I didn't really feel more confident today. If anything, I felt like I was stepping on my teacher's toes. I basically did copies, ran errands and sat in the back of the classroom again. I hope that next week, when I do a mini-lesson, I'll be able to feel like this classroom is home instead of feeling like an invader. However, I did see a lot of Social Studies today. My teacher usually trades classrooms with another teacher for SS. I saw that class, as well as my own class. Yesterday was a delay in school so my teacher wanted to catch up with our class. We are currently learning about John Smith and Pocahontas, and the events leading up and after. The moment that stands out in my mind today was when a student couldn't find something. My teacher waited 30 seconds after she had asked them to find something, and then dumped the contents of the students desk on the floor and told him "Now, it'll be easier to find." Needless to say, I was shocked. My teacher just stood there, and watched this poor kid sift through the contents of his desk under the eyes of his peers. From what I have observed, this student is not a bad kid by any means. After waiting for 5 MINUTES, watching him, my teacher continued with her lesson. The student missed the entire social studies instruction. When I asked my co-op later, she said, "Students need to be taught." This moment will stay with me for a couple weeks.
Today, I had to start all over again at a new school with a new class, teacher, and grade. I am now at Fritz Elementary in a fourth grade classroom. It was a big change from Kindergarten, but I instantly got used to the fact that the students actually wanted to learn and didn’t jump around screaming and grabbing my legs. My co-op was extremely welcoming; I had my own desk waiting for me with a name tag, a class roster, class schedule, and a list of jobs to do. I knew it was going to be different when I was asked to write new name tags for the students’ desks in “my best cursive” (which I don’t think I have written in since I was in fourth grade). The students were definitely more mature than I thought they would be. They each introduced themselves to me and made sure to make me feel at home. I enjoyed the fact that my teacher put me to work right away. I had lots of odd jobs throughout the day such as cutting paper, making nametags, and grading quizzes. My teacher also gave me a lot of responsibility right away: she had me work with a small reading group who, in her words, “have the attention spans of fleas”, I was in charge of a math group who played Match 24 (in which the students proved to have better math skills than myself), and I helped students study in small groups for a test they were about to have. I was extremely happy to hear that social studies instruction exists for at least 30 minutes a day. My teacher explained that although many schools do not agree with this, she is very old fashioned and thinks that social studies should be taught every day. Social studies and science are given a one hour time slot every day, which I thought was great! I did not feel more or less confident than last week due to the fact that this was technically my first day again. I did appreciate my co-op making me feel right at home and giving me responsibility right away. By the end of the day, I felt a lot more confident than when I walked in. The one moment that stands out in my mind is when I got the chance to tutor a small group of students who were retaking a math test that they had originally failed. I was given 5 minutes with the students to help them memorize certain measurements that the fourth graders were required to know. After the four students took their tests, 3 out of the 4 of them got 100% and immediately came up to me and gave me a hug, saying thank you for helping them. Although I explained to them that they were capable of passing even without my help, it made me feel great that they had gained confidence in me as a teacher.
Today was another good day for me! I did feel more confident and I felt extremelycomfortable as I did last week too. I felt more confident becaue I am more used to my class and what goes on every day.Also, my co-op had me doing more today.During morning meeting I went over their Acronym handout that they were working on as they came in in the morning. I called on various students as they followed along and filled in ansers if they did not get them earlier. Doing this right away in the morning, made me feel comfortable and confident as well. I also took seven of the higher level math students to a different room today to teach them how to compute averages. We went through the chapter and each student did an example on the board. They caught on very quickly. For reading, I took 2 students out to help them with their assessment because tehy struggle with reading comprehension. This went very well and I noticed when they are less distracted and take their time they do a great job instead of just guessing any answer. I found out today that they have social studies twice a week, we did in fact have it today but I did not get a chance to observe it because I was working with some other students with science instruction. But I will definitely observe it next time. Overall, today was a good day and I can't wait fot next week!
My second day in the second grade went just as well as my first. I think I was more confident because I had already met my co-op and all of the children, so I was ready to continue from last week. This time my co-op had a list of three assignments for me to do. One was to work with the on level group reading a pamphlet about the Statue of Liberty, which incorporates social studies! The other assignment was to work with the advanced level group with a math worksheet. The students had to add tens and ones together and then find the number on the hundred chart. From there they added ten to the original number, so they were able to see a pattern. It was a good experience to work with students of different abilities and in different subject areas. With the math group I started out having the students work on one problem at a time and then discuss what the answer was. After a few problems I allowed the students to work on their own so that they could work at their own pace and because of time. My co-op also had me put packets of children’s work together. She explained to me that she makes these packets rather than sending home single pieces of paper every day, so that the papers don’t get lost. I thought that was a great idea and it makes it easier for parents to look at their child’s full week’s worth of work in one sitting. This can allow opportunity for the parent/s to go over the packets with their child. She gave me a huge stack of papers and had me go in a separate room because she said I needed a lot of room. This I found to be completely true because I had a lot of sorting to do. I found it easiest to use a large clean table. During science time, my co-op had me work with a group of six students on a science experiment. The students based their predictions on what they knew air does to move things. They predicted how far objects would move when pushed by air. With a straw the students blew through, they tested air with a paper clip, block, domino, tissue, balloon, and crayon. One moment that I remember today was while the students were doing the experiment, one student was getting frustrated because she was not able to move the objects very far. I tried to help her but even when I did she was still not successful. She immediately gave up just because she saw all the other students move their objects far. She did not get the same experience as the rest of the students because she did not continue to try so she was not able to see the affects of air on objects. This moment was more of a negative one. Overall my day went great and I can’t wait this next Thursday.
Today I felt a little more confident as far as my interactions with the students and teacher went since it was no longer a new experience for me. I am getting to know them all better and had a few more chances today to help and teach the students. My coop allowed me to go over the morning work with most of the class while she worked with other students in the hallway. This was a little uncomfortable for me since I still don't know all of the students’ names, but they all cooperated and listened while I taught. We went over a worksheet that they do every morning on math and reading and we also did a "checkbook entry" together. Although I was a little uncomfortable in the morning, the day got better as I remember helping the students with a writing assignment and feeling confident doing that. I thought the writing assignment was really interesting because my teacher had the students chose an object and write from that object's point of view. An event had to occur and the object was supposed to have a personality. She did this because of the book they read, "Voices of the Park," where different points of view from different characters were addressed. The students came up with some great ideas for objects and events. I really enjoyed reading their stories! The teacher really doesn't have me do much as far as teaching lessons or anything, but hopefully I will get more chances in the future and feel more confident as time passes. I would really like more experiences in teaching because I know that is the only way I am going to learn. Maybe I will begin asking her about teaching more since I realize that she has never had a student teacher before. The moment that stood out in my mind from field placement today was when students in the class were involved in a verbal fight. I had not witnessed this last week and my cooperating teacher had to pause the class to take care of it. Two of the girls were asked to go out in the hallway to resolve the problem. I really don't know how I would have reacted to that as a teacher, and I hope that the students did as they were told and talked out their issues in the hall before returning to class. This situation surprised me and had me wonder what issues these 4th graders have and how often they have fights. Hopefully I won’t witness this problem again!
I had a blast at my field placement today! I am definitely feeling more comfortable in the classroom. I am starting to get to know names and finally got to work with the students in their centers. This increased comfort level along with the gradual acquisition of more responsibility has led me to feel more confident in the classroom. I feel as though my confidence will increase after every school day. Much like last week, my co-op had me do some side projects in the beginning such as die cutting or coloring sheets for next weeks centers. (For the record I can color a pretty mean chameleon.) Then I got to go around and work with the students while they were doing their centers. This was a great experience because it gave me a chance to get to know the students better. My favorite moment of the day had to be when I did a read aloud with the class. It brought me back to the Ed 250 days. I was reading a book about the 100th day of school, which is tomorrow. All the students were talking about it today and expressed their excitement for the activities that await them tomorrow. This moment was my favorite because it is the closest I have come to actually teaching so far this semester. It definitely helped me feel more comfortable in the classroom and helped me realize that I am ready to handle more responsibility within the room. I can’t wait until next week when I get to sit in on some report card conferences with parents. I think it will be a great experience.
I felt a little more confident today, but my first day went really well too so it is difficult to compare. The fifth grade switches classes a lot so besides my homeroom students, I had mostly new kids to work with today which was a great experience for me. I love that each day is completely different. My coop encourages me to work with the students a lot throughout the day, either one-on-one or in small groups which makes my day fly by! I am glad she gives me these opportunities to work with the students because it does allow me to become more confident in the classroom. I really enjoy working with my homeroom class. I see them the most (although most of them are in other classes for a large part of the day) so I know their personalities better. They are all so polite and respectful. Today we started working on a character project where they write down they ways they show friendship, responsibility, caring, and respect. Of all the classrooms I've been in, these students work together the best and really want to help each other learn. Instead of giving each other answers, they lead each other to find the correct answer as a teacher would. The moments of the day that stand out to me the most are the times she gives me small groups of students to work with at the back table. Today I was working with groups of students with two different math activities. It was fun as well as a great opportunity for me to really feel like their teacher instead of just an observer in the classroom. Another wonderful day in fifth grade :)
I had another great day in Mr. Keefer's classroom! I definitely felt much more confident today than I did on my first day. It was a great feeling to be able to stand at the door in the morning and address each of the students by their names. I am learning more about each student, which also makes me feel more confident. I can tell that my confidence is going to continue to increase as I become more comfortable with the daily routine. I already felt like I was picking up on the schedule. Also, Mr. Keefer had me fill out passes for students to go see the nurse. This is a very small part of classroom procedures, but it helps to know how to do these things and get practice. Mr. Keefer had me go over the student's Daily Oral Language notebooks, Megawords practice, Daily Math problems, etc. Getting up in front of the class today really helped with my confidence level. These students continue to impress me! =) I began to realize today that they don't miss a beat. When I was going over their Daily Math problems, Daily oral language notebooks, and word ladders I accidentally skipped over one of the exercises in their Daily oral language notebooks and I told them to close up their notebooks when they were done. One boy immediately raised his hand, "Miss Potter, we still have one more exercise." I thanked him for reminding me and keeping me on track. I was a little nervous during this because it was my first time, but I know that as the weeks progress I will become more comfortable. I even felt myself gain more confidence with this as I went through the different activities. That was one moment that really stood out to me! I can't wait until next week!
Yesterday, I actually began a new placement at a new school, Fritz Elementary. I am still in a second grade placement! My teacher's name is Ms. Kauffman. The day started out well! Ms. Kauffman was great. She showed me around the school, and introduced me to many of the teachers. Before school began, she showed me the class schedule, and some of the activities they would be doing during the day. This helped me feel a lot more comfortable. She even gave me my own desk! When the students came in, I greeted each of them individually, and I think by the end of the day, I remembered most of their names! They had trouble with mine though, it was pretty funny. Social Studies was in the schedule! The students are actually reading about famous people in history, and writing a mini report on the person they read about. I went around to a few students, and they had so much to tell me about Harriet Tubman, Squanto, and many more people in history! I loved my experience yesterday. The only negative aspect I noticed was there wasn't as much of a controlled learning environment. The students could get up as they pleased, leave the room, and would crowd Ms. Kauffman when they had questions, finished an activity, etc. If there was a method in place they were supposed to do, I didn't see it. Overall, my day was great! I feel like my teacher is excited to have me there, and I didn't feel that in my other placement. I'm excited of what's to come!
I had a great day at field placement this week! I felt more comfortable, which is saying something because last week Mrs. Doane made me feel very welcome in her classroom! The students were all very hyped up on Thursday because they had a two hour delay on Wednesday and the only thing they could talk about was the upcoming snow storm! Our class has a flu bug running through it. Mrs. Doane said on Wednesday they had five students absent and when I was there on Thursday there were six students out sick. In the morning I worked with some students on math tests and helped them with corrections to problems Mrs. Doane had circled for them to take a second look at before grading the tests. I liked this idea of reviewing the tests, allowing the students a chance to fix some mistakes if they could find what they did wrong, and then grading. In the afternoon I gave some of the students who were absent on Wednesday their spelling test that they had missed. One thing that really stood out to me was when the students were working in groups on a science activity in the afternoon Mrs. Doane put several students who like to be in charge in one group together. At first I was curious why she would do this because all of the students wanted to be in charge in that group which was going to cause some conflict and some other groups were left without anyone who would definitely stand up to take charge. However as I watched I realized this was intentional. In the group with the students who all liked to be in charge the students were forced to learn to work together and take turns instead of all fighting over who got to be in control. And in the other groups it forced some of the students who would normally sit and allow someone else to take charge to step up and take action. This was a very interesting situation for me to watch play out and in the end it was very valuable for the students as well I believe. Overall I had another wonderful day at Centerville!
Going back to third grade, I felt much more comfortable and confident with both Mrs. Keefer and the students. I gave the class their spelling test where I learned I cant think of very good sentences on my feet... Ill have to work on that. During math, I graded tests of which half the class failed (anything under a 70 is considered an F...the thinking is if you dont get a least a c, you dont know the material). Mrs. Keefer decided to give them a retest but some of the students did worse because they were worried they had failed the first time (Mrs. Keefer didnt show them their original tests or what they did wrong). This frustrated me so much because I would have handled it differently and seeing how upset the kids were didnt help. I still have yet to see any actual reading, lanugage arts, or social studies teaching so Im hoping I see some soon!
The one moment that stuck out to me this week was at lunch. The kids and I took turns asking questions and somehow families were brought up. Many of the kids shared how one of their parents had passed away or had been killed. And many of them also mentioned how they have 8, 9, or 10 siblings...most of which come from different mothers or fathers. They said it so matter of factly that it didnt seem to phase them anymore. It was one of those things that punch you in the stomach but you cant really react to it. Left me speechless to say the least.
To end of a happy note, Im very exicted to go back next week!
I felt so much more confident in 2nd grade today. My teacher is really good with making sure I am involved in the classroom. She had me do DIBELS testing with a group of students which was interesting to see because I have heard of the test but never actually saw it implemented. My teacher left early, so a substitute came in for the afternoon. I actually felt really confortable, my co-op left me with a lot of tasks instead of the substitute. I did a read aloud and also taught my first lesson. Math was really eye opening to me. After the lesson the kids were assigned a workbook page, some were done extremely fast and then were lined up to get their work checked. Others were slowly working and needed help for certain problems and then there was a group who did not even know how to begin. It made me really nervous for when I am in my own classroom because it was almost impossible to give individual help to those students who needed it and then also keep the kids that finished early occupied. I was overwhelmed and discouraged. I also got to observe the students at Music class. I always think it is so interesting to see the kids outside of the classroom. They were crazy in music class, but I learned today that they are a pretty rowdy bunch.
Funny little comment: One of the girls asked me how old I was and when I told her she proceeded to ask if I had a boyfriend. I told her no and then she replied and shook her head telling me that was sad because now I could never get married. - It's the small things that keep you going back each week =)
I actually got to start all over again this week too. I'm now in a fourth grade classroom at Fritz Elementary. I had a great day. I didn't feel too much more confidence given that I had to do the first day process all over again. The class was a lot easier to get comfortable with though. They just seemed more personable as a school. The faculty were great and the students were a lot of fun. I got to help go over benchmark assessments, grade some spelling tests, and write on the board a KWL chart about their new social studies unit (Explorers). It was a fun day. The moment that most stuck out to me was probably being introduced to the students. As Mrs. Taraborelli explained that I'm both a student and a teacher. The students got to ask questions and I got to explain college and how you can go for anything you want to be. They all wanted to tell me what they wanted to be when they grew up. It was really fun and I got to know them better really quickly. They all have big dreams and it was really great to see. I'm definitely excited to go back next week. This is going to be an adventure. The class has a lot of personality as a whole and I look forward to working with them.
I definitely felt a lot more confident on Thursday. The kids remembered me from the week before and even remembered my name! I'm starting to get to know the kids a lot better and really get a feel for their personalities. During the math lesson we split the class into two groups and played a game where one member of each "team" would roll a die and the students had to record each roll on a table and then add everything up to find the total. Miss Pagana and I each played for one of the teams. All the kids got really competitive which was funny. This was a great opportunity for me to have a lot fun with the kids while still helping out with the lesson. Miss Pagana was getting ready for conferences on Friday and had the kids fill out little information sheets about themselves to hang in the hallway. She had me make one too so the kids and their parents could learn more about me.
One thing that stood out in my mind was how much one little boy was getting in trouble today. This is the "bad" kid in class but as far as I've seen he doesn't have an attitude or flat out disobey he's just kind of crazy and does and says whatever comes to his mind. When we went to pick the kids up from music the music teacher was ripping him apart in front of all the other kids. I felt that this wasn't the place to discipline him, especially so harshly. This boy didn't any recess or breaks at all for the entire day which I understand is a logical punishment, to take away privileges, but I think he needs a chance to get his energy out. I'm definitely going to keep an eye on him and how his discipline issues are handled.
Overall I think that I did feel more confident today. I felt that since most of the students now knew me, I could open up a little more and be more confident in what I was doing in the classroom. Mrs. LaPenta really pushes me to do more with the class. Today I led and reviewed six math problems in front of the classroom on the overhead. This forced me to be confident in the way that I was speaking and instructing. I feel that Mrs. LaPenta is really going to push me to be more confident and step out of my comfort zone as the semester goes on. One thing that really sticks out in my mind is something that happened when I was drilling a student on a syllable rule. Mrs. LaPenta was going over the rules of this syllable with the whole class and having each student recite the rules. This one little boy could just not get it. She would repeatedly go back to him and he kept mizing up the words or just not paying attention and couldn't get it. She then sent him and two other students to the back of the room with me to drill them on the rules. It was still taking him a long time to get it down, and I figured out that if I used hand motions and repetition, he responded incredibily. Finally, he got it! And that "ah-ha" moment was incredible. I could see his face light up. Then, about 15 minutes late, as they were leaving the room, I asked him if he remembered the rules and he recited them to me right away. I hope that I see many more moments like that this semester!
I felt a bit more confident this week because I was already introduced to my teacher, school staff and many of the students. Almost immediately, though, after entering my class, my teacher asked me to name as many of the children as I could from memory. I recalled about two thirds of the children, so, I thought I did pretty well considering three students were absent last week, a new student arrived, and another who left the school earlier in the year had returned. That’s a lot of names to remember when I was focused on so many different areas of the classroom and school last week!
One area in which I definitely had more confidence was “morning warm up”. I was asked to lead it. Last week, I was not sure what to say or how to lead, but this week was better. The children sit on a carpet and answer a question created by my teacher and written on the board by me. The question was “We all know things change in this world. What are some things that cannot change?” The exercise went along with a reading lesson that I did with four students last week (I assume the entire class read it). Some of their answers were not quite right (like “seeds”), so I tried to ask questions to lead the students to some correct answers discussed in the story. The children responded to me pretty well, but the teacher has so much more authority that every child pays attention to her. I had a few fidgeting children.
I was proudest of this week’s group reading which included a group of four readers who were mid/high level readers. I felt more confident because of the enthusiasm of the students in the group and the manner in which they answered questions. Even though the story had questions at the end, I did not use them. I asked my own which I later discovered were almost the exact questions in the book. I felt that I did a good job asking relevant questions about the story that the students answered with ease.
I found myself completely amazed how first graders notice EVERYTHING! The classroom walls are packed with posters, pocket charts, student work…etc. One wall contains a paper tree, a behavior tree, with different colored monkeys positioned on it. If, for example, the “blue monkeys” (a group of three or four children) behave they move higher in the tree. The goal is to reach the bananas on the top. The children went to music class, and while they were gone, my teacher switched the color of one of the monkeys from brown to gray because she did not have a brown hat for the monkey. Nearly every child noticed the color change immediately upon entering the room! They insisted on knowing why? They are so funny, and insightful!
Last week, I immediately felt comfortable in my classroom, and this week even more-so. Right off the bat I read "Annie and the Wild Animals" by Jan Brett to the class, which they really enjoyed. The class just started learning cursive and learned how to write the letters 't' and 'i'. My co-op was very picky about how they made the letters, and I really had to listen to her instructions since I personally write in a 'jumble' of print and cursive. They did not do too much with social studies... just read the story 'Abuela' (their current unit is on Mexico), discussed an article on Chinese New Year that a student brought in, and learned about another students' trip to Honduras this past week. I didn't really have one moment of the day that really stuck out to me. After reading Julie's entry where she talked about how her teacher actually threw the contents of her students desk on the floor, it really struck me how different some teachers are. One of the students in my class had a very messy desk as well, but the teacher actually sat down with him, and went through his desk and helped him clean and organize it while the other students were working on independent work. She shows so much patience while working with students who tend to not follow directions or get sidetracked easily. I, once again, cannot wait to go back next week!
I felt a little more comfortable this week because I had gotten to know the students better and I knew the schedule of their day and how it was expected to go. I knew I was going to teach a math group, which I was prepared for and enjoyed doing...but she also threw the math homework at me as well as a science lesson because half of our students were attending band or Math Club. That put me on the spot, but you have to learn sometime how to jump into those shoes and teach a lesson right there on the spot. Luckily, most things are scripted and I had an opportunity to look through science five minutes before she wanted me to teach it. It must be difficult to be a substitute and do that day after day.
There are two moments from Thursday that stand out in my mind. One was while I was filing papers and looking through the students' files and I was able to see their GIEPs, 504 plans and other documentation of accommodations and communication with parents as well as behavioral infractions. It was interesting to see all this paperwork for certain children, and I would have guessed that they needed accommodations or that they were made in the classroom for them. Another moment is when I was teaching science, and the girl sitting next to me kept "correcting" me as I was talking about Indian tribes. She kept telling me I was saying the names wrong and corrected a fact out loud (that I read correctly for the book.) I wasn't sure if I should confront her about trying to override me, but instead I just never acknowledged it happening. Hopefully next time she'll realize I'm the teacher and I do know what I'm talking about.
I didn't really feel more confident today. If anything, I felt like I was stepping on my teacher's toes. I basically did copies, ran errands and sat in the back of the classroom again. I hope that next week, when I do a mini-lesson, I'll be able to feel like this classroom is home instead of feeling like an invader.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I did see a lot of Social Studies today. My teacher usually trades classrooms with another teacher for SS. I saw that class, as well as my own class. Yesterday was a delay in school so my teacher wanted to catch up with our class. We are currently learning about John Smith and Pocahontas, and the events leading up and after.
The moment that stands out in my mind today was when a student couldn't find something. My teacher waited 30 seconds after she had asked them to find something, and then dumped the contents of the students desk on the floor and told him "Now, it'll be easier to find." Needless to say, I was shocked. My teacher just stood there, and watched this poor kid sift through the contents of his desk under the eyes of his peers. From what I have observed, this student is not a bad kid by any means. After waiting for 5 MINUTES, watching him, my teacher continued with her lesson. The student missed the entire social studies instruction.
When I asked my co-op later, she said, "Students need to be taught."
This moment will stay with me for a couple weeks.
Today, I had to start all over again at a new school with a new class, teacher, and grade. I am now at Fritz Elementary in a fourth grade classroom. It was a big change from Kindergarten, but I instantly got used to the fact that the students actually wanted to learn and didn’t jump around screaming and grabbing my legs. My co-op was extremely welcoming; I had my own desk waiting for me with a name tag, a class roster, class schedule, and a list of jobs to do. I knew it was going to be different when I was asked to write new name tags for the students’ desks in “my best cursive” (which I don’t think I have written in since I was in fourth grade). The students were definitely more mature than I thought they would be. They each introduced themselves to me and made sure to make me feel at home.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the fact that my teacher put me to work right away. I had lots of odd jobs throughout the day such as cutting paper, making nametags, and grading quizzes. My teacher also gave me a lot of responsibility right away: she had me work with a small reading group who, in her words, “have the attention spans of fleas”, I was in charge of a math group who played Match 24 (in which the students proved to have better math skills than myself), and I helped students study in small groups for a test they were about to have.
I was extremely happy to hear that social studies instruction exists for at least 30 minutes a day. My teacher explained that although many schools do not agree with this, she is very old fashioned and thinks that social studies should be taught every day. Social studies and science are given a one hour time slot every day, which I thought was great!
I did not feel more or less confident than last week due to the fact that this was technically my first day again. I did appreciate my co-op making me feel right at home and giving me responsibility right away. By the end of the day, I felt a lot more confident than when I walked in. The one moment that stands out in my mind is when I got the chance to tutor a small group of students who were retaking a math test that they had originally failed. I was given 5 minutes with the students to help them memorize certain measurements that the fourth graders were required to know. After the four students took their tests, 3 out of the 4 of them got 100% and immediately came up to me and gave me a hug, saying thank you for helping them. Although I explained to them that they were capable of passing even without my help, it made me feel great that they had gained confidence in me as a teacher.
Today was another good day for me!
ReplyDeleteI did feel more confident and I felt extremelycomfortable as I did last week too. I felt more confident becaue I am more used to my class and what goes on every day.Also, my co-op had me doing more today.During morning meeting I went over their Acronym handout that they were working on as they came in in the morning. I called on various students as they followed along and filled in ansers if they did not get them earlier. Doing this right away in the morning, made me feel comfortable and confident as well.
I also took seven of the higher level math students to a different room today to teach them how to compute averages. We went through the chapter and each student did an example on the board. They caught on very quickly. For reading, I took 2 students out to help them with their assessment because tehy struggle with reading comprehension. This went very well and I noticed when they are less distracted and take their time they do a great job instead of just guessing any answer.
I found out today that they have social studies twice a week, we did in fact have it today but I did not get a chance to observe it because I was working with some other students with science instruction. But I will definitely observe it next time.
Overall, today was a good day and I can't wait fot next week!
My second day in the second grade went just as well as my first. I think I was more confident because I had already met my co-op and all of the children, so I was ready to continue from last week. This time my co-op had a list of three assignments for me to do. One was to work with the on level group reading a pamphlet about the Statue of Liberty, which incorporates social studies! The other assignment was to work with the advanced level group with a math worksheet. The students had to add tens and ones together and then find the number on the hundred chart. From there they added ten to the original number, so they were able to see a pattern. It was a good experience to work with students of different abilities and in different subject areas. With the math group I started out having the students work on one problem at a time and then discuss what the answer was. After a few problems I allowed the students to work on their own so that they could work at their own pace and because of time. My co-op also had me put packets of children’s work together. She explained to me that she makes these packets rather than sending home single pieces of paper every day, so that the papers don’t get lost. I thought that was a great idea and it makes it easier for parents to look at their child’s full week’s worth of work in one sitting. This can allow opportunity for the parent/s to go over the packets with their child. She gave me a huge stack of papers and had me go in a separate room because she said I needed a lot of room. This I found to be completely true because I had a lot of sorting to do. I found it easiest to use a large clean table.
ReplyDeleteDuring science time, my co-op had me work with a group of six students on a science experiment. The students based their predictions on what they knew air does to move things. They predicted how far objects would move when pushed by air. With a straw the students blew through, they tested air with a paper clip, block, domino, tissue, balloon, and crayon. One moment that I remember today was while the students were doing the experiment, one student was getting frustrated because she was not able to move the objects very far. I tried to help her but even when I did she was still not successful. She immediately gave up just because she saw all the other students move their objects far. She did not get the same experience as the rest of the students because she did not continue to try so she was not able to see the affects of air on objects. This moment was more of a negative one. Overall my day went great and I can’t wait this next Thursday.
Today I felt a little more confident as far as my interactions with the students and teacher went since it was no longer a new experience for me. I am getting to know them all better and had a few more chances today to help and teach the students. My coop allowed me to go over the morning work with most of the class while she worked with other students in the hallway. This was a little uncomfortable for me since I still don't know all of the students’ names, but they all cooperated and listened while I taught. We went over a worksheet that they do every morning on math and reading and we also did a "checkbook entry" together. Although I was a little uncomfortable in the morning, the day got better as I remember helping the students with a writing assignment and feeling confident doing that. I thought the writing assignment was really interesting because my teacher had the students chose an object and write from that object's point of view. An event had to occur and the object was supposed to have a personality. She did this because of the book they read, "Voices of the Park," where different points of view from different characters were addressed. The students came up with some great ideas for objects and events. I really enjoyed reading their stories!
ReplyDeleteThe teacher really doesn't have me do much as far as teaching lessons or anything, but hopefully I will get more chances in the future and feel more confident as time passes. I would really like more experiences in teaching because I know that is the only way I am going to learn. Maybe I will begin asking her about teaching more since I realize that she has never had a student teacher before.
The moment that stood out in my mind from field placement today was when students in the class were involved in a verbal fight. I had not witnessed this last week and my cooperating teacher had to pause the class to take care of it. Two of the girls were asked to go out in the hallway to resolve the problem. I really don't know how I would have reacted to that as a teacher, and I hope that the students did as they were told and talked out their issues in the hall before returning to class. This situation surprised me and had me wonder what issues these 4th graders have and how often they have fights. Hopefully I won’t witness this problem again!
I had a blast at my field placement today! I am definitely feeling more comfortable in the classroom. I am starting to get to know names and finally got to work with the students in their centers. This increased comfort level along with the gradual acquisition of more responsibility has led me to feel more confident in the classroom. I feel as though my confidence will increase after every school day. Much like last week, my co-op had me do some side projects in the beginning such as die cutting or coloring sheets for next weeks centers. (For the record I can color a pretty mean chameleon.) Then I got to go around and work with the students while they were doing their centers. This was a great experience because it gave me a chance to get to know the students better.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite moment of the day had to be when I did a read aloud with the class. It brought me back to the Ed 250 days. I was reading a book about the 100th day of school, which is tomorrow. All the students were talking about it today and expressed their excitement for the activities that await them tomorrow. This moment was my favorite because it is the closest I have come to actually teaching so far this semester. It definitely helped me feel more comfortable in the classroom and helped me realize that I am ready to handle more responsibility within the room. I can’t wait until next week when I get to sit in on some report card conferences with parents. I think it will be a great experience.
I felt a little more confident today, but my first day went really well too so it is difficult to compare. The fifth grade switches classes a lot so besides my homeroom students, I had mostly new kids to work with today which was a great experience for me. I love that each day is completely different. My coop encourages me to work with the students a lot throughout the day, either one-on-one or in small groups which makes my day fly by! I am glad she gives me these opportunities to work with the students because it does allow me to become more confident in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy working with my homeroom class. I see them the most (although most of them are in other classes for a large part of the day) so I know their personalities better. They are all so polite and respectful. Today we started working on a character project where they write down they ways they show friendship, responsibility, caring, and respect. Of all the classrooms I've been in, these students work together the best and really want to help each other learn. Instead of giving each other answers, they lead each other to find the correct answer as a teacher would.
The moments of the day that stand out to me the most are the times she gives me small groups of students to work with at the back table. Today I was working with groups of students with two different math activities. It was fun as well as a great opportunity for me to really feel like their teacher instead of just an observer in the classroom.
Another wonderful day in fifth grade :)
I had another great day in Mr. Keefer's classroom! I definitely felt much more confident today than I did on my first day. It was a great feeling to be able to stand at the door in the morning and address each of the students by their names. I am learning more about each student, which also makes me feel more confident. I can tell that my confidence is going to continue to increase as I become more comfortable with the daily routine. I already felt like I was picking up on the schedule. Also, Mr. Keefer had me fill out passes for students to go see the nurse. This is a very small part of classroom procedures, but it helps to know how to do these things and get practice. Mr. Keefer had me go over the student's Daily Oral Language notebooks, Megawords practice, Daily Math problems, etc. Getting up in front of the class today really helped with my confidence level.
ReplyDeleteThese students continue to impress me! =) I began to realize today that they don't miss a beat. When I was going over their Daily Math problems, Daily oral language notebooks, and word ladders I accidentally skipped over one of the exercises in their Daily oral language notebooks and I told them to close up their notebooks when they were done. One boy immediately raised his hand, "Miss Potter, we still have one more exercise." I thanked him for reminding me and keeping me on track. I was a little nervous during this because it was my first time, but I know that as the weeks progress I will become more comfortable. I even felt myself gain more confidence with this as I went through the different activities. That was one moment that really stood out to me!
I can't wait until next week!
Yesterday, I actually began a new placement at a new school, Fritz Elementary. I am still in a second grade placement! My teacher's name is Ms. Kauffman.
ReplyDeleteThe day started out well! Ms. Kauffman was great. She showed me around the school, and introduced me to many of the teachers. Before school began, she showed me the class schedule, and some of the activities they would be doing during the day. This helped me feel a lot more comfortable. She even gave me my own desk!
When the students came in, I greeted each of them individually, and I think by the end of the day, I remembered most of their names! They had trouble with mine though, it was pretty funny.
Social Studies was in the schedule! The students are actually reading about famous people in history, and writing a mini report on the person they read about. I went around to a few students, and they had so much to tell me about Harriet Tubman, Squanto, and many more people in history!
I loved my experience yesterday. The only negative aspect I noticed was there wasn't as much of a controlled learning environment. The students could get up as they pleased, leave the room, and would crowd Ms. Kauffman when they had questions, finished an activity, etc. If there was a method in place they were supposed to do, I didn't see it.
Overall, my day was great! I feel like my teacher is excited to have me there, and I didn't feel that in my other placement. I'm excited of what's to come!
I had a great day at field placement this week! I felt more comfortable, which is saying something because last week Mrs. Doane made me feel very welcome in her classroom! The students were all very hyped up on Thursday because they had a two hour delay on Wednesday and the only thing they could talk about was the upcoming snow storm! Our class has a flu bug running through it. Mrs. Doane said on Wednesday they had five students absent and when I was there on Thursday there were six students out sick. In the morning I worked with some students on math tests and helped them with corrections to problems Mrs. Doane had circled for them to take a second look at before grading the tests. I liked this idea of reviewing the tests, allowing the students a chance to fix some mistakes if they could find what they did wrong, and then grading. In the afternoon I gave some of the students who were absent on Wednesday their spelling test that they had missed. One thing that really stood out to me was when the students were working in groups on a science activity in the afternoon Mrs. Doane put several students who like to be in charge in one group together. At first I was curious why she would do this because all of the students wanted to be in charge in that group which was going to cause some conflict and some other groups were left without anyone who would definitely stand up to take charge. However as I watched I realized this was intentional. In the group with the students who all liked to be in charge the students were forced to learn to work together and take turns instead of all fighting over who got to be in control. And in the other groups it forced some of the students who would normally sit and allow someone else to take charge to step up and take action. This was a very interesting situation for me to watch play out and in the end it was very valuable for the students as well I believe. Overall I had another wonderful day at Centerville!
ReplyDeleteGoing back to third grade, I felt much more comfortable and confident with both Mrs. Keefer and the students. I gave the class their spelling test where I learned I cant think of very good sentences on my feet... Ill have to work on that. During math, I graded tests of which half the class failed (anything under a 70 is considered an F...the thinking is if you dont get a least a c, you dont know the material). Mrs. Keefer decided to give them a retest but some of the students did worse because they were worried they had failed the first time (Mrs. Keefer didnt show them their original tests or what they did wrong). This frustrated me so much because I would have handled it differently and seeing how upset the kids were didnt help. I still have yet to see any actual reading, lanugage arts, or social studies teaching so Im hoping I see some soon!
ReplyDeleteThe one moment that stuck out to me this week was at lunch. The kids and I took turns asking questions and somehow families were brought up. Many of the kids shared how one of their parents had passed away or had been killed. And many of them also mentioned how they have 8, 9, or 10 siblings...most of which come from different mothers or fathers. They said it so matter of factly that it didnt seem to phase them anymore. It was one of those things that punch you in the stomach but you cant really react to it. Left me speechless to say the least.
To end of a happy note, Im very exicted to go back next week!
I felt so much more confident in 2nd grade today. My teacher is really good with making sure I am involved in the classroom. She had me do DIBELS testing with a group of students which was interesting to see because I have heard of the test but never actually saw it implemented. My teacher left early, so a substitute came in for the afternoon. I actually felt really confortable, my co-op left me with a lot of tasks instead of the substitute. I did a read aloud and also taught my first lesson. Math was really eye opening to me. After the lesson the kids were assigned a workbook page, some were done extremely fast and then were lined up to get their work checked. Others were slowly working and needed help for certain problems and then there was a group who did not even know how to begin. It made me really nervous for when I am in my own classroom because it was almost impossible to give individual help to those students who needed it and then also keep the kids that finished early occupied. I was overwhelmed and discouraged.
ReplyDeleteI also got to observe the students at Music class. I always think it is so interesting to see the kids outside of the classroom. They were crazy in music class, but I learned today that they are a pretty rowdy bunch.
Funny little comment: One of the girls asked me how old I was and when I told her she proceeded to ask if I had a boyfriend. I told her no and then she replied and shook her head telling me that was sad because now I could never get married. - It's the small things that keep you going back each week =)
I actually got to start all over again this week too. I'm now in a fourth grade classroom at Fritz Elementary. I had a great day. I didn't feel too much more confidence given that I had to do the first day process all over again. The class was a lot easier to get comfortable with though. They just seemed more personable as a school. The faculty were great and the students were a lot of fun. I got to help go over benchmark assessments, grade some spelling tests, and write on the board a KWL chart about their new social studies unit (Explorers). It was a fun day.
ReplyDeleteThe moment that most stuck out to me was probably being introduced to the students. As Mrs. Taraborelli explained that I'm both a student and a teacher. The students got to ask questions and I got to explain college and how you can go for anything you want to be. They all wanted to tell me what they wanted to be when they grew up. It was really fun and I got to know them better really quickly. They all have big dreams and it was really great to see.
I'm definitely excited to go back next week. This is going to be an adventure. The class has a lot of personality as a whole and I look forward to working with them.
I definitely felt a lot more confident on Thursday. The kids remembered me from the week before and even remembered my name! I'm starting to get to know the kids a lot better and really get a feel for their personalities. During the math lesson we split the class into two groups and played a game where one member of each "team" would roll a die and the students had to record each roll on a table and then add everything up to find the total. Miss Pagana and I each played for one of the teams. All the kids got really competitive which was funny. This was a great opportunity for me to have a lot fun with the kids while still helping out with the lesson. Miss Pagana was getting ready for conferences on Friday and had the kids fill out little information sheets about themselves to hang in the hallway. She had me make one too so the kids and their parents could learn more about me.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that stood out in my mind was how much one little boy was getting in trouble today. This is the "bad" kid in class but as far as I've seen he doesn't have an attitude or flat out disobey he's just kind of crazy and does and says whatever comes to his mind. When we went to pick the kids up from music the music teacher was ripping him apart in front of all the other kids. I felt that this wasn't the place to discipline him, especially so harshly. This boy didn't any recess or breaks at all for the entire day which I understand is a logical punishment, to take away privileges, but I think he needs a chance to get his energy out. I'm definitely going to keep an eye on him and how his discipline issues are handled.
Overall I think that I did feel more confident today. I felt that since most of the students now knew me, I could open up a little more and be more confident in what I was doing in the classroom. Mrs. LaPenta really pushes me to do more with the class. Today I led and reviewed six math problems in front of the classroom on the overhead. This forced me to be confident in the way that I was speaking and instructing. I feel that Mrs. LaPenta is really going to push me to be more confident and step out of my comfort zone as the semester goes on.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that really sticks out in my mind is something that happened when I was drilling a student on a syllable rule. Mrs. LaPenta was going over the rules of this syllable with the whole class and having each student recite the rules. This one little boy could just not get it. She would repeatedly go back to him and he kept mizing up the words or just not paying attention and couldn't get it. She then sent him and two other students to the back of the room with me to drill them on the rules. It was still taking him a long time to get it down, and I figured out that if I used hand motions and repetition, he responded incredibily. Finally, he got it! And that "ah-ha" moment was incredible. I could see his face light up. Then, about 15 minutes late, as they were leaving the room, I asked him if he remembered the rules and he recited them to me right away. I hope that I see many more moments like that this semester!
I felt a bit more confident this week because I was already introduced to my teacher, school staff and many of the students. Almost immediately, though, after entering my class, my teacher asked me to name as many of the children as I could from memory. I recalled about two thirds of the children, so, I thought I did pretty well considering three students were absent last week, a new student arrived, and another who left the school earlier in the year had returned. That’s a lot of names to remember when I was focused on so many different areas of the classroom and school last week!
ReplyDeleteOne area in which I definitely had more confidence was “morning warm up”. I was asked to lead it. Last week, I was not sure what to say or how to lead, but this week was better. The children sit on a carpet and answer a question created by my teacher and written on the board by me. The question was “We all know things change in this world. What are some things that cannot change?” The exercise went along with a reading lesson that I did with four students last week (I assume the entire class read it). Some of their answers were not quite right (like “seeds”), so I tried to ask questions to lead the students to some correct answers discussed in the story. The children responded to me pretty well, but the teacher has so much more authority that every child pays attention to her. I had a few fidgeting children.
I was proudest of this week’s group reading which included a group of four readers who were mid/high level readers. I felt more confident because of the enthusiasm of the students in the group and the manner in which they answered questions. Even though the story had questions at the end, I did not use them. I asked my own which I later discovered were almost the exact questions in the book. I felt that I did a good job asking relevant questions about the story that the students answered with ease.
I found myself completely amazed how first graders notice EVERYTHING! The classroom walls are packed with posters, pocket charts, student work…etc. One wall contains a paper tree, a behavior tree, with different colored monkeys positioned on it. If, for example, the “blue monkeys” (a group of three or four children) behave they move higher in the tree. The goal is to reach the bananas on the top. The children went to music class, and while they were gone, my teacher switched the color of one of the monkeys from brown to gray because she did not have a brown hat for the monkey. Nearly every child noticed the color change immediately upon entering the room! They insisted on knowing why? They are so funny, and insightful!
Last week, I immediately felt comfortable in my classroom, and this week even more-so. Right off the bat I read "Annie and the Wild Animals" by Jan Brett to the class, which they really enjoyed. The class just started learning cursive and learned how to write the letters 't' and 'i'. My co-op was very picky about how they made the letters, and I really had to listen to her instructions since I personally write in a 'jumble' of print and cursive. They did not do too much with social studies... just read the story 'Abuela' (their current unit is on Mexico), discussed an article on Chinese New Year that a student brought in, and learned about another students' trip to Honduras this past week.
ReplyDeleteI didn't really have one moment of the day that really stuck out to me. After reading Julie's entry where she talked about how her teacher actually threw the contents of her students desk on the floor, it really struck me how different some teachers are. One of the students in my class had a very messy desk as well, but the teacher actually sat down with him, and went through his desk and helped him clean and organize it while the other students were working on independent work. She shows so much patience while working with students who tend to not follow directions or get sidetracked easily. I, once again, cannot wait to go back next week!
I felt a little more comfortable this week because I had gotten to know the students better and I knew the schedule of their day and how it was expected to go.
ReplyDeleteI knew I was going to teach a math group, which I was prepared for and enjoyed doing...but she also threw the math homework at me as well as a science lesson because half of our students were attending band or Math Club. That put me on the spot, but you have to learn sometime how to jump into those shoes and teach a lesson right there on the spot. Luckily, most things are scripted and I had an opportunity to look through science five minutes before she wanted me to teach it. It must be difficult to be a substitute and do that day after day.
There are two moments from Thursday that stand out in my mind. One was while I was filing papers and looking through the students' files and I was able to see their GIEPs, 504 plans and other documentation of accommodations and communication with parents as well as behavioral infractions. It was interesting to see all this paperwork for certain children, and I would have guessed that they needed accommodations or that they were made in the classroom for them. Another moment is when I was teaching science, and the girl sitting next to me kept "correcting" me as I was talking about Indian tribes. She kept telling me I was saying the names wrong and corrected a fact out loud (that I read correctly for the book.) I wasn't sure if I should confront her about trying to override me, but instead I just never acknowledged it happening. Hopefully next time she'll realize I'm the teacher and I do know what I'm talking about.
This week, I'll be teaching a reading group!