Burns EDU 614

Parent Communication/Assessment   ClassDojo “ClassDojo connects teachers with students and parents to build amazing classroom communities” (classdojo.com/#LearnMore).  My daughter’s teacher uses ClassDojo for the purposes of sharing pictures of mystery readers visiting the classroom, sharing science experiments that the children have taken part in, and also for sharing important notices and information with parents.  Our school principal will also post important news for parents as all the K-5 teachers utilize ClassDojo. Although my daughter’s teacher does not take advantage of all that the ClassDojo app has to offer, I like being able to get a small glimpse of what happens in Eloise’s classroom.  When I mention something that was posted on ClassDojo, it is a great way to start a conversation about her day. Otherwise when I ask about her what she did that day, the reply is often, “I don’t remember.” It is easy for parents to set up their acco...

THE STUDENT AS RESEARCHER The easiest way for preschool children to do research is through the use of non-fiction books and hands-on activities.  In our classroom we provide many non-fiction books to support the various themes that are introduced throughout the year.  We also engage in hands-on activities to promote learning. We use a K-W-L (what we know, what we wonder, and what we learned) chart.  This lesson was exploring and learning about apples and parts of apples using our five senses. NON-FICTION BOOKS ABOUT APPLES Children are given time to explore apples including the parts of an apple and use their five senses to describe the apple. Parts of an apple Describing apples using our 5 senses Our class book about apples Reflection: How can my students use technology to do research? o research

Student as Global Citizen The United World Schools Organization defines global citizens as students (and educators) who:  are aware of the wider world, have a sense of their role as a world citizen, respect and value diversity, want to tackle social justice, believe that all children and young people have a right to an education.  Preschool is the perfect time to introduce the concept of global citizen to young children if we want this world to be a better place. How can we begin to teach children about the world around them - not just their own c ommunity - but their ENTIRE WORLD? One way to begin to teach young students about the diversity of people and places in our world is through the Flat Stanley project.  You can find out more about the Flat Stanley project here - Flatstanleyproject.com To begin, the teacher will read the book Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown.   In this story, a bulletin board that hangs over Stanley’s bed falls on to...

STUDENTS AS SCRIBES Scribing in an early childhood classroom looks much different than in any other classroom. Students in an early childhood classroom are often just learning the correct way to hold a writing utensil and their actual writing usually consists of random marks and scribbles.  Teachers in early childhood classrooms often scribe for their students.  A form of scribing that would be appropriate for preschoolers is drawing pictures as they cannot write words and sentences on their own.  Our young students often take part in activities where t hey will draw a picture about a topic or question that is given by the teacher and the teacher will then write the words that they dictate. In many of our classes we have talked about whether having a teacher scribe for a student is a good idea.  It has been brought up that a student might not even attempt to write if they know t heir teachers are always going to do it for them.  Will havin...

Article Reactions No Teachers, No Class, No Homework; Would You Send Your Kids Here? Democratic Schools After reading the article and watching a video about democratic schools, I have concluded that I would not put my child in that type of school model.  In a democratic school, the children have the freedom to do whatever they want each and every day. I do not feel there is any structure in a school like that and I feel strongly that students need some type of structure.  It is a true democracy where both students and teachers have equal votes on important decisions and since the “teachers” are outnumbered, the students in reality rule the school. Although I would not send my daughter to this type of school, I do not disagree with some of the ideas represented in this type of model.  I agree that students need to be interested and motivated by what they are doing in school in order to make progress. I also agree that classrooms and schools sho...

WAP - Student Tutorial Designers  Hand washing is listed as one of the goals on the assessment that I fill out for each of my students twice per year.  As a result, I have been wanting to find ways to improve the hand washing skills of my students. Since I work with 3-4 year olds, it is the perfect age to emphasize the importance of proper hand washing.  Keeping hands clean is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. Many diseases and conditions are spread by not washing hands with soap and clean, running water.   As the weather changes and cold and flu season is upon us, I really want to make this a priority in my classroom.   I currently have some students that get the soap and rinse it off before they even rub their hands together, others that think they only have to wash one hand and not the other, as well as those students that do not shake the water off their hands when finishe...