It really has been a while since I have posted (even when my last post stated as much as it did). I have now been teaching special education for a full semester at a wonderful school and I must say...
It is much different than I would have thought it would have been, in both good and bad ways.
In no way is this post meant to be a rant or in anyway portray that I do not love my job. There is nothing more rewarding than teaching, but the paperwork and politics are far beyond what I could have imagined. Now looking back at my half decade of experience as a para-educator, the educational systems have changed far beyond what I would have imagined for such a short amount of time. The legalities of my daily paperwork and the documents I maintain can be beyond stressful, especially when you have high level administrators working the regulations as they see fit (mind you it is within the laws, but more restricting to the educators). Out of my 8 hour day, I teach through direct service 1.5 hours a day, cover para lunches and breaks for 2.5 hours a day and the rest of the day (minus my 30 minute lunch when I am able to) I am doing paperwork of some sort, attending or facilitating meetings.
The downfall I am trying to point out here is the lack of time I get to teach directly. I find the paperwork to be a pleasant challenge (as crazy as that sounds), but I miss teaching. Although this post may sound negative, I do not mean for it to. I love my job, I love the people I work with, I love the kids I work with, and love my direct administration. What I do mean to point out is the limitations and pressures put on educators to follow laws that do not always mean the best for children. While I spend much of my time assuring that I am within the law, it takes time away from my students and away from going above and beyond on a consistent level for my students and create lessons and activities that will create that sense of wonder I often saw in their eyes.
Showing posts with label classroom mascot. Show all posts
Showing posts with label classroom mascot. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Thursday, February 5, 2015
My very first 5th Grade ELA lesson
This lesson (explained in another one of my posts about a mascot), went amazingly! Students were excited throughout the period, they were on task and discussions were very meaningful. Even though this lesson was directed at beaing pretty silly and fun and creative, the students took it seriously enough to use their time effectively and the stories they came up with was beyond my expectation. The best part of it all was seeing students so excited to share their stories with the class at the end of the period.
During the first round of this lesson, my college supervisor was there to observed and made several comments on how well the lesson went and how engaged the students were. Student behaviors were nearly perfect, with only one student having difficulty because he was simply not sure how to get his ideas organized on paper. I presented this student with a graphic organizer I had premade and the issue seemed to be solved.
During the second round of this lesson, the 5th grade ELA teacher was in to observe. This time the classroom was louder (26 children were talking and discussing ideas), but all conversations were on task and meaningful. Toward the end, predictably, students became a little off task, so I pulled the group together sooner than I had anticipated in order to wrangle everyone to focus. By doing this, it allowed for more students to share their work, and I gave students permission to add to their stories while others were presenting. I think this enriched their writing further.
It was truly amazing to see the stories and narratives that the students came up with. So many possibilities, so many personalities, so much creativity.
I am more than happy to post my lesson plan or even student work if anyone is interested.
And as always, thank you for reading, feel free to share and like this post.
During the first round of this lesson, my college supervisor was there to observed and made several comments on how well the lesson went and how engaged the students were. Student behaviors were nearly perfect, with only one student having difficulty because he was simply not sure how to get his ideas organized on paper. I presented this student with a graphic organizer I had premade and the issue seemed to be solved.
During the second round of this lesson, the 5th grade ELA teacher was in to observe. This time the classroom was louder (26 children were talking and discussing ideas), but all conversations were on task and meaningful. Toward the end, predictably, students became a little off task, so I pulled the group together sooner than I had anticipated in order to wrangle everyone to focus. By doing this, it allowed for more students to share their work, and I gave students permission to add to their stories while others were presenting. I think this enriched their writing further.
It was truly amazing to see the stories and narratives that the students came up with. So many possibilities, so many personalities, so much creativity.
I am more than happy to post my lesson plan or even student work if anyone is interested.
And as always, thank you for reading, feel free to share and like this post.
Friday, January 30, 2015
Substituting for a Cooperating Teacher
Today was my Cooperating Teacher's birthday, so she took it off, and guess who is the substitute!
What a great experience, having a whole classroom and being in the lead role. I was even able to help modify and schedule the lessons and activities for the day. Truly gave me some great confidence in my own abilities. Making my own choices and testing out my classroom management is amazing, and frankly, it is going very well.
Students have been responsive to me and my instruction, which is noted through the various activities they are completing. Although currently I am working with the most amicable class (or was, it is my planning time), I still feel confident that it will be a great day, and the same patter of responsiveness will continue throughout the day.
I will edit this post throughout the day and throughout my experience as teacher for the day (which I got to plan). I have substituted before, but the plans and such were written out for me.
Wish me luck!
Edit:
Soooo..... some classroom dynamics can be.... interesting to say the least. I have never heard "I don't like him/her" said about peers so many times in my life, but with every gray cloud comes a silver lining. I was able to have a great talk to the students who were having conflict, and I think that it really hit home for them.
What a great experience, having a whole classroom and being in the lead role. I was even able to help modify and schedule the lessons and activities for the day. Truly gave me some great confidence in my own abilities. Making my own choices and testing out my classroom management is amazing, and frankly, it is going very well.
Students have been responsive to me and my instruction, which is noted through the various activities they are completing. Although currently I am working with the most amicable class (or was, it is my planning time), I still feel confident that it will be a great day, and the same patter of responsiveness will continue throughout the day.
I will edit this post throughout the day and throughout my experience as teacher for the day (which I got to plan). I have substituted before, but the plans and such were written out for me.
Wish me luck!
Edit:
Soooo..... some classroom dynamics can be.... interesting to say the least. I have never heard "I don't like him/her" said about peers so many times in my life, but with every gray cloud comes a silver lining. I was able to have a great talk to the students who were having conflict, and I think that it really hit home for them.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Week 3: Why are we having 5th graders practice their counting?
It is week 3 and I have been given the change to teach daily the introduction/warm-up session for all three 5th grade homerooms that come into the Math classroom I am student teaching in. I find it a great way to break into the students getting to know me and my styles, as well as getting to know their abilities and quirks. It begins with the students coming in and choosing a popsicle stick that tells them where to sit. This is followed by a Problem Of the Day (P.O.D.) which the students complete on their whiteboards independently, then check their answers with peers, then I go over the answer with them on the big whiteboard at the front of the room. We review any tricky spots and move on to homework checks. Once again the students check their answers with peers, and any tricky problems are gone over as a class by request of the students.
Then we practice counting. Initially, this seemed like a silly thing for 5th graders to be doing, but by practicing their skip counting, their fact family awareness has increased. The current topic in math is division, specifically the traditional standard algorithm, which takes a bit of mental math. By having the students practice skip counting (of 60, 70, 80, 21, 17, etc.) both orally as a group and on paper for a 1 minute sprint, students become more and more familiar with the number patterns that can be seen throughout math.
Being skeptical, I asked my cooperating teacher to show me some data backing up the claims that practicing counting in the 5th grade could help students with their math. She pulled out tracking and data sheets with a baseline and the increase of student performance increased beyond what I would normally thought to happen or have seen happen in other classrooms I have been in. While it was slow to start while students learned and practiced the counting, when multiplication and division problems were introduced, students had a steady and strong increase in their academics without fail. This means even struggling students were making gains beyond what had been expected for them.
All from something they were introduced to as younger students, and creating practical applications.
Then we practice counting. Initially, this seemed like a silly thing for 5th graders to be doing, but by practicing their skip counting, their fact family awareness has increased. The current topic in math is division, specifically the traditional standard algorithm, which takes a bit of mental math. By having the students practice skip counting (of 60, 70, 80, 21, 17, etc.) both orally as a group and on paper for a 1 minute sprint, students become more and more familiar with the number patterns that can be seen throughout math.
Being skeptical, I asked my cooperating teacher to show me some data backing up the claims that practicing counting in the 5th grade could help students with their math. She pulled out tracking and data sheets with a baseline and the increase of student performance increased beyond what I would normally thought to happen or have seen happen in other classrooms I have been in. While it was slow to start while students learned and practiced the counting, when multiplication and division problems were introduced, students had a steady and strong increase in their academics without fail. This means even struggling students were making gains beyond what had been expected for them.
All from something they were introduced to as younger students, and creating practical applications.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Quick Question for Fellow Educators.... Please help.
So I am looking for a fun and helpful tool to help with classroom management. I have seen and personally used a classroom mascot to help with classroom management that was attached to a point earning system. I saw it working great with younger students (Grades 1-3), but I am now in a 5th grade classroom and would love to introduce a classroom mascot. How can I do this without it being too "childish" for the students, AND how can I incorperate it in such a way that it can be helpful to classroom management?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)