Big Wheels Keep on Turning!!!

Well I seemed to have forgotten about my entry last week so I will make this one about both last week and the week before!

Two weeks ago marked my first full-time teaching week! It was a lot of stress and prep. but I think it went well! It took me a few days to get accustom to not having time to stop and get materials ready in between classes (like I was able to do when I did not teach everything!). As you all know the last subject I took over was Social Studies for the entire 5th grade! I was very excited about this because Social Studies is something that I have been waiting to teach for a long time. It never worked out before since this topic was always taught in the afternoon periods and I was only ever teaching in the morning! I have been able to show students videos, read various texts, and currently they are working on their first collaborative project: making posters and presentations defending the viewpoints of either the North or South before the Civil War. The students seem to really enjoy the material, I just wish there was more time to really get into the material, but Social Studies classes only meet 3 times a week for 45minutes! Last week proved to be challenging because we had a half day on Thursday and an ISE day on Friday so class was only held twice that week.

Last week was my second week of full-time teaching. I am really beginning to set into a routine and planning and managing my time both in and out of the classroom has become much easier! My first week I was slightly overwhelmed, especially with the up keep of missing work and absences! I am becoming more confident and I would like to think a little more independent as well. Now is the time where I am trying to incorporate more strategies and methods I have learned in my college classes into my classroom teaching. Time is really flying by now that I am full-time teaching. I love the classes I'm in and the students I teach. Some days a few of the kids challenge my patience but I realize that is something that comes with the job!!!

Parents Parents Parents!!!

Tuesday we held parent teacher conferences.... what an experience! I have always heard that parents are the toughest part of this job, and now I know first hand. We had several conferences scheduled for Tuesday evening, but I only attended ones that directly involved my students (math and reading conferences). Overall these went very well! Many of the parents were understanding and cooperative. They agreeded with us when we offered some organizational adjustments for thier child. Some parents came just to check up on their children to make sure they were doing well and getting their assignments finished on time. Some parents came in prepared with questions for us which was great because we had talking points to start with!

I have also learned that some parents will come in with no scheduled time and a strong view point about their child's teachers and their assignments. Many parents have their own opinions about how teachers should be teaching, but they don't always know what is best academically for them! When this bacame an issue in our conferences I got to see a wonderful teacher work with the parents and try VERY hard to please them. It was quite an experience and I learned a great deal that I am positive will help me with conferences in the future!

Special thanks to those who were there and taught me so much about working with parents!

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!