Leah (International):After AmeriCorps I will be going to grad school to study Child Development. What will I do with it? Who knows. But my love for working with and understanding kids has brought me this far, and I'm looking forward to continuing it in hopefully unexpected ways.
Kimberly (Highlander):I will be going to school as a full time student.
Deyan (Serve Rhode Island):This summer I will be working as a camp counselor at the Norman Bird Sanctuary. Then, starting next fall, I will be going back to school at URI to get my bachelor’s degree in Wildlife & Conservation Biology so I can pursue a career as a park naturalist.
Dianny (International):Unfortunately, I don't have any concrete plans as to what I'm going to do after AmeriCorps. I believed that by this time I would have had a well thought out plan and although I had one (obviously not that well thought out), I never had any backups. For the meantime, I'm looking for a job that would help me continue to pay my student loans and allow me to go back to school next year.
Francesca (International):After my term of service ends, I'm planning on volunteering on a farm in Ireland for a portion of the summer. When I get back, my plans are slightly less definite. I've applied to a few jobs, and I'm keeping my fingers crosses on a reply!
Nellie (Highlander):My plans for after AmeriCorps are to become a substitute teacher, get my TA certification, and take classes for my youth development certificate.
Jill (Highlander):Next year, I will be attending Columbia University. I will be starting a Master's program in Education Policy.
Brandford (Highlander):My plans after Americorps is to do a final service over the summer with Social Venture Partners of Rhode Island. Following this I will be a free lance entrepreneur until its time to go to Grad School.
Itza (International):No concrete plans yet but, I think a little mystery is okay.
6/5/13
8th Grade DC Trip
by Brandford (Highlander)
Working with the students at Highlander has opened my eyes to a lot. One of the most recent eye opening experiences was being a Chaperon on the 8th Grade Field Trip to Washington, DC. Having the opportunity to connect with students outside of the traditional education setting and that wasn’t comprised of their daily living environment was exhilarating.
As we embarked on a tour of the capitol, students had a high knowledge of the history that was represented in Washington. The tour guide would ask numerous questions and one after another Highlander students would answer. The tour suddenly seemed like a personal tour for Highlander students with the amount of interaction and direct conversation that was going on from the tour guide. Students had an opportunity to expand on their in-class knowledge while visiting the Lincoln and Washington Monuments. From citing Lincoln's first and second speech to understanding the strategic development plans Washington created and realizing the complexity of their contributions to the country.
Students were immersed into the historical atmosphere and really became engulfed in the culture of Washington, DC. One of the memorable times I had was towards the end of the trip when Mrs. Nellie (Charter Corps Member) and I facilitated the reflection workshop. We were able to culminate the experience of the trip with the overall experience of the 8th grade school year into one setting and had students digging deep and reflecting on their past and future. One of the most important ways of learning is expanded/experiential learning which the students most certainly experienced. Thank you DC for a time well spent!
Working with the students at Highlander has opened my eyes to a lot. One of the most recent eye opening experiences was being a Chaperon on the 8th Grade Field Trip to Washington, DC. Having the opportunity to connect with students outside of the traditional education setting and that wasn’t comprised of their daily living environment was exhilarating.
As we embarked on a tour of the capitol, students had a high knowledge of the history that was represented in Washington. The tour guide would ask numerous questions and one after another Highlander students would answer. The tour suddenly seemed like a personal tour for Highlander students with the amount of interaction and direct conversation that was going on from the tour guide. Students had an opportunity to expand on their in-class knowledge while visiting the Lincoln and Washington Monuments. From citing Lincoln's first and second speech to understanding the strategic development plans Washington created and realizing the complexity of their contributions to the country.
Students were immersed into the historical atmosphere and really became engulfed in the culture of Washington, DC. One of the memorable times I had was towards the end of the trip when Mrs. Nellie (Charter Corps Member) and I facilitated the reflection workshop. We were able to culminate the experience of the trip with the overall experience of the 8th grade school year into one setting and had students digging deep and reflecting on their past and future. One of the most important ways of learning is expanded/experiential learning which the students most certainly experienced. Thank you DC for a time well spent!
6/4/13
Bartholomew and the Oobleck
by Angelica (Segue)
I once heard someone say that if a book is only good as a child, it is not worth reading. If a book is truly good, then it can be read throughout childhood and again through adolescence and adulthood. Recently in sixth grade science, we have read several children's books that incorporate objectives that we are currently studying in class. Although these books were written with children in mind, re-reading them from the science perspective as middle school students gives students a whole new perspective on reading and science material. The last book we read was by Dr. Seuss titled "Bartholomew and the Oobleck". We were discussing the states of matter and how to determine which state is which by observing their properties. We read the story and had students write a hypothesis about what they believe the substance "oobleck" is. After they had developed a hypothesis, we then conducted an experiment where each student created oobleck and observed its properties to either prove or disprove their hypothesis. I believe using children's books as a tool to gather students prior knowledge and gain new understandings, is a perfect way to engage students in the classroom.
Want to make your own Oobleck? You can find a recipe here!
I once heard someone say that if a book is only good as a child, it is not worth reading. If a book is truly good, then it can be read throughout childhood and again through adolescence and adulthood. Recently in sixth grade science, we have read several children's books that incorporate objectives that we are currently studying in class. Although these books were written with children in mind, re-reading them from the science perspective as middle school students gives students a whole new perspective on reading and science material. The last book we read was by Dr. Seuss titled "Bartholomew and the Oobleck". We were discussing the states of matter and how to determine which state is which by observing their properties. We read the story and had students write a hypothesis about what they believe the substance "oobleck" is. After they had developed a hypothesis, we then conducted an experiment where each student created oobleck and observed its properties to either prove or disprove their hypothesis. I believe using children's books as a tool to gather students prior knowledge and gain new understandings, is a perfect way to engage students in the classroom.Want to make your own Oobleck? You can find a recipe here!
6/3/13
Music in the Classroom
by Itza (International)
Our classroom is trying a new learning style. From the Zumba class, it easy to tell that we're a musically inclined class. This time we're singing. The songs come from a book that teaches different lessons on letter blending. This is important since the students tend to stumble on words that have two vowels together. They'll also review letters that change sound based on the following vowel and the sounds of double consonants (cr, sp, etc).
So far the students love it. They were still singing a song they'd learned the next day. I feel that they find it as a nice break in the routine and it's a lesson they're quick to get ready for.
Our classroom is trying a new learning style. From the Zumba class, it easy to tell that we're a musically inclined class. This time we're singing. The songs come from a book that teaches different lessons on letter blending. This is important since the students tend to stumble on words that have two vowels together. They'll also review letters that change sound based on the following vowel and the sounds of double consonants (cr, sp, etc).
So far the students love it. They were still singing a song they'd learned the next day. I feel that they find it as a nice break in the routine and it's a lesson they're quick to get ready for.
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