Here's the problem with not updating every week... I forget what happens. As far as I can remember, the rest of my 4th week in 6th grade went fairly well. I got to attend a Literacy Training on Tuesday with my CT2, which involved giving the Fountas and Pinnell assessment. I actually really enjoyed that one -- doing assessments like that is fun!!!
Wednesday we had an initial IEP meeting for one of the students, which took almost 2 hours! It was pretty crazy, but very nice to see before I have to be involved in all the discussion and decisions.
This week we did a Grammar Review product to wrap up the parts of speech that we've been working on :-) I gave them an option to make a song, skit, review game, or pamphlet, working with up to 3 other students. I LOVED the results! They all did well (including at least 5 different parts of speech), and were very creative!!
Math has been an adventure... trying to make sure I'm explaining everything well while still fitting it into the short time we have... same with the research skills unit. I started out so excited for it, but I didn't realize how little they would know compared to what I thought they should know... it's been kind of frustrating figuring it out, since my plans have had to change so many times. I guess that's just something I have to get used to -- not everything can be perfect the first time!
Week 5 in 6th grade had me starting the reading mini-lessons, in addition to language arts and math. All that's left after this is science/social studies (which switches depending on the unit) and guided reading groups. I was feeling overwhelmed, so I talked with my CT2 and we decided that I would wait to take on guided reading until the week after next. It worked out well, since next week they're finishing up they're unit on historical fiction, anyway.
I had fun with the reading mini-lessons -- reading aloud is one of my favorite parts of the day! ;-)j
This week was also a math test, so I learned some ways we could review for that. I liked figuring it all out, though it was confusing at first. I was nervous about not having the centers exactly mapped out and partners exactly matched up, but my CT2 reassured me that it would work out. I was going to take small groups to review material while the rest of them were doing their center games. At the end I had time to ask anyone who just wanted to review anything to come to the back by me to ask questions. I didn't know that any of them would come, but to my surprise, there was a fairly large group! I really feel like it helped to have those small groups -- a great example of how much help CTs can be!! :-)
After the math test on Wednesday, my CT2 had a game for the students to play. Unfortunately, they got bored with it just 10 minutes before the math period was over... so she said I should intro the next lesson. It was uncomfortable for me to try to do that without any preparation, since I'd been under the impression that the entire introduction lesson for the next unit would take the hour and 10 mins on Tuesday... I was just confused. Oh well, these are the kind of kinks to work out now, instead of my first year of teaching with no one in the room to help me. Wednesday we also had a collaboration meeting to talk about the upcoming topics and how to meet the needs of the students with IEPs.
Thursday afternoon I got to see the 1st graders again for their music concert that the whole school was able to watch, and I was beyond excited!!! I miss them a lot, but I realize that 6th grade is growing on me, too. I know I'll miss those kids when it's time to go!
No school Friday or Monday (today), so 2 4-day weeks in a row--YAY!!! I needed that SO bad, hopefully this will help me last through the year. At least I still enjoy going to school every day, so I know I'm in the right career :-)
In other news, I turned in my very first job application, thanks to PSH's help and guidance, along with the help of my family, CT1, Mr. CT1, and CT2. I feel so extremely lucky to be surrounded with people who are willing to help me succeed -- I can't wait until the day when I can pass along that help to someone else!!! :-)
Monday, April 25, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Week (1)3 & Week (1)4: Day 1
I've been feeling stressed, and I feel guilty for complaining all the time! But the stress is getting to me, probably due to lack of sleep. Note to all you future student teachers out there: DO NOT WORK AND STUDENT TEACH AT THE SAME TIME!! It is as hard as they warn you! Thank goodness I love student teaching and my job, or I'd have given up!
Anyway, last week I got to start teaching my unit plan -- YAY! Unfortunately, the first day back from spring break, technology decided that it was going to be rude to my CT2 and I... Fortunately, it got fixed in time for the end of my lesson, so I still got to show Prezi to the students! We had to do quite a bit of rearranging my original timeline for the unit plan to fit it into the "real world" schedule, but it's working out well so far! I didn't realize how little 6th graders knew about searching the internet, though, so I wish I'd had time to do a mini lesson on that. They seemed to really enjoy the activity for primary vs. secondary sources, even though it was simplistic. I had them hold up the correct card (primary or secondary) in response to the source I showed them on the Prezi. They asked me to come up with more! I was happy that they were happy with something I did! ;-)
Wednesday we had a sub because my CT2 had a committee meeting, so I got to do a bit more teaching, as well as lead a guided reading group. It was fun, and I realized that I am getting more comfortable in 6th grade, finally :-) Despite being comfortable, my lessons are still very choppy, but I'll figure it out! My favorite lesson was when I put my acting skills to the test Tuesday, trying to convince the kids that the tree octopus was real - LOL! Thank goodness my CT2 was there to help along the gig, I would have burst out laughing and given up without her acting skills!!!
Wednesday afternoon was hard -- one of the students (male) was walking to the bus crying, so I pulled him aside. I was so worried, because it's got to take a good amount to make a 6th grade boy cry at school. I'd seen his football on the floor, and thought I saw another student push him, so I told the other student to keep his hands to himself, then tried to talk to the crying boy. He didn't want to talk much, though, possibly because he was scared that if he got the others in trouble, they would cause more trouble for him... after seeing them off to the bus, I went to the Lead Teacher (LT), since my CT2 wasn't there to talk me through what I could do/should have done. The LT called his house to let them know that something had happened, but he didn't want to talk about it. She told me to keep an eye on the boy tomorrow to see if he was OK, and she would let me know if she heard anything. I felt better after talking with her, since I knew that I didn't completely mess up by not getting the information out of him... situations like this are hard...
Thursday I got to go with my CT2 to a committee meeting! They're working on a schedule for the entire district, that includes an "intervention" time -- that's a time for no new instruction, as well as a time for students who need extra services to get pulled. It's very helpful, since then the students don't miss as much instructional time, and teachers don't have to worry about them falling even farther behind. I had no idea how hard it would be to plan a schedule like that!! There are SO many factors that go into it... it was interesting to see the debate about how much time each grade would get for each subject... of course science and social studies got the least, but not because anyone thought it wasn't important... it's just MORE important for students to be able to read and write. Even though in college classes, I was totally on the side of giving more time to those topics, I've kind of switched my views. Yes, science and social studies are important, but how can students learn those if they can't read and comprehend the information, or write about their findings? There's just not enough time in a school day for everything...
Today was my first math lesson. As I got started, the principal walked in with his iPad and sat down to observe! I'm pretty sure I said "Are you serious?!" out loud, oops... like I wasn't nervous enough doing my first math lesson... oh boy. How embarrassing. The lesson went pretty well, at first. I had them in groups to discuss some of the opening things, and they seemed to understand... then we got deeper in the lesson, and I felt like I lost any power I had to explain the concepts clearly. There was just so much involved! Then there was this whole debate about a square being a rectangle but a rectangle not being a square... and it was just rough. I got some feedback from my CT2 after the lesson, about making transitions smoother within the lessons. I think that will help me feel better as I'm teaching, so that I don't get flustered and lose my train of thought or momentum. She also said that I could have spent more time on that rectangle/square debate, because students don't get enough time to REALLY think about things nowadays. That debate would definitely have gotten them thinking! Oh well, I'm sure there will be more opportunities like that!
Now I'm off to try to relax for a bit, because there's no way I can improve my teaching when I'm up to my ears in stress, and that is definitely not fair to those students!
Anyway, last week I got to start teaching my unit plan -- YAY! Unfortunately, the first day back from spring break, technology decided that it was going to be rude to my CT2 and I... Fortunately, it got fixed in time for the end of my lesson, so I still got to show Prezi to the students! We had to do quite a bit of rearranging my original timeline for the unit plan to fit it into the "real world" schedule, but it's working out well so far! I didn't realize how little 6th graders knew about searching the internet, though, so I wish I'd had time to do a mini lesson on that. They seemed to really enjoy the activity for primary vs. secondary sources, even though it was simplistic. I had them hold up the correct card (primary or secondary) in response to the source I showed them on the Prezi. They asked me to come up with more! I was happy that they were happy with something I did! ;-)
Wednesday we had a sub because my CT2 had a committee meeting, so I got to do a bit more teaching, as well as lead a guided reading group. It was fun, and I realized that I am getting more comfortable in 6th grade, finally :-) Despite being comfortable, my lessons are still very choppy, but I'll figure it out! My favorite lesson was when I put my acting skills to the test Tuesday, trying to convince the kids that the tree octopus was real - LOL! Thank goodness my CT2 was there to help along the gig, I would have burst out laughing and given up without her acting skills!!!
Wednesday afternoon was hard -- one of the students (male) was walking to the bus crying, so I pulled him aside. I was so worried, because it's got to take a good amount to make a 6th grade boy cry at school. I'd seen his football on the floor, and thought I saw another student push him, so I told the other student to keep his hands to himself, then tried to talk to the crying boy. He didn't want to talk much, though, possibly because he was scared that if he got the others in trouble, they would cause more trouble for him... after seeing them off to the bus, I went to the Lead Teacher (LT), since my CT2 wasn't there to talk me through what I could do/should have done. The LT called his house to let them know that something had happened, but he didn't want to talk about it. She told me to keep an eye on the boy tomorrow to see if he was OK, and she would let me know if she heard anything. I felt better after talking with her, since I knew that I didn't completely mess up by not getting the information out of him... situations like this are hard...
Thursday I got to go with my CT2 to a committee meeting! They're working on a schedule for the entire district, that includes an "intervention" time -- that's a time for no new instruction, as well as a time for students who need extra services to get pulled. It's very helpful, since then the students don't miss as much instructional time, and teachers don't have to worry about them falling even farther behind. I had no idea how hard it would be to plan a schedule like that!! There are SO many factors that go into it... it was interesting to see the debate about how much time each grade would get for each subject... of course science and social studies got the least, but not because anyone thought it wasn't important... it's just MORE important for students to be able to read and write. Even though in college classes, I was totally on the side of giving more time to those topics, I've kind of switched my views. Yes, science and social studies are important, but how can students learn those if they can't read and comprehend the information, or write about their findings? There's just not enough time in a school day for everything...
Today was my first math lesson. As I got started, the principal walked in with his iPad and sat down to observe! I'm pretty sure I said "Are you serious?!" out loud, oops... like I wasn't nervous enough doing my first math lesson... oh boy. How embarrassing. The lesson went pretty well, at first. I had them in groups to discuss some of the opening things, and they seemed to understand... then we got deeper in the lesson, and I felt like I lost any power I had to explain the concepts clearly. There was just so much involved! Then there was this whole debate about a square being a rectangle but a rectangle not being a square... and it was just rough. I got some feedback from my CT2 after the lesson, about making transitions smoother within the lessons. I think that will help me feel better as I'm teaching, so that I don't get flustered and lose my train of thought or momentum. She also said that I could have spent more time on that rectangle/square debate, because students don't get enough time to REALLY think about things nowadays. That debate would definitely have gotten them thinking! Oh well, I'm sure there will be more opportunities like that!
Now I'm off to try to relax for a bit, because there's no way I can improve my teaching when I'm up to my ears in stress, and that is definitely not fair to those students!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Week (1)2: Getting in the Groove!
Tuesday my CT2 was gone at a meeting for one of the many committees she's on -- I'll actually get to go to a couple of those meetings, which is exciting for a nerd like me!! ;-)
There weren't enough subs available, so the assistant in her room (I'll call her TA) was the sub for the day (don't worry, she has her sub license!). It was nice to work with her, since she knew the kids, but also let me take care of the things I wanted to do. The day went really well, too! The kids were chatty, and I was probably more lenient than my CT2 would have been... my biggest challenge is definitely going to be being authoritative. Otherwise, no real issues! The students worked on their plays, and I re-learned how to tie a tie (some of them had ties as props, but no one knew how to tie them!). For centers, CT2 had accidentally copied the same Word Work centers they'd done last week. That was one of those moments I had to think on my feet! I asked TA for the Word Work book, looked up the next unit, and wrote everything out on a Publisher document, then projected that on the whiteboard so the students could copy it. After that, I checked the files, and found the master copies of the unit we needed, and went to make copies of that while everyone was working. That way, only one set of students had to use the handwritten ones, but they could still work instead of waiting for me to come back with copies. :-) I was pretty happy with the result!
Next, the students had a 25-minute free write. They were supposed to write for the entire 25 minutes, but many students had difficulty with that. I enjoyed reading what they wrote, though, because they wrote about their luckiest or unluckiest day. I got to know them a bit better by reading their responses! After that, we had time for a read-aloud. Then it was specials and lunch.
After lunch I taught a quick language arts lesson, then headed off to another 6th grade teacher's room to do a math lesson! That also went pretty well, I was so excited! The students were not as excited as I was about graphing, but I don't think many students are ever as excited over material as I am ;-) They all got at least 3/4 on their "Quick Check," so I thought they understood it, but when we did the fun activity, some of them still had problems... and a few missed the graphing questions on the test... so much for thinking I'd somehow managed to get through to them all! That was just idealistic thinking... ;-)
After that, it was getting ready for the end of the day, then bus duty! And the day was over...
Wednesday morning I had to rush to get together a grammar activity, since I'd forgotten to the night before. That was a bad choice. I found a worksheet that looked like it'd be good, but after doing it myself while the students were working on it, I found out it was AWFUL. I felt like it ruined everything we worked on today, and it would have been SO discouraging if I graded it and handed it back. I talke to CT2 about it, and she agreed that I could just let it go, and do another lesson on the same topic tomorrow... using a worksheet that was MUCH better, and that I'd created myself.
One of the students from the math class I taught yesterday came in to give me a high five, which was funny! He'd asked if they'd get extra credit for the fun worksheets, and I said no, but I could give him a gold star, a thumbs up, or a high five. Hilarious that he actually took me up on it!
CT2 is one of the teachers in charge of the talent show, so I went to help with auditions after school. That was right up my ally! I had SUCH a fun time, that's something I'd love to do as a teacher :-)
Thursday was a pretty normal day. Reviewed the grammar from yesterday, had a math test... open house and book fair were that night, but my CT2 told me not to wear myself out (which I definitely have a tendancy to do). Thank goodness for her, otherwise I would have been running around like crazy that night!!!!
Friday was relaxing. Since it was the day before spring break, we watched a movie... OK, they watched a movie and I graded their math and science tests. ;-) Grading written response questions are very difficult!! I asked my CT2 so many questions, it probably would have been faster for her to just grade them, but I'm so glad I got the experience. Next time it should be easier :-)
I've also been working on this research skills unit plan all week. It's a crazy amount of work! I'm going to feel SO accomplished when it's finished! My CT2 went over what I had so far, and I learned a lot about what I was doing... things that work perfectly in my head aren't always possible due to scheduling and resources... crazy crazy crazy. It's much different to do a unit plan for an actual classroom than it is to do one for an imaginary classroom like we did in all our college classes! ;-) Welcome to real-life teaching, Miss Wodrich!
My reading list has been expanded in 6th grade -- I've read the entire Hunger Games series, plus a few other books, and am now onto one of my CT2's favorites!! These books are a nice relief after working on the unit plan!! ...and working on the unit plan is my plan for the rest of spring break. Let the "break" begin!!!
There weren't enough subs available, so the assistant in her room (I'll call her TA) was the sub for the day (don't worry, she has her sub license!). It was nice to work with her, since she knew the kids, but also let me take care of the things I wanted to do. The day went really well, too! The kids were chatty, and I was probably more lenient than my CT2 would have been... my biggest challenge is definitely going to be being authoritative. Otherwise, no real issues! The students worked on their plays, and I re-learned how to tie a tie (some of them had ties as props, but no one knew how to tie them!). For centers, CT2 had accidentally copied the same Word Work centers they'd done last week. That was one of those moments I had to think on my feet! I asked TA for the Word Work book, looked up the next unit, and wrote everything out on a Publisher document, then projected that on the whiteboard so the students could copy it. After that, I checked the files, and found the master copies of the unit we needed, and went to make copies of that while everyone was working. That way, only one set of students had to use the handwritten ones, but they could still work instead of waiting for me to come back with copies. :-) I was pretty happy with the result!
Next, the students had a 25-minute free write. They were supposed to write for the entire 25 minutes, but many students had difficulty with that. I enjoyed reading what they wrote, though, because they wrote about their luckiest or unluckiest day. I got to know them a bit better by reading their responses! After that, we had time for a read-aloud. Then it was specials and lunch.
After lunch I taught a quick language arts lesson, then headed off to another 6th grade teacher's room to do a math lesson! That also went pretty well, I was so excited! The students were not as excited as I was about graphing, but I don't think many students are ever as excited over material as I am ;-) They all got at least 3/4 on their "Quick Check," so I thought they understood it, but when we did the fun activity, some of them still had problems... and a few missed the graphing questions on the test... so much for thinking I'd somehow managed to get through to them all! That was just idealistic thinking... ;-)
After that, it was getting ready for the end of the day, then bus duty! And the day was over...
Wednesday morning I had to rush to get together a grammar activity, since I'd forgotten to the night before. That was a bad choice. I found a worksheet that looked like it'd be good, but after doing it myself while the students were working on it, I found out it was AWFUL. I felt like it ruined everything we worked on today, and it would have been SO discouraging if I graded it and handed it back. I talke to CT2 about it, and she agreed that I could just let it go, and do another lesson on the same topic tomorrow... using a worksheet that was MUCH better, and that I'd created myself.
One of the students from the math class I taught yesterday came in to give me a high five, which was funny! He'd asked if they'd get extra credit for the fun worksheets, and I said no, but I could give him a gold star, a thumbs up, or a high five. Hilarious that he actually took me up on it!
CT2 is one of the teachers in charge of the talent show, so I went to help with auditions after school. That was right up my ally! I had SUCH a fun time, that's something I'd love to do as a teacher :-)
Thursday was a pretty normal day. Reviewed the grammar from yesterday, had a math test... open house and book fair were that night, but my CT2 told me not to wear myself out (which I definitely have a tendancy to do). Thank goodness for her, otherwise I would have been running around like crazy that night!!!!
Friday was relaxing. Since it was the day before spring break, we watched a movie... OK, they watched a movie and I graded their math and science tests. ;-) Grading written response questions are very difficult!! I asked my CT2 so many questions, it probably would have been faster for her to just grade them, but I'm so glad I got the experience. Next time it should be easier :-)
I've also been working on this research skills unit plan all week. It's a crazy amount of work! I'm going to feel SO accomplished when it's finished! My CT2 went over what I had so far, and I learned a lot about what I was doing... things that work perfectly in my head aren't always possible due to scheduling and resources... crazy crazy crazy. It's much different to do a unit plan for an actual classroom than it is to do one for an imaginary classroom like we did in all our college classes! ;-) Welcome to real-life teaching, Miss Wodrich!
My reading list has been expanded in 6th grade -- I've read the entire Hunger Games series, plus a few other books, and am now onto one of my CT2's favorites!! These books are a nice relief after working on the unit plan!! ...and working on the unit plan is my plan for the rest of spring break. Let the "break" begin!!!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Week (1)1 & Day 1: Week (1)2 -- Sixth grade isn't too scary! ;-)
All week I was hard at work on my Unit Plan. I feel like it's coming together slowly, but I'll have it finished before spring break is over. Just have to get through this week! Hopefully I can get a lot done...
I'm using Prezi to teach them the research skills, and then I'm also going to teach them how to use Prezi to make their final presentation! I'm definitely excited for it :-)
On Wednesday, I finally felt comfortable enough to step in and work with the kids. They were dissecting owl pellets, and it was hilarious!!! My CT2 let them use their senses while it was still wrapped in foil to figure out what it was... then had them unwrap it... then showed a video of what an owl pellet REALLY is. I swear, their reaction was PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!!! One student even looked at her and said "What did I ever do to you???" Too funny!
Wednesday was a big day. I also got to sit in on a collaboration meeting for students who had IEPs. Once I finish the unit plan, I'll have to share it with the team to get feedback about how to fit it to the students' needs.
Wednesday afternoon I went to a 5th grade classroom and taught a math lesson! I was THRILLED with how it went! I was more nervous doing that than I was when I started teaching in 1st grade, but once I got going I felt much better. I was even able to stray a little from the written-out lesson when I saw that they needed more help understanding one of the concepts. It was very smooth :-) One of the students in there was super funny. When I left he came up to me to shake my hand and said something like "I appreciate you teaching our lesson. Good luck in 6th grade." (or something like that...).
Thursday was an early release and conferences. I went back to 1st grade for conferences, since I knew those students and could actually understand how to translate what happens in the classroom for parents. It was a good experience, and I got to catch up with my first CT :-) I went back to see a 6th grade conference... and this student is apparently friends with my brother! I found that out when he commented on my brother's Facebook status... awkward!!!!
Friday we didn't have school, what a nice break!
Today was a good day, too! I taught my first 6th grade lessons, which I didn't do quite as well as I would have liked. I was too nervous, so I spoke too quietly for the first one (which was really just going over morning work). The second lesson was a little better, but choppy and I think I let them get a little too silly. That's OK, this is why student teaching is called a learning experience!!!
I also went into another 6th grade teacher's room to observe--it's a guy teacher, so it was interesting to see how different it was! I mean, it wasn't THAT different, but there were little things. I'm going to teach a math lesson in his room tomorrow -- hope it goes well!
Tomorrow my CT2 won't be there, so I'm going to actually teach for a good portion of the day! I'm pretty excited for it, because hopefully having that longer period of time will get me into some sort of "groove" for 6th grade. I'm just ready to stop feeling nervous in the classroom, but I remember it was like this for the first week or two of first grade, too, so it'll be fine!
This weekend I read The Glory Fields, because that's the book for the high-level reading groups. It was fantastic, and I'm pretty excited to be able to do it with the students after spring break! I've got some new reading material for tonight, too, so I'm going to get started on that!!! :-)
I'm using Prezi to teach them the research skills, and then I'm also going to teach them how to use Prezi to make their final presentation! I'm definitely excited for it :-)
On Wednesday, I finally felt comfortable enough to step in and work with the kids. They were dissecting owl pellets, and it was hilarious!!! My CT2 let them use their senses while it was still wrapped in foil to figure out what it was... then had them unwrap it... then showed a video of what an owl pellet REALLY is. I swear, their reaction was PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!!! One student even looked at her and said "What did I ever do to you???" Too funny!
Wednesday was a big day. I also got to sit in on a collaboration meeting for students who had IEPs. Once I finish the unit plan, I'll have to share it with the team to get feedback about how to fit it to the students' needs.
Wednesday afternoon I went to a 5th grade classroom and taught a math lesson! I was THRILLED with how it went! I was more nervous doing that than I was when I started teaching in 1st grade, but once I got going I felt much better. I was even able to stray a little from the written-out lesson when I saw that they needed more help understanding one of the concepts. It was very smooth :-) One of the students in there was super funny. When I left he came up to me to shake my hand and said something like "I appreciate you teaching our lesson. Good luck in 6th grade." (or something like that...).
Thursday was an early release and conferences. I went back to 1st grade for conferences, since I knew those students and could actually understand how to translate what happens in the classroom for parents. It was a good experience, and I got to catch up with my first CT :-) I went back to see a 6th grade conference... and this student is apparently friends with my brother! I found that out when he commented on my brother's Facebook status... awkward!!!!
Friday we didn't have school, what a nice break!
Today was a good day, too! I taught my first 6th grade lessons, which I didn't do quite as well as I would have liked. I was too nervous, so I spoke too quietly for the first one (which was really just going over morning work). The second lesson was a little better, but choppy and I think I let them get a little too silly. That's OK, this is why student teaching is called a learning experience!!!
I also went into another 6th grade teacher's room to observe--it's a guy teacher, so it was interesting to see how different it was! I mean, it wasn't THAT different, but there were little things. I'm going to teach a math lesson in his room tomorrow -- hope it goes well!
Tomorrow my CT2 won't be there, so I'm going to actually teach for a good portion of the day! I'm pretty excited for it, because hopefully having that longer period of time will get me into some sort of "groove" for 6th grade. I'm just ready to stop feeling nervous in the classroom, but I remember it was like this for the first week or two of first grade, too, so it'll be fine!
This weekend I read The Glory Fields, because that's the book for the high-level reading groups. It was fantastic, and I'm pretty excited to be able to do it with the students after spring break! I've got some new reading material for tonight, too, so I'm going to get started on that!!! :-)
Monday, March 14, 2011
Week 10 and Week (1)1: Day 1 -- Every end is also a beginning!
Week 10 was my last week in first grade :-( I've had such a great experience that I was so sad to have to leave it! I was also apprehensive about moving to the older kids... some of them are taller than me and have worse attitudes. I talked to my new CT (CT2!) Tuesday afterschool, and I felt much better about the transition. But first let's talk about my last few days in first grade:
My CT and I decided that I'd give her back 1 subject a day, so that she wasn't just thrown back into the last trimester alone. She took back subjects a little quicker, though, since I kept getting sent out of the room for reasons unknown! ;-)
The kids made leprechaun traps, and overnight a leprechaun came and hid them all around the room! In the morning a few of the kids had a disagreement over whether leprechauns were real. My response? "Well, someone messed up our room, who else would it be?" "The teachers!" "I bet it was Mr. Principal." "No way, CT and I always clean the room, why in the world would we mess it up?!" Oh, the troubles of first grade!
Another student tried to tell me he heard on the news that there was a 400-year-old man, and still said I was wrong even after I looked it up online! The closest article I found was one about a 400-year-old mummified cat...
More fun stories from the kids: Student 1: "Is President Obama smater than God?" Student 2: "No, I don't think so." Student 1: "I think there's a God Obama!" LOL.
Different student: "It's like he speaks Mexican!"
Yet another student: "Girls have cooties!" Me: "No way, boys have cooties!" ... There was an entire debate about cooties. Totally cute :-)
I got to be in their picture for picture day, too! I was so happy :-)
On Friday, I walked in with a GIANT bag full of little things for my CT and a few other teachers, little things for the kids, and donuts for the teacher's lounge :-) My CT and the kids surprised me with an ADORABLE bag that they painted with their handprints that I will no doubt keep forever, AND with a book of 20 reasons I should be hired as a teacher! Those ideas were just absolutely perfect and heart-warming, and I can't believe it :-) I feel like the luckiest student teacher ever!!!! My CT and those kids are just fantastic!!! We celebrated all day (for one of the kids' birthdays, too!). I managed not to cry until leaving my CT at the end of the day... I can't believe that experience is over!
Luckily, I think I'm going to have another great experience in 6th grade. My CT2 wants me to have the best experience I can, too, so I once again am so grateful for everyone's willingness to help me learn!!! I'm not quite as comfortable with the older kids, so I didn't get very involved today for day 1, but I know I'll get there! I get to plan a writing unit for research skills, so I'm hard at work on that already. Super exciting! I'm also going to have the opportunity to do a few lessons in different classrooms, just to get a bunch more experience with other staff members, age groups, and students. Thanks to PSH for suggesting that!!! I went to observe guided reading in 5th grade for awhile, and had some fun looking at everything on the classroom walls.
At the end of the day, while in line for bus duty with CT2, a bunch of the first graders saw me when they walked in! I got a GIANT group hug, and I just loved it!!!! They're adorable! I'm glad I'm in the same building, so that I can still see their cute little faces. I also got to see my CT!! All in all, it was a good day! I'm excited to see what the rest of 6th grade will bring -- I just have to learn to deal with their attitudes... wish me luck!! :-)
My CT and I decided that I'd give her back 1 subject a day, so that she wasn't just thrown back into the last trimester alone. She took back subjects a little quicker, though, since I kept getting sent out of the room for reasons unknown! ;-)
The kids made leprechaun traps, and overnight a leprechaun came and hid them all around the room! In the morning a few of the kids had a disagreement over whether leprechauns were real. My response? "Well, someone messed up our room, who else would it be?" "The teachers!" "I bet it was Mr. Principal." "No way, CT and I always clean the room, why in the world would we mess it up?!" Oh, the troubles of first grade!
Another student tried to tell me he heard on the news that there was a 400-year-old man, and still said I was wrong even after I looked it up online! The closest article I found was one about a 400-year-old mummified cat...
More fun stories from the kids: Student 1: "Is President Obama smater than God?" Student 2: "No, I don't think so." Student 1: "I think there's a God Obama!" LOL.
Different student: "It's like he speaks Mexican!"
Yet another student: "Girls have cooties!" Me: "No way, boys have cooties!" ... There was an entire debate about cooties. Totally cute :-)
I got to be in their picture for picture day, too! I was so happy :-)
On Friday, I walked in with a GIANT bag full of little things for my CT and a few other teachers, little things for the kids, and donuts for the teacher's lounge :-) My CT and the kids surprised me with an ADORABLE bag that they painted with their handprints that I will no doubt keep forever, AND with a book of 20 reasons I should be hired as a teacher! Those ideas were just absolutely perfect and heart-warming, and I can't believe it :-) I feel like the luckiest student teacher ever!!!! My CT and those kids are just fantastic!!! We celebrated all day (for one of the kids' birthdays, too!). I managed not to cry until leaving my CT at the end of the day... I can't believe that experience is over!
Luckily, I think I'm going to have another great experience in 6th grade. My CT2 wants me to have the best experience I can, too, so I once again am so grateful for everyone's willingness to help me learn!!! I'm not quite as comfortable with the older kids, so I didn't get very involved today for day 1, but I know I'll get there! I get to plan a writing unit for research skills, so I'm hard at work on that already. Super exciting! I'm also going to have the opportunity to do a few lessons in different classrooms, just to get a bunch more experience with other staff members, age groups, and students. Thanks to PSH for suggesting that!!! I went to observe guided reading in 5th grade for awhile, and had some fun looking at everything on the classroom walls.
At the end of the day, while in line for bus duty with CT2, a bunch of the first graders saw me when they walked in! I got a GIANT group hug, and I just loved it!!!! They're adorable! I'm glad I'm in the same building, so that I can still see their cute little faces. I also got to see my CT!! All in all, it was a good day! I'm excited to see what the rest of 6th grade will bring -- I just have to learn to deal with their attitudes... wish me luck!! :-)
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Week 9: Oh, The Thinks You Can Think!
Once again, there was no time for note-taking this week... but I wished I could document every moment!!! I'm not ready to leave first grade--maybe my CT won't give me a passing grade, and I'll have to repeat! ;-)
OK, fine... This next week is my last week before moving to 6th grade, so I'll make the most of it. Here's an overview of my second to last week:
It's Dr. Seuss week!!!! YAY!!! I love all of that stuff, so this was my week, for sure!
We read a bunch of his books in reading, and Friday I got to trace all the kids' feet! :-P haha.
We watched a couple videos, too.
Tuesday we did this GREAT activity! All the first grade teachers did something different, and the kids travelled from classroom to classroom to get all the experiences. One did Ooblek, another did a Dr. Seuss snack, another did a fast/slow movement Dr. Seuss song, and I did singing and dancing to "Oh, The Thinks You Can Think!" from Seussical Jr.!!
I think I had just as much fun, if not MORE, than the kids!!! The 1st grade teachers suggested I choreograph the rest for the kids for the talent show ;-)
The kids also started a science unit this week -- forces and motion (AKA push vs. pull).
I was SO excited for a word work lesson, too: we wrote alliterative sentences!! (Miss Wodrich won the wacky whiffleball game. The octopus in the ocean opened one oragami. Etc., etc.) They came up with some pretty cute ones! :-D
OH YEAH, my supervisor came for his second visit. My CT and I prepared this elaborate lesson that sounded fantastic on paper... but I ended up having a really hard time with it! It wasn't whole-group, so I had less control, and the kids were very noisy. I was worried about what he would think, and about how the kids would do with the assignment, but once again, he had nothing bad to say!!! He and my CT said they could tell I was definitely out of my element, but that I handled it well, and that it would take time to get used to. It was a great learning experience for me, for sure :-)
I wish I could remember specific funny moments, but I've got nothing this week. Maybe next week I'll have more time to write memories!!
Well, time to get to work on my Star poster for next week!!! :-)
OK, fine... This next week is my last week before moving to 6th grade, so I'll make the most of it. Here's an overview of my second to last week:
It's Dr. Seuss week!!!! YAY!!! I love all of that stuff, so this was my week, for sure!
We read a bunch of his books in reading, and Friday I got to trace all the kids' feet! :-P haha.
We watched a couple videos, too.
Tuesday we did this GREAT activity! All the first grade teachers did something different, and the kids travelled from classroom to classroom to get all the experiences. One did Ooblek, another did a Dr. Seuss snack, another did a fast/slow movement Dr. Seuss song, and I did singing and dancing to "Oh, The Thinks You Can Think!" from Seussical Jr.!!
I think I had just as much fun, if not MORE, than the kids!!! The 1st grade teachers suggested I choreograph the rest for the kids for the talent show ;-)
The kids also started a science unit this week -- forces and motion (AKA push vs. pull).
I was SO excited for a word work lesson, too: we wrote alliterative sentences!! (Miss Wodrich won the wacky whiffleball game. The octopus in the ocean opened one oragami. Etc., etc.) They came up with some pretty cute ones! :-D
OH YEAH, my supervisor came for his second visit. My CT and I prepared this elaborate lesson that sounded fantastic on paper... but I ended up having a really hard time with it! It wasn't whole-group, so I had less control, and the kids were very noisy. I was worried about what he would think, and about how the kids would do with the assignment, but once again, he had nothing bad to say!!! He and my CT said they could tell I was definitely out of my element, but that I handled it well, and that it would take time to get used to. It was a great learning experience for me, for sure :-)
I wish I could remember specific funny moments, but I've got nothing this week. Maybe next week I'll have more time to write memories!!
Well, time to get to work on my Star poster for next week!!! :-)
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Week 8: Ummm... what?
Quite honestly, I don't remember much of this week at all. I don't even know if I took a single note!!! ...OK, I found 3 little notes, but that's it. Time to use those lesson plans to aid my memory!!
Mon:
NO SCHOOL!!! Yay!! ;-)
Tues:
TOO MANY ASSESSMENTS!!! The kids are tired, I'm tired... wish we could all take a break... but no, first there are reading tests, then word work tests, then math tests... does it ever end?
Wed:
Oh, hello Administrators!! 7 of them came into the room during reading instruction, and the kids stopped answering my questions. They were too scared to even spell the word "the" for me!!! Poor kids. Of course, I was shaking in my boots, too -- all I kept thinking was, "I swear I'm better than this!!! These kids are so smart!!!"
Today I started getting behind in lessons... oh no, they're building up!!
Thurs:
Welcome, Supervisor!
I had my first supervisor observation. I was nervous all morning, and for the first few minutes while he was there. Once I got going, though, I felt so much better!! It was just natural :-) Using Rex (our class 'pet') to keep them quiet worked quite well. My supervisor had nothing but positive comments, and the one thing my CT noticed that I could improve when I began, I fixed myself during the course of the lesson. Whew!!
Fri:
Oh. My. Goodness. Too tired to even think. My energy just dropped continuously all day...
I was SO glad when my CT stepped in during writing -- I just needed a few minutes to motivate myself to finish off the day!
We were trying to make it through so many things today, just going and going and going! I wish I would have had the energy to do it!! Oh well, I'm sure that's not the last time I'll have a day like that, I think I can give myself a break...
One fun thing I did was to use the computer/tv connection to write narratives with the kids when I couldn't get the overhead to work. It was very nice.
Report card time is just insane! I feel like the work just never ended this week!! Thank goodness report cards are only 3 times a year :-)
Here's the only Need a Smile? moment I wrote down:
--During one of the assessments, I saw two students [a girl and a boy] holding hands across the desks! (If you watch The Office, they were actually playing with their hands the way Michael and Holly were in one of the recent episodes!!) ...Then I realized they were passing a little bouncy ball back and forth, but it was still kind of a shock! Very cute, though :-)
Even after a weekend, I'm still super tired. Guess it's bedtime!
I'll post a few pictures that I've had, though... then goodnight!!!
1: One of the other 1st grade teachers posted a bulletin board with a center that I'd helped create -- I was so excited to see it hanging up!!!!
2: 100th day activity! Counting their snack into groups of 10 to make 100 :-)
3: "Some bunny loves you" cards for Valentine's Day. I painted their hands to stamp, and my own hands came away with a little more color ;-)
4: A cute bulletin board I hung up -- my CT's ideas, but it was so adorable I just had to get a picture! ;-)
Mon:
NO SCHOOL!!! Yay!! ;-)
Tues:
TOO MANY ASSESSMENTS!!! The kids are tired, I'm tired... wish we could all take a break... but no, first there are reading tests, then word work tests, then math tests... does it ever end?
Wed:
Oh, hello Administrators!! 7 of them came into the room during reading instruction, and the kids stopped answering my questions. They were too scared to even spell the word "the" for me!!! Poor kids. Of course, I was shaking in my boots, too -- all I kept thinking was, "I swear I'm better than this!!! These kids are so smart!!!"
Today I started getting behind in lessons... oh no, they're building up!!
Thurs:
Welcome, Supervisor!
I had my first supervisor observation. I was nervous all morning, and for the first few minutes while he was there. Once I got going, though, I felt so much better!! It was just natural :-) Using Rex (our class 'pet') to keep them quiet worked quite well. My supervisor had nothing but positive comments, and the one thing my CT noticed that I could improve when I began, I fixed myself during the course of the lesson. Whew!!
Fri:
Oh. My. Goodness. Too tired to even think. My energy just dropped continuously all day...
I was SO glad when my CT stepped in during writing -- I just needed a few minutes to motivate myself to finish off the day!
We were trying to make it through so many things today, just going and going and going! I wish I would have had the energy to do it!! Oh well, I'm sure that's not the last time I'll have a day like that, I think I can give myself a break...
One fun thing I did was to use the computer/tv connection to write narratives with the kids when I couldn't get the overhead to work. It was very nice.
Report card time is just insane! I feel like the work just never ended this week!! Thank goodness report cards are only 3 times a year :-)
Here's the only Need a Smile? moment I wrote down:
--During one of the assessments, I saw two students [a girl and a boy] holding hands across the desks! (If you watch The Office, they were actually playing with their hands the way Michael and Holly were in one of the recent episodes!!) ...Then I realized they were passing a little bouncy ball back and forth, but it was still kind of a shock! Very cute, though :-)
Even after a weekend, I'm still super tired. Guess it's bedtime!
I'll post a few pictures that I've had, though... then goodnight!!!
1: One of the other 1st grade teachers posted a bulletin board with a center that I'd helped create -- I was so excited to see it hanging up!!!!
2: 100th day activity! Counting their snack into groups of 10 to make 100 :-)
3: "Some bunny loves you" cards for Valentine's Day. I painted their hands to stamp, and my own hands came away with a little more color ;-)
4: A cute bulletin board I hung up -- my CT's ideas, but it was so adorable I just had to get a picture! ;-)
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