Anna Romsek
Elementary Educator
Showcase!
This page is dedicated to some of the most important and biggest learning experiences I have had thus far in my master's program. Here I have highlighted some of my work that has come from the advancement of my education through the MEAD program. I have chosen to highlight two different areas of importance, that I feel as though I have learned and focused on throughout the entire program and that I can now apply to my teaching to better educate the students in my classroom and in our ever changing world.
The first area I chose to focus on was the use and implementation of technology into not only just the classroom experience but lessons, units and curriculum as a whole. In our world today we are teaching a new generation of students who have grown up with a multitude of technologies and thrive in the area. Students are also more focused in and engaged in learning that requires the use and ability to play and experiment with different technologies. Also today as we are currently facing a new experience as a nation with a world-wide pandemic and the need for online education, my knowledge and understanding for these ideas has started moving in a direction where I feel much more efficient.
The second area that I have chosen to focus on is that of literacy instruction as that is an area of teaching I am very passionate about and the focus of my master's program. I have been able to advance my understanding of teaching and assessing students in both areas of reading and writing and how to take assessments and better cater to the different individual needs of each student, as all students not only learn differently but are also at many different stages in their reading and writing development. Another large focus of my literacy program has been how to better approach teaching students that are dual language learners and receive special education services in the areas of reading and writing. These different techniques and methods will not only help students who need more direct instruction in these areas but will cater to and benefit all learners in my classroom.
​
​
Technology & Education
With the current state of our world, digital instruction is something that has become incredibly important and learning to adapt lessons and instruction has been essential. In this example I show that I can recreate lessons to be adapted for online instruction and use. This is an activity I use on the first day of school to help students get to know one another and help create an open and welcoming classroom environment. It has been adapted to be used virtually and viewed asynchronously if needed.
There are many online learning platforms that can be used school and district wide for students, regardless of the type of learning that is occurring or taking place. I chose to use and dig deeper into google classroom and google suits to help get a full understanding of how this could be incorporated for students in any learning situation. This is an example of a lesson I created that can be used for students in a digital format and giving them the opportunity to use technology when it comes to learning in comparison to a general lecture, paper-pencil based lesson.
While many lessons I have used in the past, I have spent time converting to digital formats, there are other new ideas and lessons I have learned throughout the master's program. Here is one example of a project using music and creating a playlist to help describe myself and who I am as a person. This is an assignment that can be used and incorporated with students at many different age levels and to different levels of difficulty. It could be used as a get to know you activity or one that could be altered for a literacy lesson, such as character traits and using songs and music that could be used to define them.
Another example of a form of digital lesson that can be used for online learning is one that I had not ever been exposed to or thought about using before. This is an example of a Vodcast that I created to teach a lesson on a different method to solve long division problems. Students can use a lesson such as this to learn new content, practice what they have recently learned or use as a good review before a test or on an assignment if they are struggling. I have used it to incorporate not only technology but multiple different forms of learning. I created the video with a voice over and visual for the lesson as well as background music and prompts for students to attempt work on their own and then check their work to gauge where they are at independently with self-reflection.
In the past I have had students create websites based around a well-known person in our past or present history. One page on students websites is dedicated to this person's family. Instead of having students create a physical copy of a family tree I redesigned the lesson for students to create a digital format. In this lesson they learn to use a new online technology that allows them to design a family tree and format it to their liking. Students also are able to add images and text to each part of the family tree and how to link the different family relationships amongst the tree. This repurposed lesson plan for a digital format includes a written up lesson plan, as well as includes a few finished student samples.
Literacy Instruction & Assessment
This PDF is a study of a young student and his progression thus far in his literacy skills. I used assessments and data to determine areas of strengths and where growth was still needed for this particular student. From here I chose goals and other instructional strategies to help focus in on areas where the student needed more instruction and what from the assessments I gave to him helped to lead me to these decisions.​​
Another Data Analysis project that I carried out is displayed here that involves two different learners. One learner being a virtual student where assessment data was provided and another in person student that I was able to work with personally. Assessments that I gave were analyzed and then I identified areas of focus for each student. From here I created lessons to help further both student's individual proficiencies. The lesson that I created for the student in person I then implemented and followed up with my own reflections.
The PDF document displays a piece of writing that I created while exploring how to implement writing in my classroom for my students in a way that is not only exciting and engaging for them but to help students find the joy in writing again. This was an experience that I had to go through myself to learn to teach my students in a similar manner. This is a piece that I can share and use with students as a sample when it comes time to write their Calbery stories that is a large writing assignment and competition that takes place throughout our school district every year. This allows students to pick a topic of their own and compose their own story or book.
