Common Core in Action: How Two Science Teachers are Integrating Common Core

In the Bronx and West Bronx of New York, Katie Abole and Christopher King both applied the LDC module to their science classrooms. Katie led her class in a module on biofuels and fossil fuels. She then had the students engaged in an article or activity every day to support whether they felt biofuels or fossil fuels to be a better source of energy. Christopher did something quite similar with the question of nuclear and/or fossil fuels being the best source of energy. His resulted just as well as Katie did and both groups of students gained confidence and took pride in their superior-level work. Christopher and Katie's overall advice was to start small and help them climb up. I think this was a very practical easy way to integrate common core literacy into science (and social studies). There is no area of study one can be involved and literacy not be important. So teach them the skills they need when they're young. If this is done efficiently through a child's student life, they will learn how to better study and "debate" the topics in life that really matter- whether it be addressing government issues or faith. Too, if Christopher and Katie's advice is heeded to start small, imagine the large things they can tackle after "trained". Alot of potential in this!

Voki

Bully

 Bully is a video to raise awareness of the true effect of bullying taking place in schools nationwide on families and students alike. Here is a link to both a trailer and the video should you choose to watch it. Bullying is very real and intervention can mean life or death for an individual. What are we to do?

http://youtu.be/fhBXlVTNZsg


  I know all students- regardless of age- need an outlet. Students face impossible situations everyday and so many times teachers, faculty, and fellow peers miss opportunities to bring life back to the lives around them. First as a precautionary, I believe one of the best outlets to send a "warning" to you as a teacher would be by a writing (or drawing for young students) assignment in the mornings before class really gets started. When I was in first/second grades, our teacher would give us bell work for the first 15 minutes of class, and at this time we were given a topic to write about and illustrate in our journal. Not only did it help creativity and writing skills, but alot of times, it was personal. I believe warning signs can be seen in such assignments. Kids are honest. If not in words, you can tell alot by a child's drawing. This would be one of the first things I would do as a teacher to catch the early signs of bullying. Even in high school, journaling is important and that's an outlet that is safe and can usually be used at home as well.
  If bullying is already in full stages, naturally, I'd take it to the principal; but because bullying is so often a matter of life and death, I believe the law enforcement needs to be involved. Yes kids are kids, but words have more power than they realize. If law enforcement won't be hired for the school to keep the campus, I don't think it'd be too much to call law enforcement to come pick them up and make the parent come get them from there. It's a situation that has to be taken seriously. Not only that, but I think the law enforcement should be on both ends- the bully and the bullied. Contact should be kept with the family of the student bullied. The family should be made aware. Signs should be taught. And counselors should be made available. Too many times, people miss the signs because they're in denial that it's real and because they're just ignorant to the facts. Parents need to be educated. In the kids having kids world we're in now, it's never too much to educate over the top. If it saves a life, one cannot deny the significance.

Augmented reality snags a coveted spot in classrooms

 Augmented reality is additional information to any source being studied or observed. In the classroom, augmented reality is becoming a whole new way of educating students- by letting them educate themselves! This is hands on discovery for the students, and teachers can "road-map" their classroom to fit the topic needs. This is nothing like research or reading a textbook. There's a new way of learning and this blending technology with the real world is perfect for the technologically-driven age we are now facing.

 This is genius! Any level of engaging the students is always a positive to learning, but with this, students are almost teaching themselves. Naturally, when students "discover" anything on their own, hands-on, it is better remembered. I'm curious to research more results of this being implemented in the classroom!

Five Essentials to Create Connected Students

 All students need to be connected to the rest of the world via WiFi and media for life skill purposes. Since most don't get this privilege at home, it is our duty as teachers to connect them during the school hours. Not only that, but they should specifically be educated on how to be connected and how to disconnect while in the classroom and throughout their everyday lives. The essentials state they need to have (1) a connected author, (2) a connected publisher, (3) a connected conversationalist, (4) a strategic disconnector, and (5) a curious, lifelong pursuer of ingenious solutions. Students should learn to be innovators instead of consumers.

 There is truth to this article. It's important each child has equal opportunity to learn at max, and if that has to be in the classroom, we should take full advantage of the time with them. But a very important point was made that teaching them to connect is just as important as teaching them to disconnect. This is not something being taught anywhere- especially the home. Also, it is time we teach students to think outside the box rather than teaching them the importance of the box.  Students are often not given enough credit to do so, and I think that is one of the biggest pitfalls of our current education system.

Inspiration comments

Erika: Where the Wild Things Are
  Your diagram/presentation was very easy to follow and the color themes all went together. The only thing I thought could be improved was the diagram thing. Will this have been taught previously? If so, awesome!

Jacqueline: Word discovery in "Fun with Dick and Jane"
   Word detective was an awesome idea! That's a fun way to introduce the dictionary! Sounds great! The tall tale was awesome! Didn't quite understand the directions for the tic-tac-toe.

Mary Katherine: Corduroy
   Have fun! I think they'll have fun with the "find that button" activity. It makes the story applicable to them and that's a great "sub-lesson" for them to learn early.

Jennifer: Earth's biomes
   Very creative! I think the kids would really enjoy that. Could use some more technology interaction, but other than that, you did great!

Amanda: Context Clues
   I like how you get them to act out the chapter in the beginning as opposed to the end. You get a clear analysis of how well they know what they are reading/comprehending. It's is very involved! As long as the rules for all these activities are established, great job!

Jordan: Hurricane Force
   Hurricanes are what most students around here can relate to. That's an advantage and disadvantage of this lesson. You have a good flow to increasing the skill of learning about hurricanes. Awesome!

Jonathan: World War 2
  Your class seems very competitive! Eighth graders really enjoy that. I like how you tied an event back to them today. It's important to connect generations!

21st Century Skills: Why they matter, What they are, and How we get there

  Educational systems today are producing students who lack 21st century skills needed in a 21st century world. The normal skills and subject area being taught are simply not enough to be productive in today's society. A job is no longer ensured for the graduate. Creativity, problem-solving, and management are skills now needed that aren't being taught in the schools or workforce, but they are becoming critically important. As the competing nation the United States is, it sure is losing ground when it comes to these skills needed. The infrastructure for these 21st century skills are being built slowly but surely to help ensure future success in our students to come.

   I think this would be wonderful. In alot of ways, it will mean completely changing the mindset and methods of what and how we are teaching. It is not merely focused on technology and that aspect of learning, but the focus is actually on the needs of the individual learners. It's focused on what is best for them. Yes, our system does lack critical thinking and creativity skills. Everything has been baby-fed to us for years. I'm excited to see a challenge arising and people who are willing to meet that challenge. Though it sounds great, I'm sure there are pitfalls to this too. For instance, if students couldn't master the core subjects before, will these students have the ability to attain such skills? I don't know, but I think this would be good to find out.

Why Tough Teachers Get Good Results

  This article gave several points on how tough teachers benefit students more than the creative, nice teaching methods. When compared to the rest of the world, the US showed drastic differences in math and science scores. Why was that so? Teaching methods for these subjects between the US and other, more successful nations, were drastically different. Discipline and memorization was enforced against the popular American belief that a child must learn in creative variety. Studies showed those who were made to memorize and study outside of one's "own will" did drastically better. Not only that, but these students were more confident in hard work than just being praised for being smart. The overall example was of a teacher, named Mr.K, who conducted his orchestra in what would today be considered a "harsh" manner but undeniably had positive results.

  I actually strongly agree with Mr. K's methods because that is exactly what makes me perform best- pressure amd discipline. The times in my life I have been most successful were times I was least comfortable and most challenged. If there's no challenge, why perform. I also strongly agreed with the point made that "If success meant they were smart, struggling meant they were not." Throughout my lifetime, on numerous occasions I've got the "I want to be like you because you're so smart. Or congratulations on being so smart. Glad you could do it" and these things are more of a slap in the face than anything. My SAT scores will tell you I'm not a genius. However, my GPA appears otherwise- but I work my tail off. There's a line between disciplined teaching and looking out for a child's well-being. You have to know the students well enough and know your methods well enough to be able to secure such a classroom. It all depends on how much effort you want to put in and how far you want the children to go when they are no longer bound by the four walls of a classroom.

donttrackmeplus.com download

    This free download is well worth the peace of mind! I don't do a whole lot on the web, especially at one time, but I found even the short time I was on, the program was constantly blocking something from tracking me. I only browsed a few sites and was pleased that the highest tracking I had on any of them was 3. I was expecting way worse- even with security software. When considering our privacy and freedom these days, this brought it to my attention that it really isn't ever just you. Even if the information collected is not tied directly to you in any way, it's still information there would be less of without you. Glad I was told about this!

Concept Map: Everything with a place...even numbers!

Everything with a place.... even numbers!

CCSS.Math.Content.2.NBT.A.1 Understand that the three digits of a three-digit number represent amounts of hundreds, tens, and ones; e.g., 706 equals 7 hundreds, 0 tens, and 6 ones. Understand the following as special cases:

    CCSS.Math.Content.2.NBT.A.1a 100 can be thought of as a bundle of ten tens — called a “hundred.”

    CCSS.Math.Content.2.NBT.A.1b The numbers 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 refer to one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or nine hundreds (and 0 tens and 0 ones).

I. Review numbers

Discover what the class knows going into the lesson on place value. What do they know as a group about numbers, counting, and if anything, on place value.

A. Group

each individual table takes turns counting as a group in increments of 10 until 100 is reached. (table 1:1-10, table 2:10-20, etc.)

B. Individual discussion

Give the class a number and ask a random student how it is read and how he or she knows.

II. See it:

Place Value tutorial

A. Visualize chart

Show visual on the board of place value using simple illustration of place value cards.

B. Connect chart to base-ten

Connect the visual to base-ten blocks. What is the equivalent of place value card to blocks? Show this visually in front of class

III. Touch it:

Base-ten blocks

  -  CCSS.Math.Content.2.NBT.A.1a 100 can be thought of as a bundle of ten tens — called a “hundred.”

  -  CCSS.Math.Content.2.NBT.A.1b The numbers 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 refer to one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or nine hundreds (and 0 tens and 0 ones).

A. Define: meaning of "100"

What exactly is one-hundred? What does the term "one-hundred" mean?

B. Count

Each student breaks down their understanding by showing you with blocks. 

IV. Write it

Hands on activity for students to lead peers in classroom learning. 1 student (previous best participants) from each table takes on this "leadership" activity.

A. Student-led participation

Each student chosen will go to the front of the classroom and write a 3-digit number on the board for the class to identify and show with his or her own individual blocks.

B. Class response

Class responds by using blocks to visualize written numbers. Chosen student waits and then presents correct answer for peers.

V. Know it:

A. Computer application

Learn to apply "place value" in a fun activity online.

B. Evaluate

As students are doing activity, walk around and evaluate the point system and make sure all students understood concept of taught lesson.

Article from lookstoogoodtobetrue

My article :   MALWARE INSTALLED ON TRAVELERS' LAPTOPS THROUGH SOFTWARE UPDATES ON HOTEL INTERNET CONNECTIONS

http://www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com/alert/malware-alert.aspx

It is obviously important after reading this article to update all software protection you possibly can before traveling. After returning from your trip, make sure to destroy cookies and run your spyware/malware checks to see what may have occurred at the hotel or other locations. Always be careful of downloads. Again, my mind usually doesn't think like a criminal so I had no idea this even was possible, but it is. Guard yourself!

Toogoodtobetrue web tests

The first test I completed was "Is your computer protected?" I was pleased that I had good ratings, but I learned I need to run regular security checks (the more often the better) and that it is important to back up the files on my computer. Again, you can never be too cautious when it comes to your personal information!

The second test I completed was "Are you protecting your identity?" Due to me not owning a credit card, that alone kept my risk very low for identity theft. I always knew that was important, but now I will give even more thought before applying for one. It isn't worth the risk in most cases. I also learned it is important not to access websites directly through links on an email.

The third test I completed was "Authentic or counterfeit" because I had no clue what it was alluding to. Because I do not buy or sell online, my ratings on this were great! Now knowing what to look for, I will know how to procede with caution if I ever decide to!

This was an awesome website to see how safe you really are and how you can be even more safe/ more cautious. Everyone should do this for their own good!

Malware analysis: Drive-by download

   Drive-by downloads are very common and very harmful to your personal computer. Most of the time the download shows very few signs of having occurred so you have to know what to look for. If at anytime your homepage changes without your permission or your computer has bookmarks you didn't save, be concerned! The drive-by not only downloads malicious information but sends your computer into a spiral of downloading more malware applications. So how do you protect against this? Download and update your anitvirus and antispyware. Watch for unusual apps and downloads to your computer. Always be aware.

   This blew my mind! I had heard of this on a very minor scale, but there is nothing minor to this! No wonder so many people are becoming the victim of such a crime. You always hear of the problems with social media having access to so much information, but even without social media, this can be a means of identity theft which can alter a person's life! I am very thankful for being made to be aware of this and I hope that everyone will take the opportunity to watch the video and learn how to be cautious yourself. You can never be too careful. Start now!!!

http://www.watchguard.com/education/video/play.asp?vid=dbd-cubecast

Safe Practices for Life Online

1. What are three online social networking sites that are used to form connections and develop relationships online?
a. Facebook
b. Twitter
c. LinkedIn

2. Consider the consequences. Conduct research into the consequences faced by students because of what they posted on their social network accounts. Vary your search strings by substituting words for 'expel' like 'arrest,' 'charged,' and 'discipline'.
Wow. Students charged and arrested of adult-sized crimes and murders because of outright admitting to their crime or posting evidence thereof in social media! Social media goes to more than just "who it's sent to"!

3. Define in your own words 'sexting', 'cramming,' 'cookies,' 'trojan horse,' 'phishing,' 'spyware,' 'rootkit,' and 'zombie'. (Write author, date, article name, and journal.)
sexting-  texting with sexual content. (internetslang.com accessed 9/24/13)
cramming- stuffing a large amount of something into a really small space (merriam-webster.com accessed 9/24/13)
cookies- information personal to you that is saved and stored on the web for the use of various web programs (merriam-webster.com accessed 9/24/13)
trojan horse- program that seems helpful but will destroy your data (merriam-webster.com accessed 9/24/13)
phishing- pertinent information given for seemingly harmless reasons via email (merriam-webster.com accessed 9/24/13)
spyware- information collected on how you use your computer (merriam-webster.com 9/24/13)
rootkit- a rootkit allows access to one's computer without the computer's owner being aware (veracode.com 9/24/13)
zombie- Usually activated by an unidentified Trojan, a zombie slowly more or less kills your computer. (zonealarm.com 9/24/13)

4. Why are these screen names poor choices? (Actual student screen names.)
Trashmouth
IHaveOnePairPants
BoogerDude
Pig

Any of the above screen names would be easy to identify on a small scale. If it can be identified on a small scale by something as simple as nicknames, it can be identified on a large scale as well.

5. Why might someone harass those with these screen names? Choosing the wrong screen name can encourage others to treat students poorly.
InYoFace
BadBoy2U
Lookin4Luv
IMAHottie
FatMama
suPaFlirt

Screen names such as these give permission to the public to see them as they either are seen by themselves or want to be seen. Either way is dangerous because there is always more to you than a label.

6. Too much info can be given through screen names. What info is being revealed through the following screen names?
Tom_Evans34
Missy-13
AndyKarateKid
ViolinGurl
restlinmatch

All of the above screen names give too much information on their personal identification whether by name, age, birth year, or hobby.

7. Good and bad choices for screen names. Write whether you think these are good choices or poor choices and why.
i8sushi2
Soccerstar
Puppygirl1234
KeKe1995
Bookworm
2BorNot2b
Choco-holic
CapitalOfens
AmericanIdol2
BellaIsabella
DarkAngel666
Karla-Love-1996
SimpyMe
gUn4hiRe
babyfaceLA
Watup?

I think these are all bad. All of these are either way too general or way too personal.

8. Create three different screen names that you think will meet all of the following guidelines:
Unlikely to attract negative attention. Free of bad language. Don't reveal too much personal information. Don't reveal a real name, age, or gender.
Persevere*2015
Fixit$omehow2013
GiveORtake20


9.How likely is it that a password can be cracked? A poor score is a warning to create a new password immediately.
a) Does your password include the name of a family member or pet? (-3)
b) Does your password include the birth date of a family member? (-3)
c) Does your password contain one or more words that could be found in a dictionary (including French, Spanish, Italian, German)? (-3)
d) Does your password contain a random set of numbers? (+2)
e) Does your password have 8+ characters? (+2)
f) Does your password contain both letters and numbers? (+2)
g) Does your password have less than six characters? (-1)
h) Does your password contain one or more non-number, non-letter characters, such as ! or = ? (+3)
i) Does your password contain the date of a well-known event, such as the date a particular baseball team won the pennant? (-1)
j) Does your password contain at least three numbers in numerical  sequence, such as "123"? (-2)
k) Does your password contain any word spelled backward? (-1)
l) Is your password written on a piece of paper within 15 feet of your computer? (-2)
m) Does your password contain a word repeated more than once? (-1)
n) Does your password contain your telephone nuumber, zip code, area code, or a portion thereof? (-2)
o) Does your password include a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters? (+2)
p) Have you ever shared your current password with a friend? (-3)

10. From the list below select the most-common reason and least-common reason that students' online accounts are broken into each year:
- a password-cracking program is used to crack their password
- others who know personal things about the student guess their password:    MOST-common
- students write their password down where others are able to see it
- students give their password to their friends, who then decide to use it or give it to others who use it
- other students see the password  as the student enters it on a keyboard:    LEAST-common

Use Arts Integration to Enhance Common Core

 This article addresses the importance of dedication on behalf of teachers to teach students where students learn best- in most cases, through the arts.  It takes hard work, teamwork, work after work- you get the idea- work! The results of creativity in teaching Common Core are huge. "Arts integration allows us to build chefs who make choices- not cooks who merely follow a recipe." Instead of frustration and anxiety, using arts with the Common Core leaves the student engaged- thus learning. Yes, integration of the arts is a must!

Though I do not agree with most of Common Core, this is definitely a bright side of the possibilities offered with its use. For example, you teach a child about paint, canvas, and paintbrushes but it does no good unless the child is allowed to respond by connecting his world to that canvas. Previously, he only knew about it, but with arts integration, he is given room to creatively engage hands on to connect the dots with what he was taught and what it means to him. I loved the illustration of the chef verses the cook! We want to create creativity in the generations we invest in because creativity will always go further than words in a book ever will. Teach them to live, connect, and solve. Teach them it's ok to mess up, but that it's more important to try. I think Arts Integration does just that.

John Hunter and the World Peace Game

         John Hunter, 1978, was faced with what appeared as an impossible situation. Upon  applying for and being hired for a job with gifted students, he felt extremely unprepared for the job and was responded to with the question: "What do you want to do?" This changed his whole philosophy of teaching!
         With this freedom and challenge, Hunter devised an (interactive) game for solving world problems by his students. This game is 4x4x4 plexiglass layers representing outer space, space, ground/sea level, and undersea level. The ground level has various countries which the students name and the teacher presents the problems which the students then solve amongst themselves. Each country has it's own cabinet, etc. The "rulebook" is a 13-page document of problems including minority  tensions, famine, etc. Students take that and solve the problems amongst themselves- without the teacher. He actually apologizes that he doesn't know the answers, but that the nation has been left a mess for them to solve. The control is given to those who will  make the difference!!! They learn how to do right by first approaching and engaging with the wrong.

         Is this approach, this game, teaching what can't be taught in books? What has been the result? Kids are learning hands on- things that would never be approached otherwise. The students basically teach themselves and are taught to be people- not robots. There's always more outside the box.

The Biggest Fallacy of the Common Core Standards

Summary:
  The Common Core is a standard to produce a high(er) rate of college and career ready students upon graduation from high school. This standard is being mandated across the nation and no extensive (positive) results have been proven. But this is the new standard that must be implemented! Who is in charge of this? Why is this being mandated without proven results? No one knows.

Opinion:
 Why waste a ton of money on a "standard" no one really is even informed of? If we are going to adopt this, why not demand answers? After all, it is our money and our children. For once, we need to consider what is best for them on a personal basis- not just the economy. Yes, if they were all robots with one mind and one intelligibility, maybe this could work and help our economy drastically. Children are individuals who will one day rule the nation. Why not research or maybe even ask them? They are our future. Maybe we should invest in them rather than only trying to use them to fix problems we created.

The Common Core's fundamental trouble

Summary:
  The results of implementation of the Common Core so far have been mostly on the negative side. Though it does raise standards and require a "student-centered" teaching, it also causes many (if not most) students to fail rather than succeed. If the No Child Left Behind act left schools failing, the solution to that should not be higher standards for which college graduates cannot even master. This new standard is the result of "consultants and corporate entrepreneurs where there should be parents and teachers."

Opinion:
  This new standard is absolutely crazy!!! I do not think the anxiety and failure rate caused by this will ever balance or surpass the college and career readiness it is supposed to support. I know I get anxious with the smallest tasks involving testing/learning with technology. I also know the suicide rate in high schools are ever-increasing, and I do believe this escalating rate is because of unnecessary pressures placed on children who are supposed to enjoy and engage in learning. When one feels as if he cannot possibly live up to the standards placed before him, the result is often detrimental if not life-risking. Health is more important than forcing such standards on any age child.

How Teachers are Integrating Tech Common Core

Summary:
   Basically, this article attempted to correlate the Common Core teaching standards with the benefits of technology added to it. It tells all the pros of integrating technology, such as the ipad, into the classrooms and future educations systems.One of these is that a student can connect with his world and learn the world is an audience which to teach and learn from. The article also seems to stress, "with help from adults" in helping these kids develop this new way of learning.

Opinion:
   I see several problems with this method, but I will only address one. Does a child not need to learn in an environment with methods from which he/she is most familiar? This plan seems to be discriminating against the children and "helping adults" who can't afford such technology at home (or elsewhere). To pay for such, would public schools then charge fees or possibly even tuition? If so, again, how do you expect everyone to meet those requirements to receive such an innovative classroom? You will always have those who cannot. I do not see the practicality point of this integration process. Yes, it is a great idea to teach a child that his/her world extends beyond that of which they are most familiar. I do not, however, believe any family, adult, or child should be forced to this. Money is the bottom line for many troubles and I do not believe education is an exception. Education ultimately stems from the home. If the home is not adaptable to these "standards," why should the classroom be.

Common Core standards for ELA and Literacy

What is the purpose of the college and career readiness standards?
 These standards identify what students should be able to do upon entering a college or career- any aspect of life. Upon graduation when these standards are met, students will be able to better adapt to the world around them in that they will already know how  to personalize their world. The standards apply more directly to the student.




What are the benefits and challenges of the shift to reading and writing non-fiction texts?

 Literature needs to include informational text. The standards call for informational text to breech across the subjects history, English, etc. in order to personalize a child's world around them.


What are the benefits and challenges of having standards for science, social studies, and technical subjects?

This is important for students to have the ability to take any information and apply it to life after high school. A benefit would be increasing the students' ability to discern between truth and fallacy in articles applied directly to their world.

Introduction

Hi! My name is Allison Gore. I am from Sumrall, MS and I will be a fifth generation teacher studying here at the University of Southern Mississippi. I am currently in my senior year of study for Special Education and loving every minute of it! Upon graduation, I plan to teach and tutor special needs students full time.