Bringing It Altogether

Review the course goals you wrote about in your first post at the beginning of the semester. What progress have you made on them? What does this do to inform your practice next semester in student teaching? What goals do you still have moving forward? Include overall reflections on what you have learned in this clinical course and on-site this semester.

My first goal I had in the beginning of the semester was, knowing more about how a student’s culture affects the classroom and how to accommodate for that person. I wanted to know more about how teachers accommodate on a daily basis to help students succeed as leaners. Throughout this semester I have learned from my clinical experience and my classes on how to do this in various ways. I noticed in my clinical setting how my CT accommodates for students on a daily basis. My CT groups and positions the students in ways where they can all be successful during lessons. She also differentiates reading instruction by using small groups and giving the students different books to read when practicing a certain reading skill. I have also learned through my classes this semester how important it is to accommodate and differentiate in each lesson. That is why the workshop model works for classrooms because it gives the teacher more flexibility to do so. I have also learned that we teachers have our own cultures and views on the world and we need to leave that at the door and start fresh with a new class every year. I have also learned through 277 how to bring other students’ cultures into the classroom in a non-discriminatory way. Teachers can use books, videos, and activities to do this. Learning these things this semester will help me plan and implement lessons in my future student teaching semester. I will think about each student individually and the class as a group to figure out how to make each lesson successful.

My second goal for myself was to become better at selecting informal and formal assessments. I have learned a lot this semester about that. I have learned various ways to check students’ understanding throughout a lesson. I have used thumbs up, repeat directions, turn and talks, and student responses during my lessons this semester for informal assessments. These have all worked when determining if the students understand the lesson. I have also learned which summative assessments to use with which objectives. I have used a checklist during each of my lessons during this semester and I saw how it works when determining student understanding at the very end of the lesson. I was able to share my results each time I used one for my CT to keep in mind for her lessons. I know that in the future I will be using all assessments during my lessons, such as a rubric, checklist, or anecdotal. This will help me when planning for future lessons after that.

Another goal I had for myself was to improve on my implementing of lessons in the classroom. This semester I got various opportunities to take over the classroom not only during my three planned lessons, but in other parts of the day as well. My CT was very willing to collaborate with me and give me freedom to take over the classroom during calendar time and during Daily 5. I also was able to implement a social studies, science, and literacy lesson. This gave me the practice I needed to become a better and more confident teacher. I know I will learn even more during my student teaching semester, but this semester taught me a lot on how to improve my teaching. I also felt I was a better role model for the students this semester because I had the opportunity to get to know each and every student better. That was also another goal I had for myself, which I think I achieved. I know in my future student teaching experience I will be able to do this even more being in the classroom every day and taking what I have learned this semester and applying it.

Moving forward I still want to improve on a few things. I want to get to know in depth how to teach each subject in the early childhood classroom. I know I have learned so much through my classes this semester, but I feel until I actually have the opportunity to teach it often I will not fully understand it. I also am looking forward to setting up the classroom with my future CT to meet the needs of all students because that is one goal I had that I am still not confident about. I have learned so much about how to do this, but being able to help my future CT accomplish this, will really give me the knowledge I need to apply in my future classroom. Another goal I have for myself is to really throw everything I have into my student teaching experience. I know I gave everything I had this semester once a week in clinical, so I am looking forward to being able to do this every day in student teaching semester.

Overall, this has been a really rewarding experience in clinical this semester. I have learned so much from my CT and her classroom as well as my classes this semester. I am looking forward in keeping in contact with my CT knowing I have a great relationship with her already. It is sad to say good-bye to such a great semester. 

This quote reminded me to keep what I have learned this semester in mind for future experiences. Hope it does the same for all of you fellow readers! :) “Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting.” 

― J.M. Barrie 

Science In my Clinical Setting

What have you noticed about science instruction and assessment in your setting? When does it take place? Does it take place? Think critically. What does it encompass? During science instruction, what does your CT do/ say? What do students do/ say? How do they respond? What are your opinions/ feelings about this? How does what you observe about science at this site connect with past clinical experiences/ early childhood theories/ and or science practices you have been learning about at ISU?

How does knowing this inform what you will do when teaching and assessing science (either this semester, next semester in student teaching, and/or next year)? What other additional reflections/ concerns/ questions/ musings do you have after spending these last few weeks on the site? Use your own experiences, especially those from your activity log for the last few weeks.

I haven’t seen any form of science in my clinical setting thus far. They do science on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I am not able to see it on Wednesdays. My CT told me however that she and another second grade class switch classes and one teacher teaches science and one teaches social studies on those days. I’m not exactly sure what lessons are actually done since I haven’t seen it yet. I would like to see science being taught so I have some idea of what to do for my future. Every Wednesday however they do watch some type of video whether it be social studies or science at 2:30 for a half hour. I have seen them watch one on dinosaurs, so that might have been part of their dinosaur unit that week. Last semester in my other clinical setting I didn’t see any science either. It was focused on writing and reading only.

I’m actually surprised the students only see science only once or twice a week. Science can be implemented through other subjects so I feel it should be done at least once a day. We have learned so much in our classes these last few semesters about how to integrate different subjects together. In my own classroom in the future I would have science implemented through various subjects at least once a day. I would plan for science to be put into my schedule so I could map out my day and not run out of time to do it. I feel like that is the problem with a lot of classrooms today that I have seen. The focus is put on reading and literacy skills more than any other subject, so other subjects get pushed aside.

In our TCH 276 science class this semester we get to go to another school every other Tuesday to observe our peers teach a science lesson and we get to participate with the students while the lessons are being taught. I’m glad we get to do this because it gives me a chance to see how it can be implemented in a second grade classroom. It’s nice seeing my peers and our professor teach science in a fun way. I like how I get the chance to do one science lesson at my clinical and then one at Cedar to get the extra experience.

I have a feeling the science is very worksheet based at my clinical setting because that is how the social studies is there, which I don’t see much of either. I’m not saying this is all my CT’s fault by any means, because I do feel it has a lot to do with the district and school itself. I would however like to see it someday in my clinical setting, so if not this semester I hope I see it much more in my student teaching semester. I want to be fully prepared on how to teach various subjects for when I have my own classroom someday.

Last Wednesday however I get to see a science lesson done by someone that came into the classroom. They were going around the school teaching about nutrition. The person that came in read a few books with the students and talked about ways to become healthier. Then they did this science experiment to show how much fat is in milk. The students loved it and I enjoyed watching it also. That same day I got to teach my science lesson on clouds. I posted about that lesson last week on my blog. I had fun with the students while we learned about the types of clouds. To introduce the lesson I made rain in a glass jar. The students in my CT's classroom loved it. I wish I had enough materials for all the students to be able to do it, but it was just to activate their previous knowledge.

This is like the experiment the students did with the woman that came in to teach about nutrition. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nojcOLaZWc0 

Science Lesson

Today I did my science lesson in my clinical setting. It was on the types of clouds and the characteristics of those clouds. It went great and the kids loved it! Here are some pictures I took during the activity portion of my lesson.











I got my ideas from these two blogs:  

·         http://simplysecondgrade.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-water-cycle-clouds.html

·         http://www.thefirstgradeparade.blogspot.com/2011/10/cloudy-and-50th-day.html

TI also did the demonstration of the cloud with shaving cream and the food coloring making rain. It was super fun and the students loved it! Enjoy :)

1st Lesson In Clinical

This is a reflection of a lesson I recently implemented in my second grade clinical classroom. It was a social studies lesson. I wanted to share my experience with my fellow bloggers so we all can learn from each other.

Social Studies Post Reflection

           

Going into this experience I was very nervous. I was nervous for writing the lesson correctly and for implementing it to my clinical classroom. My CT and I talked a few weeks before my lesson regarding what they have been talking about and what chapter they will be on in their social studies book the week I do my lesson. The lesson topic was on goods, businesses, and consumers.

I started off by looking at the standards and deciding which standard would correspond with the topic I was teaching. I was then able to come up with my objective for the lesson. The final objective I used was: students will be able to sort businesses in our community based on the types of goods that are sold there and will then be able to write about their own business using vocabulary words in the correct way. I decided on this objective based off the activities I wanted to complete during my lesson. Those activities included a sort of businesses around our community and a writing activity where they come up with their own business. After I planned for the activity I decided which informal and formal assessments I wanted to use during the lesson. I decided on turn and talks, responses by raising their hands, and a checklist at the end of the lesson. The day of the lesson I taught the students an attention getter I wanted to use during my lesson. We practiced it earlier in the day and they did great using it during the lesson. I used the, “Holy Moly, Guacamole,” attention getter. The students were so excited every time I used this.

I started off my lesson by bringing in real objects from home to get the students’ attention. I wanted the students to make the connection that all these objects are considered goods. I felt this went really well. The students started off engaged right from the bat, from what I noticed. I then linked their reading from their social studies book to access their previous knowledge. I had the students turn and talk about what they read about, the transportation of goods and the goods the book talked about. I felt they did a great job turning and talking with a neighbor without any problems. I was kind of afraid of how this will go without assigning partners, but it turned out great in my opinion. As we continued through the lesson of going over new vocabulary of what a business is, what a consumer is, and what a good is, I used student friendly language. We did another turn and talk about businesses, which also went smoothly. I noticed I forgot to mention the purpose of why I was teaching these things and why the students needed to learn this topic. I noticed that fact after my lesson was already over.

As the activity continued I used a variety of instructional strategies and materials to keep the children engaged. During the sorting activity I liked how interested the students were in the business they got on their card. My CT gave me the idea to sort the cards in the pocket chart rather than taping them on the Smart Board because it made it easier for the students to do that. It worked out really well and the students stayed engaged when they talked about their business and put it into the correct category in the pocket chart. I liked this activity with the students because I felt they enjoyed it and were getting the content. I do however wish I had the students explain why they put their business into a certain category instead of me, as the teacher, explaining it to the other students.

I then transitioned the students to the ending activity by modeling on the Smart Board what they would be doing at their desks. Instead of coming up with my own business I used one of the businesses we used during the sorting activity. I’m not positive if the modeling helped the students or not for preparing them for the activity. I was trying to demonstrate how to use the vocabulary when writing because I encouraged the students to use the three new words we discussed during the activity when they were writing about their business. I transitioned the students by rows so it wasn’t chaotic and too loud. Once they got to their desks I had writing and drawing paper waiting for them, so I didn’t have to take up more time passing papers out. That shows how prepared I was when it came to the lesson. I also had the vocabulary words written on the board for the students to reference. I do wish however I had some sort of prompt at the top of the writing paper showing how to use the vocabulary words and make it known it is required to use them. As the students wrote and drew their pictures I walked around and answered any questions that the students had and I started my checklist. My checklist was determining if the students used the vocabulary words in the correct ways. I’m not sure if I chose the best summative assessment tool for this activity because it was hard to get around to every student and determine if they used the vocabulary correctly or not. I did however collect the papers and a lot of students did a great job of using the words. At one point during the writing activity, two of the students came in late because of their RTI groups. I immediately walked over to those students and explained what we were doing and what the words meant. I tried my best for not knowing when they were coming in, but I felt I did a good job with that.  

Overall, I feel my lesson went well. I think using the turn and talks was a great way for me to see which students knew what. I felt I was trying my best to hear various conversations and answers. I also think I had a great presence and enthusiasm with the students, which made them feel excited on their end. I tried managing behavior problems the best way I know how and I think the students did a great job of listening to me when I told them to stop doing something. There is always room for improvements and I can see that now that I have completed this lesson. I took ownership of my mistakes, but I am still learning. In the future I know now that I should have planned notecards with little phrases to remind me to include or say something important. I also should make sure the students understand the main focus of the activity because I was constantly unsure if all the students understood everything. I also want to get more practice with using assessments so I know how and when to use them during a lesson. I do think that the majority of the class met the objective through the activities.  

Social Studies in my Clinical Classroom

Blog post 3 for Clinical:

At this point in the semester, you have been learning the components and importance of social studies in ECE in TCH 277. Additionally, you have considered when and how you will conduct your social studies lesson in your clinical classroom and may have observed social studies practices there. Draw on this knowledge and these experiences in this discussion. 
What have you noticed about social studies instruction and assessment in your setting?

·         When does it take place? Does it take place? Think critically.

·         What does it encompass?

·         During social studies instruction, what does your CT do/ say?

·         What do students do/ say? How do they respond?

·         What are your opinions/ feelings about this?

·         How does what you observe about social studies at this site connect with past clinical experiences/ early childhood theories/ and or social studies practices you have been learning about at ISU?

·         How does knowing this inform what you will do when teaching and assessing social studies (either this semester, next semester in student teaching, and/or next year)?
What other additional reflections/ concerns/ questions/ musings do you have after spending these last few weeks on the site? Use your own experiences, especially those from your activity log for the last few weeks.

Social Studies in my Clinical Setting

I have not personally seen a lot of social studies on Wednesdays in my clinical classroom. On the schedule up on the board it says social studies takes place after lunch and math around 2:00. Sometimes my CT doesn’t exactly get to it because of other activities and that is why I haven’t seen it as much I think. The unit they have been covering the past few weeks is biographies. One Wednesday she did a read aloud with a biography on Susan B. Anthony. She actually had me Google what the B. stands for in her name because the students were curious what it meant. After she did her read aloud she asked the students a few questions about Susan’s life. The students then went back to their desks and pulled out a packet that was titled “Biographies Packet.” Inside the packet I saw there were several pages and each page had a different name on it with an activity to complete. The students then turned to the page that had Susan B. Anthony’s name on it and completed the activity on the page. From what I remember the students drew a picture that described a part of her biography and then wrote a few sentences about it. The students only had a few minutes to work on the packet before my CT moved on with another lesson.

My CT told me that usually social studies consists of them reading a chapter from their social studies book together as a class or as a read aloud and then a worksheet is completed. I got the feeling there is not a lot of discussion or hands on activities going on during their social studies time. She also said they don’t always have the time to complete a social studies lesson during their day.  This makes me sad because I believe social studies is really important in any grade. It can be incorporated into other subjects as well if time is the issue. It just takes preparation and planning. I would love to see a workshop model one day, just like we discuss about in class. That is why I am looking forward to doing my social studies lesson this week because the students will get to see a different, more hands on version of social studies than what they are used to.

This semester is actually better than last semester with social studies because I literally saw none in my last clinical setting. The students weren’t exposed to any form of social studies when I was there which was sad to see because those students were so eager to learn new things. From what I have learned over the past few semesters is that teachers should be changing their activities in any subject from worksheet based to hands on based activities. I know my CT does other hands on activities in other subjects, but when it comes to social studies I don’t think she is quite there yet. I also haven’t seen any form of assessment for social studies or heard of any that she does. The students’ biographies packet could be her form of assessment after she collects them, but I am not sure.

After seeing social studies a few times this semester and learning about it through 277 I feel I have a good idea on how I want to teach it. When I have the ability to choose how I want to teach it I would like to do a combination of using the students’ textbook and a workshop model. I want the students to learn about various things in social studies through hands on fun activities that will make the information stick with them. As for now when I teach this semester and in my student teaching experience I will use a combined method of my CT’s preferences and my own preferences. When I teach I will try to push more towards a workshop model but there is only so much I can do in another teacher’s classroom. I’m just glad the students are being exposed to social studies this semester, even if it is only sometimes.

I’m actually having a great time overall and really enjoying getting to know these students one week at a time! I love second grade and hope to teach it one day when I have my own classroom. 

I found this quote to inspire me as a teacher. I believe teachers who make the environment hands on and have a collaboration of student ideas and teacher ideas will be able to make this quote come true. I hope fellow bloggers out there enjoy :)

Hello Bloggers! These are my three new workjobs that

I created for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade. I included a pictures, directions, materials, and an overall explanation of the workjobs. :) 

This is a second grade geography workjob called landforms and water bodies puzzle that I created. It includes pictures of landforms and water bodies with the name of each one and description. The student has to connect the three like a puzzle to make sure it is correct. There is an answer booklet for students to self check their work. All the pieces are laminated and kept in a snap lock container. Could be done when child is finished with work early or in centers. Could be accommodated for children by having them just match the picture and the name of it without the description, if they haven't learned all about them yet. 

This is a 1st grade civics and government workjob that I created. It is called Responsible vs Irresponsible Citizen. The student correctly places the good or bad acts into the correct basket it belongs to. There is one basket for a responsible citizen and one for an irresponsible. The student can check their answers on the back of the file folder where the materials are held. All the materials are laminated and the directions are on the front of the folder. It can be done in a center or when students finish their work early.

This is a 3rd grade history workjob that I created. It is called Inventors and Inventions memory game. The students spread the cards out and flip one inventor and one invention over when it is their turn. If the pair matches then they get to keep the cards aside. The game continues until the cards are all gone. Students check their answer in the answer booklet. All materials are kept in a file folder and they are all laminated. It is a great game to do during centers or when students finish their work early. 

Hope this gives some great ideas to fellow teachers out there!

Literacy in My Clinical Setting

Blog Post 2

February 24, 2014

 Having spent two weeks in your clinical classroom, you have become acclimated with the literacy instruction in your setting. Draw on that knowledge in this discussion.
What have you noticed about literacy instruction and assessment in your setting? When does it take place? What does literacy instruction encompass? During literacy instruction, what does your CT do/ say? What do students do/ say? How do they respond? What are your opinions/ feelings about this? How does what you observe about literacy at this site connect with past clinical experiences/ early childhood theories/ and or literacy practices you have been learning about at ISU? How does knowing this inform what you will do when teaching and assessing literacy (either this semester, next semester in student teaching, and/or next year)? What other additional reflections/ concerns/ questions/ musings do you have after spending these last few weeks on the site? Use your own experiences, especially those from your activity log for the last few weeks.

Literacy in My Clinical Setting

The literacy block in Ms. McGraw’s classroom takes place in the morning. The students go to library after they arrive at school and then come back into the classroom around 10:15 a.m. Students then do snack and calendar when they get back. After the students are settled, my CT starts calling off names for the students to make their choices for daily 5. Lately, Ms. McGraw has been letting me call off the students’ names and write their choices on her name chart. I love doing this because it makes me feel more included in their day, as a teacher.

 The students can choose from buddy-reading, D.E.A.R., listening, word work, or writing. There are a few students who specifically have to do a phonics program on the computer, called Lexia, for at least one round of daily 5. My CT tells those specific students which round they are going to do that program. Those students were picked to do this program based on assessment she has previously done on their phonics skills. The students usually do three rounds of daily 5, for 20-25 minutes each round.

While the students are doing their daily 5 rounds Ms. McGraw usually pulls a small group of 5-7 students who are in need of additional help for various content areas. For example, if a few students are having trouble with fluency, she will ask specific students to meet her at the carpet during the first round of daily 5. The first day I saw two different small groups being taught. The first group she called over she had the students read a specific small story she gave to them, on their own. After the students had all finished, she brought them back together to talk about the story. She asked questions to further their comprehension of the story. All the students participated in the discussion of the story. The second small group she called over she sat with the students on the carpet and handed each of them a different book from the first group. She first asked the students to do a picture walk of the book and what they think it will be about. Then the students each read one page out loud. As the students were reading, my CT sat and read along with them. If the student had trouble with a word she would ask them to go back to it later. Once the story was over she did a quick wrap up of it and asked the students a few questions about it. My CT had to guide a few of the students when their answers were heading in a different direction. After she met with the groups I asked her why she had the first group read the story on their own and then discuss, compared to the second group reading the story as a group. She said, based on previous assessments, the second group of students has lower reading levels and she wanted them to practice as a group. She said the first group of students have higher reading levels and don’t need practice on fluency. This made me think about differentiation. It is stressed so much in our classes on how important it is for teachers to do this and I felt my CT did this.

 While the small groups are being conducted, the other students are working independently with the choice they made for that round. If they chose buddy-reading they are out in the hall, so the inside of the classroom is a quiet working environment. From what I have witnessed all the students do a really great job with working hard during this time, independently. I think this is a great system for literacy instruction. The students are able to work on reading skills and writing skills all in one day. I do believe a separate reading and writing workshop would be better for the students, but the second grade GLT decided that this would be best for their students and schedule.

Compared to last semester clinical, this is completely different. Last semester I saw little to none literacy being done in the kindergarten classroom I was placed in. Yes, it would have been a little differently set up for kindergarten compared to second grade, but there wasn’t much literacy instruction at all. What I mostly saw was students tracing their letters and learning how to write their full name. Sometimes during center time I would see some students go around the room and write words they see. This was something the students decided to do on their own, which I thought was great and showed how much they wanted to learn more. When I was there I was asked to do read-alouds to the class. The students seemed to really enjoy this and I did also.

Last semester I learned about different literacy practices a teacher could do in the classroom, and daily 5 was one of them. I have watched videos and read articles about the pros and cons of daily 5 and I am looking forward to seeing it every Wednesday in clinical. My CT also does mini lessons she calls, Interactive Notebooks pages, but I have yet to see this so I am interested to see how this goes. I think if daily 5 is done correctly and efficiently, then it can be great way for children to grow and learn their literacy skills. I feel seeing literacy done in this way will give me a better idea for my future of how I want to teach it.

Combining what I see and what I have learned in my classes through ISU will help me determine my literacy block in my own classroom. I am hoping to see another form of a literacy block in my student teaching setting, so I can learn from that experience in a different way. I am looking forward to seeing the types of assessment my CT uses this semester for literacy and in student teaching. I know there are so many ways to assess literacy, so I want to be able to see and experience it before I get my own classroom one day. I wouldn’t be opposed to doing daily 5 in my future classroom, but it could also depend on this district I get a job in and how they do their literacy block or if I have freedom to choose my own way. I am looking forward to seeing more literacy done in my clinical and in the future in student teaching. Some musings I still have about the literacy block would be what type of assessments she uses and when she uses them. We have talked about other forms of assessment she uses through the district, but I am looking forward to seeing her own uses of assessment for literacy practice. One additional reflection I have would be her classroom management. I feel she set up a good way to keep her class managed and that is why daily 5 runs smoothly. Students know what to do and when without problems being started between students and the teacher. It would have been interesting to see how she did this in the beginning of the year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esGZVXdwLJc

This is a link to an example of daily 5 done in a second grade classroom. It is not exactly the same as my CT's, but it is similar and will give you a better idea of how daily 5 works.