Virtual Classroom Tour

For my virtual tour, I watched a first to second grade classroom. In the classroom I noticed how all the children's work was put all over the walls. They also had a section labeled "Learning Goals," which I believe is really important to have in a classroom. It helps students set their own goals for themselves while also encouraging their classmates. I also noticed that the teachers did a fantastic job of making the classroom look exciting. Each side of the classroom had a little "station" almost. There were signs saying homework, silent reading, the menu for lunch etc. I find that labeling around elementary classrooms makes for a lot smoother school day. Students are able to easily find where things are in the classroom, without having to disrupt the class at any time. After watching the video with the teachers, they talked a lot about how they like to work together in the beginning of the year to really put their heads together and create goals. I noticed that a huge part of teaching is accomplishing the goals you create with your kids in the beginning of the year. The teachers also talked about how important it is to discuss their plan in the beginning of the year so it's easier for them to know exactly what they are going to be teaching as the year goes on. Both teachers really work together to create teaching strategies that will really improve the students knowledge as the year goes on. 

My Memory of Language Arts

From what I can remember, language arts in my elementary school was not always the most entertaining part about the school day. I remember reading books and answering vocabulary questions at the end of each section we read. However, I am being honest when I say looking up vocabulary definitions meant skipping the reading and trying to find the "bolded" word. I found myself not very interested in language arts because I felt my teacher did not put enough effort into trying to make the subject enjoyable for us kids. Looking back as a teacher in training now, I will hope and try to make language arts for exciting for my students in the future.