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Christa'sLeonardi's Page NLU 2011

Choice Book Sharing- **//32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny //** __By: Phillip Done __ //-Do you think Joshua's mother knows that we all heard how grouchy she is now that she is on Weight Watchers? // //-Maybe Ryan's dad doesn't want us to know that he slept on the couch last night. // //-Once I had a student named Andrea who walked up to the front of the class and announced, "My mom went off the pill, and now I am going to have a baby brother." // //-Once Greg told the class that the police came to his house last night and took away all of his parents' potted plants. //(pages 43-44)
 * __Introduction to Presentation __****: Please read the following quotes taken from the chapter entitled //Sharing:// **

//Phillip Done fixes staplers that won't staple, zippers that won't zip, and pokes pins in the caps of glue bottles that will not pour. He has sung "happy birthday" 657 times. A witness to the joys of discovery, Done inspires readers with the everyday adventures and milestones of his 32 third graders in this irresistible collection of bite sized essays. From the nervous first day of school to the hectic Halloween parade to the disastrous spring musical, Done connects what happens in his classroom to the universal truths that touch us all. He reminds us of the delight of learning something for the first time and the value of making a difference. //
 * __Book Summary __**
 * //32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny //****// is for anyone who has ever taught children -- or been to third grade. //**//It is a testament to the kids who uplift us -- and the teachers we will never forget. With just the right mix of humor and wisdom, Done reveals the enduring promise of elementary school as a powerful antidote to the cynicism of our times. //

[]
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">About the Author __**
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Phillip Done //**//<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> won the Schwab Foundation Distinguished Teacher Award. Nominated for the Disney Teacher of the Year Award, he has taught elementary school for twenty years. He lives in Mountain View, California. //

//<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind: Thoughts on Teacherhood //
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Other books by Phillip Done: __**

__<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">Class Activity: __<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';"> Watch the following video clips of Philip Done being interviewed by different News Stations

<span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Memphis News at 3Fox-AlabamaMid-day Arizona [|**http://www.phillipdone.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10&Itemid=6**]

//<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If you have ever wanted to know about the life of a teacher throughout the school year from day one to the last day of school, then this is the book for you! I knew this was to be a great read, anytime you hear about teachers there are always good stories behind them. This book was no let down, I was hooked from page one! // //<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This book is view into the very soul of a teacher. Written smoothly, Mr. Done takes you on a journey, a year in the life of a teacher. From the constant rearranging of the seating chart and counting down the weeks to the end of the school year to the dreaded Parent Teacher Conferences this book is full of the pride he takes in being a teacher. From every page of this book you can tell just how much he loves his job. And that job ranges from being a doctor and actor all the way to a mailman and musician. My favorite chapter by far is “Have I Taught Them?”. The questions he asks of himself as a teacher are so very important for a great start in life. // //<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">For me being a parent and seeing just what a teacher goes through, in the classroom and out has been a joy. Finding out that the teachers are just as nervous as the parents in first meetings and parent teacher meetings is a relief. I thought it odd that even as an adult I was afraid to face a teacher, glad to see that is normal. And the Garage Sales, while being a sad truth about teaching, because everything their hearts desire should be given to them for the wonderful thing they are doing, had me in stitches just envisioning Mr. Done in that situation (if you want to know which situation you will have to ////read the book////<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">!) I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to all those who know what it is like to be a student, teacher and parent. And I want to thank you Mr. Done for being who you are, the world could use more people like you! // <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[]
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;">One Review: __****<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> (Parent perspective in reading this book) **

__**9/19 Online Class:**__ After thinking about this assignment, I decided that my book on education would consist of all the essential elements that go into creating successful lesson. After considering my own thoughts, and researching the topic, my ideas of important educational elements of a lesson seemed very similar to the terms used in the "ADDIE Model." //The ADDIE model is a systematic instructional design model consisting of five phases: (1) Analysis, (2) Design, (3) Development, (4) Implementation, and (5) Evaluation.// [] I liked the terms used within this model and I also like the idea //that each step has an outcome that feeds into the next step in the sequence, much like the education process in which all aspects are connected and impacts or "drives" the next.// Because of this thinking, My book on Education will consist of the 5 chapters titled:

Chapter 1: Analysis Chapter 2: Design Chapter 3: Development Chapter 4: Implementation Chapter 5: Evaluation

__Organizing Question:__ What are the instructional goals and objectives for learning? __Subsidiary Questions:__ Who are the learners? What are their characteristics? What knowledge/skills does the learner currently have? What is the desired behavioral/learned outcome? Are there any learning constraints? __Supporting Text:__ //*Un-Standardizing Curriculum// Chapter 1: Standards, Multicultural Education, and Central Curriculum Questions //*Educational Foundations// Part II: Who Are Today's Students? //*Unequal Childhoods// Part I: The Organization of Daily Life __Activity:__ -Research and perform pre-assessment activities: observations, oral responses, class discussion, student interviews, skills surveys, KWL chart, short answers, quizzes, etc.
 * Chapter 1: Analysis**

__Organizing Question:__ How will I reach my goals/objectives? (My instructional plan) __Subsidiary Questions:__ What are the learners' preferred learning styles? What is the content I wish to include? How will the material be presented? (instructional strategies) What is the timeline for project completion? __Supporting Text:__ //*Teaching the Best Practice Way// Chapter 1: How to Teach //*Un-Standardizing Curriculum// Chapter 3: Designing Curriculum Around Big Ideas __Activity:__ -Research various learning styles and brainstorm activities that will match the differing styles -Give students a learning-styles test
 * Chapter 2: Design**

__Organizing Question:__ Which materials/ tools will be used to best carry out my instructional plan? __Subsidiary Questions:__ What will the learning environment look like? (student grouping) Does the plan include time for exploration and practice? Will any technologies be used? __Supporting Text:__ //*Teaching the Best Practice Way// Chapter 4: Small-Group Activities __Activity:__ -Research various forms of student/flexible grouping -Brainstorm activities for integrating technology
 * Chapter 3: Development**

__Organizing Question:__ What procedure will be used to implement the materials and carry out my instructional plan? __Subsidiary Questions:__ What are the steps for carrying out the procedure? What observations can be made throughout the experience? __Supporting Text:__ //*Educational Foundations// Part III: What Makes a Good Teacher? __Activity:__ -Create a listing of "inputs" or information (content description, student characteristics, list of materials, prerequisites, time estimates, etc.) necessary to carry out various lesson plans. __Organizing Question:__ How will I assess the progress of my plan and the achievement of my goals? (Is the intended learning taking place?) __Subsidiary Questions:__ Will tracking take place? How will I evaluate the outcomes? Will assessments be formative or summative? What will mastery/proficiency of the material look like? What modifications of the lesson need to be made? __Supporting Text:__ //*Teaching the Best Practice Way// Chapter 7: Reflective Assessment //*Educational Foundations// Part V: How Should We Assess Student Learning? __Activity:__ -Research various/alternate forms of assessment to match various learning styles.
 * Chapter 4: Implementation**
 * Chapter 5: Evaluation**

Interview Reflection:

<span style="color: #ff7700; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">After comparing the educational experiences of several interviews, I found some differences, but also many commonalities and reoccurring themes. Both people were very motivated to perform well in school to make their teachers and families proud. For my father, I feel as though his family placed more of that pressure upon him, while for Maria was very intrinsically, or self-motivated to achieve. I think that doing these interviews also displayed the level of respect that people of older generations or from other countries gain for their elders. This level of respect is something that I believe many kids are lacking today. It is through these lessons and experiences that Maria and my father grew to be upstanding and successful people. Being respectful and responsible learners are two of the main life-skills that I have worked hard to instill in my own kindergarten students. I hope that by learning these lessons early on, my students will be more successful in their educational careers. Doing these interviews were very beneficial to me in that they confirmed and strengthened these beliefs.

__ Interview Activity __ <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">For our interview activity, we were asked to interview two different people, one being educated during a different time in this country and the other being educated in a different environment, culture, or country. The two people that I chose to interview are my father who is 63 years old and educated within this country during a different generation, and Maria Marroquin, the ELL teacher at my school, who grew up and went to school in the country of Mexico. I thought that the two would be fun to interview, as my father and I have not previously spoken much about his schooling and to also gain insight about the schooling in another country. In addition, both interviewees attended private schools, so I thought it would be nice to compare and contrast some aspects of private schooling in the U.S. with that of another country.

**__ Interview with Daniel Lenonardi- (schooled throughout an older generation): __** <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">My first interview was with my father, Daniel Leonardi, who is 63 years old and completed 16 years of education. Daniel attended a private elementary school named Holy Rosary Catholic School (grades 1-8) in Kenosha, WI. Next he attended St. Joseph’s High School (grades 9-12), also a private school in Kenosha, WI. From there he attended 2 years of Junior College at the University of Wisconsin- Kenosha Extension (Prep school) and then completed an additional two years at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee. My father viewed himself to be a good student, behavior-wise, and an average student (“B” student) grade-wise. Although my father only received average grades, he had to work very hard to earn those grades and **always** tried his best. His motivation for working hard in school was to make his family proud of him. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">During my father’s elementary and high school years, he walked or rode the bus to school, living about 5 blocks away from the locations. He remembers the schools that he attended being very strict, but also having a friendly and warm atmosphere. In elementary school they had a new teacher each year, for each new grade level. Classrooms contained between 20-30 students around the same age range and were taught by one teacher, each teacher being a nun. In high school there was a different teacher for each content area and the students rotated amongst them. The school day lasted from about 8:00am until about 3:30 pm from Labor Day up through the first week in June. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">My father remembers his elementary teachers to be caring and nurturing, while his high school teachers were not as much. Both, however, were quite strict in always teaching and **demanding respect.** My father remember the teachers being willing to provide additional support or instruction when needed. Students that did need this extra support were not made fun of by other students, like some are now days, as this behavior would not have been tolerated by the teachers. My father does not recall having kids with special needs within his classes. Forms of discipline used were verbal, demerit systems, a ruler to the knuckles, time after school, or being sent to the principal’s office. In elementary school, Music and Art were offered as specials, however Phy. Ed. Was not. In high school, all three were offered as choices for elective courses. Extra-curriculars consisted of choir, debate, and sports, however the sporting teams were highly competitive and only the “athletic kids” could participate. Graduation requirements consisted of the accumulation of homework and exam scores. Also the schools that my father attended were for the “collegebound” not technical schooling, as courses such as shop, tech. ed. and Ag. were not offered. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Expectations in school were always very high both from the school and family perspectives. College was an expectation, as my father’s parents viewed an education to be **extremely important,** and viewed the purpose of school being preparation for college, in order to attain a good job and create a better living for yourself. My father believes this to be true, still today. My father recalls enjoying school throughout elementary and high school years, as he enjoyed the teachers, his friends, and the community environment. He did not however enjoy college as much, as the courses became much harder, the school was much larger and diversified and he did not feel as though he “belonged.” The reasoning for this, he believed to be the fact that it was a “commuter college” and lost that sense of home or community feel. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Although my father did not thoroughly enjoy his college experience, he did finish with a degree in Business Administration, majoring in Industrial Relations. My father went into this field not really understanding what it entailed and not knowing that there would not be available jobs in this line of work upon completion. He feels as though this was the weakest part of his education, in that his schools did not properly prepare him enough for knowing what he wanted to become or what field to go into during college. He does not believe that schools give a good real- world overview of careers available and how to choose the one that is right for each individual. He believes this to continue to be true for many students still today (my two younger brothers being some of them). Upon graduation, my father got a job working for a company in sales, which he continues to do to this day. Although his college degree did not directly relate to his position (a college degree not even being a requirement for the job), he did say that because of it he was able to obtain higher levels within his job. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Overall, my father did express his appreciation for his education, as he believes from it he was able to learn the important lessons of respect, the need to meet deadlines, mental discipline, and the ability to be an organized thinker.

**__ Interview with Maria Marroquin- (schooled within another country): __** <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">My second interview was with Maria Marroquin, the ELL teacher at my school. Maria completed a total of 14 years of education in Monterey, Mexico, where she grew up. Maria attended a private Catholic elementary school, which consisted of grades 1-6. Next, Maria attended grades 7-9 at, what they call high school, also being a private Catholic school. From there, Maria went on to attend grades 10-12 at a public prep school. And finally, Maria attended the University of Monterey- Nuabolean, achieving her degree in business administration. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Maria viewed herself to be a good student, the best that she could have possibly been, as she always worked hard tried her best. Maria was taught personal motivation very early on and it was very important to her to make her family and teachers proud. Maria was self-motivated to achieve, not feeling as though the school or her parents placed this pressure upon her. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maria was an only child and recalls walking or being driven to school by her mother. She remembers the schools that she attended being very strict, she said that children would never question anything, but that it also had a friendly and warm atmosphere, similar to what my father had described. In elementary school Maria had a new teacher each year, for each new grade level. The school was mid-sized, having about 55 kids per grade level and 2 classrooms. Students in each room were around the same age range, however there some exceptions as students were required to pass a test or earn moving on to the next grade level. Students would not find this information out until the last day of school, when the teacher passed out the report cards that stated whether or not they had passed. Because of this system, there was sometimes a discrepancy of ages within classrooms. In high school there was a different teacher for each content area, however the teachers would rotate to the different rooms of students. The school day lasted from about 7:15am until about 1:45pm in elementary school and from about 7:45 until about 2:00pm in high school, a shorter day than students in the U.S. The school calendar was similar to year-round school, as Maria only remembers being off for the 4th of July and the month of August. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Maria remembers her elementary teachers to be caring and nurturing, while also being very strict in always teaching and **demanding respect** amongst one another (again very similar to my father’s private school experience). Maria remembers the teachers being willing to provide additional support or instruction when needed. Students that did need this extra support were not made fun of by other students, as such behaviors would never have been tolerated. Maria also does not recall having kids with special needs within her classes. The form of discipline used most commonly was verbal redirection. Maria always remembers her teachers asking “Where are you?” “Where do you want to go?” And “How are you going to get there?” Students were always taught that they needed discipline to achieve their goals Because of this, a lot of discipline was not needed as students avoided getting into trouble. They took personal responsibility and felt that having to be reprimanded was like letting down your teacher and family. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">At Maria’s schools, they did not offer specials classes. Some art and music was included within social studies. Extra-curriculars were not offered at the schools, but instead such classes were available at the local community center. The centers offered every class imaginable, from music, choir, dancing, cooking, sports, cutting hair, etc. Students were highly encouraged to participate in these activities as most mothers did not work, so they would also attend classes at the center, with their children. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">The curriculum at each grade level was the same at all schools. I like this idea, as students were all to receive the same education, regardless of the school you attended. Assessment included national based and standardized. The accumulation of these and your final GPA is what determined if you could move on to prep school, and most people within Maria’s community did go on to prep school. Expectations in school were always very high both from the school and family perspectives. College was an expectation, as her parents also viewed an education to be **extremely important!** Maria recalls her father always saying, “The ticket to freedom is through education. Maria and her family viewed the purpose of school as being the preparation in becoming an overall better human being (it was their job on this earth). Now Maria views education as the ability to see the road ahead and how to get where they want to be in life. Unfortunately, Maria believes that kids today don’t have the want or ambition for an education. She feels that they are also lacking the respect that was so apparent in her schooling (kids think that the purpose of school is to go because mom and dad said they have to). <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Maria loved going to school. It was almost used as a form of threat or punishment for her parents to say that she couldn’t go. Maria loved always going to a place everyday where she knew that she could learn something new, while knowing that there was still so much more to learn. She was always very curious about the world and wanting to learn more. She believed this may be because her mother was always finding real-life situations to teach Maria about. Her mother was also always so proud to see what Maria had learned. This pride was almost like a prize for Maria. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">After prep school Maria went on to attain her degree in Business Administration. She was unsure of what she wanted to do with this, but thought it would be good to have the clerical skills. Although Maria did not know what she wanted to do as a career, she always knew that she wanted to be a mother. She got married to a U.S. citizen, moved to the United States, and became a mother of two. Once her children became school-aged, Maria began volunteering within the school building, upon which in 1998 she was asked to assist with the ELL program, turning into her current teaching position today. Maria currently works one-on- one with about 10 students and their families, who’s English is their second language. She very much enjoys her position. So, although her college degree does not directly apply to her current career, like my father stated, her schooling experiences better prepared her for life in general in that it made her a more rounded person, and taught her a sense of respect, responsibility, and self pride. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Overall, Maria believes that the most valuable lesson that her educational experiences have taught her, are not so much in content, but more in character- the understanding that someone values your worth and believes that you can achieve anything that you wish.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">After comparing the educational experiences of these two people, I found some differences, but also many common themes. Both people were very motivated to perform well in school to make their teachers and families proud. For my father, I feel as though his family placed more of that pressure upon him, while for Maria was very intrinsically, or self-motivated to achieve. I think that doing these interviews also displayed the level of respect that people of older generations or from other countries gain for their elders. This level of respect is something that I believe many kids are lacking today. It is through these lessons and experiences that Maria and my father grew to be upstanding and successful people. Being respectful and responsible learners are two of the main life-skills that I have worked hard to instill in my own kindergarten students. I hope that by learning these lessons early on, my students will be more successful in their educational careers. Doing these interviews were very beneficial to me in that they confirmed and strengthened these beliefs.

**__ Bronfenbrenner Reflection __**

Within my second year of teaching kindergarten, I had a student that constantly engaged in power struggles, involving anger and opposition. This child would become very angry and physical without a moment’s notice. His anger would also cause him to act very impulsively and violently towards others. At other times he would completely “shut down,” withdrawing himself from the situation, hiding under furniture or sometimes even being a risk of flight. Knowing that these behaviors had to stem from somewhere, we soon were informed of this student’s family history. His mother was a drug addict during her pregnancy with him. She was also bi-polar and schizophrenic. The mother was currently in a psychiatric facility, dad was rarely in the picture, but when he was, seemed to only provide as a negative influence in this child’s life (very unstable, lived in a bad part of Milwaukee, had many different girlfriends, spoke a lot about violence, etc.) Therefore, my student spent most of his time living with grandma and grandpa, an older couple, who tried to raise my student as best as they could, while also caring for their other two adult sons, who had previously been in the military and had just recently both gotten out of jail. It was obvious that breakdown of this student’s Microsystem and the atmosphere in which he had to live in, was very negatively impacting his development. We knew that this student would have a very long and hard road ahead of him, and that he was most likely a candidate for being given up on or “falling through the cracks.” However, I believe that all students should have the opportunity to be a successful learner, and that it was our job as educators to try to provide this student with some skills and strategies that would help him to succeed. After trying multiple techniques, we found that this student responding best when given firm and clear guidelines, consequences, and expectations. I think that this was lacking in his homelife, so he almost looked forward to having these limits within the school atmosphere. I worked hard with other special education staff to create behavior/ discipline plans, incorporating different learning styles and management techniques, and open lines of communication between home and school. We developed a daily behavior/ discipline log that documented the occurrences of this student’s day. The log was used as a resource to inform all staff working with this child, as well as his family, on how his day was going. The log showed the student’s behavior during each period of his day. The log was set up to encourage positive behaviors, in that staff would log a “smiley face,” in the spaces provided, for each of the rules that were appropriately followed, throughout the different periods of the day. The student would then “check out” with the special education department, at the end of each day. “Checking out” meant that the student would show staff the current daily log, from which they would add up all of the smiley faces earned throughout the day. That number would then be recorded, and added- to, throughout the week. At the end of the week, the student would be able to “shop” at the school store according to the number of smiles that they had earned throughout that week. This system was set up to promote and encourage positive choices and behaviors. When the student did not follow the rules of the classroom, there was also a place provided on the log to record which rule was broken, during which period throughout the day, the amount and type of teacher cues that were given (for example the student was able to work independently, teacher verbal cues were needed, physical prompts were used, or physical assistance was needed to complete the task), as well as a comment section to provide further information on the incidence or to record the consequences that were given. Again, each log was checked by school personnel at the end of every day and sent home with the student for the family to see, sign, and send back to school the following day. This log/ journal worked nicely in providing good communication between the home and school. The log also seemed to decrease this particular student’s negative behaviors, over time, as he soon learned the reward system and worked harder to behave appropriately so that he could earn the smiley faces in his journal. As the year went on, this child continued to have good days and bad, but I do feel that he made progress that I hope will help him throughout his educational career and beyond.

-__Challenges with technology facing education:__

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I view technology as being wonderful advancements and tools that can be such valuable resources for people of all ages. However, there are still some challenges or fears that come along with these advancements. One of my main fears with the growing use of technology is that children of the new age will not learn, or will lose some of the skills that are needed to perform some of these tasks without the use of technologies. For example, face-to-face communication skills or interactions, social skills and behaviors, problem-solving skills, Language Arts skills such as spelling, writing a letter, editing, etc. I believe that technology can be a wonderful resource and support, but should be used to assist in certain activities or tasks, not as a replacement. I believe that the previous "old-school" skills are still so important for children to learn and posess, therefore technology should be taught and implemented in a cooperative manner.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Another fear that I currently have, is allowing students an adequateamount of use with these technologies, that is appropriate for their learning. Working in a small school district, we do not have an abundance of materials or money for all of the new tachnology advancements, and the supplies that we do posess needs to be shared with all throughout the district. In an article I found titled, Challenges and Strategies in Using Technology to Promote Education Reform, it is stated that "appropriateTechnology cannot become a meaningful support for students' work if they have access to it for only a few minutes a week. The kind of technology-supported project-based instruction we have described requires a high level of access to the sorts of technology tools that researchers and other professionals use on a daily basis to support their work. Data from national surveys suggest that although American schools have more microcomputers than those of any other country, the level of access is still insufficient to fulfill this vision. American students report using computers an average of 40 minutes a week ([|Becker, 1994)]. Schools are faced with the reality of a limited budget for equipment and software (and an even more limited inventory of the most powerful equipment) and must make hard choices about how to get the most out of what they have." [] I love that so many students are getting the chance to experiment with and learn from new technologies, but I would hate for our students to fall behind or miss out on such opportunities due to a lack of resources. I guess for now, we just try to make the best out of what we have and strive for improvements and additions as we go!

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These are pictures from Riviera Maya, Mexico, where my sister is having her destination wedding this August. I am super excited to be a bridesmaid for this event. Looking at these pictures make me excited for some fun in the sun and much needed rest and relaxation! I am very ready for this winter to be over with! :)

[|Classroom webpage] <span style="color: #ff7700; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">This is the link for my classroom webpage on theJohnson Creek School District's website. I do not have much on their at this point, mostly just some information about myself and a few website links, but it is a goal of mine to develop, expand, and improve my page throughout the year.

One of my favorite educational websites that I've recently had fun experimenting with is [|www.**brainpopjr.com**] ===[|**BrainPOP** Jr. - K-3 Educational Movies, Quizzes, Lessons, and ...]=== Provides educational movies for K-3 students. Homework Help, leveled quizzes, games and activities for kids. Exceptional resource for teachers and homeschools.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">This website is very kid friendly, interactive, educational, fun, and nice for using on a smartboard in the classroom! It also includes teacher resources and ideas for themed lessons. My school has a membership for this website, but non-members can still access some of the materials. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; line-height: 0px; overflow: hidden;">

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<span style="color: #00ff34; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">This is a copy of the cookbook that I created with my students' recipes. I print a copy for each student and send it home for the family for the new year. This project always turns out really cute because I type exactly what the students tell me! :)

media type="youtube" key="ASDzcvyatgw?version=3" height="390" width="640" <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 90%;">An experiment with blue-eyed and brown-eyed children shows how bias can make it harder for kids to succeed.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 90%;">Educators are encouraged to visit www.StosselInTheClassroom.org to order their own free Stossel In The Classroom DVDs or to watch additional videos streamed live from the site which didn't make the cut to be on the DVD with questions. The DVDs not only include these videos, but also worksheets and activity ideas. (Video taken from Stossel In The Classroom, though this account is unaffiliated with Stossel In The Classroom, ABC, the Center for Independent Thought, and/or JohnStossel.)

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 90%;"> <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">This is a poem that I found titled Little Things. I like this poem because I believe that is the little things in life that are most important! Most people are not searching for fame and fortune to make their lives meaningful. Instead, I believe that most strive to be the best that they can be- to work hard, be a good person, love and be loved, contribute to society, and enjoy life day by day. I feel that the little things, or joys and pleasures, in life are what keep us motivated, happy, fulifilled, and working to be better. I believe that success can be determined by... the little things! <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">I really enjoyed creating and experimenting with this wiki page! Unfortunately, due to my lack of internet, I was unable to play around with it until now. I believe that I enjoyed adding webpage links, pictures and a widget most on my wiki. It will be nice to have this experience for use on future projects.