Class Activities (5/12)

Our last day of class! How exciting as we are all one step closer to achieving our dreams. Today in class we had four thematic unit presentations. The four unit topics were self advocacy, (2) presentations on death/grieving, and another presentation on friendships. Everyone did a nice job with their presentations and shared resources with the entire class that will be valuable for the future.

I LOVED the CPR activity that Jasmine and Kayla did today. It was called the snow ball activity. Each student wrote three things about themselves on a piece of paper. Once each student had completed this task, they then crumpled up their piece of paper and threw it to the middle of the room. Each student grabbed a random piece of paper and had to guess whose paper they had by reading the three clues. This was a great way to get to know other students in the classroom.

Lastly, we filled out a pie chart about the different teen development presentations that were conducted in class. This information will be used on the final for the class when we have to connect methods to what we know about teen development.

Class Activities (5/5)

Today Zach was in charge of the CPR and Energizer activities. I took note of his energizer activity as everyone in the class throughly enjoyed the activity. The activity consisted of finding a partner. One partner took the outside of the circle and the other partner took a spot in the inside of the circle. Music was played and the two circles starting walking in opposite directions. When the music stopped and Zach called out two body parts (ex. foot, toe) you had to rush to find your partner and touch together a foot and a toe from both partners. The last group to complete the task was eliminated. This created positive competition and high energy in the classroom! Nice job Zach.

Also today we started the thematic unit presentations. Three groups presented their thematic unit today. The three group themes were identity, overcoming adversity, and self-acceptance. Each group highlighted their introduction activity as well as their group book and individual books. Groups also presented on their various lessons that they had planned out for their thematic unit.


We are coming to the end of the semester! Exciting I know! The remaining of the semester consists of presentations from different groups! I am excited to see what everyone presents and having resources for the rest of my life!

Aaron Rodgers Vignette

This is a book that I have read over three times throughout my early development as a reader. It has not only had an extensive impact on my development as a reader, it has also provided an avenue into one of my personal biggest interests still today. The book is all about the upbringing and professional career of the great Aaron Rodgers. I am a guy that loves analyzing statistics, so as you can imagine as a young reader I took a great interest in knowing bizarre statistics such as how many touchdowns Rodgers threw his senior season of high school football. This book provided such bizarre statistics that I was able to bask in and this intrigued me and held my interest. Aaron Rodgers is still one of my biggest role models and it is a life long dream to get the chance to meet him someday. The resiliency he has showed throughout his career, his willingness to learn and develop his craft, and his stubbornness to conform are attributes that make him the powerful persona that he is today.

            I remember the day that I received this book as a birthday gift from my mother at the age of 12. That same day, my parents could not pry me away from reading the book. I do not think they cared that I had become consumed by the book as they were just happy that I was reading, something that I was not usually as thrilled to do. This book will always be a book that I think of when I reflect on my development as a young reader. Yes, it was not the most intellectually stimulating, but what it did possess was something that not all young readers may be attracted to or care about but we so important to me! It provided a figure for me to look up to and sparked my interest in sports as a young adult, something that continued to be a big part of my life as a grew up.

Class Activities (4/21)

Today we had time to gather with our thematic unit group and organize and discuss the different jobs that we have to do in order to get our thematic unit done on time. Speak is the group book that we are working on and The Hunger Games is the individual book that I have chosen to do. Self-Advocacy is the theme of our thematic unit.

The presentation group talked about female bullying. It is a different form of bullying then male bullying. We made super cool posters to conclude the lesson about different aspects of the lesson that we found impactful! A great strategy that I want to use in my future classroom.

The Hate List, Falling Into Place, and the second Hate List group all gave their Wiki presentations today. Both of these books are tied into bullying in their unique way. The Hate List is about a school shooting that takes place in connection with a list that is formed by a girl about the people she does not like in the school. Though she does not pull the trigger, she feels guilt for creating this list as the people on the list are the ones who are targeted. This book is about how being bullied can result in being a bully yourself. Falling Into Place is about a girl that is popular and seems perfectly fine on the outside, but internally is really struggling. This book is about the effect that internalization can have on a person, and the main character commits suicide because of this struggle she is going through.

4/14 Class Activities

The class started off with Jessi and Taylor's CPR activity with the skittles. Their were different colored skittles and depending on the color of skittle you chose, decided the question you would have to answer. Some of the questions that were proposed included: Something about yesterday, Something you watch/listen to, something you learned last week, something you are afraid of, and lastly something that you do for fun. I thought this was a great way to start the class and learn a little more about each other.

Today was the Emotional Development Presentation. The information presented is good to hear for any age kid. Topics that they covered were different coping strategies when tough situations arise, how the brain functions in high stress situations, and different techniques as teachers to handle situations in which emotions are riding high.

Today was the first day of Wiki presentations. The first group was the Wish You Were Dead group. Wish You Were Dead is a book about cyberbullying, popularity, and the struggle to fit in. I really liked the Globster file that Kevin created about the setting of the book. The second group to present was my group. We presented on 13 Reasons Why. A book about bullying and more specifically about the snow-ball effect and the bystander effect and how as peers when we notice when something is not right, to step in and just have a conversation with that person!

Class Activities (4/7)

The cognitive development group presented today. One of the activities that I liked was their activity on thinking about who you are and how you have changed. They proposed the question of what superhero/or superpower that we think we have transformed ourselves into in our college years. I think this is a intriguing question especially for the younger middle school group who will easily be able to pick out a superhero that represents their life or their capabilities. They also did a doodle activity to conclude the lesson to wrap up the main concepts of the lesson. By drawing a picture, students have a better chance of retaining the information because they then have attached meaning to the lesson.

We concluded our literature circle today. 13 Reasons Why is a fantastic book and I highly recommend all to read it. We had some great discussion to wrap up the book. Great job literature circle groups!

We continued to work on our Wikki pages today. I can not wait to see what everybody has came up with to represent their particular books. We are using the Wikki pages as an alternative to a book report. A Wikki allows students to use technology and use more creativity when presenting the main concepts and plot of the book.

Bible Vignette

Class Activities (3/31)

Today was the third group presentation. Cora, Aleah, Taylor, and Amanda presented on Self-Identity. I thought there last activity was something I could use in my future instruction. The activity required you to respond "yes" or "no" to a series of questions. Once you completed this, you crumpled up the paper and threw it to the middle of the classroom. Once everyone completed this, each student picked up a random paper. We then divided the room by "yes" and "no" responses to see how the majority of the class answered each question. This was beneficial so it was completely anonymous, but we still got a general idea of why the majority of the class answered to different questions. NICE JOB!

Today was also our second literacy circle meeting. It was interesting to reflect and see how my group members were making connections with the book. Next week is the last week of meeting which is really exciting to be able to answer some of the first questions we posed with having read the entirety of the book. Also next week we will have our Wikis completed which is basically a media driven book report.

Class Activities (3/17)

Today was the first day of literacy circles. My group had a great discussion highlighting some of the main points of the book as well as predicting what will happen next in the book. In our literacy circle, one of our group members gave a one minute summary of the book to the rest of the class. This was a great activity to give the entire close a snapshot of our individual books because we are not all reading the same books.

John, Sam, and myself did a rock, paper, scissors, cheer energizer before the break. This was an energizer that helped keep increase the energy in class. Us, as college students, really enjoyed the game so I can only imagine how effective this energizer can and will be in my future classroom.

Lastly, our class made some awesome Imovie trailers. This was an engaging strategy that incorporated technology into the day. It gave students the ability to be creative and tell a story. I particularly enjoyed this activity because it was FUN! Learning does not always have to be serious, and I would be willing to say that I learn most when I am having fun. Showing off everybody's videos to end the day was a great way to wrap up class!

Happy Spring Break All!

Sports Illustrated Vignette

Class Activities (3/10)

We had our first group present on sexuality. Sexuality is a tough topic to talk about especially with your peers. I really liked how this group incorporated humor into their presentation to lighten the mood, but at the same time hit the really important topics to talk about. They talked about the stigma around sexuality and gender and how there are three totally different views that have taken shape in society. Additionally they talked about why it is so important to see a person as a person, not necessarily as a female or male. Giving students chances to develop and not pushing them one way or another. NICE JOB Kevin, Amy, and Vinnie.

One of my favorite activities in during the class period was the values word sort. It was really interesting to compare with people in my group of what they valued in comparison and contrast to what I valued the most. "Competitiveness" was one of my core values which did not appear in any of my group members top values. We had a discussion of why this maybe was true and talked about some of their top values. This was a great activity to find something about yourself and to continue to work on your self value.

Stand in Silence was another activity that we did in class. This was another activity that could be incorporated into a bullying unit. I liked how their was no comments allowed so feelings were not hurt and that the activity moved along quickly. It did not give students a chance to look around and see how other students were reacting to the prompts. Also the prompts were written in a way that was very broad so students could not pick out why students were either sitting down or standing up which made this a very solid activity.

Class Activities (3/2)

The newspaper clipping summary activity was a great way to make learning FUN in the classroom. It added a creative element to the writing and although it was a summary writing activity, it did not feel like we were writing a "summary". This was in large part due to my group was playing the role of a newspaper in delivering the news of Cole which added another element to the writing because we were attempting to make our news article appealing to the general audience and not just stating boring facts.

The frozen moment activity is one that I have done before in my Theater 336 class. It is always fun to see how different groups portray different aspects of a book or whatever the task may be. Once again the creative element comes into play, and this is a great way to add collaboration into the classroom. This is a great method of learning for our artistic and visual learners in the classroom.

The polarized debate activity once again was one that I have seen used in my previous education courses. It is always interesting to see who takes the lead roles in scenarios such as this one that was performed in class. It is a great way to work on language skills and also the ability to express in words what is on your mind. This is one of the more challenging things that I have been working on in my personal life. Being able to express yourself clearly is such a crucial skill in life. This activity gives students practice with this skill.

Class Activities (2/25)

I really liked how we started class today. We were talking about the different "colors" people fit into. The reflective process of meeting with all the other same "colors"in the classroom was a valuable experience in my opinion. It was fun to see the different classifications that fit you or maybe you did not think that you fit into. Seeing how the different personalities fit into the different categories was an interesting to see as well.

I also enjoyed the "Write-Around" activity. I often times is that introverted student that sometimes does not express their opinion in front of the whole class. This was an activity that allowed one to express their opinion without having to express with words. Their is something to be said about the importance of writing as a form of communication and this was just another activity to help strengthen writing skills. This was just a very cool way to get dialogue started in the classroom.

Lastly, the character profile was an activity that was fun to have the opportunity to look into a character in more depth and form inferences into their motives throughout the text. I came to identify pretty closely with how Garvey is portrayed so far in the text. He is a guy that stays even-keeled and is honest but hopeful with Cole. This activity allowed me to make those connections!

Class Activities (2/11)

I really enjoyed the Writing Carousel on the Posters that were posted on the walls of the room with different thoughtful prompts that lead to discussion amongst the 3-4 group members. I liked this activity because it lead to discussion between a small group although we were reflecting on what other classmates had previously written as well. I also enjoyed this activity because we were moving around. I am a kinesthetic learner and love to be up and moving and I truly do believe in this helping my brain function. I do not enjoy sitting in the same spot as my mind wonders as it is not being stimulated enough.

Clock buddies also was an idea that I was introduced to today. This is a management tool that can be used to pick partners. I think it is effective because it gets students working with a number of different students throughout the classroom and it is just a quick and easy strategy to find your (2:00) partner for example. Students do not have to waste time finding and deciding who they do or don't want to work with on that particular day.

Lastly I thought the Plagiarism Free Summary was an effective strategy to work on paraphrasing and picking out main ideas. This seems to be one of the hardest concepts to grasp for learners so what better way to get better at something then practice it. 

Suicide Prevention Presentation (2/4)

This presentation focused on the controllable. What we can do as bystanders to recognize when a friend is in need or in a place in life that needs intervention. Recognizing these signs can be crucial in saving lives. A goal that everyone should take very seriously. The presentation also focused on resources we have available to us as college students when we need help or a friend needs help. I think this was helpful just to be aware of what is out there when help is needed as not only a student right now, but as a future teacher as well.

As a future teacher, as we are working with kids every single day of our lives, I think this presentation will be crucial for our professional development. It was very informative and knowing what action to take and what to look for in a person that may be struggling internally will serve a purpose down the road.