And so it begins!

   This was my first week of student teaching, and it has been filled with new adventures each day. Overall, I would say I had a great week (a 5). In kindergarten, we do a staggered start and a round up which means there were 86 kids that were not assigned a teacher….Talk about crazy!

    On Monday we had 1/3 of the students come, Tuesday 1/3 of them and Wednesday 1/3 of them as well. After each day, we met together as a grade level and went through the kids who did not get along and couldn’t be together, which students should be together, and what students worked well with specific teachers. Wednesday we “made” our classes based on behavior and academic abilities. Thursday was the trial run, and Friday the notes that tell the parents who their teacher are were sent home. On Thursday the classes went well, so we did not have to change anyone from Thursday to Friday.  

     I was very surprised when I found out how this whole process was going to work, because I have never heard of anything like it. Even though it was a bit of chaos and long days, I think it will be very beneficial and will hopefully prevent a lot of behavior problems and troubles that could have went on in the classroom had we not done this. This first week consisted of the students learning about the school, rules, and what is expected of them. I was in charge of the rhyming center during the round up days, and I found that when you give a compliment to a student, the students around them want the compliments as well, so they will work even harder to answer the question. For example; one student answered the question fast so I gave him a high-five and told him he was so smart. The next question, the boy to the side of him answered it fast and said am I smart? Students will work hard when they are motivated and encouraged, so this is a tactic I will use in my lesson plans for next week to keep the students focused and engaged in the lesson.

   A long-term goal of mine is to work on my classroom management skills. Keeping 22 kindergartners focused and on task the first couple months of school is not the easiest, so a goal of mine is to work on ways to keep them under control and focused. My short-term efforts of working with smaller groups of students Monday-Wednesday helped me since we were able to give each student more attention and focus on a smaller group of students. Thursday and Friday were definitely more challenging. Trying to get 22 kindergartners to walk in a line and not talk in the halls will take a couple months. This week there isn’t anything I could have spent more or less time doing. Since it was the first week, we were on a set schedule and I did whatever my CE wanted me to do.

   Next week will be the students first actual week of school since they only came 3 days this week and their first day they were only with 6 or 7 other students. Next week we have Monday off because of Labor Day, so they only have a 4-day week. The logical steps for next week, is to keep reiterating the rules and expectations of the classroom and explaining everything we do. Next week my lessons will be testing the students to see how well they know their alphabet, uppercase and lowercase letters and letter sounds so I can get a better understanding of where each student is academically.

    The data we had from this week is just some basic assessments we gave the students. On their assigned day when they came in small groups, we tested each student on how high they could count, if they could write their numbers, if they could count out a group of objects, if they knew their colors and shapes. We did not test them on their alphabet skills, so my lessons next week will be their first assessment of their letters and letter sounds.

    The advice I would give to other student-teachers, is to take a deep breath and enjoy the moments. I know we are extremely stressed and busy, but when we are in the classroom our only focus should be loving on our babies. I would say that we should not even think about how much work we have while we are in the classroom, so we can give our undivided attention to our students.

    This week I made my portfolio outline on livebinder and put my resume in my portfolio. The support I needed from my university supervisor has already been given and my CE does not need anything currently. 

 

NC Teacher candidate standards

This week from element 1a, Teachers lead in their classroom, I was in the developing candidate category. This week I was able to describe the characteristics and importance of a safe and orderly classroom environment. I explained that it is not safe to run in the classroom because you could fall and get hurt. A few times this week, I had to tell students to stop running so I am working toward proficient in this category. This week I was also in the category of developing candidate for standard 2c, Teachers treat students as individuals. I was able to encourage and love on each student no matter what their background or ability was. I had students who did not know anything I was talking about when I was teaching them about rhyming words, but I still told them they did a great job. However, when students were guessing, I stopped them and explained again what rhyming words are and told them to listen for the same ending sounds when I read the words. I am encouraging them to continue their learning and expressing that we have high expectations for them. From standard 3d, Teachers make instruction relevant to students’ I also fell under the developing candidate category. In the three days of round up, students rotated classrooms where teachers were testing their abilities. In our classroom, we tested them on rhyming words, and for my station the students played a rocket ship rhyming game. The kids loved it and didn’t want to stop playing. They didn’t even realize they were learning because they were having so much fun playing something fun. It is important that we relate our teaching to life in the 21^st century and what interests the students. I was also on my way to proficient during this lesson by integrating students’ interests to their education. I was in the developing candidate category for element 4b, teachers plan instruction appropriate for their students. On Friday I gave a pre-assessment for the lessons I am going to teach next week. I am using this data to make short-term groups for next weeks lesson. I am moving towards proficient because I have been collaborating with my CE. For element 5a, Teachers analyze student learning, I fell under emergent candidate. I was able to get the students first week assessment scores, and a pre-assessment I made for the students to take so I can make groups for next weeks lesson. I have not yet identified sources to improve student’s learning since it is the first week of school for them and we have not given any big assessments yet. From this first week, I can already see myself improving each day. This will be a very busy semester filled with lots and lots of learning and growing!