Jump to Date
- Days 1 and 2 (2/14/19 and 2/15/19)
- Day 3 (2/21/19)
- Day 4 (2/22/19)
- Days 5 and 6 (2/28/19 and 3/1/19)
- Days 7 and 8 (3/7/19 and 3/8/19)
- Days 9 and 10 (3/14/19 and 3/15/19)
- Days 11 and 12 (3/28/19 and 3/29/19)
- Days 13 and 14 (4/4/19 and 4/5/19)
- Days 15, 16, and 17 (4/11/19, 4/12/19, and 4/18/19)
- Days 18-27 (4/29/19-5/10/19)
Days 1 and 2 (2/14/19 and 2/15/19)
I cannot believe this week was my first week! I am so excited to work with all of my co-ops and my practicum partner, and I’m ready for the challenges (and hopefully successes) that will come with my time here.
On both Thursday and Friday, the students worked on their PARCC writing assignment on their laptops. The prompt asked the students to read two articles on Harriet Tubman, and compare and contrast the articles. I found the students struggled with two things: one was the language barrier. While working with some students, I had asked them to read some passages aloud. Although it took awhile, the students got through the passage, doing their best to sound out unfamiliar words. However, as I asked follow-up questions, it was evident that the students weren’t completely grasping the concepts.
The second barrier was utilizing the laptops. The students have no formal time allotted in their day to practice their typing skills, so the typing pace wasn’t the fastest. I wonder if the students would have performed better had they been writing… Understandably, the students do need the time to become comfortable with typing for the actual PARCC test.
Myself and my practicum partner did have the opportunity to work in-depth with the students on Friday. I had the chance to work one-on-one with a students who was absent. I had to think of ways to rephrase questions so that my student would understand them, however I also made sure I was consistently praising him. I can only imagine how frustrating school must get at times for these students, when they are trying their hardest but are still unable to grasp concepts due to a language barrier.
Over the next few weeks, I’m unsure when I will see my students due to mandated testing. However, my practicum partner and I are slated to teach our All About Me lesson on 2/21 – hoping this will help our students get to know us!
Day 3 (2/21/19)
Today, my practicum partner and I had the opportunity to teach our All About Me Lesson. We introduced the lesson with the book, All About Me, by Melanie and Chris Rice. As my practicum partner and I decided to write about our pets, we felt it was appropriate to only read the “My Pets” section of the book. Afterwards, my practicum partner and I each read our All About Me books.
Next, we transitioned into our craft, which involved the students to trace their hands and write their favorite hobby, season, animal, book, and color. Once the students were finished, we asked the students to define the words “compare” and “contrast”. Once defined, we put the students into small groups and gave them back their hands to have them discuss the similarities between their favorites and their peers’ favorites, and each group shared one thing with the entire class.
Our co-op was overall very pleased with our lesson. Her one suggestion was to reconsider the level of our vocabulary both in our books and while talking, as it is easy for bilingual students to misunderstand common English slang. My practicum partner and I taped all of the hands up in the classroom as shown below!
Day 4 (2/22/19)
Today, my practicum partner and I taught our Anti-Bullying lesson! We used the book Bully by Laura Vaccaro Seeger for its limited use of text. Seeger does the majority of her storytelling through her illustrations, which we felt would help to engage our bilingual students. My practicum partner and I felt the students would be more comfortable making inferences through visuals rather than through text.
In order to emphasize these illustrations, we read through Bully twice: once to look at the illustrations, and again with reading the text. After reading the text, we had the class fill out two charts, entitled “Bullying Behaviors” and “How Bullying Makes Someone Feel”. To help the students fill these out, we referred to the illustrations in Bully to review the key concepts. Check out the chart below!
Additionally, my practicum partner and I had the opportunity to teach all day, as we knew our co-op was going to be absent. For both classes, we had to read an article and take notes on the main points for the students. Attached are the notes I took, as well as two visuals that I made to help the students grasp the concepts! Although today was a tiring day, it was great to jump in and get this experience.
Days 5 and 6 (2/28/19 and 3/1/19)
Thursday was a fairly uneventful day, as I was unable to see my students due to a scheduled state-mandated tested. That being said, I did have the opportunity to become acquainted with the copy machine!
Friday offered many more opportunities, as my practicum partner and I were able to plan a book and activity for Read Across America Day! However, plans had to be slightly readjusted due to the combination of a 2-hour delayed opening and continued testing, in which students were leaving and returning to the classroom throughout the day.
My practicum partner decided on the book, Pete the Cat: Rocking in my School Shoes. The video was projected for the entire class, then the students individually rewatched the video on their laptops, putting an emphasis on the order of events throughout the book. As a class, we created a “Beginning, Middle, and End” chart on poster paper. Afterwards, the chart was taken down and the students were asked to write a chart on their own utilizing the video as needed.
Checking the students’ notebooks did take much longer than anticipated. The student abilities varied, from those who were able to grasp a majority of the main points of the story, to those who included too many unnecessary details, to those we had to instruct to draw pictures that represented key points in the story. Additionally, one area in need of improvement is putting more thought into transitions. More time could have been saved had we planned when within the instruction the students would be getting and returning their headsets and laptops.
Throughout all of this, students were in and out of the classroom during testing, so a mental note had to be made of who was on what step. As students were finishing their charts, the craft was introduced. My practicum partner and I found this Pete the Cat headband craft from KidsSoup.com. We created a model for the class, and the students had a fun time putting their own twists on it. Check out some of their work below!
Next week will hopefully be back to normal. I am looking forward to running some stations during literature!
Days 7 and 8 (3/7/19 and 3/8/19)
Reflecting upon last week’s blog post, I should have been careful with my wording – when is a school day ever “normal” – or rather, when does it always go to plan? A teacher can always rely on there being something during the course of the day that does not go exactly to plan – whether it be assemblies, students being absent, technical difficulties… and so many others!
That being said, this week presented its challenges – on Thursday, due to an in-school professional development opportunity, my students had their special in the morning rather than in the afternoon. Although the morning prep time was appreciated, it was not expected! After specials, my practicum partner and I were able to run centers based on the folktale that the class was working on, The Harvest Birds.
On Friday, myself and my practicum partner unexpectedly took the reigns for the second half of the day (after learning what to do from my co-op during the first part of the day). My partner and I split work between reviewing spelling words in alphabetical order, reviewing vocabulary definitions, and monitoring independent work. Although a tad nerve-wracking, it was great to be able to get that experience.
Looking ahead to next week, my partner and I have already been informed that we will have to run the class for the entire day on Friday! Looking forward to engaging in another amazing learning opportunity!
Days 9 and 10 (3/14/19 and 3/15/19)
Thursday was used to prepare work for Friday – meaning a majority of the day was spent making copies, as my practicum partner and I were to administer The Harvest Birds assessments on Friday.
However, between making copies and a planned fire drill, I got to meet with the students to help them set goals for the following marking period, as well as identify things that they would like to improve (both academically and behaviorally).
For Friday, my practicum partner and I planned a Saint Patrick’s Day adjective cloud craft for the students to do after completing all of their exams!
In order to scaffold the craft for them, my practicum partner and I decided it would be best to create a class list of adjectives rather than having the students come up with seven adjectives on their own (after reviewing what an adjective is). The students really enjoyed the craft, and we gave the students the option to keep their clouds or have it hung up by our Community Tree!
I will miss my students next week due to TCNJ’s Spring Break, but I am looking forward to seeing them the week after!
Days 11 and 12 (3/28/19 and 3/29/19)
Although an uneventful week, it was awesome to see my students again! This week was primarily used to plan for the future (future lesson plans/observations, unit plans, and EdTPA!), as well as assisting my co-op in activities such as grading tests and creating anchor charts.
Next week, I will be teaching an interactive read-aloud to both groups, so I am excited yet eager to see how both go. I discussed some ways to differentiate for their academic levels with my co-op. I will be reading Abuela, by Arthur Dorros, which is a book that includes both english and spanish phrases. I hope my selection will engage the students!
Days 13 and 14 (4/4/19 and 4/5/19)
On April 5th, I had two opportunities to teach my interactive read-aloud of Abuela, by Arthur Dorros. In order to allow time for my practicum partner to teach her lesson, I only read the story, then introduced the accompanying activities later in the day.
For both groups, I began the read-aloud by introducing that the book included both English and Spanish phrases. I then used a picture walk as an opportunity to define any vocabulary words that the students may not have been familiar with. After defining my last word, I ended the picture walk and handed out seven little slips of paper to seven students. Each paper had a different vocabulary word and definition. These were used to remind students of the definition in context of the story. During the book, the students read their slips of paper as I announced each vocabulary word. Additionally, I asked questions that related to analyzing the characters and sequencing.
After I finished the book, I had originally planned on having the first group of students complete a Beginning, Middle, and End (BME) chart for the book, but I was only able to have them start the comic worksheet, which required the students to have a good grasp on the two main characters in order to make a prediction or an inference. Unfortunately, due to an assessment that the second group of students had to take, I was only able to read the book to them and was unable to complete any activities. I had intended on having this second group of students complete the BME chart, complete the comic, and analyze the vocabulary words in three rotating stations.
Overall, I believe my students responded well to my read-aloud. Mrs. Soles’ was intrigued by my usage of the vocabulary strips, as she wondered how the second group would interpret the sheets after she had watched the first group. She wondered if the vocabulary hindered the flow of the story more than helping the first group. As a student who is more comfortable with math or science tasks, I was very pleased with how the read-aloud went. I wish I had more time to complete the activities with the students on Friday, but hopefully I will have the opportunity to complete these tasks with my students at some point in the future!
Days 15, 16, and 17 (4/11/19, 4/12/19, and 4/18/19)
Due to PARCC testing, days 15 and 16 were pretty uneventful, as my practicum partner and I were legally not allowed in the classroom during testing. However, this gave the both of us an opportunity to work on lessons and units plans in preparation for our last two weeks at school!
For Day 17, we were asked by our co-op to create a fun, laid-back lesson for the students, as it would be the day after their testing had ended. My practicum partner and I created a lesson using the book The Panda, apart of the “Animal World” series.
The lesson consisted of reading certain parts of the book. Afterwards, specific vocabulary words were reviewed, and the students logged these words and their definitions into their notebooks. Next, we had planned to have the students reread the book via a document on Google Classroom, however, we unfortunately ran into a bit of technical difficulties that I believe we maneuvered around nicely. While this was being fixed, we had the students start their panda puzzle which was to be glued onto construction paper. Once the puzzle was completed, we had the students go back and reread the book and write three facts about pandas to accompany their panda puzzles. The students did a great job, and most opted to take their pandas home!
Some suggestions we received were to add more movement into our lesson, as the students were seated at the carpet or their desk for the entire activity. Additionally, it was suggested that we had prepared lined paper for the students to write on, as pencil is hard to see on construction paper. While we did a good job explaining and scaffolding the vocabulary, it was suggested that next time we include an additional vocabulary activity instead of only having the students copy the words into their notebooks.
Overall, I think we did a great job introducing the content. I think we did a great job adapting to our technical difficulty, as well as keeping the volume down as two students were making up certain PARCC sections in our classroom. Additionally, I believe that I was pretty mindful of the transitions that we had the students make, including passing out materials and having them obtain their laptops.
Looking forward to being full time when we return from the school’s spring break!
Days 18-27 (4/29/19-5/10/19)
WOW!! Where did the time go? These final two weeks of practicum went by very quickly, however I am so grateful for the entire experience.
Over the school’s spring break, I had the opportunity to take a step back and ensure that everything in the unit plan was ready to go, as well as my EDTPA materials. This unit plan on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Ruby Bridges can be found under Lesson Plans!
It was great to have the students back right after their spring break, however this was one of the first times they were receiving actual instruction in a good amount of time due to state-mandated testing! This being said, I had to reintroduce them to some concepts that they had not worked with in awhile.
A big challenge before the first week even started was finding time to complete EDTPA with one of the groups, as I had to decide which lessons of the unit plan could be cut while ensuring that this group would learn everything that was on my unit assessment. Additionally, the three EDTPA math lessons took longer than expected, so there was no additional time on those days to cover anything from the unit plan.
Aside from that, once I began teaching the unit, it was imperative to keep track of what each group had accomplished during each lesson (whether due to time restrictions or academic ability).
A few things that I felt I became more aware of throughout this teaching experience were:
- Providing homework on a nightly basis – and including this somewhere in my lesson plans
- Determining what work was to be done once students finished the assigned tasks early
- Transitions! Thinking ahead can save a ton of time, whether it’s passing out materials or obtaining/cleaning up laptops
At the conclusion of my two weeks, my co-op provided the following (paraphrased) wonderful advice regarding how to avoid burnout:
Teaching is a career. It is not your life, so be sure to find time for you, and that is how you will be able to stick with this profession for a long time. As a new teacher, determine what works best for you – coming in early in the morning, or staying late after school has ended. But don’t do both.
Burnout is something I am fearful of! But it was so relieving and refreshing to hear this advice from an experienced teacher, as I take it to heart.
The last piece of advice she left me with was when I asked her how to build a relationship with parents. She told me that at back to school night, she says the following to her parents:
“You were your child’s first teacher. Do not stop that now.”
Parent-student-teacher communication is extremely important, and while I did not get to experience that first hand (parent-teacher conferences were during my spring break), I did see the effects of it. My co-op was almost always aware of what was going on at home and maintained excellent communication with parents/guardians throughout my time at the school.
I am proud of how both groups of students responded to my teaching throughout the last few months and to my unit plan. Their involvement with the unit plan really opened new doors and allowed me to get to know them better as students. I will miss my students, and I wish nothing but the best for them in the future!
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