The End

Well I must say, this week has been a breeze compared to being full time. I will definitely rate this week a 5. Without the stress of so many lesson plans to write, I felt that I could really enjoy my time with my students. I know that my time with them is drawing to an end and it saddens me that I have to leave them, but I am so proud of how much all of them has grown throughout the year.

On Monday of this week I had the awesome experience of taking my students on a "field trip" to Honduras. We looked up plane tickets and everything! This related to the science unit I have been working on with my students for the past two weeks on landforms and Earth's features. This lesson helped me teach my students about diversity in the world (standard 2) as we looked at artifacts from Honduras and how they differed from what we have in the US. I was also able to use a variety of instructional materials (standard 4) in this unit. We traveled to a mountain peak in Honduras using Google Earth and my students were so excited to look at the different landforms around them. I have found throughout my experience student teaching that science is my favorite subject to teach and I know that there is a big possibility that it will not be on my schedule in my future classroom. Because of this, I have really tried to get better at integrating science and social studies into every subject and I am proud to say that I feel much more confident doing that now! (Standard 3)

Even though I feel experienced in the classroom, each week I gain new information and experiences as well. This week, that came in the form of proctoring practice EOG's. I demonstrated leadership in the classroom this week by helping proctor the tests (standard 1). There was a lot of data to evaluate throughout this process and since I have been the teacher for the past few months, I was responsible for my students' learning. I felt really accomplished after grading those mock EOG's and seeing student growth. They have come so far since their BOY tests. Looking at the data also allowed to me see where each student was still struggling and even though I am not teaching them in the upcoming weeks, it helped me and my CE prepare for how to best help each student. I was really able to reflect on student learning this week and how certain concepts I have taught have really stuck with students and which concepts I may need to revise before I teach them to my future students.

Overall, this week has been a good transition week for both me and my students. My long term goal of successfully completing full time student teaching has been accomplished. My next goal is to complete my portfolio. Going into next week, my first steps are to try to get as much as possible finished over the weekend. I have really been trying to get as much completed on my portfolio as possible and beginning next week, I hope I am able to spend more time working on my video because I know that is going to be a tedious task. My portfolio is slowly but surely coming together! My CE and I both feel that this has been a smooth transition and right now we do not need any support. I wish everyone the best of luck as you finish up your time in your classroom. Remember to cherish every moment because it will soon be over!

Wonderful Week Ten

Wow! I cannot believe that as I am writing this blog, I am finishing up my final week of full time student teaching. It has been such a crazy experience that at times seemed never ending but it is finally here. With this being my final full time week, I am happy to say that I can rate it a 5. I missed my students over spring break and we were all happy to be able to see each other and start learning together once again.

This week, my class has kicked off countdown to the EOGs. Since coming back from spring break, my CE and I have really been digging into the data from the whole year to see exactly what our students need. I must say that one pleasant surprise that came this week was looking back at all of my students' scores from the beginning of the year and seeing how much they have already grown. By reviewing all of this data, I am exhibiting standard 5 of the NCPTS. With this information, I have been making my lessons center around making sure my students have learned all of the information they need to feel confident when it comes time for the EOG. By making sure my lessons connect the standard course of study, I have been exhibiting standard 3.

In math this week, I introduced my students to using a calculator to help them find answers. It really surprised me that up until this point, my students hadn't ever really used a calculator so that in itself developed into a mini lesson in the middle of class! But students were very excited to learn that there was a portion of the EOG that they were allowed to use a calculator on and I think that helped to build their confidence. This has been a goal of mine since the very beginning. A large portion of my class struggles with feeling confident in themselves and their ability even though I am confident in them. Throughout the semester I have trying to create a safe, positive environment in the classroom where students can feel confident in themselves, but also not feel discouraged when they are not understanding. I am so happy to see the progress some of my students have made throughout the semester!

On Friday, third graders at WES got an awesome experience! We went on a field trip to Lone Mountain Farm where my students got the opportunity to learn about Native Americans. This was such a fun way for students to take in a social studies lesson and students enjoyed being able to get out of the classroom and they all learned so much about the history of the region we live in as well as a different culture.  I hope to take what all we have learned on this field trip and build upon it in the classroom next week. This field trip was a good change from just sitting inside the classroom and allowed me to use a different method for instruction (standard 4). Of course, being outside of the classroom also came with a lot of responsibility and leadership. I was in charge of a large group of students and it was my job to make sure that the environment was safe and orderly (standard 1).

In terms of portfolio work, I have begun organizing my videos and pictures to begin work on my video presentation since I know this will be very time consuming. I have also started talking with my CE about observations which will be coming up in the very near future. After looking through the rubric for the portfolio on Thursday, I know that it will be a lot of work, but I am also confident in being able to make it the best it can possibly be. Next week, I hope to be able to spend more time completing portions of the portfolio than I was able to spend this week but not being full time is going to give me that opportunity.

Overall, I feel that I have had a good week to end full time teaching on. I am at the point that I no longer apprehension and indecision impact my lessons. I know what to expect and am usually prepared for just about everything! With it being the end of my full time experience, I do not feel that there is any mental clutter to clear for next week. Currently, my CE and I do not need any additional support as we make the transition back in the classroom to her teaching full time. I hope everyone has a wonderful week next week. We are so close guys!! Keep pushing through!

March Madness

Well spring break is officially here and I couldn't be more excited! Overall, I'd have to rate this week a 4. My students were excited about getting a break so things were a little hectic, but overall, we had some really good experiences this week.

On Thursday, we had our PBIS reward which was a dance. My students have been looking forward to this all week and were really excited about it. Since it was PBIS sponsored, every student had to make a certain Dojo percentage in order to go. All but one of my students made their goal. My pleasant surprise from this week came when I saw how well he handled the news of not going. He really understood what prevented him from going and later told me that it was his goal to get to go to the last one at the end of the year. It really made me proud to see how much he has grown throughout the school year. The dance was also a really great opportunity to spend some time with my students just having fun. It really showed me some of the talents my students have that I didn't know about. In this way, I demonstrated standard 2: teachers treat students as individuals.

This week in reading, I tried to make my instruction relevant to my students by making it all about basketball and March Madness (Standard 3). We read stories on the history of basketball as well as different influential players. One thing I did with this was create a new classroom management strategy. What started out as just a fun part of my lesson turned into a way to help keep students on track throughout the crazy week. Students were in teams based on the way their desks are set up and I gave them each an opportunity to pick a team name. Whenever I saw that team on task, following directions, or being respectful throughout the day, I gave them a tally on the board. At the end of the day, the teams got to try to shoot a beanbag into a basket and however many tallies they earned was the amount of shots they got to take. This gave my students responsibility inside the classroom and helped them work in teams (standard 4). It was also a way for me to show leadership in the classroom by implementing a new classroom management strategy(standard 1).  My students LOVED this and it was also a way to have better class management which is one of my PDP goals for this semester. I know going back after the break, I will have to think of another creative way to keep students focused.

When I come back from the break, things will really begin to take off towards preparing for the EOG. In terms of looking at data, I have been able to reflect on my teaching by reviewing RTA scores with my CE in order to determine where the focus needs to be when it comes to reading. In math, there are still a few subjects needing to be taught before reviewing but I also feel confident in my students to be feeling prepared when it comes time!

Right now, my CE and I do not need any support but feel prepared as we go into my final week full time (as unreal as that seems!) Over the break, I plan to work some more on my portfolio. This week I have really tried to record as much as possible. I think I have plenty of footage but I would also like to have the problem of having too much versus not having enough! My CE completed her last observation on my teaching this week as well so I will be reflecting on that over the break to see where I can make more improvements. Overall, it has been a fun week in the classroom. There isn't much that I feel I should have spent more or less time doing as I think my time management has gotten much better over the course of the past semester.  As we go into spring break, I hope everyone has a relaxing week! We all deserve it!! Have a happy Easter everyone!

Countdowns and Critters

It seems like this week has been full of countdowns. Countdown to edTPA scores, countdown to spring break, and countdown to the end of the full ten weeks. Overall, this week has been pretty good! I would have to rate this week a 5 because it is so exciting to say that I passed edTPA and am FINALLY done with it! It has definitely been my biggest accomplishment of the semester.

In terms of meeting standards this week, I can definitely say that I met standard 2 in that I established a safe environment for my students. On Tuesday, while on the playground, a stray dog managed to get inside the fence. As I'm sure you can imagine, third graders went wild over the fact that there was a puppy on the playground. It was definitely hectic trying to make sure that no students actually pet the dog while another teacher was calling the office. THEN, on Thursday we had another run in with critters on the playground when some of my students found three baby rabbits underneath the slide. This then set students off again trying to catch and pet the rabbits. I must say that this excitement really made me work to get students focused back on math once they came inside for the end of the day. It definitely helped me understand that as teachers we work in a very complex environment and we will never know what might happen throughout the day! (Standard 5). It also helped me demonstrate leadership (standard 1) because for several minutes I was alone on the playground with two third grade classes that I was in charge of.

This week in math, I have really been trying to make my lessons more hands-on for the students. We are learning about segmented area right now which is really confusing for a lot of students so I have tried my best to make every lesson have a hands-on aspect to help facilitate learning for my students. I have to say that it has really helped get my students excited about learning all while I am following the standard course of study. It is my goal next week to make sure that my lessons are just as fun and hands on for my students. Based on the data I have seen both this week and in the past, my students really do retain more information when they have hands on activities.

Next week, I hope to spend less time stressing about my plans and more time enjoying the days with my students. I realize that my ten weeks are quickly coming to an end and I really want to enjoy every moment that I have left with my students. Right now, my largest goal is to get my portfolio completed. This week I have really worked on making sure I have a lot of videos from every subject to showcase during my presentation. Next week, I want to continue recording just as much. Right now, my CE and I do not need any support. Congratulations to everyone on getting completely finished with edTPA. I hope everyone is proud of what we have accomplished this semester. Be sure to make the best of these next few weeks!

Where Is Spring Break?

This week has been pretty average inside my classroom. Overall, I have to give this week a 3. Nothing too exciting happened, but it is pretty clear that both the students and teachers at WES are ready for spring break!

On Monday, my CE was absent from school. This was a very last minute thing and since Mondays are the days we normally do RTA, it caused for some very quick switches to the schedule that morning in guided reading. However, I was able to show leadership in the classroom by reworking my lesson plans to accommodate the quick change for both me, my students, and the awesome reading assistant I have in the mornings. One thing my students have been doing this week in guided reading are web quests. I had never heard of this before my CE recommended one to me but it is very similar to hyperdocs which is something we did last semester in science methods. Students are given a topic to research and on the iPads or computers, can look at chosen websites to gather information and research. This is an awesome way to integrate technology into a lesson and facilitate learning for students by encouraging them to use research and critical thinking skills. This also helped me with one of my goals for the semester which is to use more technology in my lessons.

Also on Monday, my class continued our unit on plants. This was the day we actually planted our seeds so it was very exciting for my students. As I walked around, I was so impressed by the way everyone was working together and being so careful to make sure the seeds were planted just right. As I leave them over the weekend, I am happy to report that a few of them are beginning to sprout! This is such a large project for my students so I am really trying to reflect on each step of the process. I have been analyzing student learning throughout this unit by assessing my students in fun ways that they don't even consider to be school work!  One thing I hope to build upon next week is continuing to enhance student learning in this unit. I want to allow my students the opportunity to research on their on and find unique ways to help plants grow and thrive. I hope to continue to make this unit as fun as possible for the students all the while still teaching them the curriculum and aligning my lessons to the standard course of study which is standard 3 of the NCPTS

One thing I have struggled with throughout this week is some behavioral issues in the classroom. It seems like every student is on edge and ready to be taking a long break away from everyone else in the class. Tensions have been running a little high which has caused a few problems with behavior. Nothing has been too serious but there have been times where my patience has been tested. However, this is all a part of teaching and has really helped me exemplify standard 2 since I am the one to help students calm down and remind them to be respectful of others.

In terms of my portfolio, my philosophy of education is complete! As I move into next week, I hope to spend more time reflecting on my lessons in order to better understand where things went really well as well as where I need to go back and possibly reteach. This is something that I am working to spend more time doing each week. My next step headed into the weekend is to one: take a breath because this week has been filled with so many ups and downs, and two: begin planning for the next week as my full time is starting to come to a close. Right now, my CE and I do not need any help but she did give me some awesome advice this week that I would like to share with everyone. Around this time of year, everyone is on edge, teachers and students both. The best way to ride out these next weeks before break is to take every moment as it comes and not stress too much. Crazy stuff might happen but it happens to every one.

Best of luck to everyone next week!

Parents and Planning

Well I must say that after the horrible week last week, this week was a piece of cake! I think I would rate this week a 5 because I had so many awesome experiences with my students.

Throughout the week, my class has been comparing fractions in math. When I was first given this standard, I was a little apprehensive about it because fractions have never been my strongest skill and I certainly didn't want to tell my students something that was wrong. However, after talking with my CE about strategies that she recommends, I was able to create some really hands on activities for the students to complete. My biggest surprise this week and also my most rewarding moment came at the end of one lesson when a student said "Wow! I didn't know math could be this fun!" That really gave me encouragement. I know that by giving my students more hands on activities and using a variety of instructional materials I am facilitating learning for my students. With as excited as they were this week, I hope to build upon that excitement next week when designing my plans.

In reading, we have been working with cause and effect. To help make this relevant for my students, I used a Scholastic News article that discussed being safe online. As a teacher, it is important that I demonstrate high ethical standards and it is my responsibility to help make sure that my students are using their best judgement in every situation. I spent a lot of time this week talking about the effects of our actions and words and how these things effect us and the people around us. As the leader in the classroom, it is my job to make sure my students are safe and are also making the right choices.

In science, we started our unit on plants this week. I am so excited to be doing this with my students and I know they are looking forward to some neat science activities just like I am. One thing that I introduced this week in science were our new groups. I created seven groups of students in my class and those seven groups will be working together for the rest of the unit. Each day, every member of the group has a different role to play. I was nervous about this at first because I had tried it earlier in the year and it didn't go as planned. However, after spending more time in my classroom and knowing who I should and should not pair together, it went much better the second time. The students loved the jobs they were given and it gave them a sense of responsibility. It is also helping them become better collaborators which ties into standard 3D: teachers make instruction relevant.

On Thursday, I had parent teacher conferences. This is something that I have always felt nervous about and I was nervous throughout the entire event! But after being a part of so many this week, I feel much more prepared for when it is just me and parents. I felt like I really learned a lot about my students from getting to meet with the parents and discuss things that occur in the classroom. While I have heard some stories about rough conferences in the past, thankfully every single one of mine went smoothly and my parents were all really excited about the plans I have in the future. Of course this can relate to standard 2 in that I was working collaboratively with the parents and adults in the lives of my students. In preparing for conferences, I really had to look deep at the data my students have been giving me all semester long. Parents want to know how their students are doing and of course I have to be able to explain what everything means. Looking at all of this data deeply really helped me reflect on my practice as a teacher to see exactly which students needed more support and where.

In terms of portfolio work, with teachers submitting their letters of intent this past week, it has really motivated me to finish tweaking my resume and getting it sent off to be approved. My goal for next week is to get it completely ready to be sent off and hopefully begin applying soon for jobs. My first steps for next week is to get everything prepared in terms of lessons. With science projects, field trips, and PBIS rewards coming up, I feel that it is very important to get prepared as soon as possible. Right now, my CE and I do not need any additional support. As the days get crazier closer and closer to spring break, we are just taking everything one day at a time which I would recommend to everyone. Best of luck to everyone as warm weather begins to creep in and students start getting ants in their pants for break!

We're Halfway There Guys!

As this week comes to a close, I am officially at the halfway mark of student teaching. It's crazy to think that it is already March. Before we know it, graduation will be here and we will be walking across the stage as future educators. I have to say, that as the weeks go by, it is getting easier and easier to get into the habit of things with my students, even on the crazy days. I really am taking on the leadership role in the classroom and my students are understanding that as well. I am incredibly thankful for that because this week has been the most stressful week of my life with all of the edTPA craziness. Because of this, I have to rate this week a one. But in edTPA terms, it is a nonscoreable.

We celebrated Read Across America Week this week in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday on Friday. Along with this, we had Green Eggs and Ham day where everyone wore green, Fox in Sox day where everyone wore their favorite crazy socks, and a slew of other fun activities to get students excited about reading. I know that this has been one of my goals throughout the semester because I love reading so much and I really want my students to enjoy it as much as I did when I was their age. One of my favorite parts of the week was on Friday when my class got to spend the last half hour of the day reading to a younger class. I was pleasantly surprised with how well my students did reading. They were trying their best to be good role models and it really made me proud to see my students take what I talk about in our classroom about practicing kindness and treating everyone like family to heart and exemplify it with another class. I feel that I have helped create a positive and nurturing environment, and as a result my students are beginning to model that as well. Next week, I plan to build on this idea of practicing kindness because from experiences I have had this past week, it is something my students constantly need to be reminded of.

On Monday, I was able to demonstrate standard 5: teachers function in a complex environment. Due to a very last minute schedule change, our entire afternoon was thrown off schedule but while something like this would have been very hard to handle in the beginning, it became easier to readjust activities and lessons to be much shorter to accommodate the different times. And as a result, both my and my students were able to transition through things easily. In the beginning of my time student teaching, there would have been some apprehension about switching things around, but by now I really feel comfortable changing things up to help my students.

I must say that with all the craziness that has come with edTPA this week, it was a struggle to really focus on my lesson planning. However, as we go into spring, I have some really exciting ideas planned for science. This helps me relate to standard 4B: teachers plan instruction appropriate for their students. While I have some really fun activities in my head for what I want to do with my students, I also know that I must relate them to the standard course of study in order to make sure my students are learning what they are supposed to, which also relates to standard 3. It is my goal next week to really spend more time on lesson planning because it is something that I haven't been able to spend very much time on this week with all of the craziness that comes along with edTPA.

On Thursday, we submitted our stuff to Pearson for edTPA and I have to say it was both relieving and nerve-wracking at the same time. So much thought and time has been put into these projects and for it to finally be over is an odd feeling. This is something we have prepared for since our junior year. It has definitely relieved some mental clutter from my mind! As much as I have hated the stress that has come with edTPA, I will say that it has really helped me able to look at data and plan accordingly based on data. Choosing focus students based on data really helped me to see where my students were and were not understanding. As crazy as edTPA was, being able to review that data really helped me target some misconceptions early on.

Because edTPA is now over, I am going to finally start working on my portfolio some more in the coming weeks since I haven't been able to do that recently. Right now, neither me or my CE need any support as we push past the halfway mark. As we go into next week, I wish everyone a much easier week with way less stress. Remember that no matter what our scores end up being, our goal is to make a positive difference in our students' lives!