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!!