Resources for Elementary Education & Elementary Teaching

Can I Get My Elementary Teaching Degree Online?

admin — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 02:47:46 +0000

Recently there seems to be an every growing number of colleges and universities offering an elementary teaching degree online, amongst other degrees and programs. This is indeed good news, as the cost of further education has been soaring higher and higher, forcing students to run themselves ragged earning enough money to pay for school, or else they are forced to take longer to complete the courses.

So does taking an online degree really make that much difference? Absolutely. For most students in the past, attending school has meant moving away from the home, in other words, accommodation has had to be paid for, as well as tuition and food costs. Along with that, the student has had to find a job at the new location, and that might mean fewer hours than needed to pay the bills, or else too many hours spent working to pay the rent, leaving too few hours for studying.

So, yes, you can earn an elementary teaching degree online, and it is a very sensible route to take for many would-be teachers.The quality of online education is just a as good now as attending in person, and although at one time interaction amongst online students was limited, computer technology is now such that students can get in touch with one another no matter where they live, and discussion groups can meet online. In other words, taking a teaching degree online has many advantages, and few disadvantages for most students.

Now the teaching practice has to be taken inside a real elementary classroom, with real elementary children present, but this can easily be arranged in a school close to where you reside, meaning travel can be significantly less than for those students attending a college or university in person. Less travel time equates to more time to plan and prepare lessons.

Some of the colleges and universities do have different entry requirements, and a slightly different curriculum, so it is a good idea to check online into these requirements, and to choose the school that best meets your needs for an elementary teaching degree online. The good news is that it is easy to do the research for this online too, without having to write letters and wait fro a response back by mail. Now email question can be asked, and responses received earlier to help you make your decision about your future.

So, do your research, make your plans, and save thousands by earning your elementary teaching degree online.

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Where Can I Find An Elementary Curriculum?

admin — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 23:58:24 +0000

The elementary curriculum for most schools is designed to integrate skills and disciplines, while giving learning a meaningful role in the classroom. This results in a variety of different areas being covered while still teaching these young children the basic reading skills, and listening and speaking skills too.

This means that on the curriculum of an elementary school you will find not only are mathematics and English covered, but so too is music, science, geography, sociology, health and safety, physical education and so much more. These topics, taught at a level the children can understand, obviously, can be used to improve reading skills, or handwriting and spelling, or listening abilities, and because there is so much material out there, the days in the elementary classroom can be full of interesting knowledge.

While most elementary schools cover the same basic topics, many schools have their own pet projects that they like to incorporate into the daily lessons, and you will find that classroom teachers offer a wealth of information for you if you are lucky enough to know someone. If not, there are many elementary schools around the country that you could visit to ask for help, or you could call the local school board to see what information they can give you.

The elementary curriculum besides teaching language arts includes sessions of reading comprehension, and thinking skills, something which should be taught at all levels, but sadly is often ignored in high schools because of a lack of time to cover what is already on the curriculum there. Along with this goes research skills, and although this is hard at the elementary school age, the use of computers in the classroom is encouraging research as children learn to find their way around the workings of a computer, without fear. Computers are invaluable in the classroom, and at home, making research so much easier at every age, but to be able to research online, first computer skills have to be taught, making the children comfortable with this skill by playing games, or listening to stories spoken aloud over the computer.

Along with reading goes writing, and this needs to be practised regularly so the elementary children become familiar with the process of brainstorming ideas, writing notes, writing drafts, revising, etc. Writing should not be a chore, but something that is encouraged daily, along with other activities that practice using the fine motor skills.

So, the elementary curriculum can cover any number of topics introduced at a level suitable for the children’s ages, but it is still based around the basic needs of reading, writing and arithmetic. However, the opportunities to provide interesting days in the elementary classroom are numerous, and just enhance the elementary curriculum.

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What Are The Best Games For Elementary Children Learning English?

admin — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 23:50:52 +0000

English can be a difficult language to learn for anyone, so it is best to use games for elementary school children to encourage them to use English and practice it as much as they can. In fact children learn other topics very well by playing games, and of course it makes learning more fun for them too.

Elementary children are generally keen to learn, and soak up new information daily, but if English is not their first language, it can make their life in the classroom more stressful. It does become more of a challenge for the classroom teacher when not all children understand the instructions you give the class, so teaching basic English in sentences and question form can be helpful.

Many teachers have responded that the games elementary children love, like Go Fish, and Guess Who? can be easily adapted to have the children practice speaking in complete sentences. For example fro Guess Who? the child could ask “Does your secret person wear glasses?” while for Go Fish it could be “Do you have ant cards with seven on them?” By adapting these games, the children will become more comfortable with the English language, something that is extremely important at the elementary school level, where the basics need to be learned, and built upon.

There are a great number of phonic activity books on the market that encourage letter and sound relationships while building on knowing the alphabet, and these can be fun for children to use. There are packages of games online too that can be downloaded and printed, then laminated to protect them, so they can be used many times by these elementary children learning English. It can be fun for the elementary teacher too to find new games to play to help with speaking English in the classroom.

For those teachers lucky enough to have computers in their classroom, there are many websites that offer online stories read aloud along with other activities, and reading games for elementary children. If you know the families of English as a second language children have a computer at home, you can recommend sites to the children so that they can practice lstening to and speaking English at home too, since the sooner they become proficient with English, the easier they will succeed in school.

So look out for new games and activities you can modify to encourage elementary children learning English, and you will have a happy elementary classroom where learning is fun.

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What Is The Future For A Career As An Elementary School Teacher?

admin — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:47:29 +0000

The future for a career as an elementary school teacher depends entirely upon the area of the country you wish to teach in, but the good news is that there are always teachers retiring after years of service, so there is always hope for newly trained teachers. However, colleges and universities continue to train new students for these teaching positions, so for particular areas, the competition may be stiff.

For many students, provided they perform well for their student practicum, they are given letters of recommendation, and referrals by these teachers, and if a full time position is not available, it may be possible to become a teacher on call, travelling to a school that needs a replacement for a day or two, or even months in the case of maternity leave. This can give you a foot in the door so to speak, although you may still find that you are not full time, depending on the funding available.

In the future, looking at 2016 and beyond, it is forecast that the school boards will not need as many teachers once the children of the baby boomers leave the education system. Of course growth will vary depending on the region of the country, and no one really knows for sure what the school boards will really need in the number of teachers until that time arises. In fact for many schools, the actual number of teachers is uncertain until after the first week of a new school year, when all the new arrivals in the area have been registered. This can play havoc with projections for the number of teachers needed, but happens every year, despite advertisements that all students should be registered ahead of the first day of school!

Perhaps the best way to check on whether your future will be secure as an elementary school teacher is to talk to the school board you hope to work for, and find out from them what the future looks like for you. If there are not going to be many opportunities in that particular district, then you may have to consider a different district, and maybe even move to another area of the country, but only move if you are certain of getting a job in that area. If you go through the hassle of moving only to find you still have no work, it will have cost you financially for the move, as well as emotionally.

Volunteering in classrooms is also a good way to find out about new opportunities, although this isn’t always realistic if you are working to pay your way through school. In that case email your school district or phone them to find out first hand what your chances of a career as an elementary school teacher really are. And it would be an idea to do this before you invest heavily in the training.

So, to conclude, use the internet and the phone to find out if a career as an elementary school teacher seems likely in the district you want to work in.

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What Are The Prerequisites For An Elementary Education Degree?

admin — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:00:43 +0000

Before you are able to enroll for an elementary education degree, there are some prerequisites that you must have, but these vary depending on the college or university you are planning to attend. Basically they are basic core programs that are taken during the first two years of further education. For an elementary education degree, you will need a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, at least, and many go on to get there Master’s degree in this area.

This means that you need to have the high school qualifications to get you into college or university, and your school counsellors will be able to help you make sure you have the necessary courses for this.

You must understandably, possess basic skills with a reasonable grade point average, which varies, depending on the district you are living in. In other words, you have to be proficient in English and Mathematics before you can teach, which makes sense.

Now unfortunately you have to take into account the financial aspects of getting a degree, and then working as a teacher. The payment reward for teaching in an elementary school is not huge, especially when you may have to take some time paying back four years of student loans.

However, there are cheaper options nowadays. Attending school can cost in the region of $40,000, or more, compared to online degree courses costing a mere $4,500. That difference is huge, and of course it has the advantage that you can study from home, with your family and friends around you – or is that a disadvantage?

With the strides made in technology, there are now a large number of colleges and universities that offer degrees online. This is a by far cheaper option than moving to a new city to attend school, and the education is still excellent. At one time, it did mean that there was no interaction between those studying online, but now discussions can be held online, and forums are used to ask and answer questions, so that students need not feel isolated by taking an online course.

Typically with an elementary education degree program, many hours are spent in field-based environments of elementary classrooms to get a variety of elementary teaching experiences. Most programs will also contain a program preparing students for using computers in their elementary classrooms. Once you have earned your elementary teaching degree online, you can rest assured that you are well prepared for a career teaching in elementary schools.

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