Week Six

This week I taught my second lesson and I feel like it went really well! This was a huge change from my transition lesson which was nice as this time I felt like I actually got to use a lot of the techniques that we have been talking about which are difficult to incorporate in the transition lessons. The lesson I taught was a literacy lesson and the children seemed to really enjoy it. I really felt like throughout the lesson I had some great behavior management techniques too that worked! I had them show me what active listeners look like and I counted down from five and throughout the lesson I only had a few small behavior problems. I think the children really understood the lesson and that they really enjoyed it as it related to Halloween and they got to draw pumpkins! Overall, it was great. I really love my class and enjoyed teaching the lesson.

I loved the format of class this week where we essentially taught each-other. I think that for me personally, there was not a lot of pressure like in cold call as I knew what I was going to be responsible for in the discussion and it make it much more enjoyable and I was able to focus and truly listen to the classmates in my group. I loved that it was a small group and we all lead each-other, and I felt like it allowed for more time to talk out-loud and voice your own opinion in the group. I also enjoyed our guest speaker that assistant principle as I learned a lot from him and it was great to see someone so young in administration. He was so positive about his whole experience which made me feel positive as well.

Week Five

This week went very well in the field. I know the children's rountine well and am able to help Mrs. Young in the classroom a lerge amount. This week Virginia taught her literacy lesson. It went very well. She did a great job of keeping them under control and keeping them focused. The children really understood the lesson and I think that they loved it because it had to do with Halloween and they got to draw something chasing after them. It makes me excited to teach my literacy lesson and I hope that it goes just as well. Hopefully I have learned even more about some behavioral management techniqies that it will be easier to manage the classroom because we will not be transitioning so the children will be able to be more focused.

I loved class this week as well. I thought it was so great to see all of the teach like a champion techniqies acted out, it really helped me to remember them. I also loved being a part of Summerville Elementary's Reading Day. I thought it was so great and such a great thing to do to get the parents involved. My teacher told me that when they offer them dinner they always get a large turnout than when they don't. I also got to sit in on a reading of the local children's book writer who writes the Hermie the Hermit Crab Books. It was so neat to hear her read one of her books to the children and tell us about where her inspirations come from. What a fun night!

Week Four

This week I had another great day in Mrs. Young's class. The kids are so used to us coming in now that they expect us and give us a big welcome which is so nice. Right away I began to teach my lesson which was on transitions. I knew it was going to be a little bit difficult because Mrs. Young has them tightly wrapped around her finger and I knew I would have big shoes to fill. I found that I did a great job teaching and keeping the children's behavior under control in the line, but I did realize that it became difficult because Mrs. Young was still taking charge a little bit with the children and the children did not know exactly who they should turn to and who was in charge, which made things difficult. I officially know all of the children's names and I am so proud of myself because there is so many of them! But I think it is such a good thing to know everyones names when you are doing a behavior management lesson so that you can call the children out who are not behaving well. I think that my next lesson will go a little bit better since I will actually be teaching the children a writing lesson and not just focusing on the transitions from place to place.

I am really enjoying the class so far. I feel like this week I learned so much information about title one schools and how they work like a machine. I was so impressed with Chicora and the people who work there seem so wonderful it just amazes me how happy and uplifting the whole school seems to be with these children who do not come from the best home life situations. I had no idea that Chicora was at 100% poverty level. What an amazing thing that these teachers do every day for these children, it is so inspiring!

Week Three In Mrs. Young's Class

This week in the field was great. I am learning more and more each time that I go and I truly am enjoying watching Mrs. Young. She has taught in several different schools because her husband is in the Coast Guard and because of this she is soooo knowledgeable. I have almost learned all of the names in my class which I think is so helpful for when I will teach next week because this class has a lot of behavior issues and I think that calling out the children who are not following directions is a technique that works very well and it is hard to call the children out if you don't know names! Hopefully by next week I will have them all down pat. Virginia taught her lesson this week and she did a great job. These children are a handful and one of the most difficult tasks can just be walking in a line to transition to lunch, recess, etc! She did a good job reminding them of what they should be doing and managing their behavior. I just hope I can do the same next week!

I have read the first chapter of our new book home, school, and community collaboration and so far I love this book. It is so well written and the first chapter was filled with so many interesting statistics that are helpful for teachers to know. I never realized how many single parent households there are in the US! This first chapter has really allowed me to see the benefits of forming a positive relationship with the parents of your students. I have always known how important it is to keep the parents informed and involved but I never realized the actual benefits that come from the students grades and test scores. To see the actual statistics that show how much good can come from a positive and involved relationship between the teacher and the parent was so eye opening and really gives me the motivation to make these connections strong in my own personal teaching experience.

Week Two in Mrs. Young's Class

This week I really enjoyed my field again. I really feel like I am starting to get to know the students in my class and they come from such diverse backgrounds it is so refreshing to see such a different group of children that can work so well together. I am still amazed at Mrs. Young's classroom management. These children seem to get very wild at times and she can refocus them with the snap of her fingers. It is such an amazing thing to see and I am learning so much from her. It is making me feel a little more confident about my first lesson that I will teach because it is mostly focusing on transitions and lunch time which is mainly about managing the class. I was able to observe the children during math centers again and this time we each got to choose and lead a center. It was so great to work in small groups with the children because I was able to do a little bit of assessing of my own to see where each child stands in the class. This class is on very different levels academically to say the least.

As far as class goes, I am loving the teach like a champion book. I feel like I am learning so many techniques that I will be able to use when I am teaching and I also like how we are being challenged to include the techniques into our lessons. For this week, the technique that I liked the most was the hook. I think it is so important to get the children interested in what they are learning and as teachers we get so involved in just teaching the standard and getting mastery we forget to get the children involved and interested in the topic first. Especially with early childhood education this is so important and I think can be forgotten. It reminded me to try my best to get the children interested in what you are doing even if it is something as little as a small story to hook them onto the topic.

First Day at Summerville Elementary

I had a wonderful first day at Summerville Elementary. My lead teacher has so much teaching experience and she has the most amazing classroom management skills. It is such a diverse and interesting class but so far, all of the students seem so great and eager to learn. My co-operating teacher almost immediately introduced herself and her assistant and then so perfectly explained to the class that we would be observing on Thursdays as we were learning how to be teachers just like her and the students seemed to love the explanation. I think the children are very excited to have us in the classroom and I can tell already it is nice for our co-operating teacher to have a few extra sets of hands. We were able to observe the students during a writing lesson which was very neat, as well as during their math centers. I am so excited about this semester in that we will not be teaching just a lesson, that we will be actually taking over the class for a certian amount of time. I think that this makes more sense as it is so much more realisitc of teaching, I am very excited about this.

In class this week I really enjoyed reading a lot about the cases in our book. I particularly loved the two cases that talked about parent teacher relationships as I think that this is one of the scariest parts about being a teacher, building a positive relationship with our parents. I learned a lot more about communicating with the parents, keeping them as informed as possible, and most importantly remembering that as teachers it is our job to keep the parents updated and inform them of any problems. I think it is difficult to remember that it is the teachers job to initiate the communication which I think can be difficult at times. I am excited to learn more techniques for communicating with the parents as I know how difficult this can be.

It's a New Semester!

I am so excited about this semesters field placement. My first choice was kindergarten and that is where I will be. Going into this whole graduate experience, I was dead set on wanting to teach the second grade. I have had experiences with this age group before in babysitting and I felt like it was just right for me. For my second field I was placed in was first grade. I found that I loved this age group and working with them. They are so eager to learn and are so excited about their reading and writing and are just starting to get the hang of it. It is such a rewarding age. I am so excited for this semester to do kindergarten because I think I will get even more of that excitement for literacy. I have never been in a kindergarten classroom and I currently teach for work in a pre-K classroom so I am so excited to see what happens after they leave my classroom and to become a part of that. I am even more excited about teaching at such a great title one school that seems to have so many goals set for the year.

As far as the course goes, I am truly enjoying it. I love the feeling that the two classes are really connected and that it is really just one class together. I am loving the Lemov book so far. I know we are just getting into it but I love that it is directed at teachers specifically and that instead of completely new ideas, it describes techniques to enforce what you already know about teaching. I think that because of this the techniques are so applicable, helpful, and easier to remember. Although I have not agreed with all of the details of each specific technique I have agreed with all of the techniques that I have read about and I think that each teacher can make the techniques his or her own in the classroom. I have found that I am doing a lot of the techniques already in the classroom that Lemov has described, I just have never been able to describe them as well. I look forward to reading more and learning more techniques for teaching.