MS Word Cyberinquiry Module 3
Personal Goals
My goal to become a leader would be to establish different ways to get students to comprehend
better and become proficient readers. I would like to introduce the content in different ways and
in new ways because the test scores are down in reading and social studies for the Alabama High
School Exit Exam. I would like to see a remarkable improvement in the reading and social
studies test scores.
I plan to integrate different reading strategies, performing art and technology in my history
classes and incorporate music occasionally. I will try different activities by giving simple
activities to do Before, During, and After reading, do more grouping, and have more student
centered learning.
I enjoyed reading about the husband and wife that received their National Board Certification.
The History teacher’s assignment “Close to Home” reminded me of an assignment that I tried
with my students last school term. The name of my assignment was U.S. History and Me” and
one of the things that students had to do was to write about an event that they had lived through
since their birth and tell how the event was related to American history. I did not get a chance to
finish but I tried to connect the students’ past with the present. Recently, one educator suggested
that I can get students to interview someone who had been in the Vietnam War and interview
them.
The information the English teacher gave reminded me of the many ways that I’ve tried different
methods to reach students to encourage them to read more. I can incorporate literature and other
media to help make connections among different writing across content areas. I, like Marilyn,
want my students to become engaged emotionally in what they read and learn to have empathy
for others even in an imagined one. I too could use John Steinbeck in my history class when we
study “The Great Depression.” I can also use the picture of Dorothea Lange and have students
respond to this primary source and perhaps read the novel Of Mice and Men. This assignment,
with a ready made poem, would engage students with the picture and perhaps prepare them to
read the novel. Marilyn’s portfolio on “Documented Accomplishment” supplement the teaching
of reading and writing and I would like a success story also.
The superintendent‘s article reminded me of the data that was analyzed at our school last week.
Our test scores revealed that the reading and social studies test scores dropped. We were asked
to make special effort to make these test scores rise. The superintendent had a vision of how
technology could be used. I, too, have a vision of helping our students pass the Alabama Exit
Exam.
Goal: To integrate reading strategies, technology, and performing art to help struggling readers
pass the Alabama High School Graduation Exit Exam in reading and social studies.
Objectives:
1. To identify methods for using reading strategies and technology to teach, assess, and
motivate disabled readers.
2. To identify how to meet the needs of all readers who struggle and achieve below grade
level reading and literacy skills.
3. To explain how reading strategies, technology, and performing art will provide help to
give these struggling learners a fresh start, immediate feedback, and repeated reading
opportunities to help them become better readers.
4. To analyze the findings of major research on the use of reading strategies, technology,
and performing art with struggling readers.
5. To develop methods for using reading strategies, technology, and performing art to
improve reading skills and motivate them to read.
6. To identify methods developing greater fluency in vocabulary and writing skills.
7. To identify a rationale for including reading strategies, computers, and performing art.
8. To develop any medium of technology presentation, reading strategies, and performing
art.
9. To peruse websites that promotes performing art, technology and reading.
How I will achieve my goals:
1. Talk to reading coaches and others.
2. Research many strategies that I think will apply and be useful to my goal and decide
which strategies to begin with.
3. Introduce a different reading strategy and performing art strategy weekly.
4. Integrate technology, reading, and performing art strategies.
5. Use resource persons
6. Readings and/or articles
7. Professional Development
Twelve Month Personal Leadership Plan
August
Week 1 – Reading Around the
Text
Week 2 – Performing Art
December
Week 1- Guiding Reading
Week 3 – QAR
Week 4 – Performing
Art/Technology
Week 5 - Technology
Week 3 – K-W-L
Week 4- Performing
Art/Technology
September
Week 1 – Reciprocal Teaching
Week 2 – Performing Art
January
Week 1- Cloze
Week 2- Semantic Mapping
Week 3 – 3-2-1
Week 3 – Previewing
Week 4 – Technology
Week 4- Performing
Art/Technology
October
Week 1 – Cause and Effect
Week 2 – Compare/Contrast
Week 3 – Fact and Opinion
Week 4 – Performing Art
Week 5 – Technology
February
Week 1 – Contextualizing
Week 2- Questing
Week 3 – Reflecting
Week 4 – Art/Technology
June
Week 1 – Choral Reading
November
Week 1- Think –Pair-Share
March
Week 1 – Outlining and
Summarizing
Week 2- Reading Reponse
Journal
Week 3- ReQuest
July
Week 1 – Quickwrites and
Quickdraws
Week 2 – Assisted Reading
Strategies
Week 3 – Menu
Week 4 – Performing
Art/Technology
Week 4 - SMART
Week 2 – Herringbone
Week 3 – Story Map; Group
Mapping Activity
Week 4 – Gist Strategy
Week 2 – Concept Text
April
Week 1 – Story Maps and
Frames
Week 2 – Reading
Conferences
Week 3 – Story Quilts
Week 4 – Performing
Art/Technology
May
Week 1- Story Boards
Week 2 – PReP (Prereading
Plan)
Week 3 – Open- Minded
Portraits
Week 4 – Performing
Art/Technology
Week 2- Readers Theater
Week 3 – SQ3R
Week 4 – Performing
Art/Technology
August
Week 1 – Insert
Week 2 – Directed Reading
Thinking Activity
Week 3 – Directed Listening
Thinking Activity
Week 4 – Performing
Art/Technology
Assistive Technology
Interchangeable terms with assistive technology include assistive devices, rehabilitation
equipment/technology, adaptive materials or adaptive technologies. When we apply AT to
facilitate the use of classroom technologies and materials by students with disabilities in today's
classrooms, AT includes both "access" and "adaptive" technologies.
Examples
Alternate keyboards
Alternate keyboards and pointing systems that change how a
software program is used. The photo shows an IntelliKeys
keyboard (IntelliTools, Inc.) with a modified overlay which
makes learning more direct for a student with a disability. S/he
simply needs to press a picture key to see the word spelled on
the screen or to spell it out with larger letter keys.
Page Turner
Page Turner: By using this device to hold a
book for a student, s/he is then freed to
focus on reading & comprehending the
material in the book. A page turns when the
students presses a switch.
School has begun and I do not have any students with disabilities, so therefore, I will not be
using any of these assistive technology tools. However, in the past I have had a student who had
to use a mobility wheelchair and everything was fine for him. However, he had to leave the class
about 5-10 minutes early before the regular bell sounded to get out of the traffic of the other
students. Also, he had a certain area that he had to be picked up on those handicapped buses.
http://atto.buffalo.edu/registered/ATBasics/Foundation/intro/introbasic.php
copyright © 2000 - 2005 Assistive Technology Training Online Project
What Are the Benefits of Using Word Processor in the Classroom?
This website supported word processor as a valuable part of the technology now available for
educators in schools. Students and teachers both receive many benefits when doing classwork
on the computer. Many of the headaches of paperwork are eliminated. The benefits of word
processors are (1) it contains an electronic spell checker, teachers and students gain a sense of
security about losing assignments (2) teachers benefit by receiving a readable copy that is easy to
grade (3) work done on a word processor can easily be published on a bulletin board (4) work
done on a word processor and saved on the internet is highly portable and accessible from any
computer with interent access. Word processing can be used as a note taking tool and can be
used in seminars and primary grades and above.
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5794758_benefits-using-word-processor-classroom-html
Reaction to the Article:
I enjoyed reading the article on word processing. I examined several articles and none of them
were really against word processing. I think that most of any creativity that you can do can be
done in word if you know how to do it. It just takes practice and know how. For instance, my
sister can take a palin document that I type and recreate it with different fonts and graphics and it
will look totally different and awesome whereas my document is plain and bland. I wish I could
be as good as she is on the computer.
I use word processing throughout the school year in several capacities. I type lesson plans,
letters, church programs, invitations, notes, documenting material, making lists and you name it.
I also use it at home to do reports and other school work.
August 9-13 was the first week of school and I had a few get acquainted assignments and one or
two students asked me if they could do their assignment at home on the computer which I
thought was interesting. From what I saw a few students were doing charting and using word
processing as well as clipart.
I found this article by going to the "ask" search engine and typed in a question "What are the
benefits of using word processors in the classroom?" Wow! The above article appeared.