Today was a very productive day for me in field placement, and I was happy because the students saved their Valentine's Day treats until today when I was there! :) I got Valentines from students and that made my day! I was able to complete assignments from other methods class during school today, including an interview and observation. My teacher needed help because she feels a little overwhelmed with work, so I also helped her grade. She was very appreciative of my help. Today the students had a spelling test I corrected. They did fairly well on them. I was also able to do progress monitoring with DIBELS today for the first time at Taylor Elementary. The students improved on their scores, so it was neat to see their improvement from the beginning of the semester. It was another good day at placement and I look forward to the rest of the semester!
Today was very...well...interesting. My co-op was out of the classroom all day doing report card conferences so there was a substitute. Fortunately the sub had been in this class many times before and had a great relationship with the students. Saying that, they were very hyper today and obviously knew they could get away with some stuff now that they had a sub. I was able to help finish up some small projects for my teacher, get some anecdotal records, interview a student, and help the students while they were in their centers. Also, I got my first taste of parent-teacher conferences today which was really cool. I got to see some parents that had a great relationship with my co-op and were able to stay on top of everything going on in the classroom. Then there were some parents who were not on the same page with the teacher. It was great to hear how the parents reacted to their child's performance and their input of some of the behaviors that are seen in the classroom. Overall, I was very pleased to have the opportunity to sit in on the conferences and get a look at another side of being an educator.
Today was a great day! I recieved a whole bag of Valentine's and I passed out their valentine's too! I taught a social studies lesson about the Olympics today. It covered three symbols of the Olympics, the torch, flag and motto. As an activity the students made their own flag and included their own motto to represent themselves. I also was able to complete other assignments as well. I did the reading and writing interview on my kidwatching child, which went well and I was able to gain some more information about her.I also talked to my co-op about the science curriculum. I found out that they have recently switched to an inquiry based program which was helpful since that is waht we have been talking about. I can't wait for next week! I love it!
Today was okay for me. The students had to take a unit test that goes along with the curriculum that is in place and was purchased by the district. The reading test took the entire morning and by the end of it the students, and my co-op, were happy that it was finally lunch time. The test was given just as standardized tests are; it was very structured and scripted and the students had to remain silent for the duration of the test. When the students came back from lunch my co-op gave them less strenuous activities to work on. They finished up little fun projects from their 100th day of school and activities from when they were learning about the Chinese New Year. There was no instruction of new material today. My co-op expressed her frustration with the reading curriculum and how today was exhausting for her and the students, and how it was a wasted day of instruction. As my co-op was administering the test and working on the other activities after lunch she had me organizing a massive pile of books into groups according to the level of each book. I did this for the entire day! It was so tiring, redundant, and boring! My co-op apologized for having me do this but expressed that it was a wasted day and there was really nothing else for me to do. I am looking forward to a normal day next week!!!
Today was a really good day. My teacher's giving me a lot more responsibilities which is awesome. I did a lesson with some of the kids in our Reading Skills group and I was able to interview my student for the kid watching project which was really interesting. I also got to use the smartboard for the first time today! It was installed on my first day there and my teacher finally got it up and working. It is so cool! I love it and can't wait to use it more. We also had an assembly today. The step team from East High School came in and did a short program for the kids and they loved it! The high schoolers taught the kids some of the steps and they had so much fun trying to do them. It was a pretty cool assembly but I noticed that it did get the kids pretty wound up and they were stomping around everywhere for the rest of the day trying to imitate the high schoolers. But because of the assembly we didn't break into math skills in the afternoon which meant we were able to get a lot more done with the whole class in reading and math. Overall it was another good day.
Today was really great, but quite hectic! Every Thursday, all of the 5th grade teachers have grade level meetings before the students arrive. Today's meeting was quite interesting because the math coach talked about the new unit that is coming up. She gave the teachers a list of the different topics that are included in the unit and provided the teachers with helpful tips for each topic. For example, when teaching negative and positive numbers, she recommended that that they explain it using a thermometer. I thought that this would be a great visual for students learning this new concept. I am really happy because each time I go, Mr. Keefer gives me something else to do with the entire class. Today, I went over their daily math practice and daily oral language, which I did two weeks ago. I felt much more comfortable with these two activities this week because I was more familiar with it. I had the opportunity to go over their megawords (spelling practice) with them today, which was something new for me. I administered the pretest. Before lunch, many students go to band, so the remaining students have an opportunity to work on their homework, complete kidbiz, finish up any other work, etc. The students just completed reading Freedom's Fire, so they were working on a writing assignment to make predictions about what they thought would happen to the characters 10 years after the story. A few students that were done read their stories to me. I was so impressed by all of the great stories that I heard. They used so many details, great dialogue, and they were all so creative! I thoroughly enjoyed listening to them. I really enjoyed my time in the classroom today and I can't wait for next week!
Today was a really fun day. We started off the day with a morning story and a spelling pretest, and then at 9:30 we went upstairs where the teachers set up a webcam (I forget what program they used... not skype) so that the students could communicate with a high school class located in Beijing (since they recently learned about Chinese New Year). All of the students were exchange students from America, two of whom actually were from Hempfield School District. They taught the 2nd graders how to say 'hello,' 'goodbye,' and 'happy new year,'as well as showing them how two write the words 'sun,' 'moon,' and 'field'. The students got to ask them questions about life in China, such as "what is it like to stand on the great wall of China?" and "What kinds of food do you eat?". The whole exchange took about an hour and the students had so much fun! Later on in the day Mrs. Miller and I split the class in half (I took one and she took the other) and did a quick lesson on the Olympics, what an oath is, and what is good sportsmanship. I also got to come up with a new seating arrangement in the classroom and we moved the desks around while the students were in music class. Next week I get to do a lesson on the continents, and I am going to introduce them and see how much they know of certain landmarks and structures (ex. the Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower, rainforests, mountains, etc.)so I'm pretty excited about that!!
Today was full of a myriad of things. Every Thursday is our "Grade Level Meeting" so I get to sit in on meetings about various things happening in 5th grade. Today's meeting had a special guest(The math club lady), and they were talking about the upcoming math unit. In came talk of report cards and the dreaded PSSAs. Some teacher's disdain for teaching to the test really came though. Otherwise, the day was like all the others have been, except this week I worked with a reading group, did the spelling lesson and graded tests. I find it particularly interesting to see how the students act as if there are now two teachers in the classroom. Jena does a great job facilitating this and making sure the students know they can complete all their daily tasks such as checking work and homework with either her or me, and it's an empowering feeling to be trusted not only be Jena, but also by the students.
In my hunt for gathering information about social studies, I found the book! I had to jump on a chair and the counter to reach it all the way on the top shelf, but I now have in my possession the social studies unit my students will be learning in the next quarter. I looked through the teacher's manual, and it was interesting to find that it followed the format of our lesson plans we'll be writing. In the book there are headings for "Motivate" "Teach" and "Close". This teacher's manual does a great job of suggesting integration techniques, too. I look forward to seeing it in action, and teaching a lesson myself.
Today went well but it was pretty frustrating. There was a bit of miscommunication between my co-op and I from two weeks ago until now...she thought I had a lesson plan set up for today when I thought I was doing group work so we both were confused. My mini lesson with the small groups went well but the kids were driving me crazy not paying attention to what I was asking but were all for building different structures with the cubes instead. Although it was frustrating, I was happy it happened here and I was able to address it on a smaller level for the first time rather than in front of the whole class while I was being supervised.
I plan on teaching a lesson on Balto next week which Im excited for since I had a husky myself and did the whole dog-sledding thing! We also saved Valentines until today which was fun. Im really getting to know the kids better which is my favorite part. Im exctied for next week :)
Yesterday was a great day! It was only my second time in my classroom, so I think after yesterday, I feel much more comfortable in the classroom. I was able to play a game with my students, grade papers, and perform a read aloud. Each morning, my co-op gives me a schedule of the day, and this is extremely helpful because I can actually see how the day is going to pan out. She's very organized. It was pretty funny yesterday, my class was talking about harvesting crops and farms, and a student told my teacher he likes to play Farmville. It turns out that 8 or so kids in my class have a Facebook! In second grade!! I couldn't believe it.
I received an email from my co-op on Wednesday night informing me that she was not going to be there yesterday, because of appointments, etc. So...we had a substitute yesterday. She was very nice, but I could tell that these kids were going to tire her out. Don't get me wrong, they're great kids! But Mrs. LaPenta has them so trained to all of her rules and expectations, that as soon as someone new comes around they test them like crazy. So for me, yesterday was a gigantic lesson and practice session of classroom management. It was different since Mrs. LaPenta has been having me do a lot of little teaching things here and there and I didn't have that opportunity in front of the class yesterday, but I did my best to help the sub out wherever and whenever she needed me to do anything. By the end of the day I got pretty good at being able to scan the entire class at once for kids misbehaving and calling out (this was happenning a lot yesterday), since they are on such a short leash when it comes to that with Mrs. LaPenta. I implemented her classroom management reward and discipline system, and I think the kids realized that I wasn't someone who they were going to be able to mess with and test. But at the same time, I had a lot of fun getting to know each student more, and I think that some of them are becoming much more comfortable with me helping and teaching them, and I'm excited to get more active in front of the classroom!
Yesterday was a great day at my placement. The school was doing a fundraiser "Hats for Haiti" so many of the students were wearing different hats and they were excited to come into the classroom and show their hats off and check out everyone else's. During morning meeting, my co-op asked the students if they had been following the Olympics and it was good to see that a majority of them had and they were really interested in the snowboarding. I worked at a specfic center today with the students. They were working on identifying objects that begin with the letter H. Then we worked on sequencing events (1st, 2nd, 3rd). I also had the opportunity to help the students while they were writing in their journals. I enjoy watching them write and observing how they create words based off of the sounds that they hear. Next week, my co-op said that I will be in charge of the writing center and jouranl writing with them so I am very excited about that. The following week I will teach my first lesson to the class. I am looking forward to planning that lesson and returning to placement next week! It has been great so far! I'm loving it!
Although it was a bit crazy, today was another good day! My teacher left a little before lunch so we had a substitute in the afternoon. He still had me step in quite a bit to help out since Mrs. Strout had gone over the afternoon activities with me as well. I administered a spelling test and worked with some of the studetns one-on-one. While they were at specials, I completed some random jobs for Mrs. Strout such as putting books together that were made by the students. It was a fun day, and I had a chance to talk to my supervisor as well. I am anxious to start teaching more in the classroom!
Today was a pretty normal day. I walked into my classroom and my teacher asked me if I felt comfortable teaching math today. I had only seen math instruction once so I was a little hesitant, but I said yes. Naturally, the projector screen and program that goes along with the math lesson decided to fail me. I had to just wing it, but my co-op said I did a really good job. Next week, they are taking a math test, so I won't be able to teach math again, but I hope for some more practice soon. I usually test the students on "math facts" every time I go. This includes showing students cards of multiplication for one minute. Normally, students get about 25 right in a minute. I did some more odd jobs during the day, such as making copies and grading papers. Many of the kids were given detention for their bad behavior throughout the day. Hopefully next week I will start teaching a mini-reading series to a small group, and the students will be better behaved.
I had a great day! I greeted each student at the door and many seemed genuinely happy to see me. I was worried that they had forgotten me as we were not together last week due to the snow storm. I thought that they might not be excited by my return. Thankfully, they were!
Today I did a read aloud with the entire class. It appeared that the children were attentive, and once I told them my expectations for the lesson, I felt I had control of it. I feel as though the more I connect with the students, the more confidence I have to lead the entire group.
Additionally, I participated in a faculty math meeting and went to a neighboring third grade classroom for a math lesson. After school, I took part in a parent meeting. I especially enjoyed going to Mr. Paul’s 3rd grade classroom where I saw a smart board being used to teach a multiplication lesson. Also, I was encouraged to experience a male teacher interacting with the students since I had only one during my elementary school years, a guy who was about to retire no less. It just was nice to feel connected.
The parent meeting held after school was an excellent experience since it was my first. Mrs. Hyatt is a skilled conversationalist and has great rapport with parents. She always encourages me to be myself and infuse humor into education. She absolutely practices what she preaches.
Is anyone else completely exhausted after a full day of elementary school? Seriously, the minute the kids leave for the day, I am out of gas!
I had a wonderful day at Fritz. I really like my co-op and appreciate the way she teaches and interacts with her students. It was fun today because even though it was only my second time there I got a couple valentines and the students were excited to see me back. They started learning how to compare fractions with different denominators in math today. I was excited because as she was teaching I started noting things that I would have done differently or approached in a different way had I been the one teaching. That felt amazing. Then as the students began some independent practice it was clear there were several students struggling. So I would plop down on the floor next to their desks and walk them through step by step. I did my best to explain and model WHY they were doing each step. Several students had the "ah-hah!" moment as I worked with them and that was...indescribably amazing. It's why we do what we do right? I also got to help several students learn a new computer program later in the day. Today went by a lot faster then last time I was there. It was a great day. And next week I get to teach a math lesson! I'm so nervous but totally excited aw well.
My placement went really well this past Thursday. All the second graders at Mountville Elementary School got a chance to be on video and communicate with the high school Chinese class. The second graders had previously been learning about the Chinese New Year. They had made art projects such as masks and they learned some Chinese words. The teachers went over how the second graders should act during this presentation. They all had to remain seating and not talk so that they could hear the high school students and the teacher talk about the Chinese New Year. The children were really well behaved throughout the presentation. The students learned Chinese words, such as numbers, Happy New Year, etc. It was really exciting to see one of the second graders communicate with the teacher in Chinese because that is his native language. Even though the students didn’t know what they were talking about, it was still very interesting to see. The high school teacher played a Chinese instrument while the students sang a Chinese New Year’s song. The second graders got a chance to try to sing this song along with the high school students. Towards the end of the presentation, the students were allowed to ask questions they had come up with beforehand. This activity was very engaging and the students learned a lot. I now see how technology can help students learn more. It can connect you with people all around the world. I really want to incorporate the use of technology into my classroom so my students can see different cultures rather than just reading or hearing about them.
I had another awesome day in fourth grade at Fritz Elementary. My teacher is great and I knew it was going to be a good day before I even got there because she emailed me a schedule of what I would be doing throughout the whole day the night before. She had me working with small groups, leading the class in math activities, individually tutoring students, leading a large group of students in reader's theatre, and the students got to play my science Jeopardy review game that I made for them to prepare for their upcoming test. I even got to take the winning team out in the snow to sled and snowboard! I love the fact that my teacher has given me a lot more responsibility because not only do i learn a lot, but it makes the day go by a lot faster. Next week, I get to teach a social studies lesson (yay)!!
I had a pretty good day in second grade last week. I did the DIBELS test again. I really like to do it because it allows me to sit with the students one on one and also see thier progress week to week. I also conducted my reading and writing interview for Dr. Pitcher's class. I found this extremely helpful in trying to get to know my selected student. Mrs. Ober had me do the morning stretches with the kids, the afternoon read aloud, and I taught a lesson based on Valentine's Day. For my lesson, I had the kids complete mad libs. We did them as a class and they seemed to really enjoy them. I also found out a little more of the science curriculum - they will be focusing on Bugs in a couple weeks. They actually get to use real, nasty, worm things ... it's gross but I am sure the kids are going to love it. Next week I get to teach a Social Studies lesson ... I'm a little nervous - but hopefully it will go well!
Thursday was a little crazy! The students were all still excited from they snow days they had and Mrs. Doane was feeling very behind. I was able to help her by giving a spelling test to several of the students and doing lots of small group work throughout the morning. It was interesting to work with these students in a small group and we went to a conference room next door to Mrs. Doane's classroom. Seeing the students away from Mrs. Doane and their fellow classmates was interesting and exciting. A lot of the students were more reserved at first but then quickly became very comfortable and excited to prove what they knew about possessive plural nouns. I enjoyed seeing the students interact around each other in this environment that was different than the classroom environment because it gave them a chance to start over and be who they wanted to be without the constraints that being in the same place everyday with the same people tends to put on students, especially young ones. Overall it was a good day and I am really looking forward to next week!
So far, everything has been going very well in my fieldwork experience. Last week, I had the opportunity to give the class a read aloud. This week, I will be giving a read aloud as well as doing a scripted math lesson by Saxon Math. I hope that as each week passes by, I will become more familiar with the class and how Mrs. Moritz runs her class. Last week, for Social Studies, the class watched a video on Abraham Lincoln. There wasn't much discussion on Lincoln after the video, but I think the next day, Mrs. Moritz planned on having the students construct cabins out of popsicle sticks to demonstrate the cabin that Lincoln grew up in. This, of course, relates to the controversy of curriculum integration with Social Studies. So far, I have still had positive feelings about my fieldwork experience. I love the kids, who are brilliant by the way, and I think that Mrs. Moritz is an excellent teacher. As long as I stay on my toes and do everything right, I think I will get a lot out of this experience.
Today was a very productive day for me in field placement, and I was happy because the students saved their Valentine's Day treats until today when I was there! :) I got Valentines from students and that made my day!
ReplyDeleteI was able to complete assignments from other methods class during school today, including an interview and observation. My teacher needed help because she feels a little overwhelmed with work, so I also helped her grade. She was very appreciative of my help. Today the students had a spelling test I corrected. They did fairly well on them.
I was also able to do progress monitoring with DIBELS today for the first time at Taylor Elementary. The students improved on their scores, so it was neat to see their improvement from the beginning of the semester.
It was another good day at placement and I look forward to the rest of the semester!
Today was very...well...interesting. My co-op was out of the classroom all day doing report card conferences so there was a substitute. Fortunately the sub had been in this class many times before and had a great relationship with the students. Saying that, they were very hyper today and obviously knew they could get away with some stuff now that they had a sub. I was able to help finish up some small projects for my teacher, get some anecdotal records, interview a student, and help the students while they were in their centers. Also, I got my first taste of parent-teacher conferences today which was really cool. I got to see some parents that had a great relationship with my co-op and were able to stay on top of everything going on in the classroom. Then there were some parents who were not on the same page with the teacher. It was great to hear how the parents reacted to their child's performance and their input of some of the behaviors that are seen in the classroom. Overall, I was very pleased to have the opportunity to sit in on the conferences and get a look at another side of being an educator.
ReplyDeleteToday was a great day! I recieved a whole bag of Valentine's and I passed out their valentine's too! I taught a social studies lesson about the Olympics today. It covered three symbols of the Olympics, the torch, flag and motto. As an activity the students made their own flag and included their own motto to represent themselves.
ReplyDeleteI also was able to complete other assignments as well. I did the reading and writing interview on my kidwatching child, which went well and I was able to gain some more information about her.I also talked to my co-op about the science curriculum. I found out that they have recently switched to an inquiry based program which was helpful since that is waht we have been talking about. I can't wait for next week! I love it!
Today was okay for me. The students had to take a unit test that goes along with the curriculum that is in place and was purchased by the district. The reading test took the entire morning and by the end of it the students, and my co-op, were happy that it was finally lunch time. The test was given just as standardized tests are; it was very structured and scripted and the students had to remain silent for the duration of the test.
ReplyDeleteWhen the students came back from lunch my co-op gave them less strenuous activities to work on. They finished up little fun projects from their 100th day of school and activities from when they were learning about the Chinese New Year. There was no instruction of new material today. My co-op expressed her frustration with the reading curriculum and how today was exhausting for her and the students, and how it was a wasted day of instruction.
As my co-op was administering the test and working on the other activities after lunch she had me organizing a massive pile of books into groups according to the level of each book. I did this for the entire day! It was so tiring, redundant, and boring! My co-op apologized for having me do this but expressed that it was a wasted day and there was really nothing else for me to do.
I am looking forward to a normal day next week!!!
Today was a really good day. My teacher's giving me a lot more responsibilities which is awesome. I did a lesson with some of the kids in our Reading Skills group and I was able to interview my student for the kid watching project which was really interesting. I also got to use the smartboard for the first time today! It was installed on my first day there and my teacher finally got it up and working. It is so cool! I love it and can't wait to use it more. We also had an assembly today. The step team from East High School came in and did a short program for the kids and they loved it! The high schoolers taught the kids some of the steps and they had so much fun trying to do them. It was a pretty cool assembly but I noticed that it did get the kids pretty wound up and they were stomping around everywhere for the rest of the day trying to imitate the high schoolers. But because of the assembly we didn't break into math skills in the afternoon which meant we were able to get a lot more done with the whole class in reading and math. Overall it was another good day.
ReplyDeleteToday was really great, but quite hectic! Every Thursday, all of the 5th grade teachers have grade level meetings before the students arrive. Today's meeting was quite interesting because the math coach talked about the new unit that is coming up. She gave the teachers a list of the different topics that are included in the unit and provided the teachers with helpful tips for each topic. For example, when teaching negative and positive numbers, she recommended that that they explain it using a thermometer. I thought that this would be a great visual for students learning this new concept.
ReplyDeleteI am really happy because each time I go, Mr. Keefer gives me something else to do with the entire class. Today, I went over their daily math practice and daily oral language, which I did two weeks ago. I felt much more comfortable with these two activities this week because I was more familiar with it. I had the opportunity to go over their megawords (spelling practice) with them today, which was something new for me. I administered the pretest.
Before lunch, many students go to band, so the remaining students have an opportunity to work on their homework, complete kidbiz, finish up any other work, etc. The students just completed reading Freedom's Fire, so they were working on a writing assignment to make predictions about what they thought would happen to the characters 10 years after the story. A few students that were done read their stories to me. I was so impressed by all of the great stories that I heard. They used so many details, great dialogue, and they were all so creative! I thoroughly enjoyed listening to them. I really enjoyed my time in the classroom today and I can't wait for next week!
Today was a really fun day. We started off the day with a morning story and a spelling pretest, and then at 9:30 we went upstairs where the teachers set up a webcam (I forget what program they used... not skype) so that the students could communicate with a high school class located in Beijing (since they recently learned about Chinese New Year). All of the students were exchange students from America, two of whom actually were from Hempfield School District. They taught the 2nd graders how to say 'hello,' 'goodbye,' and 'happy new year,'as well as showing them how two write the words 'sun,' 'moon,' and 'field'. The students got to ask them questions about life in China, such as "what is it like to stand on the great wall of China?" and "What kinds of food do you eat?". The whole exchange took about an hour and the students had so much fun! Later on in the day Mrs. Miller and I split the class in half (I took one and she took the other) and did a quick lesson on the Olympics, what an oath is, and what is good sportsmanship. I also got to come up with a new seating arrangement in the classroom and we moved the desks around while the students were in music class.
ReplyDeleteNext week I get to do a lesson on the continents, and I am going to introduce them and see how much they know of certain landmarks and structures (ex. the Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower, rainforests, mountains, etc.)so I'm pretty excited about that!!
Today was full of a myriad of things. Every Thursday is our "Grade Level Meeting" so I get to sit in on meetings about various things happening in 5th grade. Today's meeting had a special guest(The math club lady), and they were talking about the upcoming math unit. In came talk of report cards and the dreaded PSSAs. Some teacher's disdain for teaching to the test really came though.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, the day was like all the others have been, except this week I worked with a reading group, did the spelling lesson and graded tests. I find it particularly interesting to see how the students act as if there are now two teachers in the classroom. Jena does a great job facilitating this and making sure the students know they can complete all their daily tasks such as checking work and homework with either her or me, and it's an empowering feeling to be trusted not only be Jena, but also by the students.
In my hunt for gathering information about social studies, I found the book! I had to jump on a chair and the counter to reach it all the way on the top shelf, but I now have in my possession the social studies unit my students will be learning in the next quarter. I looked through the teacher's manual, and it was interesting to find that it followed the format of our lesson plans we'll be writing. In the book there are headings for "Motivate" "Teach" and "Close". This teacher's manual does a great job of suggesting integration techniques, too. I look forward to seeing it in action, and teaching a lesson myself.
All in all, a good day.
Today went well but it was pretty frustrating. There was a bit of miscommunication between my co-op and I from two weeks ago until now...she thought I had a lesson plan set up for today when I thought I was doing group work so we both were confused. My mini lesson with the small groups went well but the kids were driving me crazy not paying attention to what I was asking but were all for building different structures with the cubes instead. Although it was frustrating, I was happy it happened here and I was able to address it on a smaller level for the first time rather than in front of the whole class while I was being supervised.
ReplyDeleteI plan on teaching a lesson on Balto next week which Im excited for since I had a husky myself and did the whole dog-sledding thing! We also saved Valentines until today which was fun. Im really getting to know the kids better which is my favorite part. Im exctied for next week :)
Yesterday was a great day! It was only my second time in my classroom, so I think after yesterday, I feel much more comfortable in the classroom. I was able to play a game with my students, grade papers, and perform a read aloud. Each morning, my co-op gives me a schedule of the day, and this is extremely helpful because I can actually see how the day is going to pan out. She's very organized.
ReplyDeleteIt was pretty funny yesterday, my class was talking about harvesting crops and farms, and a student told my teacher he likes to play Farmville. It turns out that 8 or so kids in my class have a Facebook! In second grade!! I couldn't believe it.
I received an email from my co-op on Wednesday night informing me that she was not going to be there yesterday, because of appointments, etc. So...we had a substitute yesterday. She was very nice, but I could tell that these kids were going to tire her out. Don't get me wrong, they're great kids! But Mrs. LaPenta has them so trained to all of her rules and expectations, that as soon as someone new comes around they test them like crazy. So for me, yesterday was a gigantic lesson and practice session of classroom management. It was different since Mrs. LaPenta has been having me do a lot of little teaching things here and there and I didn't have that opportunity in front of the class yesterday, but I did my best to help the sub out wherever and whenever she needed me to do anything. By the end of the day I got pretty good at being able to scan the entire class at once for kids misbehaving and calling out (this was happenning a lot yesterday), since they are on such a short leash when it comes to that with Mrs. LaPenta. I implemented her classroom management reward and discipline system, and I think the kids realized that I wasn't someone who they were going to be able to mess with and test. But at the same time, I had a lot of fun getting to know each student more, and I think that some of them are becoming much more comfortable with me helping and teaching them, and I'm excited to get more active in front of the classroom!
ReplyDeleteYesterday was a great day at my placement. The school was doing a fundraiser "Hats for Haiti" so many of the students were wearing different hats and they were excited to come into the classroom and show their hats off and check out everyone else's. During morning meeting, my co-op asked the students if they had been following the Olympics and it was good to see that a majority of them had and they were really interested in the snowboarding.
ReplyDeleteI worked at a specfic center today with the students. They were working on identifying objects that begin with the letter H. Then we worked on sequencing events (1st, 2nd, 3rd). I also had the opportunity to help the students while they were writing in their journals. I enjoy watching them write and observing how they create words based off of the sounds that they hear. Next week, my co-op said that I will be in charge of the writing center and jouranl writing with them so I am very excited about that. The following week I will teach my first lesson to the class. I am looking forward to planning that lesson and returning to placement next week! It has been great so far! I'm loving it!
Although it was a bit crazy, today was another good day! My teacher left a little before lunch so we had a substitute in the afternoon. He still had me step in quite a bit to help out since Mrs. Strout had gone over the afternoon activities with me as well. I administered a spelling test and worked with some of the studetns one-on-one. While they were at specials, I completed some random jobs for Mrs. Strout such as putting books together that were made by the students. It was a fun day, and I had a chance to talk to my supervisor as well. I am anxious to start teaching more in the classroom!
ReplyDeleteToday was a pretty normal day. I walked into my classroom and my teacher asked me if I felt comfortable teaching math today. I had only seen math instruction once so I was a little hesitant, but I said yes. Naturally, the projector screen and program that goes along with the math lesson decided to fail me. I had to just wing it, but my co-op said I did a really good job. Next week, they are taking a math test, so I won't be able to teach math again, but I hope for some more practice soon. I usually test the students on "math facts" every time I go. This includes showing students cards of multiplication for one minute. Normally, students get about 25 right in a minute. I did some more odd jobs during the day, such as making copies and grading papers.
ReplyDeleteMany of the kids were given detention for their bad behavior throughout the day.
Hopefully next week I will start teaching a mini-reading series to a small group, and the students will be better behaved.
I had a great day! I greeted each student at the door and many seemed genuinely happy to see me. I was worried that they had forgotten me as we were not together last week due to the snow storm. I thought that they might not be excited by my return. Thankfully, they were!
ReplyDeleteToday I did a read aloud with the entire class. It appeared that the children were attentive, and once I told them my expectations for the lesson, I felt I had control of it. I feel as though the more I connect with the students, the more confidence I have to lead the entire group.
Additionally, I participated in a faculty math meeting and went to a neighboring third grade classroom for a math lesson. After school, I took part in a parent meeting. I especially enjoyed going to Mr. Paul’s 3rd grade classroom where I saw a smart board being used to teach a multiplication lesson. Also, I was encouraged to experience a male teacher interacting with the students since I had only one during my elementary school years, a guy who was about to retire no less. It just was nice to feel connected.
The parent meeting held after school was an excellent experience since it was my first. Mrs. Hyatt is a skilled conversationalist and has great rapport with parents. She always encourages me to be myself and infuse humor into education. She absolutely practices what she preaches.
Is anyone else completely exhausted after a full day of elementary school? Seriously, the minute the kids leave for the day, I am out of gas!
I had a wonderful day at Fritz. I really like my co-op and appreciate the way she teaches and interacts with her students. It was fun today because even though it was only my second time there I got a couple valentines and the students were excited to see me back. They started learning how to compare fractions with different denominators in math today. I was excited because as she was teaching I started noting things that I would have done differently or approached in a different way had I been the one teaching. That felt amazing. Then as the students began some independent practice it was clear there were several students struggling. So I would plop down on the floor next to their desks and walk them through step by step. I did my best to explain and model WHY they were doing each step. Several students had the "ah-hah!" moment as I worked with them and that was...indescribably amazing. It's why we do what we do right? I also got to help several students learn a new computer program later in the day. Today went by a lot faster then last time I was there. It was a great day. And next week I get to teach a math lesson! I'm so nervous but totally excited aw well.
ReplyDeleteMy placement went really well this past Thursday. All the second graders at Mountville Elementary School got a chance to be on video and communicate with the high school Chinese class. The second graders had previously been learning about the Chinese New Year. They had made art projects such as masks and they learned some Chinese words. The teachers went over how the second graders should act during this presentation. They all had to remain seating and not talk so that they could hear the high school students and the teacher talk about the Chinese New Year. The children were really well behaved throughout the presentation. The students learned Chinese words, such as numbers, Happy New Year, etc. It was really exciting to see one of the second graders communicate with the teacher in Chinese because that is his native language. Even though the students didn’t know what they were talking about, it was still very interesting to see. The high school teacher played a Chinese instrument while the students sang a Chinese New Year’s song. The second graders got a chance to try to sing this song along with the high school students. Towards the end of the presentation, the students were allowed to ask questions they had come up with beforehand. This activity was very engaging and the students learned a lot. I now see how technology can help students learn more. It can connect you with people all around the world. I really want to incorporate the use of technology into my classroom so my students can see different cultures rather than just reading or hearing about them.
ReplyDeleteI had another awesome day in fourth grade at Fritz Elementary. My teacher is great and I knew it was going to be a good day before I even got there because she emailed me a schedule of what I would be doing throughout the whole day the night before. She had me working with small groups, leading the class in math activities, individually tutoring students, leading a large group of students in reader's theatre, and the students got to play my science Jeopardy review game that I made for them to prepare for their upcoming test. I even got to take the winning team out in the snow to sled and snowboard! I love the fact that my teacher has given me a lot more responsibility because not only do i learn a lot, but it makes the day go by a lot faster. Next week, I get to teach a social studies lesson (yay)!!
ReplyDeleteI had a pretty good day in second grade last week. I did the DIBELS test again. I really like to do it because it allows me to sit with the students one on one and also see thier progress week to week. I also conducted my reading and writing interview for Dr. Pitcher's class. I found this extremely helpful in trying to get to know my selected student. Mrs. Ober had me do the morning stretches with the kids, the afternoon read aloud, and I taught a lesson based on Valentine's Day. For my lesson, I had the kids complete mad libs. We did them as a class and they seemed to really enjoy them. I also found out a little more of the science curriculum - they will be focusing on Bugs in a couple weeks. They actually get to use real, nasty, worm things ... it's gross but I am sure the kids are going to love it. Next week I get to teach a Social Studies lesson ... I'm a little nervous - but hopefully it will go well!
ReplyDeleteThursday was a little crazy! The students were all still excited from they snow days they had and Mrs. Doane was feeling very behind. I was able to help her by giving a spelling test to several of the students and doing lots of small group work throughout the morning. It was interesting to work with these students in a small group and we went to a conference room next door to Mrs. Doane's classroom. Seeing the students away from Mrs. Doane and their fellow classmates was interesting and exciting. A lot of the students were more reserved at first but then quickly became very comfortable and excited to prove what they knew about possessive plural nouns. I enjoyed seeing the students interact around each other in this environment that was different than the classroom environment because it gave them a chance to start over and be who they wanted to be without the constraints that being in the same place everyday with the same people tends to put on students, especially young ones. Overall it was a good day and I am really looking forward to next week!
ReplyDeleteSo far, everything has been going very well in my fieldwork experience. Last week, I had the opportunity to give the class a read aloud. This week, I will be giving a read aloud as well as doing a scripted math lesson by Saxon Math. I hope that as each week passes by, I will become more familiar with the class and how Mrs. Moritz runs her class. Last week, for Social Studies, the class watched a video on Abraham Lincoln. There wasn't much discussion on Lincoln after the video, but I think the next day, Mrs. Moritz planned on having the students construct cabins out of popsicle sticks to demonstrate the cabin that Lincoln grew up in. This, of course, relates to the controversy of curriculum integration with Social Studies.
ReplyDeleteSo far, I have still had positive feelings about my fieldwork experience. I love the kids, who are brilliant by the way, and I think that Mrs. Moritz is an excellent teacher. As long as I stay on my toes and do everything right, I think I will get a lot out of this experience.