Blog Journal #3
For teaching upper level high school English (grades 11-12), I need to abide by the ELA technology standards that have been set. I know I can excel at using digital media in clever ways for presentations, as I am proficient at Power Points, Prezis, and other forms of visual instruction. Following that, I am confident in my abilities to clarify the meanings of complex words and to evaluate new sources of information. I am efficient at utilizing context
clues and can browse the internet for sites like Dictionary.com or Politifact, which assist me in determining the validity of sources and definitions. I am hesitant about integrating various sources of media in my curriculum, such as anything quantitative or number heavy since mathematics and programs like MS Excel are a weak point for me. Another standard that I need to work on is the last standard of gathering relevant information, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the
source, and not relying too heavily on a single source. This appears to be a challenge because I get disinterested researching multiple sources and having to meticulously cite them all. I have had previous issues with leaning on one source too much, so this is something for me to monitor.
On the CPALMS website, they have multiple engaging resources for educators to use for their classes. Since I wish to be an upper level Language Arts teacher, I found a resource called "Complex Usage: Which Word Will Win?" This resource is an interactive experience that shows pairs of words that are misused often and displays the definitions of each word. This assists us in making sure we are speaking and writing cleanly, instead of using the wrong word or phrase in our vocabulary. I believe this resource is excellent for an English class because even adults mispronounce or misuse similar sounding words (Ex. accept vs except). The current state of technology allows all with internet access to be more informed and to take steps toward correcting our speech. This interactive resource is perfect for young adults who are about to enter the adult world and can benefit from speaking efficiently.
Throughout my time working on the newsletter assignment, I have enhanced many of my creative skills. The task has challenged me to being more organized and orderly in designing a page that is filled to the brim with information that needs to be communicated to students and parents. I enjoyed placing my mind in the role of a teacher crafting the newsletter, as it made me critically think about the info I needed to discuss. Topics like a grading scale, upcoming readings, class projects and more came to mind when brainstorming articles to include. Visualizing myself in this scenario is vital due to the fact that I will be creating a similar document down the line for my own classroom. A newsletter is especially necessary for an English course since there are a lot of readings, essays and state tests to cover with the subject. When doing an assignment like this in the future, I could improve it by spicing up the color and font styles a bit more. I had difficulty in formatting the entire thing since it was my first time making a newsletter, but next time I will be more familiar with aligning columns and making the articles flow more. Another aspect I will improve upon is including more images or Word Art in order to make the newsletter more visually appealing to my readers. The goal is to draw families in and to keep them engaged in what my class will learn.
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