Synthesis of Course

I have found that this course has helped me to prepare for my future classroom in many different ways. For starters, it really helped me to start thinking critically about my content area and how literacy is involved in that. I now know that literacy plays a role in just about everything that we do.

Just as important as it is to be able to read is really being able to understand and remember what you learn. I really want to incorporate this into my classroom on a daily basis. I plan on doing this by having different forms of presenting the material. Especially if I know that there are students in my classroom that are struggling with English or even just comprehending what we are learning, I am going to make sure that I have examples, that I am using demonstration, that I give them an opportunity to learn from each other, and also that I use hand gestures to really show what I mean and am trying to explain. While I was trying to learn Spanish, the teacher would only speak Spanish but would use a lot of gestures, pictures, and hand signs. This helped so much and I know how important it can be for the students.

I think that for the most part, I will be sure to incorporate whole-class and small group discussions. From this class I learned that there is a great deal of learning from the student-student interaction. Facilitating and allowing this to take place can give my students the atmosphere that they need to feel comfortable and willing to learn.

I am also going to make sure that I have a classroom library with texts that are high-interest to my students but really help them gain a superior understanding of the content and how it applies in their lives outside of school. I will introduce at least one text per day and give them the option of checking them out and rating them for their peers.

Coming out of this class, I feel that I have a better understanding of how to enhance learning in my classroom and facilitate a safe environment to keep that learning growing.

Self-Selected Project

For this Self selected project my partner and I decided to read 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey and also A Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. What I really enjoyed about these two books as a whole is that they were super engaging and easy to read but they also had really good messages for everyday life that could apply to everyone at some point in their lives.


The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is written out in a story book type of feel. It goes and explains how people who are famous got there and how they stay there. It really emphasizes how to treat people and interact with them. It is super sad to see how technology is taking away a lot of the human interaction in this world and I want to help be able to change that in my classroom. By reading this book I felt empowered and that I could change little habits and that those changes would make a huge difference. I want my students to be able to experience that very same thing and know that they can b very successful in what ever they do. For that reason, I would have this book in my classroom and I would use it as an extra credit opportunity. I would also present it and use excerpts from it during my relationships unit and even during my finance unit.


A Man's Search for Meaning is more of the developmental component of Human Development. It is a great read and it connects different contents as well! No only does it talk about a new developmental theory that Viktor Frankl live, tried, and tested but he tells the story of how it came to be and how he experienced it while he was in a concentration camp during World War Two. This story is great to help in hose two subjects but I really like it because it is very personal and he really helps the reader understand the theory. It does talk about the concentration camp war stories but he doesn't go into so much detail that it is graphic. It is a really clean book and really easy to understand. Because Logo Therapy is fairly new and not part of the standards in the classroom my partner and I decided that we could use this book in our classes to give the students more of an opportunity to think more critically about their own lives and how it could relate to the other theories that are out there. I would like to have this book in my classroom to really help my students be educated on everything that there is out there and help them understand how important it is to stay updated because everything is constantly evolving and people are coming up with new theories and studies.


Reading in the content is a great way to keep students engaged in class and really realize that this does apply to their lives' and that it will help them in the future. Over all these books were a great read and a very good use of my time. I know that the same will go for my students' time.

Affective Dimensions of Reading

I like to think of myself as a good reader. I read books, instructions, Comics, magazines and I am able to interpret and apply what I have read. I understand it and can visualize it in a very real and personal context. I prefer to read mystery books. I love trying to solve it in my head before the characters have the chance to solve it in the book.

I loved reading through my 5-10th grades years the very most. It was a stage in my life when I was really trying to figure out life. My books were a way for me to see life as more than just what was going on in my life. I knew that there was a whole other world out there and couldn't wait to be able to be a part of it!

I didn't like reading when I got to the first few years of my college experience because I just felt like I was overwhelmed with reading assignments. It wasn't readings that I felt like I could identify with so it became more of a chore but as I became more and more centered on my discipline, I came back to my love of reading.

Growing up, I felt like I got a ton of mixed signals on reading. I felt like a nerd around my friends that didn't like to read but at the same time, I was encouraged to read by my parents, church leaders, and my teachers. I would just read because it eventually was something that I recognized made me happy and helped me improve my understanding of things around me. It gave me understanding for so many different aspects of life.

Stemming from my personal experiences with reading as a child, I would really like my students to feel comfortable with and enjoy reading. I want them to understand that there are lots of varieties and everything that they can get into. I want to incorporate reading and promote it in my classroom so I will present the texts in a way that will catch the students' attention and spark their interests to want to read the texts from Family and Consumer Sciences. I also want my students to be able to see themselves as good readers so that their desire to read will continue to grow. I will have them evaluate themselves after few months to see if they think that they have improved and why or why not.

My philosophy

I think that teaching is a way students can be influenced for how they want to spend the rest of their lives.  Weather we realized it or not, teachers make a big impact on those they teach. I decided to become a teacher because I want to make a difference.  I want to be able to help students understand that they can do what ever they want.  I want to help them understand that they can change their life and take control.

Connecting School and Home Experiences

        I remember when I was about 9 years old, I had been given permission to spend the night at my cousin's house.  My cousin and I were so close and I was super excited!!  I hadn't been able to see her in a while and this sleep over was going to be epic.  We were going to stay up all night.

       I went over to her house and we just did everything that you could ever think of.  We painted our nails and danced an then we put on a movie so that her mom would think that we were going to sleep.  Once we were sure her mom was asleep, we thought that we could just keep partying.  We didn't take into account that we would have to be quiet so we decided that it was ok if we just kept watching movies.  As we went to the second movie, we were both dozing off so bad.  We realized that we would never be able to have an overnight-er if we were both sleeping!!  We racked our brains trying to figure out how we could make our goal become a reality and we decided that we needed to move around.  We couldn't dance or make too much noise so we decided that we could bake!!  

       We started off making our favorite kinds of cookies and then we ended up trying out our own kinds of inventions. We had so many mishaps and we had lots of successes.  From that night on, I realized that I can create masterpieces if I really wanted to.  I would bake every free moment I got and every time I did that I felt free.  I felt like I was in control and that I was being a little rebellious from that night.

        Having this as my own personal experiences, I would take a lab to let the students choose whatever they want to cook and then let them cook it.  They can do what they want and show case their love or their favorite recipes.  I want them to know that they are free to explore and create what they want!!

Motivation and My Discipline

Welcome students to the class of Family and Consumer Sciences!!  This class is to help you really understand your role in life.  No matter what class you are in, (nutrition, clothing, human development, interior design, or finance.) my goal is to help you reach and know that you can be successful.  Whatever the title of your class, all of my classes are Success 101.  Created and designed to help you be the best you.

https://www.google.com/search?q=inspirational+quotes&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=5OxMUpukK-ONygHFyICgAQ&sqi=2&ved=0CFQQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=667&dpr=1#imgdii=_

More success stories that started with failures...https://www.google.com/search?q=inspirational+quotes&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=5OxMUpukK-ONygHFyICgAQ&sqi=2&ved=0CFQQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=667&dpr=1#q=inspirational+stories&tbm=isch&imgdii=_

So many success stories start off as failures and these classes are designed to help everybody push past those and reach what they want to accomplish.  These subjects are related to everyday life and you can put them into practice now!!

Lets start off with Nutrition...Who knew that most children have the visible evidence of clogged arteries. We learn little tweaks that can be made in life to make sure that you live as long as you can.
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/heart-disease-starts-in-childhood/

Human Development...We learn and go over what is happening in our lives and how we can make it more fun and how we can adapt to all the change.

Clothing....Learning new fashion strategies and adapt your style.  Make your style show the real you.

Interior Design: Let your creator run free.  Learn how to make and design houses using green technology and innovative features.

Finances: learn how to manage your money so that when you are older your money doesn't manage you and you are a millionaire by the time you retire.

As previously stated these classes are specified to help each and everybody succeed.  We learn everyday skills that can help to become the best you.  Take time to really reflect and think about what you want out of life and be prepared to learn tools to help you get there.

This is Me

 Hello, My name is Madison Higley but everyone calls me Maddy.

          I love to play volleyball, basketball, and pretty much all other sports. Some hobbies I have right now include taking pictures and scrap-booking.

 Interesting fact is that I have a batman birth-mark on my arm.  I love to sew, cook, and I really enjoy helping others.

          To me Family and Consumer Science is so much more than just cooking and sewing.  It's a way of life.  These are the skills that everybody needs to know to just survive in this life.  These classes help everybody that takes them, learn how to make their lives better and how to help others' as well (like raising children).
         I developed the desires to teach these courses when I came to the realization of how well I can really help youth improve their lives and learn how to manage themselves.  I realized the difference that I could help them make and I love to watch as they make those changes.  Whether they are little or small changes, they will have a huge impact in the outcomes of their lives.
        To me literacy is being able to understand the tasks at hand.  Understanding and putting into practice what is being read or taught.  I think that it definitely corresponds to every subject.  Being able to read a recipe and understanding it to the extent that you can make the desired outcome is being literate in that particular concept.  Being able to go and do the instructions on a sewing pattern and even understanding and following how to manage your money is proof of your literacy in that content.  Now, I don't think that being literate means that everything turns out exactly perfect because we all have to develop our skills.  It does mean that you can understand and do the basics of what is being asked.  For example, you can follow the directions of a sewing project, even if your lines come out crooked, you are still literate.