Tremendous Thursday (Day 5)

     This morning, the students had Music from 8:15-9:00 AM and P.E. from 9:00-9:45AM.  During this time, Mr. Mitchell and I worked on the hallway displays, door decor, and my bulletin board display.  The displays were mostly completed but they still required a little bit more work.  When the students returned, we were informed that the students had a challenging time at their specials.  The teachers informed us that they had been disrespectful and rowdy while they were trying to teach. We were not very happy with them.  Mr. Mitchell thought that it would be a good idea for them to write apology letters to the teachers because of their actions.  (This was also a way to sneak in ELA instruction.)  After students were finished with their letters, we reviewed their Math homework as a group.  When students had trouble sharing their answers, I reminded them of PEMDAS to help them find the correct answer to share.  After the homework review, students were directed to the Smart Board for a short ACTIVeXPRESSIONS activity.  This ACTIViNSPIRE Application is a really wonderful idea.  I have never seen students get so excited about answering Math problems!  When I begin to teach Math, I will definitely incorporate this in my lessons!     After Mr. Mitchell reviewed Math, he changed the screen to an online Social Studies game.  It was a multiple choice game that reviewed the Civil War related vocabulary words.  When all of the questions had been answered, I handed out a Social Studies worksheet.  It had a short paragraph about events from the Civil War and the objective was to correctly answer several questions pertaining to the reading.  The activity was cut short because we had a mandatory fire drill.  Even though it interrupted instruction, I am glad we had the drill.  I needed to see where I would have to take the students in case of such an emergency!  When the fire drill was over, it was just in time for our class to head to lunch.
     While at lunch, we took the time to get ready for our Science activity.  For today's activity, we wrote vocabulary words and their definitions on separate sheets of paper and stuffed them into balloons.  The students were so excited to find out that they were getting to participate in an activity for science even though they had a bad day. :)  They really enjoyed popping the balloons, trying to find their partners, and posting their matches on the board as fast as they could! As soon as all of the matches were found, we reviewed the vocabulary words and their definitions with the class.  I really love that we do so many hands on activities with the students.  It makes the day more enjoyable and the students soooooooooo much more engaged!  I look forward to our Fantastic Friday!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beginning next week, I will be teaching Social Studies in my classroom.  The fifth grade Social Studies topic for the following two weeks is the Civil War.  I thought it would be helpful for others who are on this topic to have a list of Internet resources!  Thus, I have created this link list:

1. Kids Konnect 
2. Social Studies For Kids
3. EdTech at Kennesaw State University 
4. Underground Railroad Simulation 
5. Slavery Images

Wonderful Wednesday! (Day 4)

     Today was an absolutely wonderful day!  I started off the day by working on my door decor and a bulletin board for Social Studies.  I did not realize how hard it was to cover the outside of a classroom door with butcher paper while still leaving openings for the window, lock, and door handle!  My decorations aren't finished yet, but when they are I will upload a picture.
     The student's day began with a journal entry.  They were to: 1. Write the poem of the month and 2. Write their spelling words three times each in cursive.  After this brief morning activity, the students were sent off to Spanish.  Mr. Mitchell and myself used this planning time to create and gather materials for the hall displays.  Then, after students returned from Spanish, they all sat down to read a discuss a passage from their reading book.  Students took turns reading "A Sled On Boston Common."  Many of them were not taking their time which caused them to skip words or misunderstand what they were reading aloud.  Between designated student readers, Mr.Mitchell asked though provoking questions about the story.  Those who understood, gave great explanations and tried to get others to understand.  To review the story, students completed a vocabulary worksheet.
     When students completed their worksheets, they were given a short Math quiz.  This quiz was used to test their knowledge about exponents and the Order of Operations.   Example Questions:

1.  What happens to an exponent when we move its place value from right to left? left to right?
2. What is 10^4?
3. Write (5 x 10^4)+(6 x 10^2)+(1 x 10^1) in standard form.
4. How does a value change from 100,000 to 1,000?

The quiz was immediately graded and discussed to see about how many students would "pass the CRCT"  at this point in time.  We found that 75% of the class would pass and the other 25% would need to have one-on-one Math instruction.

 We also received our FINAL schedule for Specials and core subject instruction!

Terrific Tuesday! (Day 3)

     Today, a lot of time was spent on lesson planning and gathering lesson materials.  The day began with a fifth grade team meeting (while our class was in specials from 8:15-9:45).  Our team met to discuss the hallway displays for Writing, creating condensed lesson plans for Mathematics, and discussing today's Science lab.  As a group, we decided that their creative writing letters should be typed up and displayed in the hallway.  We also brainstormed about how to creatively display those letters on our fifth grade hall.  A decision was made to create a "lemonade stand" out in the hallway and display the letters above it.  Then we moved on to talk about the unit plans for Math.  It was a unanimous decision to find a way to change the lesson plans so that they would be easier to follow and to understand.  While we were chatting, the school Principal walked passed and decided to sit in on our discussion.  After hearing our concerns, she chose to set aside a great deal of time for our team to meet on Friday.  So that we may be able to figure out a more efficient way to write lesson plans for the new Common Core Curriculum.  This offer made me very happy because it means that I will be able to have some input on how we look at and implement the new standards.  As time was running out, for the other two teachers, we briefly spoke about the Science Cell Lab today.  When those teachers left, Mr.Mitchell and I typed up some of our class letters on special paper. 
     When we returned to class, we had those who's letters were typed read their pieces out loud.  This was a great way for those writers to show off their writing and speech skills.  Next, we moved on to Math.  Today, students were to use their ACTIVexpression pads to participate in the SmartBoard Math game.  (If you have not seen an ACTIVexpression pad, it can be described as an electronic way in which one would send answers into a trivia game.)  I tried to participate with the students but had a hard time learning how to correctly use the electronic device!  But I did take time to learn more about it after school so I wouldn't be left behind in the next game!

The work students did with their cells and microorganisms unit was displayed on a board in the hallway. With mini-poster sized student pictures!

Monday Fun-Day! (Day 2)

My second day at Gideons ES was just as wonderful as the first!  I am happy to be there and I think that feeling will continue!  

     Today, I found out that students are to wear blue and white uniforms to school Mondays - Thursdays and have their own choice of clothing on Fridays.  I also discovered that Teachers are to wear the school colors on Mondays and Wednesdays.  (My CT apologized for forgetting to inform me!)  All of the students were cheerful, as usual, and thus the week began with a positive feeling.

    The Standards and Essential Questions for this week:
ELA:  CC5AL3
        How does the setting affect a character's traits?
Math:  CCOA1
        What is the difference between an expression and an equation?
Science:  S5L3
        How are structures of a plant and animal cell similar and different?
Social Studies:  SS5CG1
        How does the bill of rights influence freedoms you have today?

Book of the Week:  I, Dred Scott

     The day began with ELA.  To kick off ELA, students were given a worksheet with their spelling words on it.  We reviewed the words together and discussed those the students felt were most difficult.  After discussion, the sheet was assigned as Home Work.  To transition into reading, Mr.Mitchell asked questions about some of the spelling words that would be found in the reading selection.  As students turned to the story (Sleds on Boston Common) they were asked to review the picture below the title.  Mr.Mitchell asked students to make inferences and to draw conclusions about the picture.  He also asked students to recall information, about the American Revolution, that they learned in fourth grade.  Many students were happy to share the facts and examples they remembered about this topic.  By asking students to recall information, it was a good way to connect past learning experiences.
     While the story was read aloud, brief pauses were taken to ask thought provoking questions about the text.  By giving real world examples, with student names, the class was very intrigued and enjoyed participating in the discussion.  When the story was at an appropriate stopping point, the focus turned to completing their creative writing projects from last week.  Students used their pre-writing maps to produce a rough draft of their persuasive creative writing letter.  The use of the pre-writing map helped all of the students to create a properly formatted letter.  I walked around the room to help students correct errors with spelling, grammar, and sentence structure.  I encourage them to use a dictionary or thesaurus so they could try and revise their writings by themselves.  I also encouraged students to trade with one of their friends and check their work.  After all students revised their letter, they sat them aside to finish the final draft tomorrow. 
     The subject of focus then changed to Mathematics.  The major topics were factors, powers, and exponents.  Students began with an informal assessment using a Jeopardy type game on the Smart Board.  After a short review, Mr.Mitchell and I passed out a Place Value and Powers of Ten worksheet.  We reviewed the powers of ten and discussed the patterns that can be found when using them.  Math was cut a bit short today because we had an unexpected trip to the library, for AR sign up and testing, and it was the first day of Spanish instruction.  I did not realize how these two trips took a great deal of time out of our instruction.  This is the first week for Specials and after calculating time taken out for them, not much is really left for in depth learning on each core subject.  Some days Social Studies, ELA, or Science will be cut short and it will not be positive for student learning.  However, I can not say that students should not go to Specials because I believe they are also necessary for a well rounded, intellectually competent student.  I just wish there was more time in the day for instruction!!!!

Fifth Grade Teaching Blogs

Click on the titles to view the blogs!

1. Interactive White Board Ideas
2. Bremer's Brainiacs
3.  Tales of a Fifth Grade Teacher*
4. Kiwi Konnections
5. Mrs. Kulenkamp's Korner
6. Colorful Teaching
7. Mrs. Douthard's Directory
8. The Teachable Moments of Fifth Grade
9. Penny Pinching Teacher
10. Science Gal
11. Multi-Grade Matters
12. Ladybug's Teacher Files
13. Mrs.Smith Teachers Fifth*
14. Technology, Teaching, and Talking
15. Teaching, Life, and Everything in between
16. Fifth Grade Fun--A "Shore" Thing
17. Life is Better Messy Anyway!
18. Faithful, Fully Caffeinated, Fifth Grade Teacher
19. Fantastic Fifth Grade
20. The Polka Dot Owl: Teaching Reading and Writing in Fifth Grade*
21. Fun in Fifth
22. Learning in Bliss
23. Fearless in Fifth
24. Think, Wonder, & Teach
25. Teaching with a Smile*
26. Teaching: The Art of Possibility
27. It's About Time, Teachers!
28. Nerdy, Nerdy, Nerdy!
29. Mrs. White's Fifth Grade Class
30. Mrs. Parente's Class Page
31. A Teacher's Treasure
32. 5th Grade Rocks, 5th Grade Rules....Ramblings of a Fifth Grade Teacher
33. Mrs. B's Best
34. Oodles of Teaching Fun
35. Teaching with a Touch of Twang
36. Teaching After 10 (Years)
37. Every New Beginning
38. The Teacher's Work Room
39. A Full Classroom**
40. Teaching to Inspire in 5th
41. The Learning Curve
42. Fifth Grade Dugout
43. 5th Graders Today ~ Our Future Tomorrow
44. Fifth Grade Fancy
45. Organized Teaching Addict
46. Tales From a 4th (and 5th) Grade Teacher
47. Mrs. Allen's 5th Grade Files
48. 4th and 5th Grade Happiness
49. Fifth Grade Findings
50. Teaching in an Organized Mess
51. Working 5 to 9....Math and Science
52. Teaching 5th Grade in Pearls
53. Mrs. Jimison
54. Classroom 15
55. Wild About Words
56. Teachroom15
57. Mrs. B's Best
58. Flocking to Fifth
59. Passionate Teacher with a Purpose
60. The Inspired Classroom
61. My Journey to 5th Grade
62. Miss R's Room
63. Fabulously Fifth
64. Smiles for Teachers
65. ~Joy in the Journey~
66. Teaching is Love
67. Fifth in the Middle
68. The Ramblings of a Fifth Grade Teacher
69. Teaching in 5th
70. Awesome in 1st and 5th!
71. Active Readers and Writers
72. Fish in Trees
73. My Classroom is My Runway 
74. Mrs. Allen's 5th Grade Files

If you have a Fifth Grade Teaching Blog that you would like added to my list, please leave your blog link in the comment section below!  Happy Fifth Grade Blog Hopping!

August's Poem of the Month

Each month, students at Gideons ES are to memorize and present the poem of the month to the class with their own personal flair.  This month's poem is entitled I, Too.

I, Too

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.

They send me to eat in the kitchen

When company comes,

But I laugh, 

And eat well,

And grow strong.

Tomorrow, 

I'll be at the table

When company comes.

Nobody'll dare

Say to me,

"Eat in the kitchen,"

Then.

Besides,

They'll see how beautiful I am

And be ashamed--

I, too, am America.

~Langston Hughes

Just as my students must memorize it, I, too, will memorize it and present it to the class.  I am a student teacher so I believe I must lead by example.  I hope my students understand the importance of presenting a poem (such as this) and adding feeling (and a personal touch) to it.

First Day at Placement!

    Today was my first official day as a Student Teacher!  I am very excited to announce that I have been placed in Mr.Terrance Mitchell's fifth grade classroom at Gideons Elementary School in South Atlanta.  My Collaborating Teacher has been teaching for five years and was recently named the Teacher of the Year.  All of the students, staff, and administration were very welcoming and friendly.  The students were absolutely wonderful because they were very respectful and kind! I am looking forward to my placement at this Atlanta Public School!
     Overall, the day was very positive and engaging.  When the students arrived, they went straight to their desks to complete their morning journal assignment and to eat breakfast.  The students then transitioned to ELA/Reading by grouping up for reading centers.  Students rotated between two different ELA board games, IXL on the computer, and a summary activity center.  Then students were directed to take their weekly story/vocab quiz & create a brainstorm map for writing  a persuasive letter. Some of the students were confused on how to correctly formulate a topic and an introductory sentence.  By giving specific examples, I was able to help those students create a proper introductory sentence that guided them to create branching main ideas/facts.  Next, students transitioned to Social Studies.  The topic for the past two weeks has been about Character.  As an end to this theme, students reviewed the associated vocabulary and reviewed issues and individuals associated with Character.   Most of the review was associated with Civil Rights and the students were happy to share their opinions about each topic and famous individual.
    For Math, students reviewed homework (on Numbers and Operations in Base Ten) from their Common Core Workbook.  After the review, students were broken into teams (boys vs girls).  They competed against one another in an online Mathematical version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?.  The problems required students to use the correct Order of Operations to find the answer.  Before students shouted out the answer, they were instructed to explain how they found the answer they chose.  This game was a fun and interactive way for students to learn more about and practice their Mathematical skills.  As a hands on activity before lunch, the students went outside and played an egg toss game.  The object of the game was to toss the egg back and forth without breaking it.  However, when the students did accidentally break the egg, they were instructed to examine the yolk and compare it to a cell.    This was an easy way for students to share their knowledge about cells with one another.  At the end of the day, the students were excited to find out that they were going to make their own cell out of candy!  The students were very attentive in the review before the activity because they wanted to understand the information so they could eat their scientific project!  Not only did they have fun but they were also able to correctly fill out their experiment worksheet.  Everyone knew how to correctly identify the materials, independent variable, dependent variable, control, and the parts of the cell that their candies represented.
    This is my first year working in an environment with upper grades and I am very excited to see how the rest of the year will develop!  I do not think that I could have received a better placement for this experience!

Go Gideons Wolves!

Expect The Unexpected

     One aspect of being a great teacher is to expect the unexpected.  On Friday, I was not prepared to expect the unexpected.  Friday was the day that all Student Teachers were supposed to have placements in elementary schools and meet their Supervisors. I was informed that I did not have a placement yet, which came as a surprise to me.  I did not expect to be one of the few left who did not have a placement.  This weekend, I mulled over it way too much.  My mind was so clouded with fear and doubt, about not receiving a placement, that it was hard for me to concentrate on my GACE test.  I waited to hear news all weekend, but there still has not been any changes.  As my fellow Student Teachers began their first day of field experience, this morning, I was sitting and waiting for someone to call or email me with an update.  I went, in person, to the Placement Office to find out more details about my situation.  The director reassured me that I will have a placement very soon but that it might take another week before it can be confirmed.  I am really anxious to know where I will be!  I am excited to find out my school and grade level because I have a lot of materials and activities planned!  Henceforth, I can officially say I will always expect the unexpected! 

Parent Letter

Here is a copy of the parent letter I will be sending home on the first day of my Student Teaching Experience!  I tried to make this letter professional and the student letter more personal.  I hope this example helps those who are having trouble creating their own student teaching introductory letter! :)

Introduction Letter

   I have made two different introductory letters for my Student Teaching experience.  One professional letter (for the parents) and one fun letter (for the students).  I wanted to create something personal and fun for the students to get to know me a little bit better.  Here is the letter I created:

  I hope that the students will like it! :)

Waiting

     Each day I have been checking my email to find out where I am being placed for the fall.  I am really anxious to know because I would like to gather materials to make my experience SUPER!  As of right now, I am currently searching blogs, TPT, Teacher's Notebook, and Pinterest to find materials and ideas for grades 3-5.  I have found bulletin boards and activities that are related to seasonal themes for each month.  Now, I am looking for books that are age appropriate for the holidays and seasonal themes. 

The Books I have found so far are for AUGUST:

               ~Hiroshima No Pika  (Gr 3-5) (WWII)

               ~Abel’s Island

               ~The Twenty-One Balloons

               ~The First Four Years

               Amelia Earhart Book:

                                    ~A Picture Book of Amelia Earhart    (Gd3)

                                    ~Amelia Earhart Free in the Skies (Gd 3-5)

               Women’s Suffrage book:

                                    ~If You Lived When Women Won Their Rights  (Gr3-4)

~The Day the Women Got the Vote: A Photo History of the Women’s Rights Movement (Gr4)
~You Want The Women To Vote, Lizzie Stanton? (Gr:5)
~Women's Right To Vote, Second Series, Cornerstones of Freedom. (Gr:5)

              MLK I have a Dream Book:
                                    ~Martin's Big Words, The Life of Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr. (Gr:4)

                                    ~Martin Luther King, Jr.: The Fight for Freedom (Gr3-4)

                                    ~Martin Luther King, Jr.: Young Man with a Dream (Gr3-5)

            ~Dr.Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream Speech in Translation: What it     Really Means  

  Lewis and Clark Expedition book:

                        ~The Lewis and Clark Expedition (Gr3)

                        ~A Picture Book of Lewis and Clark (Gr 3-5)

I would like to find books about the following topics for.........

SEPTEMBER:

           Labor Day

           Grandparents Day

           Jewish New Year/Citizenship Day

           Fall Equinox

           Yom Kippur

           Ruby Bridges:
                 ~Ruby's Wish (Gr3)

           9/11

           Star-Spangled Banner

           Hispanic Heratige

           Mayflower

           Rosh Hashanah

           International Day of Peace 
OCTOBER:

           Columbus Day

           Louisiana Purchase

           Pablo Picasso

           Stock Market

           Haloween

           Day of the Dead 

 NOVEMBER:

          Daylight Savings Time

          Presidential Election:
                  ~So You Want to be President? (Gr3)

          Veteran’s Day

          Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address

          Thanksgiving:
                  ~Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims (Gr4)

          Mark Twain 

DECEMBER:

          Winter Solstice

          Bill of Rights:
                  ~Shh! We're Writing the Constitution (Gr4)

          Cultural Celebrations: Christmas, Boxing Day, 

          New Year:   New years eve,  Chinese new year, Rosh Hashanah, Hanukkah, Yom Kippur, and Songkran.

          Rosa Parks:
                  ~Rosa (Gr4)
                  ~Rosa Parks, My Story
                  ~Take a Stand, Rosa Parks! Before I Made History

                **After I find the books that align with these topics I will edit this post and list them.**  
I have also found a great website that gives a book list for books that align with Georgia's State and Common Core Standards.  You can download the lists for any grade level at   http://listbuilder.scholastic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StandardsBrowseView?gc=GA                 

        The first day of my placement, I would like to take the textbooks and become familiar with the topics and skills to be covered this fall. I would like to learn these topics so that I can create my own unique activities for them.  I also intend on keeping a notebook for each month of my placement and creating a filing system to keep worksheets and ideas I collect.  In my notebooks I hope to keep a daily journal to reflect on how things went during the day.  I have so many ideas that I am excited to use!  I am ready to begin my student teaching and learning experience!  I REALLY want to find out my placement!

FREE Stuff!

    This weekend is tax free weekend in Georgia.  As I was searching for tax free deals on the Internet, I ran across a few blogs that mentioned giving away free stuff!  For Saturday, August 11th, THIS blog will be teaming up with other bloggers to give away free back to school products! (Mrs.Smith's blog Too! She has a long list of participating bloggers!)  The TeachersNotebook site is also giving away free materials from Saturday, August 11th, to Monday, August 13th.  And Teachers Pay Teachers is also having a Back2School sale from August 12th to August 13th.  Things will be up to 28% off and the Promo code for TPT is BTS12.  Explore the Teacher's Notebook and Teachers Pay Teachers sites fully in order to find a wide variety of FREE materials.  ~Happy Bargain Hunting!

Choosing to Teach

 My life has consisted of several small “ah-ha” moments that nudged me in the teaching direction.  When I was little, there were three things I always liked to pretend to be: a veterinarian, a nurse, and a teacher.  I knew I could only pick one, and I loved animals very much, so I chose to set my sights on becoming a veterinarian.  This dream changed in high school when I observed at a vet clinic and witnessed a dog being put to sleep.  At that moment, I realized I could not be a veterinarian because I could not kill any animal with my own hands.  

My parents suggested I try to focus on becoming a nurse and I agreed with them.  Thus, I enrolled in the technical classes at my high school that focused on my new goal.  I completed all of the health occupational classes and gained a Certified Nursing Assistant license to prepare me for my college experiences.  After two and a half years of focusing on a nursing degree, I began to question why I was actually trying to become a nurse.  I told myself it was because I wanted to help others and save lives, but in the back of my mind, I knew there was something missing.  When I realized this, I began to search Kennesaw’s degree programs to find the thing I really wanted to do with my life. 

When I came across the Bachelors program for Art Education, I knew that was what I wanted to do with my life.  I immediately changed my major online to Art Education.  The next semester, I enrolled in the beginning level education classes. For my first observation day, I went to a high school art class to observe and loved it!  The students were interesting, the classes were interactive, and the atmosphere made me feel like this was the place where I truly belonged.  I was happy to go to my educational classes because I felt confident about my future.  But as the semester progressed, I began to feel uneasy about my choice.  I began observing all three of the high school’s art classrooms, focused separately on drawing, painting, and sculpting, and the confidence I had in my decision just plummeted.   Day by day, the students were becoming more unruly and disrespectful while the teachers slowly stopped caring.  Students were throwing things, making fun of the teacher, making fun of art history, sculpting inappropriate things, and even being rude to me.  When I went home at the end of the semester, to finally contemplate my choice, I realized the reason I felt so insecure about my decision was because it was not a happy environment for me anymore. 

I reflected back on my high school days and remembered that even I was like that sometimes in high school.  On this moment of reflection, I thought to myself, “What about teaching younger students?  I bet they would not act that way.  Art classes with them would be fun.”  Immediately a light bulb went off in my head.  I thought, “Hmmmm.  I have never thought about teaching elementary school before. I admired my teachers and how exciting my days were in elementary school.  Maybe I should look into this?”  The next day, I went to see one of the advisers for the Early Childhood Education department.  The adviser I randomly found to talk to about my situation was Dr. Doug Bell.  He began by comforting me about my insecurities of graduating late and changing my major once again.  This is when I realized I was too worried about how others saw me and not worried enough about my own wants/needs and what I truly wanted for my own future. 

As we chatted, I sat and visualized how this wonderful new program would open a door of opportunity and happiness for me.  When we were finished talking, I was hooked on the decision to officially change my major to ECE.  I knew that I would be able to help students learn, give them guidance in life, create a fun environment, and even use my art/creativity skills to create interactive and interesting lessons.  

When I first entered the teaching program, one of my dreams was to teach acceptance and tolerance to children.  I aspired to create an environment where students feel okay to be themselves and are free from judgement.  I also wanted to teach understanding and kindness to students.  I believed that every child needs to learn that everyone is different and gain an understanding of this.  I also aspired to teach students how to be respectful to one another by treating each other fairly. I aspired to make learning fun and to incorporate as many art and hands on activities as possible.  I dreamed of being one of those teachers that their students remember forever because of the positive impact that is made on them. 

My dreams and aspirations have grown stronger since my up and down experiences in the program.  I want to be able to teach acceptance and tolerance to my students through various experiences that fully develop their understandings of these issues.   I want to be sure every student in my class knows they are accepted for who they are.   I aspire to teach respect, kindness, and acceptance every day in the classroom.  I hope the little chances for learning about these issues will stay with them as they get older and shape them into more open-minded adults.  A new dream of mine is to efficiently teach my future students all of the core subjects with ties to social justice in order to create more well rounded individuals.  I purposely chose to enroll in the TOSS social justice program this past spring in order to learn more about the prevalent social issues that effect our society and the lives of younger students.  I learned about these issues, not only to teach about them, but to also successfully identify and help prevent them in my future student’s lives.