Using SMART technology!
These are slides from my lesson plan created from SmartBoard technology. Basically, it's a way to use the SmartBoard during morning circle time and actively engage students in a daily activity that often gets boring and mundane. It is intended for very young children (kindergarten and below).

Students can collectively take attendance (while singing the "What's Your Name" song!)

Students can help fill in the blanks based on what they know. They can also sing the "Days of the Week" song.

Students can take turns sharing what they know about St. Patrick's Day or how they celebrate it. This information changes every month.

Students can share what they think the weather is like today.

Students can learn about the phases of the moon.

Check out Glogster!

I have just discovered this neat tool and am still playing with it, but here is my glogster account! So fun!

http://taylormcallister.edu.glogster.com/dashboard/ 

Jack and the Beanstalk Lesson Plan Concept Map

This example of a concept map made on popplet.com details how to follow a multi-faceted lesson plan based around the children's fable, Jack and the Beanstalk. It is best recommended for anywhere between kindergarten to second grade, and can be adapted accordingly. I have also a more formal, typed version of the lesson plan.

An illustration (and TRUE incident!) of me and technology...

Check out my pages on these sites!:

 Pinterest
Pinterest is a way-too-addicting site where hobbyists of all sorts can search through different genres for new and exciting ideas, and "pin" them to their virtual corkboard! You can also install the Pinterest button with which one can read through anything in the blogosphere, push this button, and voila! You have made a pin onto your pinterest board!
This is my board:
http://pinterest.com/taylormac17/future-classroom/ 


Delicious
I'm still getting used to this site, but basically you can search through different articles/links all over the web based on a key search word, find links you like and "add" them to your site. Pretty cool!
This is the link to my Delicious page:
https://delicious.com/taylormcallister 

Picture Perfect

I really like the look of this classroom. Students are actively listening and engaging, the classroom looks colorful and exciting without being distracting, there seems to be a myriad of subjects being displayed around the room, and the teacher is creating a positive learning atmosphere for all her students. This is how I want my classroom to be!!

Why I Want to Teach

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XsaK3pWyII

SO good!

selfportrait by Taylor McAllister

selfportrait by Taylor McAllister: Picassohead

Introduction

Hello there!
My name is Taylor McAllister. I am a 20 year-old Southern Californian in my second year at Hofstra studying early education/special education. I believe that children have a very reciprocated way of learning where I as the teacher am taught just as much, if not more, than my students. I hope to teach either preschool, kindergarten, or special education, a kind of strange combination, I know; I also want to do it in another country, teaching English as a second language. In my experience, these students are highly underestimated, and will quite often surprise you. I want to teach these underestimated groups by challenging them and encouraging them to reach their fullest potential, while overcoming a language barrier. I plan to do this through integrating art and music into my lessons in a world where these programs are being cut left and right. I want to utilize new technologies to expose my students to new experiences and ideas. And I want to channel their inner child to reach their fullest level of intellect, self-realization, and creative expression, while mastering an understanding of another language and another culture.