Course Synthesis

Many concepts I learned in this course relate to my work as a future teacher. I honestly believe all of the concepts I learned will only benefit me in the near future. I learned a lot of new concepts when I interviewed Mrs. Hyde. I wasn't sure about how to differentiate my instruction for diverse students or to implement writing into our curriculum. After talking with her I gained ideas on how to do this. I hope to implement technology heavily into my classroom. Students love technology so why not have it in your classroom? There are numerous apps that pertain to our discipline of Family and Consumer Sciences. I would like to have homework assignments where students need to use the app or a website to complete the assignment. Such as gaining knowledge on the new MyPlate Website. I hope to also make my lesson plans new and innovative. This goes hand in hand with the world around us. I want to make my lesson plan relative to what is going on around us and especially what is going on within our community. 

I hope to implement writing in my lesson plans also. I believe this to be an important aspect of teaching. Writing is essential for every subject and most definitely is important for the high school and college level. I enjoyed learning more about the before, during and after activity plans. I plan on using that and also have more writing prompts. I have thought about having journals for my students where they can simply free write. As a student, I enjoyed free writing. Especially when there wasn't something specific I had to write about or when it was going to be graded. 

Overall, I am grateful to be able to take this class before I step into the teaching world. I have gained so much knowledge on the concepts of literacy but most importantly how to implement it into my classroom while also making it beneficial. I received numerous resources to use in my classrom. I enjoyed interviewing Mrs. Jennifer Hyde for my self-selected porject. I love getting advice from fellow teachers and learning from their mistakes and accompishments. I am throughly excited to start teaching, even though most days my nerves take over I know that I will try my best to have a classroom that students want to learn in. 

Blog Post 4: Digital Literacy

About two weeks ago I charted how many times I used digital technology throughout my day. I was surprised with how often I do and slightly embrassed. I would reach for it numerous times during the day, whether it be checking the time, sending a text or turning off an alarm. I have noticed in our day and time that many people, including myself are addicted to technology- especially their phones. I can easily see why though. On my phone there are many resources. Such as, Facebook, Instagram, Weather, Email, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. The list goes on and on. It's no wonder so many individuals are on it so often. My husband and I don't have cable so this eliminates TV entirely for me. We both think TV is a waste of money and I am grateful for that because that would be one more thing to add to my list of distractions. The following week I made a goal to not get on Facebook or Instagram for a full week. I have done this before but have never succeed. I am proud to say that I finally did it. It helped me to not grab my phone as much. I realized that I don't really need a technology device connected to my hip. I can get by in life just fine. 

I realize that a lot of my students will be similar as I was in high school or how I am now. I am amazed how much high school students are on their electronic devices. A lot of them are sneaking it during classes. I hope as a teacher to be able to integrate digital resources into my classroom in a positive manner. An obvious way that you can integrate digital technology into your class is in the Food and Nutrition Subject. With the new my plate guidelines there is a lot to teach the students. You can do this by pulling up the website for them through the projector and showing them all the new guidelines. There are various apps you can use on iPads, iPhones or iPods. I know of some that help track your calorie intake or help you track your exercise limit. In the FACS class I was able to be in, each student has access to MAC laptops or computers in a computer lab. This made it relatively easy for us students to be able to complete projects or presentations. 

In conclusion, I hope to be able to integrate digital technology into my class in a positive manner. I have a teacher here at USU- her name is Lindsey Shirley. She amazes me how informative she is with technology. She accesses YouTube often and show clips that pertain to her lesson plan. I want to apply what I learn in her class into my future classroom. I know by doing this it will catch the students' attention and teach them that FACS can be new and innovative. 

Blog Post 3: Affective Dimensions of Writing

I have always had positive experiences with writing. It has always been kind of fun for me to. I haven't always been essentially good at it but I have always had fun with it. That is something I want to be able to master as I get older, is the art of writing. My husband is an amazing artist. We both love children! It is our goal as a couple to write a children's book. Myself being the author and my husband being the illustrator. Obviously, this is a big dream and may be unrealistic but we still hope to take the necessary steps of getting there. You can't write a book without knowing the basics of grammar, which is what I think I struggle with the most. 


When it comes to considering myself as a writer, I do when it is personal writing. Whether it be a persuasive essay on something I enjoy or a journal. I prefer to express my ideas in something like a journal or jotting down notes. I have always been a doodler, I can remember way back when I was little doodling during church. I never drew anything but I always wrote my name and tried to write it in different designs. I found that I listen better when I am writing notes or doodling words. This tends to be a problem in school because sometimes the teachers find this offensive. Today, I enjoy writing in my journal, keeping scrapbooks and texts. I have noticed that I prefer emails over texts. I find that I feel like I need to summarize texts and emails I can elaborate more. 
I remember one writing assignment in high school that I throughly enjoyed. The class was called FCHD 1500. This is short for Family and Consumer Human Development class that goes through the development of the human life. We were required to write down one of our most memorable childhood moments. I had to resort to my Mom for a lot of the information. It was fun to be able to talk to her about it and then apply it into my paper. Most of my favorite papers I wrote were the ones that I was able to relate back to myself and add a personal note to it. My least favorite writing assignments are the ones that required for me to do research on a topic ad then write a paper about it. In short, this is called a research paper. I have never been good at these. 

I hope when I am a teacher to be able to make writing assignments that are relevant to the students with what they are doing in life. I find this to be useful because the students will be more excited to complete the assignment and I as their teacher will be able to learn more about them and what they stand for. Luckily, a lot of FACS writing assignments are personal and relatively easy to apply to life. 

Blog Post 2: Connecting School and Home Experiences

I am excited to respond to this blog post. The topic of connecting school and home experiences relates perfectly to the major I want to teach. Which is, Family and Consumer Sciences. These classes relate perfectly to the home life. It is what are major is based on. We have the responsibility of making the home life better through their interpretations taught in the classes provided. 

When growing up, I had numerous experiences that I had with my discipline. Every Sunday night I remember making a fun treat for the family with my Mom. Sometimes it was caramel popcorn, other times it was chocolate chip cookies. No matter what the treat was, I always enjoyed making the treat simply because I had fun cooking with my Mom. When I was little, I just remember sitting on the counter by my Mom helping her pour ingredients into the bowl. At that age I wasn't allowed to do much but help out when I was asked. As I grew older I was able to gain more responsiblity. My Mom would let me measure everything out and be her partner in crime. This soon turned into myself making the treat while my Mom was on close supervision. Over the years, I learned a lot from my Mom. A lot of it I learned from just watching. I am grateful for the positive experiences I shared with my family in the kitchen. I am now prepared to know the basics of cooking and some. I can give all the credit to my Mom for letting me sit on the counter and watch her cook. 

Another concept I was taught from a young age was budgeting. I have had the same pink piggy bank since I was little. My parents always taught me to save my money and only use if for things of importance. I am grateful for that home experience I had because I now have the basic knowledge I need to save and budget my money. 

Family and Consumer Sciences has five major classes that we are able to teach. They are Food & Nutrition, Child Development, Sewing, Interior Design and Consumerism. I believe Food & Nutrition to be one of the most important that we teach. There are many problems in the world today that are associated with Nutrition. Such as, obesity, eating disorders, eating healthy, etc. In the classroom we can prevent students from participating in these practices and also help them to eat healthy and learn more about nutrition. Consumerism is also an important area of our major. There are several individuals in heavy debt because they weren't taught the basic knowledge of saving or budgeting their money. As stated many times- I want to teach my students these skills to be able to use them in life.

The experiences I shared most definitely shaped the way I feel about my discipline and influenced me to become a teacher. I want to share what I have learned with my students. I know that teachers can have a huge effect on their students and can teach them essential life skills. I have always loved how there is such a variety with this major. I love the five different categories and can relate to all of them because of my home experiences. I hope that everything I teach as a teacher will influence my students to want to go home and make the connection to having a better home life. I hope that they will be able to implement what they learn to their daily lives. I want to be able to take the students' personal experiences and relate it back to the lesson plans so that they are involved and interested in what is going on. I am grateful for my major and the way it can help everyone do better in the world. If I only influence one student in my years of teaching, I will know I have helped one student succeed in the everyday life. 

Introduction

My name is Larissa Nyman. I am from Logan, Utah. I was born in here in Logan and moved to North Logan. I definitely call Cache Valley home. I have been married for barely a year on August 9th. My husband and I enjoy playing board games, watching movies and being with family. On my own time I love reading, traveling and running. I have participated in various races in Utah. The Ogden Half Marathon is my all time favorite. It is held in the month of May and you run through the Ogden Canyon. I work as a Preschool Teacher at Best Friends and a Assistant Cheer Coach at Air-bound Gymnastics.

I am a Family Consumer Science Education Major. I have heard that is quite the mouthful. I have learned through telling others that this major is more commonly known as Home Economics. Within this major we cover five major areas. They are: Food & Nutrition, Child Development, Sewing, Interior Design and Consumerism. I was drawn to this major because of the Child Development area. In high school I was able to attend a Child Care class that also had a Preschool within it. The students were taught by the teacher how to be Preschool teachers. That is exactly what I want to do in the future. I love the high school age and the Preschool age. Therefore, why not have best of both worlds. One of my favorite parts of this major is the variety of everything. I know as a teacher I will never be bored because I will be certified to teach in ten plus classes. I also believe these classes to be worthwhile for everyone to know. These skills are essential to know in life. Everyone will benefit by taking a FACS class in either Jr. High or High School.

My current definition of literacy is the ability to either read or write. I am not very knowledgable on literacy and am excited to learn more about this semester. In the classes I will be able to teach it is required for the students to be literate. They must be able to read a textbook, write a paper, follow a recipe, follow a sewing pattern, convert measurements, etc. As stated before, I am excited to be able to learn more about literacy and how to implement it with my future students. I know that it will benefit them and also myself as a teacher.