Weekly Reflection Journal

Trace Crossings Elementary

2/5/13

       Today was our first day back at Trace Crossings after the long winter break. The students were excited to see us on campus again, but they did need help remembering our names! I took the role of an observer today to become reintroduced to the pace and flow of the classroom without disrupting anything. 

2/12/13

       My teacher monitors and tracks student progress using running records. Today I assessed a student by using a running record and was pleased to find the book he was reading was right on his reading level. My teacher keeps detailed records of their achievement and selects texts that are appropriately challenging for them. 

2/19/13

       My teacher was gone today on a conference for math professional development. Luckily she left wonderfully detailed notes and the substitute teacher was able to pick up where she has left off. (which gave me good motivation to keep scripting my lesson plans!) 

2/26/13

       Dr. Seuss day is at the end of the week and all of my 1sy graders are wild with excitement! In class we have been reading Dr. Seuss and today I read Green Eggs and Ham, a classic! We spent lots of time talking about who Dr. Seuss was and why he is important to reading. The class also created mustaches they will wear when they dress up like the Lorax for the parade on Friday. My teacher connected the Lorax to a lesson on tree conservation that served as a great application for the students. 

             

3/5/13

       In class today the students stayed in their math centers for longer than usual and I was able to play games as one student's partner. It was fun to see how much students loved math and playing interactive games that helped sharpen mathematical reasoning in problem solving scenarios. 

3/12/13

       I taught a lesson today using the text Dustylocks and the Three Bears. Since I am a Texas native I was excited to read a Western rendition of this classic tale, and I even used my best southern accent for the bears' voices. Having spent the whole year with these students I was really comfortable with them and enjoyed our lesson on writing an opinion sentence and providing evidence. The students also liked getting to defend Dustylocks as a nice or naughty character. 

Arrington Middle School

4/2/13

       Today was our first day at Arrington Middle School. I am in a 6^th grade math class. The students are preparing for the ARMT test, which will take place at the beginning of May. Last week the students had Spring Break and seem to be very distracted and tired in class. The class worked practice ARMT questions independently and then some students were selected to work the problems on the board. Arrington has made AYP for the past 4 years in a row and so I have been very interested in watching how the students are preparing for this assessment.

    

4/3/13
      In class we are continuing to review for the ARMT test. Today's focus was on changing percentages to decimals and multiplying. We practiced problems that deal with taking a percentage of money. Students were struggling with the concept that taking 10% of a number twice is not the same as taking 20% off initially. I walked around the class while the students worked problems and I tried to keep students on task. I ended up working with one students who has an IEP. Providing this student with the one-on-one help, kept this student on task and helped them understand the concept. 

4/4/13

     The students today continued to review of the ARMT. The class as a whole seemed to stay on task during the lesson, and I even got to lead practice problems on the board. Students wanted to rush through the problems but I encouraged them to slow down and catch careless mistakes. I noticed many mistakes were simply multiplication errors. Tomorrow I am teaching a lesson and will incorporate multiplication review during it. 

                                                                 

4/5/13

     Today I taught my first lesson to the whole class. I was very nervous at the beginning  but by the end of the class felt right at home in front of the room! I covered the topic Multiplying and Dividing Fractions. We started the day reviewing multiplication tables in a game of Around the World. We then split into groups to work through different math problems together. The students responded very well to the engagement and being able to interact during a math lesson! I was very encouraged by this experience and am feeling more at ease in front of the class. 

                                                                   

4/8/13

     My supervising teacher is coming today to observe my lesson! I am teaching on finding the area of a triangle. The students will be taking the ARMT in May and I know that geometry tends to be an area of difficulty for them. In class they will have a chance to practice the steps to finding the area as a class, in their table group and individually. We will use technology on the Prometheon board and express the relation between finding the area of a rectangle (bh) and finding the area of a triangle (bh/2). The lesson should act mostly as a review for the students who should be familiar with the material. A copy of my lesson plan and evaluation can be found under the Lesson Plans tab above. 

4/9/13

     Today the students continued to work problems to practice multiplying percents. They seemed to understand the concepts better by the end of the lesson. The biggest thing the students need to remember is to change the percent to a decimal before they multiply. 

                                                                 

4/10/13

     The students continued to work the problem from the previous day and continued to struggle with changing the percent to a decimal before multiplying. I assisted students where I could and attempted to outline the steps of the problem on the board while my teacher continued to work problems of this nature. 

4/11/13

     There is a storm advisory for Jefferson county this morning and the area the school is in is under tornado watch. School will be dismissed early at 1:00, so they are on an early dismissal schedule. Classes only last for approximately 30 minutes. I was able to see the first 3 periods of the day when usually I only see the first 2 periods. The students continued to work practice ARMT problems. 

                                                               

4/12/13

     Today I taught my final lesson to the class. We worked on practice ARMPT problems and had the pleasure of having an AMSTI representative sit in on our class. During my lesson an impromptu number talk broke out lead by our guest. The students enjoyed the opportunity to engage in this style of learning. 

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Trace Crossings Elementary 

9/18/12
Week 1 
          Today was my first day in the classroom. My teacher, Mrs. Self was so warm and welcoming to me on my first day with the wonderful first graders! Today I took more of an observer role, and began to get my barrings about her classroom management and the students' dispositions. I respect the way Mrs. Self runs her classroom. She focusing on positive reinforcement and tries not to do any behavior modification of her students. She assumes competence of everyone in her classroom and trusts them with lost of self responsibility. I am looking forward to learning a lot in her classroom and can't wait to interact more with the students! 

9/25/12
Week 2
          This is my second week in the classroom and so I am still becoming familiar with the students in the class. One way in which I was able to interact with the whole class was by reading a story to them aloud today. I read the story 'Best Friends Sleepover" by Jaqueline Rogers. The students in the class have been taught to make text to text and text to self connections and so while I read we discussed connections we had to the story. After we read the story, the students went back to their seats and wrote responses in their Reading Response Journals. I met with each table group and asked them what they were writing and helped them think of ways that they could expand their writing by adding more details. I enjoyed getting to walk around and meet with each student and have mini 'conferences' with them about their work. It helped me establish a relationship with them, while also giving me a better idea of their cognitive achievement. 

10/2/12

Week 3 

The school wide Read for the Record will take place this Thursday, so it has been all hands on deck at the school. The first graders are singing "The Ants go Marching One by One" at the assembly and have been rehearsing all morning. I stayed with the class while they practiced while Mrs. Self worked on her lesson planning. After they had meet with the music teacher, the students headed back to the classroom and I, along with the other first grade interns (Hannah Barron and Macie Allen) went to work on their costumes. We created costumes using trash bags and construction paper. I think they turned out very cute! I have attached a photo of all the first graders singing in their adorable ant outfits! 

10/16/12
Week 4

           This week I began my work with my Action Research students. We will be focusing on sight word recognition. After giving them an initial assessment to determine their skill level, I had us work on filling in sentences with missing sight words. This week I learning the importance of being organized. Having to work with these students by myself made me nervous at first, but because I felt well prepared the activity went very smoothly. I am planning to teach my first lesson to a small group next week and Mrs. Self gave me some pointers. She reassured me that the students will follow and listen to instructions if you are clear and concise  I feel very prepared for next week and am excited to teach to actual students for the first time! 

10/23/12
Week 5
           Today was my first time to teach a lesson I created to a group of students! I was a little nervous but mainly excited to see a tiny glimpse into how this whole teacher thing worked...and all I can say is preparation is key! I had planned everything for the lesson out, all of the transitions, supplies, even script and while I wasn't relaying everything from the script, like a robot, I was able to roll with the punches easier because I knew the direction I planned for the lesson to go. I was amazing that the students actually learned something! It is a very neat feeling to know that before I had explained the concept of the lesson to them they didn't know something, but now they do, because of me. I hope I never lose this excitement and the perspective that they work I will do as a teacher really does make an impact. 

Video Lesson (you can watch my first lesson here!) 

10/30/12
Week 6
     This week is my full week in my classroom. I am so happy to spend an entire week with my students. Today we went on a field trip to go spelunking. All of first grade went on the field trip so the day was every high energy and exhausting. I was very thrilled to get to see the teacher's role in a context other than the classroom. On the trip I helped Mrs. Self keep an eye on the students and make sure no one was lost of left behind. It was very neat getting to connect the science content she has been teaching about caves with the tour of the cave the class went on. It definitely enhanced the unit and was a great way to end their unit of caves.
     During the rest of the week I continued to work with my Action Research students and have settled into my classroom routine. My favorite part of the week was Friday when we had a substitute teacher. Mrs. Self attended a teacher conference in Atlanta and so I was with our sub on Friday. I felt like the expert on the class and our schedule and was able to be a great resource for the sub. Having to be 'in charge' of the class for the day gave me a little taste of what it will be like when I have my own classroom, and I can't wait! 

11/13/12

Week 7

           Today I taught my second lesson to a different small group of students. I love the repore I have developed with the students. I feel as though they respect me, and yet still have fun with me. I worked with my Action Research students again and I am starting to see real progress and we continue to work together.  Video Lesson (you can watch my second lesson here!) 

11/20/12 

Week 8

        Trace Crossings had this week off of school for Thanksgiving Break. I attended a two day ELL seminar during the time I would have been with my class. You can read more about the seminar by visiting the 'Professional Development' tab. 

11/27/12

Week 9

        Today was my last day with my students for the semester. I did not want to make a big deal about it being my last day but took the time to administer final assessments to my Action Research students and taught my last lesson. (unfortunately I don't have a video of it) I have learned so much from Mrs. Self about how I want to structure my classroom and create an environment that is conducive to learning and growing. I am really going to miss these kid-os over the break but will be visiting next semester!