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!