This past week at my PDS has been very eventful. We experiences 2 snow days on Monday and Tuesday and then a 2 hour delay on Wednesday. This was my first time being able to see how snow days can effect planning and the behaviors of students. Needless to say it was a crazy week! When the week started on Wednesday and the students and teachers came back it was busy. The schedule was changed because of the delay and teachers also lost their planning. It was difficult to change lessons around in a short amount of time because I could not do what I originally planned since we missed the two previous days. Also the students were very talkative and full of energy seeing that they had a four day weekend so I had to make sure that I planned a very structured day to keep behavior problems down. I decided to have a review day of the material from the week before since we had just started a difficult unit on matter and energy. I knew the students probably forgot a lot of important information from the week before that they would need for this weeks activity. We were also moving into density so it was important that they had a concrete background on the idea of atoms, mass, and volume. We worked on important concepts from the chapter and then discussed important ideas and then answered any misconceptions that students had. Overall, I felt that the day went as well as it could. I had a lot of trouble with behavior, talking mostly, but I felt like it couldn't really be avoided because of the snow days.
This weeks blog is a lot shorter then usual and that's because of the lack of time in my PDS. I am getting excited to be done teaching soon, the 5 am wake ups are not getting any easier. But I really am going to miss my students. I feel like I have a real relationship with my students now and I believe I also have finally found my teaching style, for this particular subject and grade level. I also have learned a lot about myself as an educator and the type of teacher I want to be. I have really enjoyed my time in the 5th grade. I think that through all of my experiences in elementary school and middle, that I connect more with old aged students. I loved my time in 5th grade and middle school. I also really enjoy being in the special education classroom and I can't want to be able to spend more time in there.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Intern Experience Week #14
My internship at my PDS is coming to an end, but the experiences are never ending. My mentor teaching teaches social studies and science to 5th grade students. I have been teaching a unit on the Civil War since I started at my PDS and just finished it before thanksgiving break. Now since returning from the holiday break we have started a unit on matter and energy. This is a whole new experience for me because I have only taught science in a kindergarten classroom therefore, the concepts I will be teaching are a lot more complex. I have had to spend a lot of time reteaching myself about atoms and molecules and everything that has to deal with matter and energy. In order to feel more comfortable about teaching these concepts I watched my mentor teach for a day so I could get an idea of how he presents the material. After observing his teaching for a day I took over this past Tuesday and started teaching science. It has been a lot easier then I had anticipated. I think that is because I have my own type of teaching style now so I just took my approach in social studies to science, but now I am working into my lessons more hands on activities.
Today we actually build molecules. I worked with students on building their knowledge about atoms and molecules and using the periodic table on Tuesday. Then we reviewed the information in class today before we started to build our molecules. The students built molecules with clay and toothpicks and I modeled a few different types of molecule being built in order for them to have a visual on how to actually structure them correctly.
I ran into some difficulty when I was having the students use their periodic table to identify what symbols in the molecular formulas, represented the atoms on the table. The students were confusing the number on the periodic table which represents the element or atoms protons in that elements nucleus with the number of that actual atom needed to create the molecule. Therefore a discussion was held to help students identify the number of atoms needed in order to build the different molecules I had listed for them to try. I also gave students an option building a few more complex molecules which a lot took advantage of doing.
Today we actually build molecules. I worked with students on building their knowledge about atoms and molecules and using the periodic table on Tuesday. Then we reviewed the information in class today before we started to build our molecules. The students built molecules with clay and toothpicks and I modeled a few different types of molecule being built in order for them to have a visual on how to actually structure them correctly.
I ran into some difficulty when I was having the students use their periodic table to identify what symbols in the molecular formulas, represented the atoms on the table. The students were confusing the number on the periodic table which represents the element or atoms protons in that elements nucleus with the number of that actual atom needed to create the molecule. Therefore a discussion was held to help students identify the number of atoms needed in order to build the different molecules I had listed for them to try. I also gave students an option building a few more complex molecules which a lot took advantage of doing.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Intern Experience Week #13
The work in my PDS's this semester was drastically different. I spent the first 5 weeks of the semester in a self-contained middle school classroom working with students in grades 6-8 and then the remained of the time I was in a 5Th grade social studies/science classroom teaching all 5Th grade students. I believe that I am a more well rounded pre-service teacher because of my experience in these very different placement, and the opportunity to work with such a diverse group of students.
For my 5 week placement I was teaching all subjects to students with a variety of needs in grades 6-8 all in one classroom. This was very challenging because I wasn't just providing support to what the students were doing in the regular classroom like I had in previous special education experience, but instead in charge of their every curriculum need. My mentor teacher and I built a relationship very quickly because of the necessity of getting me teaching right away since I was only there for a short amount of time. The work was challenging at first because I needed to create whole group instruction as well as small to reach every student and every learners needs. This classroom was also the first time that I was working with students that had sever behavioral and emotional disabilities. It was also very important for me to build a beneficial relationship for my mentor teacher as well so I made sure that I was keeping track of students work, grading assignments and doing anything and everything she asked me to do. Also turning my lesson plans in early to her helped build the professional relationship needed so that she would trust me in her classroom. I really value everything that she taught me in her classroom I definitely grew from our experience working together.
Then when I returned to my home PDS I was placed in a 5th grade social studies classroom in order to provide me experience in teaching middle school social studies since I have a 5-9 certification. This was the first time in a while that I was placed in a general education classroom. Also these 5th grade students were on the highest level that I had taught thus far. Even though I was placed in a middle school those students were working on a 3rd and 4th grade level, so working with the general education population at this academic level had me a little nervous. I had also never had a class that instructed me on teaching social studies at this level so with all of these factors playing a part I was anxious to see what would come. I was very lucky to be placed with a mentor teaching that was understanding of my lack of experience in teaching social studies and very willing to work with me. Instead of teaching right away I would observe him teach one block then I would teach the same lesson in the next and we would discuss what I did well and then improvements. This was very beneficial because I was able to readjust or try new things in different classes because I was teaching the same lesson three times a day. Sometimes it got a little boring doing the same thing, but it was a nice change as well. It was also beneficial to have my special education background because sometimes I would use some of the techniques I used with that particular student population in my general education classroom if a concept was giving them trouble. I believe that my mentor teacher and I were able to form a beneficial relationship because I was able to share my knowledge about special education and he about science, social studies, and behavioral management in the classroom. I also was able to form a professional relationship with my teacher by always being prepared for class with lessons, material and grading assignments. We would co-teach often and discuss planning as a team. I hope to return to this classroom and other 5th grade classrooms in the spring and continue building my professional relationship with my mentor teacher. I plan on using technology to enhance teaching in the classroom and plan on introducing different ways of using technology with my mentor teacher.
For my 5 week placement I was teaching all subjects to students with a variety of needs in grades 6-8 all in one classroom. This was very challenging because I wasn't just providing support to what the students were doing in the regular classroom like I had in previous special education experience, but instead in charge of their every curriculum need. My mentor teacher and I built a relationship very quickly because of the necessity of getting me teaching right away since I was only there for a short amount of time. The work was challenging at first because I needed to create whole group instruction as well as small to reach every student and every learners needs. This classroom was also the first time that I was working with students that had sever behavioral and emotional disabilities. It was also very important for me to build a beneficial relationship for my mentor teacher as well so I made sure that I was keeping track of students work, grading assignments and doing anything and everything she asked me to do. Also turning my lesson plans in early to her helped build the professional relationship needed so that she would trust me in her classroom. I really value everything that she taught me in her classroom I definitely grew from our experience working together.
Then when I returned to my home PDS I was placed in a 5th grade social studies classroom in order to provide me experience in teaching middle school social studies since I have a 5-9 certification. This was the first time in a while that I was placed in a general education classroom. Also these 5th grade students were on the highest level that I had taught thus far. Even though I was placed in a middle school those students were working on a 3rd and 4th grade level, so working with the general education population at this academic level had me a little nervous. I had also never had a class that instructed me on teaching social studies at this level so with all of these factors playing a part I was anxious to see what would come. I was very lucky to be placed with a mentor teaching that was understanding of my lack of experience in teaching social studies and very willing to work with me. Instead of teaching right away I would observe him teach one block then I would teach the same lesson in the next and we would discuss what I did well and then improvements. This was very beneficial because I was able to readjust or try new things in different classes because I was teaching the same lesson three times a day. Sometimes it got a little boring doing the same thing, but it was a nice change as well. It was also beneficial to have my special education background because sometimes I would use some of the techniques I used with that particular student population in my general education classroom if a concept was giving them trouble. I believe that my mentor teacher and I were able to form a beneficial relationship because I was able to share my knowledge about special education and he about science, social studies, and behavioral management in the classroom. I also was able to form a professional relationship with my teacher by always being prepared for class with lessons, material and grading assignments. We would co-teach often and discuss planning as a team. I hope to return to this classroom and other 5th grade classrooms in the spring and continue building my professional relationship with my mentor teacher. I plan on using technology to enhance teaching in the classroom and plan on introducing different ways of using technology with my mentor teacher.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Intern Experience Week #12
This past week at my PDS I wrapped up a 5 week unit on the Civil War. We spent a great deal of time on the battles that played a very important part in the ending of the war and focused on the important individuals during this final stretch of war. The first half of the week the students learned about the battles at Vicksburg and Chancellorsville. Each battle was covered because of their significant to the side the victory was for. The students spent equal time researching each battle and then were given the option to choose one or the other to complete a battle summary on. The students were also provided with additional books to use as resources for their summary. The books had a lot of paintings and real like pictures of the battles that students could use in order to recreate their battle picture.
After this we went straight into the battle of Gettysburg which was the first battle in our entire unit where students had some prior knowledge about. I took advantage of this and held a lot of large group discussions where students could share information they knew and if they had ever visited Gettysburg. I used a teaching style of lecture mixed with technology. I felt that if I lectured about a particular topic or event then showed a brief video clip the students may comprehend more compared to watching one large video where they would loose focus. The students seemed to do well this this and were able to recall a lot of information about the battle.
Finally on Friday we came to an end of our Civil War study with a section on Appomattox. For this section I lectured and held discussion on the topic and then showed an 11 minute video clip that lead up to the next section we will cover after Christmas, which was the assassination of Lincoln. After this students were given 4 options which were to be their final grade in this unit. Students were given directions and explained that this project needed to represent their best work possible. They could either write a Gettysburg battle summary, Gettysburg newspaper, Sherman's march newspaper, or Appomattox newspaper. After receiving the assignments turned in today I was presently surprised to see a variety in topics were chosen.
After this we went straight into the battle of Gettysburg which was the first battle in our entire unit where students had some prior knowledge about. I took advantage of this and held a lot of large group discussions where students could share information they knew and if they had ever visited Gettysburg. I used a teaching style of lecture mixed with technology. I felt that if I lectured about a particular topic or event then showed a brief video clip the students may comprehend more compared to watching one large video where they would loose focus. The students seemed to do well this this and were able to recall a lot of information about the battle.
Finally on Friday we came to an end of our Civil War study with a section on Appomattox. For this section I lectured and held discussion on the topic and then showed an 11 minute video clip that lead up to the next section we will cover after Christmas, which was the assassination of Lincoln. After this students were given 4 options which were to be their final grade in this unit. Students were given directions and explained that this project needed to represent their best work possible. They could either write a Gettysburg battle summary, Gettysburg newspaper, Sherman's march newspaper, or Appomattox newspaper. After receiving the assignments turned in today I was presently surprised to see a variety in topics were chosen.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Intern Experience Week #11
Last week at my PDS was a very exciting and rewarding week of teaching. I taught a lot of lessons that went very well and the students seemed to be into them. We focused a lot on major battles and important people during the war. My students worked on computers one day researching an individual that they chose from a list provided. The had the choice of either Union, Confederate, or Civilian. I provided students with a guide to help aid in their research because with the information they found they were going to be creating a type of information card, modeled after a baseball card to represent their person. The card needed to include all of the information they needed to find from their guide, a picture and then either the confederate or union flag as the background behind their person. Over all the students did a really good job with this assignment, and it is always nice to use technology.
The following day I introduced a lesson where we explored important battles like Bull Run and Antietam. We read from the text, did reading questions and watched video clips to help aid students in comprehension. Once we did all of these instruction steps the students were then again given a guide for them to fill in information and they were to pick one of the two battles to create a battle summary. My mentor teacher also had a lot of Civil War books in his classroom so the students were able to use these as a resource to look at pictures which helped in the picture portion of the summary. I think the students liked it because they get interested into the bloody aspects of war, but they had a lot of trouble writing a summary. They have written summaries in other classes and I did explain it, but a lot of them just presented the information like a baseball card. It was frustrating because I know they just weren't listening. I am doing all of these different activities with them but they still seem to be bored with the content.
Finally on Thursday and Friday we spent two days using the book Pink and Say. The students loved it and were really into the story. One the first day we did a picture walk and discussed what they thought the book was going to be about and then I introduced them to important new vocabulary that we would come across in the book. Next we started to read the study and got about half way done on day one and then finished it on day two. As we read, a lot of discussion developed and the students had a lot of questions. When they found out it was a true story at the end of the book a lot of them were astonished and it prompted even more questions. I was very happy with the outcome of using this book and plan on using it in my own future classrooms.
The following day I introduced a lesson where we explored important battles like Bull Run and Antietam. We read from the text, did reading questions and watched video clips to help aid students in comprehension. Once we did all of these instruction steps the students were then again given a guide for them to fill in information and they were to pick one of the two battles to create a battle summary. My mentor teacher also had a lot of Civil War books in his classroom so the students were able to use these as a resource to look at pictures which helped in the picture portion of the summary. I think the students liked it because they get interested into the bloody aspects of war, but they had a lot of trouble writing a summary. They have written summaries in other classes and I did explain it, but a lot of them just presented the information like a baseball card. It was frustrating because I know they just weren't listening. I am doing all of these different activities with them but they still seem to be bored with the content.
Finally on Thursday and Friday we spent two days using the book Pink and Say. The students loved it and were really into the story. One the first day we did a picture walk and discussed what they thought the book was going to be about and then I introduced them to important new vocabulary that we would come across in the book. Next we started to read the study and got about half way done on day one and then finished it on day two. As we read, a lot of discussion developed and the students had a lot of questions. When they found out it was a true story at the end of the book a lot of them were astonished and it prompted even more questions. I was very happy with the outcome of using this book and plan on using it in my own future classrooms.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Intern Experience Week #10
This past week at my PDS I was able to integrate creative arts into a lot of my lessons. This worked well because I was able to see my students work with regular textbook assignments vs. creative assignments on the same content. The week really focused on the Civil War and I introduced students to the first battles and important figures or people in the war. These important people were both Union and Confederate as well as citizens. I tried to switch up my instruction by having students use their book for a source of information and then watch videos about the same content in order for them to have a visual to go along with the information in the text.
First we worked on the election of 1860 and the students were introduced to Abe Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. We read about a lot of their differences in political views as well as their physical differences. The students also used a Venn Diagram to organize the information about their similarities and differences. Then they used this information to create a political cartoon. I was able to show students examples of political cartoons and we discussed why they were important because at this time newspapers were the only way to get information. Newspapers were also a popular form of entertainment. Then we watched and read about the Battle at Fort Sumpter. The students were then given guidelines to create a front page of a newspaper to inform people on the battle. We held a discussion on appropriate names for a paper and eye catching headlines.
Lastly I created an activity where I used digital photos that I had taken from the field trip the week before. I explained to my students that I saw a lot of them using their own cameras on the field trip so I used the photos I took as a way for them to see that they could use their photos in an educational way. I made several hard copies of the photos and numbered them. The each student picked a photo and had to write about the photo plus three sentences about the field trip. My teacher also played a slide show of his own photos for the students to watch as they worked on their own photo. I think that the students really enjoyed this activity. A lot of them wrote more then what was asked of them.
Overall, pretty good week. I am getting more comfortable in my teaching of social studies so I am starting to enjoy it a lot more.
First we worked on the election of 1860 and the students were introduced to Abe Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. We read about a lot of their differences in political views as well as their physical differences. The students also used a Venn Diagram to organize the information about their similarities and differences. Then they used this information to create a political cartoon. I was able to show students examples of political cartoons and we discussed why they were important because at this time newspapers were the only way to get information. Newspapers were also a popular form of entertainment. Then we watched and read about the Battle at Fort Sumpter. The students were then given guidelines to create a front page of a newspaper to inform people on the battle. We held a discussion on appropriate names for a paper and eye catching headlines.
Lastly I created an activity where I used digital photos that I had taken from the field trip the week before. I explained to my students that I saw a lot of them using their own cameras on the field trip so I used the photos I took as a way for them to see that they could use their photos in an educational way. I made several hard copies of the photos and numbered them. The each student picked a photo and had to write about the photo plus three sentences about the field trip. My teacher also played a slide show of his own photos for the students to watch as they worked on their own photo. I think that the students really enjoyed this activity. A lot of them wrote more then what was asked of them.
Overall, pretty good week. I am getting more comfortable in my teaching of social studies so I am starting to enjoy it a lot more.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Intern Experience Week #9
This past week the majority of my teaching and content focus was on the Underground Railroad. I introduced the material using a section of the book and then had my students work through an interactive website from scholastic.com. The site was introduced to me by my mentor teacher because he has used it in the past with his students. The site was great it offered a variety of visual aids like photos and slides shows for students to gather information to answer each of the 4 sections questions. The site also in each section had students listen to the experience of a run away slave named Walter and his experience traveling on the Underground Railroad that was related to the information students were learning through the site. After the students were done going over each section by listening to the material and looking at the pictures they used the information to answer reading questions and then took those reading questions and formed informational sentences. They would then use the informational sentences to create a paragraph and picture in order to create a Underground Railroad information book.
Overall the students did really well with the activities. I had planned for them to do each section on their own using the laptop lab but the computer gave more trouble so we ended up having to go through the sections as a large class and discuss the answers for each questions together. It was nice because I knew they had no excuse to not have the correct information for their writing. I then had the students create and illustration to go along with their writing. The students also received a large piece of paper that they folded in half to create a cover and binding for their 4 different Underground Railroad information pages.
Then on Friday we went on a class field trip to Phillipi because it is the site of the first land battle in the Civil War. It was very interesting for me because I am not from West Virginia and it was cool to see the town and different important sites. I also had no idea how close it was to the community that my PDS is located in. The students did a walking tour or the town and sites and then we went to and old mansion and toured that. It was cool to be learning along side my students during the trip on Friday.
Overall the students did really well with the activities. I had planned for them to do each section on their own using the laptop lab but the computer gave more trouble so we ended up having to go through the sections as a large class and discuss the answers for each questions together. It was nice because I knew they had no excuse to not have the correct information for their writing. I then had the students create and illustration to go along with their writing. The students also received a large piece of paper that they folded in half to create a cover and binding for their 4 different Underground Railroad information pages.
Then on Friday we went on a class field trip to Phillipi because it is the site of the first land battle in the Civil War. It was very interesting for me because I am not from West Virginia and it was cool to see the town and different important sites. I also had no idea how close it was to the community that my PDS is located in. The students did a walking tour or the town and sites and then we went to and old mansion and toured that. It was cool to be learning along side my students during the trip on Friday.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Intern Experience Week #8
Very frustrating week at my PDS, I am just having a very difficult time teaching social studies because it has been so long since I had a history/ social studies related class, and our EDUC class was not a help what so ever. Yes it was good for lower elementary students, but I have a middle school (5-9) social studies certification and I feel like I am totally no prepared and have never even been given a course to help me out at all. Because of this I am constantly looking for information online watching videos and just have 10 times more work added to the large work load with full time teaching that we already have.
I started a unit on the Civil War this past week and it was a disaster. I prepped for it did a lot for research and I still feel like it crashed and burned. I really don't know what more I could have done to make it any better. It is also very difficult because students just typically don't like history. I love it and try and be as passionate as possible but I just have students roll their eyes at me and it makes me feel like why and I even trying. My mentor teacher has been great and I have asked to go back to the I watch him teach one block then I go and teach the next. Its frustrating to have to be doing that so late in the game but I feel horrible to try and do a OK job teaching it to my students because I am totally lost. I also think that because of the 5 week SPED placement I felt totally rushed and like I had to start teaching only after watch for a few days. I know a program can't be perfect but I mean I'm trying to be as diverse as possible in my certification and I feel like it is just hurting me instead of helping.
I started a unit on the Civil War this past week and it was a disaster. I prepped for it did a lot for research and I still feel like it crashed and burned. I really don't know what more I could have done to make it any better. It is also very difficult because students just typically don't like history. I love it and try and be as passionate as possible but I just have students roll their eyes at me and it makes me feel like why and I even trying. My mentor teacher has been great and I have asked to go back to the I watch him teach one block then I go and teach the next. Its frustrating to have to be doing that so late in the game but I feel horrible to try and do a OK job teaching it to my students because I am totally lost. I also think that because of the 5 week SPED placement I felt totally rushed and like I had to start teaching only after watch for a few days. I know a program can't be perfect but I mean I'm trying to be as diverse as possible in my certification and I feel like it is just hurting me instead of helping.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Intern Experience Week #7
This past week was my first week of full time teaching in my new placement in the 5th grade. The week started off with a review of immigration and different immigrant ethnic groups which focused on content that was in their social studies textbook. The students had been working with the topic of immigration in their reading class and had worked a lot with Ellis Island, therefore they had a good idea of the topic and a lot of recent knowledge that went a long with our weeks activities.
On Monday I did a quick review of important concepts and key terms and then turned the class over to watch a great overall video about immigration. This video touched on a lot of the different areas that I felt were necessary for the students to know in order to understand immigration. It covered different ethnic groups, reasons for immigrating, their journey, experiences once in the America, living conditions, and jobs. The students really took to why different immigrant groups came to the United States, such as the Irish Potato Famine, or war in their home country.
After this I had them explore their text so that they could see that we can get information on the same topic from a wide variety of sources, discussion, videos, texts, and in other subject classes. I think it was extremely beneficial for the students to get to use all of these different sources in one class period. It is also nice because they are hour blocks and I feel like I am able to get a lot done in that period of time. Working with older students has also showed me that they can and like to work independently. Thats sometimes independent work is more beneficial to them instead of me sitting and lecturing about a topic. They seem to retain more when they are responsible for looking up the information and completing the assignment.
On Tuesday I was able to get the mobile computer lab and bring it into the classroom so that the students would be able to complete a research/creative writing activity that I had developed. I created 4 guiding questions to aid in their research of a specific ethnic group. The students were then given time to look up information on their specific ethnic group and that information would help them in a writing activity that I would have them do on thursday. On Wednesday we went back to working on the computers and they were given time to finish their research and then do a worksheet that went a long with an interactive tour of Ellis Island.
The on friday they were given a writing prompt where they were asked to write as if they were an immigrant, of the specific ethnic groups they research, coming to the United States. I gave them guidelines of what I was looking for in their writing and that they needed to draw a picture to go with their writing. Once the students were actually done I read a few of them and I was extremely impressed at home well they did. I thought they would have a hard time writing in the first person and being able to express their feelings while going through the experience that an immigrant did. Overall I was pretty happy with the week teaching wise and how my students were able to retain the information. I also plan on using the creative writing activity in my action research inquiry.
On Monday I did a quick review of important concepts and key terms and then turned the class over to watch a great overall video about immigration. This video touched on a lot of the different areas that I felt were necessary for the students to know in order to understand immigration. It covered different ethnic groups, reasons for immigrating, their journey, experiences once in the America, living conditions, and jobs. The students really took to why different immigrant groups came to the United States, such as the Irish Potato Famine, or war in their home country.
After this I had them explore their text so that they could see that we can get information on the same topic from a wide variety of sources, discussion, videos, texts, and in other subject classes. I think it was extremely beneficial for the students to get to use all of these different sources in one class period. It is also nice because they are hour blocks and I feel like I am able to get a lot done in that period of time. Working with older students has also showed me that they can and like to work independently. Thats sometimes independent work is more beneficial to them instead of me sitting and lecturing about a topic. They seem to retain more when they are responsible for looking up the information and completing the assignment.
On Tuesday I was able to get the mobile computer lab and bring it into the classroom so that the students would be able to complete a research/creative writing activity that I had developed. I created 4 guiding questions to aid in their research of a specific ethnic group. The students were then given time to look up information on their specific ethnic group and that information would help them in a writing activity that I would have them do on thursday. On Wednesday we went back to working on the computers and they were given time to finish their research and then do a worksheet that went a long with an interactive tour of Ellis Island.
The on friday they were given a writing prompt where they were asked to write as if they were an immigrant, of the specific ethnic groups they research, coming to the United States. I gave them guidelines of what I was looking for in their writing and that they needed to draw a picture to go with their writing. Once the students were actually done I read a few of them and I was extremely impressed at home well they did. I thought they would have a hard time writing in the first person and being able to express their feelings while going through the experience that an immigrant did. Overall I was pretty happy with the week teaching wise and how my students were able to retain the information. I also plan on using the creative writing activity in my action research inquiry.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Intern Experience Week #6
This past week I returned to my home PDS West Milford Elementary school to start my middle school social studies placement in a 5th grade classroom. It was a more difficult transition then I would have expected, but I think that that has to do to the fact that I was very comfortable in my last placement and I felt like I really knew my students and the school. But it was nice to return to the school that I had been at the past 2 years. I have really been looking forward to this placement because I enjoy history and this will be my first opportunity to teach it, so I am anxious to see if I enjoy teaching as much as I enjoy the subject. It is also nice to get the experience working with a male teacher. I think that this placement will give me something different compared to other placements because I believe that male teachers have a little different approach, and this particular teacher likes to incorporate technology in his lessons as much as possible, which will be a great learning tool.
The week went very fast, and I spent it mostly observing so that I could get the a feel for the schedule of the classroom and the type of students I would be working with. Something that I didn't consider before was that this group would be the highest level learners I have ever worked with. In my middle school placement I had 6-8th graders that were on a lower level to the 5th graders that I am working with. I don't know why but thinking about this aspect made me very nervous to start teaching. I expressed my worries with my mentor teacher and we have worked out a schedule where I will gradually start teaching. We started this week where I watched him teach spelling and english 2 days and then I took over. I am anxious to see how things end up once I start teaching social studies full time. I planned for the week and will start a unit on immigrants and immigration tomorrow which will go with a unit they are working with in their reading class.
The week went very fast, and I spent it mostly observing so that I could get the a feel for the schedule of the classroom and the type of students I would be working with. Something that I didn't consider before was that this group would be the highest level learners I have ever worked with. In my middle school placement I had 6-8th graders that were on a lower level to the 5th graders that I am working with. I don't know why but thinking about this aspect made me very nervous to start teaching. I expressed my worries with my mentor teacher and we have worked out a schedule where I will gradually start teaching. We started this week where I watched him teach spelling and english 2 days and then I took over. I am anxious to see how things end up once I start teaching social studies full time. I planned for the week and will start a unit on immigrants and immigration tomorrow which will go with a unit they are working with in their reading class.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Intern Experience Week #5
This past week at SHMS it was a very short yet emotional week, because it was my last few days with my students. Besides the emotion of it being my last week I also had to deal with the experiences that come with dealing with your students when a sub is in the classroom. Overall my students were pretty good and listened to me, however I did have to raise my voice and ask them if they would treat me the way they were if their regular classroom teacher was in there and that settled them down a lot. The best part of this whole experience would be the following morning when my teacher came into the classroom she said that she had ran into the sub from yesterday and he wanted her to know what a fabulous job I did. My teacher then explained to me that this particular teacher was an 'old school' teacher and that I should feel honored that he spoke so highly of me. It made me feel really good that she said this because I have really gotten to the point where I am comfortable in the classroom and teaching. It is nice to know that it shows to other professionals.
Also on Wednesday I was able to attend an in service where we went over some online grading, writing programs, and teacher web pages. It was interesting to see these different tools being used because I am not familiar with these things seeing that I am from out of state and my other places thus far have not been so in depth to the point where my teachers informed me on these programs.
Also on Wednesday I was able to attend an in service where we went over some online grading, writing programs, and teacher web pages. It was interesting to see these different tools being used because I am not familiar with these things seeing that I am from out of state and my other places thus far have not been so in depth to the point where my teachers informed me on these programs.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Intern Experience Week #4
This week in my classroom at SHMS we welcomed a new student to our classroom on Monday. I was able to look at our new students file before he arrived so it was nice to have an idea of the students behavior and levels, seeing that the majority of the students in my classroom have some type of a behavior problem. This student has Jacobs Syndrome, and I have never worked with an individual with this or had ever heard of it before. Because of this I spent some time looking up Jacobs Syndrome on the Internet and also in some of my Special Education textbooks. I learned a lot by looking at characteristics of the Syndrome and comparing them to this new students file and his present levels, to see which of his behaviors were related to his disability and which were not. This particular student had a history of being violent, which is something that I was extremely nervous about, seeing that his first day would be taught by me. I have taken over teaching all subjects now for the better part of 2 weeks.
This is the first time that I had had an experience with welcoming a new student into the classroom I was in. Also the dynamics of this classroom sets it apart from the regular classroom. My students were all very welcoming to the new student and tried to make him feel as welcome as they could, but this new students just had an attitude about him. I can understand the attitude seeing that he didn't want to get picked on if the other students saw that they easily could. But when it came to the actual work in our classroom this new student is way above even my highest level of learner. I tried to accommodate the student as best as I could but a lot of times it was hard because I have so many different groups going on at one time it was difficult to try and gather work for him on the spot. It was very frustrating also because this student was not very understanding about it and just rolled his eyes at me and made rude comments. I didn't want to single him out because in his IEP it stated that doing that would cause him to get violent, I also didn't want him to think that was appropriate behavior in our classroom. My mentor teacher saw some of the attitude, but not the full force of it because she is often working with a group herself, and I also think that she wants me to experience everything that goes along with being in special education, which I greatly appreciate.
Overall, this week was very eye opening in ways that I never thought because usual I tend to focus more on the academic side of the week, not the behavior and social which play a huge role as well.
This is the first time that I had had an experience with welcoming a new student into the classroom I was in. Also the dynamics of this classroom sets it apart from the regular classroom. My students were all very welcoming to the new student and tried to make him feel as welcome as they could, but this new students just had an attitude about him. I can understand the attitude seeing that he didn't want to get picked on if the other students saw that they easily could. But when it came to the actual work in our classroom this new student is way above even my highest level of learner. I tried to accommodate the student as best as I could but a lot of times it was hard because I have so many different groups going on at one time it was difficult to try and gather work for him on the spot. It was very frustrating also because this student was not very understanding about it and just rolled his eyes at me and made rude comments. I didn't want to single him out because in his IEP it stated that doing that would cause him to get violent, I also didn't want him to think that was appropriate behavior in our classroom. My mentor teacher saw some of the attitude, but not the full force of it because she is often working with a group herself, and I also think that she wants me to experience everything that goes along with being in special education, which I greatly appreciate.
Overall, this week was very eye opening in ways that I never thought because usual I tend to focus more on the academic side of the week, not the behavior and social which play a huge role as well.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Intern Experience Week #3
This past week at my PDS was actually very enjoyable. I had had a very difficult previous week and was not looking forward to going back to teaching especially after the holiday weekend. However, things seemed to run surprisingly smoothly. I had spent a great deal of time writing this past weeks lesson plans over so I think that my in depth planning may of played a part in my great week. I also think that I am getting more comfortable with the schedule, students, and content that I am teaching so everything was working in my favor. This week I also started a unit in science about hurricanes which is something that I am extremely interested in and with it being hurricane season I was able to find a lot of materials for my students to use and for me to teach and plan with.
This week I also got trained on working the newly installed smartboard in my room and this technology tool really enhances lessons and gets students involved in what we are doing. I worked with the smartboard during 4 of my 6 classes and the students never seemed to get bored with it.
Probably the most rewarding moment that I have ever had in my teaching occurred this week, and it is for sure something that I will remember for the rest of my life. In my reading class I chose to read the book Harry Potter to my students because they all seemed extremely interested in it and I also saw them picking the book up when they had free time. However, the students in my self-contained classroom have as low as a first grade reading level and as high as a fourth grade reading level and Harry Potter is on a higher 5th grade level. But knowing that they would be actively involved in the book I decided to read it aloud to them while they followed along. Each day for the past week we have been doing this where I read they follow ask questions and journal about the readings. And each day I encourage all the students to read if they would like. Well finally on Thursday this past week 5 of my 8 students asked if they could read and have not stopped asking since. They do struggle a lot with the words and content but we sound words out together and I help them feel confident while learn as they are trying to tackle the reading. I was so proud to see my students really want to try and read something that they knew was difficult. I really believe they are getting more out of trying to read something they are interested in then something they are not.
This week I also got trained on working the newly installed smartboard in my room and this technology tool really enhances lessons and gets students involved in what we are doing. I worked with the smartboard during 4 of my 6 classes and the students never seemed to get bored with it.
Probably the most rewarding moment that I have ever had in my teaching occurred this week, and it is for sure something that I will remember for the rest of my life. In my reading class I chose to read the book Harry Potter to my students because they all seemed extremely interested in it and I also saw them picking the book up when they had free time. However, the students in my self-contained classroom have as low as a first grade reading level and as high as a fourth grade reading level and Harry Potter is on a higher 5th grade level. But knowing that they would be actively involved in the book I decided to read it aloud to them while they followed along. Each day for the past week we have been doing this where I read they follow ask questions and journal about the readings. And each day I encourage all the students to read if they would like. Well finally on Thursday this past week 5 of my 8 students asked if they could read and have not stopped asking since. They do struggle a lot with the words and content but we sound words out together and I help them feel confident while learn as they are trying to tackle the reading. I was so proud to see my students really want to try and read something that they knew was difficult. I really believe they are getting more out of trying to read something they are interested in then something they are not.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Intern Experience Week #2
This week at my PDS placement, it has been a lot more difficult then I expected. I love being in a secondary placement. I really feel like I connect more when working with older students and I enjoy being in the classroom. I have just started to feel overwhelmed and more stressed then I have been at other times during my classroom experiences. I believe that it has to do with the type of classroom that I am in, and the type of students I am working with. I think a lot of my stress comes for the fact that I am still trying to figure out what behaviors are related to my students disabilities and which are just to see how far they can push me being a new teacher.
I enjoy being in the self-contained classroom because I get the opportunity to get to know my students better then if I was in another situation. But I think that the initial shock of having to plan for all subjects and for 7 periods of the day is something new for me. I just feel overwhelmed. My mentor teacher has been amazing with helping me and giving me materials to lighten my load, however I feel like the more effort I put out the more I will get out of my experience so I am trying to plan my lessons using a variety of techniques and materials. This has made my job 10 times harder then it needs to be, but I also like the challenge of looking for materials to give my students, instead of just using worksheets and reading out of textbooks. I am just hoping that as time goes on I am able to get better organized and not feel as stressed about what I need to get done.
Something interesting that I was able to experience this week at my PDS, was being able to go to a 7th grade inclusion English class, where they pull in a special educator to assist the regular classroom teacher. Being in the self-contained classrooms means that I don't get much of an opportunity to leave so all my experiences are in that classroom with those few students. So this experiences was great because I was able to be in the regular classroom and observe a special educator and a regular classroom teacher collaborate.
I enjoy being in the self-contained classroom because I get the opportunity to get to know my students better then if I was in another situation. But I think that the initial shock of having to plan for all subjects and for 7 periods of the day is something new for me. I just feel overwhelmed. My mentor teacher has been amazing with helping me and giving me materials to lighten my load, however I feel like the more effort I put out the more I will get out of my experience so I am trying to plan my lessons using a variety of techniques and materials. This has made my job 10 times harder then it needs to be, but I also like the challenge of looking for materials to give my students, instead of just using worksheets and reading out of textbooks. I am just hoping that as time goes on I am able to get better organized and not feel as stressed about what I need to get done.
Something interesting that I was able to experience this week at my PDS, was being able to go to a 7th grade inclusion English class, where they pull in a special educator to assist the regular classroom teacher. Being in the self-contained classrooms means that I don't get much of an opportunity to leave so all my experiences are in that classroom with those few students. So this experiences was great because I was able to be in the regular classroom and observe a special educator and a regular classroom teacher collaborate.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Intern Experience Week #1
Currently I am in my secondary special education placement at South Harrison Middle school. I love working with this age of students so my time in the classroom has really been a joy so far. It has been a little adjustment with my planning because I am so use to creating lessons for a much younger age group, but the challenge has been very informational. This past summer I lived and worked with children of this age in an outdoor educational setting, so this experience definitely has helped prepare me for my time in the classroom this fall. So far in my placement I have been teaching science, math, and anything else my teacher needs of me. My only other science teaching experience has been with kindergarten, therefore this whole planning process for science is completely new and I'm finding that I need to be more knowledgeable with the content because of the grade levels and subject matter. My only concern is that I am picking subjects that are two challenging for my students. I have been looking over the CSO's and am trying to sort of water down the material to a more simple form so that it is easier for the students to comprehend. I am really excited about a portion of the unit I am currently teaching that we will cover next week, which is on volcanoes. I plan on having the students create their own volcano diagrams and then conduct an experiment where we recreate lava flow.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Artifacts and Characteristics of the Novice Teacher #2
In order to be a good teacher, one should also be an effective communicator. This is characteristic #2 of a novice teacher. I was able to demonstrate this characteristic in my PDS by introducing the Census to my students and holding an in depth discussion. In the discussion I was able to communicate to my students what the Census was, why it is important and then guide them to engage in a discussion about their own personal experiences. It was important for students to activate their prior knowledge when working with this concept because it helped them to put meaning behind the idea of the Census, through their our experiences which helped to build their comprehension of the subject. Being an effective communicator was imperative for this lesson because of its strong background in social studies content. The students that I presented this lesson to are all special learners and do not have a lot of exposure to learning social studies concepts because this time during their school day is used to work on the basics that they are still struggling with. But by holding this discussion I was able to observe my students communicate their own experiences once they started to understand the concept of what the Census was, and in turn it prompted other students to communicate and share. I believe that being an effective communicator is one of the most important characteristics of a novice teacher because it is a learning strategies that can be used where ever, and whenever, no materials are needed. Students are also able to learn from their peers experiences as well as what their educator brings to the instruction.
Artifacts and Characteristics of the Novice Teacher #4
Characteristics number 4 of a novice teacher states, We believe the novice teacher should be a facilitator of learning for all students. The artifact that I believe demonstrates this characteristic would be a lesson that I created within my special education placement at my PDS. In my classroom I needed to create a lesson that would facilitate learning for students with a wide range of disabilities, as well as in grades kindergarten through 5Th grade. The students were engaging in a creative writing/ visual arts lesson which incorporated technology. In order to make sure that all of my students got the most out of the lesson, after large group instruction I organized them into group according to what I felt was most appropriate for each individual learner. I had one group in which created their piece of art first then use their art to help with they creative writing, and then a second group which started their creative writing first and then moved to their art. I did this because the students that created their art first needed a way to put their ideas on paper in order to develop it into writing. The other group starting the writing process first because I believed these students would benefit from writing before their created their corresponding piece of art. Organizing the students into different groups really ended up working well for the lesson because I was able to work with both groups at the same time even though they were engaging on two separate activities. I also was able to observe how the different ways of completing the lesson complemented each student and helped them to successfully complete the lesson.
Artifacts and Characteristics of the Novice Teacher #1
The artifact that I have chosen to represent the #1 characteristic of a novice teacher would be an assignment that I completed this week for a reading class. This assignment required us to read educational articles to help provide insight to different teaching techniques. The three articles focused on the idea of communication and how it can enhance comprehension as well as the need for appropriate skills when using the web to communicate ideas. After reading these articles I created a reflection on how I can use this information to enhance my teaching and promote life long learning in my students. I was able to reflect on the ideas and create lessons that use the techniques suggested. I believe that it is extremely important as an educator to seek outside resources to improve the learning in your classroom. I also believe that it is important to try out new skills and strategies so that students are challenged and do not become bored with the same everyday instruction. Educators also need to use the resources available at their school by participating in sit based seminars, and even participating in co-teaching. These collaboration techniques will not only provide professional development as an educator, but also the learning of students.
Artifacts and Characteristics of the Novice Teacher #4
Characteristic #4 of a novice teacher, focuses on the idea that a teacher needs to be a facilitator of learning for all students. My unit was planned on the idea that students differ in their approaches to learning, because I believe that all students bring different experiences and knowledge to the classroom. Also while planning this unit I made sure that I created activities that addressed the needs of my diverse classroom of learners. My artifact is a unit plan that I created for my CHPR class about nutrition. I believe that this artifact demonstrated the learning for all types of students because I created and provided the students with lessons and activities that helped them look at their own personal experiences and their everyday lives in relations to nutrition. I focused on keeping the activity exciting by motivating the students with different popular foods and restaurants that I knew they were familiar with.
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