Castle

For one of our projects this semester, our professor had us get into groups and create our own medieval castle. Initially, this project was super intimidating to me. While I chose to partner up with some very creative partners, figuring out to initially begin was hard. But, once we started constructing the castle, the project turned out to be way more fun than expected! This project taught me so much about the benefits of having students create in the classroom. As my partners and I were working on this, we were forced to put ourselves into the mindset of what strategic-thoughts/reasonings people building these castles must have been thinking. For example, how tall or thick to build the boundary of the castle and how many guarding towers would be needed to keep the enemies out. Overall, this would be such a great activity to use in a classroom. One great way I would love to incorporate this in a class would be by having each group study a castle from medieval times, and then have them use their research to construct a replica! This could also be utilized after a medieval unit where groups would have to construct their own strategically built castles!

While I believe this project would be best incorporated in an upper elementary classroom, here is a blog a first grade teacher wrote about a castle unit she completed with her students-including a small part about how her class created a larger castle together out of cardboard:
http://adayinfirstgrade.com/2016/02/a-kindergarten-unit-on-castles.html

Here are a few pictures of our castle:

 

 

Talent Show

On the very last day of the semester, our class held a talent show. This talent show enabled each of us students to show off a talent that we had to the rest of our class. While I’ve had A LOT of great memories with my peers, I think this talent show had us laughing the hardest together we ever had in our lives. For my talent, I chose to sing “Jesus loves the little children” in Fijian to my peers. Since I don’t get talk much about my time in Fiji, this was such a fun opportunity for me. I was able to express a tiny bit of my time there in such a unique way! The rest of my peers’ talents ranged from a speech about loss of money college brought them, showing off a handshake, showing off scrapbook pictures of a fun trip, to so so much more! This was truly my favorite day out of any class I’ve ever taken. I loved how each of us students were given the opportunity to show off our talents, no matter how “bad” or “small” we felt they were, and then received the huge amount of praise an applause we deserved! One of the best parts, our professor even showed us her talent; her instagram page of the most beautiful pictures she’s taken throughout the years. I would LOVE to utilize this in my future classroom as an end-of-the-year activity!


Here is a blog that gives tips on how to prepare students for a talent show and more fun end of the year activities:
http://teacherblog.evan-moor.com/2014/05/07/end-of-the-year-activity-ideas-talent-show-student-awards-and-more/

Cowboy Ethics

A few weeks ago, our class had a guest speaker. Our speaker came into our classroom at IUSB to speak to us students about something he created called Cowboy Ethics and how useful it can be in schools. This program approaches students by teaching them about how cowboys live, giving them a picture into their daily lives. This goes so much farther than the day-to-day duties of cowboys. This program focuses on instilling in students the underlying ethics that cowboys hold! Through the interesting videos shown, the interesting lessons, and exciting activities, students are ultimately shown what it means to stand for something bold and good. Something they may have never been taught growing up. This program teaches them that ethics take hard work, put in on a daily basis. While this program is available to all schools, it primarily works in inner city schools. And if I find myself eventually teaching at an intercity school, this is something I will undoubtedly be taking advantage of!

Here is a teacher's blog on her viewpoint on cowboy ethics:
http://a-teachers-view.blogspot.com/2011/09/cowboy-ethics-and-character-education.html

Following are some pictures of an activity we did as a class:

Music In The Classroom

At the end of this semester, one of our classes was focussed on integrating music in the classroom. Our professor began the class by setting out several different QR codes that were connected to a song she thought would be great for some use in the classroom. Each of us scanned and listened to the songs, and then our class circled up and we discussed why the songs we got would be great for the classroom. Ultimately, this was such a great discussion to be a part of. Through my experience in the field, I have witnessed the benefits of host teachers playing popular instrumental music during student work time and also GoNoodle to get students to relax or get those extra jitters out of their system. But, our class discussion involved using music to get students to express emotions. This could be through having them create their own (pre-approved by the teacher of course) playlists that they feel define them and their lives thus far, by having students listen to a song and reflect on it as a class, or by simply having a class theme song that they let define the year they will have. I love all of these ideas, but especially the activity that involves students creating their own playlists. This would be a great activity I would love to use at the beginning of the school year. It would be a great way for me to get to know students, and also an excellent way for them to start of the year by expressing who they are to their peers and I, as their teacher!

Here is a blog giving more information about integrating music in the classroom:
https://blog.kamihq.com/integrating-music-into-the-classroom/

CNN 10

About halfway through my placement in my placement classroom, my host teacher started
doing something very interesting to start off each day. She replaced the typical daily math
warm-up problems with having students instead watch CNN 10. CNN 10 is a 10 minute long
news show designed for kids and teens. Due to the wide age gap in the audience, the anchor,
Carl Azuz, sometimes chooses stories that my class found a little boring or my teacher had to
skip over due to it being too inappropriate for our students. But, overall, the stories did a great
job of making students aware of what’s going on in our world, along with stories about new and
interesting technology being developed. After the news is over, students know to circle up, my
teacher joins the circle, and then the class has a discussion about what they learned and found
interesting. This is such a great way to get students interested in the news, also teaching them
how to pay attention to find information to discuss. I would love to incorporate this into my future
class!

Here is a teacher written blog that gives a more in-depth description of CNN 10 and its benefits
in the classroom: https://www.theliterarymaven.com/2015/01/you-oughta-know-about.html

Here is the anchor, Carl Azuz, during one of his broadcasts.

Word Of The Day

Speaking of our personalized notebooks, one of our daily uses for it was a featured “word of the
day” page where my classmates and I were tasked to write down a word that describes how we
were feeling each day, with the date, in our notebook. Though our professor never collected our
notebooks, in a normal elementary classroom this would be an excellent way for the teacher to
track students’ moods and attitudes throughout the year! Furthermore to this act, our professor
also had us start each class by writing our mood of the day on the whiteboard as well. This would
be followed by a morning class meeting, where any of us students were given the opportunity to
share about anything we desired. Whether it be a triumph, a struggle, or anything in between. I
would love to incorporate this into my future classroom because not only does it enable students
the opportunity to share any negative feelings/things going on that are bottling up inside of them,
but it also creates a closer community in the classroom.

Here's an interesting blog a teacher wrote regarding how a teacher's mood can be utilized to
set the tone of the classroom:
https://aprimaryschoolteacher.wordpress.com/2012/12/29/a-teachers-mood/

Here's a picture of one of our many "word of the day" boards!

Personalized Notebook

At the beginning of this semester, our professor had us start the year off with a super fun activity. Each of use brought in our own composition notebooks, our professor provided hot glue/tape and cloth materials, and we spent a class decorating our own social studies notebooks we would be using throughout the duration of the semester. This was easily one of my favorite memories and activities from this class. Not only did it give us students the ability to start off getting to use and show off our creativity, but it also provided us students with a day to have fun and bond with each other. After this initial day of creating, we proceeded to use this notebook everyday for various purposes. Personally, this act of personalizing my own notebook completely motivated and excited me to open and use this notebook whenever I got the chance. In my future classroom, I 100% plan to utilize this idea. I think allowing students the opportunity to make the notebook into something they will enjoy using on a regular basis will get them excited to use it and also motivate them to write neatly and try their hardest.

Here's a link to a teacher's way of incorporating the DIY notebook for writer's notebooks in the classroom!
http://applesofyoureye.blogspot.com/2012/08/writers-notebook-organization_24.html

Here's a picture of my journal!

Geography Puzzle Activity

This week, during a geography lesson, our professor gave us a geography puzzle
worksheet. It had a bunch of boxes with a picture in each. In each box was a picture that
could be decoded to a geographical place in the United States. Our professor did the first
one with us, and then we partnered up and had about 5 or so minutes to figure out the rest
of the of the pictures. Once our time was up, we came together as a class and talked about
the answers we got. Our professor decided to take this one step further, and gave us large
paper to create our own picture puzzles with. Each group chose a state and went from
there. Then, our whole class traveled from puzzle to puzzle and tried to guess which
location was drawn. My group chose Minnesota and drew the four puzzle pictures shown
above. This was such a fun way to test our geography knowledge, and we also learned a lot
of new information! I really hope I get placed in a class, in the future, that is able to do this
activity!!

Here is a picture of Haley, Chloe, and I's Geography puzzles on Minnesota:

Also--Here's a cool blog idea I found: https://pambarnhill.com/us-geography-scrapbooking-pages/

This booklet idea would be really effective to use before making these puzzles, while learning about the different states. Then, when it comes time to make the puzzles, students have ideas to help them think of puzzle ideas and a source they created to refer back to figure puzzles out!

Week 4 - Pop Art

For week 4, I chose to do my last project on pop art. My task was to research different pop
artists and the ways in which they create their art. While researching, I found a lot of
comic-looking pieces. I also stumbled upon a piece, much like mine, that was split into four
sections, each with the same image, but colored in different bright colors. This would be a
great project to do in a classroom! I did, however, find a few inappropriate works, so I would
never just set my students free to research these pieces. Instead, in my classroom I think I
would focus on showing and teaching my students about the kind of pop art I created, and
then have them create their own. The best part about this pop art is that you can choose to
draw so many different things! While I chose an elephant, another person might choose the
Reeses logo, a basketball, or a sun. The list is endless, really!

Here is an example of a similar version of my pop art piece!

If you scroll alllll the way to the bottom of this blog, you will find an amazing self-portrait idea:
http://www.mrsbrownart.com/2nd.htm
This lesson idea offers so many opportunities for students to investigate new and different ways
to creatively and positively use words. It also is a great community builder for the classroom!
This is definitely something I would love to do with my future class!

Week 3 - Jacob Lawrence Cubism/Realistic

For week 3, I chose to do my project on Jacob Lawrence Cubism/Realistic. My task was to
research Jacob Lawrence’s art and how he impacted the cubism and realistic art world.
Because this type of art I would never usually choose to take appreciate, this project really
opened my eyes! Through researching, I learned that he only sticks to painting with certain
colors, and his art also told stories about what people were going through at that time
period. In a classroom, I could see myself introducing who he was and his style of art, then
focussing on a piece of art and explain the story behind it. To wrap the lesson up, I would
have my students try to create their own piece of art that has a deeper story wrapped into it.
This is a great way to get students invested in something they might not normally pay any
attention to.

Here's a link to a different kind of realism art projected integrated with a science lesson:
https://aroundthekampfire.com/2014/09/learning-about-landforms.html
I think this is such a cool and unique way to get students in a creative zone in a different setting!

Here is the finished product of the activity in the blog!

Week 2 - Illustrator Art

For week 2 of our visual art project, I chose to do illustrator art. For illustrator art, my task
was to choose an illustrator and create a piece of art that is similar to theirs. I chose to focus
on the illustrator Eric Carlisle. Through researching his choice of mediums, I learned that he
likes to make collages to create his work. For this project, I focussed on his book The Very
Hungry Caterpillar, and created my own hungry caterpillar through a collage. I think this
would be a great activity to implement in an elementary classroom. I think I would have each
of my students sign up for a different illustrator and then follow the same steps I did;
researching mediums the artist uses and then creating a piece similar to theirs. Growing up,
I don’t recall every learning much about illustrators, other than my teacher simply pointing
out their name on the cover of a book. This would be an excellent activity to get kids excited
to dive into different aspects that go into creating a book, and also give them a deeper
appreciation for the art in them.

Here is an interesting blog that gives many ways to integrate art into the general education
classroom: https://minds-in-bloom.com/art-integration-for-classroom-teachers/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+MindsInBloom+(Minds+in+Bloom)
There are also several ways to integrate illustrator art into the classroom as well! One of my
favorite ideas I saw was to let students illustrate and write a sequel to their favorite book or
an alternate ending to their favorite story. That is such a great way to get them in the mindset
of the illustrator, while also displaying their creative sides!

Here's another interesting and creative idea from the blog I posted!

Week 1 - Graphic Art

These next 4 weeks, our class is working on a visual arts project. Each week, for 4 weeks,
we sign up an art project. For week 1 of our visual art project, I chose to do my project on
graphic art. While I was researching, I found a lot of graphic design, computer generated
art, something I was trying to stay away from since I do not have computer programs
necessary for that. After researching for a bit, I happened upon zentangle art. This is
something that I had tried a few summers back, but didn’t enjoy much. I decided to try it
again for this project and ended up loving it! I chose to start with tracing overlapping a
bunch of circles on my paper, and then I researched different designs to draw in them. If I
chose to do this with a class, it would definitely have to be with an older elementary class
because of the intricate designs and the lengthiness of the project. I would also create a
worksheet that had different design ideas on it for my students, because even I found
myself getting frustrated with trying to be creative with them! All in all though, this would
be a great, fun way of getting my students to appreciate the details in complex artworks.

Here's an example of the zentangle artwork I created!

Here's a link to a blog with a fun idea of having students design their own iphone apps:
http://www.jennyknappenberger.com/art-integration-lessons-to-engage-our-students-in-the-modern-world/
Not only can this academically be tied in with technology, it also gives students the chance to
use and display their creativity throughout the classroom! Such a neat idea!!

Tableau

This week our class learned a new way to study and understand historical art. What we did
was called a “Tableau.” Volunteers from our class went to the front of the room and did a
sort of live action recreation of it. The volunteers did their best to re re-create what we saw
in the painting with props, and then also tried to recreate the motions they believed were
happening at the time. Then, everyone sat in silence for a few minutes. We took in the scene
and contemplated the feelings and various things the people featured had going on in their
personal lives at that moment. Then, we asked the live characters questions that we had
come up with and they answered. This activity did such a good job of giving me, a
22-year-old, a deeper learning connection with the art piece. I know for a fact that it would be
an excellent way of doing the same for a class full of elementary students!

Here is a picture of what this looked like in the middle of the activity:

Here is a blog that shows how they did a Tableau in their first and second grade classrooms:

https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/k-6-art-4660763/tableaux-vivants-living-pictures-performance-3655520159

Shoe Box Activity

This week our professor asked us a question, “If you found out all of a sudden you had to
leave your home, and only had a shoebox to bring with you, what would you put in your
shoebox?” We could’ve chosen to bring very sentimental items...or practical items. I chose
Phone charger/phone, watch charger/watch, journal(s)/pens, Bible, a picture of my family,
chapstick, and my nalgene. My items were kind of sentimental, but more practical. This was
a great way to get students into the mindset of how things really were on the oregon trail.
While we were doing this in class, our professor threw in a twist. She told us that our wagon
broke down and we could now only choose one item from our box to travel on with. We had
to think very hard about what was most important to us to keep forever. I chose a picture of
my family, because my family is truly what’s most important to me! Everyone placed their
chosen artifact on one table and we had a class discussion about the different artifacts
people chose as most special to them. All in all, this was such a great activity to get students
excited about social studies, and to put that time period in a relatable manner.

Here are a few pictures of the 1 thing each of us chose to keep:

Here is a link to another blog with some other fun ideas to simulate what life was like during this period: http://www.journeyofasubstituteteacher.com/2017/01/teaching-about-oregon-trail.html

This would be a great way to get students to picture other important aspects about the oregon trail!

Puppet Show

This week our class worked on creating dramatic plays from children's books. Haley, Chloe,
and I decided to create a puppet show based off of the book 5 Little Monkeys Jumping On
The Bed. We started by rereading the book and then making it into a script. To make the
puppet show a little interesting, we added our own commentary from the monkeys into the
script. We continued by creating our own puppets out of printouts and popsicle sticks and
sets out of cardboard and construction paper. While none of us were completely comfortable
with performing in front of a group, I really found myself enjoying every aspect of this activity!
This would be a great activity to use in a classroom. It involves intentional interactions with
books and allows students to express themselves at whichever level they feel most
comfortable.

Haley and after we cut out the puppets!

One of the four backdrops I created!
Here's blog with tips on how 

Here's a blog with tips on how to establish rules and criteria for dramatic plays in the classroom:
https://2peasandadog.com/2016/08/ideas-for-teaching-drama.html
It was written by a 6th grade teacher, but I think it has great tips that can be useful to any teacher!

Cultural Backpack Activity

This week our class worked on our cultural backpacks.Typically, this would be done in an elementary classroom where each student writes about their current lives. Since my class is full of older students, we chose a specific grade to focus on. After choosing the grade, each of us wrote out a few words on several different lines that described who we are and what we love. I chose to do my cultural backpack on my life during 2nd grade. I had so much fun reminiscing back to this time in my life! Overall, this is a great activity to use to get to know your students and their backgrounds. This also does a fantastic job of helping each student realize that their stories are unique and special!

Here's another neat idea for getting students to introduce themselves to their new classmates, as well

as sets the mood for self-appreciation: 

https://www.twolittlebirdsteaching.com/2018/08/7-favorite-first-week-of-school-activities.html

This would be a perfect first week of school activity, topped off with each student sharing their finished product with the class when they are done!