Abby Johnson

Professional Development
SFARE Program
On Friday, April 15, I attended the Keynote Address of the
Southern Forum on Agricultural, Rural, and Environmental History. Dr.
Bartow Elmore, a professor at the University of Alabama and author of
the book Citizen Coke: The Making of Coca-Cola Capitalism, gave the
address. It was entitled From Coca-Cola to Roundup: Taking Southern
Environmental History Global. His talk centered around how Coca-Cola
has impacted other businesses and people around the world. At first, I
didnt quite understand how I would make this applicable to
elementary students. However, I quickly realized how his quest of
researching Coca-Colas impact on the globe could be translated to the
classroom. Many times we think of research as something for college
or graduate level courses. However, I think allowing students to be
involved in research engages them by allowing them the opportunity to
learn about a topic more deeply. This wouldnt have to be social studies
but could extend to science as well.
During the course of the presentation, he discussed things like
consumers and suppliers. I never thought about relating something like
consumers and producers to companies the students know and love. It
would be a great way to teach about these concepts in a way that
interests them. Other concepts he talked about were imports and

exports and cause and effect. Students could be placed in small groups
and be asked to choose a company to research. They could research
the countrys impact on other states and countries and how various
companies are interdependent on one another. I think it would really
allow students to see the global impact that businesses can have.

Making Thinking Visible

This experience was something very meaningful and beneficial to
my growth as a teacher. First of all, the structure of these meetings
was highly beneficial to me. I could have read the book on my own, but
I would not have had the opportunity to hear different perspectives on
the subject. Secondly, the book presented the concept of thinking in
the classroom in a way I had never thought of before. Many times I
think of needing to teach students the foundations of different content,
but I had never thought about needing to teach students how to think.
This book gave many practical strategies that teachers can use
to develop that higher-level thinking in students. At the beginning of
the book, it talked about effective questioning. This is something I want
to incorporate into my unit and in the classroom. I have asked many
questions throughout, but I realize I can be more intentional in those
questions to elicit better discussion. Another strategy I would like to
use is the Think-Puzzle-Explore thinking routine. This would be a great
thing to do as an engagement activity at the beginning of the unit. I
also want to use the Generate-Sort-Connect-Elaborate thinking routine.
It takes the idea of a concept sort and makes it more meaningful by
adding the element of making connections. Finally, What Makes You
Say That? is something that can be used throughout our unit. When
teaching science, it is extremely important that students back up their

ideas with evidence. This would be a great routine that students can
use to begin forming that habit.

Professional Meeting
Over Jan term, I did my observation course. While there, I was
able to attend several grade-level meetings and one school-wide
faculty meeting. The school-wide faculty meeting covered various tools
teachers could use with Google, focusing on the aspects of Google
classroom. The school recently adopted these Google apps and tools to
incorporate into all of the classrooms. The teachers were getting the
basic training about how to use these. For example, you can create
assignments for the class and have them completed and turned in
through Google docs. Another element to these assignments is that
they are easy ways for collaboration. If I taught an upper elementary
class, I could see myself setting up a Google classroom. It lends itself
to the students taking more responsibility for their assignments, and
they are constantly using technology in the classroom. Another
element I think is valuable is collaboration. I could see the students
working on research projects together or even science lab write-ups.
The technology integrator also talked about ways to organize materials
in folders for easy access. Throughout the year, I have realized more
and more how important it is that teachers have an organized system
that works for them in the classroom. When teachers are using tools
like this in the classroom to increase efficiency, they are more effective
in instruction and have more time to focus on the students. Finally, she
talked about the Google Story Builder. Students are able to add

characters and write out a story. This would be a wonderful tool to use
with students for Language Arts. While the students would get practice
in writing, they would also get the opportunity to do it collaboratively
with their peers.