Monday was my first day full time teaching with a plan period. It was glorious. Having my plan period back also helped me communicate with my cooperating teacher better about day to day things. Even though she has all my lesson plans and she knows what is going on throughout the day, it was nice to have time to analyze and reflect verbally on lessons with her today. My kids also liked having me back through the whole day. At least five of them exclaimed something like, "Miss V!!! You're still here!" when they got back from their special today. They had all kinds of questions about why I was still there and if I would stay all day for the rest of the year. I also noticed how much the time change over the weekend effected my students. They were incredibly tired in the morning and a lot of them seemed easily frustrated throughout the day. Hopefully that will continue to get better throughout the week!
If I'm going to be honest, Tuesday was a blur. I have been feeling under the weather for a couple weeks now, and Tuesday was one of those days I probably should've stayed in bed. It was frustrating to me how easily I felt frustrated with my students when I didn't feel good. It was a good learning experience to practice patience when I felt like I had none left, and when I felt like my head was going to explode.
Wednesday I went to school in the morning and my teacher immediately sent me home. She took one look at me, asked me how I felt, and told me to go get tested for mono (because she knew my roommates had it a few weeks ago). I spent the morning on the phone and napping before spending the afternoon in the doctor's office. My doctor told me that I did, in fact, have mono. After describing my symptoms and the timeline of them (as well as getting a blood test), it is clear that I had had mono for two and a half weeks already. He explained that I need to take it easy, meaning that I need to rest when I'm tired, not push myself to make it until a nap time or an early bedtime. He said the only way to get better was not to push myself, do everything I can not to be stressed, and rest a lot.
After talking to my cooperating teacher, she felt strongly about me taking Thursday and Friday to rest, and feeling the way I did, I agreed. I literally slept almost 20 hours both days, and continued to sleep a lot during the weekend. My cooperating teacher and I have come up with a plan for building in some breaks into the days this week so I can rest and hopefully not miss teaching whole class instruction. I moved around my after school schedule to make sure I can go to bed really early as well. Since I have reached the three week mark, and have taken care of myself really well the last five days, I'm hoping the worst is over!
The chapter in Schmidt for this week talked about writing. The first part that caught my eye was how he mentioned that it's important for students to warm up before writing. It seems so obvious to me now, but I have not given my students opportunities to do that before beginning to write. One idea I noted that I could use in my classroom was talking about an image from a story or about a topic (i.e. a storm) and asking students to use their fingers to write a word they think of on the palms of their hands (p. 118). Another thought I noted from the chapter was allowing students to get their ideas down in different ways than at their desk with a pencil and graphic organizer. Schmidt talked about letting students use big paper and colored markers to make their own idea maps. While I envision this being incredibly distracting for some of my students, I know it would really help some of the students who need to move around more or need some motivation to focus on writing. Another thing I read about that I want to keep incorporating into writing is sharing writing. My students just finished "All About" books and are going to read them to the class this week, but this is the first time all semester that they have gotten the chance to share their writing. I want to keep giving them opportunities to do this.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Friday, March 7, 2014
Week 9
Monday I started my first day full time teaching. I began the morning by implementing a new piece of behavior management (4A). I introduced rug row points (similar to table points). When all the students in one row are following the rug rules, I give them a tally mark. If they are having trouble that is significantly disrupting the activity, I take one away. At the end of the week the row with the most points will get a prize. They are SO excited. It worked like a charm. Hopefully it will keep up, because their behavior was significantly better than it had been all last week. I also implemented a new filing system for organization for myself as I begin full time teaching which worked wonderfully for me. I got the idea from a friend from home who teaches second grade. So far, it was extremely effective in keeping me organized and ready for activities as they came despite a busy day.
Tuesday one of the highlights of my day was the writing block. We got through our reading activities in the morning on time (which is rare) so we had the full writing block to devote to writing a page in our "All About" books. My students are writing a nonfiction book about an animal they know a lot about. Tuesday they wrote the page about where their animals live. I modeled the writing for the page by choosing an animal and offering think alouds as well as questioning. I gave examples and asked questions about what to include in the page. When my students began working they worked hard and all of them finished the page. On other pages my cooperating teacher and I were having trouble getting them to understand that they were only writing about one topic related to the animal. They had been including everything they know about their animals on each page they wrote. Today they got it. I gathered them on the rug before bringing them to lunch and congratulated them on their hard work and how it paid off. They were beaming.
Wednesday I had to stretch myself. I was feeling under the weather, like my head was in a cloud. I knew Wednesday would be a tough day because of the anticipation that had been building for the field trip on Thursday. Students were more excited, more talkative, and more dramatic than usual. Classroom management on the rug continue to be better than the previous week, but as soon as students left the rug problems arose left and right. Students were talking about whose group they would be in for the field trip and how they were or weren't friends with other students anymore. Students were crying because feelings were getting hurt. Finally after math my cooperating teacher and I talked to all the students on the rug about the field trip and tried to clear as much drama as possible. Wednesday I was thankful for the support and experience of my cooperating teacher in putting out fires. She modeled positive communication skills and allowed me to handle situations as well.
Thursday my class went with about 100 other students from the same grade levels to the Field Museum for the day. I experienced the museum with a group of four students from my class. It was fun to spend the day doing something different with students that still involved learning and making connections. The first exhibit we walked through was about animals. Since my students are writing an "All About" book about an animal and we are wrapping up a nonfiction unit, they were SO excited about all the animals in the exhibit. They had so many questions and so many things to tell me. They were SO excited that they could read some of the words on the labels and signs in the exhibits. We spent almost two hours in that one exhibit. It was a positive experience to spend the day in a seemingly unprofessional environment but still work toward achieving a professional balance of teacher-student roles at the museum. I was also able to talk with students more about their interests and personal lives, not only during the time at the museum, but also on the bus.
Friday ended my first full week of student teaching combined with class everyday until 5:30 (which took away my plan period at the end of my school day). Needless to say…when Friday rolled around I was exhausted. Even though this week was exhausting, it was extremely productive. Not only did I feel comfortable and confident in my first week full time teaching, I also was organized enough to go without a plan period AND finished the assessment project we were working on in class (and for me every day after class in the library) all week. On top of that, we had our first rug row point prize ceremony before I left school on Friday. My students responded really positively to that new piece of classroom management. Some were upset that they had lost, but that motivated them to do better next week. Hopefully next week will continue to go smoothly!
Tuesday one of the highlights of my day was the writing block. We got through our reading activities in the morning on time (which is rare) so we had the full writing block to devote to writing a page in our "All About" books. My students are writing a nonfiction book about an animal they know a lot about. Tuesday they wrote the page about where their animals live. I modeled the writing for the page by choosing an animal and offering think alouds as well as questioning. I gave examples and asked questions about what to include in the page. When my students began working they worked hard and all of them finished the page. On other pages my cooperating teacher and I were having trouble getting them to understand that they were only writing about one topic related to the animal. They had been including everything they know about their animals on each page they wrote. Today they got it. I gathered them on the rug before bringing them to lunch and congratulated them on their hard work and how it paid off. They were beaming.
Wednesday I had to stretch myself. I was feeling under the weather, like my head was in a cloud. I knew Wednesday would be a tough day because of the anticipation that had been building for the field trip on Thursday. Students were more excited, more talkative, and more dramatic than usual. Classroom management on the rug continue to be better than the previous week, but as soon as students left the rug problems arose left and right. Students were talking about whose group they would be in for the field trip and how they were or weren't friends with other students anymore. Students were crying because feelings were getting hurt. Finally after math my cooperating teacher and I talked to all the students on the rug about the field trip and tried to clear as much drama as possible. Wednesday I was thankful for the support and experience of my cooperating teacher in putting out fires. She modeled positive communication skills and allowed me to handle situations as well.
Thursday my class went with about 100 other students from the same grade levels to the Field Museum for the day. I experienced the museum with a group of four students from my class. It was fun to spend the day doing something different with students that still involved learning and making connections. The first exhibit we walked through was about animals. Since my students are writing an "All About" book about an animal and we are wrapping up a nonfiction unit, they were SO excited about all the animals in the exhibit. They had so many questions and so many things to tell me. They were SO excited that they could read some of the words on the labels and signs in the exhibits. We spent almost two hours in that one exhibit. It was a positive experience to spend the day in a seemingly unprofessional environment but still work toward achieving a professional balance of teacher-student roles at the museum. I was also able to talk with students more about their interests and personal lives, not only during the time at the museum, but also on the bus.
Friday ended my first full week of student teaching combined with class everyday until 5:30 (which took away my plan period at the end of my school day). Needless to say…when Friday rolled around I was exhausted. Even though this week was exhausting, it was extremely productive. Not only did I feel comfortable and confident in my first week full time teaching, I also was organized enough to go without a plan period AND finished the assessment project we were working on in class (and for me every day after class in the library) all week. On top of that, we had our first rug row point prize ceremony before I left school on Friday. My students responded really positively to that new piece of classroom management. Some were upset that they had lost, but that motivated them to do better next week. Hopefully next week will continue to go smoothly!
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Week 8
Monday was my first day teaching the majority of the day. I'm interested to see this week how my students react to me teaching the majority of the day instead of my cooperating teacher. Even though we have been working up to me teaching a significant portion of the day, they still seem to be testing my management. Multiple students have been acting out, but my cooperating teacher has been good support. Today we took recess away from three students because their behavior ended on "consequences." As we talked about it, my cooperating teacher told me she thinks they need to understand that their actions have consequences. Hopefully tomorrow they will begin to understand that again.
Monday we also tried something new in math. They had never done station work before, but I introduced four new stations to the first graders and had them follow a rotation. It worked better than expected, but if I could do it over, I would make sure that at least one or two of the stations were things they had already done before. It was difficult for them to do four new things in one day. They did, however, work harder and more quietly than I expected, which was great. I think it's because we talked about voice levels while working alone and with a partner, so they were reminded of the expectation before they began.
Tuesday I led all three guided reading groups after talking with my cooperating teacher more about how she plans for reading groups and how she keeps records. She showed me her more detailed record sheet for guided reading and I was able to plan for specific students. I worked on keeping running records for a portion of each student's reading, took notes about attitudes, posture, responses, connections, comments, and fluency. I also noted decoding strategies for the lower reading group. Today was the first time I felt really successful in leading a guided reading group. I was able to meet the needs of all my students at their level as well as allow myself to continue to plan at their level. The records I took in guided reading will inform my planning for the next time I lead guided reading, which is a pattern that will continue (Standard 1H). I'm looking forward to working with guided reading groups daily to monitor progress and watch students grow.
Wednesday I had a more significant conversation with my cooperating teacher about behavior management. During math my students did not respond well to the behavior plan in place. We talked about how I was consistent and followed the behavior plan, but it seemed like my students' behaviors didn't change. Instead, they continued to participate in the behaviors I had previously addressed. We talked about how the clips they have been using don't seem like as much of a reward anymore. We talked about other reward options, such as starting to use table points or rug row points so students can earn something like the reward of being able to use gel pens on an assignment during independent work.
Monday we also tried something new in math. They had never done station work before, but I introduced four new stations to the first graders and had them follow a rotation. It worked better than expected, but if I could do it over, I would make sure that at least one or two of the stations were things they had already done before. It was difficult for them to do four new things in one day. They did, however, work harder and more quietly than I expected, which was great. I think it's because we talked about voice levels while working alone and with a partner, so they were reminded of the expectation before they began.
Tuesday I led all three guided reading groups after talking with my cooperating teacher more about how she plans for reading groups and how she keeps records. She showed me her more detailed record sheet for guided reading and I was able to plan for specific students. I worked on keeping running records for a portion of each student's reading, took notes about attitudes, posture, responses, connections, comments, and fluency. I also noted decoding strategies for the lower reading group. Today was the first time I felt really successful in leading a guided reading group. I was able to meet the needs of all my students at their level as well as allow myself to continue to plan at their level. The records I took in guided reading will inform my planning for the next time I lead guided reading, which is a pattern that will continue (Standard 1H). I'm looking forward to working with guided reading groups daily to monitor progress and watch students grow.
Wednesday I had a more significant conversation with my cooperating teacher about behavior management. During math my students did not respond well to the behavior plan in place. We talked about how I was consistent and followed the behavior plan, but it seemed like my students' behaviors didn't change. Instead, they continued to participate in the behaviors I had previously addressed. We talked about how the clips they have been using don't seem like as much of a reward anymore. We talked about other reward options, such as starting to use table points or rug row points so students can earn something like the reward of being able to use gel pens on an assignment during independent work.
Wednesday we also talked about the idea of rescheduling the math block to cater to the students returning from RtI. They always re-enter the class when whole-class instruction is almost finished and are then expected to complete independent work on a topic they didn't receive instruction for. Usually I spend time with them in an intensive coaching session to explain the topic they missed, but am then unable to assist other students or monitor progress as effectively as I could. We talked about doing a review game or activity during the 15 minutes they are gone and then starting whole group instruction when they return, followed by a short independent activity time. I'll have to try a new schedule like the one we discussed and see it if helps the block run more smoothly!
Thursday I had the chance to practice my whole-class management while my cooperating teacher was in a meeting for the entire afternoon. I had both groups for math together since she was gone, and their full attention since she was out of the room. Having the class on my own made me feel more confident in my interactions with students. It was also a good experience to have both groups for math and have to enforce quiet independent time while providing the other group of students with an engaging activity to do. We talked about time during the math block and students were much more engaged and focused than I expected. It was a positive experience and made me even more confident going into my first week of full time teaching next week.
Friday I led the math portion of the day using a "problem of the month" my teacher gave me. Students had to figure out how many stickers I would need if I was going to give each student in the class 3 stickers. We talked about problem solving strategies as a class, then they worked on it with a partner for about 20 minutes and had to write down how they solved it, and finally we acted it out as a class. Then I asked them how we would figure out the same problem if I was going to give each student 4 stickers. I was surprised at how they worked through the problem. They came up with great strategies and the discussion was deep and beneficial for all the students. I was proud of how hard they worked and how much fun they had trying to figure it out. I know my class likes a good challenge, and they took to this one well.
Friday I led the math portion of the day using a "problem of the month" my teacher gave me. Students had to figure out how many stickers I would need if I was going to give each student in the class 3 stickers. We talked about problem solving strategies as a class, then they worked on it with a partner for about 20 minutes and had to write down how they solved it, and finally we acted it out as a class. Then I asked them how we would figure out the same problem if I was going to give each student 4 stickers. I was surprised at how they worked through the problem. They came up with great strategies and the discussion was deep and beneficial for all the students. I was proud of how hard they worked and how much fun they had trying to figure it out. I know my class likes a good challenge, and they took to this one well.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Week 7
On Monday I took over 1st grade math responsibilities for the next couple months. If I'm being honest, it was slightly scary to think that their math learning now rests in my hands. It was also exciting to know I have the opportunity to teach them as much as I possibly can in the next couple months! I started off my math teaching responsibilities with the first of three consecutive lessons to be assessed. It was longer than usual and my students were troopers. They were, however, slightly unruly at times. Recently my cooperating teacher and I have been talking about ways to gain control. She's expressed that she realizes she has been more relaxed for the last month or so than usual, and now we are seeing that play out in their behavior. One student in particular refuses to do work during the math block. We sit with him for extended periods of time, offer him manipulatives, connect work to his interests, and he outright refuses to work. My cooperating teacher called his mom at the end of last week, and it helped that day, but since then we have yet to see improvement. We are talking about starting a rewards chart for him to see if that helps motivate him to participate. We may offer constructive time on the iPad (playing educational games) as a reward and see if that helps.
On Tuesday I had some time to talk to my cooperating teacher about a lesson I taught on Monday. I had introduced the new poem for the week, which was about skiing and engaged students by talking about the Winter Olympics. I asked them if they had watched any of it and we began to dialogue about what events they liked or knew about. My cooperating teacher commented that she thought that dialogue was a really good idea to help them make connections to the poem. We then discussed how surprised we were that not many of my students knew about the Olympics. It made me realize that I need to incorporate more visuals and even videos when possible, as well as talk about topics or subjects that they may not know about, such as the Olympics. Because some knew and others learned about the Olympics, they were much more interested in the poem than they would have been (2N).
Wednesday I taught a writing lesson and for the first time this semester, my students finished much faster than my cooperating teacher or I expected them to. I was able to keep them working and focused by showing the students who finished quickly the next step in their writing process for the piece, but I couldn't believe how quickly they worked and how focused they stayed. They are usually all over the place during writing: getting out of their seats, talking to their neighbor, pretending they don't know what to write, etc, but today they got right to work and finished quickly. I think it's because the topic they were writing about was one they chose. We are in the middle of a nonfiction unit for reading, so they are writing nonfiction pieces in writing as well. Today they had to choose something they know a lot about as their writing topic. Many of them were excited to write about the things they really like. It was great to see them work so hard during writing, but now I also know what they are capable of accomplishing. Hopefully our writing time will look a lot more similar to what it did today than most other days.
Thursday my cooperating teacher and I began working on a behavior plan for a student who has been unmotivated and obstinate. He refuses to complete work, even when he knows how to do it. One little thing sets him off and he puts his head down and doesn't respond to anything we say. We came up with a plan to set one morning reading goal for him and one afternoon math goal for him. Each time he meets that goal he will get a sticker on a chart. When he fills a line in the chart he will get a reward, such as playing an educational game on the iPad. It was reassuring to talk with my cooperating teacher about the struggles she has with the student to know that it's not just me. It was also hopeful to discuss the progress we hope he will make. We are going to try to implement the system starting Monday. I'm looking forward to see his response.
We focused our "science Friday" on animals. We talked about the needs of animals and played a classification game. In the afternoon my teacher asked me to teach math. I had about 10 minutes to plan the math block using the math problem of the month. I made a guide sheet in the computer lab during their bathroom break and gave them a challenge problem and manipulatives to compare the heights of giraffes. Students worked busily for almost a half hour trying to figure out the problem. The lesson turned out better than I expected, which was great. It was a good experience to have to plan on my feet and improvise as well!
Schmidt chapters 8 and 9 talked about authentic assessment, history and the arts. Even if I am not directly teaching social studies or the arts, they can still be incorporated into classroom learning. Some of the strategies Schmidt mentioned really stuck out to me. One of these is using images to teach history. By showing students a photography and asking open-ended questions, they use critical thinking skills, can visually process information, and produce language to describe their analysis. This strategy can be used not only in connection with history, but any relevant topic portrayed in an image. This strategy is also one I would love to use with English Language Learners. Another strategy described was using historic simulations. Students learn to take on the perspective of someone else as well as produce language by participating in the simulation. One strategy Schmidt mentions in terms of the arts is to ask students to participate in a readers' theater, but to give them props to use. This encourages movement and a dramatization of the text. It appeals to kinesthetic and visual learners. A final strategy I really liked was "Say What?" The teacher describes a simple scenario to students and asks students to volunteer to act out the scene, "emphasizing what the characters say as well as their gestures and actions" (Schmidt, p. 194). I like this strategy because it is spacial, kinesthetic, and verbal. Students listening and watching also receive language.
In terms of authentic assessment, Schmidt talked about how the goal of assessment is to show mastery and to produce new knowledge. Assessment becomes authentic and is driven by motivation when presented to someone outside the normal classroom setting such as parents, peers, knowledgeable community members, etc. through demonstrations, performances, products, etc. I have seen authentic assessment used only a few times in the classroom. From my own experience, I participated in a court debate over a constitutional issue in high school. We performed the debate for a team of historians from the community and were judged by that panel. Other forms of authentic assessment from my own school experience included a science fair, a country fair (in which we picked a country and had to present the culture of that country to people we invited from the community), and a dramatic performance of a modified version of a Shakespeare play to another English class in high school.
As I thought of ways I could use authentic assessment with my first and second graders, I thought of the resources I have as a college student. Because I have friends from a variety of majors it would be easy to bring in "community experts" from a variety of disciplines for a class of first graders. I was considering incorporating an art project and bringing in an art expert for my students to present to. I'll have to look into community experts. I'd really like to try to find someone who knows a lot about plants to incorporate a plant science project with an authentic assessment.
Wednesday I taught a writing lesson and for the first time this semester, my students finished much faster than my cooperating teacher or I expected them to. I was able to keep them working and focused by showing the students who finished quickly the next step in their writing process for the piece, but I couldn't believe how quickly they worked and how focused they stayed. They are usually all over the place during writing: getting out of their seats, talking to their neighbor, pretending they don't know what to write, etc, but today they got right to work and finished quickly. I think it's because the topic they were writing about was one they chose. We are in the middle of a nonfiction unit for reading, so they are writing nonfiction pieces in writing as well. Today they had to choose something they know a lot about as their writing topic. Many of them were excited to write about the things they really like. It was great to see them work so hard during writing, but now I also know what they are capable of accomplishing. Hopefully our writing time will look a lot more similar to what it did today than most other days.
Thursday my cooperating teacher and I began working on a behavior plan for a student who has been unmotivated and obstinate. He refuses to complete work, even when he knows how to do it. One little thing sets him off and he puts his head down and doesn't respond to anything we say. We came up with a plan to set one morning reading goal for him and one afternoon math goal for him. Each time he meets that goal he will get a sticker on a chart. When he fills a line in the chart he will get a reward, such as playing an educational game on the iPad. It was reassuring to talk with my cooperating teacher about the struggles she has with the student to know that it's not just me. It was also hopeful to discuss the progress we hope he will make. We are going to try to implement the system starting Monday. I'm looking forward to see his response.
We focused our "science Friday" on animals. We talked about the needs of animals and played a classification game. In the afternoon my teacher asked me to teach math. I had about 10 minutes to plan the math block using the math problem of the month. I made a guide sheet in the computer lab during their bathroom break and gave them a challenge problem and manipulatives to compare the heights of giraffes. Students worked busily for almost a half hour trying to figure out the problem. The lesson turned out better than I expected, which was great. It was a good experience to have to plan on my feet and improvise as well!
Schmidt chapters 8 and 9 talked about authentic assessment, history and the arts. Even if I am not directly teaching social studies or the arts, they can still be incorporated into classroom learning. Some of the strategies Schmidt mentioned really stuck out to me. One of these is using images to teach history. By showing students a photography and asking open-ended questions, they use critical thinking skills, can visually process information, and produce language to describe their analysis. This strategy can be used not only in connection with history, but any relevant topic portrayed in an image. This strategy is also one I would love to use with English Language Learners. Another strategy described was using historic simulations. Students learn to take on the perspective of someone else as well as produce language by participating in the simulation. One strategy Schmidt mentions in terms of the arts is to ask students to participate in a readers' theater, but to give them props to use. This encourages movement and a dramatization of the text. It appeals to kinesthetic and visual learners. A final strategy I really liked was "Say What?" The teacher describes a simple scenario to students and asks students to volunteer to act out the scene, "emphasizing what the characters say as well as their gestures and actions" (Schmidt, p. 194). I like this strategy because it is spacial, kinesthetic, and verbal. Students listening and watching also receive language.
In terms of authentic assessment, Schmidt talked about how the goal of assessment is to show mastery and to produce new knowledge. Assessment becomes authentic and is driven by motivation when presented to someone outside the normal classroom setting such as parents, peers, knowledgeable community members, etc. through demonstrations, performances, products, etc. I have seen authentic assessment used only a few times in the classroom. From my own experience, I participated in a court debate over a constitutional issue in high school. We performed the debate for a team of historians from the community and were judged by that panel. Other forms of authentic assessment from my own school experience included a science fair, a country fair (in which we picked a country and had to present the culture of that country to people we invited from the community), and a dramatic performance of a modified version of a Shakespeare play to another English class in high school.
As I thought of ways I could use authentic assessment with my first and second graders, I thought of the resources I have as a college student. Because I have friends from a variety of majors it would be easy to bring in "community experts" from a variety of disciplines for a class of first graders. I was considering incorporating an art project and bringing in an art expert for my students to present to. I'll have to look into community experts. I'd really like to try to find someone who knows a lot about plants to incorporate a plant science project with an authentic assessment.
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Week 6
Monday I taught a first grade math lesson. I have been trying to incorporate white boards into our activities during math for a couple reasons. First, by the afternoon, it seems as if my students are really worn out. They have a hard time focusing during math and seem tired. Many of them put their heads in their hands and seem to look off into space easily. Second, they really love using the white boards. Every time we get them out they get really excited. They also ask to use them ALL the time. So on Monday we used them and once again, they loved it. I also tried playing a game to engage them and access prior knowledge and they enjoyed that a lot too.
One thing that's been on my mind in regard to a couple of my students is working on interacting with them in a positive way even when they are not paying attention and zoned out. It seems like no matter how many games we play or stories I tell or how many times I call on them or incorporate something they are interested in into the lesson, they still zone out and "turn off" during math. I honestly think they're just tired. One of my goals as we continue this semester is to try to find a way to keep them focused on math, engaged, and eager to participate.
Tuesday my students were unruly. My teacher got visibly frustrated for the first time this semester. It seemed like every routine they should have been going through with ease, they completely forgot. Numerous times they had to sit down and line up again, or return to their seats and walk to the carpet, or put the white boards back and sit down again. The list could go on. Maybe it's because they were anticipating a day off on Wednesday? Anyway, it was interesting to talk to my cooperating teacher about days like Tuesday. We talked about ways to avoid annoyance, like moving students who are annoying you out of your direct line of vision. We also talked about practicing routines and expecting a certain behavior from students without settling for anything less. It was a good experience to talk with her about it and be a part of the chaos in order to practice dealing with it appropriately.
Wednesday we had a day off for Lincoln's birthday. Thursday I taught writing while my teacher was at a meeting. My students had had a rough morning (actually a rough week…we've been talking about reinforcing behavior management strategies) so I strayed from the plan I had made and asked them to write using their usual writing format. One student who has been testing me in terms of behavior for the past week or two was doing so again during writing. When I handed him his graphic organizer and blank sheet of writing paper so he could begin working, he asked me if he would be able to draw and color his animal that he had written about. I told him if he worked hard enough and finished a presentable piece of writing that he could. When he raised his hand ten minutes later (record time for him) and showed me a BEAUTIFULLY finished piece of writing I knelt beside him, looked him straight in the eye and told him how much I appreciated his hard work, telling him all the good things he incorporated into his writing. I finished it with an emphatic, "_____, I'm PROUD OF YOU." He was beaming. It was wonderful.
On Friday we celebrated not only Valentine's Day, but also 100 day. When my cooperating teacher told me we were going to celebrate Valentine's Day I was skeptical as to how we would be tying it into our normal activities, but when we started planning for Friday, I was excited about incorporating it into math. We had students rotate through three stations: one where they had to work together to count and glue 100 sprinkles onto a giant cupcake, one where they had to roll a die to 100 (using stickers to mark their spot each time), and one where they had to predict where they would end up after taking 100 steps from our classroom (and then count to see where they actually ended up). I took the group into the hallway and my cooperating teacher monitored those working in the classroom. The time was meaningful and useful in learning about number sense. It was also a great time of co-planning and co-teaching with my cooperating teacher (5Q).
Tuesday my students were unruly. My teacher got visibly frustrated for the first time this semester. It seemed like every routine they should have been going through with ease, they completely forgot. Numerous times they had to sit down and line up again, or return to their seats and walk to the carpet, or put the white boards back and sit down again. The list could go on. Maybe it's because they were anticipating a day off on Wednesday? Anyway, it was interesting to talk to my cooperating teacher about days like Tuesday. We talked about ways to avoid annoyance, like moving students who are annoying you out of your direct line of vision. We also talked about practicing routines and expecting a certain behavior from students without settling for anything less. It was a good experience to talk with her about it and be a part of the chaos in order to practice dealing with it appropriately.
Wednesday we had a day off for Lincoln's birthday. Thursday I taught writing while my teacher was at a meeting. My students had had a rough morning (actually a rough week…we've been talking about reinforcing behavior management strategies) so I strayed from the plan I had made and asked them to write using their usual writing format. One student who has been testing me in terms of behavior for the past week or two was doing so again during writing. When I handed him his graphic organizer and blank sheet of writing paper so he could begin working, he asked me if he would be able to draw and color his animal that he had written about. I told him if he worked hard enough and finished a presentable piece of writing that he could. When he raised his hand ten minutes later (record time for him) and showed me a BEAUTIFULLY finished piece of writing I knelt beside him, looked him straight in the eye and told him how much I appreciated his hard work, telling him all the good things he incorporated into his writing. I finished it with an emphatic, "_____, I'm PROUD OF YOU." He was beaming. It was wonderful.
On Friday we celebrated not only Valentine's Day, but also 100 day. When my cooperating teacher told me we were going to celebrate Valentine's Day I was skeptical as to how we would be tying it into our normal activities, but when we started planning for Friday, I was excited about incorporating it into math. We had students rotate through three stations: one where they had to work together to count and glue 100 sprinkles onto a giant cupcake, one where they had to roll a die to 100 (using stickers to mark their spot each time), and one where they had to predict where they would end up after taking 100 steps from our classroom (and then count to see where they actually ended up). I took the group into the hallway and my cooperating teacher monitored those working in the classroom. The time was meaningful and useful in learning about number sense. It was also a great time of co-planning and co-teaching with my cooperating teacher (5Q).
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Week 5
On Monday I spent the morning preparing materials for my cooperating teacher and organizing the room to begin a new week before getting sick at school. My teacher sent me home after planning the next day's lesson with me. On Tuesday, I got the chance to observe the RtI teacher during a 30 minute intensive reading session with four students from my classroom. The entire time the students were focused, working, and engaged. The RtI room was an example of a classroom I really enjoyed being in, and I could tell the students enjoyed it too. I like the small group aspect, but also the atmosphere of the room. The RtI teacher gave a great amount of positive feedback. Encouragement was continuous and she often called them to be leaders. She explained to me later that she talked to them about being good readers and being good leaders often because they do not get as much of that kind of feedback in their regular classroom. At the end before the students left to return to class, she made sure to tell them all individually one thing they did really well and one thing she wanted them to work on. She does that each day before the students leave. It was a great reminder to find ways to incorporate that atmosphere into a large classroom as well.
On Wednesday my cooperating teacher asked me to test all of our students on Fry's list of sight words, something CPS is now requiring to be tested on a weekly basis (which we learned at our professional development day a couple weeks ago). I had each student read the words on the list until they missed ten words, then made folders for each student with a list of the first ten words they need to work on. I couldn't help but think about how much work it would be for my cooperating teacher to implement and keep up with this task without my help. We were talking today about how it will most likely affect their spelling grades as well, because they will most likely only study one of the lists each week. I understand the benefit of learning sight words, especially for our emerging readers, but it's difficult to fit so many different forms of testing into each school week without taking away from other areas of learning.
On Thursday we structured math a little differently than normal. We tried incorporating math games for the second time this week during independent work for both grades. Because we used one day to introduce the games, today the students played them successfully. It was a great environment and gave my teacher and I encouragement in using them again. The students were enjoying themselves, interacting with peers, and learning math concepts. It was wonderful to observe. Hopefully I'll incorporate that into my future planning!
On Friday my teacher and I planned afternoon activities to be interdisciplinary and to include application practice (IPTS 3L). I enjoy Fridays because we stray from our normal routine and integrate social studies and science with our reading and math activities. This week we accessed students' prior knowledge about house blueprints and invention designs (from all the literature we have been reading in the unit "Inventing Fun" for the past several weeks) and asked students to use different mediums to construct the blueprints of a house. Students explored how shapes fit together by using pattern blocks, snap tiles, building blocks. cubes, and paper shapes to create blueprints for their dream house. The students LOVED this activity and were enthusiastic about spending the afternoon working on it. We then took pictures of everyone's blueprints and shared them with the class. I'm looking forward to planning Fridays during my full time teaching!
Schmidt devotes an entire chapter to communication with parents. Before reading the chapter I thought I had a solid foundation regarding communication with parents. Things like making eye contact, setting boundaries, being clear in communication, and being intentional about positive communication were things I already knew. Chapter 11, however, contained a great deal of relevant information, especially regarding parent-teacher conferences. I like Schmidt's idea of focusing on enlightenment in communication with parents. Having this goal drives the direction and procedure of communicating with parents. Practical tips I noted were using bulleted points instead of full sentences when possible on news letters, including student work in newsletters, and including a rolling calendar on student newsletters.
The chapter also contained a great deal of relevant information about parent-teacher conferences. The cultural considerations were helpful in beginning to consider my own students and how their home cultures may differ when it comes to communication. I'm realizing that being knowledgeable about students' cultures but also observant whenever possible is important, noticing things like what a comfortable distance is for a conversation with students' parents and considering that parents have affective filters too. I found the idea of having a parent preparation packet for conferences useful. The questions included would be helpful, but I also wondered how many of the parents of my students would complete it. I also appreciated tips like having an agenda and sending out thank-yous after conferences. Overall, I feel like the chapter helped prepare me for conferences, but I also wondered how my ideas would play into my cooperating teacher's ideas and methods for conferences, which is something we'll have to discuss.
On Wednesday my cooperating teacher asked me to test all of our students on Fry's list of sight words, something CPS is now requiring to be tested on a weekly basis (which we learned at our professional development day a couple weeks ago). I had each student read the words on the list until they missed ten words, then made folders for each student with a list of the first ten words they need to work on. I couldn't help but think about how much work it would be for my cooperating teacher to implement and keep up with this task without my help. We were talking today about how it will most likely affect their spelling grades as well, because they will most likely only study one of the lists each week. I understand the benefit of learning sight words, especially for our emerging readers, but it's difficult to fit so many different forms of testing into each school week without taking away from other areas of learning.
On Thursday we structured math a little differently than normal. We tried incorporating math games for the second time this week during independent work for both grades. Because we used one day to introduce the games, today the students played them successfully. It was a great environment and gave my teacher and I encouragement in using them again. The students were enjoying themselves, interacting with peers, and learning math concepts. It was wonderful to observe. Hopefully I'll incorporate that into my future planning!
On Friday my teacher and I planned afternoon activities to be interdisciplinary and to include application practice (IPTS 3L). I enjoy Fridays because we stray from our normal routine and integrate social studies and science with our reading and math activities. This week we accessed students' prior knowledge about house blueprints and invention designs (from all the literature we have been reading in the unit "Inventing Fun" for the past several weeks) and asked students to use different mediums to construct the blueprints of a house. Students explored how shapes fit together by using pattern blocks, snap tiles, building blocks. cubes, and paper shapes to create blueprints for their dream house. The students LOVED this activity and were enthusiastic about spending the afternoon working on it. We then took pictures of everyone's blueprints and shared them with the class. I'm looking forward to planning Fridays during my full time teaching!
Schmidt devotes an entire chapter to communication with parents. Before reading the chapter I thought I had a solid foundation regarding communication with parents. Things like making eye contact, setting boundaries, being clear in communication, and being intentional about positive communication were things I already knew. Chapter 11, however, contained a great deal of relevant information, especially regarding parent-teacher conferences. I like Schmidt's idea of focusing on enlightenment in communication with parents. Having this goal drives the direction and procedure of communicating with parents. Practical tips I noted were using bulleted points instead of full sentences when possible on news letters, including student work in newsletters, and including a rolling calendar on student newsletters.
The chapter also contained a great deal of relevant information about parent-teacher conferences. The cultural considerations were helpful in beginning to consider my own students and how their home cultures may differ when it comes to communication. I'm realizing that being knowledgeable about students' cultures but also observant whenever possible is important, noticing things like what a comfortable distance is for a conversation with students' parents and considering that parents have affective filters too. I found the idea of having a parent preparation packet for conferences useful. The questions included would be helpful, but I also wondered how many of the parents of my students would complete it. I also appreciated tips like having an agenda and sending out thank-yous after conferences. Overall, I feel like the chapter helped prepare me for conferences, but I also wondered how my ideas would play into my cooperating teacher's ideas and methods for conferences, which is something we'll have to discuss.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Week 4
Monday and Tuesday we did not have school because of temperatures below zero degrees. Wednesday was our first day back after a VERY long weekend. After having a professional development day on Friday, my cooperating teacher introduced a new daily phonics program. I thought the way she introduced it was great, explaining not only the purpose of the program to the students, but also that it was new for her too. She explained to students that the program is supposed to help them with reading even when they are as old as she is, telling them that she still has to stop, think, and chunk some words when she reads to decode them. I loved that she modeled being a learner to the students (4I), showing them the value of being a learner. Another thing I thought my cooperating teacher modeled well on Wednesday was learning by doing. She had the students make paper airplanes as a class to introduce a writing assignment in which the students had to write directions for how to do something. After they made a paper airplane together, they began writing directions to teach someone else how to do it. The students were engaged and motivated to participate. As I plan lessons in the future I want to remember this lesson and the risk my cooperating teacher took by letting the class get slightly out of control. Her risk still produced effective learning, and I'd like mine to do the same.
On Thursday, two of my students got pulled out of our morning classes to take the ACCESS test, a language assessment I was familiar with through my ESL classes. I was confused as to which students were taking it and why, so my cooperating teacher and I talked about some of the mess around the test. She explained that she thinks one of the students was wrongly assessed in preschool because she wouldn't respond to questions. Even though her parents speak English as their first language in their home, she is required to take the ACCESS test after being deemed and English Language Learner in preschool. This conversation sparked a conversation about philosophies of teaching ELLs. My cooperating teacher talked about a teacher who used to work at the school in the bilingual program who believed the "English only" philosophy and we talked about how hard that is for preschoolers and kindergarteners. It was an interesting conversation to have with my cooperating teacher about valuing language but also about the difficulty that arises when different teachers in the building have different philosophies. I was glad to have this conversation with her and know that we are on the same page when it comes to valuing language diversity in the classroom (1A).
On Friday my cooperating teacher asked me to call students one by one to the reading data display next to the reading corner to add a sticker at their new reading levels. They already had stickers representing their levels at the beginning of the year, after 1st quarter, and we added their middle of the year levels. The students were SO excited to see where they moved on the chart, even though many only went up a level or two. Their smiles were priceless and in those moments of congratulations, I knew they were more motivated to keep reading than they had been all year. This sparked a conversation with my cooperating teacher later in the day about data displays. She told me that she used to be against them, especially in younger grades because it was hard for students to handle the pressure and it was hard for students who were at a low level. I agreed with those challenges, but then we talked about their responses today and how encouraged they were by it today. It's required by CPS to have the data on the wall, but it was good for me to reflect on my own thoughts about it. Having these conversations with my cooperating teacher is bringing up practices I'll be forced to abide by or think about if I'm a teacher in the future.
Schmidt chapter 2 talks about and defines eptness. I learned that in a culture of eptness, students' full potential is valued. It sees "every child is capable of learning, teaching, leading, and becoming an expert" (Schmidt, p. 25). The success of the class and benefit of the learning environment is dependent on all people involved. The class is thought of as a community that benefits from both the achievements and failures of all individuals. Students are involved in decision making, use real-world knowledge and skills, are willing to struggle to clarify their thoughts and words, and feel valued within the community.
Schmidt talks about 10 behaviors the promote eptness. One I want to make sure to incorporate into the classroom is feedback. I want to use it to be specific, but more importantly, to motivate students. By physically pointing out or repeating where students are achieving and where their efforts are effective, they see their success and can be motivated to be successful again. I want to practice using feedback to motivate students in this way. A second behavior I want to use is to model risk taking. Schmidt talks about letting students know if you're trying new things and talking about whether or not they worked in your classroom with your students. Thinking about a semester of student teaching, I know that many of the things I try in the classroom may not turn out how I plan them. I want to try modeling risk taking by letting students in on the fact that some of my lessons are risks. Finally I want to model being a learner to my students. Often when students are as young as mine are, I think it's easy for them to think the teacher has all the answers. When students ask questions, the teacher is often able to answer them without looking things up or struggling to explain concepts. This semester I want to practice modeling my learning to students by wondering aloud, posing questions, and showing students that I am also a learner who does not have all the answers.
On Thursday, two of my students got pulled out of our morning classes to take the ACCESS test, a language assessment I was familiar with through my ESL classes. I was confused as to which students were taking it and why, so my cooperating teacher and I talked about some of the mess around the test. She explained that she thinks one of the students was wrongly assessed in preschool because she wouldn't respond to questions. Even though her parents speak English as their first language in their home, she is required to take the ACCESS test after being deemed and English Language Learner in preschool. This conversation sparked a conversation about philosophies of teaching ELLs. My cooperating teacher talked about a teacher who used to work at the school in the bilingual program who believed the "English only" philosophy and we talked about how hard that is for preschoolers and kindergarteners. It was an interesting conversation to have with my cooperating teacher about valuing language but also about the difficulty that arises when different teachers in the building have different philosophies. I was glad to have this conversation with her and know that we are on the same page when it comes to valuing language diversity in the classroom (1A).
On Friday my cooperating teacher asked me to call students one by one to the reading data display next to the reading corner to add a sticker at their new reading levels. They already had stickers representing their levels at the beginning of the year, after 1st quarter, and we added their middle of the year levels. The students were SO excited to see where they moved on the chart, even though many only went up a level or two. Their smiles were priceless and in those moments of congratulations, I knew they were more motivated to keep reading than they had been all year. This sparked a conversation with my cooperating teacher later in the day about data displays. She told me that she used to be against them, especially in younger grades because it was hard for students to handle the pressure and it was hard for students who were at a low level. I agreed with those challenges, but then we talked about their responses today and how encouraged they were by it today. It's required by CPS to have the data on the wall, but it was good for me to reflect on my own thoughts about it. Having these conversations with my cooperating teacher is bringing up practices I'll be forced to abide by or think about if I'm a teacher in the future.
Schmidt chapter 2 talks about and defines eptness. I learned that in a culture of eptness, students' full potential is valued. It sees "every child is capable of learning, teaching, leading, and becoming an expert" (Schmidt, p. 25). The success of the class and benefit of the learning environment is dependent on all people involved. The class is thought of as a community that benefits from both the achievements and failures of all individuals. Students are involved in decision making, use real-world knowledge and skills, are willing to struggle to clarify their thoughts and words, and feel valued within the community.
Schmidt talks about 10 behaviors the promote eptness. One I want to make sure to incorporate into the classroom is feedback. I want to use it to be specific, but more importantly, to motivate students. By physically pointing out or repeating where students are achieving and where their efforts are effective, they see their success and can be motivated to be successful again. I want to practice using feedback to motivate students in this way. A second behavior I want to use is to model risk taking. Schmidt talks about letting students know if you're trying new things and talking about whether or not they worked in your classroom with your students. Thinking about a semester of student teaching, I know that many of the things I try in the classroom may not turn out how I plan them. I want to try modeling risk taking by letting students in on the fact that some of my lessons are risks. Finally I want to model being a learner to my students. Often when students are as young as mine are, I think it's easy for them to think the teacher has all the answers. When students ask questions, the teacher is often able to answer them without looking things up or struggling to explain concepts. This semester I want to practice modeling my learning to students by wondering aloud, posing questions, and showing students that I am also a learner who does not have all the answers.
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