Lauren+Spivey



====Hey y'all! My name is Lauren Spivey and I am a senior at Clemson University studying Early Childhood Education. This semester I have had the opportunity to go back to third grade for my practicum experience at AJ Whittenberg Elementary Schoo of Engineering in Greenville, SC. I have really enjoyed getting to know my students and my cooperating teacher. I have learned so much from this experience that I hope to use in a first or second grades classroom in the future. ====

====I grew up in the Charleston area of South Carolina and would love to end up somewhere in the Lowcountry. In my spare time I enjoy reading, watching movies, going to the beach, and spending time at the beach. Since reading is such a big part of my life, one of my goals as a teacher is to encourage my students to read and to help them develop a love of reading they will carry throughout their lives. ====



====Three additional resources I included on my PLN are: Step into Second Grade, The Inspired Apple, and Discovery Education. ====
 * ====Step into Second Grade is a blog maintained by a dual language 2nd grade teacher, Amy Lemons. Through this blog, she describes some of her many adventures teaching second grade, while also sharing some of her lesson/classroom ideas that have worked well in her classroom. ====
 * ====The Inspired Apple is also a blog based on the educational experience from the teacher's perspective. This blog is run by "Babbling Abby", a first-grade teacher, who shares her experiences in the classroom, as well as many great lesson/classroom ideas. ====
 * ====Discovery Education is a great teacher's resource. This website has many resources (especially great videos and images) organized by standard and topic. You can also create assessments and worksheets and save all of the content you make and find in one central location. ====

====One thing I learned through making a PLN is how convenient it is to have all of your resources in a central, connected location. It is also helpful that you can color code your web based on what type of resources are included so it is organized and easy to find exactly what you need quickly. ====

Blabberize: The Angry Dinosaur poem by: Gareth Lancaster (2003) photo from: www.pics4learning.com

media type="custom" key="10839389" align="center" This activity could be used to tie in many aspects of your typical curriculum. Regarding English Language Arts, the Blabberize activity is a great tool to incorporate some of the standards and guiding principles. By having students research to find pictures and poems, ELA Researching standard 2-6.2, 2-6.4, and 2-6.6. When they write their own poems and read them aloud, ELA standard 2-6.5 is met. Also, by writing original poems, students learn to write for a variety of audiences (ELA 2-5), and cover most of the writing standards in preparation for recording the poem for the file.This activity is a great tool to use in the classroom, especially when you look at all that can be incorporated with the Guiding Principles. By having students create files that are of their interest and then share them with the class, the curriculum is framed within a community of learners (GP 1). Guiding Principle 3 is met throughout the process of the activity, as students have to complete all of the areas to finish the activity. Touching on GP 5, oral language is being used to communicate a poem. GP 8 is obviously met by the use of a technology tool to complete the assignment. Many of the other standards and guiding principles can be incorporated into this activity if adjustments are made. For example, require students to use children's literature to find inspiration for a poem and have them create an original to record.