Week 15

Monday was my first time full time teaching with a substitute teacher in the room.  It was a positive experience to have someone in the classroom who was new but really supportive of what I was doing.  She was helpful, encouraging, and eager to participate.  She asked how she could help me often, but let me control the classroom.  It was a new, but positive co-teaching experience (3F).  It was also fun to talk with my students about their Spring Breaks on Monday.  During writing, they wrote sentences about the highlights of their Spring Break.  At the end of the day, I gave them a chance to read one of their highlights in front of the class.  They were eager to volunteer and the class was interested in listening to what their friends did over break.  

Tuesday we finished a Native American version of Cinderella during reading comprehension.  The students have been working on making connections between different versions of the same fairy tale.  This was the third version of Cinderella we have read, and the students really understood this one.  In the story, the students figure out that the Cinderella character is able to see "the Invisible Being" because she has beauty on the inside.  It was fun to watch the students comment on abstract ideas like courage, and inner beauty.  They really connected to the story and got SO excited when they could see "the Invisible Being" on the pages of the story.  They were excited about learning and it was a positive experience to facilitate that.  They are also growing in their use of questions words during partner talk.  They are starting to ask questions during partner discussions without promptings.  I'm glad we extended the fairy tale unit through this week so they would have the chance to make deeper connections between Cinderella stories.  They have been extremely successful so far! 

On Wednesday as I looked at my week plan, I was reminded of how much changes over the course of a day or a week.  In more than one subject, we were not at the place I anticipated being at.  I can't believe how many wild cards there are in a day of teaching.  My plans change daily, sometimes from one part of the day to the next.  I've learned that flexibility is a MUST in teaching.  As I revise plans throughout the day and throughout the week, I'm thankful for my laid back personality and for the example my cooperating teacher has been this semester of taking things as they come.  

On Thursday during math, one of the students who often refuses to participate in portions of the math block surprised me.  Often when he isn't interested in participating, he won't respond to anything said to him, he'll put his head down, and he'll say rude things.  Thursday, however, he refused to work independently during math because he was too interested in a book.  He didn't want to put it away, he didn't want to put it down, and he was SO interested in it.  As a teacher I had a complex:  do I make him work on math because he knows that's what I expect of him during this time?  Do I let him read because he is a struggling reader and I want to continue to give him opportunities to enjoy reading? Do I come up with some sort of compromise? 

It was one of the best problems I've had all semester. 

On Friday we focused the day on plants.  It was a beautiful day, and I planned activities that could be done outside so students could experience spring and practice learning in a different environment (4I).  They loved it.  We made observations, made comparisons, planted seeds, read about plants, talked about what they need and what they give us, etc.  They LOVE science Fridays! 

Schmidt Chapter 7

I would love to use the community in my classroom.  One of Schmidt’s ideas I liked was taking students on a walk to investigate the neighborhood (p. 144).   I liked the way Schmidt suggested using a community investigation, but also making sure it was purposeful for students by being sure that each student could explain the purpose for the field trip, what they should be doing on the trip, and how they will be gathering information.  I’m interested in using a community investigation like this one when we talk about maps in social studies.  Having students draw a map of the neighborhood before going out (as a warm up, allowing me to assess their mapping skills, what details they are paying attention to, etc.)  and then having them either add things or draw a new one afterward is something I’d like to try.  Including a scavenger hunt, like Schmidt mentions on p. 145, so students have a list of things to look for could also be helpful, especially with lower elementary students. 

I’m also interested in trying to incorporate photography into a community project.  On p. 147, Schmidt talks about putting a photograph in the center of a large piece of paper and having students draw around it to “add on” to the photograph. I’ve heard this idea before, and want to try incorporating it into a classroom activity. 

I think using activities like these would motivate my students by not only incorporating new ways of learning, but also by getting them involved in fun, different things that have purpose.  Incorporating things related to the outside world is important for students to know that their learning isn’t for nothing, and that what they are doing in school reaches beyond everyday activities and routine subjects. 

Week 14

On Monday we had parent-teacher conferences.  It was really helpful to sit in on numerous parent-teacher conferences in a row.  Not only did I feel like it helped me get to know my students better, it also was a good experience to listen to how my teacher approached conversations with parents, both positive and negative.  One thing I was surprised by during conferences was how many students came with their parents.  It my other experiences with conferences, students were not allowed to be in the room.  This time, almost all the students came with their parents.  Another thing I realized during conferences was how exhausting they were.  My teacher and I had 13 conferences in a row without even a minute break, and it was hard not to have any time to gather thoughts or look over scores right before each conference.  Participating in conferences was a practical learning experience that I really appreciated (8P).

On Tuesday I had one of the busiest days to date during student teaching.  My teacher thought we'd have a lot of down time during conferences on Monday, but we didn't end up having any free time.  Because I had been planning to introduce a readers theater this week and was planning to copy and assign scripts during conference free time, I had none of that done.  I spent all of my plan time getting their scripts ready.  I ended up getting everything done, but by the end of the day, I was exhausted.  I had a lot to do after school too, but I was able to catch up so that Wednesday wouldn't be as busy.  

On Wednesday all the work I had done on Tuesday for the readers' theater paid off. We practiced reading through the scripts during one of the morning mini lessons and during a couple guided reading groups and students LOVED it.  I could tell it would be challenging for them to follow along during the play, but they loved the idea.  Some of them got really excited when they realized they would get the chance to perform their plays for the rest of the class.  Most of them started taking it more seriously when I told them that as well.  
During math on Wednesday afternoon, we tried playing a game that students had not handled well the week before.  I reminded them that we had to stop playing the game once, but that I had confidence in their ability to play it this time.  They did so well.  They followed directions and played the game without distracting each other and without jumping or running around the rug.  They worked together and had a lot of fun.  It was a wonderful change. :)

On Thursday I could tell that Spring Break was in the air.  Everyone in the school seemed excited to get out.  During math the students were easily distracted by the second grade group working with my cooperating teacher.  After about 20 minutes, the 2nd grade group left to work on a computer program.  When they left, I was able to transition from using the board and drawings to having students act out the concept of fractions we were using.  Because the rest of the room was quiet, I was able to expect their voice levels to be lower.  They were able to hear me, and we were able to act out fractions and counting fractions.  I had student split the class into halves, thirds, and fourths.  Each group then stood up as we counted them, saying "1/2, 2/2" or "1/3, 2/3, 3/3" etc.  They were able to move around and they were much more engaged in the activity (5I).  Now I need to figure out how to pull off those kinds of activities while the 2nd grade group is still in the room.  

Friday was a busy day.  It was definitely a balancing act trying to get things done, keep students on task, and join in their excitement for Spring Break.  Students performed their readers' theaters they had been practicing all week at home. It was great to hear some struggling readers get really excited about performing their plays.  The rest of the class listened incredibly well too.  I was so proud.  :) 

Friday was one of the first times during writing that students were doing a variety of different things at the same time.  Some students were writing, some were illustrating, some were coloring, some were laying out their fairy tales and illustrations on large posters, and others were ready for the next assignment.  While it could have been overwhelming, I found that my students and I all enjoyed that work time.  I think they needed some time to move around the room and focus on a task on their own. They needed some time to be able to talk while they worked.  It was a really positive work time that they valued.  I could tell they were invested in their work and it paid off.  

Next week we are on Spring Break and we are all excited! 

Week 13

Monday I introduced the idea of setting in reading and writing for the first time.  Students had never talked about the setting of a story, but we were reading The Princess and the Pea, and it came up in context.  We defined setting during reading and I re-read the page.  During writing, they began writing their own fairy tales by visualizing the setting.  First we sorted cards:  some with examples of setting and some with other story elements.  After hearing multiple examples of setting and deciding whether or not their card described the setting of the story, students closed their eyes while I read more examples.  Next I asked them to finish the sentence that started, "Once upon a time..." with the setting of the fairy tale they were going to write.  After writing, they read their sentences out loud for the class. It was a successful way to introduce their fairy tale writing as well as a new topic, and they got really excited to continue writing.  


On Tuesday the students seemed to have a really difficult following directions.  I thought they needed to move around a little more, because they seemed antsy and like they had a lot of energy.  During math, I decided to play a warm up game with them in which they need to stand up and move to a different side of the rug if the math sentence I said was true.  They had played the game before, so I thought they would be able to follow directions well if reminded of the expectations, but after playing three or four rounds of the game, it was clear they could not handle the game.  I asked them all to sit down and had to change my warm up plan for the last five minutes before the main lesson.  I was able to adjust my strategy based on their actions and feedback (5J), and begin an activity in which they would follow directions enough to continue learning. 

On Wednesday we worked on writing fairy tales.  They had spent time writing the setting and introducing the good character.  Wednesday they had to introduce the evil character and how he or she tricked the good character.  They got to work right away, which has been rare, and spent almost 20 full minutes writing.  When they needed help I asked questions to get them thinking about what else they needed to write.  Each time they would look at me, get excited, and turn back to start writing quickly.  It was great to see them so interested and invested in their writing.  They are really latching on to the fairy tale unit during reading and writing, and it is wonderful to watch. 

On Thursday my cooperating teacher and I had to address how to handle a student who has been having anger issues.  At the end of the day on Wednesday he had been angry with another student, my cooperating teacher kept him to talk to him and thought he was calm at dismissal, but he was not.  On the way out the door he ran up to the other student, started yelling at him, and then they both started hitting each other.  We had to talk to their parents about the situation. Thursday we knew we needed to give the student strategies to control his anger and calm down, so we tried a balloon filled with flour.  Each time he feels angry he has to squeeze the balloon and face the wall until he calms down.  Multiple times throughout the day he needed to try the new method, and it seemed to work really well.  He had no incidents on Thursday, which was a big improvement. 

On Friday I felt like my teacher finally gave me complete control of the classroom.  Even though I've been full time teaching for a while, today was the first day my teacher spent significant time outside the classroom.  It was great to know that I had complete control.  Even when she was in the room and students asked her things, she said things like, "Did you ask Miss V?" We did an integrated science Friday. (3L)  It was a blast.  Over and over throughout the day my students said things like, "Miss V!  This is SO fun!"  and "Miss V!  I LIIIIIKE this activity!" 
Here are some pictures of what we did:  

They also did a partner reading activity in which they highlighted adjectives in a poem about clouds.  We also did a science demonstrations.  It was a really fun day and they loved learning about a new science topic! 

Schmidt talks about social justice in chapter 10 and why it’s a big deal in the classroom.  Even young students are inclined to talk about social justice because it’s a part of their everyday experiences whether they know the term for it or not.  Even if students are too young to explicitly list issues of social justice, they are able to talk about relationships, friendship, responsibility, fairness, support, encouragement, collaboration, and caring (p. 215).  Schmidt says that when teachers introduce students to issues of social justice in the classroom, they encourage them to look at the real world boldly, inquisitively, and from different points of view (p. 216).  Students may discover injustices that are hard to face, but being intentional about providing opportunities to learn about social justice allows students to begin to think about how they can act in response. 

Teaching social justice in the classroom is also important for the Christian teacher.  Incorporating activities centered on social justice gives students the opportunity to begin to figure out ways to be involved in the world around them.  It allows them to explore platforms.  It gives them opportunities to think about serving others and begin to explore issues of worldview.  They begin to consider what they believe and how that affects the people around them.  As a Christian teacher, this is a huge area of influence, not in the sense of pushing ideas or worldviews on students, but in the sense of giving students safe places to grow, explore, serve, and get involved. 

Week 12

On Monday I could tell I had been absent.  I feel like the majority of the management progress I had made before taking some time off was lost.  My students were challenging me like they had before I implemented new classroom management strategies.  They had a difficult time listening and and following directions. They were easily distracted and seemed to repeat behaviors over and over even after I addressed them once.  It was frustrating to feel like I had lost so much progress.  I think it will take some time to readjust, but hopefully it will go more smoothly.  The management strategies I implemented before (ex: rug row points) are still in place and my cooperating teacher has continued to use them.  I talked with my cooperating teacher about it and we agree that consistency will be key in regaining their confidence, attention, and respect.  

On Tuesday we did two new activities during the mini lessons that students really enjoyed. The first was an adjective activity in which students had to say a complete sentence about a picture of three animals that included an adjective for "how many."  Students had to come up with their own ideas, share their full sentence, and identify the adjective in the sentence.  They thought it was a fun challenge and it was the first time I had heard them say and use the word "adjective" correctly.  In the second mini lesson we played sight word bingo.  Students had to fill a bingo sheet with sight words from the word wall.  They crossed words off as I said them and raised their hand and said bingo when they got four in a row.  I'm constantly trying to come up with new ways to practice sight words, and this game was fun for students, but also helped them practice writing and reading sight words.  They were engaged and were able to choose their own words.  

On Wednesday I began a new behavior system for one student during the afternoons.  He has developed a pattern of refusing to do his independent work or play the math game.  He always has a reason, usually a problem with another student or about a situation that happened during lunch or during RtI, but it had been getting out of hand.  My cooperating teacher and I have both tried talking to him about the problems preventing him from doing work, but it has gotten to the point where we agree that to some degree he simply doesn't want to participate.  On Wednesday I gave him a choice between two behavior charts.  When I see him participating and following directions during any part of math, I will let him color a star on his behavior chart.  If he isn't doing those things, he does not get to color one.  When he fills the chart he'll get a reward that he is really interested in, iPad time to play an educational game.  I'm hoping this new plan will help math run more smoothly and give him more motivation to participate. (4L) 

On Thursday we talked about asking questions during reading.  Students each got a bag full of question cards.  At different times in the story, students had to stop, find a question they could ask their partner, and take turns asking and answering relevant questions.  Students are used to turning and talking to a partner on the rug, but this activity was an extension of that.  We have been talking about fairy tales, and it has been an easy way to incorporate conversations about morals, and other real world issues.  Students are working toward making connections between fairy tale stories and real life.  While we don't explicitly discuss it everyday, it always comes up.  I have enjoyed incorporating these ideas so fluidly so far this week.

On Fridays we always do assessments and integrated activities to focus on a science or social studies topic. This Friday I had to create the math assessment for first grade based on what we had been learning because the topics aren't necessarily covered in Common Core.  It was a good experience to use the informal and formal assessments I had taken throughout the week to inform my decision making for our assessment on Friday (7K).  I found myself noticing how difficult it is to create one assessment for an entire class of students at different levels.  It made me start thinking about how to differentiate assessments or how to create assessments in a way that all students can still achieve something on them, and so that all students are still challenged and able to show what they learned.  When I make next week's assessment, I'm going to try to incorporate more open ended activities instead of straight forward problems that have one single answer.  

This week was definitely exhausting, but I felt much better than I had previously.  I can tell I'm not feeling completely like myself, but at the same time, it was great to be back in the classroom.  I'm working to still get enough rest and find times to take mental breaks, even if they are short, during the day.  I'm hoping I'll feel even better next week! 

Week 11

I was able to communicate with my cooperating teacher throughout the week and decided to go in at the end of the week.  I arrived in the middle of the school day while my students were out of the classroom.  When they returned, they were standing in the doorway of our classroom, saw me, and bombarded me with hugs.  They all came running into the room exclaiming things like, "Miss V! We MISSED YOU!" and "Miss Vanderzee!  We didn't know you were coming! Are you STAYING?!" It was wonderful.  One student was left standing in the doorway crying because she was so excited.  It was definitely good to be back.

Because I stayed through the end of the day I was also able to communicate well with my cooperating teacher.  I updated her on how I was feeling and what I was nervous about starting back up the following week.  She was able to update me on things that had happened in the classroom and the new unit they had started.  I explained that I wanted to make sure to come in to talk with her in person before the beginning of a new week so that we could plan the upcoming week in the best way for the students and for us (8L).  We talked about next steps for planning and did some planning together during our plan period at the end of the day.  I left feeling confident about planning and returning to school on Monday.

That being said, I'm also a little nervous about jumping straight back into things.  I will definitely keep napping every day after school when possible, but I'm most worried about the mornings.  I've been sleeping at least 13 hours every night still, and getting up at 6am is going to be a difficult adjustment.  My cooperating teacher and I talked about how I usually feel in the mornings (my head feels cloudy and I often need to sit down and take a some time to gather myself) and talked about what that will look like this coming week.  I'm SO excited to have a more normal schedule in the classroom and be back with my students, so hopefully it goes well!

Week 10

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.

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!