Commitment to Content Knowledge
Since my first experience with school in kindergarten, I have enjoyed learning. I would go to school, come home and play school. I had a small chalkboard where I would teach my imaginary students. Even at that young age and without knowing, I implemented strategies for classroom management and behavior issues. My education has always been top priority. The desire to be a teacher has been a constant in my life over the years. There was a few times I thought I would take another path but was always brought back to education. Now, I am about to embark on the best journey possible, planting the seed within children to become life-long learners.
All through school I maintained good grades. I made straight A’s all through elementary school and in middle school with a B here and there. I graduated from Hurricane High School with a 3.5 GPA. I participated in softball, track, and peer tutoring activities. I continued my education at WVSU upon graduation with the idea I wanted to be a registered nurse. After my first semester, that quickly changed. At the time, my circumstances were not favorable for me to continue my education and I went to work for an attorney. I enjoyed my job but was not satisfied. I knew it was not where my passion lied and not where I wanted to spend my professional career. It wasn’t until after the Fall of 2010 that I decided it was time to pursue my dream and I did just that. I have been completely dedicated to my studies at WVSU and performed above what has been expected of me.
I have passed the Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST) and Elementary Curriculum and Instruction Content Praxis exams on the first attempt. I feel my scores on these demonstrate my knowledge of the content used in elementary education.
My classes at West Virginia State University provided me with instructional strategies, classroom management skills, lesson plan development, and knowledge of educational theories. I have been successful in creating lesson plans with relevant content while meeting West Virginia Content Standards and Objectives (CSO’s). I have also been successful in aligning my lesson objectives with CSO’s and assessment.
The lesson I’m using to demonstrate this knowledge is called M&Ms Graphing. In this lesson, I had students use estimation, counting, and sorting skills to graph the different colors of M&Ms in a snack size bag. The concept of estimation was introduced by asking students to think about how many M&Ms were in a clear plastic bag that I held up. I recorded their answers on the board and then graphed the actual M&Ms. Students then estimated, counted, and sorted their M&Ms and graphed the results individually. The group graph and individual graphs were compared and discussed. What color had the most, etc.
Since my first experience with school in kindergarten, I have enjoyed learning. I would go to school, come home and play school. I had a small chalkboard where I would teach my imaginary students. Even at that young age and without knowing, I implemented strategies for classroom management and behavior issues. My education has always been top priority. The desire to be a teacher has been a constant in my life over the years. There was a few times I thought I would take another path but was always brought back to education. Now, I am about to embark on the best journey possible, planting the seed within children to become life-long learners.
All through school I maintained good grades. I made straight A’s all through elementary school and in middle school with a B here and there. I graduated from Hurricane High School with a 3.5 GPA. I participated in softball, track, and peer tutoring activities. I continued my education at WVSU upon graduation with the idea I wanted to be a registered nurse. After my first semester, that quickly changed. At the time, my circumstances were not favorable for me to continue my education and I went to work for an attorney. I enjoyed my job but was not satisfied. I knew it was not where my passion lied and not where I wanted to spend my professional career. It wasn’t until after the Fall of 2010 that I decided it was time to pursue my dream and I did just that. I have been completely dedicated to my studies at WVSU and performed above what has been expected of me.
I have passed the Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST) and Elementary Curriculum and Instruction Content Praxis exams on the first attempt. I feel my scores on these demonstrate my knowledge of the content used in elementary education.
My classes at West Virginia State University provided me with instructional strategies, classroom management skills, lesson plan development, and knowledge of educational theories. I have been successful in creating lesson plans with relevant content while meeting West Virginia Content Standards and Objectives (CSO’s). I have also been successful in aligning my lesson objectives with CSO’s and assessment.
The lesson I’m using to demonstrate this knowledge is called M&Ms Graphing. In this lesson, I had students use estimation, counting, and sorting skills to graph the different colors of M&Ms in a snack size bag. The concept of estimation was introduced by asking students to think about how many M&Ms were in a clear plastic bag that I held up. I recorded their answers on the board and then graphed the actual M&Ms. Students then estimated, counted, and sorted their M&Ms and graphed the results individually. The group graph and individual graphs were compared and discussed. What color had the most, etc.
mms_graphing_lesson_plan.docx | |
File Size: | 110 kb |
File Type: | docx |
mms_lesson_-_teacher_eval.pdf | |
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mms_graphing_lesson_reflection.docx | |
File Size: | 141 kb |
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mm_student_work.pdf | |
File Size: | 148 kb |
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mm_student_work_2.pdf | |
File Size: | 209 kb |
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differentiating_instr._sheet_-_mms_graphing.docx | |
File Size: | 73 kb |
File Type: | docx |