Technology: Friend or Enemy?

I went through my usual summer morning routine today...put my hair in a high bun, drank my coffee, and watched the news. After a while, I opened my iPad and started scrolling through Facebook. My eyes stopped at a video link posted by one of my past student's mothers. The video was short, but eye-opening (video is at the end of this post).

Having taught for a full decade, I can say that I have absolutely noticed a change in the students that I work with on a daily basis. Over the last couple of years, I have noticed students coming to me with extremely poor handwriting and underdeveloped fine motor skills. Some of these students also seemed to lack creativity and social skills. I have spent a good chunk of time on teaching kids how to appropriately participate in group discussions, how to be active listeners, and how to engage their peers in conversations and activities. What once was something learned on a playground, is now part of the curriculum. Are video games and the over-use of technology to blame?

There is no doubt that this is quickly becoming a technology-driven society and the skills that our students need to have will largely relate to how they can navigate this digital world. Teaching keyboarding, online safety, and how to evaluate validity of information are all things that we are responsible for making sure our kids master. Ignoring this matter would only be an injustice to them. With that being said, I do not want to see a world where people would rather form relationships with machines than other human beings.

On a positive note, my own teaching has transformed due to the available technology today. It has helped me reach students on a whole new level. It has made my lessons more interactive and engaging. Online videos, live cameras, and virtual trips have helped my students see parts of the world that they may never have had the opportunity to see in person. 

I am not a parent myself. I have no idea how chaotic a normal day in the lives of moms and dads can be. What I do know, is that there are days I can barely keep my head above water on my own. Juggling a husband, chocolate Labrador, teaching career, and city apartment can often be enough to make me want to throw in the towel from time to time. I only imagine that parenthood is that feeling on steroids. With that being said, my final thought on this matter can be summed up in old saying...everything in moderation. Kids are only kids for so long. Take the time to enjoy them. Teach them things. The people they will become are largely influenced by how they live now. 

Here is the video for your viewing pleasure...

Peace, Love, and Enjoying Nature, 

Mary Korty @ Teaching Takes the Cake

FREEBIE FRIDAY!

Vinyl records. 

A fresh box of unused crayons. 

Sharpie markers of every color. 

Freebies. 

These are a few of my favorite things! 

Head over to my TPT store to download my new B&W SHORT A DECODABLE BOOK! 

Happy Friday!!!

Phonemic Awareness Giveaway!!!

PHONEMIC AWARENESS.

Two words.

Without it, children may face challenges in learning how to read and write.

With it, children have a greater chance of reading and writing success.

WHAT IS PHONEMIC AWARENESS? 

According to the University of Oregon, PHONEMIC AWARENESS (PA) is:

• the ability to hear and manipulate the sounds in spoken words and the understanding that spoken words and syllables are made up of sequences of speech sounds
• essential to learning to read in an alphabetic writing system, because letters represent sounds or phonemes. Without phonemic awareness, phonics makes little sense. 
• fundamental to mapping speech to print. If a child cannot hear that "man" and "moon" begin with the same sound or cannot blend the sounds /rrrrrruuuuuunnnnn/ into the word "run", he or she may have great difficulty connecting sounds with their written symbols or blending sounds to make a word. 
• a strong predictor of children who experience early reading success. 

DO MY CHILDREN HAVE PHONEMIC AWARENESS?

Children can be at different levels of development. The image below shows a continuum of PA development in children. More information regarding this image can be found here --> Reading First

There are many assessments and activities available to teachers and districts. I have created a product and uploaded it to my Teachers Pay Teachers and Teacher's Notebook stores.

To celebrate this new product, I am running a Teacher's Notebook Giveaway!

Not done yet...

I am also giving away this product to 5 lucky winners that have visited this blog!!! This product is valued at $10 and includes over 100 printable pages of assessments and activities covering phonemic awareness areas.

SOME SAMPLES OF WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THIS PRODUCT

Enter the giveaway below starting on July 14th and be sure to share with your friends and colleagues! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Peace, Love, and Giveaways,
Mary Korty

Lucky Find Monday!

Who doesn't love discounts and freebies?!

I came across a website recently called BOOKBUB.

BOOKBUB is a site that will find the best daily deals on digital books. It doesn't cost anything to sign up and you are able to search for books by category. The site allows you to personalize your preferences as well.

There are great finds for children, preteens, and adults alike!!!

Peace, Love, & Summer Reading, 

Mary Korty 

Teaching Takes the Cake