1. Reading:
The Orphan Train
Currently
Loving:
the fresh white
snow
Watching:
Less TV since
CableOne
switched to all
digital
Eating:
No Diet Coke or
high fructose corn
syrup
Planning:
A trip to Germany
in June
Feeling:
Thankful
Learning:
To speak German
Julie
Westrick
2. I have just started reading The Orphan
Train. As a history education major, I
love reading historical fiction.
I am thankful that I now have the
opportunity to pursue my dream of
earning a teaching degree.
It is not always a popular opinion, but I
do love the fresh blanket of white snow!
With fewer TVs connected to CabeOne,
I am getting more done at home and am
getting to sleep earlier at night.
I am traveling to Germany in June as a
chaperone for my daughter’s GAPP
group.
I feel that I have more energy by not drinking
diet soda. My daughter has a sensitivity to
corn syrup, so our family has greatly reduced
our intake.
I studied Spanish in high school, so
learning German has been a struggle. “Ich
verstehe nicht”, I don’t understand!
3. In the classroom, life stories would be a great
way to have students share aspects of their lives
that make them different from other students and
aspects that they have in common. By learning
more about each other, students develop a sense
of community and accept each other’s
differences. If you have a culturally diverse
class, it is beneficial to celebrate differences to
make they more accepted by all students.
A Currently Poster would be appropriate for
Kindergarten through high school in varying
levels of difficulty. With older students this could
be expanded to included longer writing projects
and research into culture and family history.
Care should be taken to ensure that students do
not feel pressured to share stressful personal
information with their classmates.
Podcasts can be used by teachers to post video
versions of their lessons for students to view
online if they were absent or if they would like
to review a topic that they did not understand the
first time.
