part 2

ABC projects are one of my favorites. It would fit great in my seond grade class because there are a lot of ideas with this chapter that I have been able to think how I can use the ideas in my class. An idea I liked that I pull out in lesson 6 is about pairing different partnerships. The teacher said, "My goal for this pairing was to mix learning profiles with regard to writing and illustrating. I often find that although some of my studnets do not like to write, they have great ideas and can show their think through drawing. Others genuinely like to write, can express themselves clearly through writing, and would prefer to do that instead of drawing." I feel this is a great and simple way to differentiate for our students.

The unit I like is "We're All in it Together." I like this unit because of a certain activity that specifies each students learning interest. The activity is the "Community Learning Contract." I want to type out the first paragraph of the activity and explain in more detail why I like it. "Read through the list of activities and chosse three (or more!) to complete on your own. When you have decided on the activities you would complete, please fill out, sign, and turn in the Learning Contract Agreement at the end of this document." I think this more two main reasons. One, is how you let the students choose from a list you have already made so your giving your student the opportunity pick what they want but yet you're still guiding them to your ultimate goal. Second, is you provide a contract for the students to choose what they are agreeing to and they have to sign it and that is showing the students that they have accountability to their work and actions.

Differentiation Reading pp. 120-162

I was able to read/review a lot of the tools that are found in "Fulfilling the Promise." It took me quite a few times of reviewing to understand what the different tools/assignments have to offer my students and how they are able to differentiate to achieve the each students success level. I'll probably have to review the tools again when I have my own students which will be good that I will have this book as my own tool to be a good differentiating teacher.

There were two activities that I really liked. One was the "Interactive Notes" on page 122. I like this one because this assignment would be a good assignment for me because it scaffolds for each student as they read or when watch a video of information. I always needed help to remember what I was looking for while reading any type of text or watching a video.

Another activty that I like is the "Novel Think-Tac-Toe." I like the whole idea of the think tac toe because if you give the students the choice on what they want to work on I think they will have more drive and dedication to do a good job on their work. With think tac toe you're not giving the students complete control you're just leading them to do what they want to do.

Chapter 7

First things first I would like to disagree with the title of chapter 7, "The Simple, Hard Truth About Teaching." The reason I disagree with the title is because ever since I started reading "Fulfilling the Promise." I was stressed and overwhelmed on how I could do everything that was talked in the book but yet still be sane. After reading chapter 7 I was able to calm down and have a lot less anxiety about how I cna be a good teacher.

A few points that were mentioned in the chapter by Stronge mentioned:

• Effective teachers spend a great deal of time working and interacting directly with the students.
• Teachers' enthusiasm for learning and for thier subjecvt matter is an important factor in student motivation that, in turn, is closely linked with student achievement.
• Effective teachers set high expectations for themselves and thier students with an orientation toward growth and improvement evident in the classroom.
• Teachers in schools with high achievement rates pre-assess in order to do targeted teaching.
• Effective teachers know and understand thier students in terms of abilities, achievement, learning preferences, and needs.

The reason I wanted to point out the ideas of what makes an effective teacher is because in my experience I have been able to see the benefit and the truth of them and even the harm that is done when a teacher doesn't follow them. I also wanted to mentioned them because I feel like that these points and the other points that I was able to read would work for every student.

The idea and quote I got from the book is on the end of page 91 that I will like to have for my motto as a teacher. It states, "If we allow ourselves to fall in love with what we do, we will be reborn countless times, almost always in a form stronger and more fully human than the one that preceded it." I like this quote because as a teacher and in order to be a good teacher I need to change atleast every year for each classroom and for each student because that is what a good differentiating teacher would be.

Chapters 5 and 6

I was able to learn a lot about how I can be a good teacher for differentiation in my classroom. I have to describe a brief history of where I come from in the education world. For the past four years I have been in a junior high classroom working with the resource students and I have also been working with an adult with low functioning autism.
Even though I feel like I have been a big help to those with special needs that I have come in contact with I haven't been the best teacher to them. In chapter 5 the part that hit me the best was the "Curriculum and Instruction that are Demanding." I never thought that the people that I have worked with could do instruction that was demanding on them. It states in the book, "Students not only have more respect for classes that are demanding, but they also have more respect for themselves when they are in those classes." This means to be that I know that each one of my students can handle demanding instruction as long as I make sure I differentiate my instruction for all my students to make sure that they are all feeling that it is demanding for them but yet not too demanding so they can feel like they understand and can achieve what is being taught. It also talks about says that the tecaher should not exclude any students from complex thinking. Thats is what I would have done as a teacher before I read chapter 5.

I decided to specify my findings on chapter 6 on "Use of a Variety of rubrics to Guide Quality."
The reason why I wanted to specify about rubrics is because I hated them when I first came into the program because I couldn't understand them as well as I know other students understood them. However, now I like them because I do understand them and they help remember the guidelines that are required for a specific assignment. The book says that rubrics, "provide students with elements of successful work and descriptors of how those elements might look as they escalate from minimally acceptable to expert-like." I feel that rubrics are another way we as teachers can scaffold for our students so they can achieve "expert-like" status on assignments.

Dear Jaremy,

I am so sorry for the way you are feelin9g right. Since I heard how you're doing in your classroom I've become very overwhelmed knowing that I may not be able to have an influence on the students I teach. Lets be honest I was feeling overwhelmed before I read your blog. I felt like I'm being taught in all my classes how to be a good teacher and then I was thinking to myself that it was impossible for me to be the kind of teacher that I have been taught by my professors. It has been a while since I have been able to relax but I can now say I feel more at peace with teaching or to be more descriptive I feel more about at peace about my abilities of being a good teacher.

I was able to read out of one my text books (Fulfilling the Promise) about how I can be a good teacher. I was able to read something that helped me tons and I think will help you tons about not giving up. In the book it talked about all the different kinds of responses a teacher can have. The "response" that affected me was The Response of Persistence. It talked about how we need to help the children be persistent within their works and being inside your classroom. I'm going to tell you the list of little helpful hints that you can share with your students. I will also add an extra advice that might help you and make sure you share with your students. The personal advice for you and I (need to share with our students) will be in parenthesis and the advice that comes from the book will be the first part of the bullet.

• You're growing, but you're not finished growing. (I am still growing and I'm not done growing so I need your help to grow)
• When one route doesn't work, there are others we can find. (Will you help me find the route that you and I can follow)
• Let's figure oue what works best. (Not only for you but also for me)
• There are no excuses here, but there is support. (I also need you support)
• There is no finish line in learning. (Help me continue to learn)

Another part in the that I thought could help you would be. "Help Students Know About One Another. Some teachers use interest groups, shared-interest reading , or both as a way for students to find peers who enjoy similar topics or approaches to learning." Knowing this I was able to imagine that if I got my students to respect each other through their similar interests they will respect you and I as their teachers.

The last thing I would have to say Jaremy is good luck and know that you are influncing atleast one of your students' lives.

Week 4 (3rd Reading)

The first part of our reading was on pages 100-103. I thought the "student profile survey" is valuable piece of information that will help me understand my students and thier needs better.

• I feel that the profile survey has a good questions to ask yourself coming from the student. I wish I would have been given a survey like this because it would have helped my teacher, my classroom peers and myself. I want to describe myself using the questions and then tell you what I would do if I were my teacher. Through the questions I new that I like to wiggle when I learn, I like noise when I work, I like to work with objects and many others. So knowing this about a student I would know that on certain projects I would put my student with others on a project where they are aloud to wiggle and maybe listen to music since they like to listen to noise as they work/learn. I would do this because those students would be able to learn they way they are the most comfortable with it. Doing this would also help the students who like to learn in while sitting still and need to work in quiet because they wouldn't be distracted and annoyed with the students who don't learn and work the same way they do. Also with the same survey I couldn't help but think of Gardner's "multiple intelligences" on some of the questions. I know by having the students use this as a pre-assesment it would help understand how to group my students on group projects because that way I knew that each child could offer something to the project. The thing that I would change about this survey would be have the students assess themselves with all of the questions but on a rating scale. I hate when there are questions and there is only a black and white answer when describing yourself.
• The second survey I would like to use on my older students. I honestly dont know how I would use the "student interest survey" with younger students. Maybe if I were to read it to them aloud. After reading the questions there were a few I would want to write about but I wouldn't want to write in every questions. I would let students write one word answers on some questions then on other questions (of their choice) I would have them write a longer explanation.

I was able to look at the different pre-assessments that were posted on blackboard. i would have to say i would only use the first 2-3 surveys that talked about reading in my Student tecahing classroom because I'm in second grade. Or maybe I don't know how to use the other surveys and the ones at they beginning reminded me of the reading inventory I gave to the students in my classroom last field experience. The "garfield survey" helped me but it also help my field experience teacher know more about the students needs and interests while reading.

Differentiation 2nd reading

I absolutely loved the reading. "Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom" is a great book that continues to help me understand how I can be a good teacher to my students.

The part that I was able to respond to the most was the Cogs of Differentiation. I liked the visual aide to help me understand what the student seeks, what the tecaher responds to and how curriculum and instruction are the vehicle.

I know especially for my students I need to make sure that my students can always feel affirmation from me. I want a class where the students feel accepted and safe how they are. I want my students to feel that and I know it is important because I went through school rarely feeling lost and not accepted. Through that I know my learning experience was hindered.

Differentiation 1st reading

I want to be honest when I say that the reading assignment kind of made me frustrated. I do think a lot of the reading I will be doing in various classes this semester will make me frustrated because as Dr Bryan Waite told us we should be thinking as we read is, "Isn't this how every teacher should be?" Thats what I thought through the reading.
A few of the ideas that I pulled out of the reading is one the questions that I should ask myself as a teacher of being responsive of my teaching are:
Who I teach?
What I teach?
Where I teach?
How I teach?
In order to be a responsive teacher it "takes all these parts" to understand my students needs.
Another good idea I was able to pull from the text is about having a learning profile. The pro's and con's of having a learning profile is that its great to know the way a student learns the best but also a con is to make sure you let the child to learn any other ways the student is able to learn. Allow the student to change.