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__**Melissa's Blog**__ 1/6/12 week one I cannot believe that my first week as a student teacher is over already! So much happened this week and I am even more excited for the next seven weeks. I am very lucky to be in such an amazing school, with an amazing cooperating teacher and amazing class of students. I have already had a lot of opportunities to work with various grade and skill levels. I am in a first grade classroom with 16 students. The uniqe thing about our classroom is that we share it with the second grade class. Its a huge room divided in half by tall cabinets. While at times it gets a bit noisy, both teachers are flexible and it seems to work well. The school places a large emphasis on reading and math and use a 6 day curriculum. This week I worked with the lowest level DI group in both math and reading. After a whole class lesson, the students split into three groups based on their ability levels. In reading my group spent a lot of time going over spelling words, high frequency words, and reading their decodable reader. There is one student in this group who has a difficult time calming down and focusing long enough to do any work, which is pretty frustrating. On Friday however, we had a GREAT reading group and got through everything without any major struggles. I was SO excited. On Friday I also taught a handwriting lesson. The students were working on writing the letter S, and in reading they had been learning about s-blends all week, so we wrote silly sentences containing a lot of s-blend words. Another really neat thing is that I get to lead the 3rd grade middle comprehension focus group every morning. ‍My group has 13 kids, 3 of whom have behavior plans. This week we are working on venn diagrams comparing and contrasting a book to its movie version. Next week I will also start working with a third grader one-on-one for an hour a week to help get them ready for the PSSAs. next week I will be teaching three whole class reading lessons, and handwriting, as well as continuing my work with the lower DI group. Can't wait to see whats thrown my way next!!!!  ‍

1-13-12 Well, this week proved to be pretty interesting. As I went through the week I got more of a feel for the teacher and her behavior management techniques and how she interacts with the students. Prior to coming to Phillips this year she worked at some pretty rough school's where behavior management was a constant task. She was really used to dealing with some kids with horrible home life's and behavior issues and I am not sure she has switched off that negative attitude about it, she constantly brings up her old school. I think because of this, even though our school and the students are much better, she has little patience with students behavior. There are some periods or days that I feel she is constantly yelling or barking out directions at the students. She is not consistent at all with her award/classroom management plan which makes it confusing for the students. For example last week she used color cards and moved the cards to various colors if they were behaving inappropriately. This week she told the students that at the end of the week she and I would decide who had worked hard and followed directions all week and deserved a prize. She picked 3 students to not receive prizes, but ended up giving in to them when they got upset, completely erasing any sense of structure. She will occasionally give out stickers when she see's good behavior but it is very sporadic with no real consistency. I think that a lot of the time students acting out is because of the classroom environment and the long periods of time they have to sit in their desks. Unfortunately it is not the best set up of a classroom because of the room being split in half, but the teacher has done her best to make the most of it. I really want to work out a management plan to use while I am teaching.

On Wednesday I started teaching whole group reading. I was a bit nervous at first because I wanted to make sure I really taught the material within the time frame and kept the students interested. The theme for the week was Shadows, which we will continue next week. We worked on Spelling words with the consonant diagraphs ch, tch, and wh. We did some fun word building and sentence writing. We read several selections about shadows and talked about Authors using main ideas and details. The students and I make several charts and graphs during the week about shadows, what they learned about shadows, etc. I thought the lessons went pretty well. I am still trying to find ways to make the 60 minute long reading periods more engaging to the students because first graders just can't sit still for that long! I also continued working with the lower DI group in reading and math. On Tuesday the students took several tests and I worked closely with those students during tested to make sure they understood the directions. One of our little girls is really struggling in reading, she gets letters confused and isn't recognizing sight words as well as she should be. I plan to continue working with her. In math we are starting the unit on money which is a lot of fun. The kids are catching on really quickly and have been excited about the money grab game we've been playing. In my focus group we are still finishing the movie stone fox. I am feeling really lucky to be in this school. All of the teachers and staff and the principle are so great. It is a truly supportive community. Because there are 10 interns in the school they like to get us really involved, helping with various things. We had a great meeting with the principle where he talked to us about the importance of really getting to know the students. He told us that making a connection is as important as teaching the material. He gave us an assignment to create a classroom management plan. We are also going to be working with a third grader for an hour a week to prepare them for the PSSA's. Overall it was a really great week!

1-20-12 So much happened this week that I am not sure where to begin. It had been a long weekend so Tuesday was simply a crazy day, there is no other way to put it. First thing in the morning on Tuesday I had two little girls crying. One's uncle had been put in jail and the other's Mom had just told her she was going away for two years. How do you respond to first graders dealing with such heavy situations other then to just give them hugs. Throughout the day those two students would come over to me and we would step out into the hallway to talk about the situations and brain storm ways to feel better and deal with the situation. On top of that, all of the students were in rare form and did not want to stop moving, talking, and getting out of their seats. D, the student with a lot of behaviors, was even more out of control then usual and unfortunately I had to spend a lot of time attempting to calm him down when I should have been teaching. This was also my first day being observed. Not a great way to start the week, however my reading lesson that day went pretty well. I still need to find ways to get the kids more engaged the whole way through and work on classroom management. From there the week got progressively better with only a few small bumps in the road along the way. I continued to teach reading on Tuesday and Wednesday and my cooperating teacher continually told me I was doing a great job. My lessons flowed, the kids were engaged and excited to learn. I also started a project the will be worked on in the next few weeks. Two of the robust vocabulary words of the week were outline and observe. My kids love vocabulary so I thought it would be fun to expand on that. On Wednesday I had the students outline each other on huge pieces of paper. Later in the week on Friday we did a fun activity with the word observe. The students took turns being "statues" and "observers". The observers would observe a statue and write one thing about them, when I rung a bell, the observer moved on to the next statue. We did this until everyone had been observed and then the students switched rolls. They had a great time with this and I had an even better time attempting to decode the spelling and make corrections for the next step of our project. Later that day the students also had an opportunity to cut out their person. Next week we will continue that project. Math was a struggle for me this week. We had several students that needed to re-take a test and my teacher had me work with them while she taught some of the other students. I had 5 students retaking this test, in the same room that she was teaching in. All of the students needed my almost constant attention, they were distracted, they were tired, they were antsy, it was a long hour. D of course was doing everything in his power to distract the other students and me, eventually I moved him to a separate table and told him I would help him when he was truly ready to work. I finished the test with the other students and then went to help him. We got through three questions in 20 minutes and I was near tears I was so frustrated. This little kid is so smart, he knows all the answers, he just refuses to do it sometimes. He is starved for attention and doesn't care if it is positive or negative. It breaks my heart. other than his behaviors, the rest of the week went really well.

In my focus group with my third graders we finally finished the movie and were ready to talk about it. This also proved to be more of a challenge then I was expecting. Put thirteen students and teacher, in a tiny teachers lounge with a huge table and not enough seats for thirty minutes and that is our focus group. The behavior from various students was constant, we barely got through any work. The next day I went in with a plan. I typed out my expectations for the class and talked them over with the students. I then explained a new system; If at the end of each group they followed all expectation they got a sticker next to their name. At the end of the week if they had three or more stickers they get a raffle ticket to put their name on. I will draw three names each week. The students thought this was a great idea and it helped most of the behavior. There were still a few students I wasn't reaching so I talked to the teacher on Friday and she gave me some suggestions I am going to try next week.

I am really excited for next week and the reading lessons I have planned for the kids, I think they will really enjoy them!

1-28-12 This week was a really great week. I had such a great time planning lessons for reading, and was even more excited when the lessons worked out REALLY well! On monday we started our theme about Families. The kids were really excited to share with me all about their families. For our morning message I incorporated one of the math skills into the reading theme. I wrote a word problem on the board "I have 5 girls in my family. I have 5 boys in my family. How many people in all?" I asked the students to solve my problem, and write one of their own. It was a great exercise to introduce the theme and kick off the day. On Tuesday we had a Bullying awareness day at school. For the past few weeks all of the students made no-bullying posters at home. Today, we announced the winners for each grade level and had them hung up all over the school. The students had also each made pins with their art teacher and Pittsburgh Parks, which they wore. Pittsburgh Parks provided really great t-shirts for all of the kids to wear. Salts work Theater came in and put on a play all about what bullying is and how to stop bullying from happening. It was a great and exciting day at school. It also happened to be a day I was being observed. As I said earlier it was the start to a new theme and I think a great lesson. We worked on word building, robust vocabulary, and read a short play. I felt as though the students were engaged throughout the entire lesson and excited to learn more in the next few days. On Wednesday I taught my favorite lesson so far. Because the genre of the week was Plays, I made puppets to go along with our main story selection. I split the class in half, the first half each read a character, and the second half had a puppet for a character to act out the story. It went so well! The kids really paid attention and were able to answer all of my questions at the end of the story because they had been so engaged. Focus group with my third graders continues to be a struggle due to the time frame, and the tiny room we are in, as well as a few behavior problems. Some days I feel like I'm getting through to them, and other days we can't get anything done and I feel frustrated. It ended up being a short week because I got sick! I really love the class that I am in, and the support I get from all of the teachers at my school, especially as I continue to learn and grow as a teacher myself. Can't wait for next week!

2-4-12 This was a short week when it came to days the kids were actually being there. Monday and Tuesday were teacher in-service days. Monday was great because we had an entire day to write lesson plans and organize and clean the classroom. It was a MUCH needed day as we have a very small classroom that tends to get messy and crowded with papers. Tuesday was a day of professional development. During the morning we talked about lesson plans, assessment, and using vocabulary and accountable talk in subjects other than reading. These sessions were really great because It made me take a look at what I had been doing in my lessons. Some of the teachers also pointed out that the student teachers and interns have really great objectives that can really be seen, while a lot of teachers tend to get lazy in their objectives. During the afternoon we had a long session about RISE. RISE is a way of evaluating the teachers. This was a bit hard to sit through because I hadn't been through the previous training, however there was some good conversation about how to hold yourself accountable as a teacher. Unfortunately, I was sick again on Wednesday leaving me only two days with the kids. Thursday was my first day teaching math and I was incredibly nervous. I noticed that, because I am not confident in my own math skills, I am more anxious about teaching math whereas I jumped right into teaching reading. Once I got started we actually had a lot of fun with the lesson; the students are learning about tens and ones. We used cubes and drawings to help the students visualize what they were doing. This was nice because I knew the students were engaged. I also have found a new love for the Elmo when teaching math. I used it to do a few problems in the beginning of class. As I worked on the Elmo, the students worked at their seats. At the end of the lessons I called on a few students to come to the Elmo to show their work and explain their strategies. This was great and it was awesome to listen as the students asked each other questions and explained their strategies. I continued working on my special project of community helpers. The students started writing their final drafts of what community helper they wanted to be on nice paper. I can't wait for them to begin decorating their cut out person! I am still struggling with the little boy Daemont. He breaks my heart every week because I know he is so smart, but we can't seem to get him to pay attention long enough to do any work at all. He isn't failing, so he doesn't qualify for learning support, but I worry about him all the time. He's a very happy boy and can be quite adorable when he isn't being extremely frustrating! I am doing my best to stay positive about his situation. Next week we will begin wrapping up my special project!

2-11-12 This week, was a long week. It was an exciting, crazy, whirlwind kind of week. It was the kind of week where I laughed and cried and worked harder then I have ever worked. It was the kind of week that inspired me, and discouraged me. It was the kind of week that caused me to fall asleep as soon as I got home from school every single day. On Monday, I was at Greenway for a student teacher/intern seminar. The first speaker of the days name was Mr. Malcolm Thomas. He was an inspiration to me. He talked about his experience as a student and as a teacher. He gave us tips for staying motivated and energized. One quote in particular stuck with me, "Every child labeled or treated as bad is either misled, misfed, or misunderstood". I absolutely believe this to be true and I plan on hanging this quote above my desk for the rest of my life. He also told us to think of our favorite, most inspiring teacher, and be that person for every child. In the afternoon we heard from a panel of principals. While it was interesting to hear a variety of perspectives, it was also a bit depressing and discouraging. One phrase that was repeated multiple times was that we are killing our students. This presentation was followed up by an even more discouraging presentation about the equity gap by Viola Burgess. She told us that because we were white, we couldn't teach black children. On Tuesday and Wednesday, my cooperating teacher was sick so I was with a substitute. Luckily, by this time I was already teaching everything, so I continued to teach everything and the substitute was there to help. Tuesday went really well. The kids were on their best behavior and we got SO much work done. Math and reading were great and we got to spend a lot of time working on my special project. The students drew pictures of how they wanted their community helper to look so they would be ready to decorate them on Friday. Those who hadn't already, finished up their written piece on their community helper. I was exhilarated at the end of the day because it had gone so well and i had done it basically by myself. I went to bed feeling exhausted but happy and proud. Wednesday, did not go as well. It was just one of those days where the kids could not sit still or be quiet for the life of them. It was also a testing day, so I did my best to break up the testing with fun and engaging activities, thinking this might help...it did not. Needless to say, we survived the day, but I went hope and cried for a bit, and fell asleep. Friday was another amazing day. On Friday mornings, the students are in our classroom ALL morning. We took this opportunity to finish up the community project. We broke the students up into their three DI groups. I worked with one group at a time to decorate their community helpers, while Mrs. Briskin worked with the other groups on grammar, reading, and math skills. We continued switching groups until everyone was finished. I hung all of the people up in our room. It was amazing to see all of the hard work the students and I had done. I got a lot of compliments from the teachers in the building. Next week, we will continue talking about community helpers by taking a walk around our community and making maps of our state. I can't believe I only have two weeks left with my first graders!!!