pages 120-162

Going over these last pages in the book was very helpful to me. It was fun to see all of the different activity ideas that they have in the book. I liked the evaluation checklist that they had about how the student does working with their peers. I thought it gives students a good opportunity to see what they do well in a group and also what they could work on to do better as well. Doing this evaluation can also help students with social skills. I also liked the different ideas they had for literature. There are many different ideas on how to break down the ideas while reading a book This would help students with comprehension. I also liked how the book talked about having different tiers while teaching. Helping the students go from learning the basics of a concept to something really concrete. I have seen this method used throughout my life with my parents and my teachers. I also liked the journal ideas at the end. I did a few journals in school and I loved it. I know when I am a teacher I will have my class do a daily journal on different subjects. IT helps solidify what they are learning.
I have enjoyed taking the time to go through this book I think it was well worth buying. It had a lot of great thoughts and ideas. It will be nice to refer to. Learning about differentiation has been a wonderful thing for me. I was talking to my mom about this class the other day. She was an elementary teacher and never had the chance to take a course like this. She thought it would be very helpful in my future classroom. It is another part of learning what we can better do to help our students learn. Not only must we have the knowledge to do so but the concern and love to do so for each student individually. I am excited to see how applying what I have learned in our differentiation class while influence the experience I will have in field and student teaching.

Chapter 7

I wanted to start by saying sorry that my blogs are always late! Until today when we mentioned it in class I thought we could submit our blog anytime on thurs. It won't be late anymore!
Anyways I wanted to start by saying how much I enjoyed class today. Though I did not participate I did a lot of listening and loved how you talked about making our cohort a community. It was cool to hear Ruthie share how she had been feeling. It is funny how though we all look put together on the outside it is hard to know what is going on inside. It made me feel closer to Ruthie when she shared.
These expereinces in our own cohort have helped me really see the value in morning meetings. It can make students more sensitive to what their peers are feeling,
From chapter seven I felt overwhelmed at first by the long list of the tings successful teachers do. They were all wonderful things but there were so many of them. I them loved how she went on to say that it is hard to do all of these tings. She talked about how it can be hard to get to all of your students and really know them. But I really liked how she had a positive attitude in believing we can try. We can try to reach all of our students. We can try to always be supportive, patient, and loving. In trying we could affect at least one of our students. I thought she was very realistic about how it really would be in the classroom but still positive about doing the best you can. This was reassuring to me. A lot of the time I feel like I can never get enough done and am not enough. I don't study enough, work enough ,exercise enough, etc. But I thought that this really applied to our lives. That we can do the best we can and we can be proud of the progress we make no matter how small. This helped me to take a step back and feel proud of myself for how far I have come in school. I am always thinking about how much I have left but it was nice to reassure myself that I have come so far already. Instead of feeling so far from where I want to be this made me feel more excited to reach it. As a teacher I will need to assess myself and make a list of the things I not only need to improve but the things I am doing well.
As human beings we do not seem to praise or celebrate ourselves as much as we should. Maybe it is because we measure ourselves to the accomplishments of others. Just like I measure myself to the really good teachers and should take into consideration that they have had alot of time and practice.
Anyways I have really liked this book. Reading it as a teacher will help remind me what is really important, and that is my students. Making sure my students know that I care about them and love them for what they are and for what they can become.

Chapters 5 and 6

In chapter five their was quite alot that I liked and could relate to. In the very first quote of the chapter it talked about how we need to give our students many chance to do their best according to their talents. We need to make sure they are having many opportunities to experience success. I related this to my own life and realized that I had many opportunities to experience success though not so much at school. I felt alot of success at home where my parents were able to give it to me. This would not be the case for many students though. Many students would rely on school to be a place where they can feel a sense of success and belonging. I think it will be so important to me as a future teacher to make sure I give all of my students success in whatever it is that they enjoy and are passionate about. This success if even in one area will make success seem more attainable to them in other subject areas. These chapters were very positive in what things can be done to help build a community of learners and help build a learner out of every student in the classroom.
These chapters also helped me realize they great influence a teacher has on her/his students! I will want to be so careful with the impact I leave on my students because it really will influence them through the rest of their education.