A Video from Ms. Cassidy's Class

Ms. Cassidy posted a video in her blog of her first grade class answering questions they were asked by a class of six and seven year olds from Dublin, Ireland.  The students answer cute questions about the school and about themselves. They then ask questions to the students in Dublin. Ms. Cassidy always uses technology in her classroom. These short, little videos are great ways for both groups of students to understand that everyone all across the world is different. I feel as though this is an important aspect to instill in children.

One thing I also took away from the video was the setup of Ms. Cassidy's classroom. I personally love the stationed classroom set up. After doing some observing in a preschool classroom, I think this is a great way for students to learn. The students are broken up into four groups of three and the students go to their stations. Some of the stations require students to practice their handwriting, their colors, their numbers, their shapes, etc. Some of the stations are more “real world”. For example, Ms. Janet sometimes has chef stations, waiter stations, news desk stations, fire fighter stations, police officer stations, etc. Some stations involve crafting and other things to stimulate creativity. Some stations allow the students to play with different educational apps on the iPad. In stations like handwriting, she has the ability to sit with each student and go over each letter with them. She pays very close attention to who goes into each group, focusing on their abilities and their interests. I feel it is a wonderful way for the students to get the most out of their day.