Differentiation in the classroom

Differentiation in the classroom

My teaching style is doing the problems for the students as many times as they need it, getting them helpers, using the smartboard and the fun games and activities there. I also show videos not for introduction but for clarification. We always review math homework in case there are any questions or concerns so everybody is on the same page. I also allow them to work in groups, pair and share, use the whiteboards and play with their neighbors. Many times I will use thinking maps to summarize the information so that they can understand and study faster. Science is fun to teach because it involves investigations, following instructions, and putting down their observations. Using exit tickets, helps in knowing if they understood or not. The appropriate assessment helps to evaluate the progress and understanding of students. Songs are helpful with students with an auditory memory, pictures, drawing, art, projects are other things that can be used for reaching deeper levels of cognitive learning, using multi-sensory techniques.

Many times differentiation has to be a different teaching style to reach different kind of populations, we have a diverse group of students in every classroom, some have ADHD, others are just growing up and developing so they don’t understand immediately as we adults doing to, we need to do everything to keep them engaged. Therefore we have to make it good for everybody so they are having fun, and learning at the same time. 

Teaching reading

My students are in 4^th grade, according to the reading and literacy standards they should be able to read and write fluently now. Some of my students are in that level, but most of them aren’t. I am already teaching comprehension in different subject matters. There are definitively some literacy challenges, that I am trying to address little by little.  We did a read aloud text together as a class, Shadow by Michael Morpurgo. They really enjoyed the reading, I found many of them have difficulties answering questions by themselves; therefore we did it as a group. I have a round table and I ask them to help me reading to see how their decoding is doing. Their AR tests in English could be better being their native language. When we have readings I always try to use Webb’s depth of knowledge questions. Most of the students are reading 4.5-5.1 level books. I am following the common core standards; this trimester was reading informational text, and including science and social studies topics. We are also doing spelling, and daily paragraph editing for conventions, and writing papers. ELA is not my favorite to teach but I am glad my first year I am not responsible of teaching to decode and encode. I am taking a phonics class, and tutoring one of my students with the systematic action reading phonics course. I am getting my practice and experience now in that so I can do it easily in the future.

Technology use in the classroom

Our students live in the generation of information and technology; they have more access to knowledge than any prince of the medieval times. Most jobs require the use of different software and hardware. As teachers we need to integrate the use of software and devices within our classroom time.
 We have 45 minutes of computer lab time for lessons. My 4^th grade has 3 computers in the classroom for students to take AR tests of library reading books, as well as any other book from my library, or any other public library. My school has plenty of technology tools for teachers like: Discovery Education with educational videos about any subject. Foss kits with smart-board lessons and resources, My Math Mcgraw-hill with lessons that include videos, songs, and interactive games for math. Additionally, we have Dreambox for learning math facts, Reflex math for homework, Duolingo for learning their second language Spanish. As a teacher, I get reports from all these programs that tell me my students progress. I can find out about their reading level, and comprehension levels from STAR reading. As a new teacher, it took me a sometime to figure out all these programs, how to send assignments with them, how to print reports. I am very happy to use technology during my lessons, my students love all the interactive activities on the smart-board. For assessment we have School City, we can create our computer tests, and already link them to the standards. It is the same program we use for benchmarks and district evaluations.
My strength is that I am incorporating everything I have access to, my weakness will be keeping up with all the reporting, and I feel I could create more smart board presentations but I have to schedule an appointment with my technology coach from the district to be able to do that. I need more than 45 minutes at the computer lab to teach students how to use Microsoft Office. My assessments could be 100 % online, but I still have them on paper. I guess that is what I am used to, and I don't have a lot of time to switch all of my subjects to the system. There are so many things I could incorporate if I just had the time to do it.