The ideal school I would like to teach in would be Belle Valley Elementary. Belle Valley is a close family atmosphere of a school. Each grade level has a “pod” which all of the classrooms are connected and many of the teachers call this pod the “family room”. This close atmosphere helps the students feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves and that is why I want to teach in a school like this. I believe a school like Belle Valley could adapt to the changes in technology very well due to the close family atmosphere. My classroom will be a room that students feel comfortable in and are willing and ready to learn (for the most part). I plan on having every resource and mind stimulating tool I can get my hands on available for the students to use all of the time. With all of these intimidating tools and resources I will have fun and enjoyable games and activities that shall be used in an educational way to keep the students interested and active in their learning. I plan on being the fun outgoing teacher that every student is excited to get for their teacher. I plan on making learning fun and trying a variety of learning styles and adapting them to each year’s class. I know that all students are different and so are their learning styles and abilities so I plan on adapting my lessons to be challenging to those who need a challenge but easy enough that even the students who need an extra hand can grasp the main idea and gain some sense of understanding. I know this will be a challenge but I feel that a teacher is not truly doing their job unless they make a difference no matter how big or small in each of their student’s lives. My vision is that I will touch every student’s life in one way or another. I also plan on introducing the means of technology to my classes in an easy non-overwhelming way (http://www.netc.org/earlyconnections/byrequest.pdf). I believe that everyone yearns to have an understanding of technology and I think that technology can be very beneficial in a student’s educational career. If children start out being aware of technology and how it can be used then they will have a greater understanding of new technology and how to apply it to their everyday lives in beneficial ways (http://www.edutopia.org/stw-differentiated-instruction-technology-integration).
A Typical Lesson
Students will be welcomed into the classroom with a multimedia source being used right away. In this case it will be a combination of a smart board and a CD player. Students will walk into the class hearing a educational and appropriate song about mathematics. Once all of the children are sat down and paying attention to the front of the classroom I would start the program on the smart board. Hopefully by this point I have everyone’s attention.
Next I will introduce today’s math topic and call up two students to the smart board. There would be an interactive lesson plan on the smart board that as I walk through the lesson I can have a child click on the correct answer and help walk through each math step as we go. Each child would get a chance to come up to the smart board and participate. I will know if they understand the material by their selection of answer and how they work through the problems. All of this lesson would be done as a class then once the program has been fully completed students then would go on to independent work. Each child will get a handout explaining what they need to do then the students would get onto a computer and follow each step independently until they have finished all of the steps required. Once the child is done he/she is to raise their hand as I go around checking their work and helping where needed. The children once done will return to their desks and together as a class we would discuss what we each did and what questions or problems they had. With each question a child has the closure to the lesson becomes a lesson in itself helping the children who still need that extra help.
Sources:
http://floorplanner.com
http://www.edutopia.org/stw-differentiated-instruction-technology-integration
http://www.netc.org/earlyconnections/byrequest.pdf
http://prezi.com
http://photobucket.com
