Lucky Penny

Everyday, well, 6 days a week, I walk in the mornings around my neighborhood-- 3 miles a day. It's so interesting what type of trash I come across-- empty fast food containers, cans, cigarette butts (lot of those), pair of shoes, candy wrappers, empty cigarette boxes, clothing, plastic and metal pieces, broken zipper handles, dinner knives, broken cds, the list goes on. What do people do? Do they just fling these items out of their car windows as they pass by? I guess the logical answer is - yes. Among these unsavory items, I have come across pennies. I have collected close to about a dollar worth of pennies, even an occasional dime or nickel. I wonder how they end up on the sidewalk or curb? Do people just get tired of hanging onto their pennies, and just fling them out of the windows too? I wonder how each time I go out there, I find a penny or two (once I found 8 pennies all scattered on the sidewalk.) Of course I pick them up. Then, the other day I found a crisp twenty dollar bill. I quickly snatched it up, put it in my pocket. When I got home, I looked at it closely, and it was very authentic looking, but for a few noticable details. There was a watermark picture of Andrew Jackson, and the number 20 was not at shiny as the original. I compared it to a real 20 and it was definitely a counterfeit. I remember seeing a report on the news about the very same type of fake bills. Of course it went into the trash.
For the most part people are polite and usually will let me pass while they wait at intersections. Not always, there are those who are just in too much of a hurry that waiting for a pedestrian for a couple of minutes is just unbearable. Also, others who walk by me will occasionally give me a "good morning". It's usually the younger kids who don't bother even looking at me. Then of course, there's John, who walks too. He is an older gentleman, usually in jeans and a t-shirt, with a pretty fast pace. He will usually stop and talk to me about the weather, or what he is planning to do that day. Such a friendly man. I wonder how many pennies he has found?
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Chapter 1

We just received our first reading assignment, required before the first day of class EED749. I read the first Chapter and it has a lot of general information introducing us to the SIOP Model (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol.) The focus is English Learners - ELs. Here are a few highlights from Vogt/Short - Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners - the SIOP Model...
The goal of the book is stated to "prepare teachers to teach content effectively to English learners while developing the students' language ability." English learners have some of the highest drop-out rates, and 89 percent of Hispanic students and 86 percent of African American middle and high school students read below grade level. (Page 4)
English Learners (ELs) are very diverse within themselves. The first group are those who have strong academic backgrounds before coming to the US. They primarily need English language development to solidify their content learning. The second group are those immigrants who have very limited formal schooling. They have weak literacy in their native language and are not socialized to the school environment. They are most at risk for failure. And finally the third group are students who have grown up in the US but speak a language other than English in their home-- usually 2nd or 3rd generation immigrants. On to the topic of academic literacy: there are 3 knowledge bases -- knowledge of English, knowledge of content topic and knowledge of how tasks are to be accomplished. (Page 11) What is an effective SIOP lesson? Students are engaged, interact with the teacher, with other students, with the text - which then ultimately leads to discourse and critical thinking. Student language learning is promoted through social interaction and understanding of complex concepts. More on the SIOP after our discussion in class.

What's new?

Well, we are done with our technology course. What a great learning experience it was, so much information, many aha moments. Denise Phillips is an excellent instructor, and such a great role model. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to be a student in her class. We are in a lull this week, no school for a week and then back to it on the 29th. I have been watching the news on Iran lately. It is such a volatile situation in that the militia are being very agressive, and the public is still adamant about protesting and voicing their opinions on the election. President Obama spoke out about the situation today. Hopefully the violence will stop.
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Recipe for Samosas

We had a wonderful potluck for our last day in our technology course, and I brought Indian samosas. Many wanted the recipe so here it is (40 samosas):

Ingredients: 20 flour tortillas, 10-12 potatoes, 2 medium onions, small packet frozen sweet peas, ketchup, tabasco sauce, masala (all-spice), salt, flour paste made with water, vegetable oil.

Boil the potatoes until they are soft. While boiling, sautee onions in a flat frying pan in about 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil. When soft, add about 3-4 teaspoons of salt, 2 cups of peas, mix. Add 2 cups of ketchup, and tabasco sauce (add a little or a lot), add the masala (about 1 teaspoon.) Peel the boiled potatoes, mash, and mix in the onion mix. Mix well.

Take flour tortillas and cut in half. Heat the flour tortilla on a flat non-stick pan until it's nice and soft, take the flour paste (mix white flour with water, so it has a glue consistency) and put it around the edges. Fold the half tortilla shell into a cone. Put the potato mixture in the cone, and seal the top. When all of the samosas are filled, heat a pot of vegetable oil, deep fry until light brown, and serve.

The recipe may seem a bit complicated, but there are only a few major steps: preparing the potatoes, the sautee mix, filling the tortillas, and deep frying. You may use any other filling to your liking.

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TEI Adventures

Well, the class has been very interesting and I have learned quite a lot about some of the areas we have discussed. There's this really great website Thinkfinity.com which I have also added to the list of websites to this blog. It is a wonderful resource for teachers to get lesson plans and interactives on various topics for the classroom. You can tailor your search to grade level, and find an abundance of valuable information.
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Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is creating a hostile and embarrassing environment online, directed towards a person. Cyberbullying is very common amongst our youth, and needs to be addressed in the classroom. Students should remember that what they say online is equivalent to what they would say in person. Anything that the student would not want to be heard should not be shared online.

Internet Safety for Elementary School Students

There are several different points to consider when guiding young students on the internet. With the advent of advanced technology, there is a higher threat to the safety and well-being of students. It is important that they understand not to share personal information on the internet. Students must be warned against posting name, address and phone number on the internet or sharing this information with anyone. Posting photos should be monitored by parents and teachers so that no inappropriate pictures of students are displayed on the internet.
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Teacher Education Institute

This is my first post as a TEI student class of 2010. The first week has gone by so quickly. I feel like there has been a lot of information shared, and at a reasonable pace. I hear that this is the easiest class, so I am a little apprehensive about what is yet to come. However, I am confident that as time goes on that I will be able to adjust to the rigorous schedule. The teachers are all really wonderful and helpful.

Image from: Jay Thompson Elementary School