Totally Teacher Tuesday

Hello Internet Audience

I will be editing this later when I have all thoughts collected. Grades were due today, so my mind is all over the place. Go figure!

Items on the Agenda:
-We get our computers on Thursday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I feel as though I'm more excited than the kids!
---- Info nights for parents
-----plans to implement with the computers.
- GLM-Claim and evidence
-Audi Commercial
-Sample from student daily prompt
-Nerves for evaluation
-Wonders about conferences coming up
- Wonders about being behind in the Common Core
-Union thoughts

Techie Tuesday

Hello Internet Audience! 

I hope that you are having a fabulous beginning of the week. I know I am! I know that this blog is mainly for teachers and educators, however, I'm a huge believer in celebrating little moments... 

I just fit into jeans that were a size I haven't seen since high school! BAZINGA! 

Here are some updates that have happened since last Tuesday. 

I have been able to use my SMARTboard every day for interactive activities with Language Arts. I am very privileged to have one in my room, even if it is temporary. 

I was also announced the 2013 POMS coach! 

I am beyond excited for this! Ever since I discovered my true passion for teaching, I knew I wanted to coach either cheerleading or a dance team! My dream came true! My anticipated tryouts will be the week of October 15th and it is for 7th and 8th grade girls only. SO THRILLED! 

The familial environment in the classroom lives on and lives strong. The other day a student had dropped a book in the hallway and another student picked it up for him. Both students are in the Bubble Bears class and after I gave some positive reinforcement about the kind act, saying something like "Wow that was nice! " The young man who helped his peer stated, "Anything for a brother from another bear". I was so glad that happened at the end of the day, I literally think I went into a laughing attack after that statement! Love it! 

We have officially entered the world of MAPS testing as of last Tuesday, and finished them today. Yes they are long, yes they are exhausting, but I understand why we need them so we can better put our students on a bell curve... 

I just wish MAPS could be more proactive and produce suggestions or critical feedback after students take the test. I feel like a number really doesn't justify their effort. Oh well. One can dream right?

Today, I was interviewed for the school paper. As one of the newer teachers to the school the newspaper team wanted to interview all of us. The girls who interviewed me were very sweet, but I think they had a hard time accepting that I was actually a teacher. They said something along the lines of "Don't worry, we will make you sound teacherish" after I told them one of the things I love is wedding planning. I think they may have expected something like, I like to read, or I like to solve sudoku puzzles... well those hobbies are also enjoyable, but event planning takes me to a different place and allows me to expand my creative thinking beyond measures. Once I explained this to them they concluded that indeed I did sound "teacherish". 

Finally, the last topic I would like to cover today is my Social Studies curriculum. Our school uses the TCI-History Alive series and I seriously think it is of the most value to our students' education! It compacts all of the arts of learning into a curriculum and allows creativity and investigation to emerge from the text, and the stories within the text. It is more related to non-fiction, and I would be interested to see where I can tie in Beth Horner's story-telling techniques into the curriculum. Right now we are wrapping up early humans and branching on to the many types of hominids. Some resources I have already used to enhance this already fulfilling curriculum is BrainPop. 

BrainPop is an essential tool in my classroom because of the quirky sense of humor Tim and Moby have, but also because students are learning a substantial amount of vocabulary, and how to communicate information to people. My students will be performing book talks in the format that Tim and Moby present their information. This makes it fun and interesting for not only the other students but for me to grade as well!  BrainPop is a site that you need a district username and password for. However, I think it is very sufficient and also has lesson plans with activities that mirror and expand on what the quick video was about. Talk about getting to your visual learners! Also for Social Studies, I want to give a shout out to Mr. Koch's 6th grade class from New Jersey! Their website has been extremely helpful with the pacing of our curriculum. Thank you! Mr. Koch's Website

Now that we have come to a close, I want to thank all of my Bobblehead Bosses and my Bubble Bears for being amazing students! You have no idea how many compliments I have received in the past week about your behavior in the classroom, LRC, and hallways! Nice job! 

As always, 

live life to the fullest and remember the relationships you make with people can last a life time. 

-HK

Testing Tuesday

Hello Internet Audience! 

I apologize profusely for my week long absence. My teacher mind during the shortened week was literally all over the place! I cannot believe how much I was trying to work in during such a short amount of time. However, I feel like as a team we accomplished quite a bit! 

I was able to set up my "guided reading" stations. I want to do stations about 2-3 times a week, and I know that for you elementary minded people. you may gasp and say "oh no! You have to do it everyday!" 

Sorry pal, Middle School just doesn't run that way. 

The kids really seemed to understand the flow of me meeting with a group, while they are at a designated station that focuses on a specific common core standard. 

Last week, I really just wanted them to get used to the routine and we practiced it until it was perfect! 

They actually asked me the following day if we were doing stations again! CRAZY! 

----->On a different note, today, my students were assessed using the new version of MAP. Now if any of you know what MAP is (Measure of Achievement Progress) you know that traditionally, students just sit at their computers four times a school year to read a text and answer or take their best guess in a multiple choice bubble. Awesome way to teach students valuable life skills... NOT. Luckily MAP updated itself over the summer and now offers more interactive methods of testing and answering reading selections. However, the test is so long that I cannot fathom how exhausted theses poor kids feel! The test is scheduled for an hour, but the kids took about an hour and 45 minutes to complete the test successfully. Maybe MAP can shorten the test and leave only essential questions in their testing program. Or perhaps, they can cut down the amount of skills they want to assess. This would probably give a more accurate reading score at the end. 

I do want to give a shout out to a fantastic professor and mentor through my career, Dana Karraker and her class, TCH 204! They have been so kind to view my blog and take the learning the Knobloch way. Thank you for reading! I hope you like what you see! 

Tomorrow's history lesson will sure be a tough one. For the past two years I have had sixth graders and have been able to read them a journal entry from my personal sixth grade journal with the date being 9/11/2001 after Mr. Whitman had just turned on the news for us. All of those students had either been born that year or been a year old. This is the first year where my students were not born yet. I hope my journal entry still has the same affect on them as it did my former students.

After the journal entry students will watch a segment on CNN student news, I use this channel ALL the time for current events. This youtube clip is from last year, if you would like to access this year's video you will need to click on student news. 

CNN Student News

After students listen to me read my entry and watch the segment from a non-fiction medium they will then compare and contrast the two point of views that they just witnessed. They will discuss in groups at first and then we will come together to talk about what point of view means and create a venn diagram comparing the two very different points of views. 

One last comment, I was able to get a SMARTboard rolled to my room! (YAY!) So I am a very happy camper! I am so excited for my students to use it to the best of its ability. Also, all of my students have been hired for their classroom jobs. (Yes, middle school can do that too!) 

With that I leave you with quite a clever clip of why we need to use Common Core and 21st Century Learning to help our students succeed in the real world! 

-HK