Learning with Mrs. Rodriguez

Who Am I?

My name is Kelly Rodriguez. I am 31 years old and a mom to two amazing kids. My son Lucas is 4 and my daughter Chloe is 2. I recently moved from the Bay Area, where I was born and raised, to Roseville, California where my husband and I bought our first house.

I have taught 3rd grade for the past two years in Cupertino Union School District. I have absolutely loved every minute of it! Through these past two year, I have found that I am passionate about creating engaging and challenging lessons where students flourish both academically and socially. In my class, I utilize Whole Brain Teaching strategies to engage my students. And if you walked into my room, you would likely see kids singing and dancing, as I think students learn so much through music. Lastly, I set the stage to engage, by transforming my classroom. You might see my room one day set up as the four major regions of California and then a restaurant the next day where I am teaching fractions. A quote that Chris Pombonyo, Seminole County Teacher of the Year, has stuck with me and transformed my teaching which is "You want your students to come in on Monday talking about your lesson from Friday."

How do I Meet the Needs of Diverse Learners in the Classroom?

In order to meet the needs of all students, I incorporate whole brain teaching strategies that include all parts of the brain: auditory, visual, and motor cortex. In addition, I use a lot of G.L.A.D. strategies. One method I have used that has shown to be beneficial is lesson sketch. This is where I read a section of passage and the students make a mental image and then transfer it to a picture on their whiteboards. I frequently stop to allow students to draw what they hear me read. At the end of the passage, the students teach their partner what I read while using their pictures to help support them. While using this strategy, I can support my English Language learners by showing them a picture to help them. They can they draw a picture that helps them remember what they saw and heard. I used this method a lot during science and social studies.

How Does my Personality Affect my Relationship with Students?

I see myself as very caring and open. My students got a chance to learn about me and my family during morning meetings; where I spoke openly about my life. I would tell funny stories about my evenings and also about Chloe, my daughter, refusing to sleep the night before and driving hours to get her to sleep. They felt connected to me and were in turn comfortable with opening up with me, whether they were talking about failing a belt test in karate, going camping with their family, or telling the class about their grandpa that passed away. Through laughs and tears, we shared it all.

Learning Styles Results

It is clear from the results shown below that I have a very strong preference for action and reflection, which is likely why I chose to implement whole brain teaching (lots of gestures), music and dance (gestures to go with the lyrics), and classroom transformation/ project based learning that are hands on in which students really get into the content. I realize that my teaching and learning style has affected my teaching because I am drawn to learning/teaching this way. While it's a little embarrassing to say this, I have had to teach myself many third grade concepts, and in order for me to understand them so that I can teach them, I do it by using my learning style. Thus, when I go to teach it, I find the best way is the way I learned it. I know that not everyone learns best from this style, so I am mindful to do follow up lessons that suit other students needs and learning styles.  

Results for: Kelly Rodriguez


      ACT      X                                            REF
           11  9   7   5   3   1   1   3   5   7   9   11
                              <-- -->

      SEN              X                                    INT
           11  9   7   5   3   1   1   3   5   7   9   11
                              <-- -->

      VIS              X                                    VRB
           11  9   7   5   3   1   1   3   5   7   9   11
                              <-- -->

      SEQ                  X                                GLO
           11  9   7   5   3   1   1   3   5   7   9   11
                              <-- -->