This afternoon, after classes, the Student Teachers met with Paula M., who is in charge of the Career Day Fair the Middle School holds in May. The STs were volunteered by the Principal to help coordinate the pre-fair doings. This will give us a great opportunity to (a) fulfill some of our Student Teaching requirements and (b) get a taste of the "real" teaching life - being on a committee and such.
The only concern we (STs) had was that we were not given a choice as to what activities to volunteer for. In a way, the act of "making" us part of a project gives us the feeling of being "free labor" and not respected as soon-to-be-professionals. Perhaps if we were told, "There are X number of activities happening during your student teaching and you must volunteer for Y number of them."
Anyway, next week I have my first observation. That is, the University advisor will be in class to observe me. YIKES! I have my lesson plan ready and I'm sure I'll do fine. I just hope I don't get a case of the shakes!
That's all for today!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Baseball
Today, some Minnesota Twins baseball players came to the school. The 6th and 7th Graders got to "visit" with them in the gym. Kids were excited for one of two reasons (1) they were going to see Minnesota Twin players; or (2) they would get out of 3rd hour class. The visit lasted 25 minutes. I think the adults were more excited than the kids about the visit. I did not go to the rally. There were 3 reasons for that (1) I don't care for or about baseball {I lost all interest around 1990} (2) I had much to get done during my new prep time and I did use it wisely and (3) I still don't do well with crowds.
Otherwise, today went quick and smooth. For the first 2 hours, I worked with students on creating or finishing their bibliographies. For the 4th & 5th hours, I instructed students how to organize their ideas for their research paper using the form Amy found. I'm not sure what was easier or more frustrating - kids on computers or kids with pencils. I don't have any quippy remarks or cool insights. This is something I'll have to think about.
Otherwise, today went quick and smooth. For the first 2 hours, I worked with students on creating or finishing their bibliographies. For the 4th & 5th hours, I instructed students how to organize their ideas for their research paper using the form Amy found. I'm not sure what was easier or more frustrating - kids on computers or kids with pencils. I don't have any quippy remarks or cool insights. This is something I'll have to think about.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Of Students and Blogs - 26 Jan 2010
Today was not a very eventful day. Here was the breakdown:
- I told the students that "Beta R.O.C.K.S." won as the blog name. Many were disappointed that "The Jackson" didn't win. But, as I explained (again) I could not use a name that didn't mean anything to me or the blog itself. By tomorrow, they will be over it.
- We listened to the first half of the last chapter of "A Long Way From Chicago." It is a funny book and a quick read. I will admit I had trepidations when I first entered Amy's class, as I had heard from the student who had her practicum with Amy that the readings were "boring" and the kids "got nothing out of it." Well, I'm not bored, and the kids always have questions.
- I found more resources for my poetry unit - which now looks like a 3 week stint! I'm going to throw some Mad Libs and other "fun" things into the 3 weeks, just to keep it interesting.
- Prep hour is now 3rd, and Academic Enrichment (AE) is now 6th. Eh, I don't like the change, but, it is what it is.
January 25 - In Service
Today was an in-service day. I'll just type it all out and hope that my paragraphs come at the right time.
Cheryl Nash gave the teachers, grades 3 to 7, three activities:
First, although I am only a ST, I found that these tests were not at all thought provoking, nor were they geared toward Northern MN students. I understand we must learn about species from other countries, but what 6th grader is going to find interest in a specifically named kangaroo or burrowing owl enough to comprehend why the author decided to write about them? I was not alone in this thought. Unfortunately, it seems some teachers have just decided to "go with it" because their "head banging" was only giving them headaches.
Second, most outs for each grade and area were different and aligned with the content area. For example, 5th Grade Math had an out of students understanding how to add and subtract fractions. Oh, I should say that an "out" is what we (teachers) have as a goal for students to know when they leave our classroom. One LA out had to do with understanding all the parts that make up a fictional short story. Seems reasonable to me. Listening to the thought processes of other LA teachers was wonderful because I finally found people who think like I do!
Third, all ins for all 6th and 7th grade content areas included the ability to write complete understandable sentences. This made my heart drop! I thought students were not to leave the 3rd grade unless they had mastered this - apparently not. Another odd thing was that each group thought they were being original with this request. There is a disconnect somewhere, but I'm just not sure where that is.
Working with other 6th Grade LA teachers gave me insight to the workings of their classes and some good ideas on presenting materials. One teacher uses a lot of animated Power Points to get the information to the students. I want to try that, instead of overheads. Amy does have an electronic board that may be useful, too.
During breaks, teachers from different grades and different areas talked about our activities. I did a lot of ease dropping to learn what other teachers thought middle school students did well, and what they could improve on. Some of these discussions helped the teams get a better handle on their outs.
So, aside from the frozen temperatures and the near blizzard, it turned out to be an interesting and productive day.
Cheryl Nash gave the teachers, grades 3 to 7, three activities:
- Cut up sample MCA test questions and divide them into categories. For LA groups, the categories were Vocabulary, Comprehension, and Literary.
- As a grade-area group, write out the Top 5 "Outs" for students.
- And then do so for the Top 5 "Ins".
First, although I am only a ST, I found that these tests were not at all thought provoking, nor were they geared toward Northern MN students. I understand we must learn about species from other countries, but what 6th grader is going to find interest in a specifically named kangaroo or burrowing owl enough to comprehend why the author decided to write about them? I was not alone in this thought. Unfortunately, it seems some teachers have just decided to "go with it" because their "head banging" was only giving them headaches.
Second, most outs for each grade and area were different and aligned with the content area. For example, 5th Grade Math had an out of students understanding how to add and subtract fractions. Oh, I should say that an "out" is what we (teachers) have as a goal for students to know when they leave our classroom. One LA out had to do with understanding all the parts that make up a fictional short story. Seems reasonable to me. Listening to the thought processes of other LA teachers was wonderful because I finally found people who think like I do!
Third, all ins for all 6th and 7th grade content areas included the ability to write complete understandable sentences. This made my heart drop! I thought students were not to leave the 3rd grade unless they had mastered this - apparently not. Another odd thing was that each group thought they were being original with this request. There is a disconnect somewhere, but I'm just not sure where that is.
Working with other 6th Grade LA teachers gave me insight to the workings of their classes and some good ideas on presenting materials. One teacher uses a lot of animated Power Points to get the information to the students. I want to try that, instead of overheads. Amy does have an electronic board that may be useful, too.
During breaks, teachers from different grades and different areas talked about our activities. I did a lot of ease dropping to learn what other teachers thought middle school students did well, and what they could improve on. Some of these discussions helped the teams get a better handle on their outs.
So, aside from the frozen temperatures and the near blizzard, it turned out to be an interesting and productive day.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Day 9
I've got to find a more clever way to name these posts.
First, there was cafeteria duty. There seemed to be fewer students, and some of the "regulars" were missing. I talked with another ST (got to get his name) and he thought maybe they were on extended vacations, as they don't have school Monday. I'm not sure and didn't worry much about it. I was concerned, however, about a conversation this ST had with the Principal. According to our packets of information we each received on our first day, we each have hall duty from 8:10 to 8:25. This is 3 minutes before the "1/2 hour before first class" buzzer to 3 minutes before the "class starts" buzzer (I miss school bells). Apparently the Principal did not believe the ST on this point. He (ST) was quite put-out about the Principal's attitude, and I don't blame him. So, ST now stays until the class starts buzzer, which presents a problem for him. If he is there to that buzzer, he will be late to start his class! So, what to do? ST has decided to stay and not talk with the Principal about the matter. I have not been asked by ST to give an opinion, and I have not been approached by anyone on when I enter and leave. I've decided to let it be - if I am asked for my opinion, I will give it. If I am "talked to" I will present the facts. I'm hoping there are no confrontations, as I don't like such.
As for classes today, the students voted on a blog name, the winner being "Beta R.O.C.K.S." You can see the blog here. 2 students suggested the name, so they will win a prize. Though, I haven't figured out what the prize is!
There was a sub for the 2nd half of the day. I let him know that I was there to help and would follow his lead. His attitude was that I was the ST and knew more about the class doings than he. So, he deferred to me! I found myself "taking over" at one point, and apologized. He said not to apologize and it was just fine. At the end of the day, sub told me that, as far as he was concerned, I was doing a great job - the kids gave me respect, and I had a good rapport with them. He assured me I would make a fine teacher. I accepted the compliment and did not question it or myself! Progress!!!
First, there was cafeteria duty. There seemed to be fewer students, and some of the "regulars" were missing. I talked with another ST (got to get his name) and he thought maybe they were on extended vacations, as they don't have school Monday. I'm not sure and didn't worry much about it. I was concerned, however, about a conversation this ST had with the Principal. According to our packets of information we each received on our first day, we each have hall duty from 8:10 to 8:25. This is 3 minutes before the "1/2 hour before first class" buzzer to 3 minutes before the "class starts" buzzer (I miss school bells). Apparently the Principal did not believe the ST on this point. He (ST) was quite put-out about the Principal's attitude, and I don't blame him. So, ST now stays until the class starts buzzer, which presents a problem for him. If he is there to that buzzer, he will be late to start his class! So, what to do? ST has decided to stay and not talk with the Principal about the matter. I have not been asked by ST to give an opinion, and I have not been approached by anyone on when I enter and leave. I've decided to let it be - if I am asked for my opinion, I will give it. If I am "talked to" I will present the facts. I'm hoping there are no confrontations, as I don't like such.
As for classes today, the students voted on a blog name, the winner being "Beta R.O.C.K.S." You can see the blog here. 2 students suggested the name, so they will win a prize. Though, I haven't figured out what the prize is!
There was a sub for the 2nd half of the day. I let him know that I was there to help and would follow his lead. His attitude was that I was the ST and knew more about the class doings than he. So, he deferred to me! I found myself "taking over" at one point, and apologized. He said not to apologize and it was just fine. At the end of the day, sub told me that, as far as he was concerned, I was doing a great job - the kids gave me respect, and I had a good rapport with them. He assured me I would make a fine teacher. I accepted the compliment and did not question it or myself! Progress!!!
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