Blog Journal 3

After reading about the ELA technology standards for first grade, I think the one I would be most prepared to teach with my existing knowledge would be LAFS.1.RI.2.5 which states the person must “know and use various text features…to locate key facts or information in a text.” The text feature includes tables of contents, glossaries, etc. and I feel like I have a good understanding of how to do that. The technology that would be used with this standard would be online textbooks, and online scavenger hunts for various text features. As a student who has used online textbooks for a while, I feel like I would be prepared to use them in my classroom. Also, I think the online scavenger hunt would be a fun way to get the students accustomed to different online software and websites. The ELA technology standard that I will have to learn more about is the LAFS.1.SL.1.2 which states the person must “ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.” The type of technology that would be used with this standard would be something like the creation of an interactive story book and using recording devices. While I don’t think this standard would be hard to achieve, I would need to learn how to do some of the things such as create the interactive storybook because I have never done something like that before.

A resource I would use from the CPALMS Educator ToolKit would be the “Living and Nonliving” lesson idea. The lesson is aimed to be used by first grade students studying science. It says for students to make a header on a page in their journal and have two columns, one being titled living and the other nonliving. The teacher would take the students outside and the students would have the opportunity to look around and observe things that are living or nonliving. A student could record insects, rocks, grass, or anything of that nature. As a teacher, I will probably be using other teaching ideas like this one to find the most enjoyable but also educational activities that my students can partake in. This kind of activity would be beneficial to my students because they will be able to go out and explore and see for themselves first hand what they are learning about.

When working on my newsletter, I acquired the skill of using the page/section breaks. I never knew that was a feature on MS Word and it will come in handy in the future. One thing I was proud of on my assignment was the permission slip section. To me it looks just like the ones I would get when I was in elementary school and I am impressed with myself that I could replicate that section. Some things I wish I could change about my newsletter are the fonts and colors. I wish I would have incorporated more fun fonts instead of the boring, basic ones I used. I liked the blue colors I used in my newsletter, but I think I should have changed the color of the shaded area. The gold color I used may not have been the best choice aesthetically. Next time I will try to place the pictures I included on different areas of the different pages instead of just in the bottom right corner like I did for both. I may include a picture near the header like on our example newsletter for our MS Word skill check. This assignment in general will really help me in the future by creating newsletters that are fun and informative. Newsletters are an essential aspect of elementary school classes and I am excited to make newsletters for a real class in the future.