Content Focus Group - Webinar 1 Question One
by Joanna Schimizzi 3 years, 9 months ago(This discussion post is for our "Content Focus Groups" that are participating in a two-webinar series. Other members are welcome to participate as well!)
What is your name, content expertise, current role in education? Which standard from your content area do you feel has the biggest need for resources and why?
My name is Heather Santos and I am currently teaching Kindergarten. I have a degree in Elementary Education with a passion for Science! This is my sixth year of teaching; 2 years in 5th, 3 years in 3rd, and now this year in Kindergarten. I think right now Science and Social Studies are the biggest need for resources because those two areas are where most counties do not purchase curriculum or materials for. If I had to choose just one of those two it would be Science, because it is tested statewide in certain grades. Unfortunately, I think as teachers there is so much focus put on the testing standards (Math and ELA), that Science often gets overlooked until they get to 5th grade and at that point 5th grade teachers are trying to in a way cram 6 years of science into one year.
Heather -- we're so glad to have you as part of this cohort! Your experience with multiple grade levels is such a value add! You have a great point about how counties send a message about what is valued by what counties spend their money on. It's a great opportunity for classroom-based educators to really share their great resources! Which of the Kindergarten standards do you think are most challenging for your students?
My name is Edie Rangel, I am a prek teacher for Meck-prek and I have been teaching Prek for the past 7 years here in North Carolina. Although I do not teach kindergarten I am always trying to find ways to better prepare my students for kindergarten next year. If I were to focus on a content area for my classroom, it would be Science as it brings both rich vocabulary and hands on activities for great learning experiences and helps support language development with vocabulary that may be used in literacy when reading non-fiction books.
Hi Edie --
Welcome! Your voice will be an extremely important aspect of this work since you have such a wealth of information about where Kindergarten students are "coming from". I love your attention to the value of the vocabulary words! The Tier Two and Tier Three words will be really great to focus on with students! Great point about the importance of non-fiction - especially in science! What are some of the science topics that you find are most engaging for your students?