Jones- Week 11

Relating to Students can be a powerful thing

            Since I’ve started my student teaching, I have noticed that being in tune with how students feel and why they feel that way is very important. Some of my students do not know how to express themselves in a way that will not get them in trouble. Instead of taking deep breaths or asking to step outside to collect themselves, some students make loud outbursts and/ or try to start an altercation with another student. I have mentioned this in other noticing blogs but it is a very important thing to notice because being aware of things like this is vital information in terms of how to do classroom management. I have also come to realize that being able to channel your anger/ negative energy in a positive way is a learned behavior. Students have to be taught how to do this. However, I have also noticed that if students learn certain ways to behave in the classroom and these behaviors are not practiced at home, they will be prove to be ineffective. As I watch how my students approach math, some of my 4^th graders get upset not because of Math but because of the fear that they will fail. This is a case of student success and students lack of confidence. This was mentioned in articles that were read in class. The articles talked about classroom equity and creating tasks that can be accomplished by students to build their confidence and build on their learning. As I watch students work and wiggle in their seats, I approach them and tell them that I struggled with some concepts in Math as well as when I was n elementary school. When I tell students this, they don’t believe me. I tell them just because you don’t understand one thing, does not mean you are not capable of learning other things. I can understand what is happening here. When you show students that adults struggle too, the trouble that the student is having doesn’t seem so large anymore. Sharing a relate-able  experience with students is a great way to connect with students.  

week14

This week was an interesting week as one of my students with an IEP did not have a new presecription for his medications so was without them Monday and Today. I could not believe how different this student was off his medicine, I knew their would be a big difference but I honestly did not think it was going to be this vast.

It did not occur to me until this point how hard it could be to reason with a student when they are not on the appropriate medications because they cannot listen to what you are saying, do not understand what you are saying and most of all do not care about sitting still and getting work done. I have never seen this student unruly like he was Monday, it was as if he was a whole different person. When we asked him why he did not bring his afternoon/night medication like his mother had said he was going to in order to take it after lunch rather than after school, he said he forgot. But when we asked him again he began to tell us how he did not enjoy the way the medicine made him feel. He said he hated how it made him sleepy, not hungry, and most of all just out of it. It was sad to hear this little boy describe how he hated taking this medication he had to take every day yet, he knew when he was off it he could not comprehend the lessons or even behave.

While talking to this student I realized how difficult it is for the students with IEPs who take medication. They understand that they have to take it regardless of the side affects as the medication is beneficial to their learning. I never realized until this point how difficult it must be, especially when you do not feel like yourself. After today, I have a new found understanding and respect for these students as they not only have to learn the material that the rest of the class does, but they also have to learn how to deal with their behaviors, coping methods when they get angry or upset, and have to take medication constantly. They are certainly taking a lot more than the students without these problems.

Delise Week 14

On Monday, my MT was absent so I had the opportunity to run the show on my own (which I loved). The sub that was scheduled in my classroom was astonished at how quiet and on task the students were. I don't think that a quiet classroom always necessarily means that the students know what they are doing, understanding the lesson, etc. The students know that when they are doing independent work they are to keep from talking. The occasions for where students are supposed to be quiet are when we are assessing or during writing. I tell the students that during these times they have to keep from talking so that they can focus and do their best work and so that they don't disrupt others from doing their best. For other times of instruction, we do not tell the students, "okay you may talk to your friends now." If we said that, the classroom might be a little out of control. During these times, it is quite incredible to see how students are working collaboratively. Some students are asking others for help or comparing their thoughts and/or answers. Other students who are finishing their work early are taking the initiative to help others around them. These second graders are really good at being productive! Instead of having discussions that are non academic, they are discussing the assignment or the lesson! I notice the students collaborating the most during centers, math, and writing. During centers, the students do a good job of helping each other and rarely come to my MT or I. The students work collaboratively even if they are just helping their partner sound out a word in a book that they are reading. During math, the students are working together during collaborative learning time as well as when they are working in their math journals. Students are vocal about being confused about a problem. When this student raises his/her hand for help, he other students around him/her are eager to help out that student. I especially like this because I am able to see what the students who are helping know about the problem about the way they explain it to the other student. Also, by teaching the other student, it will help build their knowledge of the subject! During the writing mini lesson, students have time to turn and talk and discuss something that we have learned that day. Yesterday, for example, students were to tell their partner what small moment they would like to write about this week. Then, they could tell their partner what they are going to do this week to make their paper really good! (This was after we had created a list of what good writers do). I was being observed by my field instructor during this lesson and she had noted that the students were pretty loud during this time, which is what sparked me to write this noticing blog. Yes, my students were loud. They were also engaged and participating. I saw students telling their partner what they would do to make their writing better. I saw students pointing to parts of our "Good Writers..." poster. I heard students give their partners suggestions and advice about how to add details to their story. I saw students pointing to the lines on the page to plan what words they wanted to use on each page. I heard questions being asked, I heard students praising each others' ideas. So yes, my students were "loud" but if this is how "loud" looks in my classroom everyday, I cannot complain. :)

McCormick Noticing Blog

This week I noticed the change in the voice-level during center time now that we have introduced MP3 players and iPods for the TeacherMate program. The classroom is much quieter and seems more focused now that 4 students are listening to books on the MP3 players and 4 students are playing reading games on the iPods. All 8 students have headphones in and are engaged with their programs. The purpose of the TeacherMate program is to provide students with engaging activities so that the teacher can focus on her guided reading group without redirecting student behavior at other centers.

The fact that the program is working as it's supposed to is very important. I instruct the guided reading center each day and have noticed that I've been more able to focus on my group rather than constantly reminding others to quiet down. I can understand that the students are much more engaged in their center activities now because they are excited to use the technology. Therefore, students are quieter and the classroom runs more smoothly. I hadn't thought to use iPods and MP3 players in the classroom before this program was introduced to my mentor. This program is not about giving students cool technology to use to have fun with, rather it's about keeping them engaged so that the teacher can focus on teaching others to build fluency and comprehension through reading. This is a case of classroom management in a sense because the classroom is now more under control during center time. The overall voice-level in the classroom is much quieter now that the technology tools have been introduced. I plan to track the use of the technology in the classroom to see how well it continues to work.

Noticing Blog-Montague

This week I have noticed how crazy it can be when you have absolutely nothing prepared to teach for the entire day, your MT calls in sick and the substitute teacher that you get sits on her phone or reads her book the entire time in the back of the room! However, I have also noticed how nice it is to be the 'lead' teacher and be the one to make the decisions. Every time I sub, it makes me want to be a teacher even more! Today was a very hectic day but at the same time good because I learned that I can run around and make lessons on the spur of the moment and still do a good job teaching my students. I also learned that I can handle 30 students all by myself...something that has worried me! We have a lot of prep at MSU from our courses however, one thing that I felt like lacked was a class on classroom management. However, now I think I may have noticed why MSU doesn't spend much time teaching that..because it is something we will without a doubt learn during our internship year.

Overall, with this experience of my MT calling in sick, I learned how important it is as a future teacher to ALWAYS have sub plans ready to go along with your lesson plans for the day. I think that the day would have gone much smoother if copies would have already been made in the sub book that my MT is supposed to be using. I think it is important because the sub (if I would not have been there) would have not known what to do and she would have been alone with the students with no one to go make any copies. I think that this is a case of being prepared for the unexpected. You never know when you are going to get sick or have a personal day come up therefore, you should always PREPARE for the unexpected. Overall, I can definitely say that this internship is teaching me to not only be flexible but be ready to jump into anything without a notice! :)

Berger

First week of lead teaching- 9

This week was my  first week of lead teaching for my math unit. It was a very interesting and telling week in the sense that I was able to see where the students' skills began and progressed throughout the first few days of the unit. We began covering place value, comparing, comparing, adding/ subtracting decimals, converting to and from fractions and learning the correct pronunciation of the decimals in words. One thing that I did in my lesson that I was pleased with and found very helpful was providing a review and quiz in the  middle of the unit to check on their progress and understanding. The day before the review I realized that we had been doing a lot of work in class and the students were responding very well so I decided to give them a treat and make a jeopardy review game before the quiz. Instead of simply going over the topics that we had covered, I made a jeopardy game online using jeopardylabs.com. I had five topics with four questions per topics worth different points. I had the students in groups of 5 and we went around the room so each table took turns choosing their topic and value. I had all of the students answer the question and write their answer on a dry erase board (1 per group) so that everyone could participate and not wait for the 4 tables before them. I switched the question chooser and writer for each turn so that all of the students had a chance. I also made sure to walk around and observe as they were answering the questions to make sure that they were on task and that everyone was participating. They students loved playing and I think it was a great and fun way to review. Most of the students did very well on the quiz and I could tell that I was really excited about their understanding because their papers literally have "good" "great job" "yes!" all over. So far the lead teaching is going very well and I look forward to teaching and learning more next week.

Second week of lead teaching- 10

One of the struggles during the second week of lead teaching was that we introduced science this week which takes up half of the math time. Instead of the usual two hours, we only had one hour on Tuesday and Thursday so I had to compact all of the information in half of the time. This was definitely a tough adjustment but while I planned my lesson I allotted enough time for this to actually work out alright. Another decision that I had to make was whether or not I wanted to extend the unit one more day to give them a review day before the unit test. I ended up just making a review packet for their long weekend so that they could see all of the topics that would be covered on the test. I think that this worked out alright, but based on some of the test scores I know that a review would have been beneficial. A majority of the students got between a C and an A, with some outliers that received scores as low as 7/30. A beneficial tactic that I implemented the second week, after I had an issue with about 6 students consistently not bringing their homework, was having the students stay with me during their recess time and finish their homework worksheet for half credit. I thought that this was a good idea because not only were the students losing points from not bringing in their homework, but they were lacking the extra practice that homework provides. This way the students hopefully take more responsibility so that they don't lose their valued recess time.

Week 11

This week I gave the final test for my decimal unit. I was very happy with the results with the exception of a few questions that were often missed. The questions that were answers incorrectly most often were the ones on ordering decimals and dividing decimals. I was very surprised with the difficulty that they had with the ordering decimals questions because they seemed to really grasp the concept when I had taught it but apparently had not actually internalized the information. The next few days we began working with algebraic and numerical equations. The students really enjoyed these problems and did fairly well throughout the lessons as well. During this unit, Mr. Casimiro taught and I assisted throughout the lessons, checking working, helping if the students had questions, keeping them on task, as well as other duties. We began the unit with evaluating the statements, so either write in numbers and letters (fifty more than seven), or write in words (42+6). We reviewed many terms that could be used in these equations such as difference, more than, take away, etc. After this information was understood, we moved on to actually solving algebraic equations such as 5+x when x is 7. We did not introduce problems where they had to solve for the missing number. The equations did include addition, subtraction, multiplication, division as well as working with decimals and fractions. 

Week after Thanksgiving

Over Thanksgiving weekend, I graded the tests for the algebra unit. Overall, the students in the first class did well on the test and demonstrated knowledge of the topic. However, I was surprised that the second class did not do nearly as well, overall as the first. I spoke with Mr. Casimiro about this and we were surprised because we thought that the second class usually got a better lesson due to the fact that we learn and realize what does not go so well so we can adjust to make a better lesson for the following class. Following Thanksgiving, we began a unit on graphing data. We started with bar graphs and then moved onto evaluating the data using mean, median, mode and range. After that we started the box and whisker plot. To begin the unit, we had the students each choose their own topic, for example, favorite class (math, reading, writing, science), favorite sports team (Bears, Sox, Bulls). We then had the students go around the class and take down everyone's response. They used their tallied information to created a bar graph. The following day, we had the students in groups of 3-7, choose at topic to interview other classes about. We had one group at a time go into the other classrooms (grades 2-5) to take a poll based on their topic. They instructed the class of how the poll had to work, only vote one time, we will list all the topics first and give you a minute to choose. The students really enjoyed this activity because they were able to go into other classrooms and find their own data. They then went back to their seats and individually made a bar graph and evaluated the data. With the exception of a few teachers who started to refuse entry to the students, the lesson went well and they students gained some worthy experience. Thursday I was able to go on a field trip with the 4th and 5th grade students who were in choir. The students were taken to the Chase auditorium by the Chicago Children's Choir because a foundation at Chase bank was what sponsored our school to be part of the choir program. The students were so excited and wore matching shirts and ties. It was a great experience and they sounded fantastic. 

Cosmas Noticing Blog

As my students get more comfortable with “book club” or guided reading groups I have been noticing a lot of positive changes in their progress.  Many of my students had never been exposed to a guided reading type of situation and were a bit uncomfortable at first reading out loud and at their own pace.  However, now that we have been engaging in book club for some time it’s very noticeable that students are more comfortable.  They understand now that it is not a race to finish and it’s also not a problem to be the last to finish.   I feel that the success and progress of each group stems from my MT carefully selecting which students would be placed in which groups.  She showed me how she usually does this selection process based on test scores and her own observations of reading levels.  I think not just going by a reading level that a test produces is greatly helpful when forming guided reading groups.  At the end of the day you know your students better than anyone else so your instinct on where they will work the best is more likely going to be right.  With a solid foundation of groups, I have noticed that my students feel more in their element.  They aren’t competing with the student next to them.  Instead, they are focused on themselves which gives me a chance to better individualize their instruction.

              I also notice that since the comfort level has been established, students are much more open to listening and trying the different skill and strategies for reading that I teach them.  For example, in one group I have been working extensively with them on noticing punctuation and making the appropriate pauses or exclamations.  I first did this by doing some call and response reading to model how we would use the punctuation properly.  Then, I released some responsibility for students to make a natural pause when they see a punctuation mark before they continue.  I initially thought this skill was going to be a huge work in progress over the next month or so.  However I was pleasantly surprised when these students latched onto this strategy after about 4 or 5 days of practicing this.  Though this is something we will need to continue to practice, I was very happy with this positive progress that happened so quickly.