Magic E

April 18, 2016

Today I taught a very successful lesson about "Magic E". We began by looking at short vowel words. Students brainstormed as many words as they could think of and I wrote them on the board. I then pulled a couple from their big list and held up my Magic E wand. I told students the story of his special powers. When he adds himself to the end of a short vowel word the original vowel switches from short to long. The students thought I was an actual magician (so of course I went with it). I then passed out wands to each student and had them return to their seats. I had made cards of short vowel words. The students each started with a card and would eventually rotate through the entire set. Each student had a recording sheet to keep track of the words that Magic E worked on and the words that he did not work on.

I was a little nervous that this lesson would get too complicated with all of the rotating of cards; however, it truly went great and the students did very well with the entire concept!

STEM Fairy Tales....Continued

April 13-15, 2016

I spent the rest of the week doing this unit with my class. I am so happy with my decision to do this unit. The students loved it as much as I did.

After reading The Frog Prince, we took a class vote on who would kiss a frog. We then spent the remainder of the time creating a bar graph to look at our results.

Another fun lesson was for the book Rapunzel. As a time-saver I created in advance plates that had the students' faces in the middle and yellow yarn (aka hair) attached. The students loved getting to see what they would look like as Rapunzel. I put the students into groups and they rotated through measuring centers. They used different objects to measure the length of their hair.

STEM Fairy Tales

I am super excited about this post! Yesterday I began my unit, STEM Fairy Tales. For the entire week I am reading a fairy tale to the class and they will do a STEM activity to accompany the book. Yesterday I read The Three Little Pigs. Students then broke up into groups to "build a house for the fourth pig, Sister Pig" using toothpicks, straws or paper. Each group then gave their house the Wolf Test (aka: a hairdryer) to see if it would withstand the huffing and puffing and blowing down of the house. This was so much fun and the students were so engaged. Although some passed the test, I wouldn't say any of my students are prepared to by architects or carpenters.

Today I read Jack and The Beanstalk. After the story the students received their own "Magic" bean and we planted them in plastic cups using just water and a paper towel. We decorated the cups with a cloud and a castle at the top. We talked about germination and what beans need to grow (light and water). I'm hoping that in a couple days we will see some sprouts!

Tomorrow, it is on to Henny Penny!

Long O

I did a fun phonics lesson today that I felt very good about when reflecting on it. The concept was long o vs. short o.

Last week I observed that some students were really struggling with differentiating between between the two sounds.

I created frog (short o) and toad (long o) containers. I also made fly cards with different long and short o words. Students were split up into groups and took turns choosing cards to feed to either the frog or toad.

When the groups finished they returned and we did a whiteboard review as a class. I created a PowerPoint game with the same features of the physical activity they completed.

The students were so engaged and I was very happy with the outcomes.

This entire week I am getting the opportunity to teach phonics lesson that are separate from the book curriculum. This gives me the opportunity to really use my creativity and try out different ideas.

Telling Time

April 7, 2016

Salem Elementary uses the Everyday Math curriculum. This is a spiral curriculum. One topic that is covered is time. There isn't a designated unit for telling time. It may be hit one day, and not covered again for a week or longer.

Some of the students have really taken to trying to master telling time. Constantly throughout the day students are approaching me,or my co-op and asking is it "2:32 right now, is it 11:08 right now?"

A lot of the class is so close to mastering the concept. I truly believe that if they received one or two lessons (in a row) they would be able to really advance in their comprehension of the topic.

They are having such gaps of time in between the lessons that they forget the material learned previously.

I'm hoping to get the opportunity to do a bonus lesson on time.

Where's Miss Stine?

April 6, 2016

I ended up having an extended weekend! School was cancelled on Monday to honor the passing of the district's football coach. On Tuesday I attended the university's job fair.

So, today I am back!

Although I only missed one day (since no one was present on Monday), my co-op said it was chaos yesterday without me there. All day the students kept asking where I was and if I was ever coming back. Even though my co-op reassured them multiple times that I would be back tomorrow they still couldn't grasp that "tomorrow" was only 24 hours away.

Even though I just recently started taking subjects from my co-op, the students didn't understand why I wasn't the one teaching them.

It is so amazing to me how routines are so important to children this young. What a change it will be when I am not there everyday!!

Character Day

April 1, 2016

I have an exciting story to share today! Today was Character Day at school.Teachers and students, and other faculty members dressed up like their favorite book characters. I was Pete the Cat! In my classroom we had lots of superheros and princesses, a Junie B. Jones, 2 Fancy Nancy(s), a Waldo, a Cat in the Hat, an Elf on the Shelf, and more! We also had 2 students that didn't dress up. Both boys were obviously upset about their lack of costumes. I gave myself the challenge of quickly creating them some costumes. I put together some Chicka Chika Boom Boom costumes. My co-op was happy and so were the boys.

Later in the day another 1st grade teacher came to me and said that she had 2 girls that forgot costumes. I had another challenge. I got to work and created a Fly Guy and Fly Girl costume.

Myself and the 2 teachers ended up being especially excited about these last minute creations. The Fly Guy and Fly Girl pair ended up winning an award for their costume during the assembly!  Also, all of the students in costume were able to participate in a character parade around the school. No one in the two classes had to miss out! This was such a fun day at school!!

Pre-Tests and Post-Tests

March 31, 2016

When I was in elementary school we always had pre-tests and post-tests for spelling. However, in my first student teaching placement pre-tests were not used. This has allowed me to some some advantages and disadvantages of both methods.

Not doing pre-tests is definitely a time saver, however, it doesn't save that much time since they only take about 10 minutes to administer.

In my opinion, I am a fan of pre-tests. It allows students, and the teacher, to see growth and improvement. Also, as a teacher it helps show what spelling exercises, activities during the week may have paid off.

I can't speak for all teachers but from my experience if a student receives a perfect score on the pre-test they are able to keep that grade and not take the post-test. This is a nice incentive for most students. In just the few weeks that I have been here at Salem and have been grading the spelling tests it is very common for more than half the class to receive that perfect school on the pre-test. Now those students have the ability to focus their time on other subjects since they have already proved mastery of that word list.

Feeling Old

During my sophomore year I remember attending a club meeting where there was a panel of 4 student teachers that came in and shared their experiences for everyone in attendance. I can remember so vividly leaving the meeting and talking to my friends about how excited that made me to begin student teaching.

Well, I am obviously finally in this position and today I had the opportunity to be one of the student teachers on the panel. We spoke to two groups of students. The first group was mostly juniors and seniors. Student teaching was right around the corner for most of them so most of what we were talking about (lesson planning, lessons we are currently teaching, certifications, applying for jobs, etc.) was all very relevant to their current situation. It was great to see what they had questions about and to be able to help them. It was also obvious how engaged everyone was in our presentation.

The second group of students was mostly freshman and sophomores and was a lot more diverse when it came to their certifications (early childhood, mid-level and secondary). We began this discussion very similar to the first one however, we quickly realized that student teaching was a little too far out of sight for these students. We geared the rest of the discussion towards courses they were taking, and questions they had about the program, and just spoke a little about student teaching to avoid overwhelming them.

This was such a great experience and I hope I had the impact on the students that the panelists had on me two years ago.

Jobs Jobs Jobs

Yesterday was our last day of Easter break and I must say that I felt extremely  productive. I applied for three different jobs, and I found some additional jobs to apply for. This is making everything seem so real.

There are schools that I have dreamed of teaching in for so long and to see them list openings makes me so excited. I know that it will definitely be a battle to actually get into a classroom that I call my own but I am ready for that challenge.

There are only 5.5 weeks left of student teaching and then I am released out into the real world. It's all so bittersweet!

Happy Birthday to ME

March 23, 2016

Today was my first birthday as a teacher. I must say it was delightful. I was showered with "Happy Birthdays" from my students, along with homemade cards and cupcakes. It's always great to have one day to feel extra appreciated.

Lucky for me today was an (extra) fun day in first grade! We began the day by doing a phonics egg hunt. Inside 200 plastic eggs I put pieces of paper with words on them. Students searched the room for eggs and when they were all found everyone returned to their seats to begin sorting. The objective was to have the most long i words since this was our phonics focus today. Although students only had to find the long i words they still had to sort through the different short and long vowels.

The students had fun with the egg hunt and I got a great idea at how the class had grasped the long and short vowel sounds.

Spelling Schedule

March 22, 2016

One thing that was really effected by this short week is the spelling schedule. Spelling is done on a strict 5 day regimen. The pre-test is always on the first day of the 5 day cycle and the final test is always completed on day 5.  Usually day 1 falls on Monday and day 5 is on Friday. However, now the cycle will run Thursday-Wednesday.

In my opinion, I prefer spelling to go week by week and not in a specific numbered cycle. If it were up to me I would have used this week as a review week or fit everything into three days.

This can't really be done in this situation since 1. I am not the teacher so I don't make those decisions and 2. Spelling goes along with the reading series, so therefore you cannot change when you are doing a certain spelling list because it won't match to the rest of the material.

Easter

March 21, 2016

This week we only have a three day week due to the upcoming spring break. Both the students and teachers are excited. With St. Patrick's day and Easter falling so close this year it pretty much left only the three days this week to do Easter festivities. My co-op planned a few crafts, I picked a few books to read and I also am planning a phonics egg hunt on Wednesday.

Today we decorated the classroom while the students were at their special. This really put me in the Spring spirit. However, I must say it also made me realize how fast this semester is going and how soon graduation is coming.

Everyday Math

March 18, 2016

Well my first week has come to a close. I'd like to talk about Everyday Math since I have now seen it for a full week. It is definitely very different than what I was taught in elementary school, as well as what I taught in my last placement.

This week we covered geometry for thee days, and math machines for one day. The curriculum is set up for a 4 day week. At first I thought this a little weird, however, the more I thought about it the more I liked it. This gives you built in flexibility to extend one lesson into two days if you think your students could use the extra practice. You have the ability to catch up if you fall behind for unforeseen circumstances (class programs, fire drills, 2 hour delays, etc.). Or, you have the options to get to supplement with additional activities. This is what we did today. My teacher set up math stations for the students to rotate through.

Something else that I like is the constant review on old concepts. This keeps students' thinking refreshed. So far it seems as though there is time for review during each lesson and also on each homework page.

I am still learning this type of teaching and I'm sure I will have a pros and cons list by the end of this 8 week placement. However, right now I just wanted to discuss the positives.

St. Patrick's Day

March 17, 2016

Happy St. Patty's Day!

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Salem is a holiday celebrating school. Many school districts are no longer able to celebrate "religious based" holidays anymore. Not that St. Patrick's is, but since today was a holiday I am going to discuss the whole concept.

In elementary schools students are aware of the holidays going on, however, they are not aware of why they cannot celebrate in school. In my personal opinion I love holidays. I enjoy the crafts, I enjoy the tasty and creative treats, the happiness, the dressing up, the list goes on.  I also think that holidays can present a great learning opportunity for students.

• Look into the history/background of the day
• Create learning activities based on the holiday
• Leveled readers
• Writing prompts
• Math problems with real world connections

Today we listened to Irish music, had a St. Patrick's themed writing prompt and the students were introduced to a vocabulary list with words that matched the holiday. The kids and teachers both enjoyed the day. 

Lesson Intermission

March 16, 2016

With such a large class I have noticed that most of the instruction throughout the day is whole group. This can be a challenge for 1st graders. I have noticed that my teacher has a great method of breaking up the lessons and getting the students out of their seats.

She has a few games that she will turn to. So far I have seen Sparkle (a spelling review game) and Around the World (a sight word or math facts game). What I really like about these are that they are reviewing skills in a fun way. Students are learning and they think they are just playing a game.

Another way she splits up the day is by transitioning the class back to the carpet and reading a book to them. In my opinion, students can not be read to enough (especially if they are not receiving this enrichment at home). A few times already she has let me do the read alouds!

This is definitely a great tool to keep in mind if I have a large class that gets antsy sitting at their desks too long.

Day 2

I'm starting to get acclimated to my new school and I am learning the ins and outs of Miss G's classroom. I find myself comparing everything to my first placement(not in a bad way). I have to keep reminding myself that every classroom is different. One day (hopefully soon) I will have my own classroom and that will be different as well.

One thing I am really really going to miss is the access to technology. I was so spoiled for the past 7 months and I am now limited to an Interactive White Board (similar to a Smartboard, just a different brand) and 4 older model desktop PCs. However, I will make it work, I'm sure of it!

Even though I am not teaching fully yet I am still kept very busy throughout the day. I definitely appreciate this! At this point in my teaching journey I am past the point of wanting to observe and I want to be involved. It won't be long though until I am teaching the full days again!

Hello Salem!

Today was my first day in my new school. Although I am in the same grade, these two placements could not be more different. First of all, I now have a class of 24, compared to my previous class of 9. I was anticipating to be overwhelmed with almost tripling my class size, however I must say I was not overwhelmed whatsoever. I was beyond impressed with how well behaved and independent the whole class was. I think I commented on this to my new co-op about 10 times throughout the day.

Another major difference is the demographics. The socioeconomic status of a huge majority of this class is very low. My co-op gave me the background stories of some of my students and I realized how naive I was to the reality of some student's lives. There are so many districts where this type of home life is the "norm" and that is so incredibly sad.

 The students all seemed so excited to be at school and I am really looking forward to my next 8 weeks with them!

Closed Chapter

I said my farewells to my wonderful first grade class and co-op at St. Joseph School. I could write a sappy post about how sad I was, however, I decided I want to write about the most important thing I learned from my teacher.

"Use thumbtacks when putting up bulletin boards."

Seriously. Do this.

Within my first few weeks at St. Joe's I was putting up my very first bulletin board. I would staple everything on, step back, analyze how crooked everything was, pull out the staples and repeat.

Finally after 3 or 4 times of doing this she came out with a container of thumbtacks. She taught me the greatest lesson of putting everything in place with the thumbtacks and then you have the freedom to rearrange anything that's crooked. I must say that this decreased my time exponentially.

This lesson applies to more than just bulletin boards.

I learned to never think of your plans as "permanent". There is always something that can alter what you had in mind to do. Whether it be a fire drill in the middle of a science experiment, a 2 hour delay or a technology meltdown, there are always going to be variables in your plans. Be flexible. There is nothing you can do about those challenges you will face. Be open to moving around your daily schedule or weekly schedule at that. This will save you a lot of aggravation if you go in with an open mind. I learned in my 7 months at this school that there was not one single week, not one, that everything that was written out in my teacher's plan book was accomplished as it was "supposed to be".

I'm looking forward to the new lessons I will learn from my new co-op.

Onto Salem Elementary!!

Back to Observing

This week my co-op began to start taking subjects back. This is to make the transition easier for the students when I am gone. It is now to the point where she is teaching the majority of the day. I spent most of the day, except for centers and math, observing. I think this a great experience to get again. I was able to compare and contrast my teaching styles to hers. It was interesting to see again how she utilized whole group instruction vs small group instruction within the same lesson. I also found it rewarding when she would ask the students about content that I had previously taught and the students were able to recall the information quickly and accurately.

Although this had its benefits I must say that I definitely prefer teaching over observing. I walked around during the lessons to help students that needed it but it's still not the same. I am ready to start up instruction again in my next placement.