Reading Instruction for ALL Students

Three important ideas/things from the reading today are teachers need to help all students become readers no matter what grade they are in, close reading has been proposed as the way to help students become better readers of complex writing, and that research-based understandings about students, writings, and reading underlie instructional approaches that support students learning across grades, but the most important thing I learned from the reading is that preparing students to read complex texts effectively is very important and challenging for schools but helps all grades to comprehend reading. One way my UDL book might support reading instruction for all students is that it is at a basic reading level for many to comprehend and understand, it also has pictures to go with the writing for better understanding. UDL books also provide tips and helps when it comes to the reader having confusion with the book. 

Creating Digital Authors

Creating Digital Authors is an article that shares the importance of allowing children to use digital technologies to help with educational purposes, such as writing. Three important ideas/things from the reading are that when technology is used in school it engages the students (even elementary students), Students seemed to learn most when collaborating with each other and experimenting with the technology rather than from adults, and that technology makes writing more easy and fun, but the most important thing I learned from the reading is teachers can help students learn new writing/literacy by teaching them to explore and compose digital texts. 

I Am From

I am from Nonna's hugs, from four-wheelers and teacups
I am from the house on the middle of a steep hill
neutral and stone
It felt like a place I belonged
I am from an early civil war battle, from brick houses with giant holes
because of cannons.
I am from an ice cream shop built in 1947 that people still enjoy.
I am from the dirt in my backyard,
the driveway I got to ride my scooter on.
the spiky sweet gum balls that fell from the trees and hurt my bare-feet.
I’m from the family game nights and pretty smiles with brown hair,
from a little sister that is 16 years younger than me and a brother I have fought with since I was five, but love so much
and a dad who wrestled and tucked me in a cocoon when going to bed.
I’m from the cold beers and
Sunday football games.
From I love you to the moon and back and
shoulda, coulda, woulda's.
I’m from praying at night that bad people will turn good and that all lost animals will find homes, and that the freckles I have is from where angels kiss me.
I’m from Mannassas where I was born by a 17 year old who has been my best friend and role model ever since,
Homemade pizzas and krusties.
From being pushed in the airplane swing hanging by a tree outside my Nanna's farmhouse on a beautiful day,
the raggedy Anne dolls I used to play with while on my poppops lap.
I am from ringaround the rosie, and grown-ups can't see us with all my cousins.
I am from two high school sweethearts that eventually drifted apart.
I am from watching people make mistakes, but knowing you can learn from them.
I am from multiple places I called home, but family is really my home.

Where I Am From

This picture was taken in Mannassas VA at my grandparents house, at the time we all lived together. My father took the picture. We were gathered in the photo because it was Easter. It was me, my nonna, my pop-pop, and my mother. At this moment we were taking pictures before we were about to start searching for Easter eggs.

This is where the above picture was taken. When I was first born this was where I lived.

307 Colonial Ave. (3rd-7th grade)

One of My Childhood Homes

There was a big window in our living room. When looking out it I could see the street we lived on and a church that was located right across from us. When looking out that window you would see a

Church I lived  across from

parking lot that belonged to the church and sometimes we would ride our scooters across to have more room to ride. In my room there was a window right alongside my bed that connected to the porch. I would look out it at night and see the stars and lights from cars through the trees. At one point there was an electronic advertisement board built a couple roads down from where we lived and I would watch it play until I fell asleep. Another window that I would look out was the one in our kitchen above our sink, there wasn't much to see except the brick house next door to us. We bought our house from the Smith family. It was kind of unique because of the color stones that it was made of. The Lightner family were the original owners who had the house built.

History of My Hometown

  The battle of Fredricksburg was an important event that occurred in my hometown. It was an early battle of the civil war and is known as one of the greatest confederate victories. It was led by General Robert E. Lee. Stonewall Jackson was also in Fredricksburg during this event. I remember taking a tour of the town with my nonna (grandmother) and we saw a brick house that had over 7 cannon balls shot through it that still stands. I remember being a child and always going downtown to a small local ice cream shop called Carl's. It was so good that a line of people would wrap around the building multiple times just to get some. I would always get the same kind of ice cream every time I went, a chocolate vanilla swirl cone.

My 8th birthday (dad, brother, me, and mom)

My parents were high school sweethearts

Who I Grew Up With

Me and my siblings!

Clifford

 I lived in this house with my mom, dad, and little brother. We also had a red golden retriever named Clifford. My little sister Brooklyn was born when I was 16 years old after I had already moved here to West Virginia. I remember looking up to my mom and thinking how beautiful she was, I loved playing with my moms red hair. My dad always played with me, we would wrestle and go outside. Many people used to come to our house. Friends, grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles always would stop by and watch the football games or just hang out. Whenever I would get in trouble with my parents I would secretly take the house phone and call my nonna. She would come for a "surprise" visit and ask if I could stay with her. I am the oldest of 15 cousins, including both sides of my family. Evelyn, Ryan, and Allison were around my age growing up. We were all so close and would play and stay with each other all the time. To this day I am close with all of my cousins, especially Evelyn who I consider my best friend. In the brick house located next to us was a man named Wayne, he was always friendly. Danny and Elsa were an older couple that lived to the right of us in a light grey house. We would go over to their yard and play Mancala. Also Danny was Spanish, so he had matching board games that we would play to teach my brother and I his second language. Going to school my favorite teacher was my 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Donelly.  We kept in contact for many years. She would email me asking how I was. Years later when I was in high-school she sent me work she had gathered from when I was in kindergarten to 5th grade, she was always so friendly and really cared about her students. My mom usually did the cooking, but my nonna is the best cook in the family. She would come over and make homemade pizza (my favorite), because she is half Italian. My nonna is also the reason I was introduced to religion, she is very religious. Although we did not attend church every weekend, we still were aware that God is always watching over and we knew the difference between right and wrong. I was baptized when I was little and grew up Catholic. I resemble my dads side of the family, which is dark hair and pretty smiles. My mom has red hair and her side of the family is tall and has some similar characteristics to each other. My brother and I have only been able to see some red in our hair when the sun hits it.

Interview of my nonna:

My nonna and I cooking

 As a child my grandmother lived in many locations, because her father was in the military. The home she thought was most interesting was when she lived in Morocco, Africa. It was a brick and wood ranch style 4 bedroom home. They had beautiful flower gardens that surrounded their home with a bird cage in the backyard for one huge parrot and many colorful parakeet. It was military base home, she shared a bunk bed with her older sister. She went to elementary school on base. School was taught in old Quonset huts connected by outdoors porches. There was no air conditioning so they would keep the door and windows open. Wooden desks was where they had to sit to work in class. They would go to a base church (chapel 2) to attend catholic services. To shop for food they went to the medinas, an open air market. She said they weren't supposed to go off base for food, but they enjoyed going there instead. My great-grandmother made majority of nonna's clothes. Teen clubs was where she enjoyed going for fun. They had games and music at these clubs. They did not have a TV so she really enjoyed attending the theater on base. Mickey was the dog that they had, and my nonna used to hide in there or under her bed if she did not want to be found. Maryland was where she lived in a house when she first got married, it was base housing. It was a 3 bedroom two-story brick and wood duplex. They used to have many block parties! She had just the basic utensils many individuals would in the kitchen (pots, pans, silverware, etc)

When I was born 

I was born on September 1st, 1995. My mom and her family had just gotten back from Pound-ridge New York, because they were barring her grandmother after she passed away. The day before she also played wiffle ball with her family and she thinks that is a reason why I might have came a little early. She started cleaning her bedroom/nursery once she was home, because we were sharing a room whenever we got back from the hospital. My mom took a shower after cleaning her room and a friend came over to spend time with mom. As they were sitting down talking my mom jumped up and said her water broke. My dad was out working on the farm, so my mom called his grandma to get him and let him know. Mom called the doctors and they said to come in right away. At the time my mom was babysitting her neighbors 10 year old boy, she had to leave him at the house because she knew my nonna and the boys mom were going to be home momentarily. She left a note saying that her water broke and that she was on her way to the doctors, because then there weren't any cell phones. Her friend was the one that brought her to the doctors. Since it was her first pregnancy and she was so young they wanted to make sure that her water really broke before she went to the hospital. After they confirmed her water broke they sent her to the hospital, and my nonna had was there before her waiting. They got her into a room where my dad had shown up really dirty because he was working. My mom was a month early with me, but because her water broke they could not stop it. She was in labor with me for around 6 hours, I was born at 11:42 pm. My mom said she was so young and terrified about the pain she would be in. They let my parents hold me just a minute and noticed my skin color did not look normal, they took me to ICU. I quit breathing 4 times and was put on a respirator, my left lung wasn't fully developed all the way. My mom and dad were really worried. At one point my pop-pop saved my life because he was looking at me through the window and noticed I was turning purple, he then started pounding on the window to let the nurse know. After the doctor gave me a certain kind of steroid my health changed and I got better. I was in the NICU for 12 days, so I was not able to go home with my family right away. When I was released to go home a nurse would come to check on me once a month for the first 3 months of my life.   

My dad and I

Evelyn and I now!

Evelyn and I when we were little

Stevens (recent)

Mays (old picture) There is now 14 grandchildren

My boyfriend of 3 years (recent)

Teachers are Designers.

Teaching is like designing in many ways. For example, you get to express yourself. There are so many ways to teach and you have to brainstorm to come up with different ideas. In order to keep your students attention you have to get creative and make learning fun. This compares to designing, because you are constantly having to brainstorm and trying to think outside of the box. 

It is important for teachers to use Universal Design for Learning, because most teachers have diverse groups of students. All students learn differently, UDL helps minimize barriers and maximize learning for all students. It provides general learning activities for each and every student. It also helps students with the 3 brain networks. In a classroom you have to teach based on diversity, such as to be flexible.

In previous math classes I have had the teachers explains that there are different ways to work many problems. The teachers would provide a couple ways that we could solve the problem and then let us decide which one we believe is easiest to work out. They will keep working problems out until the class recognizes the specific work that needs to be done. In my Trig class we were given candy to represent our math problem, it helped provide us material and made us work strategically. By teaching me this way in class it helped me to recognize, organize, and also focus.