¡Me Gusta Aprender!

For the past few classes we have been working on lesson plans. We were given a template and then had to come up with our own lesson. Since I am majoring in Spanish, I constructed my lesson for an Elementary Spanish class. My lesson is called, "Me Gusta Aprender" which means, I like to learn. In my lesson, the students learn how to express likes and dislikes using the "me gusta/n" formation. In addition, my lesson focused on learning new vocabulary. Expressing likes, dislikes, and personal preferences and learning new vocabulary are two of the state curriculum standards for Elementary Spanish. My lesson also incorporated technology as the students are to construct a graph with the teacher's assistance displaying the class's likes and dislikes. With this, the students are also able to meet a NETS-S.

After we finished our lesson plan, we did a peer review. I think peer reviews are helpful because it is done by a peer who is working on the same thing you are. In that case, they know what you are supposed to be doing and may catch a mistake or error that you might not see.

Overall, I am glad we did this activity. So far, I haven't had any experience with lesson planning and I think this was a good way to get started. Having the template made it a lot easier than it otherwise would have been.

WebQuests

Today, we worked with partners and created our own webquests in a Wiki. Our webquest was designed for first or second grade science. It was called "Too Many Animals" and the task was for the students to research different zoo animals and find out if the Knoxville Zoo has what they need to survive. I think this was a good activity to familiarize us with webquests and wikis. However, because all students may not have a computer or internet access, I think it is important for teachers to remember that webquest activities only be assigned to be completed while at school. Nevertheless, I think that webquests could be a very effective tool to use in the classroom and I am glad that I now have the knowledge and skills necessary to create one :)

Technology!

Today, we learned how to make a webquest. First we explored the webquest.org website and then watched a couple videos to learn how to create one. We got into groups and created our own webquests. I think that webquests are a very useful resource to use in the classroom. I think with younger children it would be hard for them to get on the internet and navigate them, but I think that with older children, webquests would be very helpful. They clearly explain the task, the process and how they will be evaluated. I would like to use webquests in my future classroom.

I'm Learning :)

Today, I learned how to set up a website using the Dreamweaver program. So far, I have created my homepage. It is pretty bare right now, but has links to my blog, website, and email. I am so glad to be learning how to develop a website. I took some Dreamweaver classes a couple years ago, but forgot most of what I learned. This time, I hope that I can continue to work on my website so that I can familiarize myself with the process and therefore not forget what I am doing. I think that knowing how to create and update a website is a very important skill to have. I feel that it will be a great benefit to my professional career. With a website, I will be able to share information about myself and my teaching career with many people. Also, once I am a teacher, I will be able to share information with my students. I will be able to put important, interesting, or helpful information on my website for their use. More and more, technology is being integrated into the classroom and I think it is important to be familiar with these processes. So..... I'm Learning. :)

This is my new blog!