debor002

     For the past week, my Grade 8 students have been working on creating 3D Model Cities as part of their summative assessment in our math unit, Measuring 3D Shapes. They were asked to develop a unique city that required them to: - Create appropriate 2D nets (with measurements) to create the building shapes    they wanted - Determine the surface area of each building - Determine the volume of each building        As a side project, we then created videos to show off their awesome creations! Each student filmed and edited their own movie using their personal devices and the WeVideo program; although I helped getting files loaded and with some formatting glitches!         

     To help us work towards our school goal of purposefully implementing  the Universal Design for Learning approach to our formal planning (sometimes referred to as "Backwards by Design", "Understanding by Design", or "Planning With The End in Mind), my principal has provided our staff with a copy of Dr. Jennifer Katz 's book,  Teaching to Diversity: The Three-Block Model of Universal Design for Learning . As I make my way through the book, I will be summarizing my learning as a means of organizing my thoughts and getting clarification on particular ideas. Teaching to Diversity Cover. (Accessed 2014). Uploaded to Amazon; Portage& Main Press.   Available online at: http://www.amazon.ca/Teaching-Diversity-Three-Block-Universal-Learning/dp/1553793536 What is Diversity?      This chapter starts us off by looking at the concept of diversity and what it looks like in the classroom. A quick Google search defines diversity as: Wh...

     One of our school goals this year is to purposefully implement the Universal Design for Learning approach to our formal planning. Sometimes referred to as "Backwards by Design", "Understanding by Design", or "Planning With The End in Mind", the Universal Design for Learning is a three-block model designed by Dr. Jennifer Katz at the University of Manitoba. Design. (2011). Uploaded to Tach @ Riverdale by Meg Krause.  Available online at: http://blogs.riverdale.edu/techintegration/2011/11/26/understanding-by-design-the-backward-design-model/       Being fresh out of my B.Ed, the Backwards-by-Design method is what we were exclusively taught in our Assessment & Evaluation classes and is something that I feel relatively comfortable with in regards to vocabulary, set-up, purpose, and implementation. This isn't the case for everyone on our staff, however, who range from 1-30+ years experience. Throughout the year, our principal has been allowing...

     Earlier in the year I submitted my application for Brandon University's (B.U) Masters of Education program. After completing my Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Education, and working in their own-campus residence program for 5 of those 6 years, wanting to reapply felt like going home. Last month I shared my pre-admissions writing test , which was the second portion of the application process, and I am now happy to announce that I have officially been accepted into the program!      Starting in the fall of 2014 I will officially be a student again (only this time by distance), working towards my Masters in Curriculum & Planning (with a focus on tech integration). I am very fortunate to have an awesome support network around me and can't wait to start this new adventure :) Yay!

This year I've struggled with my Grade 9 Math class, a concern that I've mentioned a few times during my embarrassingly infrequent 2 Stars & A Wish posts. While there is no note-worthy behavioural challenges, this particular group of students is incredibly diverse in their foundational math skills & we have everything from Middle School to post-High School levels. Furthermore, there are still a few students who are still adjusting to the different requirements of High School compared to Middle School (although this transition is fairly smooth being in a K-12 school). I have been trying my best to differentiate instruction, provide various learning opportunities, and offer lunch-hour & after-school support to help ensure that my students are as successful as possible.  Our exam schedule begins the second week of June and although that is still six weeks away, it is still a short amount of prep time for those students who need to put in extra time in order to solidif...

     It has officially been one year since I went through the interview process and was offered a position at my dream school only a 10 minute drive from our farm! This was also the same school where I completed two of my hour student teaching placements so I felt very comfortable with both the students and staff. My husband was offered a job in the same division (15 mins down the road from my school) two weeks later and our grad, wedding, and 8 months of teaching later we are in May again.... can someone say busy year!?      With the school year coming to a close my Facebook, Twitter, and texts are full of teacher friends posting jobs in their division and/or looking for their first positions. Is it just me or do teachers attract other teacher friends? As such, I wanted to share some of the resources I put together when I was looking for my job: WEBSITES/ARTICLES/VIDEOS To Help Prepare The Best Advice for New Teachers (Article) - Larry Fer...

     I don't know about you, but I cannot believe that May is already here. At this time last year I was preparing for my teaching interview and it has been a whirlwind every since! For us, we are still in school until the end of June, but between sports tournaments, field trips, prom, exams, and grad, it is going to go very fast!      If you haven't encountered a " Currently " post before, it is just a fun post at the beginning of each month that serves as a way to share what is Currently going on in your life! You can link up and share your own " Currently " post by visiting the wonderful Farley over at Oh' Boy 4th Grade .