Presentation Day 3

The last two presentations were really interesting.  Both of the groups were well prepared, had a lot of valuable information to give, and there activities were fun and engaging. The first groups activity was the one with the reverse poem.  This activity really captured my interest because it was like a give and take.  I learned from it and now I can practice this activity in my future class.  I believe that a lot of the peers were amazed when they discovered that the poem was double meaning.  Sometime noticing the little things can completely change your perspective.  Over all this group did a very good job.

The second group was very organized as well, and a lot of valuable information was discussed.  They showed that the book has important content that is beneficial to us as future teachers.  One aspect of the ignite talk they could have changed a bit, would be to have another group member speaking as well. Going back and forth between two speakers got a little dull.  On the other hand this groups activity part was simple but engaging.  The KWL chart is something very useful even to us as college students.  This activity could be used in the classroom as a foundation for a research project.  I know that I have used this chart in the past and I know I will use this in the future as well.

Presentation Day 2

On Thursday I got to play the role of the teacher. The ignite talk was well structured and all the main points were talked about.  Then I got to lead the activity part, and I was honestly pretty nervous at first because we didn't have a specific guideline to follow.  As a group we planned out the activity but we decided to improvise when giving the instructions.  The reason for this is because, as future teachers, we must understand that sometimes specific plans don't go as planned. We wanted to practice being able to think on our feet while speaking, and being able to include ideas or make changes according to our observations.  Personally, this was a little challenging to me and confusing to the audience but as the activity evolved things began to fall into place. Overall, I am glad we had this opportunity to learn and to practice.

The group that went before us was also very well structured. Their ignite talk was very informative and went smoothly. I also really enjoyed  their activity because it is something that I can definitely see me using in my classroom. It is fun and it gets the audience to work as a group and create their own poem.  This can be really creative and you can use it for any age group, from k-12.

Presentation Day 1

I remember being taught poetry in elementary school, and it has always been difficult for me. I remembered having difficulties creating one and was really discouraged by the idea of being the author to my own poem.  Even though poetry is personally not something I am very passionate about, I do know that I will be teaching this in my near future.  The first group’s presentation was very intriguing to me because it reminded me of simple ways I can introduce poetry to the classroom.  It will probably be difficult to teach but there are ways to make it fun and educational at the same time.

The second group’s presentation was very informative as well.  It demonstrated how one simple activity can get a whole class engaged.  We were given simple instructions and from there we were allowed to get as creative as we wanted to.  As adults, this was a little difficult to do, but it would be second nature for the elementary school kids.  This is an activity that I think every teacher can use in their classrooms and would highly benefit from.  Not only will the children be enjoying this activity, but they will be expanding their minds and writing creatively.