February Blog

Hello Lovelies, 
I genuinely hope you have been enjoying your weeks/month so far.

As of February 13th, I am now spending all days Tuesday and Fridays in my clinical placement. I have been able to see how my students act throughout the week and throughout the day. I have noticed to get the most "important" work done in the morning because that is when students pay more attention. The further along in the day we go, the more my student's attention span decreases. This month I have learned more about the stress of student teaching and the difficulty of this program since the change of integrating edTPA into our classes. I have done a lot of research when it comes to integrating the arts in my classroom. I have learned about the limited funding North Carolina receives for the arts, but we may be getting rid of parts of the arts in elementary and I believe it is scary that this is even considered. The arts are an escape for some students that need a break from the stress of their life situations. The arts are great for helping students be creative in what they do and have an outlet when school is either too difficult or too easy. It is great to give students confidence in their abilities and positivity for their self-esteem. While integrating music and art is a typical go-to for a classroom, integrating theater is beneficial for understanding literacy and delving deeper into characters, settings, emotions, and descriptions. It is also great in finding similarities and differences between authors and author's characters. 

"Teachers lead in the classroom." I was able to give spelling, phonics, and a reading test. I ensured all students were on track and answered questions to the best of my ability without giving hints to answers. "Teachers advocate for school and students" I have been researching the arts funding in NC and volunteered to perform a skit for my classroom to understand the setting, characters, character development, etc. for my students. "Teachers demonstrate high ethical standards" I was able to talk with students why gossip is hurtful and should be left alone. "Teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults." I have been spending time getting to know my students. I sat with them alone at lunch to find out their interests so I can integrate that into my lessons. "Teachers align their instruction with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study" I have been making lessons based off of NC standards for second grade. "Teachers recognize the interconnectedness of content areas/disciplines." I have been working with social studies methods in learning small ways to integrate social studies in lessons when it is not a priority in younger grade levels. "Teachers integrate and use technology in their lesson" I have been researching sites I can use to stay up-to-date with my content knowledge.
"The work of the teacher results in acceptable, measurable progress for students based on established performance expectations using appropriate data to demonstrate growth." I have determined 3 students that are tier 2 in ELA in which I will be working with weekly to work towards reading fluently, passing through second grade, and ultimately graduation into the workforce. "Teachers link professional growth to their professional goals." I have been learning my weaknesses in the professional area of being a teacher and am working towards being a more efficient teacher. "Teachers plan instruction appropriate for their students." I have been planning an Olympics ELA lesson for the second grade students I am going to teach" "Teachers help students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills" I helped two students use the arrow method in solving three digit addition and subtraction problems. "Teachers know the content appropriate to their teaching specialty." In using the Eureka! method for math, I have been learning new ways to learn and teach math in a way I have never known how to solve math.
"Teachers lead in their classroom" I was able to lead instruction on the winter Olympics and lead in games with the students. I was able to lead in a phonics and writing instruction on both Wednesday and Friday. "Teachers demonstrate leadership in the school" I talked with the Principal and the Media specialists about information within the school. "Teachers treat students as individuals" I have addressed each individuals' work and progress with their work by what I know they are capable of doing. "Teachers make instruction relevant to students" In teaching the winter Olympics, I was able to show them games to help them understand differences in sports, what athletes are, and teamwork. "Teachers help students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills" I helped students practice mental math skills by practicing addition and subtraction in a race against peers.
"Teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults" and "Teachers embrace diversity in the school community and the world" I have been able to find out more about the students in my classroom, where they come from, their family life, and the history the student's have with behaviors, actions, and personalities so I am more able to understand my students to be able to teach them more effectively. "Teachers work collaboratively with the families and significant adults in the lives of their students." This week we had swimming lessons every day at the YMCA and we had one parent join us for the duration of the lessons. This parent had many questions about what they could and could not do, and questions about the forms I sent home to have parent's permission for student work, and I was happy to answer all of this parent's questions.

Blog One

Hello Beautiful Readers!

It is week four of Social Studies Methods and Facilitating Learning-21st Century.

The month of January has been full of some interesting weather! Snowing one week, then wearing shorts the next. A new semester has just started, now it's time to get busy!

I have had the opportunity to get settled into my clinical placement. I have been able to observe a great management plan in the classroom and learned so much about school procedures, like SWPBIS, emergency plans,and student expectations. Before, I had no idea what SWPBIS was, but now I know it is rule guidelines the entire school follows (plus any classroom rules). My school has PAWS, it is an acronym for P- Playing it Safe A- Accept Responsibility W- Winners Always Learn and S- Show Respect. "We PAWS for good behavior" is the slogan that goes along with this.

I have learned so much with classroom management so far. Here are some things I learned:

• Have a detailed plan for the day
• Follow along with the "Big Idea" or concept, bring questions and responses into this
• Be ready to have brain breaks and know what is best for your students
• Having math and writing notebooks cuts down on losing paper and keeps work organized
• Assign students a number, then have them turn in their work by their numbers
• Understand that no class will ever be the same, so your lessons from year-to-year should not stay the same either.
• Non-Verbal cues are powerful- it lets the student know they are doing wrong without drawing attention to them
• Use timers for group work, individual work, reading, and any other time limited experience.
• Play games to exemplify good behavior. 
• Example: In the hallways, Ms. Taylor's class plays the "Do What Your Supposed To" game. It is like the silent game, but you can still act up while being silent. Each student gets to watch all of their peers, then has 10 seconds to choose someone who is showing good behavior. We play this while lining up from bathroom breaks.
• Plan for extra. You do not want to waste time in your classroom. If students are working quickly because they understand a topic, have more ready for them to practice or move on.
• Know what your students are interested in and use their interests to motivate them in the classroom.
• When you see a bad behavior do not let it slide, let the student know why what they are doing is not okay. 
• Have questions prepared and examples prepared for lessons.
• Have a loving and respectful environment. Be sure students understand that this is what you expect from them, and show this behavior with your own.
• When talking with guardians about their child, do not give only negatives. Have check-ins with them about what their child is doing right so they do not dread picking up the phone or opening an email from you.
• When giving bad news to a guardian, it is best to sandwich the negative. Start with something positive then end with a positive about their child.
• Stay consistent with rules. No child is exempt from the rules.

I have seen and will get to see more of great classroom management and cannot wait to see more. I most definitely will use the above strategies in my classroom. 

In Social Studies Methods we get to experience how to create an informative PowerPoint or source in under 10 minutes regarding a question a student may ask. I love doing this, I think it will greatly help in the classroom with the access to technology and relevant information we will have. Since social studies is not a main target in the grade level I am placed in, I am learning and researching ways in which I can integrate an appropriate amount of information into my weekly, or even daily, lessons. There is a social studies concept that can be integrated within any concept, all it takes is a little research and students are getting two or more content areas within one lesson.

There has been so much information that has come with 435. For one, edTPA scoring and creating is harsh! When I become a teacher, I will submit one for National Certification since I am getting this experience and will have this fresh in my mind. I am working towards and hoping for the best! I learned the above classroom management through our LE 1, and next I will be working on how I would like my own classroom, which is going to resemble my clinical educator's classroom management- she does very well!

NCTCS

• Teachers lead in their classrooms. 
• By observing and planning my own classroom managemen
• Teachers demonstrate high ethical standards
• I observed and dealt with a situation in regards to bullying
• Teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults. and Teachers treat students as individuals.
• I have taken every opportunity I can to talk about students' interests and try to get to know them on a personal level so I can help relate to them.
• Teachers recognize the interconnectedness of content areas/disciplines.
• I have been researching integrating multiple content areas
• Teacher make instruction relevant to students
• I have been looking at lesson plans and tests that are proven to work and determining how to make it relevant to today's student.
• Teachers utilize and integrate technology in their classroom.
• I am researching multiple approved websites I can use in my classroom.
• Teachers help students work in teams and develop leadership qualities.
• Unfortunately, this class does not do well working with one another, so whenever there is a group project or group work I try to work with one or more groups to assess and handle each situation in order for them to do better as a team and eventually as a high-functioning adult.