Updates

I'm really enjoying my time student teaching! Sometimes I get exhausted or frustrated, but that's all a part of being a teacher. 

As of now, I'm teaching phonics, high frequency words, math (parallel), and language arts. After this next week, I'll be adding on Daily 5 guided reading/skills groups and possibly writers workshop. 

The more time I spend in someone else's classroom, the clearer my vision of my own classroom becomes. There are so so many things I love about how things operate in my class, but of course, I have my own unique style and tastes, so my class wouldn't run exactly the same. 

Some things I love: 

- Classroom management: I think Class Dojo is a brilliant system, and the techniques Mrs. H. uses to quiet the class are so great. 

- Daily 5: I can't imagine NOT using Daily 5. Though mine may not look exactly the same, it will probably be pretty close!

- Phonics with songs and poems: Yes. Yes yes. I can't even explain how valuable I think it is to have music in the classroom. Which brings me to..

Some things I'd tweak:

- Music, art, and hands-on engagement: though I see glimpses of these things each week, I just truly hope my future administration will allow me to include all of these on a daily basis. The curriculum books are so strict and scripted that, at this school, it's not really possible. But they're in 1st grade..!

- Fewer worksheets: Worksheets are a quick and easy way to have kids practice skills in any subject...but are they really effective? I estimate that our kids do 5 worksheets a day, with 1-3 for homework. That's..a lot. Wouldn't they learn grammar rules or spelling words or math concepts more quickly (and remember them more easily) with a song, an experiment, or through physical activity? 

- Authenticity: Maybe I'm still in that college-aged, teacher-in-training, head-in-the-clouds mindset. Maybe there simply isn't the time for schools to make room for authentic teaching that introduces kids to cultural, ethical, and human rights concepts. But, there needs to be time. For MLKJ day, we did a read aloud about Dr. King. I couldn't help but think how important that subject matter was. We could've done stations or explorations to learn more and truly understand how important he was to the history of our country. No time. 

 I hope that, in the future, school boards and educational policy makers will understand how much truly important material is getting pushed out of the school day to "improve test scores." Teaching is about people. KIDS. Let's focus on making them into great ADULTS with rich understandings of our world. That's what school is there for...right?

- E

Phabulous Phonics!

Today was a great day. I taught four "subjects" - which made me feel like a real teacher! It was great.

I started the morning off with phonics. We learned about -y words, such as sky and try and fishy and swishy. We did jumping jacks to practice our high frequency words and practiced our -y rule with a worksheet. I got the opportunity to work with small groups during Daily Five to work on skills such as ABC order, syllable-segmenting, and long/short vowel sounds. As usual, I parallel taught math. It was fun to show kids the meaning of equivalence using a pan scale!

The day went by pretty quickly. And no train wrecks! That's always a blessing :)

Can't wait to continue with this journey and add on language arts next week!

- Miss Turner :)

Art!

Today, I had the fabulous opportunity to help out with art club. This is a special club for fifth-graders who love art! I had a great time and they were very self-sufficient. Much different than those needy first-graders! :-) I also taught my second math lesson today. I already feel more comfortable with it and the kids seem to be responding pretty well to my teaching.I am excited to begin teaching phonics next week, and to start working with small groups of students on basic literacy skills and phonics. Teaching is pretty exhausting! I'm only a few days and I'm already beginning to understand just how much work it is to be a teacher. Can't wait to continue on this great journey.

Week 2 begins!

Today I taught my first lesson! For math, my sup. teacher and I are doing a parallel teaching format, so we each teach the same lesson to one half of the class. We learned about using a function machine and applying rules to find inputs/outputs (yes...this is first grade!!) Overall, I think it went well. I tend to get a little frazzled at times, but I did a pretty good job being clear and doing lots of modeling before releasing responsibility. I will be grading my group's independent work tonight to see how well they understood the content!

I am starting to really get into the swing of things and I'm excited to tackle even more lessons and duties!

- E T

Ready...Set...Go!

Hello! I'm now officially two days into my student teaching experience. (That's two down, seventy-eight to go!)

Though I've really just been observing so far, I'm already starting to enjoy it and feel at home at CWE. I love so many things about the class. The students are really smart and, for the most part, well-behaved. The day is structured in a really organized way and it flows very nicely. I really like how my teacher sets up Daily Five and Math rotations. And...we get to do fun brain breaks! (Brain breaks are my favorite time of day. I mean, Koo Koo Kangaroo?! It's the best.)

I am excited to start teaching! I have a lot of ideas, which I hope I can somehow incorporate into the highly scripted and structured atmosphere. My teacher and I met with my university supervisor today to discuss the basics and schedule observations. Really, I'm raring to go! I am very nervous about classroom management, as I probably always (?) will be. But it's something I really wanna work on and I'm excited to get started.

Also, we had a two hour delay today...and we have one tomorrow! Yay for sleeping in.

I'll post again when something exciting happens ;)

- E

Ready...

The countdown begins! Two weeks until I officially begin my student teaching placement, and the gears are already turning.

This past week, I had the chance to meet with my supervising teacher as well as my university supervisor. These meetings helped me to understand (at least a little better) what to expect over the course of my 16-week placement. Even so, it's hard for me to picture all of the details! I'm sure that being in the classroom and seeing how things work will help. Also, I feel confident that both of my supervisors have my best interests at heart and will be willing to be flexible and offer helpful advice.

Some things I am excited about:

• Being in a classroom full time! - I know from past experience that it's totally exhausting...but fun! Being around kids is something I always enjoy.
• Getting to know the students! - I know from the first week of school that this is a fun group of kids! Can't wait to get to know them even more.
• Trying my hand at, well, y'know, teaching. - Of course I've taught lessons before, and of course I've been around kids A LOT in the past few years. But, other than a few times substitute teaching, I've never really gone solo. 
• Wearing lipstick... - Yes, this is silly! But I think it will be fun to step into a professional role and dress like a real grown-up every day. (I do, however, have a feeling that this will get old fast and I will be dying to throw on sweatpants after like two days.)

Some things I am nervous about:

• Using curriculum books. - I've been warned over and over again that, in many districts, teachers are expected to follow curriculum books very religiously. I just somehow never really expected to wind up relying on them! It sounds like I will have to do either all or most of my lessons from these books. I'm the kind of teacher who loves to use art, music, and drama in the classroom....soo how am I gunna make this work?
• Being evaluated. - Mr. M, my supervisor, is incredibly sweet, it seems. Even so, I am horrible at taking criticism...I know it's important to learn and grow, but I don't wanna cry in public!
• Co-teaching - This is a new approach that IU wants us to try this year. I don't know how I feel about it...Will my sup. teacher be okay with it? Will we work it out so I get plenty of solo time, yet I'm not completely abandoned? Halp.
• Fitting in. - I know this is lame to say, but I worry about how I'll fit in with the school environment. Will the other teachers like me? Will the principal view me as someone who shows promise? Will I have cool stories to tell at the lunch table? Sigh.

Some goals I have:

• Be a classroom management rock star! - Classroom management stresses me out. In the past, my students have never really viewed me as a real teacher, and I've never really delivered any consequences. This has to change! I really want to improve my management skills.
• Make great connections - This is why I'm student teaching in this area. I want to impress some people!
• Tailor instruction to students' needs - This is so, so important, and I've never really gotten the chance to do it before.

Two weeks! Time to start reading all those manuals and prepping for this big adventure!

- Ellen

Practicum Teaching Update

I can't believe it's already been about 2 and a half months since I did my first week of school field experience with my student teaching class!

I'm currently working 9 hours a week in my final practicum placement. This class is also...1st grade! I'm going to have a full year of firsties! And I love it :)

The class I'm in right now is a truly wonderful group of kids. It's fascinating to see how differently things run in this classroom, as compared to my student teaching placement. Both teachers are absolutely fabulous in their own ways, and it's great to learn from expert teachers with varying strategies, philosophies, and management styles.

As my time as a college student dwindles down, (only 8 more weeks...!) I have to reflect on all the amazing experiences I have had over the past 4 years, both personal and professional. I have certainly had my ups and downs. And it hasn't been easy. But that just makes me even more proud of myself for surviving college and leaving with lifelong friends, a wealth of knowledge, and millions of memories. I know I will always look back on my time at IU as a great learning experience, and I will use the knowledge I gained to be the best teacher I can be.

Cheers to the next 8 weeks, and whatever the future holds after that!

- Ellen