Haley+Nantz

Student Teaching Placement: West Lake Middle School- Melinda Schroeder- 6th grade Language Arts

11/7/13

Thematic Unit Focus: Making Decisions

My reasons for doing this theme mainly is because this is the theme my teacher and her team picked at the beginning of the year and she wanted me to stick with it. However, I think the theme had a lot to offer so I was excited to work with it. Also, because this was a pre-planned unit, there are multiple resources the school has already bought that I can utilize. I hope students gain a personal connection about making decisions. The name of the unit is so simple but a major struggle in our students' lives. The theme also does not limit what you can do with it. I have the ability to do poetry, grammar, a novel, anything, as long as it connects to the theme.

Possible Materials: Glogster Word Stem book (6th grade just bought it) Socrative Voicethread handouts on grammar, fables, myths children's books Tuck Everlasting The Stone 3 Wishes Jimmy Jet and the TV set All American Slurp Mythology (Persephone and Demeter, Narcissus, Icarius)

Possible Activities: Journal Writing Socratic Seminar Watch Film Clips to make decisions Article of the Week Free Write Looking at advertisements

9/25/13

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 * Glogster Link**
 * Name Inquiry**

I know flat out that I was named Haley because that was the name of Kelly Ripa’s character on “All My Children” and my mom liked the way it sounded. I learned that my first name can also be a boy’s name (Haley Joel Osment) but I think it sounds best as a girl name. Haley is of Old English origin and it means “hay meadow”. Interestingly enough I found that my family name is English. My name is also from Scandinavian origin and means “heroine”. One thing that research did not have to tell me but I found is that my name has many variations, seven were listed. Haley is a fairly popular name and its popularity sparked in the 1990s when I was born. My last name was harder to research but I did find out that it was of English origin. The Nantz family lived in a village in Cornwall.


 * Name Poem**

Haleigh, Hayley, Hayleigh, or Haylee No, just Haley. It is simple and smooth, just like it sounds It means hay meadow or heroine, but not really. It means honest. It means true friend. It means compassionate. It means stubborn. Nantz not Nance. What connects family more than a name? I am a Nantz through and through. Can you spell it right this time? Haley Nantz.

9/12/13

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 * Dipity Timeline**

I want to have a classroom where students feel safe and welcome. They should feel like they are each important and worthy. I want my classroom to be an area for discussion and new ideas. Inquiry based learning would be a way that gets students questioning and discussing. I believe that the beauty of ELA and Social Studies is that there is never just one right answer, as long as you can back it up. I would love for my students to be excited to learn when they come to my class because our “learning” does not feel so stiff. Students should be able to collaborate and be open minded with other students. Student centered learning would be something I want to focus on so that students are actually able to get something out of a class other than just lecture.
 * Teaching Philosophy**

I think that the reason I want to teach the ways I stated above is because I have personally experienced different sides of the spectrum. I have had teachers who were cut and dry, and I learned to memorize for their classes. I was not able to take away actual learning. Alternately, I also had teachers who did not necessarily focus on the outcome but the process. My teachers wanted me to think for myself and come to conclusions with supported evidence. They pushed me to work my hardest when I wanted to quit. I do not think that every child should be taught like I had, I just believe that learning from “mistakes” can benefit my classroom.


 * Ideal Classroom**



9/6/13 I think my current online identity shows that I am everywhere, experiencing the new and most used forms of social media. It also shows things that are my passion such as the ministry I work for. I am happy that this is how I am represented to the world online. Professionally, I feel like I will want to be even more out there, not personally, but showing that I have a hand in many things that I can bring to the classroom.

8/28/13 After reading Tchudi and Mitchell's Chapter 5, it got me thinking about things I would bring into my classroom for the first day. The reading stresses how important it is to get to know your student the first day and the few days after that. This can really set the tone for the year because it lets students know that you are genuinely interested in helping them succeed so you want to know all about them. As I was reading and going through things I would like to do in my classroom on the first day, I realized what I want to focus that day on. I want to focus the first day on getting to know the students and getting comfortable in the classroom. I truly do not think allowing them this day to calm nerves is going to hurt me in the long run. I want my students to not feel pressure on this day and I want to be able to get to know them so I can go from there. I really liked the idea of having students write a letter because I think it goes along with the vibe I want my classroom to have on the first day. Sometimes school does not always have to be about school so I want my questions that they answer be a good mix of personal and school related, so I can get a feel for how they learn, what they like to learn, what their interests are, etc. The reading also opened my eyes to activities that can be done in the days following that are school focused, but also get my students working together in groups, giving me another way to observe how they work. I also like the idea of working with students in a small group setting to reach out to those who might not be as vocal.