Smith's Special Stories

For my Education Technology class we go to different classrooms to observe to help us learn how to become better teachers. This month we are focused on elementary classrooms. My elementary observation teacher is Mrs.Lancaster. She is a 2nd grade teacher. 1st Observation: My first observation with Mrs. Lancaster was fun and interesting. Here are two things I learned from the observation.  Thing 1: I learned how to deal with bad behavior productively.  Thing 2: I learned better ways to get kids back on track when they get distracted.  Overall I think this observation was very successful and worth my time. The teacher was very nice and I enjoyed learning.  2nd Observation: This observation is also with Mrs. Lancaster but sadly it will have to be rescheduled once I am no longer sick. I have a fever. 

100 days of school  Throughout my almost 12 years of school, I can distinctly remember the feeling of it being the 100th day of school. All my teachers were excited, all of them having something planned. But one year something really surprised me, it made a memory that could never be forgotten. One year in elementary, for the 100th day of school, the principals rented out a bunch of bouncy houses and put them in our gym. We got to bouncy on the bouncy houses, and we also got the ride around on the little square rolling stools (my favorite as a kid). It was so much fun. We got to enjoy some nostalgic Domino's pizza and share popsicles together. That was the most unforgettable 100th day of school.  Some things we could do in order to still celebrate the 100th day of school:  1. Give everyone a popsicle for the day  2. We could get every English teacher to give each of there students a sticky note and make them write what there favorite day of school has been this year ...

 Heal  Throughout 2025 I went through a lot with my physical and mental well being. I experienced two surgeries and went to the emergency room several times. With all of this happening I have realized that I have never really given myself the proper time to heal. Yes my physical body has healed most of the way from 2025 but not my mentality. In 2026 I plan on giving myself more grace, letting myself be open, meditating and giving joy back into myself. But I can't do any of this without healing. I am a very religious person, who is focused a lot on God's miracles. I know that God will help heal me, so this year I will do just that. This year I will regain my happiness, regain my joy, and heal my mind, body, and soul. 

  Introductions: Canva is a website used to help people make designs for posters, infographics, and more. But what's all good about Canva, and what's all negative about Canva.  Cons: Some of the cons are that the app glitches if you have it on your phone. Another con would be that Canva tends to glitch out if you have a lot of projects going on.  Pros: Some of the pros for Canva is that it gives you the chance to use your creativity very well. Another reason is because Canva is very open where you can share your different design ideas with others to help others.  Conclusion: In conclusion Canva is very useful and a good website to use when doing presentations or other things. I would very much recommend Canva. 

  Makeup observations:  In these makeup observations I watched Youtube learning videos.  1. How to catch a student that is using Chat GPT: Create a classroom policy that states what the students can use and can't use. Then say that the students have to show the teacher any website they will be using and get it approved before using it.  If a student has already use Chat GPT and you catch it in their essay you could confront the student about this. If they deny it you could ask the students questions about the essay they wrote. Or you could have the student remake the essay on paper instead of a device in front of you as in, in your classroom. you can prevent the use of Chat GPT by making the students only do their assignments during class, only letting them do their assignments on paper. Or you could use go guardian.  2. Observation: Classroom management strategies During a break you could use your classroom as a study room, break room or a safe room. This is go...

  Introduction: My 5 week observation teacher was Mrs. Barker I would go into her classroom every Monday and Wednesday during this time frame.  Lesson plan 1: My first lesson plan was created by Mrs.Barker. In my lesson the kids watched an animated version of a story. During the story I would have the video paused and I would ask the students questions about the story throughout the story. Then afterwards I announced the students to a paper they were going to complete based off of the story read. This includes questions about the character. lesson plan 2: In my second story the students read a passage about Harriet Tubman and then I asked the students questions about the passage that they had to go and highlight in their story. Then afterwards, the students answered the questions that were on flashcards on each of their desks.