Oleai Elementary School

School Mascot: Turtles
Location: Oleai Village, Saipan, CNMI

Welcome to Oleai Elementary School

Meet Ms. Theresa DLGuerrero & Ms. Jacklyn Echon

Welcome to our classroom! It is a pleasure to have you take some time off from your busy schedule to visit my Student Teaching BLOG. You've met my wonderful master teacher, Ms. Theresa DLGuerrero. We're a perfect match made in heaven!!! I hope you will enjoy my blog as much as I had putting it together. Thank You for visiting... FEEL AT HOME! :)

Message from Ms. Jacky

To Ms. Guerrero:
How can I ever thank you for giving me a wonderful experience as a student teacher. I could never ask for anyone better. You are a person who makes life easier and better for everyone around you. Your continual acts of thoughtfulness and kindness brighten each day. What you did for me will glow in my memory, reviving pleasant feelings every time I think about it. I appreciate you and I Thank You. Thank You for the good times, the days you filled with pleasure. Thank you for all the fond memories, and for feelings that I will always treasure.

To my wonderful students:

With students like you, teaching is easy
I look forward to each day;
Your wondering minds keep me on my toes;
You make teaching more like play.

Students like you make teaching rewarding;
When I go home, I’m content;
You pay attention, you learn—giving me
A sense of accomplishment.

Thank you for being the way you are,
For making my job so much fun.
I’ll remember how good you made me feel,
Even when my teaching is done.

To Ms. Pam Buckingham:

Thank You so much for being there to guide me whenever I encounter problems with my experience. I've learned that:

  2 teach is
    +  2 touch lives
    -----------------
       4 ever

You've put up with my complaints and whining... I wonder how you can take that including all the other student teachers complaints and whines... You're probably superwoman in disguise! Have an extremely magnificent upcoming semester with your new batch of student teachers. Once again, Thank You very much!

Teaching Methods & Strategies

1. Journal Writing – Journal writing affords the opportunity for thinking and writing. Expressive writing requires that participants become actively involved in the learning process. This process becomes less effective if participants need to worry about spelling or grammar. Students should be encouraged to write freely in their journals without fear of evaluation.

• Every morning from 7:30 – 7:45, after the tardy bell rings, the journal topic is written on the board for the students to answer. Students are given 15 minutes to complete their journal.
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2. Class Discussion – A true discussion occurs when a GROUP of people including the leader, share experiences, debate ideas and theories, discuss experiences, and work together on common problems. It is not: a teacher asks a question and a participant answers. Class discussion can be used to initiate, amplify, or summarize a session.

• Community circle is usually done after each journal activity from 7:45 – 8:00. Topics that are usually discussed are upcoming school events and activities, new lessons, review, wrap-ups, monthly mega-skills, life skills, and other issues and concerns that a student experiences.

3. Student or Participant Experts – This is another way of having active learning. Give the participant information and let them read, and learn what they will then present to the class. They can also do research outside of the classroom, training, and prepare to teach what they have learned. Participants enjoy hearing from each other, and the experience stimulates positive interaction.

• Our 1^st Quarter Social Studies Unit on Native Americans had a week-long activity that involved student experts. A group of students were given a Native American region (Great Plains, Midwest, Southwest, Northwest, and Middle America) to research and find more information to teach the class. The topics that the students researched were important tribe names, location, religion, tools, types of homes, and other important facts, etc. The students were able to teach the class about the certain region that they were in charge of.
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• Our 1^st Quarter Science Lesson on Careers had an activity where student experts were used. A group of students were given a handout on a certain career. Each group member had a specific job to do (leader, reporter, recorder, timer, vocabulary checker). Students had to create a poster that showed information about the career.
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4. Mini-Lecture - The mini-lecture is a concise way to provide participants with background information, research findings, or motivational examples to spark interest and give them a framework for discussion or activity to follow. Mini-lectures should be brief and targeted, setting up an activity or discussion.

5. Small Groups – Participants working together can help stimulate each others activity. Small group activities are cooperative, but have less formal structure than cooperative learning. These activities encourage collective thinking and provide opportunities for participants to work together and increase social skills.

6.Question Box – An anonymous question box provides the opportunity for all participants to get answers to questions they might be hesitant to ask in class. It also gives the teacher, leader time to think about answers to difficult questions or look for more information. Questions should be reviewed and responded to regularly, and all questions placed in the box should be taken seriously. If you don’t know the answer to the question, let the participants know and research it and get back to them. I also like to pass out index cards to all participants and get them to write a question or write no question and walk around and have everybody drop their card into the box. That way you really don’t know who wrote the question and the difficult or sensitive question can be asked and answered.

• Our 2^nd Quarter Science Unit on Animal Growth and Reproduction involved a question box activity. Students were given a small sheet of paper to write a question that they have about animal growth and reproduction. As the lessons went on, we were able to answer the questions that were raised during the beginning of the lesson.
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7. Current Events – Analyzing local, state, national and international current events helps participants relate classroom discussion to everyday life. It also brings in local, political, and cultural issues into the training or classroom.

• Every Monday, students are given a current event worksheet to work on. They have until Thursday to finish up their current event. On Thursdays during Social Studies time, the students present their current event issue to the class.

8. Games & Puzzles – Games and puzzles can be used to provide a different environment in which learning can take place. It can also be used in cooperative learning groups. Many types of games and puzzles can be adapted to present and review concepts. Games such as Bingo, Concentration, or Jeopardy are easily formatted for different subjects. They can be used for review, reinforcement, critical thinking, problem solving, and decision-making. Watch the competitiveness, as this is a learning tool to be used as for fun.

• We had an opportunity to play games in the classroom, such as Bingo and Jeopardy. We’ve used these games in Science and Social Studies. As a closing activity for a certain lesson, we use these games to reinforce vocabulary and important facts from each lesson.

9. Artistic Expression – Participants may be offered a choice of expressing themselves in art, or through writing. Such a choice accommodates the different learning need and talents of students. Completed work should be displayed.

• Students were able to tap into their artistic side and involve themselves in art activities such as the Tapa Cloth, Crayon etching activity, Character Poster, Animal and Plant Cell drawings, Native American Stained Glass Activity, Body Systems 2D project, Body Systems Book, and many more. The classmates, teachers, friends, and family members were so proud of their student’s artwork when they had the chance to see them after it was displayed around in the classroom.
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10. Surveys and Inventories – Surveys and inventories can be used to assess knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices. These instruments can be used to gather knowledge about a variety of groups, including participants, families, or work type settings.

• Surveys were given at the end of each quarter to assess how have the students learned in the quarter. Questions asked were:

• What is the most important thing I learned in Math/Science/Social Studies/Reading/Writing?”

• What is one thing I learned in Math/Science/Social Studies/Reading/Writing that I wish I could learn more about?

• What is one thing that I didn’t learn in 1^st quarter Math/Science/Social Studies/Reading/Writing that I want to learn more about in 2^nd quarter?

11. Self – Assessment - used to help individuals and groups process and reflect on their individual work or their group work.

• At the end of each quarter, students were given a self-assessment sheet where they grade themselves based upon how hard they think they’ve worked for the semester. Students give logical reasons and explanation for the grades that they’ve given to themselves.

12. Experiments and Demonstration – Experiments and demonstrations can be used to show how something works or why something is important. These activities also provide a way to show the correct process for doing something, like a procedure. They should be carefully planned and conducted. They often involve the use of supporting materials.

• One of my lessons included Origami making (exposing students to the Japanese culture). I used powerpoint to demonstrate how to make an origami crane. The presentation had a step-by-step process on how to make each fold and crease.
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13. Student or Participant presentations – Individual student or groups of participants can present information to the rest of the class. Be sure to have clear guidelines for participants to follow, including time and objectives. This strategy also goes very well with adult learning theory and teaching others for retention.

• When student groups have completed their research about the Native Americans and Careers, they presented and taught the information to the class.
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14. Creative Writing – This strategy can take many forms, from poems, stories, written role-play (scripted), and journal written reflective thoughts. They can be shared or not. This form gives participants a creative outlet to the subject taught or discussed. One can also see transfer learning happen in this form of expression.

• When studying the unit on cells, the students were able to create a Cell Acrostic Poem. Students had to come up with words or sentences that were associated with each corresponding letter of the word: CELLS (C-E-L-L-S).

• Our unit on culture incorporated an activity where the student groups had to work together to create a Culture Acrostic Poem. Students had to search for words or sentences that were associated with each corresponding letter of the word: CULTURE (C-U-L-T-U-R-E).
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• Journal Writing is done everyday right after the tardy bell. Students are given a topic to write about and they can freely express their opinions, feelings, and ideas about that certain topic. At some times, when the students are finished early, they have an opportunity to share their writing piece to the class.

15. Celebrations – Activities that focus on the joy of completion and accomplishment. These activities serve as reminders and markers. It is appropriate to stop, acknowledge, and appreciate their accomplishments.

• As a culminating event for our Culture Unit, the 5th grade class had an opportunity to celebrate a Cultural Feast. Each student brought in a famous recipe and dish from their culture. Before the feast started, the students shared family stories from their culture, information about their dish, and traditions that are commonly practiced within their culture.
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Lessons, Activities, and School Activities That Demonstrate Value In Diversity

1.Tapa Cloth – This activity is tied in together with our 1^st Quarter Social Studies Unit on Culture. Students were introduced about the Pacific Culture by showing them a powerpoint presentation about the different ways Tapa Cloth is being used and made. The students had an opportunity to create their own Tapa Cloth using brown paper, multi-cultural colored crayons, and India ink. The students were to choose at least 4 – 5 different symbols that represent their culture (ex: Chamorro – Latte Stones, Spears, etc.; Carolinian – Mwaar Mwaar; Filipino – Bahay Kubo) and draw it on the Tapa Cloth. Upon completion of the activity, their Tapa Cloth is displayed around the classroom and the students were able to view and ask questions about each others’ cultures. With this activity, the students were able to learn more about each culture and appreciate each others values and customs.

2.Culture Acrostic Poems – The students were put into groups to write acrostic poems using the letters C-U-L-T-U-R-E. The students had to compose words and sentences that are associated with their cultures and create a poster about their poem. (ex: C = customs; U = Understanding one another’s culture; L = Learning to Love a culture; T = Traditions; U – unconditional love in each family; R = respecting each other’s differences; E = ethnic groups)

3.Crayon Etching – This activity was used to represent different tools and objects that each culture uses (ex: Chamorros – spears, latte stones, sling stones, etc.) or include anything that helps their classmate understand their culture. The students were given a criteria to follow: 1. The product must have at least 5 different etchings from their culture. 2: The product must have their name written on the back.

4. Cultural Feast – As a culminating event for our 1^st quarter Social Studies Unit, the entire 5^th grade class was able to celebrate a cultural feast where the students brought in a dish from their culture. Before the feast, the students shared their recipes with their classmates. The students were able to try the food during the feast.

5. Native American Homes – Compare and Contrast: When students were creating their Native American region homes, they were asked during their presentations to compare and contrast their homes with the ones that they’ve built. This activity gave the students an awareness of how values are different between other cultures because they get to understand that homes are built according to the geographical aspect of a certain region.

6. STUCO Rally - the STUCO rally gave certain students, also known as potential “candidates,” an opportunity to run for Student Council. Candidates from the 3^rd – 6^th grade class rallied against each other in hopes of getting a seat for this year’s council. This year’s candidates were a very diverse group because it was composed of students from different grade-levels, ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds. During the rally, the candidates had to give a 2-minute speech in front of the whole school. Some of them were very creative with their speeches. Instead of the traditional speech, the candidates also danced, cheered, involved their classmates on the stage, and sang a song. The 2 candidates that ran from my class are: Jenny Rose Habijan (P.I.O.) and Rosien Spis (Vice President).

Activities That Show Relevance/Connection to Student Learning

• Native American Homes - We had a month long Social Studies unit about Native Americans. Each student groups were assigned a Native American region along the United States. In addition, they were responsible for researching about their region's location, type of homes, tools, religion, cultural background, beliefs, and practices. Students were also required to build and construct a replica of their region's home. During their presentation, the students compared their homes in the CNMI with the homes that they just built. They discussed the differences between a latte stone house, a long house, a stone temple, and a tepee. This activity showed relevance to student connection because they were able to compare and contrast certain qualities and explain reasons why a home is built that way in different regions.
• Ecosystem Unit - We had a month long Science unit about Ecosystems. In order to teach students about the basics of an ecosystem, we had them conduct a hands-on investigation involving our school environment. Students were able to observe a certain plot in the school grounds and investigate the different interactions that were taking place. Some interactions included ants working together, a worm fighting for its life from several ants, a worm digging its way out from the sand, etc.
• Culture Unit - We had a month long Social Studies unit about Culture. Students were able to compare and contrast different cultures that are found all over Saipan. Different cultures include, Chamorro, Carolinian, Filipino, Chinese, Russian, Bangladesh, Korean, Japanese, etc. During our presentations, students were asked to bring a recipe and a dish that originated from their respective cultures. Students presented their dish and during lunch time, the whole 5th grade class celebrated a cultural feast. This unit helped us appreciate and learn more about the different cultures in Saipan.
• Body Systems Unit - We had a month long Science unit about Body Systems. We covered 7 different types of body systems: the circulatory system, muscular system, skeletal system, nervous system, digestive system, excretory system, and respiratory system. In this unit, the students were able to create a Body Systems Book and included several facts about each body system. Also, the students created a 2D representation of a body system. The students used everyday household objects such as pipe cleaners, beans, glitter, cloth, cotton, cotton swabs, clay, paint, yarn, string, etc. This unit was tied into a special addition of lessons for technology and people in Science. Students were able to connect certain technology such as x-rays (used to view the bones in the body), stethoscope (used to hear the heart beat), etc. and learn about careers such as a podiatrist, dietitian and nutritionist, dental hygienist, and physicians and surgeons. The students were able to connect the body system lessons with the technology and careers that they learned.
  
• Field Day - In order to promote a healthy lifestyle and good eating habits, our school conducted a Field Day. Sports that we played were relay races, basketball, volleyball, softball, and dodgeball. In this Field Day, students are able to realize that having a healthy lifestyle will enable them to perform better at the sports that they play and in everything that they do.
  

Technology Activities

1. Powerpoint Presentations – Technology, Native Americans, Cells, Body Systems, Verbs, Nouns, Tenses, Subjects, Predicates, Rounding, Place Value, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, etc.

2. Jeopardy – Technology Jeopardy, Native American Jeopardy, Careers Jeopardy, Science Jeopardy, Culture Jeopardy.

3. Television – We used the TV to watch videos about Native Americans.

4. Radio/Stereo System – We listen to music and have our students dance or sing during their lunchtime on Fridays.

5. Video Camera/Camera – the video camera was used to document special events or activities that happened at the school and in our classroom (ex: presentations and STUCO rally).

6. Overhead Projector – this was used to project our Daily Oral Math (D.O.M.), Daily Oral Geography (D.O.G.), and Daily Oral Language (D.O.L.).