Michelle Perry

Hello group!      As always, I enjoyed class tonight!  By going over word walls and having a quick thought on creating a lesson plan really got my mind going.  I really enjoyed that because it was a quick learning tool that opened my eyes to very different words and how to use them in a classroom.       Creating a mini lesson plan about a writing lesson almost blew my mind though!  I felt like we needed about 15 more minutes but I was able to learn a lot about thinking quickly on my feet about different teaching ideas used during this assignment.       Unfortunately, technology was not our friend last night so the last portion of class was pretty confusing so I plan on going back over the power point to make sure I do not miss out on anything.  I think I have my unit lessons planned in my head, I have started my 100 questions and I hope to start/finish a lot this weekend.  We will see.  :-) *You all may be getting a bit tired of hearing/reading about my 4 year old but I am really

 Hello group! This week's class was mostly about chapters 2 & 3 to ensure we know what steps or wickets we should/need to go through for our students to be successful in language arts.  I really think that an hour for reading and an hour for writing should be put into a lesson plan for a classroom.  Yes, this seems like a long time but if it is broken up into different areas, such as, read aloud, silent reading, writing to a pen pal, phonics, etc.  The students may run out of time wanting to finish what has been set up for that particular day.  Every day would be a different round about of reading and writing so they do not get set into a slump like routine and so they are able to accomplish the assignments during the given time.  I am not sure if that makes sense but it does in my head.   Michelle Perry Michelle Neat, happy, fun, outgoing Sister of Heather & Stephen Lover of my Husband (Josh), Son (Fernando) & Daughter (Madalynn) Who feels love

Hello group! I apologize for being so late with this post!  I was unable to attend class last week so I am still catching up with assignments due for this week.  I was able to listen to the recording of the class and as always I am excited to see a lot of familiar names/classmates from previous classes.  Honestly, I do not remember reading much growing up but at the time I could care less so that is probably why now I enjoy a good book now and then.  I really got into reading in Afghanistan because there was only so much you could do at the gym and our work load lightened so much at one point we thought we were going to go crazy!  Lol I still was not a reader until a few years ago when college kind of forced me into that direction but I am glad I did!  I have gone back through and read all of the Nicholas Sparks books, all of the "old school" readings (Shilo, Huck Finn, Old Yeller, etc), and of course my regular college course readings.  Everyone is different and everyone r

Hello group!        I cannot believe we are almost finished with this 8 weeks, we are rocking and rolling along!  I did get my presentation on my lesson plan done this past class so that is one less stressor to work on.  As well as presenting my lesson to the class, I gave my lesson to the kindergarteners!  According to my supervisor, I did a great job and she really had nothing negative to say about the lesson.  I did add a thinking map (square in the middle of a bubble map) to the beginning as a whole group exercise and the students loved it!  They told me everything they remembered from the day prior's lesson and I loved it as well!        Everyone did a great job with their presentations in the class last week, I tried to take notes but my 4 year old was on a rampage.  Ugh!  Susan, I know did a fabulous job with her science lesson--life cycle of a frog.  Rachel, did a fabulous job on her flamingos.  Kaitlyn, I know you presented but I do not have anything on your lesson--I w

Hello group! I have not started/completed my lesson plans yet so I am going to go through our text, talk about the different activities from there and see if one/all of them stand(s) out to me. :-) Analogy charting -- "A classroom strategy that provides a visual framework for students to analyze key relationships in an analogy in depth" (Buehl, pg 56, 2014).  This particular activity helps student relate the information they are being presented in the classroom to their lives.  Hum, to use or not to use.... Anticipation guides --"Engages students in examining their knowledge and beliefs about a topic and then prompts them to reassess their thinking after reading a text" (Buehl, pg 59, 2014).  This gathers what a student/class may already know prior to the actual lesson or reading assignment and this could adjust the teacher's lesson all together so the same information is not being given over and over.  Author Says/I say --"A variation of a stra

Hello group members! I really enjoy working with thinking maps because they can be changed up to go with all subjects, lessons and are very easy to use.  Using thinking maps can help a student organize what they are thinking or what is being taught.  Having a bubble map to break down the parts of a plant or a bridge map to assist with a math problem.  Students can use any one of these thinking maps to help them break down information so they can better understand the information being presented to them.  I also really like using the teaching strategies we discussed in class.  As for a couple of the teaching strategies, I really like using quick writes as a fun closer to see what the students recall from a lesson.  KWL plus is also another fun tool to use at the beginning of a class to check prior knowledge of a specific subject. There are so many different strategies, thinking maps and techniques to keep teaching fun for a teacher and most importantly the studen