This year, I begin my 4th year as an 8th grade science teacher. Over the past 3 years I have learned so much about my community, my school, my students, my content, and teaching. In becoming a teacher I've made the conscious decision to be a life-long learner. I've made this decision to not only be that role model for my students, but mostly because I'm still interested in being my very best self. That being said, I'm currently taking an online class on how the ELL Brain learns. ELLs are English Language Learners and are a demographic that I'm very interested in further helping to be successful in my Science class. In order to do that there are a few areas Science Teachers in general need to identify and understand; The different challenges, the different language issues, the sociocultural issues, and finally the pedagogical issues that all come with teaching English language learners.
Challenges
I believe there are many challenges, when it comes to teaching science to any student, but one definitely stands out: Science has developed its own specialized vocabulary. In fact many people refer to it as learning a new language. This 'strange' vocabulary has been developed, mostly based on Latin and Greek words) so that scientists all over the world are able to better communicate. As I've discovered, this is GREAT for those students with native languages that are considered romance languages, as there are many similarities. Comparing Spanish and English, there are many cognates, or words that look and sound similar and that also have similar meanings. For students who have been introduced to these words in their native language, will gain more meaning from those activities, and the individuals who haven't, will not only be adding to their English vocabulary, but also their native language vocabulary. It will be my job to help identify those similarities so that students can begin to make the needed connections.
Language
With there being such a focus on learning the vocabulary associated with science, and the fact that ELLs are often required to pass a state science exam in order to receive a high school diploma, it is my job to help them gain this knowledge. The best approach to helping ELLs be successful in this endeavor is have them get out of their seats and DO science. This means engage them in different inquiry based labs (where they're given a question that they have to answer by the end of the lab), or activities that allow the students to put visuals, pictures, or experiences with the new 'unusual' words. There's a sheltered instruction activity called Observation Carousel, where students are getting out of their seats and visiting the different pictures around the classroom. As they rotate, students are writing what they know about the pictures; words or phrases. I see this being a great memory recall activity or even a pre-assessment to see what students already know on a topic. Either way, students are engaging with the content and practicing with the language. This last piece is key. Practice with words, especially the newly learned academic vocabulary is essential so that they can further develop their vocabulary, be able to speak about science, and accurately conceptualize the science they are being taught.
Socio-Cultural
Teachers need to design their instruction with an awareness of students' cultural backgrounds. Make meaningful connections to the knowledge, perspectives, and behaviors that English learners bring to their classroom. This first requires teachers to make relationships with their students, to get to know them, their strengths and weaknesses, their interests, and their individual cultures. From there, teachers should provide varying perspectives of the content being taught. As a science teacher, yes my content is based in fact, but how that fact affects individuals from other countries is/can be very interesting. Take the topic of climate change or global warming. This phenomenon affects people very differently all over the world, and to provide that insight to my students is important, especially if the ELLs in my classroom have a direct connection or experience.
Pedagogical
Make lessons exciting, relevant, and inquiry based so to ignite the curiosity in students. One of my goals for my students is to get them talking about science. Understandably, this is a difficult task for all students, not just my ELLs. In short, supports need to be available in order to help them be able do this. This year, I am interested in implementing a few different discourse supports for my students. The greatest support will be posting different sentence stems around my classroom so that students have a starting point to build from when they agree, disagree, want to site evidence, etc. I imagine this would be a bit of a process, so to start small with just a few agree and disagree options at first. Additionally, I will need to allow time throughout my units to let them practice by having them participate in class discussions.
Sunday, August 2, 2020
Monday, August 16, 2010
House Sitting
For the last week and a half I've been house sitting for an MD I work with. Watering plants, collecting mail/paper, and feeding 3 little dogs. I recently realized that I am sooooooo not a dog person!
They each have their individual personalities...
Gyser - Is an Emphazemic pug that enjoys taunting me by barking at 4am, not coming when it's breakfast/dinner time, breathing heavily on me when I'm sitting trying to get my homework done (Seriously, he needs a doggie breath mint), and then the worst of all? When I sit down to try and pet him, he proceeds to rub his nose/face all over me for the next couple mins, and then walks away.
Rusty - Is a sweet springer spaniel, that believes he is a baby. When I sit on the ground, he comes up to me and sits on my lap, and then gives me a baby look, like I need to pick him up and cradle him. Needless to say... a little annoying. AND then... he likes to lick. There's only so much licking I can handle...
Last but not least is... Maverick. Maverick is a Norwich terrier that is absolutely adorable. He has a cute little face, and is so even keeled, and just excitedly spins all around when it's time for food! :)
Oddly enough I love these dogs and am VERY happy they are all small dogs (cause I don't think I could handle 3 golden retriever size dogs). One thing's for sure they make me appreciate my cute little kitten Pumpkin!!
They each have their individual personalities...
Gyser - Is an Emphazemic pug that enjoys taunting me by barking at 4am, not coming when it's breakfast/dinner time, breathing heavily on me when I'm sitting trying to get my homework done (Seriously, he needs a doggie breath mint), and then the worst of all? When I sit down to try and pet him, he proceeds to rub his nose/face all over me for the next couple mins, and then walks away.
Rusty - Is a sweet springer spaniel, that believes he is a baby. When I sit on the ground, he comes up to me and sits on my lap, and then gives me a baby look, like I need to pick him up and cradle him. Needless to say... a little annoying. AND then... he likes to lick. There's only so much licking I can handle...
Last but not least is... Maverick. Maverick is a Norwich terrier that is absolutely adorable. He has a cute little face, and is so even keeled, and just excitedly spins all around when it's time for food! :)
Oddly enough I love these dogs and am VERY happy they are all small dogs (cause I don't think I could handle 3 golden retriever size dogs). One thing's for sure they make me appreciate my cute little kitten Pumpkin!!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
What I want to be when I grow up...
So I think that I've narrowed down my answer. For some this question is easy to answer and all throughout grade school, jr high, and the beginning of high school, it was for me too. I knew I wanted to be a grade school teacher. And then I spoke with a teacher, and she flat out said, "You don't want to be a teacher!" backing it up with a legitimate rationale: Long hours, little pay. I had always known this, but coming from her, it held more weight. I'd never had a teacher tell me they'd wish they'd chosen an alternative profession. Consequently, the last year of high school, and even my first year of college I had no idea as to what I wanted to do with my life. It's taken 10 + years to figure it out, but after doing some research, I've decided that I would love to get a degree in Graphic Design (Possibly with a journalism minor) and get a job with a magazine! I've always enjoyed being creative and I think this will be an excellent opportunity to do this full time! (Knock on Wood)...
ADDITIONALLY: I recently found out that the University of Washington has a Graphic Design School - although I believe it's called something else... Obviously I need to do a little more research. BUT this is freaking awesome, as I've always wanted to go back, and actually get a degree from the UW! The other option would be the Seattle Art Institute. Either way... I'll be moving back to the beautiful city of SEATTLE!!! :)
Thoughts?
ADDITIONALLY: I recently found out that the University of Washington has a Graphic Design School - although I believe it's called something else... Obviously I need to do a little more research. BUT this is freaking awesome, as I've always wanted to go back, and actually get a degree from the UW! The other option would be the Seattle Art Institute. Either way... I'll be moving back to the beautiful city of SEATTLE!!! :)
Thoughts?
Monday, August 2, 2010
Central Oregon Fun
So I finally explored more of what is Central Oregon this weekend...the GREAT outdoors!! Having hailed from the Evergreen state I'm well aware of some of the Pacific Northwest tourist traps; Mt. Rainier, Mt. St.Helen's, Puget Sound, etc. However, Central Oregon has it's own amazing features too! (Go Figure!) Namely, The 3 Sisters, Mt. Bachelor, Rivers, Lakes, and State Parks with different lava rocks, and caves formed from lava!
Previously, on a couple of our last 'family' summer vacations, camping about an hour outside of Bend, we quickly realized that we weren't accustomed to the scorching temperatures (yeah, I'm a wuss). The Newberry Lava Cave would be our salvation! I know it's kind of silly, but this place was so cold that if you didn't bring/wear sweatshirts and sweatpants you would come out an icicle! The cave is about 2 miles long, dark as all get out (lanterns/ flash lights are needed), part of the cave passes directly under the highway and the best part (yeah, right) you may even encounter a bat or two!
After moving to Bend, a couple summers ago, I made the quick 20 minute trip to Mt.Bachelor, paid my $15 and took a ski lift up to the summit. WHAT AN AMAZING VIEW! I'm pretty sure I could see all the way to Portland! Ok, not that far... but FAR! In addition to the view there is also a fair hunk of snow still left, even in early August! When was the last time you had a Snowball fight in the summertime?
For the last couple of years, the 'Bend-ites' that I work with have made lists of places for me to visit, and with all the GORGEOUS weather we've had recently I've decided to start exploring! This past weekend, a group of friends and I visited a part of the McKenzie river. The campground we visited was about an hour outside of Sisters, and was well worth the drive. Not the best place to enjoy the sun, as it is mostly covered by trees, but a great place to sit and relax - right next to a quick moving river. On a side note: I can't wait to actually river raft this particular river. Don't get me wrong, it scares the HE-BE-GE-BIES outta me, but I am TOTALLY GAME! (Far better to dare mighty things, right?)
Unfortunately, no pics this time, but next time I'll post some! Hopefully it'll make ya'll want to visit!
Previously, on a couple of our last 'family' summer vacations, camping about an hour outside of Bend, we quickly realized that we weren't accustomed to the scorching temperatures (yeah, I'm a wuss). The Newberry Lava Cave would be our salvation! I know it's kind of silly, but this place was so cold that if you didn't bring/wear sweatshirts and sweatpants you would come out an icicle! The cave is about 2 miles long, dark as all get out (lanterns/ flash lights are needed), part of the cave passes directly under the highway and the best part (yeah, right) you may even encounter a bat or two!
After moving to Bend, a couple summers ago, I made the quick 20 minute trip to Mt.Bachelor, paid my $15 and took a ski lift up to the summit. WHAT AN AMAZING VIEW! I'm pretty sure I could see all the way to Portland! Ok, not that far... but FAR! In addition to the view there is also a fair hunk of snow still left, even in early August! When was the last time you had a Snowball fight in the summertime?
For the last couple of years, the 'Bend-ites' that I work with have made lists of places for me to visit, and with all the GORGEOUS weather we've had recently I've decided to start exploring! This past weekend, a group of friends and I visited a part of the McKenzie river. The campground we visited was about an hour outside of Sisters, and was well worth the drive. Not the best place to enjoy the sun, as it is mostly covered by trees, but a great place to sit and relax - right next to a quick moving river. On a side note: I can't wait to actually river raft this particular river. Don't get me wrong, it scares the HE-BE-GE-BIES outta me, but I am TOTALLY GAME! (Far better to dare mighty things, right?)
Unfortunately, no pics this time, but next time I'll post some! Hopefully it'll make ya'll want to visit!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Hello Hello Hello
And I'm back... May I just say a quick Hello my fellow bloggers out there! After just a short break (so much for my goals of the previous post), I actually have my Computer Concepts class to thank/blame, for blogging again :)
Since my last post, I have enrolled and am now attending classes at the local community college! What I thought would be terrifying, has really turned into an eye opening and interesting experience. The classes I've taken so far include entry level courses in writing, computer concepts, and MATH (I'm currently taking Pre-Calc now)! Gulp! I've never been one to enjoy a math class (I can remember dreading Mr. Lutz's Algebra II Trig class in high school) - but now, I am understanding concepts, and, dare I say, enjoying MATH. Alright, Alright... I know that sounds weird, but even as I write this I'm contemplating taking the dreaded ... CALCULUS! That has not been set into stone quite yet... I'll keep you updated...
Since my last post, I have enrolled and am now attending classes at the local community college! What I thought would be terrifying, has really turned into an eye opening and interesting experience. The classes I've taken so far include entry level courses in writing, computer concepts, and MATH (I'm currently taking Pre-Calc now)! Gulp! I've never been one to enjoy a math class (I can remember dreading Mr. Lutz's Algebra II Trig class in high school) - but now, I am understanding concepts, and, dare I say, enjoying MATH. Alright, Alright... I know that sounds weird, but even as I write this I'm contemplating taking the dreaded ... CALCULUS! That has not been set into stone quite yet... I'll keep you updated...
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Happy February Everyone!
A month into the year and my new years resolutions are still going strong! Here's my list:
1. Lose weight
2. Make a bigger effort to keep in touch with friends
3. Blog at least once a week
4. Start my own website
5. Save money for traveling
1. Losing weight! A struggle for most of my life, something has finally clicked. For years it's been either, changing my diet, OR exercising. Never the two put together. So in January, to incorporate my exercising goal, I joined a local gym/pool - which was the best move I could have made. A usual week includes an early morning swim (each day), ZUMBA (twice a week), Deep Water Running (twice a week), and on Wednesday I'm giving Yoga a shot! To help with my diet I joined Weight Watchers with a friend of mine. To be quite honest with you, with all the 'diets' out there, I think WW does it the best. They don't tell you that you can't eat certain foods, but that to eat all foods in moderation. In addition to both of these I have a 3rd piece of the puzzle that has helped!
As of the beginning of the year, my work started a Biggest Loser competition. In this contest, I'm on a team with 3 other people, I attend weekly nutritional talks, and I weigh in every other week. This is proving to be a huge motivation as the winner (person with greatest percentage of weight lost) gets $500!! So far, I'm proud to say that I've lost a total of 18 lbs since the beginning of January, my BMI has gone down 2 whole points, and I feel GREAT!
2. Making a bigger effort to keep in touch with friends! I make cards in my free time, and I finally thought to myself, "Hey! You could send these out instead of keeping them for your portfolio, and actually keep in contact with people!" Novel idea...I know :) PLUS I'm trying to get birthday cards out on time too! :) I still need a few more addresses though...*cough* Mer, Amy, and Jackie!!
3. Blogging at least once a week! It occurs to me that I wasn't very good at blogging last year... well not this year! Enough said!
4. Start my Own Website! It's either this or make a brochure with all of my work - which would be a pretty big brochure. I would like to make more people aware of my wedding invites and miscellaneous cards. As it stands right now, I can show locals my past ideas, but when friends in Seattle want to see them, it's a little harder. Not to mention I'd like to expand and be able to touch base with people all over! :) (This is me thinking big!) My brother's mother-in-law makes websites for a living, and is all set to help me design one! However, there are a few steps I need to take to get there ... A name (for my very, very, small business), design at least 5 more ideas, take nice pictures of invites, cards, etc, and then I may be able to start thinking of a website design.
5. Save money for traveling! I don't do too much traveling, and I figure you're only young once, so do it now! A couple friends and I will be doing a trip to the East Coast later this year! The major stops will be Boston, Philly, New York, and Washington DC! I have never been to the East Coast, and cannot wait for this trip!!! The only thing standing in my way is money (go figure). I have a tendancy to buy things I don't need, ie: card making supplies. So shopping has been cut down to once a month (which seemed to work last month), and I have become conscious of the fact that I have an abundance of card making supplies so I should probably start using what I have. We'll see how much I can save between now and then! Oh and if people have suggestions of where to visit on our trip, please share!!
Phew! This is going to be a busy year! BUT! I'm ready! Bring it on!
Until next time!
1. Lose weight
2. Make a bigger effort to keep in touch with friends
3. Blog at least once a week
4. Start my own website
5. Save money for traveling
1. Losing weight! A struggle for most of my life, something has finally clicked. For years it's been either, changing my diet, OR exercising. Never the two put together. So in January, to incorporate my exercising goal, I joined a local gym/pool - which was the best move I could have made. A usual week includes an early morning swim (each day), ZUMBA (twice a week), Deep Water Running (twice a week), and on Wednesday I'm giving Yoga a shot! To help with my diet I joined Weight Watchers with a friend of mine. To be quite honest with you, with all the 'diets' out there, I think WW does it the best. They don't tell you that you can't eat certain foods, but that to eat all foods in moderation. In addition to both of these I have a 3rd piece of the puzzle that has helped!
As of the beginning of the year, my work started a Biggest Loser competition. In this contest, I'm on a team with 3 other people, I attend weekly nutritional talks, and I weigh in every other week. This is proving to be a huge motivation as the winner (person with greatest percentage of weight lost) gets $500!! So far, I'm proud to say that I've lost a total of 18 lbs since the beginning of January, my BMI has gone down 2 whole points, and I feel GREAT!
2. Making a bigger effort to keep in touch with friends! I make cards in my free time, and I finally thought to myself, "Hey! You could send these out instead of keeping them for your portfolio, and actually keep in contact with people!" Novel idea...I know :) PLUS I'm trying to get birthday cards out on time too! :) I still need a few more addresses though...*cough* Mer, Amy, and Jackie!!
3. Blogging at least once a week! It occurs to me that I wasn't very good at blogging last year... well not this year! Enough said!
4. Start my Own Website! It's either this or make a brochure with all of my work - which would be a pretty big brochure. I would like to make more people aware of my wedding invites and miscellaneous cards. As it stands right now, I can show locals my past ideas, but when friends in Seattle want to see them, it's a little harder. Not to mention I'd like to expand and be able to touch base with people all over! :) (This is me thinking big!) My brother's mother-in-law makes websites for a living, and is all set to help me design one! However, there are a few steps I need to take to get there ... A name (for my very, very, small business), design at least 5 more ideas, take nice pictures of invites, cards, etc, and then I may be able to start thinking of a website design.
5. Save money for traveling! I don't do too much traveling, and I figure you're only young once, so do it now! A couple friends and I will be doing a trip to the East Coast later this year! The major stops will be Boston, Philly, New York, and Washington DC! I have never been to the East Coast, and cannot wait for this trip!!! The only thing standing in my way is money (go figure). I have a tendancy to buy things I don't need, ie: card making supplies. So shopping has been cut down to once a month (which seemed to work last month), and I have become conscious of the fact that I have an abundance of card making supplies so I should probably start using what I have. We'll see how much I can save between now and then! Oh and if people have suggestions of where to visit on our trip, please share!!
Phew! This is going to be a busy year! BUT! I'm ready! Bring it on!
Until next time!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Let's Catch Up!
Hello All!!!
So it's been awhile... i think I actually missed posting during the month of May all together! Since my last post, I completed two of the three wedding invites that I'd been working on (ALL ON TIME!!!). The third is still in process... Hopefully we'll finalize something soon!!! I've been experimenting with computer graphics on this one, and I'm really out of my comfort zone! I really need a program like Photo Shop or Elements, and unfortunately I don't have either - because they're both $4937272920 (OK, I think I should have just left it as 'very expensive'). So I'm stuck with the generic 'Paint' program, which I'm not all that comfortable with. We'll see what I'm able to come up with...
Other than that, I've been pretty busy at work. People leaving, new people being hired, and a relatively new staff... never a good combo for a stress free work environment. All I know is that I've been putting in a lot of overtime, and I CAN'T WAIT to get my next paycheck.
ALSO! I have a friend in Bend,Oregon!! (Gosh, that sounds so pathetic!) My old roommate, Rachel, has recently moved down here! She visited the first couple weekends in May, and like it! So, she found an availablity at a nearby resort, had an interview, got the job, and quickly found a place to live. We have plans to find a place together, the first of September! WHICH MEANS NO MORE LIVING WITH THE 'RENTS (...who I love very much!) :)
One more thing! I walked in a 5K a couple weeks ago. It's my first participation in anything like that and I totally loved it! I was afraid that I'd be the last person to cross the finish line... BUT I wasn't!! And Much to my dismay, there WASN'T a FOOTBALL PLAYER at the end of my race!!! ;o) About 3000 people participated and over $100,000 was raised for Breast Cancer Research. Next year I am hoping that my work (over 400 employees) will want to have an organized team!! I'm already putting together an idea for our t-shirts!!!
So I've been quite the busy bee! Hopefully I won't go another month without posting!!! Who knows!! It's gotten a lot nicer here, so may find myself outside!!! YAY!!! NO MORE RAIN!!!
So it's been awhile... i think I actually missed posting during the month of May all together! Since my last post, I completed two of the three wedding invites that I'd been working on (ALL ON TIME!!!). The third is still in process... Hopefully we'll finalize something soon!!! I've been experimenting with computer graphics on this one, and I'm really out of my comfort zone! I really need a program like Photo Shop or Elements, and unfortunately I don't have either - because they're both $4937272920 (OK, I think I should have just left it as 'very expensive'). So I'm stuck with the generic 'Paint' program, which I'm not all that comfortable with. We'll see what I'm able to come up with...
Other than that, I've been pretty busy at work. People leaving, new people being hired, and a relatively new staff... never a good combo for a stress free work environment. All I know is that I've been putting in a lot of overtime, and I CAN'T WAIT to get my next paycheck.
ALSO! I have a friend in Bend,Oregon!! (Gosh, that sounds so pathetic!) My old roommate, Rachel, has recently moved down here! She visited the first couple weekends in May, and like it! So, she found an availablity at a nearby resort, had an interview, got the job, and quickly found a place to live. We have plans to find a place together, the first of September! WHICH MEANS NO MORE LIVING WITH THE 'RENTS (...who I love very much!) :)
One more thing! I walked in a 5K a couple weeks ago. It's my first participation in anything like that and I totally loved it! I was afraid that I'd be the last person to cross the finish line... BUT I wasn't!! And Much to my dismay, there WASN'T a FOOTBALL PLAYER at the end of my race!!! ;o) About 3000 people participated and over $100,000 was raised for Breast Cancer Research. Next year I am hoping that my work (over 400 employees) will want to have an organized team!! I'm already putting together an idea for our t-shirts!!!
So I've been quite the busy bee! Hopefully I won't go another month without posting!!! Who knows!! It's gotten a lot nicer here, so may find myself outside!!! YAY!!! NO MORE RAIN!!!
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