RUNNING HEAD: Personal Reflective Journal

Personal Reflective Journal

Marcus Dolliver

Methods in Elementary Social Studies

St. Thomas university

Dr. Sharon Murray

February 24, 2017

Personal Reflective Journal 2

Table Of Contents

Reading Page Number

Building a Sense of Family in the Classroom 3-4

Teachers Collaborating in Lesson 5-6

Development
Google Earth: A Virtual Globe for Elementary 7-8
Geography
Centering Your Classroom 9 - 10

A Day At The Museum: Meaningful Student 11- 12

Experiences With Primary Sources
Local History and Problem Based Learning 13

Sources 16

Methods Page Number

Round Table Method 3-4
Ice Breakers 5-6
Sponge 6-7

Strategies Page Number

Line up Continuum 34
Think Pair Share 56
1 Stay 3 Stray 78
20 Questions 9 10
Entrance Slips 9 10
See Wonder Learn/KWL 11 12
Discrepant Event 11 12
Personal Reflective Journal 3

Reading Reflection Strategy

Building a Sense of Family in the Classroom Line Up Continuum
The line up continuum is to be used to provide
I chose this article because after being in students with different mindsets, or
the classroom it is very clear to me that experiences with a topic together to share their
having a sense of family or community in thoughts/knowledge about it. This strategy is
the classroom may be the most beneficial effective because it allows multiple different
thing towards a positive learning mindsets to be discussed, and allows for the
environment. The author provided multiple teacher to see where their students are at with
strong community building ideas the topic. Using this strategy, you will need
throughout the article. Some of the main enough space to line up the number of
ones which I look forward to implementing students in the class along a line (may be
are more school based than class based. curved). Additionally, there should be some
They are: kind of questionnaire that allows students to
Interclass Competition This type rank themselves in some way. This ranking will
of competition provides classes with be transferred into the line up based on the
the opportunity to work together score they get at the end of the questionnaire.
and meet an end goal. The benefit Approximately 5-10 minutes would be
of competition would be adding a necessary to complete this task. Once lined up,
reward to that class which achieves people will pair up (or make groups) with
the goal first. I believe that this students on the opposite side of the continuum
would bring the desire to learn in to discuss why they scored the way the did on
each classroom up, and provide the questionnaire. (see sources for further
students with an opportunity to detail)
show improvement over time. Method
Peer Tutors I believe that Round Table Method
peer/cross age tutoring is an The round table method is used to allow
effective method towards students time to discuss a given topic in a small
developing community within the group. This is less intimidating to many
school, and providing additional students compared to talking in front of the
assistance to those who may need it. whole class. It also allows all viewpoints to be
The benefit of having instruction discussed. In many cases the round table
from a peer tends to be effective method is to be used on a specific topic for
because of how younger students about 10 15 minute time frames. Once
look up to those in higher grades. complete, a class discussion may proceed or a
Within this article there were also some speaker from each desk can discuss the groups
points discussed which I would not have findings.
considered before reading it. The main two Additional Sources
would be the bully box and compliment http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/
box. After reading the article however I 104014/chapters/Human-Continuum.aspx
can see that both of these could be very
useful to students because in many cases - This Source helps describe different ways
they do not feel comfortable reporting that the Line up Continuum may be used in a
they are being bullied, or complimenting classroom.
someone directly. Looking back on my
Personal Reflective Journal 4

Reading Reflection Strategy

Teachers Collaborating in Lesson Ice Breakers
Development Using ice breakers in the classroom is a good
way for students to get familiar with their peers
I chose this article because throughout my and teachers. When first meeting a class of
practicum collaboration for lesson new students, it is very important to become
development between teachers was done familiar with them and start to build a
very frequently. This article provided a classroom community immediately. The
strong look into how lesson development materials and time required for ice breaker
through collaboration works, and how it can activities varies depending on what is chosen to
help teachers provide consistent lessons to do, however ensuring that all students have
their students. The educators and opportunity to introduce themselves to each
administrators who were developing a other is very important. Therefore, there
lesson study used their similar beliefs and should be sufficient time allocated to do so. By
strengths of teaching to help develop the the end of an icebreaker activity students
plan. They additionally were encouraged by should be aware of the environment which
the curriculum coordinator and principal to they will be learning in (the classroom) and
conduct their lesson study based on the have some knowledge of all other students in
curriculum outcomes. I really liked that the room.
throughout the study, they really explored Method
their topic. This is something which I would Think Pair Share
like to bring into my own classroom because Think pair share is a method which can be used
it provides opportunity to relate the topic to for many different lessons. Students are given
others for that grade level, addresses an opportunity to look at material and consider
methods and materials needed, what it is saying by thinking about what they
acknowledges the prior knowledge of are addressing. They then pair up and discuss
students, and allows for an appropriate their viewpoints on the given material. Think
sequence to be made for the curriculum. pair share is normally done in about 10 15
These characteristics are necessary towards minutes to ensure students are keeping on
developing strong overall lessons for all track, and then a class discussion can be held
subject areas in elementary. In many cases after. It is useful because it allows students to
lesson studies may not be completed, express themselves to a peer instead of
however these things can still be addressed jumping directly into a class discussion where
when developing unit plans and daily they would have to talk in front of the entire
lessons to ensure that students are meeting class.
outcomes in effective ways. Once their Additional Sources
main lesson plan was developed in the https://cultofpedagogy.com/classroom-
study they went back and re-analyzed what icebreakers/
they had come up with to ensure it met all
desired aspects of the study. This is - This Source provides a range of in class ice
something which I found myself doing on breakers which can be used for students to
my practicum and will be doing once I grow familiarity with one another.
return back to the classroom. I noticed that
not only does it allow you to see areas of http://wilderdom.com/games/Icebreakers.html
improvement, but it also allows you to pick
Personal Reflective Journal 5

Reading Reflection Strategy

Google Earth: A Virtual Globe for Sponge
Elementary Geography The sponge strategy can be used in many
different ways in a classroom. This strategy is
I chose this article because I have some used to soak up time gaps in the class so that
background with geography, and little lessons have a better flow and there is more
knowledge about google earth. Through time on task. One way to implement the
reading this article I discovered that it can sponge strategy is to provide students with
be a very valuable and educational tool quick and fun educational activities where they
towards gaining geographic knowledge. are able to review classwork or introduce new
Since google earth is a very interactive way topics. Another option is offering students
to see the world, students are able to opportunity to take on classroom
explore the globe and develop a geographic responsibilities such as setting up the days
vocabulary when doing so. The author schedule, or handing out worksheets. The time
separated the article into 5 lesson plans allocated for these activities should be
which would cover information on their anywhere from 5 10 minutes, with materials
school, local landmarks, landforms around varying.
the world, and assessment. This allowed Method
students to become familiar with the 1 Stay 3 Stray
technology, develop vocabulary, understand The 1 stay 3 stray method is an effective when
geographic landforms, explore physical there are multiple different parts of information
characteristics of things all over the world, to be shared with the class. It is done by
and see how different regions of the world separating the students into groups of 4, where
have different ecosystems. Activities like each group is given a specific piece of
these provides students with an information to focus on. Once each group has
opportunity to explore and develop interest had time to learn about their given topic and
in many different things they may see while record notes (10-15 minutes), three students
looking on google earth. Additionally, it is a stray to other groups while 1 student stays.
stepping stone towards developing When this occurs, the groups will now be all
Geographic Information Sciences (GIS) students with different topics which will be
interests. This interest is becoming more shared with one another (10-15 minutes). This
valuable over time, due to the human allows for students to interact in a positive
impacts on our world. Although google learning environment providing responsibility
earth may not always be the most effective and ownership towards the material provided.
learning tool in social studies, once students Additional Sources
are aware of how to use it, teachers can https://www.teachercreated.com/blog/2009/0
integrate it into other lessons. 3/sponge-activities/
After taking a minor in geography and being
more aware of the flexibility of google - This Source describes the effectiveness and
earth, I believe that I would use it in my importance of sponge activities in a
future classroom to help peak interest in classroom. It additionally provides
topics and reinforce lesson content. It can examples of activities which can be used.
be implemented when looking at different
geographical content within the curriculum, http://www.kidactivities.net/post/More-than-
such as grade 4 unit 3: Exploring Our 65-Gathering-Waiting-and-Line-Up-Ideas!.aspx
Personal Reflective Journal
Reading Reflection
Centering Your Classroom
I chose this article because engaging
learners in a social environment can be
heavily beneficial to their learning and
comfort with their peers. These social skills
developed at an early age and greatly assist
students communication abilities, and
public speaking. Within the article the
author addresses how learning centers is
valuable to childrens ability to become
knowledgeable, caring, and supportive.
Centers are done to provide students with
engaging hands on exploratory leaning. We
see an example of this in the article through
a lesson on supporting the algebraic
concept of patterns in grade 2. Not only is
the lesson provided very hands on and
interactive, but it covers many different
subjects and includes topics students can
relate to. This cross curricular and relatable
approach allows students to learn many
different angels of the topic and increases
their desire to learn. Adding to this is
activities which allow the student to make
decisions within each station. This allows
each center to promote creativity, and
meaningfulness for students. In doing so
students are able to build independence
and competence which leads to more
academic learning. Throughout my
practicum we implemented centers many
times to review topics, and introduce fun
games which reinforced specific topics
being discussed at that time. Although
centers generally takes a lot of explicit
instruction initially, the students get plenty
of time on task after to explore each
station. I found that centers are generally
done over multiple days depending on the
topics being covered. I would implement
stations in my classroom by creating a
variety of activities which covered specific
curriculum outcomes for the subject. I
6
Strategy
20 Questions
The 20 question strategy is an effective way to
go about inquiry based learning in the
classroom. By using this strategy in the class,
students are able to build an interest in a topic
through asking questions about a person, place
or thing related to the topic. In order to
successfully complete this activity, the teacher
must choose an appropriate model for students
to inquire about. They then proceed to ask
questions to the teacher which they must
answer either yes or no. In doing so they aim
at learning as much as they can about the topic
and then write down what they think the
person, place, or thing is. Materials may vary
depending on what students are inquiring
about, and time allotted should be about 10
minutes
Entrance Slip
Entrance slips are an effective strategy towards
introducing the days lesson to the class. The
teacher provides a question to the class related
to the lesson or topic and provides time for
them to consider and answer to their best
ability (5 minutes). In doing so, students are
able to express their own opinions and ideas
about the question. This allows students to
gain interest in a topic through expressing their
own beliefs. Additionally, it allows the teacher
to gain knowledge about students and their
take on the subject or topic.
Additional Sources
http://possibilitiesforlearning.com/?
page_id=414
- This Source provides information on the
importance of inquiry based learning such
as the 20 question strategy.
http://training.hexawise.com/m/7455/l/74091-
10-important-lessons-from-20-questions
- This source provides information on what
Personal Reflective Journal
Reading Reflection:
A Day At The Museum: Meaningful Student
Experiences With Primary Sources
I chose this article because class trips were
always very interesting and fun to me as a
student. These types of activities outside of
schools are meaningful to students and I
can still remember the class trips I attended
in my elementary schooling. Trips to
museums provide students with
opportunity to think critically and develop
self directed discovery skills by analyzing
different items within them. In doing so,
they are able to develop an understanding
of the history behind many different topics
which may increase their desire to explore
and learn more about them. By connecting
trips to museums with the curriculum,
focused exploration can be done to ensure
that students are addressing the correct
historical figures. Within the article we get
an example of a teaching method which
could be used on a class trip to the
museum. The activity called I See, I Think,
I Wonder, I Connect will allow students to
consider what they are looking at and will
provide the teacher with feedback on what
students find most interesting. This will
allow the teacher to develop their lessons
around the feedback provided, and give
students further opportunity to explore
their interests within curriculum
boundaries. The most important aspect of
this method to me would ne the connection
students may have with something in the
museum. When students are able to make
connections, their learning can be
enhanced and their motivation to learn
more about that topic is increased. I would
implement class trips to museums with my
class to help gain information about my
students interests, and provide them with a
unique learning environment which cannot
be provided in the classroom. Being able to
7
Strategy
See Wonder Learn/KWL
When using the See Wonder Learn/KWL
strategy, students are provided a specific topic
in which they are to record what they see or
know about it. The then provide information
no what the might wonder about the topic, or
what the want to know about it. Finally they
record what they have learned after exploring
said topic. This strategy can be done ingroups
on a piece of chart paper and shared to the
class. Depending on the sources provide the
time needed to complete this activity may vary
from 10 30 minutes before having a class
discussion.
Discrepant Event
Using discrepant events in the classroom is a
very effective way to get students interested in
specific topics. This method is used heavily in
science classes, however the only necessary
attribute needed is an event which will get
students to ask questions about it. These
events lead students to question their previous
beliefs about something leading to a want to
learn. This method may anywhere from 5- 15
minutes depending on the event and what form
it is in (digital, hard copy, etc.)
Additional Sources
http://www.nea.org/tools/k-w-l-know-want-to-
know-learned.html
- This source provides information on the
KWL strategy and what methods to use
when implementing this strategy
http://www.theteachertoolkit.com/index.php/t
ool/kwl
- This source provides information on what
the KWL strategy is, how to implement it,
and variations which can be used in the
classroom.
http://beyondpenguins.ehe.osu.edu/issue/pola
Personal Reflective Journal 8

Sources:
Bergstrom, T., Valentage, K., Trotto, K., Glenn, A. (2016). A day at the museum: Meaningful
student experiences with primary sources. Social Studies and the Young Learner 29(2),
pg. 28 32.
Britt, J., LaFontaine G. (2009). Google earth: A virtual globe for elementary geography. Social
Studies and the Young Learner. 21(4), pg. 20 23.
Greer, J., Greer, B., Hawkins, M. (2003). Building a sense of family in the classroom. Social
Studies and the Young Learner. 16(2), pg. 23 26.
Hubbard, J. (2007). Lesson study: Teachers collaborating in lesson development. Social Studies
and the Young Learner. 19(4), pg. 25 29.
Stuber, G. (2007, July). Creating your classroom: Setting the stage for engaged learners.
Beyond the Journal.
Wieseman, K., Cadwell, D. (2005). Local history and problem-based learning. Social studies and
the young learner. (18(1), pg. 11 14.