Crede Standards

Wow I really enjoyed the blogging experience this week. I was able to look back over what I thought each day and really think about it. I use the Crede standards in my classroom daily. At first I didn't think about what I was using but after really thinking about it I found that I use each of the standards. As I study more about these standards I find myself coming up with new ways to teach my students. There are so many strategies to use that I find myself making lesson plans around them. I keep asking myself how I can use different ones. I don't want my students to get bored with me using the same strategies so I enjoy changing it up.

Crede Standards

I have always believed that one of the best ways to teach a child is to connect the information to their lives. Crede standard III discusses this. By using a student's experiences I can ensure that they have a better chance at understanding the material and being interested in it. In my class we are preparing for the upcoming state mandated writing test. I have been reviewing the rules of writing each day with my students. In order to find a subject that the students would be interested in writing in I decided to let them think of something they really wanted but their parents wouldn't allow them to have, for example cell phones or dating. Then using the Promethian board we wrote down the arguments that they have had with their parents over this. Once we had done this and talked about other arguments they could make the students began writing and for once I did not hear nearly as much grumbling or complaining. The assignment hasn't been turned in yet but I read the rough drafts that have been and they are some of the better papers the students have turned in this year.

Crede Standards 2/11/09

The first Crede standard discusses teachers and students working together to learn. I believe that students learn best when everyone works together. Working together allows the students to feel as if they have been heard and have some say in what is going on in the classroom. There are several strategies that allow this to happen in the classroom; I was able to use one today. My class is going to be starting the novel "The Watson's go to Birmingham: 1963." This novel takes place in the south during the Civil Rights Movement. I began a discussion about the Civil Rights Movement to give my students some background knowledge. Then I showed a few pictures and a short video and had them ask questions or make comments. When they were done I had them raise their hands to express how the pictures made them feel and what would they like to do as we read the novel. Many students expressed some good ideas such as tour a local museum that has a section on civil rights, while others said do group research to learn more about the civil rights leaders. I believe I am going to let each student (I only have 6) choose how they would best like to learn more on the civil rights movement as we read the novel. I believe by letting students choose they will be more likely to complete the assignment and have more interest in doing it.