As I reflect on my teaching experience and revisit the metaphor I created prior to teaching, I have realized that some of the ideas I included were right on target while others were undeveloped or underemphasized. I do agree that it takes a dedicated person to become a teacher (just the same as a gardener), one who enjoys working with children, watching them grow and learn, and takes pride in every student’s achievements. A teacher must create a comfortable and safe environment, organize the classroom, utilize properly leveled texts and content into the curriculum with differentiated design, and research many theories to apply in the classroom. All of these areas of concern are certainly ones in which I witnessed being a large part of the daily routine. However, I did not focus on Classroom Management in the area of behavior too strongly in the initial metaphor; probably because I did not think it would be a huge issue with those cute Kindergarteners. I probably learned more about this area than any other area. It is probably because it caught me off guard, but I’m glad I had the wake up call before my student teaching experience in the fall. The easy part is defining the KUDs, creating assessments, and sequencing instruction aligned with the objectives. The hard part was making sure all of the students stayed on task. As such, if I were to write another metaphor, I would certainly include focus on behavior management. Perhaps something like this:
A gardener has many parts to focus on. Deciding what those parts will be and how to use them is typically carried out in a step by step fashion. However, an event, such as a flood or a snow storm, would be cause for an alteration in the approach. As these events are often unexpected, the gardener must make quick decisions about how to save his plant(s). This is the part of gardening that is much like behavior management in teaching. It is often an unexpected, distracting event that can throw a teacher and the students off track. It is the strategies that the teacher applies that make a difference in the outcome (although I’m not sure if it ‘saves’ the student exactly, but it certainly ‘saves’ the teacher). Just like with the gardener, these strategies are learned over time and improve with experience.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Fifth Field Experience
Today, we taught the fifth and last lesson of our unit on water. Although we planned to teach a lesson that included a slime activity, my partner and I decided to completely change the lesson last night. The original lesson was design to have the students mix various ingredients to make a slime mixture (the teacher suggested we use this activity and make a connection to water). Although it seemed like a fun activity, we were not convinced that the activity help the students internalize the essential components of our unit. We were also questioning if the students would actually be able to make the mixture and complete the lesson within the time allotted for our lesson. It was important to us to teach a meaningful culminating lesson that would highlight the fundamental information within our unit. So, we opted to teach a poetry lesson (one Ms. S. also suggested) to complete our unit.
After a quick review of the previous lessons, my teaching partner read some examples of poems about water. Then, we began to help the students construct a class poem based on all the information that was essential to our unit. The students work with poems frequently with their teacher. Yet, they had never constructed their own class poem. Prior to teaching the lesson, we developed a poem in order to guide their thinking process and provided prompts in order to connect their suggestions. They were quick to offer ideas to add to the poem, and we (the student teachers) would ask them if we could state what they respond in a certain way. (If they said, “Ice is a solid,” we would say, “Great, should we write ‘Ice, a solid?”) Ultimately, we wanted to walk them through the thinking process to help them understand how poems are written (a technique learned in Language Bloc for young students). After the students were finished with the poetry writing, we echo read the poem and they returned to their seats for a writing/drawing activity based on the poem. Ms. S. happened to have prospective parents visiting that day (good to know that actually happens in public schools), so we had to go through the summative assessment much quicker than we had hoped.
Teachers have to evaluate their lessons and make decisions based on knowing what will work with their students. Overall, I found this activity to be much more beneficial than an activity that could prove to be distracting (although I was really excited to make slime); especially so for the students that were not able to understand the information without direct and repetitive instruction. I intentionally paid attention to one of the students I had been worried about throughout the unit. I asked her questions about the material to see if she had retained some of the information. Even though she was able to verbally answer my questions, she could not write/draw anything relevant to the lesson or question at hand. I am still not sure if it is because she cannot recall and express what she knows in a written format, or if she does not understand the directions. Although I understand that it is not possible for us to have more time with the students, I feel that the little time I had was not enough to be able to figure out what type of instruction she needs to move her along; too often a frustrating occurrence in teaching. As inclusion has become a part of the public school system, class size plays a big role in the amount of individualize assistance that students can receive. Inclusion is not necessarily a bad change. It is simply one that brings new challenges to teaching.
Through this field experience, I was exposed the many realities of teaching. I was able to see just how much work goes into one thirty minute lesson and how rewarding teaching is to me. (I’m still not sure how I am going to plan six hours each day!) I learned so many useful skills and techniques through my mistakes and successes. Even though I know I will make many more mistakes, I am more confident that I will be able to implement what I have learned more effectively in the future.
After a quick review of the previous lessons, my teaching partner read some examples of poems about water. Then, we began to help the students construct a class poem based on all the information that was essential to our unit. The students work with poems frequently with their teacher. Yet, they had never constructed their own class poem. Prior to teaching the lesson, we developed a poem in order to guide their thinking process and provided prompts in order to connect their suggestions. They were quick to offer ideas to add to the poem, and we (the student teachers) would ask them if we could state what they respond in a certain way. (If they said, “Ice is a solid,” we would say, “Great, should we write ‘Ice, a solid?”) Ultimately, we wanted to walk them through the thinking process to help them understand how poems are written (a technique learned in Language Bloc for young students). After the students were finished with the poetry writing, we echo read the poem and they returned to their seats for a writing/drawing activity based on the poem. Ms. S. happened to have prospective parents visiting that day (good to know that actually happens in public schools), so we had to go through the summative assessment much quicker than we had hoped.
Teachers have to evaluate their lessons and make decisions based on knowing what will work with their students. Overall, I found this activity to be much more beneficial than an activity that could prove to be distracting (although I was really excited to make slime); especially so for the students that were not able to understand the information without direct and repetitive instruction. I intentionally paid attention to one of the students I had been worried about throughout the unit. I asked her questions about the material to see if she had retained some of the information. Even though she was able to verbally answer my questions, she could not write/draw anything relevant to the lesson or question at hand. I am still not sure if it is because she cannot recall and express what she knows in a written format, or if she does not understand the directions. Although I understand that it is not possible for us to have more time with the students, I feel that the little time I had was not enough to be able to figure out what type of instruction she needs to move her along; too often a frustrating occurrence in teaching. As inclusion has become a part of the public school system, class size plays a big role in the amount of individualize assistance that students can receive. Inclusion is not necessarily a bad change. It is simply one that brings new challenges to teaching.
Through this field experience, I was exposed the many realities of teaching. I was able to see just how much work goes into one thirty minute lesson and how rewarding teaching is to me. (I’m still not sure how I am going to plan six hours each day!) I learned so many useful skills and techniques through my mistakes and successes. Even though I know I will make many more mistakes, I am more confident that I will be able to implement what I have learned more effectively in the future.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Fourth Field Teaching
During our lesson today, we explored the topic of water as a solid, liquid, and gas. I was pleased to see the level of excitement exuding from the students. I could tell that more of the students, since our first couple of lessons, were really connecting these pieces and beginning to understanding the process of water changing states as it is affected by temperature changes.
We have had a chance to review their progress from the formative assessments conducted throughout our lesson this far. There were trends with specific students that we noticed: some students were able to build understanding and make connections with prior knowledge, while other students were not able to make those establish those basic understandings that allow for the connections to be made. With that in mind as I was observing this lesson, I notice those students who were not making the connections were still struggling with the key information that we wanted them to internalize. This is discouraging as preservice teacher, because I want to help all of the students. It is my job to help all of the students. With a class size of 21 and a need for such a wide spectrum of differentiation, I am finding that it is very difficult to come up with ways to reach all students while pushing those advanced students to progress to the degree in which it is necessary. Realistically, we are only here for 5 lessons and cannot achieve this without having more time with those targeted students. However, it does make me start to think about ways I can handle this when I become a professional teacher.
Another issue that I have observed throughout my time student teaching is behavior management. In the Kindergarten setting, many of the students have no prior experience in a school setting. This is a new and exciting time for them, and it should be so. They have very little experience in a controlled setting where it is expected that they sit still and listen quietly. Certainly, this is necessary for students to learn. But, how do you approach this without discouraging their creative nature? I certainly do not want to take this away from them. I am sure that part of there excitement comes from having a visitor in the classroom with whom they have no long term established rules. I also know it is critical that I establish these rules with my classroom at the beginning of the year when I begin my career as a teacher.
We were fortunate to have J, our professor, visit our classroom today. They children were a little more active than they normally were, she was able to see us trying many strategies to keep the noise level down and build understanding with students who are not quite making those connections we were hoping for them. She offered some great suggestions, such as bending down and facing them and asking them to repeat directions to scaffold their ability to start making the connections necessary to progress. Another great strategy she pointed out was to remain quite when the students are talking, rather than talking over them. I guess I have seen Ms. S. practice this technique now that I think about it. I guess it was helpful for me to hear this and make those connections myself!
We have had a chance to review their progress from the formative assessments conducted throughout our lesson this far. There were trends with specific students that we noticed: some students were able to build understanding and make connections with prior knowledge, while other students were not able to make those establish those basic understandings that allow for the connections to be made. With that in mind as I was observing this lesson, I notice those students who were not making the connections were still struggling with the key information that we wanted them to internalize. This is discouraging as preservice teacher, because I want to help all of the students. It is my job to help all of the students. With a class size of 21 and a need for such a wide spectrum of differentiation, I am finding that it is very difficult to come up with ways to reach all students while pushing those advanced students to progress to the degree in which it is necessary. Realistically, we are only here for 5 lessons and cannot achieve this without having more time with those targeted students. However, it does make me start to think about ways I can handle this when I become a professional teacher.
Another issue that I have observed throughout my time student teaching is behavior management. In the Kindergarten setting, many of the students have no prior experience in a school setting. This is a new and exciting time for them, and it should be so. They have very little experience in a controlled setting where it is expected that they sit still and listen quietly. Certainly, this is necessary for students to learn. But, how do you approach this without discouraging their creative nature? I certainly do not want to take this away from them. I am sure that part of there excitement comes from having a visitor in the classroom with whom they have no long term established rules. I also know it is critical that I establish these rules with my classroom at the beginning of the year when I begin my career as a teacher.
We were fortunate to have J, our professor, visit our classroom today. They children were a little more active than they normally were, she was able to see us trying many strategies to keep the noise level down and build understanding with students who are not quite making those connections we were hoping for them. She offered some great suggestions, such as bending down and facing them and asking them to repeat directions to scaffold their ability to start making the connections necessary to progress. Another great strategy she pointed out was to remain quite when the students are talking, rather than talking over them. I guess I have seen Ms. S. practice this technique now that I think about it. I guess it was helpful for me to hear this and make those connections myself!
Third Field Teaching
Today, my partner and I taught the third lesson of our water unit. The focus of the lesson was objects that float or sink in water and why they do so. As we both have been in this classroom since last semester and understand the diverse needs of the students in the classroom, the lesson was planned accordingly. Some students are letter name spellers, others can only write the salient sound, and still others have difficulty interpreting directions and understanding concepts without much scaffolding. Several means of representation were provided in order to reach the wide spectrum of students in the class, such as written, pictorial, and a graphic organizer. In addition to visual support, my partner and I provided individual assistance as needed throughout the lesson.
As with any lesson, there are unexpected events that occur when teaching. As such, the need to deviate from the lesson often arises. During the float sink lesson, we felt that the introduction/explanation of buoyancy and density were difficult concepts and we needed to use a different explanation to achieve transference of the information. (Initially we were going to tell a story about Archimedes, a Greek mathematician. Instead, we had them imagine themselves floating in water with the same principle idea as the other story.) During the independent practice phase, we used some interesting objects to help them explore the concept. They were excited to see if the zucchini and oil would actually float or sink. Being able to experiment with object that are readily available but not something they automatically think of when talking about water helped them to understand the concept and transfer the idea to other areas of the lives, as we heard throughout the lesson.
The only part of the lesson process I would change is how I prepared for the lesson. I tested each of the objects, but we had three tables. Because there were three tables, we needed three of each of the objects. I did not know that the crayons I had were made of different material. The difference in the material caused two different effects (two floated, one sank). The students were not aware of this and it served as a great learning point. For the students, they were able to see how experimentation does not necessary always have the same outcome each time. I, the student teacher, was able to learn that I have to go a little further when preparing for a lesson and check every step and material in the lesson.
As with any lesson, there are unexpected events that occur when teaching. As such, the need to deviate from the lesson often arises. During the float sink lesson, we felt that the introduction/explanation of buoyancy and density were difficult concepts and we needed to use a different explanation to achieve transference of the information. (Initially we were going to tell a story about Archimedes, a Greek mathematician. Instead, we had them imagine themselves floating in water with the same principle idea as the other story.) During the independent practice phase, we used some interesting objects to help them explore the concept. They were excited to see if the zucchini and oil would actually float or sink. Being able to experiment with object that are readily available but not something they automatically think of when talking about water helped them to understand the concept and transfer the idea to other areas of the lives, as we heard throughout the lesson.
The only part of the lesson process I would change is how I prepared for the lesson. I tested each of the objects, but we had three tables. Because there were three tables, we needed three of each of the objects. I did not know that the crayons I had were made of different material. The difference in the material caused two different effects (two floated, one sank). The students were not aware of this and it served as a great learning point. For the students, they were able to see how experimentation does not necessary always have the same outcome each time. I, the student teacher, was able to learn that I have to go a little further when preparing for a lesson and check every step and material in the lesson.
Second Field Teaching
We presented our lesson today as a math lesson to explore the concept of water melting from solid as ice to liquid water. The students have been exposed to the structure of the math lesson, so they were able to focus on the concepts of water. They were able to suggest reasons the ice would melt; warmth, heat, temperature. Throughout the lesson I assessed their progress individually, and I was able to see who was able to solve the problem and describe why this happened (ice cubes melted). Even though most of the students were could accomplish the lesson goals, it was apparent that a couple students were not functioning even at a very basic level. One student in particular needed direct and constant attention to keep her on task. She was constantly disrupting the lesson and disturbing other students in the class. I continued to monitor her progress and scaffold her understanding, but in a class with 21 Kindergarteners it is very difficult to provide the continual attention that the student needs. I had an assumption going into teaching: There were going to be times of the day when students are more active and restless, say after recess. But, if I provided them a short period to calm down and relax, they would be easier to manage. That assumption has certainly been proven wrong. I know now that it is possible that I will have a student who is active and disruptive constantly. Having this experience has made me want to learn new strategies to deal with students that have behavior management issues.
I certainly do not want to make the assumption that a child who is as active as the child in my current class should be in another placement. I want to have the skills to help them as well. I know that they simply have not learned the skills necessary to help them achieve this behavior goal. As such, it will be up to me to scaffold and to help establish an understanding of those concepts. But, how do I do that? This is an area that I hope to be able to explore.
If I learned anything from the lesson today, it was that my classroom will certainly present obstacles that I do not know how to overcome, just as I saw today. That does not mean that I will give up or that tomorrow I will approach the situation in the same way. Teachers are continually growing to help students progress through the content. They are also helping students progress socially and developmentally: an aspect of teaching I am aware of but have not developed in my studies.
I certainly do not want to make the assumption that a child who is as active as the child in my current class should be in another placement. I want to have the skills to help them as well. I know that they simply have not learned the skills necessary to help them achieve this behavior goal. As such, it will be up to me to scaffold and to help establish an understanding of those concepts. But, how do I do that? This is an area that I hope to be able to explore.
If I learned anything from the lesson today, it was that my classroom will certainly present obstacles that I do not know how to overcome, just as I saw today. That does not mean that I will give up or that tomorrow I will approach the situation in the same way. Teachers are continually growing to help students progress through the content. They are also helping students progress socially and developmentally: an aspect of teaching I am aware of but have not developed in my studies.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Field Teaching Day One
Today, my partner and I taught our first lesson of the water unit we created. The students greeted us with many hugs and questions about what they were going to explore today. They have come to realize that when we visit their classroom they are involved in a new activity that breaks up the routine of their day. They were all very excited and enthusiastic about participating in today’s lesson.
As it was the introductory lesson on water, the students explored the topic on a basic and broad scope. After listening to the read aloud, we discussed the essential components of the book and our unit: floating and sinking, solid, liquid, and gas, and the natural flow of water on earth. We used a familiar structure for today’s lesson, so the transition to our unit would be easy for them. The formative assessment was in the form of a chart. As a whole class, students offered ideas about water while we recorded them to serve as a guide for activities and review. We are working with young students and have found it very difficult to provide physical individual evidence to serve as an assessment. After talking with our professor, we decided that a physical formative assessment could be in the form of a chart, while orally monitoring student understanding on an individual basis. Too often in the upper grades, we find it hard to get more than one or two students to contribute their thoughts. It was nice to see that so many of the students wanted to contribute a piece of what they had learned to the chart.
The students in the classroom learn in various ways. The children really enjoy hands on activities in addition to read alouds and other forms of instruction. We felt it was important to provide another avenue for the students to express what they had learned today by giving journal writing and drawing time as a lesson summative assessment. The children really enjoyed this portion of the lesson, as I heard many comments such as “I really had fun today!” That at least tells me they are interested in the topic and enjoyed the lesson. After reviewing their journals, I was able to further understand which of the concepts they were able to grasp in addition to concepts that were unclear to them. It is our goal to create a book for each student that includes their written work, usually the physical form of assessment we will evaluate. Hopefully they will use this book at school or at home to revisit all of the concepts they explored about water throughout the week.
Assessment is the part of teaching that I find most difficult. Creating assessments that are reliable, valid, and unbiased while ensuring that the assessment is developmentally appropriate is a challenging task. Through my teaching experience with this unit, I am sure that there will be many areas to reflect and improve upon. However, I’m glad to have the opportunity to learn these important instructional skills as a pre-service teacher, so I will be stronger when I am actually teaching without the guidance from my professors.
The depth required for the lesson plans is very helpful to me. Scripting the lesson plan is great because it requires me to think about vocabulary, key concepts, and student responses prior to teaching the lesson. Although I am sure that the students will come up with an answer I had not thought of, scripting prepares the teacher for a range of responses. (As it happened today- I asked one of the students what state a specific object was in and he responded the United States! It was so cute I almost started to laugh, but then I realized that my question was unclear and I restated it.)
As it was the introductory lesson on water, the students explored the topic on a basic and broad scope. After listening to the read aloud, we discussed the essential components of the book and our unit: floating and sinking, solid, liquid, and gas, and the natural flow of water on earth. We used a familiar structure for today’s lesson, so the transition to our unit would be easy for them. The formative assessment was in the form of a chart. As a whole class, students offered ideas about water while we recorded them to serve as a guide for activities and review. We are working with young students and have found it very difficult to provide physical individual evidence to serve as an assessment. After talking with our professor, we decided that a physical formative assessment could be in the form of a chart, while orally monitoring student understanding on an individual basis. Too often in the upper grades, we find it hard to get more than one or two students to contribute their thoughts. It was nice to see that so many of the students wanted to contribute a piece of what they had learned to the chart.
The students in the classroom learn in various ways. The children really enjoy hands on activities in addition to read alouds and other forms of instruction. We felt it was important to provide another avenue for the students to express what they had learned today by giving journal writing and drawing time as a lesson summative assessment. The children really enjoyed this portion of the lesson, as I heard many comments such as “I really had fun today!” That at least tells me they are interested in the topic and enjoyed the lesson. After reviewing their journals, I was able to further understand which of the concepts they were able to grasp in addition to concepts that were unclear to them. It is our goal to create a book for each student that includes their written work, usually the physical form of assessment we will evaluate. Hopefully they will use this book at school or at home to revisit all of the concepts they explored about water throughout the week.
Assessment is the part of teaching that I find most difficult. Creating assessments that are reliable, valid, and unbiased while ensuring that the assessment is developmentally appropriate is a challenging task. Through my teaching experience with this unit, I am sure that there will be many areas to reflect and improve upon. However, I’m glad to have the opportunity to learn these important instructional skills as a pre-service teacher, so I will be stronger when I am actually teaching without the guidance from my professors.
The depth required for the lesson plans is very helpful to me. Scripting the lesson plan is great because it requires me to think about vocabulary, key concepts, and student responses prior to teaching the lesson. Although I am sure that the students will come up with an answer I had not thought of, scripting prepares the teacher for a range of responses. (As it happened today- I asked one of the students what state a specific object was in and he responded the United States! It was so cute I almost started to laugh, but then I realized that my question was unclear and I restated it.)
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Thursday, March 1: Third Field Observation
Today, my partner and I conducted our preassessment! Prior to conducting our assessment, we were able to observe the class in a language arts lesson that involved writing in their journals and drawing a picture that correlated to their story/sentence. The students also had word boards at their desks. They have been working on these words in various lessons throughout the week, and Ms. S was checking their awareness and moving them on to a new listif they were ready. My partner and I were checking each student and giving them a new list as Ms. S was finishing the morning arrival routine. I was very suprised to find that all of the students I worked with were able to identify the words on the list, and many of the students were able to identify most of the words on the new list. This makes me think about how I will make sure advanced students get the attention they need, while working with students who are less advanced to keep them moving along. I'm sure this is something I will have to think about and will learn with time. The students spent a while working on their stories and I had the opportunity to listen to many of them. One student in particular struck me today. He is a student who is very quite. He tends to sit in the back during group time, and he doesn't normally respond in a timely manner when the teacher asks him a question. I was so suprised to see how advanced his writing is and how well he can identify words. He is such a sweet child who is extremely intelligent. I really appreciate that I am being exposed to such a wide variety of students. Before going into this experience, I had so many ideas about student behavior that have been proven wrong. After journal writing, my partner and I were able to give our preassessent.
Its funny how quickly students will become talkative and unfocused when they are in transition. So, my partner and I have learned to use Ms. S saying to get their attention. 1,2,3 all eyes on me. It really works! So, we passed out the assessment and had to give very explicit directions. There were several possible problems with the assessemnt that we (the teacher, my partner, and I) talked about before the students arrived. One was if the students were going to be able to translate what they new about water into a picture representation and have it mean to them what it meant to us. Also, because this is such an exploratory time for the students, they are not use to being 'tested.' The teacher was afraid that the students may not respond at all if they felt they had to put a correct answer. We tried to alleviate these fears by explaining the pictures for every questions and reminding them that they is no right answer. The students were able to catch on quickly and the assessment was completed with many problems. I could tell that some students were still confused about the picture representations, but other students understood the concept. Another responce we encountered was the students were not working individually very well. Up to this point, it has been okay if they look at what other students are doing. This is not wrong to them. So, I feel that this will definitely interfer with the results of the preassessent. If we were given another opportunity to reconduct the preassessment and had more time, I might have pulled a small group outside of the room (or even one child at a time). I feel like that environment would have eased their fears of being right, and I would have been able to make more accurate assessments about each child's individual knowledge on the topic. Even though we did have some problems arise, overall the assessment went really well. After we collected their booklets, we demonstrated some of the concepts were were assessing. The students were so excited to be able to watch this, and I heard many students talking about if they choose the icon that corresponded with what they were seeing. It was great to see that they were evaluating themselves and building on prior knowledge! I'm really excited to start teaching the unit!
Its funny how quickly students will become talkative and unfocused when they are in transition. So, my partner and I have learned to use Ms. S saying to get their attention. 1,2,3 all eyes on me. It really works! So, we passed out the assessment and had to give very explicit directions. There were several possible problems with the assessemnt that we (the teacher, my partner, and I) talked about before the students arrived. One was if the students were going to be able to translate what they new about water into a picture representation and have it mean to them what it meant to us. Also, because this is such an exploratory time for the students, they are not use to being 'tested.' The teacher was afraid that the students may not respond at all if they felt they had to put a correct answer. We tried to alleviate these fears by explaining the pictures for every questions and reminding them that they is no right answer. The students were able to catch on quickly and the assessment was completed with many problems. I could tell that some students were still confused about the picture representations, but other students understood the concept. Another responce we encountered was the students were not working individually very well. Up to this point, it has been okay if they look at what other students are doing. This is not wrong to them. So, I feel that this will definitely interfer with the results of the preassessent. If we were given another opportunity to reconduct the preassessment and had more time, I might have pulled a small group outside of the room (or even one child at a time). I feel like that environment would have eased their fears of being right, and I would have been able to make more accurate assessments about each child's individual knowledge on the topic. Even though we did have some problems arise, overall the assessment went really well. After we collected their booklets, we demonstrated some of the concepts were were assessing. The students were so excited to be able to watch this, and I heard many students talking about if they choose the icon that corresponded with what they were seeing. It was great to see that they were evaluating themselves and building on prior knowledge! I'm really excited to start teaching the unit!
Thursday, February 22: Second Observation
Today I was able to observe Ms. S in her morning routine. The students quickly ran through the morning checklist for attendance, lunch, and library checkin. As usual Ms. S had an activity ready for them when they arrived at their desk. I have found that this is so important for students of this age. It is so hard to get young children to remain in their seats, they have to have something to occupy their time. Throughout my observations, Ms. S has always provided an activity during a down time which was relavent to the topic being studied. Sometimes, students can engage in a new ideas with familiar instructions, while other times they are finishing work they were not able to the day before. She always makes the best use of every spare minute they have. These things do not just magically plan themselves and appear on their desks. Each time I have visited the classroom, I see that every activity has been well thoughtout. During school hours, she is constantly thinking about what will come next and how she needs to set it up to make the best use of their time, while keeping in mind things that will be a distraction to her students. I really feel like this will be my biggest obstacle to overcome. But, I know it is a matter of getting to know your students and yourself. It will come with time and a lot of practice.
After all the students were accounted for, they joined Ms. S on the rug for calendar and math. The students have really come quite a long way since my teaching partner and I were last here to observe. The students were able to count up seven days on the calendar and make a suggetion as to what day it would be. The students were correct in saying the 29th, but what I was really impressed by was a girl who knew that February did not have 29 days, so it would actually be March 1st. Most of the children did not understand this, but after some explaining by Ms. S, the students understood that while they were right about the 29th on most months, this month is special, so it would actually be March 1st. During math time, the students use straws to count how many days they have attended school. This is a great way to develop an understanding for place value. Ms. S has a pocket chart set up to collect ones, tens, and hundreds. She bundles the ones into tens with a rubber band, and the tens into ten groups of tens for the one hundreds. The students have really gained an understanding for this concept. As I have been exposed to a first grade classroom at a private school (for Lang. Bloc), I am beginning to see that this is a difficult concept for young students to understand. Especially, when students begin to explore addition. As private school have different methods of teaching, its a great way for me to compare the two strategies. Although there are postives and negatives with both, I feel that Ms. S's way to explore place value has a better effect on the students. Ms. S is now teaching students to skip count by 2's, a concept that is very important for students to learn before moving on to addition. It is easy to see how she has planned her school year to have lessons that gradually build on each other. It seems to all be coming together now! The students then moved onto a language arts lesson that involved sequencing. They were sequencing a story that they were very familiar with. The students all had pictures with words to represent each action. They sequenced this individually and after they had a chance to arrange them, Ms. S did it on the board with the class. They all checked their work and glued it into their notebooks. Sequencing is such an important skill for students to learn. Not only does it help with story development, but it is a math skill that they have to develop and understand.
After the students left for library that day, Ms. S, my partner, and I had a chance to talk about how some students were very advanced while others were not. In public school systems, children come from a wide range of backgrounds. This little girl had attended a preschool at 3 years old and at 5 could have been moved into the first grade by her performance on her assessments. At the same time this little girl was able to make that connection, other students were constantly looking around the room, talking, and moving around. Ms. S is quick to correct their behavior, which is something that I have found to be very necessary. She also shared with us some of the projects the students had completed since we were last with them. I really feel like it is all coming together for me now. One of the things I was very nervous about last fall was seeing my year develop and making sure everything that I do will build on each other. After being able to observe such a great teacher, I'm excited to get started! In addition to the lesson Ms. S taught, we were able to discuss our unit plan. My partner and I have a very fun unit, water. We will be teaching the students about floating and sinking and solid, liquid, and gas. Next Thursday, we will be doing a pre-assessment to evaluate what they know about the subject!
After all the students were accounted for, they joined Ms. S on the rug for calendar and math. The students have really come quite a long way since my teaching partner and I were last here to observe. The students were able to count up seven days on the calendar and make a suggetion as to what day it would be. The students were correct in saying the 29th, but what I was really impressed by was a girl who knew that February did not have 29 days, so it would actually be March 1st. Most of the children did not understand this, but after some explaining by Ms. S, the students understood that while they were right about the 29th on most months, this month is special, so it would actually be March 1st. During math time, the students use straws to count how many days they have attended school. This is a great way to develop an understanding for place value. Ms. S has a pocket chart set up to collect ones, tens, and hundreds. She bundles the ones into tens with a rubber band, and the tens into ten groups of tens for the one hundreds. The students have really gained an understanding for this concept. As I have been exposed to a first grade classroom at a private school (for Lang. Bloc), I am beginning to see that this is a difficult concept for young students to understand. Especially, when students begin to explore addition. As private school have different methods of teaching, its a great way for me to compare the two strategies. Although there are postives and negatives with both, I feel that Ms. S's way to explore place value has a better effect on the students. Ms. S is now teaching students to skip count by 2's, a concept that is very important for students to learn before moving on to addition. It is easy to see how she has planned her school year to have lessons that gradually build on each other. It seems to all be coming together now! The students then moved onto a language arts lesson that involved sequencing. They were sequencing a story that they were very familiar with. The students all had pictures with words to represent each action. They sequenced this individually and after they had a chance to arrange them, Ms. S did it on the board with the class. They all checked their work and glued it into their notebooks. Sequencing is such an important skill for students to learn. Not only does it help with story development, but it is a math skill that they have to develop and understand.
After the students left for library that day, Ms. S, my partner, and I had a chance to talk about how some students were very advanced while others were not. In public school systems, children come from a wide range of backgrounds. This little girl had attended a preschool at 3 years old and at 5 could have been moved into the first grade by her performance on her assessments. At the same time this little girl was able to make that connection, other students were constantly looking around the room, talking, and moving around. Ms. S is quick to correct their behavior, which is something that I have found to be very necessary. She also shared with us some of the projects the students had completed since we were last with them. I really feel like it is all coming together for me now. One of the things I was very nervous about last fall was seeing my year develop and making sure everything that I do will build on each other. After being able to observe such a great teacher, I'm excited to get started! In addition to the lesson Ms. S taught, we were able to discuss our unit plan. My partner and I have a very fun unit, water. We will be teaching the students about floating and sinking and solid, liquid, and gas. Next Thursday, we will be doing a pre-assessment to evaluate what they know about the subject!
Thursday, February 15, 2007
First Field Observation
It was great to return back to the classroom this morning! Today was an unusual day, as it was a snow day that delayed school for two hours. They missed a full day yesterday, which happened to be Valentine's Day. Before the students arrived for the day, my partner, the classroom teacher, and I decided the topic of our unit. Then, we began helping to set up the classroom. Although, I was unable to observe a full lesson, my partner and I were able to assist the students with a pattern activity as the teacher completed the morning attendance and lunch check routine. As the students were taking their seats and beginning their work on the activity, my partner and I were helping to manage where they would keep the Valentines (certainly a distraction for Kindergarteners) to ensure they would stay on task. This seems like such a small task, but for 21 students that are all around 5 years old it can be a huge distraction. As with any other independent activity, the teacher had an additional assignment lined up for those students that finish quickly. I have found that these minor oversights can be a major management problem for a Kindergarten class- or any class for that matter. After the morning routine was completed, the teacher told the students to remind her when the clock was at 1050, when the big hand is on the 10, so they could leave for lunch. Again, it is those small teachable moments that helps students gain independence with tasks such as telling time.
After the students left the classroom, I was able to discuss lesson ideas with the teacher. She is always very helpful in making sure we are aware of the students routines (for math, reading, etc.), so we can keep the students focused on the lesson rather than teaching them the steps. We discussed various methods to teach the unit, and she gave me some great ideas for activities. The teacher reviewed some of the projects the students had completed, since we last observed. She finds very creative ways to integrate multiple content areas into one lesson, and the kids love it!
After the students left the classroom, I was able to discuss lesson ideas with the teacher. She is always very helpful in making sure we are aware of the students routines (for math, reading, etc.), so we can keep the students focused on the lesson rather than teaching them the steps. We discussed various methods to teach the unit, and she gave me some great ideas for activities. The teacher reviewed some of the projects the students had completed, since we last observed. She finds very creative ways to integrate multiple content areas into one lesson, and the kids love it!
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Teaching Metaphor
As I was developing an idea for the Teaching Metaphor assignment, I began to explore my thoughts on the profession I will soon enter. The first idea I developed was that of a painter. Though I think that a painter certainly could be likened to a teacher, I did not feel that it fully explained my thoughts on the role of a teacher and the students. After further thought, I decided that a gardener more accurately clarified my beliefs. A gardener must think about the environment that best suits their plants needs. They must water the plants, provide a source of light, and maintain an optimal temperature in which the plants can flourish. They must supply a balanced soil with the proper pH level and amount of nutrients. Though it is possible to purchase all of the same types of plants, most gardeners have many different plants that require different water, light, and temperature amount and frequency. Some of the plants must be rotated to another location to achieve optimal growth, depending on the season and year. In order to complete all of the tasks, a gardener must research the plants and use many tools to watch the plants grow and expand. It takes a dedicated person to become a gardener, one with a green thumb!
In an elementary classroom, a teacher also has much to think about the environment in which their students will learn and grow. They must organize the classroom set up, deciding where to place the desks, books, and many other materials that will provide a comfortable environment in which students can flourish. Just as gardeners must determine the correct soil components and pH levels, a teacher must decide the correct text level and other components of the curriculum for every student. A teacher will always be blessed with a group of students all with very different characteristics and interests. As such, teachers must be able to group students based on their abilities. Often, students will even rotate to another group (or location) as the teacher deems necessary through the use of running records and other assessment tools. Through research and utilizing the resources available, the teacher will be able to provide all of this nourishment to the students and watch them grow and expand. It also takes a dedicated person to become a teacher, one who enjoys working with children and takes pride in every student as they strive to learn.
In an elementary classroom, a teacher also has much to think about the environment in which their students will learn and grow. They must organize the classroom set up, deciding where to place the desks, books, and many other materials that will provide a comfortable environment in which students can flourish. Just as gardeners must determine the correct soil components and pH levels, a teacher must decide the correct text level and other components of the curriculum for every student. A teacher will always be blessed with a group of students all with very different characteristics and interests. As such, teachers must be able to group students based on their abilities. Often, students will even rotate to another group (or location) as the teacher deems necessary through the use of running records and other assessment tools. Through research and utilizing the resources available, the teacher will be able to provide all of this nourishment to the students and watch them grow and expand. It also takes a dedicated person to become a teacher, one who enjoys working with children and takes pride in every student as they strive to learn.
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