Project #3

Blog Assignment #4

I absolutely loved 1st Graders Create Own Read Along Book! I have always enjoyed listening to people that really get into character when they read stories! I feel that children especially do this because they have greater imaginations than adults. I've never thought on recording students while reading the different parts in a book. I feel that recording them and letting them listen to it can help many ways. It pushes them to practice at becoming better readers and lets them creative with the voices they use for their character.
I really enjoyed listening to the podcast of Vacation Under the Volcano in Podcasting with First Grade! I grew up reading the Magic Tree House books and I love hearing 1st graders read them! They sound like they are really enjoying it! She says in her blog that her shy students began coming out of their shell and being more confident. I love that this activity didn't only help them with reading better but also gave them more confidence to express themselves to their class mates!

The kids enthusiasm in the Flat Stanley Podacast just flew out of my computer speakers! I loved that the whole class got involved and not just a few students! Having the students come up with a script of their own journey as "Flat Stanley" was a great idea!

C4T#1

I was assigned to read Bill Ferriter's blog The Tempered Radical. I am very glad that I got his blog to read! He brings up some very interesting points!
The first blog of his that I read was Out of This World Hiring Lessons for the Principles of PLCs. By the end of the first paragraph I was thinking "What is this guy's point??" He was talking about how in Japan before sending astronauts into space, they put them in The Big Brother House for a week to see how they would interact with each other while they were in space.  The eat, sleep and live under 24 hour video surveillance. I was thinking what does this have to do with teaching?? As I kept reading, I realized what he was talking about! When you get hired at a school it important to befriend your fellow teachers! He says "...the people you hire have to be MORE than work partners if you expect meaningful relationships to develop between the members of your learning teams.  They have to be buddies." 

I completely understood what he was talking about! If you teach in a place that you hate, your teaching could be affected greatly. You have to think about that when you are looking for a job. You need to consider the kind of environment you will be working in.

The second blog that I read was Leadership Lessons Learned from a Vegas Casino. When I read this title I wasn't sure what I was about to read. He talks about how the MGM Grand Hotel had a Wizard of Oz theme when it was built; green glass and a yellow brick road. Also included was an entrance into the casino through the lions mouth. The Chinese, who spent the most money at the casino, stopped going there because they believed that walking trough the mouth of a beast was bad luck. The Grand eventually changed this entrance to regain its Chinese gamblers. It wasted time and money because the designers didn't think of the customers. It seemed perfect on paper but it wasn't in reality.

I understood where he was coming from. As teachers we shouldn't do what benefits us, we need to do what benefits our students. Also, I think sometimes we rush through our lessons so that we cover all of the criteria that is required by the state, once again benefiting us more than the student, just to have to go back and re-teach it before the end of the year because no one really understood it. We've wasted time just like they did in building in the casino! 
<a href=" The Tempered Radical

Blog Assignment #3

After reviewing the assigned materials, I learned that you always need to be positive when writing a peer review! Tim Bedley's class did a great job of demonstrating what NOT to do while you're peer editing. No one wants a Mean Margret telling them that their paper is dumb or that they are stupid because they spelled something wrong. Peer editing is suppose to help you understand how you could better your paper, not make you feel stupid! Also, no one wants a Pushy Paula telling them how to write their paper or what their paper should be about. Everyone has different opinions. That's the point of everyone writing their own paper. I feel like this video would be perfect to show to elementary age kids while learning how to peer edit!




The What is Peer Editing video and the Peer Edit with Perfection slideshow go hand in hand. They both talk about the 3 steps of peer editing: complement, suggestion, correction. You should always let the author know that you enjoyed some part of their work, whether it be an idea or even a word they used. Always leave a complement! Next you should make a suggestion that you this would enhance their paper. Suggest different word choice or more details. Once you've complimented their work and made suggestions, you may make corrections. Don't go overboard and be too picky. Correct spelling and grammar mistakes but don't be pick every little thing apart. Also don't be mean and make the author feel stupid. Everyone makes mistakes.


When I peer edit, I prefer to email that person directly for major mistakes. I don't want the person who's work I am reviewing to think I am trying to call them out publicly to embarrass them or make them feel dumb. If it is something small like a run-on sentence or a misspelled word, I may point it out in a comment but only if I personally know the person and know that they won't take it personally.