I am almost there....Only two more weeks for my graduation!!! I can't believe it...
But anyway, I have learned a lot from this class. I like the way you structure the semester...I am sorry that sometimes I was sleepy, but I did learn from you. I like your style of teaching, very different from other teachers that I had at Otterbein.
Thanks for your technological knowledge, I took advantage from it...
Have a great summer!!!

Role of Teachers in the 21th Century!!!

The role of a teacher in the 21st century, teacher needs to be more prepared with technology. Technology is advancing everyday and teachers need to keep up with this. They need to incorporate technology in their daily lesson plans, so students can relate with it.
The role of a teacher  will remain the same by interacting with their students and being as tolerant as s/he can be. S/He is a role model for her/his students and this type of characteristic will never change.

New Ideas!!!

I really want to introduce new strategies related to technology, such as smart board lessons. This is my goal for next year to be able to do more hands on activities with the smart board. I will spend time during the summer to incorporate this activities to my lessons. At the same time, I want to buy a set of clickers so I can use as part of my pre and post assessments. Clickers is a easy and fun way to assess students. Most of the students like to work with technology, so they will not be bored.

Vocabulary Aquisition Model

The instuctional model that I picked is Vocabulary Acquisition Model. The reason why I choose this model is because I work at a school where 95% of the students are ELLs, therefore this model is a key in this setting. I try to apply this model eveyday, by introducing new vocabulary through math and science. Students are in need to know more and more words everyday, so they can better comprehend and express themselves in this world. If these kids understand what they are learning, they can continue learning and also they can see the world with different eyes.
All the teachers in the middle school at Columbus Bilingual Academy give all the effort to make the best for our students. We try to incorporate different vocabulary everyday; so the students can a variety of words to choose from. We build the vocabulary on students' existing understanding. Therefore, we strategically teach it in procedural and inductive way.
With this model we incorporate other strategies, such as context clues. Context clues teaches students skills that enable them to achieve more success in exploring words in context.
In today's world, Vocabulary Acquisition Model is the best choice for ELLs' students.

Instructional Model

Direct Instruction is the instructional model that I prefer to explore a little bit more in depth.
I think direct instruction is interesting because it is a guided practice as a whole class and then the students do their work independently. Also, information is presented in small steps so that one step can be mastered before moving to the next step.
At the same time, the students demonstrate their new skills or knowledge independently without help from anyone.
In general, a teacher should use the direct instruction model because is particularly useful when teaching basic skills and when the skills to be learned can be reduced to small, independent segments. This model is also useful when teaching facts or data for recall.

Ahhha and hmmmm moment!!!

One aha moment was last week when we worked in groups to share our ideas of assessment. I like to share my ideas and what I do in class that works for me. I like to heard what other people have to say and share about their teaching style because sometimes I "borrow" those strategies...
I like to share with you that I like the dynamic of the class even though that I am tier. I always try my best to stay on track...Sorry!!!
A hmmm moment that comes to my mind is the quiz part. I like your book and I enjoy reading it but when it comes to express myself in a paper is little bit difficult for me. But I am doing my best, and I will do it until the end of the semester because my goal is to graduate this Spring...
Thank you for reading this blog.

Class Instruction

I usually plan once a week, during the weekend. I plan in my house, actually in my kitchen. I feel more comfortable doing it that way that planning in my classroom. Even, when I need to grade paper, I rather take them home so I can grade them there.
I actually try to incorporate different materials for each day. I use technology as much as I can; for example, laptops, elmo, LCD projector, etc. I utilize a lot of visuals, such as posters, video, brainpop, hands on, etc because I work with mostly ELL students.
During the summer, we (teachers) created our own pacing guide, so that is what I use to guide me on what I need to teach. Also, I look up at the standards that are most tested in the OAA of previous years and it helps me to see what I need to teach most in depth.
I use different methods and strategies to reach my students. I need to differentiate at least with 2 or 3 students in each of my classrooms. I try to mix strategies, and incorporate as much activities that I can so students can get the sense of what they are learning.
For example, 6th grade is learning about different type of triangles by sides and angles. So, we did a lot of problems related to it, and each day I incorporate a different activity that goes with those problems. Tomorrow, for example, students will be creating a comic book  where the comics need to be the triangles. We will see how this activity comes out...I will tell you next week!!!