Domain 4: Rights and Responsibilities
2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
Elaboration:
I have been having trouble trying to keep up with all my grades in the past week or two. With so many other things going on, it has kind of taken the back burner. Now that things have slowed down a bit, I have been spending most of my extra time grading and recording grades. This afternoon, my teacher wanted my students to see a movie of the book she and I had read to them this semester. The kids really enjoyed this extra reward, and I was able to get a lot done during this time.
Analysis:
Although this is not something that can or should be done all the time, I think a break like this can be helpful, especially after a busy week. The students got back from spring break this week and they have definitely needed some time to get used to working hard again. Some have come back refreshed and ready to learn, others have been more difficult to motivate. I am trying to continue to motivate myself, remembering that I have a responsibility to these students. I must not only teach them, but also remain a part of their lives.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Domain 6: Management of Time, Classroom, and Behaviors
1:10-1:40 p.m.
Elaboration:
Today I broke up my first fight on the playground. Some of the boys were fighting over a basketball and began punching each other and pushing each other. These were some of the bigger boys in third grade. I had to put myself between them and restrain one of them. One of the students began shouting that he was going to kill the others. He was taken to the principal's office by another teacher.
Analysis:
I was relieved to have another teacher to help me in this situation. However, I feel like I was able to separate the two in order to stop the fighting. This was the first time I had seen a physical fight erupt between students. I tried to be very careful about physically touching any of the students and mostly just put myself between them, not allowing the one student to get to the other. I am a little concerned about the student who wants to "kill" the others because he said he meant every word of it. Although he is mentally a bit unsound, he would have the capabilities to do something dangerous. I think that's one reason it is important to have other adults, like the principal involved.
1:10-1:40 p.m.
Elaboration:
Today I broke up my first fight on the playground. Some of the boys were fighting over a basketball and began punching each other and pushing each other. These were some of the bigger boys in third grade. I had to put myself between them and restrain one of them. One of the students began shouting that he was going to kill the others. He was taken to the principal's office by another teacher.
Analysis:
I was relieved to have another teacher to help me in this situation. However, I feel like I was able to separate the two in order to stop the fighting. This was the first time I had seen a physical fight erupt between students. I tried to be very careful about physically touching any of the students and mostly just put myself between them, not allowing the one student to get to the other. I am a little concerned about the student who wants to "kill" the others because he said he meant every word of it. Although he is mentally a bit unsound, he would have the capabilities to do something dangerous. I think that's one reason it is important to have other adults, like the principal involved.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Domain 2: Personal Development
Elaboration:
Today we had a substitute. I can see how I have grown in the fact that I don't really need the substitute like I would have at the beginning of the year. However, today was a long day. The children were very good in the morning, but when afternoon came they took a turn for the worse. They didn't seem to be listening well. For some reason this was very difficult today. I was running a little lower on patience than usual and their disrespect and behavior just make me frustrated or made me want to cry. As I reached the end of the day, I felt frustrated because I felt like I could do better.
Analysis:
While there is always room for improvement, I am never going to be perfect at anything. I can't be perfect at teaching. I can't be perfect at making portfolios. I can't be a perfect student. I can't be a perfect family member or friend. While I hate looking back and realizing that I made mistakes, I think sometimes it's okay to accept them as a part of our humanness. I can say I did the best I could today. I tried to teach and love my students. Same with all of those other things, while I must always make goals and work hard, I can't do them perfectly. I'm letting go of those things and moving on.
Elaboration:
Today we had a substitute. I can see how I have grown in the fact that I don't really need the substitute like I would have at the beginning of the year. However, today was a long day. The children were very good in the morning, but when afternoon came they took a turn for the worse. They didn't seem to be listening well. For some reason this was very difficult today. I was running a little lower on patience than usual and their disrespect and behavior just make me frustrated or made me want to cry. As I reached the end of the day, I felt frustrated because I felt like I could do better.
Analysis:
While there is always room for improvement, I am never going to be perfect at anything. I can't be perfect at teaching. I can't be perfect at making portfolios. I can't be a perfect student. I can't be a perfect family member or friend. While I hate looking back and realizing that I made mistakes, I think sometimes it's okay to accept them as a part of our humanness. I can say I did the best I could today. I tried to teach and love my students. Same with all of those other things, while I must always make goals and work hard, I can't do them perfectly. I'm letting go of those things and moving on.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Domain 8: Global and Multicultural perspectives
Elaboration:
Because it is almost time to phase out, I was told that I could pick a topic and do a mini-unit with my language arts class. I have chosen to do a unit on multicultural literature and cultures around the world. I made the mistake of thinking that because my classroom was more ethnically diverse than others I had been in, that my students would be more culturally aware. Most of my student have no idea what a culture even is, let alone what it is like. It's exciting for me to find ways that I can help the children open their eyes to the world beyond them.
Analysis:
Today the children were fairly responsive to the lesson I presented. I think it is sometimes hard for me to realize that they simply believe and know only what they have experienced or teachers and children have told them. Although they have been presented with stories or heard about cultures, generally this is only during special holidays. I want to provide a different approach where students are reading literature and gaining skills, not making it seem forced. I know this is only for a week, but even if the children remember one thing, it would really great.
Elaboration:
Because it is almost time to phase out, I was told that I could pick a topic and do a mini-unit with my language arts class. I have chosen to do a unit on multicultural literature and cultures around the world. I made the mistake of thinking that because my classroom was more ethnically diverse than others I had been in, that my students would be more culturally aware. Most of my student have no idea what a culture even is, let alone what it is like. It's exciting for me to find ways that I can help the children open their eyes to the world beyond them.
Analysis:
Today the children were fairly responsive to the lesson I presented. I think it is sometimes hard for me to realize that they simply believe and know only what they have experienced or teachers and children have told them. Although they have been presented with stories or heard about cultures, generally this is only during special holidays. I want to provide a different approach where students are reading literature and gaining skills, not making it seem forced. I know this is only for a week, but even if the children remember one thing, it would really great.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Domain 7: Communication
8:00-10:15 a.m.
Elaboration:
Happy April Fool's Day! =) My shoes have been untied at least four times this morning. I have a spider in my hair and on my shoe and I have chocolate on my face. The funny thing is I don't even have any shoelaces. This morning for April fool's Day, I put a sheet on their desks that said to read all of the directions before beginning. The last direction was to stop, sit back, ignore directions 2-25 and watch everyone else do the assignment wrong. The majority of the kids fell for it, drawing random things all over their papers. It was a great way to remind them to follow directions and most of them thought it was funny. Also, we shared our projects today in Language Arts. Even after sending notes home to parents, writing it in planners, and reminding my students constantly, I had 6 students who came without their projects done. The presenting for those who were done went very well, but I was disappointed that some had not done anything.
Analysis:
I really enjoyed doing the projects for language arts. A lot of the children had told me that they really liked doing their project. I think that some of the children will have to learn their lesson about completing things on time. They had to work for the rest of the day and whatever was turned in before break was their grade, no exceptions. While some of them may not do so hot on the project because of this, I hope that they will learn to be more responsible. It's difficult for me to do this because I want to be nice. However, I need to communicate clear expectations. I told them it had to be turned in. I also gave them 2 and a half days in class to work and sent notes home to their parents. I cannot communicate any clearer and at some point the children do have to become responsible.
8:00-10:15 a.m.
Elaboration:
Happy April Fool's Day! =) My shoes have been untied at least four times this morning. I have a spider in my hair and on my shoe and I have chocolate on my face. The funny thing is I don't even have any shoelaces. This morning for April fool's Day, I put a sheet on their desks that said to read all of the directions before beginning. The last direction was to stop, sit back, ignore directions 2-25 and watch everyone else do the assignment wrong. The majority of the kids fell for it, drawing random things all over their papers. It was a great way to remind them to follow directions and most of them thought it was funny. Also, we shared our projects today in Language Arts. Even after sending notes home to parents, writing it in planners, and reminding my students constantly, I had 6 students who came without their projects done. The presenting for those who were done went very well, but I was disappointed that some had not done anything.
Analysis:
I really enjoyed doing the projects for language arts. A lot of the children had told me that they really liked doing their project. I think that some of the children will have to learn their lesson about completing things on time. They had to work for the rest of the day and whatever was turned in before break was their grade, no exceptions. While some of them may not do so hot on the project because of this, I hope that they will learn to be more responsible. It's difficult for me to do this because I want to be nice. However, I need to communicate clear expectations. I told them it had to be turned in. I also gave them 2 and a half days in class to work and sent notes home to their parents. I cannot communicate any clearer and at some point the children do have to become responsible.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Domain 2 Personal Development
Elaboration:
We had another field trip this morning and a party this afternoon. It was more of a fun day and I really enjoyed spending time with the children. I was able to sit with them on the bus and during the concert. I also played with them at recess today. The children were really excited when I was participating.
Analysis:
I think being involved in these activities helps build a relationship with the children. They see you as someone they can trust and children also have a great sense of whether or not you actually want to be with them. I love being with the children, whether teaching them or just hearing what they have to say. As I've gotten further along in student teaching, I've had to find lines between friend and teacher. Also, I've had to make sure that my participation in something like recess is not going to cause a bigger problem for the other teachers.
Elaboration:
We had another field trip this morning and a party this afternoon. It was more of a fun day and I really enjoyed spending time with the children. I was able to sit with them on the bus and during the concert. I also played with them at recess today. The children were really excited when I was participating.
Analysis:
I think being involved in these activities helps build a relationship with the children. They see you as someone they can trust and children also have a great sense of whether or not you actually want to be with them. I love being with the children, whether teaching them or just hearing what they have to say. As I've gotten further along in student teaching, I've had to find lines between friend and teacher. Also, I've had to make sure that my participation in something like recess is not going to cause a bigger problem for the other teachers.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Domain 1: Content/Subject Matter Expertise
8:30= 10:15 a.m.
Elaboration:
One of the things that I have realized is that besides planning a variety of lessons with different strategies, it is also important to plan a variety of assessments. During the reading of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I had decided that we were going to use weekly reading quizzes instead of having a test at the end. Instead I had a final project. These past few days have been dedicated to working on the final project. During their final project work time, I also have been holding conferences with the students. I allow them to tell me about their favorite parts and give me an overview of the book. I also used this opportunity to let them choose a passage they liked and read it aloud to me. I tracked their fluency, self correction, and oral expression during reading on the sheet. Afterwords, I had the students talk about what they liked or didn't like about the unit. Asking them if I taught this again to a new group of children, what should I change or leave the same?
Analysis:
I love the final projects that they are working on and the conferences have been awesome to assess in several different areas. I can see not only whether children have comprehended the story, but whether they see the whole picture or the small picture, or even whether they understand literary terms such as setting or problem and solution. I can provide cues for those who don't and see where they are at in their comprehension skills. It also has provided an opportunity for self-improvement. While there may be things that the children hate that are necessary, I do not want the children to hate learning. It is important for me to figure out what exactly these children need.
8:30= 10:15 a.m.
Elaboration:
One of the things that I have realized is that besides planning a variety of lessons with different strategies, it is also important to plan a variety of assessments. During the reading of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I had decided that we were going to use weekly reading quizzes instead of having a test at the end. Instead I had a final project. These past few days have been dedicated to working on the final project. During their final project work time, I also have been holding conferences with the students. I allow them to tell me about their favorite parts and give me an overview of the book. I also used this opportunity to let them choose a passage they liked and read it aloud to me. I tracked their fluency, self correction, and oral expression during reading on the sheet. Afterwords, I had the students talk about what they liked or didn't like about the unit. Asking them if I taught this again to a new group of children, what should I change or leave the same?
Analysis:
I love the final projects that they are working on and the conferences have been awesome to assess in several different areas. I can see not only whether children have comprehended the story, but whether they see the whole picture or the small picture, or even whether they understand literary terms such as setting or problem and solution. I can provide cues for those who don't and see where they are at in their comprehension skills. It also has provided an opportunity for self-improvement. While there may be things that the children hate that are necessary, I do not want the children to hate learning. It is important for me to figure out what exactly these children need.
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