December 6

My time as a student teacher is winding down and Mr. Curtis is starting to take back most of the instruction time as i help support the students (we make a good team). He has been very kind in his evaluations of my instruction and he says he is sure I will be a really good teacher which is a wonderful compliment coming from him.

I have loved seeing the growth in these 4th grader students. I have witnessed their "light bulb" moments as they come to understand the 4th grade content such as long division and figures of speech. The "light bulb" moments are beyond rewarding and I am so grateful to have experienced them. This is why I want to teach!

December 5

I ended the division unit today; consequently, we took the pre-test. I was very worried about the outcome because so many of the students didn't do the challenge question correctly today. But the outcome was tremendous! Most of the class passed the test. My students understood the concepts that I taught them. Thjis makes me feel so successful. I love using the Singapore method along with the mnemonic of DAD - Divide, MOM - Multiply, SISTER - Subtract and ROVER - Repeat of Remainder. Mr. Curtis taught me these strategies and I know they helped the students succeed.

November 30

Mr. Curtis has implemented more new changes this week in order to seem more progress in his students. He has paired each high student with a low student. They sit by each other at their desks and on the carpet. They help each other until each of them has succeeded at the new concept. The high students were, of course, disappointed in the approach but we explained that this classroom is a team and will work as a team until every student succeeds.....I LOVE this!

We no longer have table managers. Mr. Curtis now check the students' reading strategies and homework each morning. The students do seem more responsible now that they know he will be the one checking them.

November 29

We prepared for YPP language test before the students took it this morning. Mr. Curtis reminded them of strategies that would help them perform better...such as reading the question before reading the passage, what type of question...literal or inference. These strategies are ehlpful because test-taking is a fact of life for these students. But this is not authentic learning! Yet...I can picture myself doing the same thing because test scores are so important to a teacher's reputation. Sad, yes...but it is what it is.

I help Sean, our blind student, a lot during the day. He had the opportunity to take the language YPP test today because I was there to read the test to him. I don't know why we haven't done this all along my duration here.

November 28

Today I re-taught double digit division for the students that didn't understand the new concept the first time (which was about 2/3 of the class). Most of them understood it today but are overwhelmed with the length of each problem. Now I know why they named it 'long division.'

I taught a lesson of paragraph edit and inferring meaning from of it. The students responded very well to my questions.

November 18

Mr. Curtis conducted a student survey today in order to start some of the change he sees is necessary for the success of his classroom. The students enjoyed anonymously answering the questions....I could tell they liked the feel of giving some input into their education.

Mr. Curtis asked:

1. What do I like the most about school?
2. What do I dislike most about school?
3. How stressful is your school life? On a scale of 1-5
4. If I could change one thing how Mr. Curtis's teaches, it would be....
5. What is the thing I like most about Mr. Curtis's classroom....

November 17

PLC -- Generally speaking, our 4th grade is doing well. Language arts is flat-lining and we need to to work on it. Mr. Curtis thinks we are pushing maybe too hard (I agree, because we are always the first class finished with each math topic....leading by several days). We discussed ways, such as games, to make learning more fun and motivational....and testing more authentic. Some of our students freeze during the tests -- even some of the students that KNOW the content. Some change could be helpful. I feel that we don't spend enough time on some of the harder subjects because Mr. Curtis wants to always be the leader...but is this the best thing for the students?

Focus

Mr. Curtis recommended a book for me to read called Focus. I have really enjoyed reading it and agree with it's ideas. The author thinks we need to simplify education by going back to the basics of reading, thinking, writing, debating and discussing. Conversation is the best way for students to cement new content inside their mind. He also thinks we need to greatly simplify our standards in order to focus on the most important ones. He also discusses the importance of modeling, thinking aloud, pair-sharing and lots of guided practice. Too many teachers have abandoned these fundamental procedures in teahing. He thinks these reasons have led to the deterioration of the education in our nation today.

The amazing fact though is that I understood most of what he was discussing and even better...I know how to teach using the fundamental principles he listed!

Day #17

This week has been very productive! I introduced the concept of double digit multiplication using windows and partial products. The students grasped the idea quite easily. After much guided and independent practice, I showed them how to multiply double digits using the traditional algorithm. Because they understood the place value of each number and how to multiply it, this lesson went much better than it might have. Still, I allowed two days of independent practice of the algorithm. The second day's practice was in the form of a game which renewed the students' motivation in the subject. Mr. Curtis has been wonderful in teaching me these crucial steps of teaching.

One student in my class is blind. Today I met with the blind specialist in the district to learn some strategies for helping the student learn the content. I am absolutely overwhelmed at all the content I was introduced to. Wow! But this introduction into the world of blindness helps me understand this student's perspective better.

Day #14

The students met in their new RTI groups. Our group is the 4th grade level of Words-their-way. It is the largest group which is a good thing since this is grade level for them. We introduced the prefix of mis, dis, and in which all mean 'not'. The students were given a rather large list of words and had to sort them accordingly and then we went over the meanings.

Day #12

After the children left for home at 12:30, our team of 4th grade teachers met for a help session. One of the teachers is a first-year teacher and he is struggling with some of the demands. We helped him chart his 'Words-Their-Way' spelling test and easy CBM tests. We are grouping the students into RTI groups and we needed these results in order to do so. I was glad I knew as much as I did about the tests. I feel like part of the team....which is such a wonderful feeling. It feels good to make progress together.

Day #11

We had our weekly PLC meeting. The principal always meets with us and she noticed that we test more than any grade in the school. The teachers agreed that too much testing is starting to impact the students in a negative way. Some of the students no longer take the tests seriously and do more guessing than anything. We have decided to reduce our easy CBM testing from weekly to every other week.

Day #8

Today was Halloween and I thought the students behaved quite well considering the holiday. The day was a normal academic day. We crunched in as much as possible. Then at 2:30 the PTA brought the Pizza for the pizza party we won. Several other mothers donated treats. Mr. Curtis let the students watch an educational cartoon and then we played a group game. I was impressed with how much fun we had for very little money or planning. Teachers can do amazing things without being complicated. I need to remember this.

Day #7

We attended an assembly today in celebration of Red Ribbon week. The students loved watching the Vernal City drug dog spot the drugs in a box.

I attended a district meeting at Maeser Elementary along with all the other 4th grade teachers in the district. I was happy to see Melanie there and enjoyed sitting with her. The teachers discussed the growth they've seen since their last meeting together and set goals for the next meeting. The teachers from Lapoint and Eagle View shared their unit they created for the next science and writing subject which is weather. Rosa Eaton shared a video of her modeling the writing process to her students. She emphasized modeling and thinking aloud to students. District specialists say they do not see enough modeling done. This is one of the things I learned well in my education last year...and now I am so glad to have it. I can never model too much for my students!

Day #6

Today is pull-out day which is when the students get to spend 2 1/2 hours at library, PE, Art, and Computers. The 4th grade teachers meet during this time for their PLC meetings. Mr. Curtis is the team leader so he conducted the meeting. They first looked at graphs showing their weekly YPP scores. This graph is helpful because it shows where we stand with the district. Our math scores are a little low and so we need to concentrate on how to improve. We also talked about scheduling and Halloween parties. The teachers discussed a new reading program they would like to purchase and took a vote on it. By observing this meeting, I was able to see how well the teachers work together to see success from their students.

Day #5

Mr. Curtis has created an incentive in his class that his highly motivating to his students. If they get 100% on their math practice test the they get to be a helper for the week. They also do not have to take the real math test nor do they have to do the math assignments for the next math topic which means no math homework. But they get to help students who have questions with their assignments during the math topic. As you can imagine, the students work really hard in order to obtain 100%.

Mr. Curtis required book reports from the students. He also participates by reading 4th grade chapter books and reporting to the students. He often shares favorite authors and encourages them to try the new books. Avi is on of his favorite authors. I noticed that many of the students came back from library time with an Avi book.

Day #4

The school is celebrating 'Drug Free Week.' Each class is responsible for decorating their own door to show their school spirit. The students that got a 100% on their math test are the 'helpers' for the week. He allowed these three students to design the door. They came up with the main idea and then the other students were allowed some class time to create the door. I was surprised and tickled at how much Mr. Curtis got into the project. I believe that a teacher needs to show his or her fun side once in a while. The students loved taking a break from learning to create the door...they had a lot of fun. And these students deserved it....they work very hard. At the end of the week, the school announced our class to be the winners of the pizza party because our door was the best!

Mr. Curtis let the student be the creators of the door. Yes, he did help them. But the ideas came from their minds. I loved seeing them be in charge of the project.

Day #3

I suffered from a strong cold and lost my voice. Took a sick day to stay home and recover.

UEA

On Friday of the fall break, I attended the second day of UEA. They keynote speaker was a woman from Ohio. She gave a motivation speech that inspired us teachers to really care about our students and to believe in their success. The speech moved me to tears several times...it was good.

The other two classes I attended were Tips and Shortcuts for Elementary Teachers and Acing the Praxis. The first one was from an elementary teacher who had great advise on creating personal files for each student, literacy rotations, math centers and letters to parents. She shared her PowerPoint notes with us and I am so excited to have ALL that information. I know I will use some of it. The second class was awesome and I am very grateful for the information I learned in it. I need to to take the Praxis PLT soon and he gave us priceless info regarding the test. He has created a study guide for the test and is emailing me the link. This will save me a load of money from having to purchase books geared toward the test. He was also positive and motivating.

I really enjoyed attending the UEA conference. The booths were interesting and helpful and the speeches were inspiring. I definitely plan to attend in future years.

Day #2

Mr. Curtis let me do two things in his class today. I read aloud to the students from the chapter book Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. I also did the Rewards activity that is a focus on words and their suffix, prefix, meaning, etc. I also got more involved in helping the students. Today wasn't nearly so overwhelming. I may just get the hang of 4th grade!

Block 2 Day #1

It is the first day of my second block in Mr. Curtis' 4th grade classroom. Today, I am overwhelmed. Every second of the day was filled with curriculum and it felt as though we couldn't move fast enough. He is a very honest and candid man, which I appreciate. I am surprised how easy it is to visit with him. He really cares about his students and tries his very hardest to make each of them understand the subject material. He has created interesting games and powerpoints for the curriculum that keeps it interesting. The students are VERY engaged. I took some good notes and hope to review them so that today wont seem like such a blur. I know I am going to learn so much from Mr. Curtis!

Day #35

I am in Logan on the USU campus for the Student Teaching seminar. A variety of speakers have taught me how to create a first-class resume and cover letter and how to prepare for an interview. The information is priceless as I have not applied for a job in years! I am so grateful for their help. My favorite speaker was Chad E. Downs who used to be something big in the Cache County School District. He has conducted many teacher interviews and told exactly what impressed him and what did not. He told us what kind of questions we could expect which really eased my mind. I felt the seminar was well worth my time.

Day #34

My last day of first grade was today. Mrs. Kester surprised me with a bag that had Mrs. Coon embroidered on the front and each of the children created a card for me expressing their grattitude. I couldn't believe how much this touched me. This class will never know the impact they had on my career. They helped me understand the scope of all things related to a classroom. I loved their eagerness and enthusiasm in pleasing the teacher and trying their hardest to learn what was being taught. I truly hope to teach a younger grade someday.

Day #33

For our read aloud time, we have been reading the first three books of the Magic Tree House books. The students have been amazing with their attention to the story. They have really connected with the characters, Jack and Annie and the many adventures that come their way. It is fun to connect the story to their background knowledge since this is something I studied in great detail last year.

The book allows great visualizing and it cracks me up when the students laugh aloud or gasp at the story line. It pleases me so much to see them comprehending and enjoying text.

Day #32

Today was the first day of SEP (Student Education Plan) conferences. I wasn't able to attend all of them because of our meeting at the university. But I was able to attend the last five of them. Mrs. Kester asked the parent to tell her about the student; what they do after school, do they struggle with homework and such. Then she told the parent how the student acted in school. She told of the student's good characteristics and how fortunate she felt to have him or her in her class. Then she proceeded with test results and what the parent could do to help at home. She made the parents feel very comfortable. I was impressed at how many dads attended. Most of the parents were very supportive and took a big interest in their child. I was very impressed with each of the conferences. I was also amazed at how time consuming it was. We didn't leave the school until 7:30. And she has another full night of them. But I know they are well worth the time! Meeting the parents adds such a personal insight to the students.

Day #31

Today I observed another first grade teacher's writing lesson. The whole team of first grade teachers has been following the plan of a book titled No More "I'm Done!" This teacher is currently doing her masters programs and this book was given to her by a professor. The book is a wonderful resource for primary grades starting writing. I enjoyed my observation of this teacher because of her enthusiasm and eagerness. Her attitude spreads to her students and I could tell they love writing time. She modeled in detail her expectations. The students understood exactly what they were to do. She also reviewed what they were to do during the writing time. I could tell though that they knew exactly what to do.

She knew the program and lesson well. Her happy attitude was contagious, it made me want to write!

Day #30

Mrs. Kester was gone today and a substitute was present. The substitute mostly did clerical work because I was teaching. This was the first time I had the whole day to teach because Mrs. Kester and I team teach. I felt the day went really well. I even did some guided reading during learning centers. The time buzzed by although the day seemed long because of the weather. It was so wet that I chose to keep the students inside for recess. Today was also picture day. The children were all clean and beautiful and picture time went smoothly. The parents in our classroom have done such good job at making sure their children attend school well, eat breakfast and look clean. I have never seen such a remarkable group of children. It makes such a difference. Mrs. Kester has remarked several time at how we are able to do more because of this very fact.

Day #29

We have one mother of one of the students who has been wonderful to help in our classroom. She volunteers twice a week! She does much of the clerical work that the class needs...which saves Mrs. Kester and me oodles of time. Mrs. Kester has been keen on developing a close relationship with this mother to make her feel welcome and comfortable. I think Mrs. Kester is wise in developing this relationship. She knows that our classroom is better because of her help.

I have been a parent volunteer in the past and I know what it's like to be mistreated by some of the teachers. They didn't feel the need to make me feel welcome and comfortable and my time in the classroom became awkward. I want to be the teacher that makes parents feel welcome and needed!

Day #28

It was a very chaotic day today. All was normal until lunch. For some reason, the whole town of Vernal was without power for about 45 minutes. Most 1st graders hate the dark. Luckily, our classroom has a window but many do not. The generators provided some light but not enough. The power finally came back but the students were unsettled for the rest of the day. Between the rain and the power outage the day seemed very long and I feel exhausted.

The students were making family trees today and had to use permanent markers for a bit. Mrs. Kester explained the danger of the markers and told them she expected them to be responsible. Later, Josie came to me with marker all over her face. She had deliberately misbehaved. Mrs. Kester marched her right down to the principals office. Tomorrow she has recess detention and she has to spend the recess time in Mrs. Chattam's office. She is often misbehaving in similar ways. Mrs. Kester thinks Josie ought to have a behavioral IEP...and I agree.

Day #27

The children took a math test for YPP this morning. Then they took a math test for the unit we just completed on addition this afternoon. That test was followed by another topic test that had 20 questions. The poor students had fried little brains by the end of the day. I really think we test too much!

Day #26

Today was another whirlwind Friday. I'm amazed at how quickly 12:30 comes. Then we have the afternoon to prep and it seems to move so slowly. I'm sure this time will go more quickly when I'm an actual teacher because I will have meetings and lessons to prep. But the afternoon sure went slow today.

Day #26

Dr. Foley came to observe my language arts lesson today. I felt that the lesson went really well. I taught the students about nonsense words and how real words have to make sense. Then we created some words using the ump and ug word families. Dr. Foley had many positive things to say...which made me feel very good. The one item she advised me on was to come up with more examples of sentences and definitions for some of the lesser-known words. We had a really good conversation about my student teaching experience. I really enjoyed our time together.

Day #25

We have added more elements to our math wall. We are starting a unit on bar graphs and so we have a bar graph, odd and even numbers, tally marks and months displaying each students' birthday. The students were delighted with the addition....I could tell they were ready for more. It's fascinating to see their little minds grow. We cram teaching into every second of the day. We don't WASTE time. I'd imagine the students go home pretty tired though.

Day #24

All first grade teachers are required to eat lunch with their classes inside the cafeteria. I know this isn't common practice for all the elementary schools but it is for Naples. I have taken this opportunity to build relationships with the students. I sit by a different student each day and make conversation to get to know each of them better. It is a way for me to make them feel at ease with me. It's also provides a way for me to learn their background knowledge. The more I know about their background knowledge and experiences, the easier it is for me to build lessons they might relate to.

Day #22

I kept very busy today...which is weird to say because every day is busy. But Mrs. Kester stays in the background more often to let me deal with the everyday matters. Josie got something in her eye and it became very irritated. Eden spilled the contents of her lunch tray all over the cafeteria floor. We were surprised with a fire drill today. The alarm wouldn't turn off though for quite a while and so we had to do seatwork with it on. Ordeals such as these keeps a teacher on her toes! It is no wonder I am so tired by the end of the day.

Day #21

We finally have our literacy centers running smoothly and our reading groups all done up. Consequently, today was our first day of guided reading groups. The students worked out really well in their groups except for one student who already needs to be moved to a more advanced group. There are 2-4 students per group.

Mrs. Kester first did a picture walk with each group, asking the students to tell her what they thought the book might be about and if the story would be fiction of nonfiction. Then each child read the book at their own pace while she helped them decode words. The students have learned enough word attack strategies by now that all she has to do is remind them of the secret story to get their little smart wheels turning.

The students will read the same book all week long. Mrs. Kester will start to ask comprehension questions and such as the week goes on.

It was very helpful to see this done. I was able to observe her techniques and mannerisms that helped motivate her students.

Day #20

It is already Friday again. We pushed the students hard today. We were able to fit a whole literacy and math lesson in. We rewarded the students for their hard work with a cute owl craft before the end of the day. I think the students are starting to get used to the long days and also the fact that they are their to LEARN.

Day #19

I know my weakness in teaching thus far has been classroom management. I have been trying to improve but I know I must step up my game. Mrs. Kester made the comment today that she thinks Cheyenne is afraid of her. She claims that I get to be the teacher while she remains the disciplinarian. Of course she put it in a nicer manner....but I got her meaning. So I really stepped it up this afternoon during the math lesson. I think she appreciated it and I felt like a better teacher because of it. My mantra has always been that a good teacher should be kind but firm. I am finding out exactly how firm I need to be, which is a little hard for me. But management is detrimental to their education and I need to decide now to be a good educator and not a puny one.

Day #17

Mrs. Kester says I am doing such a good job with spiraling the subject matter which means reviewing what has been learned along with teaching the new material. But she has been such a good model to watch. It definitely takes practice but I am really getting the feel for it.

Day #16

Mrs. Kester has started a writing unit on informative essay. The core curriculum requires each first grader to write 3 sentences in a informative essay. I admit feeling quite uncertain about the assignment. But Mrs. Kester has approached the subject with great enthusiasm. Each student has been assigned an animal book that he or she gets to research for new information. They are enjoying their books and I'm excited to see what ideas will get written down.

Day #15

I am starting to feel very comfortable with our routine. I am teaching all of the math lessons and feel very comfortable. I also do a large part of literacy other than writing. Our class of students really is a bright one and Mrs. Kester is amazed with what we are able to accomplish! We feel every minute we have with curriculum and I have loved watching the progress that is already evident in their little brains.

The connections I have made with some of the students are surprising to me. I enjoy learning of their backgrounds....1st graders love to talk about themselves! I always have an entertaining conversation with one or two of them at lunch. I can tell already that I'm going to have a hard time telling them good-bye in 3 weeks.

Day #14

Short-day Fridays are always a whirlwind and a blur. We taught full lessons of math and language arts and then the students started to make their page for the alphabet book. One of the units I've been doing is an alphabet book. I started by reading several alphabet books to the children. Then I started modeling the creation of an alphabet book. This process has been in the works for almost two weeks because their isn't much time allotted for it. But the children have enjoyed guessing what object I've chosen to match the letter. We've talked about the front cover, title page and body of a book, writing in our very best handwriting and such. The students were very eager to start their book. They were assigned a letter today in which they colored the letter and cut it out to paste it to their own large page. Monday we will color the object to for each letter. I can't wait to post photos of it.

Mrs. Kester told the students that this was Cameron's last day with us. She talked about the friendship we've made with him and encouraged the students to remain friendly with him when they see him in the hall. She didn't give specifics such as he will now be in Kindergarten. She just said he was going to be in a different class. Isn't she thoughtful? The students were quite bewildered at the sudden news and quite a few tears were spent on Cameron (who was enjoying all the attention).

Witnessing a Parent/Teacher Meeting

One of our first graders, Cameron, is very low on the academic scale. We don't know much about his background other than he is from Arizona and this is his first year at Naples Elementary. It didn't take long to determine that Cameron doesn't recognize many of the numbers or letters of the alphabet. He is very small and actually quite young for a first-grader. After her observations, Mrs. Kester called his mother to set up a meeting regarding his academic standing. She also invited the principal, Mrs. Chattam, to attend. I was also eager to attend to see how a meeting of this magnitude proceeded.

One of two things was to come about from the meeting. First, Cameron could return to Kindergarten and thrive in an academic environment of his level or two, he would finish the first grade this year and repeat it again next year. Mrs. Kester was hopeful that the mother would choose the Kindergarten option as he is quite frustrated with the level of first grade.

Mrs. Kester started the meeting by asking the mother to tell us about Cameron. This first step his critical to a successful meeting. The student after all, is her child, and she knows him best. She gladly told us his background, how he struggled learning letters and sounds, how he spent some time with an RTI specialist and how he had to switch schools midyear. She said it was a rough year for him. Mrs. Kester then told her the observations, the options, and showed her some of his tests. Although Mrs. Chattam did not say much, she did say she supported the teacher's findings.

Cameron's mother said she wanted what was best for him. She wasn't surprised because she also had been watchful of his lack of spelling and reading abilities. She urged the school to put him into a Kindergarten class.

Everyone had Cameron's best intentions at heart and felt that the final decision was for the best.

I am grateful for the opportunity to see such a successful parent/teacher meeting. I know how hard it is for a parent to hear of her child's struggles. I thought Mrs. Kester performed professionally while maintaining an air of genuine concern. This meeting gave me great knowledge on how to conduct my own meetings next year.

Day #12

We have started teaching the students Writer's Workshop! I am so excited about this element in our classroom. I've never really seen this in a classroom although I have read about it. With the new common core being implemented this year, all teachers are pushing writing more.

Mrs. Kester modeled her illustration, labeling and one sentence. The children were not overwhelmed this way. The room is perfectly quiet for ten minutes except for calming music. This is the time the students are to write. Afterward, they can still write but are also allowed to sign-up for sharing and conferencing.

I love being part of this process.

Day #11

Mrs. Kester and I discussed her observation of my lesson. She had many good things to say and pointed out a few suggestions. She was kind to tell me the sort of things that I will need to be aware of for the J-Pass next year when I am a teacher. We had a really good discussion and I feel better prepared for Thursday when Dr. Foley comes to observe me.

Suggestions:
1. I need to keep all my students busy, even when I ask just one student to help me with a question. This can be done by having them write the answer on their knee or in the air while the one student is answering.

2. Students should raise their hand to answer a question or talk. I've been letting them all shout out the answer which is a big no no.

3. My read-alouds are too long. Although predictions are good, I need to do less. I am starting to value time more and I see the teacher's desperate need to keep all things on a schedule.

Day #10

I keenly observed Mrs. Kester this morning in her literacy lesson. She has added some new elements such as "Make A Word" phonics and the DOL. I am to start teaching most of the literacy part of the day so I enjoyed my observations. It's amazing how smooth and easy she makes teaching seem. Yet I stumble along when I do it. She observed me today in my word family lesson. We ran out of time to discuss her observations but I'm anxious to hear her comments. I know she will have some good insight in which ways I can improve.

The students are finally learning each others' names. Mrs. Kester has not implemented much of a community atmosphere. As much as I love Mrs. Kester, I know her class is lacking in this area. She doesn't celebrate their birthdays are allow time for personal interests. Yet I know she is bombarded with district timelines. How can I foster a community environment while meeting all the timelines?

Another item that surprised me was the allotted time for science and social studies; ten minutes for the both. Now I see why we were taught integration. Good grief!

Day #9

Today is Friday....and I'm looking forward to the weekend. I played Sparkle with the students twice before their spelling test. I find games to be the best motivator for students. This game really helped them remember their words for the test.

I enjoyed my prep time on Friday afternoon. The students leave at 12:30. I had the rest of the afternoon to plan for upcoming lessons. I made word sorts for literacy, dot cards for the next two math lessons and worksheets for mountain math.

Day #8

Today was my third day of teaching math. This math program is very thorough with many little parts. I'm starting to wonder if I will ever remember every little detail. I'm working hard but it seems that Mrs. Kester always reminds me of something I'm forgetting. But I do enjoy the program because it corresponds very well with what I was taught in my math methods class. I just need to teach it better. I am making some good connections with the students and overall, I know I'm making progress. But I will not deny....it is hard to teach to all levels of students. It's overwhelming! I am thankful for the practice.

Day #7

I enjoyed the meeting with Dr. Foley. It was nice to set some goals to strive towards. My goals are to first, observe Mrs. Stewart teaching math so that I might learn her strategies at helping students understand new concepts. Second, learn new techniques to transition the students more smoothly from one activity to the next. Third, to participate in a teacher/parent meeting.

I had the opportunity to observe a meeting between Mrs. Kester and the principal, Mrs. Chattam. Mrs. Kester is concerned about one of the students who doesn't seem to be academically, developmentally or socially ready for 1st grade. She thinks that he needs another year of Kindergarten. She informed Mrs. Chattam of the circumstances before her meeting with the parents. She needs the full support of the principal before undertaking such a task. I thought Mrs. Chattam did a good job of considering both sides of the situation. We will meet with the parents next week.

Day #6

We came back from the long Labor Day weekend and the children looked so sleepy. Mrs. Kester was wise enough to have them stand up and go outside to walk around the whole building. The fresh air and exercise did everyone some good. The students were much more alert and ready to learn.

Now that we have learned short A and long A, we are starting short I and long I. The students absolutely love the stories that go along with each vowel. They beg for more but they must be patient. It seems as though the more they learn the more they yearn for more. I've only been in this class for six days and I can already see much progress in some of the students. It is so invigorating!

Day #5

Today was the first spelling test. One little girl that sits on the front row is quite low in her learning abilities. Her grandma sent a note explaining their efforts to study for the test. But their efforts went sour. I could tell the girl was exasperated because when Mrs. Kester announced the test, she started crying. She had a melt down. But here is the thing, I knew she knew the rule we taught about /a/, turning can into cane. She knew the bossy momma E story well. So I asked Mrs. Kester if I could take her and a couple other struggling students to another room to do the test. Mrs. Kester was more than happy to let me do so.

The test went much better for these students because I was able to give them individual attention. This little girl went from having a meltdown to actually feeling successful. I was so excited to see this transition. I was also excited to apply some of my knowledge from my special Ed class I took last fall. I love applying what I've learned!

Day #4

It constantly amazes me at how very basic I need to be with these first graders. I now understand why it takes so long to teach a new procedure or activity. As a mother, I was often impatient with some timelines...but oh how I understand now. I taught a math game today to the students and was reminded of this very thing. I'm starting to wonder if a teacher can ever do enough modeling and explaining.

Mrs. Kester is starting to teach her centers; today she started with computers. The other four centers were very simple. She did this so she would be able to spend all her time teaching proper protocol at the computer table. This is the kind of information that will be so valuable come next year with my own class.

Today went by much more quickly. I am starting to settle into a routine...thank goodness. I'm also starting to feel much more comfortable with the 1st grade team.

Day #3

I observed Mrs. Kester perform leveled reading tests on several of her students. She was wonderful at handling struggling readers. She remained extremely patient and helped them feel smart about their reading. Words cannot describe how amazed I was with her technique. I am grateful that I learned these techniques from her. She told me what to listen for in speech articulation difficulties, reading strategies to look for and questions to ask to check for comprehension. Then I performed a few of the tests while she observed me. I really enjoyed doing the tests!

I had a wonderful compliment today that I want to share. Mrs. Kester asked me to do a read-aloud of a Dr. Seuss book. She asked me to help the students make predictions and ask deep-ended questions. So I did a pretty thorough job while having fun with the book. Afterward she told me I did a great job and asked if I noticed the other woman in the room. I told her I had but didn't know who she was. She proceeded to tell me that the woman was over literacy for the district and that she had complimented my read-aloud. I was extremely elated!

I've been tickled to perform Words-Their-Way spelling tests. Dr. Broughton taught me how to do these very tests last March. I feel so blessed to know what to do! I'm also excited to have the opportunity to watch the eventual progress the students will have because of this program.

Day #2

Mrs. Kester helped me observe any left-handed students for pencil holding and pressure applied while writing. These were things I was not taught that can make a big difference for young learners. If a student is applying too much pressure, they wear out the tendons easily while writing. Proper placement and pressure is critical for correct writing. With the new common core, these students will be writing often! So we are trying to catch bad habits early.

One of the 1st grade teachers had a major family emergency and had to leave early in the afternoon. This team of teachers pulled together to help her out. It was incredible. I saw the value of a good team. I think it can really make a difference in one's career.

Student Teaching Day #1

Today was my first day of Student Teaching. I have waited and waited for this day and I can't believe I am already to this point in my education although I have certainly taken my time to get here. I'm currently in a 1st grade class. The teacher's name is Mrs. Kester. I feel blessed to be in her class because back in my subbing days, students would always tell me how their favorite teacher was Mrs. Kester. She is energetic and bright. She is young enough in her career that she well remembers her teacher education; because of this, she puts forth the extra effort to put me at ease. She has set up a table in the room for me, equipped with a caddy of pens and post-it notes. I can't tell you what this means to me. You should have seen some of my dire spots in my practicum placements.

The children are adorable. I've already learned all 22 of their names. Some of them are a challenge academically, so it keeps us busy. The new common core is being taught this year. It steps the expectations up drastically for each student. Needless to say, both the students and the teachers were exhausted by the end of today.

I love watching Mrs. Kester introduce word strategies to the children. Today she introduced the bossy grandma 'e'. It of course makes the other vowel say it's name, such as 'take.' The children loved the story and the way in which it was told. I doubt they ever forget it.

Today I feel fortunate because of this opportunity to learn. It puts me more at ease for next year when I have my own students. I already feel better prepared and it is only day #1.

But I am exhausted. Please tell me I'll get used to this.