Vacation in Europe: Animoto (Before EdPuzzle)

I did my animoto video on a vacation that my family and I took in 2004. We went to two separate cities in Germany: Frankfurt and Bad Kreuznach, and we spent 2 days in Paris, France. We took a overnight train to and from Paris from Germany. My mom had always wanted to take us to Europe because she used to live there when she was in high school. This trip for me, as a 9 year old, was very fun and memorable. I wish to go back someday!

Google Groups Presentation

This is one of my slides from the Google Groups Presentation; I did mine on sight words. I want to teach kindergarten mainly, and sight words are one of the first things they learn in the English section after perfecting the alphabet. Sight words are the common, every day words that are used in sentence making and reading various books.

Web Tools: Rubric

VirginiaDonohue-Rubric

The link above is my Reading Fair Board Rubric. My endorsement is English, so I chose to focus on the literacy issue that many elementary schools are facing. The rubric is basically a grading mechanism for the children when they participate in Reading Fairs. This sort of falls in with my Independent Reading TrackStar because a reading fair is based on books that you have either read in class independently or at home independently. This is another great way, along with the classroom library, to spark an interest in independent reading for students!

Web Tools: TrackStar and Puzzle Maker

 

The crossword puzzle I based on a 1st-2nd grade classroom in learning the main function of adjectives. I provided either the beginnings of sentence that can be finished with an adjective, or a sentence that has a "fill in the blank" concept that can be filled in with an adjective. This is a fun way to learn that adjectives are describing words. 

The word search I made based on some first grade level spelling words. It focuses on long vowel -e, double -e spelling words. I feel like the word search is a great way to incorporate a fun aspect into the spelling words of the week; a way to get the child more interested in learning and loving their spelling words. 

 Track #460632: Independent Reading for Elementary

Annotated by: Virginia Donohue

1. Independent Reading Area

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/independentreadingarea

Within the article, the teacher explained how she encouraged independent reading in her

classroom. She gave examples of how to organize the books and folders in the classroom. This
website showed me some possible strategies that I could use in the classroom to encourage
independent reading. This article focused on the grades k3.

2. Supporting Students as they Read Independently

http://www.readwritethink.org/professionaldevelopment/strategyguides/supportingstudentstheyread30817.html

This article is focused on grades k12.

It gives a basic definition of what independent
reading is in all grades. The article lists what the main goals of independent reading in the
classroom are. It also gives some strategies to help support the students.

3. Five Clever Ideas to Spark Independent Reading by Kids

https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2015/07/22/fivecleverideastosparkindependentreadingbykids/

This article touches on the importance of independent reading disappearing soon

because of technology. The article gives 5 different ideas for how to incorporate independent
reading into everyday curriculum. It has valuable information in that the ideas given are ways to
make in class reading more fun for the child such as contests, book a day programs, and small
in class book clubs.

4. Making Independent Reading Work

https://www.literacyworldwide.org/blog/literacydaily/2016/02/18/makingindependentreadingwork 

Common Core State Standards show that independent reading should be made fun for

students while still incorporating every book genre. The teacher plays the biggest role in
independent reading. This article makes a valid point in saying that a classroom library must
contain a wide range in leveled texts; each child has a different reading level. The article ends
saying that if an independent reading program goes correctly, it could motivate a child to read
outside of the classroom.

5. Selecting "Just Right" Books for Independent Reading

https://www.professionalpractice.org/aboutus/selecting_just_right_books/

This article emphasizes the importance of choosing the right book for the student. It

provides ideas for how to test the children on their reading fluency. The article says that while
reading easy books leads to confidence and fluency, choosing difficult books every so often can
improve a child's reading ability. The article goes into great detail about the ways a book can be
too easy, just right, and too hard.

I did my TrackStar based on the Independent Reading aspect of a classroom. Literacy is  one of the biggest problems when it comes to educational standards; therefore, incorporating Independent Reading into everyday lesson plans/curriculum is a great way to increase these odds. One thing I learned from this research was that the best way to spark interest in Independent Reading is to build a classroom library, make charts for the students to sign when they've finished a book, test their different reading levels, and then incorporate all the reading levels you have into your classroom library. Starting this activity in elementary school can lead to a love of reading, and a lack of dreadful sighs when a teacher pulls out a book in class!

Following this message, I have uploaded my Concept Map that was due this week. I did mine on The Five Senses specifically in the winter season. I aspire to be a kindergarten/1st grade teacher; therefore, I feel like the senses would be a good subject to teach the younger children because it gives them a better understanding of the world around them. I specifically applied it to the Winter season, but there could be a Concept Map for all seasons, and a general Concept Map just with definitions and every day things that a person might use their senses for. I hope you guys enjoy it; have a great day!

 

Text Notes: 

1.“It smells…” explains not only what the sense of smell does, but also gives an example of what you can smell during the Winter season.

2.“It feels…” explains what the sense of touch does, and it provides an example of what one could touch in the Winter season.

3.“It sounds…” explains what the sense of hearing does, and it provides an example for what noises one could hear during the Winter season.

4.“It tastes…” explains the sense of taste and what it does for the body, and it provides an example of something delicious that you could taste during the Winter season.

5.“It looks…” explains what the sense of sight can do, and gives an example of something you could see during the Winter season.

-- I have hyperlinked/text linked the definition of each of the five senses, and I have also hyperlinked a recipe for homemade hot cocoa!

- My sub-sublinks I placed on the “It Smells…” Main topic because there are multiple types of Christmas trees, each with a different and wonderful smell. The other reason is to explain that you can more than one sense on object. I find all of these fun learning facts.

Introduction - Blog Post 1

Hey! My name is Virginia-Leigh Donohue; I am from Vicksburg, MS. I graduated from Jones County Junior College in May of this year with my Associates in Elementary Education. I intend to complete my Masters in Elementary Education while I am at Southern Miss. I am a very laid back person, and I am also slightly introverted, so if I don't talk much when we first meet it's not personal, I promise! Attached below is my Introduction (Blog Post 1) video I hope this will give you more information about me! Thanks for watching!