Friday, January 22, 2010
Current Events
Today a fellow student teacher clued me into a great website. If you have students who are interested in rap, this website could be your link to engaging students in current events. The makers rap the week's current events. This week it was everything from the aftershock of Haiti to the California mudslides to the solar eclipse to Scott Brown getting elected to the Massachusetts Senate position. The rap is done via a video and also shows news clips.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Whoops!
This week is the first time I "officially" took over one subject in the fourth grade classroom. I have been teaching lessons since fall, but seldom had I planned and taught mostly on my own. I say mostly because my mentor teacher is wonderful and helps by guiding me (helping me to determine how long to spend on a topic) and offering me resources.
This week I am implementing math. It is probably the subject I am most hesitant about, as I do not view myself as a strong mathematician. The way I see it, by starting it first, I have that much more time to learn how to teach it and sharpen my mathematical skills. Today our lesson was on quadrilaterals. I had a neat SMART board lesson planned with interactive activities throughout the lesson in addition to a flow chart on various quadrilaterals. I had looked online to see if the SMART tech website already had a lesson on quadrilaterals before I created my own. I did end up using one slide from another teacher's creation and I added to it what I wanted to cover. Upon getting to school I realize that the flash drive I had saved my SMART slides on was still in my computer back at my apartment. Whoops! Thank goodness I write lesson plans so that a substitute should be able to pick them up and read them. Because of this, I had the questions and material on each slide written into my lesson plans and I was able to improvise. It was not as fun as I had planned, but it worked and the students learned the information. The students were able to do the sort the quadrilaterals slide, that I had used from the SMART tech website, so not all was lost. And I have a great SMART lesson on quadrilaterals for the future :D
This week I am implementing math. It is probably the subject I am most hesitant about, as I do not view myself as a strong mathematician. The way I see it, by starting it first, I have that much more time to learn how to teach it and sharpen my mathematical skills. Today our lesson was on quadrilaterals. I had a neat SMART board lesson planned with interactive activities throughout the lesson in addition to a flow chart on various quadrilaterals. I had looked online to see if the SMART tech website already had a lesson on quadrilaterals before I created my own. I did end up using one slide from another teacher's creation and I added to it what I wanted to cover. Upon getting to school I realize that the flash drive I had saved my SMART slides on was still in my computer back at my apartment. Whoops! Thank goodness I write lesson plans so that a substitute should be able to pick them up and read them. Because of this, I had the questions and material on each slide written into my lesson plans and I was able to improvise. It was not as fun as I had planned, but it worked and the students learned the information. The students were able to do the sort the quadrilaterals slide, that I had used from the SMART tech website, so not all was lost. And I have a great SMART lesson on quadrilaterals for the future :D
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Parent Conferences
Parent-Teacher Conferences: each one is different, depending upon both the child and the adults present. Some students had grandmothers present, others moms, dads and even an aunt. It was interesting to see how the students' families concerns compared and contrasted with that of my mentor teacher and I.
Most of the time I was on the same page with my mentor teacher in what I felt were the students' strengths and weaknesses. Or, as one of my mentors' put it: How the student glows and grows. The grows being areas that could use improvement, and the glows being areas that the student shines in. I value the importance placed on the glowing areas of each student. Even though there are students who struggle everyday with behaving properly (an aspect that often snowballs into the academic areas), there is something that he/she is doing wonderfully. The parents need to know this. Without this communication, the parent sees the teacher as the bearer of bad news-no child or parent wants to come to conferences and hear only how badly the student is doing.
Some things I saw that I really liked that my mentors did were the environment. Both of my mentors had a table set up outside of the classroom with candies on it and books (one was a book of the students working, while the other were just books pulled from the classroom library). Either way, the value of literature is apparent from the moment the families walk into the building. The candy is just a comfort issue. Both of my mentors also held the conferences at tables large enough for 2-5 adults and a child (although 5 would be tight, should there have been a need, there were seats available). This was accommodating to all, especially the families in which mom and dad are divorced and both step parents are also involved in the child's life. Although during the conferences I attended, this was not the case, wouldn't it be wonderful if it were?
One thing that was interesting that I did not expect, was for me to be able to read my mentor teachers so well. I suppose working with them helps with that. I could tell the conferences that they were slightly hesitant about, nervous about, or ecstatic to tell the families how well the students were doing. There were only three families out of nearly twenty conferences that did not show. While this was disappointing, both of my mentors assured me that this was a typical occurrence, and I should not expect each family to come at the designated time, as that rarely happens. But, life is what it is. I know some of the families are single family homes, in which the parent works multiple jobs. It would be hard to schedule conferences with that hectic of a schedule.
Most of the time I was on the same page with my mentor teacher in what I felt were the students' strengths and weaknesses. Or, as one of my mentors' put it: How the student glows and grows. The grows being areas that could use improvement, and the glows being areas that the student shines in. I value the importance placed on the glowing areas of each student. Even though there are students who struggle everyday with behaving properly (an aspect that often snowballs into the academic areas), there is something that he/she is doing wonderfully. The parents need to know this. Without this communication, the parent sees the teacher as the bearer of bad news-no child or parent wants to come to conferences and hear only how badly the student is doing.
Some things I saw that I really liked that my mentors did were the environment. Both of my mentors had a table set up outside of the classroom with candies on it and books (one was a book of the students working, while the other were just books pulled from the classroom library). Either way, the value of literature is apparent from the moment the families walk into the building. The candy is just a comfort issue. Both of my mentors also held the conferences at tables large enough for 2-5 adults and a child (although 5 would be tight, should there have been a need, there were seats available). This was accommodating to all, especially the families in which mom and dad are divorced and both step parents are also involved in the child's life. Although during the conferences I attended, this was not the case, wouldn't it be wonderful if it were?
One thing that was interesting that I did not expect, was for me to be able to read my mentor teachers so well. I suppose working with them helps with that. I could tell the conferences that they were slightly hesitant about, nervous about, or ecstatic to tell the families how well the students were doing. There were only three families out of nearly twenty conferences that did not show. While this was disappointing, both of my mentors assured me that this was a typical occurrence, and I should not expect each family to come at the designated time, as that rarely happens. But, life is what it is. I know some of the families are single family homes, in which the parent works multiple jobs. It would be hard to schedule conferences with that hectic of a schedule.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Preperation
I have seen firsthand this week how much preparation goes into Parent-Teacher Conferences. I have been giving the children various assessments and copying the scores for parents, for their files, for the teacher, and one more 'just in case'. Everything from how many sight words do the students know to mathematics facts to behavior and social skills in the classroom needed documented, if it was not already done.
Tonight is round one of Parent teacher Conferences. I am curious to see exactly what they look like and how it will feel to be a part of them. Not that I have a large role, as this is my first encounter with them, but it will still be interesting.
Tonight is round one of Parent teacher Conferences. I am curious to see exactly what they look like and how it will feel to be a part of them. Not that I have a large role, as this is my first encounter with them, but it will still be interesting.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Kids and Their Comments
Just wanted to share some of the joys of working with first grade children. One is that they are blatantly honest. If I forget to ask a question during morning opening, they tell me.
They don't mean it in a rude manner, they are just so routine based that it throws them off to have one question out of place. In my three weeks working with first graders I have had kids hitting each other, name calling, and poking each other with scissors, all very interesting experiences. I have also had some adorable moments. Today I recorded some of the things my 6 and 7 year old's said:
(right after fall decorations were put up) "We have a new student, it's a pumpkin"
"My mommy is about to get married. She is still finding a guy, though."
(comment to me concerning his page where he was writing his numbers to 100) "The numbers were counting just fine and now they are jumping all over the place. Miss Speerly, what is wrong?"
Student 1: Are fairies real?
Student 2: No
Student 1: God used fairies to make nature.
Student 2: You don't know that for real, you still have to learn it.
Student 1: Some people never seen fairies, so they don't know. Why did I see pixie dust when I was playing outside?
Student 2: I don't think it was a fairy, they only like nighttime.
They say the funniest things :)
They don't mean it in a rude manner, they are just so routine based that it throws them off to have one question out of place. In my three weeks working with first graders I have had kids hitting each other, name calling, and poking each other with scissors, all very interesting experiences. I have also had some adorable moments. Today I recorded some of the things my 6 and 7 year old's said:
(right after fall decorations were put up) "We have a new student, it's a pumpkin"
"My mommy is about to get married. She is still finding a guy, though."
(comment to me concerning his page where he was writing his numbers to 100) "The numbers were counting just fine and now they are jumping all over the place. Miss Speerly, what is wrong?"
Student 1: Are fairies real?
Student 2: No
Student 1: God used fairies to make nature.
Student 2: You don't know that for real, you still have to learn it.
Student 1: Some people never seen fairies, so they don't know. Why did I see pixie dust when I was playing outside?
Student 2: I don't think it was a fairy, they only like nighttime.
They say the funniest things :)
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Differences
Fourth grade and first grade are different in many ways, yet the same as well. A funny paradox, I know.
The students are at completely different maturity levels and learning drastically different things, as they should be. The first graders are quite a bit smaller and henceforth more adorable than the fourth graders. Yet the fourth graders are able to do much more on their own. In the first grade we sing songs (like the Days of the Week song set to The Adams Family Theme Song), which is loads of fun! At the same time, there are still the students that need extra attention and/or extra help and all of the students still need explicit directions as well as many other things.
I look forward to my continued work with the first grade class in the coming weeks, I am sure I will learn much. I am also excited about going back to see what Family Reading Night looks like at the school I was at prior to this (4-6 grade building). Rumors have it that there will be real cats and bats, we shall see!
The students are at completely different maturity levels and learning drastically different things, as they should be. The first graders are quite a bit smaller and henceforth more adorable than the fourth graders. Yet the fourth graders are able to do much more on their own. In the first grade we sing songs (like the Days of the Week song set to The Adams Family Theme Song), which is loads of fun! At the same time, there are still the students that need extra attention and/or extra help and all of the students still need explicit directions as well as many other things.
I look forward to my continued work with the first grade class in the coming weeks, I am sure I will learn much. I am also excited about going back to see what Family Reading Night looks like at the school I was at prior to this (4-6 grade building). Rumors have it that there will be real cats and bats, we shall see!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Need to Make a Cartoon?
If you ever need to make a cartoon, this website is an amazing tool! I used it for an editorial article cartoon in one of my methods courses. It is simple and allows you to do a lot with it. Granted, you do need a user name and password, but they are FREE! I loved using it and I am looking for ways to include it as a part of my weather unit that I will be teaching this spring!
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