80 Hour Practicum - Day Six

This morning I realized that I am leading most of the morning activities.  I start out the morning with the morning routine, followed by the morning paragraph and reading a picture book.  Then my practicum teacher dismisses to read to self and meets with groups while I correct papers and do other tasks such as keeping students on task, etc.  Then I lead the mini reading lesson (the new activity for today) followed by them taking a recess break, snack break, etc.  Depending on time, they may do another round of Daily five.  After that, I lead the spelling test and correct them.  Finally, my cooperating teacher finishes the morning and dismisses them to recess and lunch.

Being trusted with that much of the morning has really helped boost my confidence with teaching.  My cooperating teacher and I talked about how the mini reading lesson went and agreed that the procedures and lesson went well but classroom management was a bit of a struggle today because the students are "off" because of the weather changes and the fact that it is a Friday.  Additionally, we have noticed over time that I become less stiff.  I start out each new responsibility and lesson a bit stiff but the more I do that activity/lesson section, the less stiff and more comfortable I become.

Overall, today has been a great practicum day.

Technology in the Classroom

Week 7: Technology: How is technology used in this classroom.

My cooperating teacher has technology all over her classroom.  Some examples are below:

• Smartboard: She uses this for students to take attendance by marking what lunch they would like that day.  They also read the morning paragraph from this and it doubles as an overhead for the doc cam
• Doc Cam: She displays math problems, helps brainstorm different words, etc.  This is used as an overhead
• CD Player and Tape Player: These are used for Listen to Reading during Daily Five.  Each student has a set of headphones they keep in a bag with their name on it.
• Subtle microphone:  She has a clip on microphone that she uses during mainly during tests so students have a better chance of hearing her clearly.  She stands in the front and her voice comes out of the speaker in the back so her voice can reach all students in the classroom at a louder and clearer volume
• Website:  As my technology project, I will be creating a classroom website for her to use.  We are still in the beginning planning stages. 

Those are just some of the many varieties of technology my cooperating teacher uses.  Overall, she is very technologically literate and takes full advantage of technology to make learning more engaging and easier to communicate.  I hope to have access to as much technology as she does one day.

Vocabulary Instruction

Week 5: Vocabulary Instruction.  What strategies are being used to build student vocabulary?

My cooperating teacher does most of her vocabulary teaching during the middle of the week so I haven't directly seen it.  However, I did ask her about teaching vocabulary and she said it is kind of up in the air because of the Common Core changes.  She said that there are some words that they are supposed to teach the students but much of it is left up to teacher discretion.

When she does directly teach vocabulary, she will introduce the word, usually with an accompanying visual, and talk about it with the class until they come up with a definition together.  Then they will write the word down along with the definition in their notebooks.  From there they will draw about it to add a visual near the word.  

Indirectly, some students gain more vocabulary skills during weekly spelling tests and practice and word work activities during Daily Five time.

80 Hour Practicum - Day Five

The morning routine and the spelling test went well today but what went particularly well was when I read the morning book.  It was a cold read because I had forgotten to take the book home to practice but I was able to read with few errors or awkward pauses.  I was really proud of myself because I was having fun reading, the students were engaged, and I had a wider variety of expressions in my reading.  I think this is due to being more comfortable in front of the students as well as my cooperating teacher telling me to read like myself instead of trying imitate her.  I found that very helpful and it took off a lot of the pressure I was feeling.

I was going to lead part of the reading lesson today but my practicum teacher had a busy week and was unable to send me the material to prepare.  So I had the opportunity to watch her lead the lesson with the idea in mind that I would be helping teach it, causing me to pay attention to the details.  I will be helping lead a song, highlight short i words, and brainstorm short i words for their writing booklets.  I am nervous to lead the song because I am not a particularly good singer but I think the rest will go well.

My cooperating teacher said that I did a really good job today and that she could tell I was reading the book with more expression in my voice.  This made me feel really good because I have been working on reading with more expression. :)

80 Hour Practicum - Day Four

I led the usual activities today: the spelling test, morning routine, and reading a book.  However, I think today went better than pervious days in that my cooperating teacher told me that I seemed less stiff than I used to.  That made me feel good because I am starting to feel more comfortable in the classroom and interacting with the students.  I tried to read the book with more expression and my cooperating teacher agreed that I had more expression.  She also told me to be myself and that I did not have to read books the same way she does.

The spelling test was still a little stiff but I am getting the hang of it.  Students often are coming and going from the classroom around this time so classroom management is a little more difficult.

I was definitely more relaxed during the morning routine because I forced myself to not use my notes.  I think this helped me ad-lib more and actually make the connections with the students instead of following my list exactly.

I talked with my cooperating teacher and we agreed that I would help with the reading lesson next week to get comfortable with the material.  Then, the week after that, I will teach a full reading lesson myself.  I am excited that my cooperating teacher is letting me be so active in the classroom.  It is helping me leaps and bounds every week.

Thank you

80 Hour Practicum - Assessment

Week 4: Assessment.  How are students informally and formally assessed? How is it documented?

In my cooperating teacher's classroom, students are both formally and informally assessed.  They are often informally assessed through worksheets and activities where the material is similar to what will be on the formal assessment but it is graded differently.  My cooperating teacher puts a star on the top of the paper when students complete an assignment.  She will also circle what is wrong so students know what they got correct and what they could improve on.

On formal assessments, such as the weekly spelling tests, my cooperating teacher will score the different items and put a total score over possible points on the top of the page.  If they got all the points, they get a star on the top of the page.

My cooperating teacher also does guided reading assessments to help students read at an appropriate level for them.  She often will do these assessments during the Read to Self section of Daily Five.

Overall, my cooperating teacher pays attention to the growth of each of her students and can tell me who has grown significantly in subjects such as spelling and math.  I think that it is important to know your students and acknowledge their growth levels in addition to the actual accuracy of the assignment so students can continue to feel motivated to learn and practice.

80 Hour Practicum - Day Three

Today in the classroom, I was able to lead three activities.  The first activity I was able to lead was the morning routine.  It felt really good to be doing something in the classroom right away in the morning.  I greeted students as they walked in and reminded them to select which lunch they wanted, etc.  Then, after the morning announcements, I was able to start leading the morning routine.  Each week, there is a new helper assigned to go through the morning routine.  The student and teacher go through the date, day of the week, days school has been in session, the weather and season, and the time.  These activities meet four different math standards and build math skills through repetition.  When I led this routine, I was a bit unsure of myself but I know that I will get more confident each week as I lead the activity.

After the morning routine, the students and I read the morning paragraph describing the major events of the day, such as the spelling test that I led at 11am.  This was my second time leading the spelling test and I was a lot more confident and had more instructions that last week so I think it went really well this time around.
I also read a book to the children today.  It was a Berenstain Bears books about new neighbors moving in.  I really liked this book as a child so I was excited to read it to the students.  However, I was also nervous because my voice is naturally very monotone and I have a hard time reading with expression.  I tried to add some while reading and I thought I did a pretty good job but my cooperating teacher wants me to work on my expression so I am going to read another book next week and practice in the meantime.
Overall, the day went well and I am proud of myself for getting up in front of the classroom and working on my teaching skills.