Second week in Oakton

Class: Psychology
Teacher: Butterfield

This is a new subject for me. Students are taught in topics such as: Learning, memory, Thinking and intelligence, Stress and coping, stress test, Ways to improve memory, defense mechanism , psychoanalitic theory, Developmenyal psychology, pshycological disorders (sleep disorders).

Today they had a quiz, but before this, the teacher make a short review using Kahoo with 15 questions about Freud, personality, mechanism of defense. Students were in pairs, join Kahoo.com with the PIN of the quiz and answered quickly the questions. The ones who got more points won +1 for the quiz score.

Then studensts had an independent work, anwsering questions in a workshop using a enciclopedia for a while. After that teacher went over and lecture about sleep disorder, showing some videos en Youtube about narcolepsy- cataplexy.

Mrs. Butterfield explained me she has all her lessons in blackboard, so students have access to the information all the time.

The county has set some guidelines for this subject and the teacher is felxible with the topics.

Mrs. Butterfield manages differenciation in the classroom  in a different way. She considers all the students can do the tasks and she fosters everybody to do it, but if some studenst needs more time to do an activity she gives extra time. She gives the confidence to the students to talk to her about things are uncomfortable for them in the class.

On the other hand, many students don't feel well in Oakton. They feel under pressure all the time because of the First position they are. In spite of this, many of them are part of religious groups after class, such us Muslim club, Black people club, and others.

Sports are a strength of the school, they have basketball and soccer teams for females or males. 

Class: English 2
Teacher: Dr. Cruz

The class started with a Reading. First, they read the cover (image). It was about Batteries, and then teacher read aloud the whole teaxt and students read one paragraph each one. Then teacher showed in the Document camera  a wrong sentence and students observe it in detail and see what is wrong andg  For example: The word order, spelling, etc.

Later, guided reading. Students read some texts and answered comprehension questions. At the beginning the teacher helped them to answer, then ask them to do it by themselves.
After that students work on spelling workshop and they filled in the blanks together with the teacher's guidance. Later they had another text to read and answer some comprehension questions and grammar issues as well.

Writing task: students complete sentences in a  Compare /contrast paragraph frame form given by the teacher.

My presentation
I had a presentation about my country Colombia with students of English Level 4 and Creating writing. It was very meaningful for me, showed a different face of my country, fighting against the steretypes people have about it. I could connect my presentation with the curriculum of the class. They were making a project in Gobal Citizenship about Single stories and stereotypes.

Teaching with Technology. Seminar 5

The technology that improve our teaching is the one students use to create knowlegde for an authentic audience, no only for the teacher. Creative a website, for example, can be showed for many people, no just the teacher.

First of all, the class started talking about our experience in the school we are attending, more specifically what we have seen about technology in the classrooms. We conclude that technology can make our practice stronger when we use it to connect the school with the comunity or viceversa. For instance, we can skyping an expert to talk to students.

After that, we as podcast producer evaluated the podcast done in the session before. We listened about Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King, Jefferson memorial, Washington Monument, George Mason, among others.

We check a rubric to assess the outcomes and we analized regarding the DEAPR (Design, Encode, Assembly, Publish, Revise), ACTS (Authentic, Clear outcome, Thinking, Skills), ABCS (Authentic activity, Background Building Activities, Constructing Activities, Sharing Activities). We identified our goals as students and teachers goals.

Finally we received a new project to work on. We are going to make a documentary film of 2-4 minutes , which will show a public issue we care about. For that task, we watched a video with the steps to have a good outcome. In this opportunity I am going to work with Miriam, Vyktoryia and Trust about Fast food in US.

Special Needs. Seminar 1.

Special Needs

This seminar was incredibly useful. We have many students with invisible disabilities that are undervalued. We learned the laws for special needs in the USA and I think a country should offer all the necessary support for these students to succeed, open positions for them to study and to work.

The inclusion of students with disabilities is not a overnight process. It took almost 15 years in the USA, to change from the social inclusion to the content inclusion. However, both steps should be taken. In Colombia, not even the social inclusion is done. We are trying to include students with special  needs in regular school, but most of them don't have adapted currriculum, or flexible content. 

We experiences the feeling of somebody with dyslexia. Sometimes, we put reading activities, set time and it becomes in a frustrating task for students with this learning disability.

Friday in Oakton!

English 9-10
Teacher: Mrs. Raad
Classroom 226
Global citizen project

Students chose a topic related to Saving the Earth for instance Air pollution, endangered animals, solar energy, among others. They read at least three different sources and summarize the information. Then the ESOL gave them a pattern of a text that summarized the information, with quoates, links, bibliography, indent and tab, in general some requirements (font, size, highlight, etc) and students should do the same in google docs with his own information.

With these projects students learn how to type a document, how to edit it and how to quote sources

NOTES

ESL Students can get graduate up 22 years. When they come here they just receive ESOL subjects (government, Math, biology, English language development, creative writing, literacy essencial).
The requirements class should be repeated if they fail, until 22 years old, if they don't pass high school they can complete a course and make a test to get diploma and to go into college.
If don't get it, school let them go without a high school diploma


Usually American students get graduate  around 18 years old.



Recommended Mrs Raad room 226
11:20 am
Routine activities
Students read a book, select a word and make a sentence each day. They complete a worksheet, which has 5 blanks, one for each day of the weak. At the end of the week if they have the five correct sentences they get extra points. Students write the sentence of the day on the board and all the students correct it.
Then students went to have lunch for 30 minutes. When they came back, teacher asked them to read independent for 5 minutes. When the timer is over, students read aloud one by one to correct pronunciation.
Then  the teacher projected a Story map about the text read, which includes story name, author, Setting (place, time) Main characters, beginning, middle, end.


Grades
A excellent
B
C Regular
D
F Failing


Dr. Cruz
Creative reading

Routine activity
Sentence correction.
After checking the corrections the teacher wrote on the digital document called "Paragraph construction Argumentative. Day 4", students collected all the sentences they had written on that  form and copy on a new document to have the complete essay. Then they did a peer reviewing  and peer editing with a new form. Students highlight the mistakes and type the suggestions. The owner of the text double check and finally correct it.



Websites for teachers
www.superteacherworksheets.com
www.readinga-z.com
www.padlet.com
www.flipgrid.com
www.kahoot.com

Here are some websites and tools I observed during the filed trip.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/

http://www.hgtv.com/

https://quizizz.com/

https://edpuzzle.com/

https://quizlet.com/

http://www.gomoodboard.com/

https://busyteacher.org/

https://www.classdojo.com/

 Powerpoint(Hypermedia)

Fourth day in Oakton

Class English and History
Teachers
60 students approximately.

Ap Advance Placement  is a class for preparing students for college

Sophomores 10° can choose the combined class or separated ...Seniors 12° have te option too.
Teachers works together ..For instance History class teaches the French revolution and English read a book about that .... English assess with projects or group work, presentation and History assess with written test. At the end of the year students shoul take a big test about history, the test is set by an independent company. If they pass the get  a college acreditation.

Standard world History Class
9th

50% have learning disability, it requires two teachers: the general education teacher and a special education teacher.
Today studenst work independently

Kahoo is  website to test students ... It says who answered first  in the scoreboard.. teacher gives candiues to the winners.

School Counseling
There are 7 school conuselor n the school. Each one has 300.
They should have a master's degree in counseling
They identify things but, they don't do therapy
Guide students about the courses the can sign up for next year
The main role is to keep students of the academic track, school behavior problems, guidances for college admissions, give lesson about the classes toy will have next year, the graduation, career for seniors, stress management, team work, smoth problems between students and teachers. Parents are too involve with the education and they complain by grades, Students text their parents as soon as they think something is wrong and parents inmediately call the counselor.  Many parents have economic power and talk directly with the intendent or the board.

Social worker helps to connect the school and agencies, for example If they have food problems they conect with the institute to solve the problem, the same with transpostation, etc.

Psychologist have 22 students to apply therapist.
89% of students in Oakton go to college.

Students use a "bathroom pass"bn to go to the bathroom during classes. It can be a toy or a symbol the teacher gives them. If a assistant principal see them aoutside the classroom they just show it.

English 4
Dr. Cruz

Pop quiz online. Students logged in Google classroom and found a quiz of 5 sentences with multiple choices about the topic the learned the day before. Teacher  gave a feedback of each single sentence, explaining the grammar rule that follows and the correct response.

Second, the teacher talked about the singles stories they had heard the class before, gave some real explamles about her and asked them to talk to their partners about the single stories they has before coming to the U.S, then single  and hidden stories about high school. after that, they read a text about single stories teachers have in the world. It was a result of an exercise someone did with pupils of elementary school. She asked them to complete the sentence "I wish my teacher knew..."

Later, they listened an an audio about the sentences high school students said about their teachers.
I wish my teacher knew... Students expressed their feelings aout what they had heard.
They open google classroom and complete the first assignment ... I wish my teacher knew... (3 sentences)

Oakton High school. Third day

Class Spanish 4 
Teacher:

The class started with a Happy valentine's day messages and sharing some mexican candies. Then students had a short vocabulary test.

Teacher has on the board the agenda of the day:
1. Short vocabulary test
2. Sketches
3. Talk: our relatives/ ancestors
4. Grammar in the notebooks: The pronouns of the objects
5. Practice with the pronouns

What caught my attention is that teacher experience some same situations I have in my English class heheheh. Students usually speak in their mother tongue and when we teacher as them to do in the target language they feel ashamed, nervous and sometimes frustrated  Teacher speaks slowly and sometimes we don't use the most accurate words in the language you learned but they make sense and can be understood.

Students presented the sketches using commands, using second person in singular and plural and playing the members of the family, also they should include a negative command and a reflexive verb.




Teacher introduced the lesson about ancestor. Students should think about their own ancestors and write impotant facts about them.
This activity will continue next class. Students will write a letter for the relative they want.


When teacher asked for volunteers to present their task , noboby answered and she said:

"If there are not volunteers, there will be victims"

Second day in Oakton High School

1st Period

Mr. Mcculla and Ms. Hovanec.

Class History and English combined. 66 studensts

Grade: Juniors (11th)

Students presented a group Project called Many stories in Oakton. Topics were chosen by themselves, for instance: Assumptions (people don’t know the reality of your life and they should stop making assumptions), Stress, opinions about Cougar time, exracurricular activities after class, stereotypes of clothing, Esol clases, Assumptions of vegetarian students, Oakton high school students, high school activities today, depression, 10 things boys want in a girl,

Some projects included surveys to get the conlcusions, podcast, pictures, posters, slides. They were posted on the walls of the classroom and the hallways and some sophomores participate in th exhibition.

Teachers concluded the class recognizing students effort and creativity. As well as the interaction they had. With this activity teachers could know more about their students and feelings. Then students shared their feelings about how they felt, what they learnt. And Also Ms. Hovanec encourage students to think about what can they do better next time. (rotational guidances, the owners of the Project should be explaining it and no just let others see it and understand it by their own)

3nd period 

Class: Strategies
Teacher: Ms. Jones


This class is special for students who came to the US recently and the don't know the language, how to be a student, how the log in in a computer, how to use effectively the time, among other topics.

Ms. Jones showed me an app called Recap for teacher, in which students can record themselves answering questions for instance: Tell me the days of the week, who is your favorite teacher? tell me three reasons. The videos are connected directly with the teacher's account and you can the progress on speaking the students have during the year.

5th Period
English level 2
Teacher. Dr. Cruz

Reading started with an observation of the cover of the book and then teacher read aloud the whole teaxt and students read one paragraph each one. Then independence reading, it starts every Monday. Students go on Book shopping and they selects seven books to read during the week and put them into a plastic box with their name. After 10 minutes they  complete the reading log  (name and author) about what they read and they classified in fiction or non-fiction text.

Then teacher showed in the Document camera  a wrong sentence and students observe it in detail and see what is wrong andg  For example: The word order, spelling, etc.


After that students work on spelling workshop and they filled in the blanks together with the teacher's guidance. Later they had another text to read and answer some comprehension questions and grammar issues as well.


6th Period
English level 4

Independent reading (10 minutes), Grammar topic: Either, Neither, and Subject-Verb Agreement
TED The danger of a single story: https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story
With this video Dr. Cruz introduced her lesson. They talked about stereotypes and how our assumptions about people can be wrong and we can be surprised when we realize about the reality.
Students on the table discussed about this question: Since you have been in Oakton School, do you think that some people think you have a single story ?