Mr. D'Amato - My Education Blog

I believe that my lesson plan went very well; I believe that I was able o provide the students with a great format for planning their passion project. I was able to successfully model an idea for them and how to use the tool that I was providing to them.  If I were to have done this before I would have been able to show the students a project that was completed but this was my first time doing this type of project. After presenting, I believe that I was doing my best to engage with the students even though sometimes it hard to through zoom.  I was able to answer any of the questions that the students had; one student asked if they could make a game which was a great idea that I forgot to mention.  I look forward to using the skills that I learned by creating this lesson plan in my future classroom especially if I am teaching remotely. 

    Today in fieldwork we had another mentor present for the first time this semester. This was a great learning experience because even though I have been watching Dr. McVerry present, it was good to see someone with the same amount of experience as me doing it. I was able to learn some important transitions and ideas on how to engage the students. Since I am going next week, it was refreshing to see that I am definitely prepared to do the lesson plan.          Once again, Dr. McVerry did a great job of engaging the students even though he was not presenting very much at all today. It is important (especially during camp) to be able to have natural flowing conversations with the students. A good way to make sure that this continues is to keep up to date with the current interest of your students. I personally think that this is an underrated and important part of being a fun and relatable educator. I believe the best educators are great at teaching and just as great at connecting with

 The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires is a great book for young elementary students who still have a lot of creativity when it comes to picture books. The book is great for younger students because it breaks down how to complete a task which will help the students understand the topic of organization and doing things in order. The book uses humor to keep the students engaged but it also uses suspense about what this "magnificent thing" is going to be. The book is also great for younger elementary students because of the vocabulary that it uses; it talks a lot about shapes, tools, and different steps that are necessary to create something. This book would definitely capture the interest of younger elementary students who will be intrigued to figure out what she is making while laughing at the silly mistakes. I believe the students will find many parts of the book relatable when the little girl having trouble with her project. The book has a happy ending which is good fo

Why is having exposure to diverse picture books important for young children? It is important to make sure that starting at a young age children begin to be exposed to diversity among humans. It is also important for ALL children to be able to see themselves within the books. For example, the white little boy or the black little girl should be able to relate to the books almost equally. This doesn't mean that every book should be based around one race but it means that it should be diverse throughout the year to make sure that everyone is comfortable and can relate to something. You also want the children's books to reflect the reality of the world that they live in; the world is a very diverse place and the children need to be exposed to that truth.  How can picture books help students learn English? Picture books are an excellent way for English Learning students to learn new words and practice their vocabulary. Picture books allow for the correlation of words to other words

    In many ways having  students write or read poetry can actually help them improve their imagination. From the Linaberger reading, we see how being able to read your poetry out loud and receive feedback will actually improve your confidence. This is great because when you are more confident about your writing then you will take more risks to create better material. Also, the Linaberger article, it mentions that students "had gained true inspiration from the reading of Blake's poems and the ensuing discussion." (Linabegrer, 2004) It is common for almost anyone to want to write a great poem after reading a poem that inspires them, as a teacher you can use this to your advantage. To address important issues in society, as a teacher, you can control the topics about which your students will write about. This can be beneficial to the students because oftentimes free-handed poetry can be harder.      In the Duthie article, they mention that students "should have read re

Dreams My dreams are fire  They spread recklessly  My thoughts make me tired Positive, Negative,  essentially  My brain creates the fire  My body bears the consequences  I keep reaching higher  I run through all of the fences  I wake up relieved  I wake up sad  I often feel deceived  But it's not that bad Because dreams are an escape It is something we all desire  I go through my days  Waiting until I am tired Dreams spread with fire  Dream only when tired  Dream dream dream Dreams are what I desire  Derrick D’Amato  (Recording of Poem)