Vocabulary

I have started showing my students pictures of the vocabulary words (LbD vocab) as I introduce them. Then I ask them what they think the picture is. They usually come up with pretty good guesses. This has also been good at getting their brains engaged, because they want to know if they got it right. Then I read the story in the LbD sourcebook and have the students look at the highlighted words and guess what word the picture is for again. By this time most of my students know which picture goes with which word!! After they tell me the right word I give them the definition (LbD style and then some clarifying if needed.) Students are usually very excited if they knew the word at the beginning. I have noticed that the students are doing much better on the vocabulary section of their LbD tests and are coming up with better definitions or questions during the other LbD lessons. They are also more excited about using the words in different context, and will also point out when others have used a vocabulary word. Most of my students are second language so it is really awesome to have them expanding their vocabulary and using the words correctly in different situations. I keep the words up on the board until the test, so it is a constant reminder.

Love and Logic

I have been trying to incorporate using the Love and Logic terminology more in my classroom. For example, "I would love to take you to specials as soon as you are quiet." I have also been trying to have logical consequences. It is an ongoing process and I am working on making my classroom more Love and Logic!

Professional Development Reflection

Three things that I am going to take back to my classroom from this professional development are:
1. Partner Clock- the students make appointments on the clock with other students. When I have them get into partners I can just tell them to meet with their "12 O'clock partner." I can also pick a partners for some of the appointments. That way I can make sure they have at least one partner that is at the same level as them, and one partner that is at a different level. This can help them to learn from each other!
2. I learned that teaching procedures in the first couple days of school will only take about 4 days. However, teaching procedures later in the year will take around 8 days. We have already started school, and I have put many procedures in place. It is good to know that I will have to work a lot harder. Also, it's nice to know that I need to have the procedure completely worked out in my head before trying to teach it to the students.
3. One other thing I learned is that it is okay to make a decision and not explain the reason behind it. If I give the students time to think about why I might not let them do something, they will often come to the conclusion on their own. This will help me to not waste time reasoning out my decision for the students.

I am Ali Knowles and will be getting married September 19, and will then be Ali Swier. I live in Kremmling and will be commuting to work an hour and a half, each way, each day. I have 3 dogs; a black lab, Bunker, a chocolate lab, Fiji, and an akbash, Albus. This is my first year as a classroom teacher and I am really looking forward to it. I will be writing reflections about my year on this blog. I will also be sharing information with other first year teachers.