Congratulations! You survived the first day!
What most surprised you about the experience? How would you assess your performance?
What are you most looking forward to next week?
Do your students regularly see social studies during the school day?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
My first experience at Taylor Elementary School in Columbia was a good one. I was surprised to see many methods integrated into the classroom that I have learned about recently, such as RTI and reading programs we talked about in class yesterday. The students in the fourth grade class at my field placement seem like one of the best behaved classes I have worked with in all of my field placements. I am very excited about working with this particular group of students! Some of the concepts the students were learning also surprised me, such math concepts like creating a checkbook, because I know I learned those concepts later in school.
ReplyDeleteNext week I am looking forward to becoming more involved in the classroom and perhaps doing a guided reading group. Today I observed a lot and felt the desire to teach as I was watching the teacher at the front of the room. Getting to know the students better is also something I am looking forward too!
Social studies WAS integrated into the curriculum today. The students talked about the Midwest in a textbook and learned about the states in the Midwest. During social studies, the two fourth grade classes switch rooms, so my cooperative teacher had another class during social studies today.
Overall, I learned a lot about my coop's classroom and the school today, and I'm looking forward to going back next week!
My day was eventful to say the very least. I really enjoyed my class, they seem pretty well behaved for the most part and my co-op seems like she is going to be great to work with. Interesting though, one of the first things my co-op says to me is "We recently switched from Science to Social Studies... I HATE teaching Social Studies" (Dr. Bowman, don't take it personal =) I noticed that the Social Studies curriculum is very weak. It is basically word for word out of a text book and not interesting at all. More suprisingly to me though was the lack of reading curriculum. Yes, you read correctly, the school does that have a Reading curriculum. They consider center time as reading. This is the first school that I have been to that does not put much influence on reading. Yes they have a variety of reading materials in their classroom library, but it is not as structured as other schools I have seen in the past. When I asked my co-op about this she said that they focus more on phonics. I understand why phonics is important, but I feel like at this age-level they should be submerged into good literature as well. Something else that I found interesting in my classroom was the use of a Smart Board. They do almost everything on the Smart Board and do not use a regular chalk board at all. I saw where this was both positive and negative. The students are so good with the Smart Board and really enjoy it, which I think is really impressive and helpful now that we live in such a technology driven society. I did notice however that because the Smart Board did not always work it took a tremendous amount of time out of actually teaching because my co-op was constantly trying to fix the board. I'm really interested to get better accquainted with the board and also observe it's effect in the classroom. Highlights of my day were when I spilled diet coke in the teacher's lounge (some on my co-op) and on the way home when I got a flat tire =) Other than that, it was a pretty good day!
ReplyDeleteMy first day of 2nd grade at Mountville Elementary was AMAZING!! Today was a little 'off' due to reading buddies (the 6th graders come in every other week to work with the 2nd graders) and they had an awards assembly to reward positive social behaviors. We naturally focused a lot on reading/writing skills, and had reading materials and a discussion about Chinatown and China to integrate a little bit of history and geography. Unfortunately since the day was so busy, science was the 'last priority' (due to PSSA's) and had to be pushed back to tomorrow. They also did individual math work on the computers and I got to see the different levels of ability in the classroom. I got to work with some of the students who were having trouble understanding the content... particularly with math. These students were regrouping double-digit addition problems and most had trouble understanding it: one would not pay attention and I couldn't keep stopping the lesson for them since the other students were trying to listen, and one of the students just needed me to do one problem with him, and he did the rest by himself: he just needed to be encouraged and have it reinforced that he was capable of solving the equation. I overall thought it was a great day and I really enjoyed interacting with all of the students. I am really excited for next week... I have to pick out a book to read at the beginning of the day- no lesson plans, just reading to reinforce in the students that reading can be fun. While talking to my co-op while the students were at gym, we talked about NCLB and how the school district enforces focus on reading/writing and math, and she did feel strongly about integrating social studies and science into the curriculum as much as possible, since there is not enough time in the day for her to teach it. Since today was a little 'weird' I am looking forward to seeing how much social studies is integrated into the curriculum on a 'normal' day. I can't wait to go back next week!!!
ReplyDeleteOops! and I forgot to add that on alternating months they switch between using their extra time at the end of the day for lessons in science and social studies
ReplyDeleteI had an amazing first day at Linglestown Elementary in 5th grade :) I was surprised at how much the teacher let me get involved on my first day there. She had me working with a small group of struggling readers to read a story and complete 2 comprehension papers as well as helping out with math and social studies. I really enjoyed working with the students. My coop said I seemed very comfortable working with them so I felt that it was a successful day! The class is very well behaved...my day flew by. I did see a ton of social studies work being done as well. The students are currently learning about the Revolutionary War in their Language Arts class. We read a story about James Forten today (a unit that was started yesterday) that the students really seemed to enjoy. We also did social studies in the afternoon. The kids were finishing a project in which they were researcing different explorers and writing summaries. Their summaries were written on sails of a boat so it tied in with art as well. I am really looking forward to next week because I know what to expect now. I know most of the students and am comfortable working with them. Even though I was able to work with students most of the day today, I know she will continue to give me more responsibilities in the classroom. While I did see a lot of social studies today, I believe the students are on a schedule where they rotate social studies and science. This period of the day is referred to as "content". Even though they may not have social studies class everyday, the students are still exposed to social studies through the other subjects (such as the language arts unit they are currently working on). I can't wait to get back in the classroom!
ReplyDeleteI walked into my classroom this morning, and the lights were off. Oh no, It’s not because my teacher wasn’t in there. She was. That is how she likes to work .. with the lights off. So when the kids started coming in, I thought the lights would go on. But no .. they didn’t. There were no overhead lights all day. NO OVERHEAD LIGHTS. It confuses me. My teacher says she hates the overhead lights. I just can’t imagine it is comfortable for the students to work by small lamps. I was literally “in the dark” about this situation all day. But I digress ..
ReplyDeleteOverall, I had a really good day at Taylor. I mostly observed all day, other than walking around the room a couple times to check student progress. My teacher is an older teacher and pretty set in her ways, so I think that will be interesting. I have always had co-ops who were new to teaching or new to the school. She was helpful in that she tried to explain things that I may have not seen before, such as the Saxon Math Program, or what she does for homework passes. I walked around the room a lot and helped. It was intimidating because I thought I was stepping on my teacher’s toes when the students would ask me a lot of questions about daily classroom activities and I was relatively clueless.
In regards to science and social studies, My teacher does not teach science. She sends her kids to another classroom down the hall. However, my teacher does teach both the fifth grade classes in social studies. At least I will be able to see social studies when I am there. Social Studies and Science alternate every day. Today, there were doing things on the pilgrims and the MayFlower Compact. My teacher uses integration with language arts. However, I feel as though the students did not get much out of it. They read three articles on the MayFlower Compact and answered the questions. The worksheets were from edhelper.com and not made up by the teacher. There was no textbook that a student used and they just sat, read, and answered questions.
I am most looking forward to teaching math next week. My teacher already wants me to step up and start teaching as soon as possible. Luckily, math is pretty scripted. I am nervous at first. She told me that she wants me to follow the script the first week and then slowly deviate. It is pretty nervewracking!! However, I am still excited for what is to come!
My first day at South Lebanon Elementary was great! I am in a kindergarten class that is half day. So I had one group of students in the morning and a new group in the afternoon. My co-op told me to look for differences between the two groups and they were very evident. The morning group is very chatty and they take a lot of time to get focused and complete tasks. For example: they are making snowmen using torn up pieces of paper for conferences next week. More then half of the students in the afternoon class are finished while none of the students are done it the morning class. I noticed how the afternoon class also seemed to be more independent while doing there work.
ReplyDeleteI recieved a copy of their daily schedule and it consists of: reading, math, and specials. I did not get to see math today because reading took a long time. I asked if I would see social studies and my co-op said no. But she said that she does try to integrate it into different lessons when she can.
My co-op was very welcoming and I look forward to working with her throughout the semester. She said that she will be gradually handing more and more responsibility over to me as I grow more comfortable with the students. I am very excited to see what this experience has in store!
Today was the best! I absolutely love my co-op shes great! My class is wonderful too. Theya re very well behaved and seem to love most aspects of school, I didn't hear much complaining at all. I was glad to see that Centerville Elementary has implemented the Anchors and they are very active with that as well. Which was good to know! I saw Math, reading, science and we went to library today. In math they are working on factors of numbers and my c-op said that next week we will be learning about prime and composite numbers. In science we are discussing rocks and the procesess that go along with them. The class was also intorduced to 6 spelling words today and they made word cards that had the word, a sentence with the word in it, synonyms, and an illustration for the word. This was a fun activity for the students and it allows them to be creative at the same time. Social Studies was not mentioned at all today, but I hope I am able to view some social studies lessons.
ReplyDeleteI worked one on one with a student today to help her with comprehension on her reading test. She did well, she needed a little bit of individualized instruction.
I am excited because my co-op said that she will allow me to work with small groups and do read alouds and things like that to start off with. We also made weaving heart mobiles too! This is to get ready for Valentine's day! I am so excited to learn more and see what is coming throughout this experience.
After my first day at the Hershey Early Childhood Center, I must admit that I could definitely see myself teaching an AM/PM kindergarten class. It's really cool to have one set of students in the morning then you get to start all over again in the afternoon with a new set of kids. Although it may feel a bit repetitive at times since you are teaching the same stuff, it truly does make the day go by faster. As Liz said earlier, you can really see the differences between the AM and PM students. Today I spent most of the day helping my co-op with the upcoming newsletter and assisting the kids during their writing time. I was offered the opportunity to sit in on some parent/teacher report card meetings in two weeks. I am excited to see that side of teaching and the type of relationship my co-op has with her students' parents. Next week the students will be doing some fun activities for Groundhogs Day and the 100th school day (which I didn't know was a big deal but apparently it is). It will be fun to see all the kids loosen up a bit and have fun next week.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest shock for me was actually my co-op's response to the big social studies question. She showed me the basal reading program they use and nearly all the stories that are used are science or social studies related. Through this program she is able to incorporate both science and social studies throughout the year while teaching reading skills. She said math is the hardest subject to get in during the day. She tries to incorporate math into centers but there are certain days where the students may not see math at all. The downfall to this program is that the students will see either science or social studies not both during the day. Based on everything we have talked about I was a bit surprised they get to see it at all.
My co-op was great and I feel that this experience will be a very enjoyable one. I am excited to see what the rest of the year has in store.
My first day in the second grade at Mountville Elementary School went really well. I was surprised at how welcoming my co-op and all the other staff made me feel at the school. When I first walked into the classroom, my co-op had a small desk with my name on it. There were multiple worksheets on the desk that the students would receive throughout the day. This was helpful so that I could follow along while the teacher explained what she expected the students to do. There was also a list of the children’s names and some student work that I would help the students finish or correct. Also my desk was located right next to a circle of chairs. My co-op set up the chairs like that so that I could read with a group of about five students. I really enjoyed having so much to do with the children, rather than only observing. This really helped me to get a chance to know the children and see where they were academically.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that the class schedule was focused around reading and writing. This of course did not surprise me because of the required curriculum and the emphasis on reading and math. I did not see any actual teaching of social studies during the day but my co-op talked to me about how the students are learning about China and their holidays. This incorporates some social studies into the curriculum but I can definitely see how there is limited time for social studies. I asked her about social studies and she said that this month they are focusing more on science and then next month they go back to social studies. I thought that was an interesting way to set it up and I am interested to see how it works.
I am really looking forward to next Thursday. Now that I have met my co-op and all the children in the class, I feel more confident. I look forward to working with the students one-on-one and in the small reading groups.
I had a great time in 5th grade at Hershey Intermediate School! My co-op is awesome! He is so knowledgeable and I can tell that I am going to learn so much from him. Before the students arrived, Mr. Keefer was explaining to me that he has high expectations for his students, especially at this point in the year. This was very apparent because when the students were working on their morning work, they were so intent. Just from today, I can already see that they are a really well-behaved class. It was really neat to see how every student knew what was expected of them. After morning work, the students jumped right into math. They work from the curriculum called Everyday Math. As I looked over the schedule for the day, one of the first things I looked for was to see if Social Studies was included on the schedule. Mr. Keefer explained that they see Social Studies during marking periods 1 and 3 and science during marking periods 2 and 4. He teaches Social Studies and the students switch to another teacher for Science. Even though I know that Social Studies is being taken out of the curriculum, I was still shocked to actually see that they only learn about Social Studies for half of the year. I also saw a little bit of integration of the subjects. During communication arts, I had the opportunity to read them a chapter in the book, Freedom's Fire, which tells a story about a patriot family during the Revolutionary War. Although this was a book about the Revolutionary War, the questions that went along with the book were focused more on vocabulary and the character's feelings, actions, etc. At the very end of the day, Mr. Keefer taught Social Studies. They were learning about the Constitutional Convention. The students took turns reading aloud out of the text book. There are spots marked in the book where the students are to stop and answer the review question. They had to stop Social Studies early because they had to pack up to go home.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I was surprised about was the format of the student's report cards. He explained to me that the students are evaluated based off of the standards from each curriculum area. For example, they can either receive a P(proficient), W1(working towards proficiency) or W2(lacking proficiency, or something to that effect). They don't receive any actual percentages or letter grades. I think it is really cool that they are so focused on how each one of their students is meeting the standards. Although I like the idea, I think it would be hard to adjust to, since we are so used to receiving letter grades.
I am really glad that Mr. Keefer let me jump right in and help him with some of the subjects. I really enjoyed getting the opportunity to read to all of the kids. I was very open to whatever he wanted me to do. I am really looking forward to working with the kids even more and just really getting involved! I also want to continue getting to know my students and Mr. Keefer better. I am excited that he wants me to have a lot of responsibility and I can't wait to go back!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMy day at Leola Elementary was a great one! We found it easily too, which was a plus! My co-op seems like a wonderful teacher, and throughout the morning and afternoon, she gave me great information and teaching strategies.
ReplyDeleteI was so surprised by the behavior of my second graders. My co-op told me this was her best behaved class she has ever had for the years she had been teaching, and they were. There were little to no behavior problems in the classroom. My co-op told me I worked well with the kids today, and said they were already connecting with me. I was able to share a "me bag" with things about myself, and the students asked me many questions. I was able to be in charge of using the SmartBoard for a math center, as well as a reading center. It seems like a great educational tool to use, and the students know how to work it better than I do!
As for social studies, there is no apparent time selected for the subject on the daily schedule. There is a selected time in the schedule for language arts, math, and science. Language arts takes up most of the morning time before lunch. I recognized a hint of integrated social studies as the students were reading about George Washington Carver and his inventions.
Next week, I look forward to getting to know my students better. They seem like great kids, and I can't wait to become more involved in the classroom.
First day in 2nd grade at Tri-Community was great! My co op is fantastic. She's really laid back but has great class management skills and is really open and helpful. All of the staff I met today was awesome. They were all really friendly and helpful so I'm really looking forward to working with them more.
ReplyDeleteThe kids are awesome! They're a pretty well behaved class overall, there were no major problems. Today I mostly observed but I did go around and have some of the kids read one on one to me during the reading lesson, help out those who were struggling with math problems, and run a math lesson with a small "Skill Levels" group.
There is no social studies or science at all. All of the 2nd grade classes are broken up into reading and math skill level groups and switch for about half an hour lessons throughout the day and then the main reading or math lesson is taught to each class seperately. The lesson times I felt were really short which is nice because it keeps the day moving and the kids don't get as bored with one lesson but I also felt like there wasn't a lot of time to really go in depth. My co op as well as another 2nd grade teacher were complaining about the math curriculum that they have to use but my teacher. Apparentally there's just a lot of confusion about what exactly they're supposed to be doing so my co op said I was free to make lessons on anything in the 2nd grade level, and she'd like me to start teaching either next week or the week after. For Reading today we were working mostly on phonetics but if possible I'd like to make some lessons that integrate social studies and science.
Overall it was a great first day and I'm excited to get more involved!
Third grade at Milton Hershey went wonderfully :) My coop is fantastic as are my kids. The other third grade teachers are pretty awesome as well, all of them made me feel really welcome. As the students entered the room, each of them came up to shake my hand and properly introduce themselves, it was pretty cute. Milton Hershey is all about getting involved with the students so instead of eating lunch in a faculty room of sorts, we eat with the kids. It was a great way to connect with them and learn about their personalities; it was decided that chocolate and peanut butter ice cream is the best.
ReplyDeleteToday was a reward day so I didnt see much instruction aside from math and language arts/social studies, I did play a lot of Wii though! Despite this, I was able to get really involved during instruction time with the kids working with them one on one when needed. Mrs. Keefer commented that I was working really well with the kids and how great it was that I was connecting with a number of them.
As for social studies, she explained that it is taught usually once or twice a week. This particular week, all of third grade were working on their President research projects in the afternoons. It was so awesome to see the students ramble off random facts about their particular presidents as if they were good friends; I could see the students took pride in their work and were genuinely enjoying it.
Next week, I'm looking forward to seeing how a typical school day is run, getting more involved, and learning more about my kids. My coop also suggested that I plan an informal activity to do with them to get us all comfortable with one another so I'm excited :)
And I really just feel the need to share that one of the third grade teachers made a doc cam and smart board using a shower curtain, toothbrush, and pencil all by himself watching youtube videos. Pretty impressive.
Well I was definitely surprised by my experience in 6th grade. The students were a lot bigger than any other students I've worked with :). What surprised me most was their schedule. As they are getting ready for junior high school, they are practicing switching classes. There are three 6th grade teachers and each of them takes a subject (social studies, math, and science) and they rotate three groups of kids through those teachers in the morning and then each teacher teaches their homeroom the language arts. I am with the social studies teacher so I do get quite a bit of social studies instruction (3 times a day in fact!). I was surprised that they implemented a rotation schedule like that in an elementary school.
ReplyDeleteI didn't get the opportunity to interact much with students on this day. It was a hectic day as she was back from being out two days and was leaving for the next two days as well. She had a lot of catching up to do. There were also several meetings on math data scores that took up a large chunk of our day. It was hard to get to know the students as they were only in the room for 45 minute blocks and they were learning as much as they could before running onto the next thing. When I did get to interact with the students they seemed excited to get attention from the new student teacher. They appreciated my input and support. I did a lot of errand running this first day. I copied a lot and sharpened pencils :). It was a good observation day.
Next week I'm looking most forward to teaching a lesson and getting to know the students better. There are 68 of them! It's interesting because, though it is a social studies classroom, I still see social studies getting the short end of the stick. The students are grouped based on math ability (high, medium, and low). On days 4 and 5 the low group doesn't get to go to social studies because they are pulled out for RtI placements. Yesterday they were pulled from social studies for DIBELS testing. Even when the subject has a designated place in the schedule, it is still the time for pull outs. I'm glad I get a chance to work with the older grades. It's certainly going to be a new experience!
My first day at South Lebanon Elementary school was great! My co-op is very welcoming and took the time to explain a lot of things about the way that her classroom works. She also made me feel like I could ask her questions whenever I am not sure about something, which added to a very comfortable atmosphere. I observed most of the day but by the afternoon I was already interacting with the students one-on-one. During literacy centers I sat at the game table and helped the students make words that had a VCCV combination (swimming, petting, stopped, etc.). By sitting at this center I was able to meet each student and I was able to learn their names fairly quickly. Later in the day I was asked to walk around the room and assist students with math problems. I was nervous about this at first since I still find math intimidating, but it turned out fine and I was able to help the students that were struggling.
ReplyDeleteI know that I will be gaining a lot of experience when it comes to working, and interacting with, students who have challenging behaviors. There are two students in the class in particular who often lie so that they do not get in trouble. While I know that this will be difficult, I think that it will be a great learning experience for me since I need to work on my assertiveness.
From what I could see Science and Social Studies are not huge part of the curriculum. It seems that SS is integrated through reading that the students do but no where else in the school day.
Overall, I had a great day and it flew by. I am looking forward to going back!
My first day at Hershey Intermediate was really good ONCE I got into the classroom. There was a fiasco and a half about us needing our clearances (which I had) but evidently I was supposed to have an ID badge as well. Once rescued by my fabulous co-op Mrs.Funck in 5th grade, I made my way to our humble abode. She had previously told me about the absence of a reading curriculum (they've been without one for 5 years) but they implement Balanced Literacy. Again, they have social studies for one quarter and science for the next quarter, and she and another teacher share responsibility for the teaching of those subjects. She teaches science, and Mrs.W down the hall teaches social studies. So, I'll never see social studies unless I go visit Mrs. W (which I will). Currently, my 5th graders are in their science quarter.
ReplyDeleteI was most surprised by how structured and smoothly the class was ran. All the students knew their places and responsibilities. The structure sprouts from having two students with Autism in the classroom, and a handful of students who attend learning support as well. I was really excited to see an inclusion classroom, as I had never witnessed one in real life before.
My favorite quote of the day was "Well, I don't teach to the test." (Rock on Mrs.Funck, Rock on.)
My performance? I was told "Whatever you're doing with them...keep doing it." I was cycling around the room and helping one on one with students, which was deemed effective, and I enjoyed getting to know the students better :)
Next week: I look forward to working with a reading group and helping teach the math lesson :)
Oh, and I'd like to give a shout out to my epic tire changing skills :) (and to the nice man who helped us by tightening the lug nuts when we were finished)
I had a very fun and eventful first day in Kindergarten at Leola Elementary! My co-op and her students immediately made me feel at home in the classroom. The students took pride in showing me around the room and where everything that I may need would be located. My co-op was extremely helpful and informative and I can see myself working very well with her throughout this semester. My students and I learned about each other when I presented a poster about myself and my favorite things. I was bombarded with questions and students happily exclaiming what we had in common. I was instantly respected and put in an authority position, which was great. I got the chance to witness the teacher giving the DIBELS assessments and also their school’s reading assessment, the RTA2. I got to be in charge of the math center for the day where I helped the students weight themselves, check their height, and measure the length of their hands and feet using Unifix cubes.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest surprise that I experienced was the lack of classroom management that existed. The students started the day off very well, but I eventually saw the attitudes and behaviors of the students (and even my co-op) fizzle as the day went on. The students were often found screaming, running, and throwing things around the room, but the teacher just let it happen. I found myself having to take control and act as a true authority figure, which I did not think I would have to do on the first day. Also, I was not aware that my teacher only taught an AM Kindergarten class, so when the first group of students left, so did she! This meant that I was placed into an afternoon Kindergarten class. The class was not the typical PM Kindergarten, but “extended day” Kindergarten. This class consisted of the 30 lowest scoring students on their pre-Kindergarten test. The class is purely focused on literacy skills that these students are lacking. It was at first difficult because these students were not the best behaved and did not care to learn, but it helped that eight of the students from my morning class were in this class and showed respect towards me. I did have to learn a whole new set of students’ names and work with two new teachers, but it was a great experience and I look forward to doing it again. There was no sign of social studies during the school day. The only academic work that I saw was during centers, in which the teacher had a reading, science, and math center. From what I saw, the activities at these centers were not structured and they ended up fooling around and getting out of their seats anyway.
What I look forward to for next week is seeing of the class is more organized because both teachers I worked with claimed that the day I saw was “wacky and unusual”. I hope to incorporate myself more into the academic aspects of the classroom and help maintain organization.
I really like Leola Elementary. My teacher seems to be highly regarded and respected amongst her peers. I feel fortunate to be in her class. She is very structured and easy to talk to. I am confident that I will learn so much in this experience. Last semester I worked with middle school students, so I was a little worried about switching to first grade. Now I am happy to say that first graders are great! I felt very welcomed by the school staff and the children. Prior to my first day, I sent a letter to the parents and children telling them that I would be in the classroom. I think it made my entrance easier.
ReplyDeleteI was pleasantly surprised by how well behaved first graders can be. The students listened attentively, did what was asked of them and completed their work with minimal assistance. I feel that I stepped right into my role as a teacher in training. I greeted each child by shaking his or her hand and introducing myself. Some of their comments and questions were so funny! I did not wait to be asked to be involved with the class activities. I participated in morning meeting, and I joined in with small groups of readers. One group consisted of high ability children and the other was of low ability children. (The difference in reading levels is quite broad.)
I was really happy when my teacher told me that she thinks that we will be a good pair. She said that my calm manner will supplement her teaching style nicely. I am most looking forward to even more interaction with the students. On Thursday, my teacher and I went to a meeting in the computer lab so I was out of the classroom for about one hour.
As far as social studies in the classroom…Since the school’s principal is in China to bring home her adopted child, the entire school was asked to participate in her family’s journey. Each grade level is supposed to discuss China in some way as often as possible to share in the event. Today, my class read a book about Chinese New Year, talked about ancestors, and talked about Chinese dumplings. Unfortunately, social studies is taught three days out of a six day cycle. Today, the students also experienced social studies when they talked about community, groups and leaders and made comparisons of those topics to the classroom and to the book they read on honeybees.
Though the day went very quickly, I was exhausted when it was over. I am really excited about this experience. I am glad that the first day jitters are gone.
My first day at Centerville Elementary School was amazing! The teachers and staff were so welcoming that my nerves were calmed almost immediately. My last field placement was in a 6th grade classroom so I am very excited to be in a third grade classroom this semester. My co-op Mrs. Doane is very energetic and has a love for her students that is apparent as soon as you meet her and talk to her. For the most part my class is extremely self-sufficient. In the morning when they first come in there is a list of things for them to do on the board and once they are finished with the list they were allowed to read or draw. Throughout the day my students made cards or drawings and would give them to me or put them on my desk. One that really stood out to me was from a boy who had drawn a picture of a castle and on the top wrote “Welcome to Centervile Elementry School!!!”. As he gave it to me he explained that the castle was a picture of the school. He then explained that he knew that’s not what the school really looked like, but to him it was. This really brought home to me the fact that these students love this school and love coming every day.
ReplyDeleteSocial Studies was taught during the part of the day when some students are taken out of the classroom for enrichment. During this time we read scholastic magazine articles on walruses and how global warming is affecting them and another article on Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy and how his daughter is following in his footsteps as a peace activist. The students were very excited about the articles and their knowledge on the subject. Also during morning meeting we talked about President Obama’s State of the Union address the previous night. Overall I loved my first day and I am very excited to go back this Thursday and become a part of their classroom.
My first day at Tri-Community was definitely above and beyond my expectations. My co-op, Mrs. LaPenta is extremely outgoing and I think we are going to get along really well. We also discovered that we go to the same church and she used to live on the same street as my brother! Small world...but anyway, back to my day. Mrs. LaPenta is extremely adament about getting me involved and active right away. She just had a student teacher last semester, so she's kind of feeding off of that experience. She showed me how to take attendence and said that I'd be doing that each Thursday. She then showed me my desk (score!). She wants me to implement any classroom set up that I may want to use throughout the semester. She kept using the phrases "guniea pigs" and "testing period," to emphasize how much she wanted to be get involved and just dive right in with these kids. Before the kids came she said how much she emphasized classroom management and rules, and that the kids new exactly what they had to do...and boy was she right! I have never seen such well-behaved 7 year olds in my life. The kids came into the classroom, put their things away, got their school work from the pick up bins, and as soon as they sat down in their seat, not a word was said. Unbelieveable! For as out-going and wild as my co-op is, she definitely has a professional "switch", and the kids know that she means business. Their behavior and willingness to do the tasks that were given to them was definitely something that stood out to me all day.
ReplyDeleteMost of the days instruction consists of Math and Reading, and the teacher expressed that she wishes it could be otherwise, and that she tries to incoporate other subjects and life-related issues as much as possible. One way that I saw her do this was during a read along in the Houghton-Mifflin Basal Reader that the class uses. The story they were reading was about a girl's grandfather who had a store and the store was going to be put out of business by a larger supermarket. After they were done reading and doig the discussion questions, Mrs. LaPenta talked about a Wal Mart that was put in near her college, and that she saw several small businesses shut down in the matter of a few years. The students they put in their imput of Wal Marts in their area, or small stores that they knew their parents went to. I thought this was a very good use of text-to self connections, and it was obvious that Mrs. LaPenta had discussion like this often.
During the Math instruction, she had me dive right in and instruct the class on a subtraction problem. I was nervous, but made sure to use strategies that I saw her using because the class responded extremely well to them.
All in all, my day was good and I am excited to get more directly involved with the students. This week she is going to have me adminster some DIBELS tests, and also lead more math instruction.
I had a very good first experience at Taylor Elementary School in Columbia, even though I did have to leave early for my flight to Chicago. Just as Cristen said, it was interesting to see several methods of what we have been learning about used in the classroom. One of these being RTIi, as well as basal reading programs.
ReplyDeleteMy coop, Mrs. Moritz, is a very pleasant woman who definitely has a passion for her job. She is very involved with her kindergarten class, singing and playing games. The students seem to respond very well to Mrs. Moritz, and give her utmost respect. In fact, I was extremely surprised to see how well behaved and mature the class was. I cannot begin to say how excited I am about working in my first ever kindergarten class! It is also cool that at this particular school, Mrs. Moritz's class is there all day, instead of half of a day, which is a new concept to me.
Because I was at my first field placement for my first time, there was nothing in the instruction yet that really surprised me. However, Mrs. Moritz had her class do a daily activity that I have never seen before. For about 12 minutes or so each day, she has her students divide into small groups and go to stations in which they will do some kind of physical activity. The theory is that these students will work on their gross and fine motor skills, and build parts of the brain. Also, this keeps them fresh, and helps their physical health. The groups stay at each station for 2 or 3 minutes, and then go to the next station. It was amazing to see the students have fun with these, and they were very organized and always knew where they had to go and what they had to do.
Next week, I am looking forward to being in the classroom for a whole day, as well as getting more involved with the classroom. As the weeks progress, I hope that I can learn new concepts, help out in the class as much as possible, and get to know each and every student.
Again, I had to leave early on Thursday, so as of yet, I do not know how often social studies is integrated into Mrs. Moritz's curriculum. So, I will get back to this question on my next fieldwork experience.
Though I was in the room for only a short period of time, I can tell that I am going to love my fieldwork experience, and I can't wait to get involved in Mrs. Moritz's kindergarten class!
Wow! No lights, flat tires, and home made smart boards.... I would say a great first week. Thanks guys!!
ReplyDelete