Blog Journal #3

     The ELA standards for teaching first grade are to know and use various text features, produce and publish writings with peers, ask and answer questions about key text aloud or written down. With the knowledge and skills I have right now I feel comfortable with teaching the second and third standards. I know I can confidently teach first graders how to read a text and develop questions based off what they have read with comprehension skills and practice. I can also teach the students how to work in a group setting to produce a cohesive written assignment. I could use more help with the technology part because I am not extremely fluent in it yet but I am pretty close.
     The CPALMS educator toolkit is an amazing resource for any teacher. It has multiple toolkits and standards for every grade level and subject. I would use this often in my classroom since it is so easy to use and has great resources for any person. There are lesson plans, student resources, standards, and many more features for any grade level and subject. I would use this as a tool in my classroom to help spice up boring lesson plans and make them fun and helpful for the students.
     For the newsletter I pretty much knew how to do everything required. I had fun playing around with the tools I had barely used before and formatted it in fun and cute ways that I really enjoyed. I love creating fun things and as an old yearbook editor this was right up my alley. I wish we had a little more freedom in what we could do but overall it was a very fun assignment. I enjoyed creating something fun for the classroom and parents. I can definitely use these tools for my future classroom as I plan on creating at least a monthly newsletter, if not weekly.

WELCOME!

My name is Grayson Hefner; I am your child’s 1^st grade teacher! I am so excited to start off this year! I have a lot of fun things planned for your child including exciting field trips, reading buddies, guest speakers, and a ton more! We will be kicking off the year with a fun back to school party with snacks and fun crafts for all the kids to enjoy. If you want to sign up to be a room parent please email me and I will get back to you as soon as possible. A room parent helps organize class parties as well as other fun events throughout the year. If you have any other questions or concerns please feel free to email me. I know this is going to be an amazing year!

A LOOK INTO THE CLASSROOM

This year will be very tech based. Each child will receive an iPad for classwork and homework. They will be used on a daily basis and will need to come to class everyday with it charged and ready to go! The students will be able to take the iPad home to use it for homework. However, if the iPad gets lost or damaged the legal guardian of the child must pay for the damages.

ABOUT ME

Like I said earlier my name is Grayson Hefner, this is my third year teaching at Maple Elementary. I graduated from Florida State University with a master’s degree in Special Education. I have two dogs (a husky and a saint Bernard) and I recently got engaged to the love of my life. I specialize in technology in the classroom and I am so excited to show your children all the fun and exciting ways technology can be used in a classroom!

THIS WEEK’S SPELLING LIST:

1.    been                                                                                     

2.    before

3.    girl

4.    boy

5.    get

6.    bat

7.    too

8.    two

9.    call

    10. frog