The GRAND Finale!

Okay so maybe it's not the very end for me...but this class is over. :) I'm always excited when a class is over, but then when I look back and reflect on what I've learned I always wonder if I learned everything I could have...Did I do my part in the learning process, did I ask the right questions, did I ask enough questions...and so on and so forth...I am always going to have questions and I believe a great educator will always have questions so that we never lose the desire to learn that we so hope our students want.

Language Arts is not a subject I would say is my strong suit, but it is my duty as an educator to be the best I can be at it when my students need me to be. Our textbook helped me to understand there are ways to help my students understand. It is not just about "telling" them information. It is about listening, speaking, writing, reading, viewing, and visually representing information so that they are able to better process and learn the information they need.

A few of the random things I learned about include, word walls, think alouds, shared writing, picture walks, and 3-2-1. And that's just a few of the many things we discussed in class. I probably learned more in this class than I actually remember from my language arts classes growing up. I learned the more creative I can be and the more fun my students perceive learning, the more they will learn and the more they will want to learn.

I really did enjoy this class and I hope everyone has a great rest of their summers!

Reflection of Video: 8th Grade Language Arts Lesson-Novel Study Set up

Tonight my class watched a video on youtube you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIsfCmPI0cU. This video shows us how an 8th grade teacher set up her lesson intro into her class reading a novel.

What I liked about this video:

• The teacher kept things going/moving.
• The teacher made sure her students understood by asking questions and relating things to her students.
• The teacher gave her students the opportunity to plan for themselves, she gave them the downfalls of certain choices, but ultimately left it up to them and the groups they are a part of to decide.
• The teacher utilized several different techniques through large groups, small groups, and electronics.
• The teacher showed she cared about her students. (she tells them she loves them all as she's saying goodbye!)

What I disliked about this video:

• That she's such a great teacher I should just show her videos instead of teaching myself...just kidding...
• Honestly there was not really anything to dislike. She manages to get a lot of information to her students in a very short amount of time and everyone appeared to understand.

It was very useful seeing that you can do group stations in 8th grade as well. Most of the time I think of group stations being utilized in elementary aged classes or maybe even Special Ed classes, but she utilizes them in a regular ed Language Arts class. It really goes to show that you can achieve anything you put your mind to.