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Thursday, October 20, 2011

ABC's of Me

Here is just a little more information on me! Enjoy! :)



A. AREA CODE: 574
B. BED SIZE: Double
C. CHORE YOU HATE: Well this is a hard one because I don't really like doing and chore, but if I had to pick one I would go with mopping.
D. DOG'S NAME: I have two dogs. One is names Mattie and the other one is Brody. Mattie is the nicest dog you will ever meet, and well I can't say the same about Brody.
E. ESSENTIAL "START THE DAY!" ITEM: Shower!
F. FAVORITE COLOR: Ever since I was a little girl my two favorite colors have been yellow and pink.
G. GOLD OR SILVER: I am definately a silver person.  If you opened up my jewelry box the pieces that are gold would definately be out numbered.
H. HEIGHT: 5'1
J. JOB: I am a full time student at IUSB studying to be a elementary student, and I also teach gymnastics to children ages 3-12.  It is truely the best job in the world! I love all of my classes, but the Terrific 3's are definately my favorite class! :)
K. KIDS I do not have any children right now but I am getting married May 11, 2013 and plan on having kids sometime after that!
L. LIVING ARRANGEMENTS: I live at home with my parents.
M. MOM'S NAME: Mary
N. NICKNAME: Throughout my childhood everyone called me Ginny.  It wasn't until college that people started calling me by my real name Virginia.  My fiance shortens Virginia and calls me Virg.
O. OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAY: Never.
P. PET PEEVE: I can't stand being late!
Q. QUOTE FROM A MOVIE: I am nothing special; just a common man with common thoughts, and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten. But in one respect I have succeeded as gloriously as anyone who's ever lived: I've loved another with all my heart and soul; and to me, this has always been enough.- The Notebook
R. RIGHTY OR LEFTY?: Righty!
S. SIBLINGS:  I have one older sister who is 32.
T. TIME YOU WAKE UP: The earliest is 6, and the latest is 9.
V. VEGGIE YOU DISLIKE: I am not really sure.
W. WAYS/REASONS YOU ARE LATE: I am usually never late. I hate being late to things.
X. XRAYS YOU'VE HAD: I have a x-ray on my foot in high school.
Y. YUMMY FOOD YOU MAKE: Spaghetti! I come from a large Italian family so it's a must!
Z. ZOO ANIMALS YOU LIKE: Bears and giraffes!

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

First lesson in 3rd Grade

Today I taught my first lesson to 33 3rd graders.  Before I taught my lesson I thought I had the best lesson plan on bar graphs.  I am a big believer in have the students learn actively, so my lesson included a opening activity that called for the students to be up and moving, and a group activity where they would be moving around the class room too.

 Here were the steps of my lesson plan…

1.       I will begin the lesson by giving each student an index card that has a piece of putty on it.  I will ask the students to print their name on the blank side of the card.

2.       Then I will ask the students the question, “Which character did you like better in the book Frindle, Mrs. Granger or Nick?”

3.       Releasing one table at a time I will allow the students to place their index card into either the Mrs. Granger or Nick column.

4.       After the students have all placed their cards in a column, I take a dry erase marker and ask the students to help me turn the information we just collected into a bar graph.  Together, we will label both the x axis and y axis, give our graph a title, and analyze the information we collected.  This will allow me to check the students’ prior knowledge of bar graphs and review the different parts. 

5.       I will then hand out two pieces of paper to each student and divide each table into two groups.

6.       I will bring students attention to the first sheet of paper and explain to them with their group, they are to come up with a question that they want to find the answer to.  With the question, they are to come up with two or three choices that people can choose from to answer the question.

7.       Students’ will them be release to work with their group and I will walk around and answering questions and help groups as needed.

8.       After about five minutes, I will draw the students’ attention back to me.  I will then tell them that now I would like them to ask the question to the other group at their table and record how many students picked each choice by writing the number in the box next to each choice.  When they are done recording their data, I would like them to create a bar graph with the information they collected

9.       I will walk around and help as needed.

10.    At the end of the period, I will get the students attention and have each group check to make sure they have included each part and labeled their bar graph.

11.    I will then ask the students, “What else could you use bar graphs for?”


While the majority of my lesson went great, there were a few parts I would change for next time.  The whole index card plan didn’t really work out.  They were falling off the board, and it was just a mess, so next time I think I would use masking tape and make a big L on the floor in our large group instruction area so the students just had to place their car on the floor, and we would just write our labels on pieces of paper.  The last part of the lesson I would change would be to figure out a way to keep 33 3rd graders a little quieter.  The room was so loud and even though they did a great job of staying on take and really took a interest in their assignment, it was just a little too loud.  I think I might create a noise-o-meter (have seen them on pinterest) to help.