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!