Jennifer+Beichner

Student Teaching Placement: Rolesville Middle School with Patricia Boone: 6th grade Social Studies


 * //November 7th, 2013//**

I step onto the crisp gravel of the autumn laced Bridle trail, And into a new world of deep burgundy and burnt orange. Each step I take the air becomes clearer, cooler. I continue on my way into the Fall time fantasy land.
 * //Umstead//**

I will find peace with myself, peace with my life, The towering trees bursting with the vibrant colors of fall surround me, The afternoon sun fads in and out of the branches as I glance up, Surrounded by comfort, surround by peace.

As I continue through the mythical trails my thoughts blow away; Gone is the tension creeping through my back, Gone are the noises, the distractions, the dates. I feel safe; untouchable.


 * //November 7th//**

3. Glogster, googlemaps, primary sources 4.
 * //1. My Thematic Unit Focus: Pre-Colonial Africa: Cultural and Geographical Investigations//**
 * //2. My reasoning for my unit focus is because history is forever being made and changed. Taking a look back into the conditions and different types of people that occupied various areas of Africa connect the dots as to why the continent of Africa looks the way it does today. For my theme I chose to focus on the idea of "investigations". The reason is two-fold. For one, I want my students to feel like they are the one's discovering new information about pre-colonial Africa versus having me, the teacher, give them series of facts. The more they are actively engaged in the creation of their learning, the deeper I believe it will set in and stick with them. The second reason is that I want to use as many primary sources, (documents, artifacts, pictures, sculptures) as I can. I want my students to use their own critical thinking skills to develop their own investigations and theories about life for people during this time period.//**

//**October 17th, 2013**//

Revised Classroom with Annotations

//**October 7th, 2013**// Dipity Timeline: Year in History: 1985 http://www.dipity.com/create/timeline

ECI 430: Moran
 * //26 September 2013//**


 * My Name Inquiry**
 * My Name **

My name is Jennifer. It means “white, fair, and smooth”. Jennifer is the Cornish form of the Welsh name Gwenhwyfar. It is derived from gwen, meaning “blessed and holy”. My last name, Beichner, is German. My father’s family is from Pennsylvania and different pronunciations of my last name exist within my father’s immediate family. I find this to be a little odd.

I do not really like my name very much. I think it is too common and people forget common names. I wish I had something that was a little more unique that would stick with people. I asked my mom why my father and her named me Jennifer. She told me that she always liked that name and the year that I was born she had three students in her chemistry class named Jennifer. I find this logic to be a little strange. I would not name my daughter a name that I thought a lot of people had. My mom told me that she wanted me to have a name that sounded pretty and people could easily pronounce. My dad, on the other hand, was not a huge fan of naming me Jennifer. He said he doesn’t like nicknames and people often call Jennifers “Jenn” or Jenny”. This is true.

I always introduce myself as Jennifer. However, a lot of people end up calling me Jenn. I do not mind being called Jenn; I kind of like it. Jenn I can handle. However, Jenny just does not work. I actually like the name Jenny; it just does not fit me at all. I like when close friends or family call me Jenn. It feels more personal.

I do not like how hard my last name is to pronounce. It is pronounced “Bike-ner” but the spelling doesn’t imply that. Ideally when I marry I would like to have a last name that is phonetically pronounceable. Even though I wish my surname was a little easier to pronounce I like that way it sounds with my first name in front of it: Jennifer Beichner. I think it has a nice ring to it. The second letter is an “e” is both of my names and they both end in “er”. One thing about my name that I like is that many celebrities have the name Jennifer. The kitchen staff at the place that I work always calls me J.Lo for Jennifer Lopez. They’ll write J.Lo on my to go food boxes. Never fails to make me smile. Then there is the classic “Jennyyyy I love you” line from Forest Gump; I get that a lot too.

Name Poem:

JENNIFER My name is Jennifer Simple, I know; Sturdy, I know, Fair and smooth, I knew not. Forever with me I take it. Forever reminds me of family. Call me Jenn or Jen But please not Jenny JENNIFER

I took this picture a couple of summers ago on a family trip to St. John. There were these really pretty and smooth white stones and I wrote my name with them. I found it ironic when I came across this picture because I discovered that Jennifer means smooth and white; just like the stones I spelt my name with.

**September 12, 2013**

My Teaching Philosophy I believe that each student has the potential to grow as thinkers, learners, and creators. Each child has the capacity to grow and learn. As a future teacher I believe that each student in my classroom should feel valued. By valued I mean that each student feels that their opinion is heard, their thoughts are shared and that their contributions matter.

As a teacher I believe it is my job to encourage and strengthen the learning of each of my students. I want my classroom to be an environment where the learning is active. I do not want to look out into the faces of my students and see blank stares. I want them to be able to collaborate with their peers and create new ideas and thoughts with each other. I love the idea of project-based learning. From my own personal experience I realize that I learn best when I am actively creating something. Project-based learning provides the perfect opportunity for students to bounce ideas off of each other to come up with the best product they can.

As a teacher I believe it my job to be a guide, not a performer. Middle school students are intelligent. They are capable of more than I feel they are given credit for. I want my classroom to be a place where there is active learning and collaboration. I believe my role is to provide guidance and instruction. My hope is that through my guidance students are able to develop their own creative and deepen their level of learning.

As a teacher I believe in inquiry-based learning. The deepest learning and understanding occurs when questions are asked by the student and they student is able to discover the answers through research and further development. I want each of my students to develop a genuine interest in the topics and subjects that we discover as a class. As a teacher I want to be able to learn with my students. There is no limit on the amount of knowledge one can acquire. There is always something new to be discovered. I want to be apart of this discovery process with my students.

Classroom Design
 * September 12, 2013**


 * September 5, 2013**

Writing yourself into being, how will write yourself into the digital world?

My goal into writing myself into the digital world is to create technology seamlessly into my curriculum. I want my students to be able to discover new technologies and digital techniques daily. I want to be able to be able to use technology to keep my students and their parents updated on what is happening daily and weekly in the classroom.

Timeline link http://www.dipity.com/Jenniferbeichner15/Jennifers-School-Timeline/
 * September 4, 2013**

Reflection on Tchudi and Mitchell article "getting started"
 * August 28, 2013**

For my first week of school I really want to establish a strong classroom environment and community. I want each student to feel comfortable and that their opinions and ideas are valued. I think it is important to spend time getting to know your students and for your students to get to know you. I like the idea of starting off the year with assigned seats. Assigned seats establish a classroom environment where the student immediately feels like they have an established place in the classroom. For students who already know people and have people to sit with, they are given the opportunity to branch out and get to know other students. For those students who may not know anyone in the classroom, they automatically have people to sit by. I think the biggest part in getting started in the school year is establishing a good classroom routine and environment and really getting to know your students.

 