Question 2

I decided to search for a blog about spelling. My first graders are excited about their weekly spelling tests and activities leading up to the test. Some teachers feel like words are too hard for first graders and sometimes they think expectations are set too low. I found an awesome blog called 36 Pages or Less: The California Ephemera Project Blog. In this blog you get to see what a first grade spelling test looked like in 1870. Not only did these students have to spell really tough words, but they had to know the root, definition, prefix and suffixes of the word. This blog reminded me that as a teacher always keep your expectations sky high! If you teach it and expect it, your students can do it! Please check out this spelling test from the past. What would your test score be?

http://36pagesorless.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/spell-supercilious-1st-grade-spelling-test-from-1870/

Question 1

When I look around my classroom looking for technology integration I see students using a smartboard.  Although I have only been teaching three years there is nothing like seeing the reaction of my students when they are interacting with my smartboard.  Whether we are building sentences by dragging words into their rights spots, working on word families by adding new beginnings to vowels sounds such as adding a ‘c’ to ‘at’ and then changing it to a ‘b’, or even helping learn their addition facts with a random dice tool, technology is in full effect in my classroom.  The students are so eager to come up to the board for their chance to interact with the board.  They are so eager to get it right and show their classmates and me that they not only know what the right answer is but how to use such an important piece of educational technology.  The smiles on their faces and determination in their eyes makes me know that there is meaningful and lifelong technology integration going on each day in my classroom.  

EIPT 5513 Day One

The semester has begun and we have all created our own blog!!