Blog 3

As far as the ELA standards go, at face value I could attempt to be confident and influence students in all areas, but as far as ones that I can delve into and properly demonstrate, they would include:

• Building Strong Content Knowledge- I believe I am good at researching and obtaining knowledge about a topic and I feel as though I could pass this along to students through teaching and demonstration
• They Value Evidence- I am a very skeptical person; I do not take a single fact or study as final or the "all-say". Through this skepticism I feel like my students will learn to value evidence not only in the classroom, but out in the world as well
• Comprehend and Critique- listening vs. understanding and then constructive criticism- all of these concepts will be utilized daily in my classroom. Through music they will learn to listen to it, repeat it, commit it to memory and then demonstrate that understanding through performing; then critiquing themselves as well as taking the critiques of others. 

ELA standards that I would need further practice/guidance with:

• Demonstrating Independence- Although I am an independent person in my day-to-day life, when it comes to technology I need (and still utilize) lots of help. Therefor I believe I would struggle to teach independence in a topic I am not confident in
• Using Technology and Digital Media Strategically and Capably- Through this class I feel as though I will obtain these characteristics, but as of right now I am not fluent with technology or digital media

CPALMS Educator Toolkit is an AWESOME tool that I truly plan on using in my classroom. There are standards and lesson plans grouped by grade and subject area. As a future music educator I loved that they included music standards because they are often left out!!! They included 47 standards that are easily applied daily, yet seeing them written out and explained gives a more concrete and straight forward approach to a atypical topic.

My first attempt at the Newsletter Design was a flop. However, through fixing it I learned how to add a border, add a date, add a table and how to include a header. Out of these new tools I think I will only use the header and under special circumstances, the table. The date was pretty simple and an unnecessary tool for those who know the date and the border seemed a little extra for my taste. Now that I have utilized these options, I will be able to execute their use more seamlessly next time.