Action Research Update!!

Well it turns out A.R. really is not as scary as I thought it would be. Since the 5Th grade has decided to keep writing classes as they are I am still going to be able to use my original idea (pulling two students from each ability group) about writing. I have secured a spot in the library from 12:20 to 12:50 Monday-Friday! I will be trying various organizational strategies and collaborative writing with my small group during this time! With a lot of help from Sharon I have been able to find plenty of research about this topic and also several different strategies I am going to try once my small group begins to meet! I am very exciting and I hope I find interesting results!

Week 4!

Well we are halfway into week four and I am having a blast! I learn so much everyday from my mentor teacher(s) and directly from my students. To I gave my first test on a unit in math that I planned and taught on my own (well ok I had some guidance of course!). I am in the process of grading them but so far things are looking great! I think I was more nervous than the students were about the test today. It it going to be a true test of not only their understanding but of my teaching as well! I have my first 2 weeks of the reading block planned out and I will begin teaching math and reading on Monday! I am beginning to feel more comfortable with the idea especially since I taught half of the reading block today! I am anxious to see if some of the games and other activities I have planned will help these struggling readers ENJOY reading!

Today we had a welcome breakfast with the Participants and Tudors. It was exciting to have everyone together and to be a role model for the other girls! Our first complete Benedum class is in tact at Skyview now!

Week 3 as an Intern!

Now that students and teachers are beginning to get into a routine I am feeling not only more comfortable, but more confident that things will go smoothly as I continue to take over various subjects this Fall. I have been watching my mentor teacher as we try and navigate our way through the nearly 3 hour reading block we teach. This will be the next subject(s) that I take over beginning September 20th. I am both excited and nervous! It is a large chunk of time and I can think of so much that I would like to accomplish, but I am still working on trying to sort it in a way that will provide my struggling students with the structure and routine that they need to be successful.
In addition to observing my mentor teacher during reading I also started going across the hall to the Social Studies teacher. I will be teaching Social Studies instead of the health and English classes my regular mentor teacher has because of my specialization! Although I have only been in the SS class for 2 days I am already excited about being in my content area... finally! Some things I hope to accomplish in SS would be to try and have students use a web quest during one chapter, and I would like to create some stations at some point.
Time seems to be flying by, but I hope just stay ahead of the game and keep up! The only concerns I have right now are with my Action Research project. My project ideas are still very fuzzy because of the changes that are still being made in the 5Th grade writing block. I am waiting to see what the final decisions are before I commit to a specific research question or strategy to implement!

Week 2

The second week of school has been really exciting and challenging for me. We have started to switch classes for math and reading groups. I began teaching the high math class, which I really enjoy. Wendy is able to provide me with wonderful feedback and always offers great suggestions to polish off my lessons! One thing I continue to struggle with is time management. I have been spending a lot of time on the lessons so the students understand them, but then I find there is barely any time left to complete other partner or individual seat work! I hope this is something I can improve upon as the days go by!

In our reading class I am still observing and helping individuals or groups of students. During this time we have below level students for almost 3 hours! We teach them reading, writing, and spelling. This class helped Wendy and I decide on my action research topic, writing! These students can really use some more support in their writing, even basics like spelling sight words and writing a complete sentence! I hope that we will be able to devise a strategy for me to use in the research that will show us positive results!

First Week as an Intern!

My first week has gone very well! I am in a 5th grade placement and I love the students! We have not started roations yet, but when we do I will be teaching high math and low reading! In the afternoons we will rotate for social studies, science, and health/english. This rotation will not begin until the second week of school! Right now I have no concerns, I am just excited to be in my student teaching year and can't wait to get started!