The University of North Texas. UNT is the college I want to go to so being able to go there to not only tour the campus but to learn more about teaching was a great experience. While at UNT, along with some other members of TAFE, we all took the Education Learning Fundamentals test or "ELF."I think that my involvement in TAFE could have been better, but by taking the test and going to region it is teaching me more and is making me want to participate in more parts of TAFE!

Who is Stacey Bess?

Stacey Bess is an author and educator from Utah. She was in a movie called Nobody Don't love Nobody, which then in 2011 was made a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie named Beyond the Blackboard. She has Bachelor's a degree in elementary education from the University of Utah. She has been married for 30 years and has 6 children.

Bullying in School

This post is a very serious issue that many districts face throught out all of their schools whether high schools age students all the way down to elementary age students, it is bullying. I read the article in the Fort Worth Star Telegram, called Fort Worth ISD's Approach to Bullying. Some behaviors that contribute to bullying are things like verbal/physical aggression, or non-verbal aggression. I have never been bullied but I do know people that have been and the pain they went through was so hard for me to just watch, I can only imagine what the pain was like. I think that any district would have a problem with bullying but other districts or even schools within the district experience more than others. In the issue of it being handled it think that Fort Worth ISD holding that workshop was a great idea, it was showing people the huge issue of bullying and that little things like calling a name or saying something rude behind someone's back is hurtful to them whether they say it or not. In my future classroom to deal with bullying I think just being able to keep an eye on the kids and be sure that anything negative said to another student is dealt with. If I were to not catch a student saying something, I would want to ensure that the kids understood that they can come to me any time if they ever needed someone to tell that they were being bullied that they can tell me and we can get it fixed so that way it is dealt with and the student bullying will need to be dealt with for his/her inappropriate actions.

Reflections of My Fall Semester Intership

The fall semester of my internship was absolutely incredible! I learned so much from the kids and my mentor teacher in such a short time. Being in there seeing the kids learning is awesome. Seeing how much they learn and when they get what your saying how big their eyes get and how excited they get when you show them something new in a different way. I was afraid that when I got into my classroom that the kids were not going to like me and I was not going to learn anything, but being in that class is the total opposite. Every day I come in and the kids all say my name and want to run and see me. When they leave the carpet to go to their seats they all come give me a hug because they are so excited to see me. My teacher has taught me so much, different techniques to use when helping certain kids with work, and just how to show them that I am there to help them and be there for them. The fall semester was so much fun and I cannot wait to see what the spring semester has in store for me.

Reflections of a First Grade Intern

For this blog post I will be talking about being an intern in a first grade class and reflecting on some experiences I have had in the class.

I have been an intern in my first grade class for 9 weeks, and I am enjoying every minute learning from my mentor teacher and learning from the kids in my class. Each student is very unique in his or her own way. Some are short, some are the height of a normal first grader and some make me feel short because they are getting close to my height. A really cool thing I have seen in my class is how smart the kids are for being so young. I remember when I when I was in first grade, they are moving at a much faster pace no then I did when I was younger. Some of the kids were able to do small multiplication (ex. 1 x 1), which I did not start learning until third grade. Experiencing how smart the kids are is something I love reflecting on because I am getting to be apart of the kid’s education and it’s special getting to be apart of that.  Of course every classroom has its flaws and my class is no different. One thing about my class that I think helps my kids a lot is that my teacher is young, full of energy and always open to new ideas from different teachers and even from the kids. While learning about surveys the kids were sitting on the carpet taking a survey on the smart board. Instead of just the normal, “What is your favorite color?” survey, she made it interesting by making it silly, like asking, ”If you could paint the whole school a color, what color would you paint it, blue or red?” The kids went crazy for that, they thought it was so fun and loved being able to think about something that would not normally be aloud. I have had many great experiences, the ones I have put here are only some of the ones I have had in the few weeks I have been there and I am looking forward to talking about the other ones I have through out the rest of the year.

The Ideal Classroom

My ideal classroom would be a lot like the Lewisville ISD trades rows of desks for sofas - Your Houston News. I think that having the sofa's and a lot of technology to make the room comfortable and easy to learn in.