Intern Blog

This week I was the full time teacher for all subjects and all lessons. It was actually fun planning for this week because in the two reading groups I did readers theater. I did it with the 4th grade reading class and the 5th grade reading class. At first they were all kind of stand offish to the fact that they had to act but as the week progressed they started to really enjoy it and get into it! With the 5th graders is was a lot of fun because they wanted to make a set and have props The were getting so into it, it was fun for me to watch. The 4th graders wanted to design outfits and props as well!
What I thought was so funny or maybe interesting is that these students had no idea that they were learning at the same time. They got so involved in their own learning! I felt so proud to see this. Their fluency was being improved and their comprehension of what they were reading! They were taking a hand in what they were doing and getting involved. One student was actually trying to become the director and had ideas about everything. I loved seeing them act.
In the future I will do more readers theaters because I now know who into the students get. I filmed them and let them watch it back before they left. They all laughed and loved it. I could see the interest and it never got out of hand. I wish it wouldn't have taken me this long to start doing readers theaters with my students. I will for sure be doing a lot more in my teaching life!!

Intern Year

During this past week I taught straight from my teachers lesson plans on everything but written language and math with one student. I began to see how time management can become an issue because there is so much amount of work you need to fit into a 30-45 minute time block. I found myself going over a few minutes and targeted on that to be something I work on this coming week. Well two days. I need to learn to use my time wisely and plan accordingly. If I have a big activity I need to plan on it taking at least two class sessions to complete. This is just being realistic. I think I tend to try to plan for more then I have time for. In the weeks after Thanksgiving break I will work on that with my time left.
I also learned during this week of really teaching, is that if time gets out of hand in the students general education classroom then everything in the special education classroom gets out of whack. I have students come in late because they are doing work in their classroom, which is great, but it makes my time with them shorter and harder for me to work everything in. I need to work on being more flexible and just working with the time I have.
I would like to add in here the two day I have taught during Thanksgiving break, since Mon county had school. These two days I have been teaching from lesson plans I created for the whole day. This I thought would be hard but they more I get used to their time schedule and the level of the students, its not that difficult. I think I struggle most with figuring activities to do with so many different levels and grades during the day. This special education room, and any other special education room, has different students coming in at all times. As the teacher you must learn to teach to all of these different groups. I think in all I am going to walk away from these special education classes I have been a part of with a more in depth knowledge of how to plan for such different students, and how to differentiate instruction. I am glad I have had these experiences.

Intern Year

This week I began to take on some more responsibilities. I now teach from the teachers lesson plans on a few of the reading skills groups. I am also still doing written language and math with one student. We began touch math for addition which he seems to be responding to. Its interesting to watch how be begins to count or which number he begins with. I like to see if he remembers where to touch and how many times. Touch math is such a cool idea for kids who have trouble in the area of math. It gives them a visual of what each number means. This student struggles with knowing what number is which so I think next week when I write my own plans I will focus on some number recognition.
This student is also the same student I work with in written language and we have been working on our lower case ABC's. I am seeing great improvement in his ability to recognize the letters. I feel satisfied when I see him learn new letters and be able to recognize them, when before he couldn't. It makes me think I am doing something right.
With this student I am learning how important drill practice is for those basic facts that we think are so easy. Flash cards or some way to math and drill what letter or number we are working with gives them a chance to work on fluency but learn at the same time. Those daily drill practices is how I believe the students will learn a new basic fact. I plan on doing some drill practice with this student when we work on number recognition. I am excited to see how this practice will help him!

Intern Year

This past week has been more of an observation time for me. Since I just started in Mrs. Davis's class I wanted to take a little time to get to know her schedule and students. I did start participating with one student in math and written language. This student is in 2nd grade but doesn't know his lower case ABC's. I have been designing activities so we can work on these lower case letters. It has been a lot of fun working with him however he does lose attention on a task kind of easily so constant reinforcement has to be done. He seems to like working on his ABC's however when he doesn't know one he just tries to tell me a story instead of the answer. At that point I always know its a letter he doesn't know.
I also work with him in math. I am doing something with him that my host teacher is new to and that is 10 frames. I am teaching him to see hey there is 5 then two more instead of counting all seven of them. This is hard for him but with practice he is getting better at it. He also likes to play matching games with it so I think in the next week to come I am going to create a matching game where he matches the capital letter to the lower case letter. I think he will really like this and also learn at the same time. I am excited to work more with this class and eventually with time take over all the groups that come into the classroom.

Intern Year

This week I finished my time in Mrs.Nowak's MI classroom. I finished with doing pretty much all the groups during the day. I didn't do 3 groups I believe. On my last few days there I did a math assessment for the charts and graphs we had been working on. This assessment was an interview with each student where they told me what they saw in each graph and answered some questions I asked. The students did alright. I actually thought they might do a little bit better. One student in the group got all the answers correct. I did a lesson with my reading group with two 3rd graders by making a Venn Diagram of how they were the same or different from the main character in their story. He was from Porto Rico and had some differences from them being from America. It was interesting to see how they made connections. I am really going to miss Mrs. Nowak's class and hope I can make it back down there to visit and do my contract hours. They are wonderful kids!
Also this week I began my time with Mrs.Davis. It was hard to go into a new classroom and new schedule. Thursday and Friday are the only days I spent in there and it was kind of hard because there were meetings on Thursday and Friday was the Halloween party so I don't really know much about the classroom. I am hoping I can jump right into things and enjoy this time in a new classroom. Hopefully I can collect enough data and enough experience. It should be interesting!

Intern Year

This week I finished up my last full week in Mrs. Nowak's classroom. I also took over pretty much all of the day. I find that planning the whole day has began to work better. Since I began taking over most of the day I have to plan lessons for different groups through out the day. Before taking over the whole class I was scared of having to plan for a full day. I find that now that I have the chance to take it all over that its not as hard or bad as I thought it would be. I take it group by group and plan for each group ahead. It is hard however because things often come up that pushes back my lessons. I make it work and I have found that all this planning is only helping be become a more organized person. I honestly think that because there are many different groups of different levels through out the day that I have became more organized. I have to know what comes next and which group comes next. No two groups do the same thing.
I would also like to blog on the fact that I got to be part of yet another IEP meeting this week. I got to see how the IEP team has to meet quite often for just one student. This student got to come the whole day which is great but they had to meet as an IEP team before this change could occur. It was crazy for me to see this students file with so many different IEPs in it. One student could have an IEP meeting as many times as needed if things change. The whole IEP process is something that scares me for the future. All the paper work and stress that goes into an IEP makes me nervous but the more experience I get the better I will get. No teacher is perfect and I have to keep reminding myself of that!

Intern Year Blog

I started my action research this week by giving my baseline assessment test. I was interested to see that a lot of these students struggled with the reading aspect of the test. I now am excited to see how the different forms of authentic assessment, I am presenting the students with, will affect their scores. I am hoping that these different forms of assessment will help the students since reading isn't their strongest subject. I am hoping through the different forms of authentic assessment I will be able to find what works best for these students.
I am also coming to the end of my time in the MI classroom with Mrs. Nowak which makes me a little sad. I am enjoying the students so much I don't want to leave. I also have some concerns with starting my action research in a new classroom with a new teacher and new students. I am hoping everything goes well and that I am able to collect a lot of useful data! Only time will tell I guess!

Intern Year

So I am still in the MI classroom. I am beginning to like it more and more everyday. The students I work with have trouble sometimes but as the teacher I find it so much more gratifying when they actually grasp the concept. I had that happen to me this week while teaching money to a group of 3rd graders. They where looking at ways to make change and the student had a light bulb go off when he could see that replacing two nickles makes a dime. It was gratifying to be that what I was teaching was actually sinking in to the students.
I also am getting a lot more of a chance to see different behaviors while in one single room. This is really interesting to me because I get the chance to try and help figure out how to correct this wrong behavior. We are having this happen with a 2nd grade student in our class. The teachers actually want to hear what I think and how I think it could be fixed. I really feel like part of the team in this classroom and I really like it. I feel respected by not only the students but my fellow teachers. This has just begun to happen this year and it makes me feel like a real teacher. I don't want to be done with this placement which is coming up sooner than I want!!

Intern Week 6

Last week went pretty well. I got to teach both math groups. They are 2nd and 3rd graders. It is kind of hard to switch from one group to another within an hour. I have trouble planning for this because they are on such different levels. I have one boy in my 3rd grade group who is working much faster then the other two students in that group. So within 30 minutes I not only have to teach to this lower group but I have to split it up between two levels. It is differentiation of instruction to the definition. I am interested and kind of nervous still on how this is going to work when I pick up the whole class.
Also during this week I had more time to get to know the students individually and I know this will help me to instruct them better. Since I have to move again in 5 and a half weeks I am really working hard to make a connection with these students. I think our relationship as teacher and student will work better if we get to know each other better. I also feel as though some of the students who have freak outs will feel more comfortable with me as I am there more! I look forward to picking up English with the 4th graders this week! Planning is just so interesting when you change subjects and students every hour to hour and a half.....

Intern Week 5

This was my first week back at Skyveiw Elementary School. It was a nice change being back in an elementary school after spending 5 weeks at a middle school. I am in the MI room which I think will be a difference and a learning experience for me. This is my first placement in special education in the elementary school. It is something I am hoping I will really enjoy being that it is my specialization. Starting out this week I am really focusing on getting to know my students and my host teacher. She has a very interesting schedule so I am also trying to get familiar with that. The reason I say interesting is because she gets student throughout the day at different levels for different subjects. I have never been in a class like this so its something different for me. It is also something that makes me a little nervous when it comes the time where I am full time teaching and making the plans for each subject. I have discussed this with my host teacher and she insures me that she will help me which makes me a little less nervous. This Monday I started teaching the math for a group of four boys. This will be my first step in teaching the whole class. These boys are working on addition and they are in 3rd grade. My teacher told me these students are on about a 1-2nd grade level. Its interesting to see all the different levels of learning throughout the day. So far I am really getting to know and like these students. I'm honestly excited and a little nervous to see what happens while I am placed in the MI room!

Intern Week 4

Well this week was my last week at South Harrison Middle School. I honestly didn't think I would like middle school but now I am sad I wont be there Monday! I feel like I have learned so much in not only the special education world but in the how to teach students this age. With special education I got to see how you make certain modifications in the general education classroom. I got to see and participate in an full inclusion classroom which was my favorite part of these 5 weeks. The reason being, that I got to get to know not only kids with special needs but the general education kids as well. The other reason I liked being in inclusion classrooms was because I got to see how when teaching the lower level students this have to be taught almost completely different then the higher level classrooms. I also got to see how meeting in the special education world take place and whole everyone works together to make it the best learning environment for the child with special needs.
Going into this next chapter of this program I am looking forward to seeing how the special education process works in the elementary school. I want to see how meeting take place and how they work to make it the best learning community as possible. I want to know the process they take to create their lessons each day and each week. I am also looking so forward to getting to know the elementary school aged kids again. As much as I enjoyed the middle school aged students I really love the younger ones!!

Week 3 Blog

This week went by smoothly. I was able to sit in on a re-evaluation meeting and evaluation meeting. It was interesting to watch the teachers and psychologist work together to discuss these students. The psychologist was very welcome to my questions. He gave me some of the sheets that they fill out together. It was very interesting and cool for me because they made me feel like part of the team. I work with the two students who where being discussed so I was able to give my two cents about the situation. The meeting was very informative for me. I would like to in the future to sit in on a full IEP meeting, which I am hoping to do soon! I feel like a lot of good information would be given if I was given the chance to sit in on an IEP meeting.
The other interesting fact of this week was an English lesson I got to do in my full inclusion English class. The reason it was interesting was because I learned that down time in a full inclusion class equals loss of attention. I say this because when I was trying to get the computer up and running for the adverb interactive lesson the students loss attention because it took longer then I thought. I now know that I should always have things like that up and running ahead of time so to slim down the about of down time. It was a good lesson I learned by doing. I would also like to state I am getting a little sad I am coming up on my last week of Middle School......

Intern Week 2

This 2nd week has went very well. I have gotten to take a lot more of a lead in the classroom and it has been interesting. I get to take the lead and develope lessons that I think will work best with my low level students. I realize that taking it slow and steady is the best idea when working with these students. Taking it too fast can cause the students to fall behind and not fully understand the activity at hand.
I have also discovered this week that you must walk around your class and make sure everyone is working on the task at hand and isn't just sitting there staring at their paper. I have learned that many of these LD and lower level students will just look at their paper and not try to work it out if the don't understand. As the teacher or co teacher in the classroom you need to walk around your class to make sure everyone is working and is on task. This can help you ensure that all students are getting as much as they can from the lesson.
A lot of these students aren't dumb or stupid they are just lazy or have hit their frustration point. They can do the work it just takes a little bit more effort and that to a few of them is a big task in itself. I would also like to state that these are not just the LD kids these are just some of the students in the lower level classes that I co teach in. Its fun for me to see all these different levels of performance.

Intern Year Week One

I began my 5 week placement in Middle School on Thursday August 19th. I am in full inclusion classes working with the kids with disabilities and the other students in the class. Going into this placement I was very nervous about being in a middle school because I HATED middle school when I was a student. I now have a new respect for middle school and am really enjoying the time I am spending at South Harrison Middle School!
Being in a full inclusion classroom with both student with special need and general education students, I get to experience it all. As the special education teacher in the class, it is my responsibility to modify the lesson if needed and find those students who are struggling. I have to circulate the room and make sure ALL students are grasping the lesson and on the right track.
This week I have really had to take the time to get to know almost all my students in the 7 periods I am in. I have to do this because I have to know what their limits and what their strengths are. I enjoy the process of getting to know them because in middle school every student is just so different and learns so so so very different.
I would like to state also that the classes I am in are the lowest tier students according to their Westest scores. This mean that all of my students both students with special needs and without need the extra help from me to improve their knowledge and scores on the next test. This at times makes it difficult because in the classes comes a lot of students who are just lazy and would rather sit there then try to learn what is being taught to them. They are smart but lazy so they fall into the lowest tier. Makes you kind of sad!
In all I am beginning to love the middle school students more and more everyday!!

Artifacts and Characteristics of a Novice Teacher #4

For this blog I have decided to talk about blog number four which states, "We believe the novice teacher should be a facilitator of learning for all students." I wanted to talk about this topic because in my PDS I have had to develop lessons that would effective for students of all levels. Their is a student in my class who is Autistic and I had to create my lesson that would keep this student interested in the lesson. If this student gets uninterested in the lesson then the student tends to just sit at his desk just looking at his paper. I believe that because of this reason it fits under this standard of a novice teacher.
Also, at my PDS I have had to create lessons that keep the students moving because if i just let them sit at their desks then they loose focus or get bored with the situation. I have talked with my mentor teacher and we have discussed the fact that this group of students need to be moving at times. During the lessons I have moved my students from the carpet to their desks while teaching.

Artifacts and Characteristics of a Novice Teacher #2

I believe throughout this process of being in the schools under a mentor teacher, I have learned how to be an effective communicator. The reason I say this is because this year before I leave, I have time to talk with my mentor teacher. She gives me ideas as to what kind of lessons to do and also things I need to improve from the lesson I might have just done. During this time I also have the chance to communicate with her and tell her things I plan on doing in my lessons. We have a good 15 minutes to talk and I really value that time with my mentor teacher. During the 15 minutes we get a lot of good communication done. For example, today was Thursday and I discussed with her my lesson for Monday that I will be teaching. I told her some of the activities I was planning on doing and she gave me good ideas on how to better them. I will take her advice and try to implement it inot my lesson. She also told me what parts she thought would work well and I liked that because I feel more comfortable in my lesson on Monday.
The reason I have wrote about this communication is because it falls into characteristic number 2 which states: We believe that the novice teacher should be and effective communicator. The reason this fits into this characteristic is because our communication is effective. It is effective because my mentor teacher always gives me ideas on how to better my teaching skills in written and spoken form. There is also times when she emails me if she has an idea of something I need to change or maybe might want to do.
Communication is so very important between my mentor teacher and I because it is really her teaching time for me. It shows me how I should communicate as a teacher when I have my own class. I want to be able to have good communication with my studetns and provide times for teacher student communication. By this I mean other times then just class room discussion. I want there to be times where the student and teacher can communicate on more of a one on one status. Communication is so very important to teacher!!

Artifacts and Characteristics of a Novice Teacher #8

I have now spent a lot of time in my PDS to explore the different characteristics. On this blog I would like to talk about characteristic number 8. This characteristic states: we believe the novice teacher should be a reflective practitioner. What it means is that a reflective practitioner is some one who critically examines choices to inform practice.
I believe that i have exhibited this characteristic when I am at my PDS. The main way I have exhibited this is by activities like verbal retell. We take time to discuss the text in their terms and they are the main point of the discussion. This fits the characteristic because it helps the students critically examine the text along with the teacher. When the students take the time to critically examine the text they tend to grasp the context of the text somewhat better. I also see them talking the time to talk during class because they are examining the text. It is kind of like they are the teacher.
The second area where I exhibit this characteristic is in getting a lesson ready. Before planning a lesson I read the weekly story in depth and look at the activities or practices that come from that text. By looking further into my text I can become for familiar with the story so I can teach it better. I believe as teachers we have to try to be prepared for every situation. I am still working on this but would say I'm getting better all the times.

Artifacts and Characteristics of a Novice Teacher #6

I would like to talk about the science unit plan. For this lesson i chose to create a lesson around weathering and erosion. For this lesson i began by just introducing the topic to the students because they didn't know much about the topic at all when I did the interview. After introducing the topic I moved on to letting the students work with their hands to gain knowledge about erosion and weathering. They got to draw pictures and work with sand to see the process of erosion. The students seemed to really enjoy working with their hands. By the end of the science unit i had the students draw a picture of erosion or weathering and write a few sentences on what was happening in their picture. By doing this I could see if the students had grasp the difference between the two and also how the two work.

I thought many characteristics came to mind when looking at this unit but I thought number 6 fit the best. This characteristic stated "we believe that the novice teacher should have in-depth knowledge of content". This characteristic works because by doing this lesson I as the teacher had to have a full knowledge of the unit. If i didn't know my stuff on teaching weathering and erosion then my students would have grasp the content. This was a new topic for the students so I was the one introducing the topic to them and also lead them in discovery about the topic. As teachers we have to know what we are teaching. If we don't know it then how are we expected to teach it!