ElizabethTown Project

 Rebekah Baylis - I am super excited to become a teacher. I hope to teach with upper elementary students, but honestly would be happy teaching any grade level. I will begin my student teaching this fall in the Hattiesburg, Mississippi area. This time next year I will be married to another future teacher, and I could not be happier.

 Brittlyn Trahan -
I'm really passionate about teaching and would love to teach lower elementary.  I will be student teaching around the Mississippi Gulf Coast this upcoming fall.  I love my family and I'm engaged to be married next June!

Crystal Wolf- I will be graduating this December, and cannot wait to begin my teaching career in either high school special education or elementary ed.  Working everyday, guiding students' learning excites me!  I am thrilled to be beginning my student teaching experience this fall.  Let the fun times begin!!!  Oh, and I just celebrated my 1 year wedding anniversary, which was awesome! 

Teaching Challenge: Clashing of the Teachers

Our challenge is one that many student teachers face when going into someone else's classroom.  The scenerio that we have picked is when mentor teachers and student teachers have a hard time finding any middle ground.  The environment feels hostile and the student teacher is unable to perform to their best ability. 



Note Taking and Note Making; a few of my favorite things

Note taking is something that has excited me for as long as I can remember.  Maybe because I love writing things in cursive or the organization that comes with labeling.  In high school and presently in college note taking has been one of the reasons that I have succeeded academically.  Note making is something that I've encountered as well and it's something that I did to prepare for this blog.  Going through chapters and outlining is a wonderful way to prepare one's thoughts and get ready for a lecture.  Note making is usually more shorthand for me and note taking is a more detailed process.  This chapter was very exciting since this is such a fun learning tool for me to use - I'm currently in process of introducing this skill to my tutoring student.  I think that this would really make him an organized and prepared student and give him an opportunity to feel success.

To me note taking is such an important skill that should be taught somewhere along the lines in school.  My mother and I had a conversation about this topic on a drive to Mobile last weekend.  We were discussing when this skill should be taught.  I personally did the best I could until I had an amazing teacher (a baseball coach) who showed me different outline forms and ways to keep up in lectures.  I think that this skill should probably be introduced in middle school or upper elementary so students have lots of time to practice.  The most important part of note taking is that students should be able to choose whatever style that they feel is most relevant to them.  This allows the students to tailor their personal academic needs and connect them to a relevant form for recording information. 

This text that we are using really illustrates different forms of notes very well.  The first figure that I saw in this chapter was an example of a student's notes on pottery. I love that they modeled a student's thinking by the illustrations that were included. I always doodle and draw models in the margins of my papers to help me better understand the notes.  The big ideas and detailed notes separated help with organization and giving a clear pictures of what is broad and what are the smaller details.  I also really loved the summary of the information that the student acquired.  We practice writing a summary sentence in our tutoring sessions to tie up all the loose pieces.  This is a wonderful way to end a class period by writing what the student learned as a whole at the end of the lesson.

A large portion of student success in note taking and note making is having lectures that are effectively planned.  These need to be well thought out, sequenced, and meaningful lessons that students can actively listen to.  These lectures should include names, dates, vocabulary words that relate to the topic, and formulas that the students may need to complete the problems.  Signal words serve as triggers for when students need to write down important information.  The most important part of these effective lectures is to end with a review.  This will help students to confirm their knowledge and bring closure to the lesson.

I had no idea that note making and note taking were any different until I read about them in this chapter.  I found that they differ in a few ways, but both end up with the same result - notes.  Note taking ends when the lecture ends and note making involves rereading the text for more and more information.  Studies show that note takers are academically more successful since they are actively engaged when taking notes.  Note taking requires active listening and engagement in the lesson which increases retention of the content.  As far as I can remember I never really knew general protocols for note taking.  I usually used asterisks or bullets, sometimes even 1,2,3 followed  by the subcategories of A,B,C and a,b,c.  It interesting to see how many things that are generally used when taking and labeling notes.  I hope to one day use this specific information when I have classroom of my own. A few that I use are skipping lines and certainly leaving EXTRA space for clarification or personal notes.  I hate a crowded paper filled with scratch marks.  I usually never abbreviate, for some reason it bothers me.  I also have a hard time being selective - I write everything I hear.

I read about Dictoglos in this chapter and at first I was extremely confused. Maybe because of the name itself?  After reading the passage a few times I finally got the gist of what this strategy was helping the students with.  By creating this environment where the students have to recreate the text as accurately as possible aids the students in working on their listening skills.  It's sometimes hard to drown out distracting sounds and only listen to the lecture. I've been there way too many times.
A question that I have is: When would be an appropriate time to use Dictoglos in the classroom? What age/grade would this be the most helpful?


A question that I have is: How would a math teacher provide an outline in a middle school class on a math lecture? What would that look like?  I've never had experience with an outline in math!

Note taking in science is another subject that I believe needs some form of structure.  The scenario that the books creates was a little awkward to read I couldn't even imagine taking a free form of notes in that class!  This would certainly be an area where categorization would be key.  I could also see a KWL form of note taking being used in this situation.  Activating prior knowledge always helps in science to create a pathway into furthering learning. The book also states that this form of note taking creates a non-threatening environment for students to express themselves.  The material is sometimes controversial and critical and students respond emotionally.

As I read the last section about note taking in electives and researched based presentations I remember a really neat form of organization for younger children to use for collecting notes for their first "research paper".  By using a file folder with library pockets, each pocket is labeled with a question.  The topic could be snakes and a question on the pocket could be "What do snakes eat?". The student would search for information write some facts or bulleted note on an index card and place it in the pocket.  As students write notes and collect note cards they now turn their notes into sentences and sentences into a paragraph.  Another strategy that the book noted was note taking using a matrix.  I thought that this particular graphic was so interesting and creative.  I hope that I can use that matrix when I start writing my blogfolio!

Here's a graphic organizer for making notes on a non-fiction story for lower elementary!

Word for Word - Vocabulary Across the Curriculum

The first thing that I noticed when reading Chapter 3 for this blog was how enjoyable and easy to read this text is! It’s finally, FINALLY a joy to read course content that I can actually understand.  Students text books should be model the exact same way so they can understand the information rather than merely read it.  I’m so excited to see a text book for education majors that models what is in the best interest for the students.

I love the “I Am” poems, it’s such an amazing way for students to use self expression and a variety of vocabulary words to create such a unique artifact of themselves.  I especially love the example in the book that talks about being Tiger Woods, but a more faithful version. I literally had to laugh out loud.  I found the first full page of text to be very beneficial to my reading.  I never knew that revisiting basic skills with struggling readers would just help fill gaps and not help the reader catch up! It makes sense that the students wouldn’t find the information valuable since they get the “watered down” version of material.  One question I have is: How can we hold struggling students to the same level as on grade level students without frustrating them? I wouldn’t want to water down the information and think it wasn’t important, but I don’t know how to approach students that reach a frustration level. Having a vast knowledge of vocabulary is also correlated with reading comprehension; this helps me a lot since my tutoring student has second grade comprehension level in the sixth grade.  Hopefully I’ll have some time to see how he does with vocabulary to determine if his lack of comprehension is due to his low vocabulary.  Comprehension is also influenced by other factors, but vocabulary seems to be a major driving point in effecting reaching his potential.  I plan on working with Malikio using a few vocabulary words correlating to the trade book to hopefully increase his comprehension of what he is reading.

I was so interested to read that students acquire an amazing 3,000 words a year! So many words for such tiny people.  I personally think that vocabulary should span from focusing on the curriculum that the students are learning and picking new and random words to challenge the students.  I feel like both have their place in the classroom and both can easily be conquered with the dedication of the students and teacher.  I was SO pleased to see a grey box labeled “The Benefits for ELL”! I learned a lot of this information on Friday during Senior Block’s professional development seminar.  We had two amazing guest speakers who taught us a lot about ELL students’ success rate and the proper strategies to use in certain situations.  What I found most interesting was how ELL students are sometimes misjudged because of their excellent use of social language.  Instructional language is crucial to any students’ success.  During the session we had with our guest speakers I also learned that is also necessary to let students speak in their native language and not forbid it.  It makes the students feel uneasy and the chapter specifically states that there needs to be a psychologically safe and motivating environment to learn.

Using self assessment of current knowledge was a pleasant surprise to see in this chapter as well.  Dr. Ramp just recently gave our class a self assessment of our current vocabulary knowledge to fill in before mid-terms.  It is SO refreshing to see our professors practicing what they preach.  I really like this form of assessment since it promotes an accountability factor when it comes to vocabulary.  It also gives the teacher an idea of where the student is and helps set goals for the end unit. 

When dealing with vocabulary instruction, professionals have agreed on four principles for effective instruction:

·         Be actively involved in word learning

·         Make personal connections

·         Be immersed in vocabulary, and

·         Consolidate meaning through multiple information sources

These principles helped me clearly understand what I need to do to help students learn at their best ability.  When students are actively involved they are more attentive and engaged.  This could mean having the students act out a skit using the word as a guide, make up a rap about the word, or use whole body movements to learn the word.  Using personal connections to vocabulary words is always helpful for students’ understanding.  Each student could find a way to incorporate the vocabulary word into a sentence that applies to them and they could share with the class.  Being immersed in vocabulary is truly important at all times, especially in the classroom.  When you use rich vocabulary the students find it second nature to continue using these words outside of school.  Consolidating the meaning of the word also helps the student get a clear meaning of what the word is and how it should be used.

A few of my favorite strategies at work are the word wall, expanding student vocabulary, and learning vocabulary as parts of speech.  I have always loved the idea of a word wall because it gives students a visual of the words that the class has covered and are on grade level.  This gives students a wonderful visual and support during writing.  My only concern with the word wall is compromising the students’ ability to spell on their own grade level independently.  One of my questions is – How do we provide support for vocabulary via word wall, but still keep students’ authentic  spelling intact? Expanding a student’s vocabulary is such an excellent practice since students generally feel comfortable with words that they know.  Something that I saw recently on Pinterest was a Dead List of commonly used words and suggestions for more vivid vocabulary for students to use in writing.  When students are provided with extra resources to help their need for new words they are more able to perform to the level that the teacher expects.

If you haven't checked out all of the amazing teaching ideas on Pinterest, you need to!
Fabulous ideas from fabulous educators.

Here is my education board if you want to take a look!
Brittlyn's Pinterest - Classroom Baord

Learning new vocabulary words as parts of speech is another approach that I enjoyed reading about.  I especially loved the “Vocabulary Jeopardy” that was introduced in this section, along with the visual with the shades of meaning.  I could imagine my own students being excited and anticipating their turn at this game.  This section also included how this could be beneficial to ELL students and the acquisition of the English language.

Learning vocabulary in all content areas is incredibly important – I love how this chapter broke down some of the major subject areas and how to teach specific to the content.  I especially enjoyed the concepts and ideas to teach the vocabulary within the subject in science and math.  Science and math are both my weaknesses personally and I need real help with ways to deliver content to the students.  One of the figures at the end of the chapter offered was a quiz me card of terms.  The student had to collect five signatures of adults who would quiz them of their vocabulary words. 

I enjoyed this chapter so much since I enjoy vocabulary and have a love for learning new words, I hope that we will continue to learn more strategies to help our future students!

My friends, Frey and Fisher

While reading this text for this blog the very first sentence was so profound that it took my breath away.  It really is amazing what humans can do and how we can read little squiggles on a page and understand and learn from it.   Frye and Fisher make a great point about how the goal of education is to incorporate language in everything that students do, from comprehension to shooting a basketball.

I really enjoyed the authors' way of setting the scene and providing a way for the reader to feel like they are in actually in that classroom. I also noticed in this passage how there were many really vivid verbs to describe what the students are doing. (adds, wonders, identifies) It made the passage so fun to read.  The multiple uses of strategies in this classroom really were amazing and such a great portrait of what a true classroom should be,

By using these strategies students are able to respond in a completely different way because they experienced the information rather than just hearing it.  Listening is only one aspect of learning that is generally overused by teachers.  It's important for students and teachers to know strategies that work for them as individuals.  Students also wear many different "hats" in the classroom - they were a historian hat, a scientist hat, an artist hat and so on.  Each of these hats require specific skills for the subject, but all incorporate comprehension and reading.

In the text styles section of the first chapter, importance is placed on students learning literary devices so students know how to decipher fictional reading.  I found this particularly important because I was never fully aware of what all of the literary devices meant until high school.  I was never taught the ups and downs of vocabulary.  Vocabulary is important in all subjects, especially science.  Science vocabulary is really crucial for students to grasp on to - it keeps building.  I also learned in the chapter that students really need to build on their prior knowledge when reading historical text that is a very journalistic style; even the titles are hard to grasp.  Math is the hardest text to understand and breakdown.  ELL students are more confused with this layout than any other text that they come in contact with .  Math is also the hardest subject for me to actually read with purpose - I'm so clueless mixing words with numbers.  In this section I really enjoyed how each subject was broken down and addressed - even PE and art! These text forms offer students a rich variety of experiences.

While reading about comprehension I was really pleasantly surprised to see how a lot of reading does not equal great comprehension although the way schools teach reading would make you think otherwise.  There is such an emphasis on students being able to read fast and accurate rather than read with meaning.  Developing a good sense of metacognition is key to comprehension.  Students need to be able to breakdown, understand, and evaluate what is being read in the text.  Students learn to become better learners. readers, and listeners.  The questions provided in the passage were really helpful especially to me, even during these chapter readings. They helped me stay on track with my learning.

Conversation is the life of a classroom, like heartbeat if you will.  It allows students to share information, it fosters growth in all areas, and improve social interactions.  These strategies listed in this section are all ones that I've participated in during my college experience and they are also quite useful everytime I've used them in a lesson.  My personal favorite of the three strategies would be the Jigsaw.  I used this in Dr. Hanna's class and it really helped my learning to have to teach and be taught.  I love how this strategy allows the student to become the teacher and take charge of their learning.  My least favorite strategy is the pair and share tactic.  This strategy never really engages me personally and it also doesn't always allow for accountable talk.

Powerful Pens:

Writing to learn is a powerful phrase.  This allows the writing process to be used in cross content areas and it is a great way for students to also get feed back on their ideas from ideas.  Students can also recall, clarify, and question their new found knowledge.  Low stakes writing was a new concept for me to read about.  The text states that it helps promote thinking and involvement in the subject, as opposed to practicing the most proper writing.  I think that this form of writing allows students to jog their memories without worrying about the technical format of writing.  I would certainly use this in my own classroom for students to explore their own knowledge.

The 3 Kinds of Knowledge in Writing:

• Declarative - basic DOK 1 knowledge, consists of labeling, listing, and recalling.
• Procedural - application of declarative knowledge, describing ways of doing things and giving directions.
• Conditional - when or why something is done

The different models of writing reminded me of what we did in class with Dr. Bishop and our biopoems. I really love the idea of the "I am" model that Dr. Bishop showed us from Hawkins - those children are so talented and gifted.  I think that framed sentences are also a nice tactic to help students become comfortable with writing.  

The section that I was most interested in while reading Chapter 8 is why writing is neglected.  I have no idea why any teacher would neglect writing in their classroom since students should be encouraged to use these skills.  Writing shouldn't be reserved for just reading and english, but every subject.  Writing is a universal way of communicating and it should be exercised anytime possible. 

Content Area Literacy, Design Thinking and Biopoems

At the first glance on the content area literacy article I was grinning with the fact that concentrating and reading this with meaning would be a challenge for my short attention span.  In my attempt to begin my learning journey I prepared a Microsoft Word document to outline what I found interesting and useful out of the article to post here on my blog.  Strategies for success, people. This helped me get the most out of reading and put a lot of really great ideas in my head about implementing design thinking and content area literacy in my own classroom.


Content Area Literacy


The content area literacy article was long, but packed with important information and just dripping with potential projects.  I loved that this article really stressed that content area literacy is MUCH more than reading and writing to learn along with textbooks, but learning skills to be successful in life.  The ability to read and write well affects every area of success in a child's life, educational career, and far beyond.  It was also very interesting to read about the shift between third and fourth grade and how reading changes.  I personally experienced a rough transition between these two grades and never really knew why.  The explanation in this article helped me to better understand how the transition is so drastic and how students need tools to help them ease in to informational text and using that text to gain meaningful knowledge.


By providing students opportunities to use skills and strategies they can better understand how to breakdown those long wordy passages in science books and gain something from them.  Personally, I struggled with textbooks and using them to read for content.  The layout was boring and I stumbled across paragraph after paragraph, looking for the bolded words to gain some insight on what is meaningful.  Hopefully I can use strategies to help my own students to read to understand, not just read to fulfill a "reading" assignment.  Pairing and sharing, tea party reading, note taking, jigsaws, and think alouds are all great tools that help me in college now - I could only imagine how they could improve young children's reading and comprehension.


I enjoyed reading about the 3 ways to incorporate content area literacy and promote student success.

• Early Exposure - How amazing is this? I actually experienced this in elementary school and never knew it.  For the longest time I was obsessed with trying to be a grown up and loved to read the newspaper.  I was so thrilled to get a Weekly Reader at school all throughout my childhood and read about things that were geared to my age group.  I was also privileged enough to have grandparents that really cherished reading and my growth; they also loved buying yearly subscriptions to Zoo Books and National Geographic.  It's so amazing what interesting formatting and enjoyable articles can do in a child's ability to read and enjoy reading about a multitude of topics.
• Informational Text Motivate Children - Another weird quirk about me - I love children's informational text books. Especially non-fiction biographies with fabulous art. I could sit it my mother's classroom library all day and live the lives of Rosa Parks, George Washington, and Jackie Robinson. These books truly motivate children to experience reading in a new way and live through the pages of books.  This allows the students to also find their passions not on in reading, but about different subjects.  Books ignite fires in children to find their deepest interest whether it is polymer science, baking, or landscaping. 
• Information Text Increases New Knowledge Domains - This allows students to find a niche for using the lingo of other subjects like a pro.  Students can pass for scientist, mathematicians, and historians.  By reading and using informational text in cross content areas students also gain an enhanced vocabulary and make connections in everyday life.

Learning logs popped up again in this article and again, I loved it. I adore the fact that students take control and own their own learning.  This is a way for students to use meaningful writing in more than just the regular subjects of English and reading, but in all subjects.  Teachers can pose open ended questions about the content that the class is studying and students can respond using any means that they can.  This is a great tool for teachers to use to self assessment of the learning and teaching that is going on in the class.  Another use for learning logs could be a self study tool. Students can use it as a study guide and also as a self checking tool.


Cross content area literacy and using information text is a great opportunity to allow students to research projects and share with their class.  This all falls under the category of reading and writing to learn.  Several ideas can include - Famous American, My Historic Hero, Super Scientist, and Citizen City.  These projects require research, writing, public speaking, presenting, and  a major emphasis on reading and writing to learn with using informational text in a meaningful way.


Design Thinking: Lessons for the Classroom


The design thinking process can be used for just about anything and everything, not just the classroom.  I love that students (and teachers alike) can take this information outside of the classroom and apply it.  I really like the rules that were stated for collaboration - using yes,.. instead of yes, but.  This allows for free range for all ideas an all possibilities, not just limiting the thought process to what we think is possible. All ideas are welcome, even extremely innovative ones.


I love how this article also used the steps in different examples - the way it was used in BIF2011 and the way that it could be implemented in a classroom.  This process could be used for anything big or small within a classroom (and beyond!) The first thing that I thought of when I saw the process was something like addressing a problem in the school, like bullying or implementing new class rules.  After reading this article again, I then thought of how this was a lot similar to the scientific method that I was introduced to in middle school.  It automatically brought me back to the infamous old egg drop experiment.  It started with brainstorming ways to best protect the egg, testing the way you thought was best, getting feedback, readjusting the variables, and then presenting your findings to the rest of the class.


I really think that this method of thinking and designing is a treasure for teachers, as well as students.  This allows students to have creative freedom that they are sometimes deprived of in the classroom.  It also provides students a way to test and troubleshoot anything and everything their heart desires- from a new invention to finding a way to get more allowance.






Two Questions:

1. What is the best form of information text for the class to receive as a whole? I received Weekly Reader throughout elementary school and Zoo Books at home.  What are some new up to date materials that could expose students to world events and other interesting news topics that are age appropriate and interesting enough to engage them?
2. What age is ideal for students to start using the design thinking process?

Writing Across the Curriculum

The article provided for this prompt was really a great help to me.  I have a tremendous fear of writing and teaching writing.  The article provided ways of implementing writing without doing the traditional "beating a dead horse" way of teaching.  I found this article to be incredibly helpful since the jump to Common Core is coming soon.  With the Common Core comes cross content area writing; writing in math, writing in social studies, writing everywhere! This idea has given me great anxiety, but with these tools I think that I can tackle just about anything.

My favorite part about the article was the useful strategies to implement writing in the classroom and across all areas of education.  I have always loved taking notes in class (weird, right?) and was so surprised to see exercises to enhances students writing and note taking/study skills.  I had a terrific teacher in high school who was actually a baseball coach.  He taught me the most valuable skill I could ever have in life; structured note taking.  I loved seeing something in this article that I had learned in school.  I hope that I can help my students learn these skills and allow them to use writing as a way of studying and self checking. 

The framed paragraph strategy was another tool that could serve such an amazing purpose in a classroom.  Using frame paragraphs seems to be a great way to introduce students into structured writing and allow them to feel comfortable with writing.  The article elaborated on how this method would be most useful for students with anxiety about writing.  This strategy could also be used for a modification for certain students in the classroom that struggle with open ended writing. 

Free writing is something that I have a love/hate relationship with.  I really enjoy it when it's something that I have the opportunity to use when I'm reflecting on feelings or emotions.  It usually scares me when I'm free writing on random topics that I haven't had much time to really think about since there is a time constraint.  I'm also Dyslexic and I have such a hard time processing information and then transferring it onto paper.  I love the idea though and I think that it serves such a great purpose in classrooms of students.  I think that free writing helps the student understand where they are in the state of the learning process and lets the teacher know where the need to gage their teaching to. 

Learning logs are just fantastic.  I wish we would've been able to have those when I was in school.  This is another strategy that I plan to use in my own classroom, especially in social studies.  Being able to relate the topic to other things that the students may have already encountered always helps prior knowledge and sharing among students.  This strategy also charts a students growth in their process of changing as a learner.  Students, as well as teachers and parents, can look at these journals and see the leaps and bounds made by simple writing, recording, and reflecting.

My favorite strategies were obviously saved for last - bio poems, ABC lists, and word maps.  These strategies just make me smile from reading about them.  These are such creative and innovative ways to encourage writing and learning at the same time.  By using these strategies students are engaged and motivated to write and see their finished product.  Pairing these activities with an element of technology or art would be a terrific form of creative learning.  I remember making bio poems in 5th grade about ourselves and them presenting them to the class.  It was such a fun way to get to know each other, but it really made you think about tiny details since you had to fill in 26 letters of the alphabet.  My mind is just buzzing with ideas and topics to pair these strategies with.

As I've read my other classmates blogs I realize that I have so much in common with all of them!  This is a unique experience for me be case this was not my original block when I first started the education program.  I do know Whitney Sasser - and like Whitney, I also love my sorority, Delta Gamma.  I also read Melinda's blog and noticed that she could play 5 instruments! I can only play two, but I was also in marching band just like she was.

This week's listening experience was such a unique and fun activity.  I sometimes do those things on my own without even noticing it.  It makes you think quite a lot about all of the sounds and noises that go unnoticed.  My favorite thing to do when I visit Auburn with my fiance is to sit on Samford lawn with his dog Deuce and listen to all of the beautiful sounds of nature (or a lawn mower...).

 

Questions:
1.)  What are other innovative ways to introduce writing to learn in young children? (K-1st grade)
2.) What are some learning tools that students with learning disabilities (dyslexia) can use to help them edit their own writing since they sometimes cannot see their own mistakes?

Introductions - Nice to meet you!

My name is Brittlyn Trahan and I am so excited to finally be in Senior Block this semester! I have always had a passion for children and anything to do with teaching.  I come from a family of educators and have spent just about every holiday, weekend, and summer vacation working in my mother’s classroom.  My ideal grade level would either be first of second grade.  I just adore children of that age and love their little personalities.  I am most excited about teaching reading and sharing literature with my class.  I absolutely loved reading anything I could get my hands on as a child.  My “classroom” library is already busting at the seams! Math has always been my least favorite subject to teach since it was a weak area in elementary school.  I have anxiety with so many of the content area skills to teach.  Hopefully the math methods class this semester will boost my confidence and understanding of ways to successfully reach and teach children.

A Little About Me

I’m a Louisiana native and a Mississippi Gulf Coast transplant.  I lived in Shreveport, LA until I was about 14 and my family moved to Ocean Springs, MS after my father was re-stationed at Keesler Air Force Base.  After I graduated high school I attended Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in Jackson County for two years and then transferred to Southern Miss.  My mother is a third grade teacher at St. Alphonsus Catholic School in Ocean Springs and has been educating young minds for ten years! She is the main reason I decided to become a teacher since she showed me that it is a great profession for anyone who wants a family.  I love to help her at school, tutor her students, and read to her class.  My father was just recently transferred in July to Minot, ND for 2 years.  We miss him dearly, but he flies in every now and then to visit us.  He is a selfless hardworking person and I’m so lucky to have him in my life.  My sister is a freshman at Southern Miss this year.  She is a Biochemistry major and has dreams of getting in to Medical School and becoming an eye surgeon.  She is fully of personality and so driven.  I’m really enjoying spending my last year of college and her first year together!

I'm recently engaged! A month after my 21st birthday my boyfriend of four years finally popped the question on the beach in our hometown. My fiancé just recently graduated Magna Cum Laude from Auburn University in December and is now attending graduate level Nursing School at The University of South Alabama.  He is my biggest supporter and constantly encourages me to be the best teacher I can be.  We’re currently planning our wedding and so excited about our big day, June 15, 2013.

In my spare time I enjoy cooking, organizing anything and everything, wedding planning, decorating, reading, and blogging.  My latest project that I have been working on is trying to perfect making wheat bread from scratch.   The first try was successful, but I still have lots to learn!  I also enjoy collecting items for my future classroom, going to Mass with my family, and trying to keep up with ESPN and my fiancé’s endless knowledge of sports statistics.

About the Syllabus

While I was reading the syllabus the thing that stuck out to me most was our pen pal from Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania.  That seems like such a unique experience and such a wonderful way to use our blogs to communicate with other teacher candidates like ourselves.  I think that this class is about promoting literacy and literacy practices in classrooms in all subject areas.   I hope to learn many new and interesting ways to approach implementing literacy in the classroom across all content areas.  This coursework looks exciting and I’m ready to see what all CIR 411 has to offer me!