Congratulations! You survived the first day!
What most surprised you about the experience? How would you assess your performance?
What are you most looking forward to next week?
Do your students see social studies during the school day? school week? school year?
Now that I have gone to my school and met my teacher, a lot of my worries have been put aside. I saw how well the fifth grade teachers worked together and helped each other with the lessons for today's agenda. It made me realize that we have fellow teachers who will be there to help guide us through a problem or through a very structured curriculum that is not engaging the students. I was surprised by how much talking goes on between teachers about how to tweak a lesson to make it better. I felt as though I could take over this classroom, which is a feeling I did not have walking into school today. I got involved with what I could around the classroom, but was mostly observing how she taught and ran her classroom.
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to doing a thirty minute "get to know me" lesson next week. I have all of the children's names down, I just would like to get to know them on another level as their student teacher.
My students see social studies in the morning. I was not able to observe it today due to some testing, however she mentioned that it is integrated. It is integrated with reading, and from what I hear, Journey are the new books and are complicated. The social studies program does not mix well with the reading - which makes it very difficult for the teachers to teach all of the information to the students in forty minutes. I am looking forward to next week to see how social studies is integrated into my fifth grade classroom.
This placement was the first time I got to see fifth grade. I am used to the Kindergarten age, so this will be such a learning experience this semster. What suprised me most was how much a teacher accomplishes in only seven hours! Within those seven hours I did a lot of observing for the first day to get a feel of the class and how the day works. I tried my best to not overwhelm myself, but I helped some students and talked to the majority of them, so I think today went well. For next week, I would love to help out more, and get to know the students. Thankfully, these students do see a specific time of day for social studies and science. The different part is that the teachers teach SS for 9 weeks, then Science for 9 weeks, then SS for 9 weeks, then Science for the last 9 weeks. That's the way they accomplish their curriculumn. Today was a great day, but I realized that even though I want to teach a younger age, I will get to see where the students should be at from the future of my classroom.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved my field experience. The thing that most surprised me about the experience was that the whole school was very organized, the environment was warm, and the teacher was very nice and familiar towards me. The experience was such a positive one that made me realize that I feel really comfortable teaching the students. The students treated me as a teacher and listened to my suggestions about how to improve their skills. I think my performance went well because the students interacted with me, answered my questions, and even the teacher praised my interaction with the students when I read to them. I am looking forward to getting to know the students and getting involved more in teaching.
ReplyDeleteI did not observe Social Studies in the classroom, but it is included in the lessons for everyday from 10:55-11:45am. There was not enough time to teach it today. The teacher told me that Social Studies is integrated with reading. I found out that it is very hard for teachers to make time for Social Studies.
I am so happy to be in Kindergarten! The day is completely different than what it is like in the upper grades. Unfortunately, half of the class came yesterday and the other half came today. The entire class comes for the first full day together tomorrow, so I was not able to meet all of my students. Also, at the moment there are 27 students enrolled in both of the Kindergarten classrooms so they are currently in the process of hiring a third teacher. They will be taking out probably 7 students from each class to make a class of 14. This should be done by the end of next week, they hope. This has put alot of stress on my co-op as she has been planning for students that soon will be leaving - and she doesn't even know which ones they will be! Talk about teachers and needing to be flexible! What most surprised me about the day was that it went so quickly! And also, how smoothly it went!
ReplyDeleteFor the first day I feel as if I did a good job getting to know the students (half of them!) and their names. I also helped out as much as possible, handing out paperwork, showing them where to place their bookbags, and so on. I also made a point to ask as many questions of my co-op as possible to get a feel of what role she would like me to take in her classroom.
I have a really good relationship with my co-op already so I look forward to planning lessons soon! Most of all, I look forward to meeting the rest of the class next week!
As for Social Studies, they do see it in the classroom. When asking about it, she said that Social Studies is incorporated by theme (school, transportation, community workers, etc). They flip flop back and forth between Social Studies and Science.
It was such a great day and I am excited to go back next week!
I really enjoyed my field experience today. I am in a third grade classroom at Donegal Springs Elementary School. This is the first time I've ever been in a third grade classroom and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. The students were very well behaved and much less needy as compared to the first grade and kindergarten classrooms i've been in. Although I was surprised when one of the girls asked me to tie her shoe! I felt very comfortable in this classroom as I talked with Amy (my co-op) and worked with her students. I think my performance went well because I was not afraid to walk around the classroom and help students with their questions. I helped Amy grade papers and worked individually with a student on her writing assignment. I felt really comfortable jumping right in. The students had to take a placement test for reading and writing for the first hour and then they went to specials, recess, and lunch, so I did not see the students as much as I would have liked in the morning. The 3rd grade teachers had a meeting while the students were in specials and they all seemed to be very stressed about the pressure that was put on reading and all the documentation that they had to keep up with. The Language Arts program comes with a very detailed and scripted book that doesn't allow much creativity for the teachers and they feel that there is just too much information to cover. They just started teaching Science and Social Studies this week. Instead of starting it last week they took that time to do welcoming activities, go over classroom rules, jobs, fire drills, etc. She felt that because Language Arts was the only thing that was mandatory, they could use the Social Studies and Science time to go over these activities. She also informed me that she teaches Social Studies and will teach her students for about 5 weeks and then they will switch and go to a different teacher for Science. In 5 weeks another group of third graders will come to her for Social Studies. Although I thought it was good that the students were at least seeing Social Studies, I thought it would be better if it was split in small increments of time. I feel that the students may forget what they learned by having such a long separation between the two subjects. I feel like I have already learned a lot and it was only the first week. I am excited to go back!
ReplyDeleteUpon arriving to my classroom, I was greeted by several handshakes, not only from administrators and my co-op, but also from many of my fourth graders! The children were so well-mannered and knew exactly what to do from the moment they walked in. I could tell that the school (and my classroom) is extremely structured. I would have to say that this degree of structure is what surprised me the most about my day. The day was very fast-paced and there were very seamless transitions. My co-op sets very high expectations (academically and behaviorally) for her students.
ReplyDeleteI saw a small portion of today devoted to social studies – the kids are learning the history of Pennsylvania, and were quizzing each other for a quiz during today’s social studies session!
I would say that I performed pretty well considering it was my first day, although I felt a bit overwhelmed through various parts of the day. I observed my teacher and kids a lot, and helped students individually with math problems and other seat work. The kids were all very interested in when and how often I will be coming back! One of the kids was sad that I would “only be staying until December!” Next week I’m looking forward to several things, including getting to know more about my kids and learning more about this particular school! I’m also looking forward to helping with small groups, and becoming better acquainted in working with my grade level!
Overall, the school is incredibly different from what I am used to, so it may take me some time to adjust to the grade level and atmosphere. However, I’m looking forward to this opportunity to get to work with such an interesting school and group of kids!
Before going to my field work I had no idea what to expect. I think the thing that surprised me the most was how up to date the technology in each classroom was. Each room has a built in smart board, three computers for student use, new laptops for the teachers, and a tv.
ReplyDeleteI feel that I performed well today in the classroom. My teacher was finishing reading and math assessments with individual students so I was able to help the students with questions and monitor their work on the current task. The students were very receptive of me and did not hesitate to ask me questions or talk to me in general. Next week I think I am most excited to work with the kids more and really get to know them and become a larger part of the classroom.
My class does see social studies every week. There is time built into their schedule each day for either social studies or science. I did get to see social studies today and the students were having a discussion about the community and working together with their friends and neighbors to be good citizens. I am glad that I have the opportunity to see social studies and/or science each time I visit the classroom!
I really enjoyed my first grade placement, meeting my cooperating teacher, and the students I will be working with. What really surprised me the most was the way they walked into the classroom and already understood most of the morning routine and got to work right away. They walked into the classroom put their things in the appropriate places and got their journals and a book out and got to work. It surprised me that having only been in school a short time that they knew what was expected right once they walked into the classroom. What also surprised me was that I would also be working with a student teacher from another college and, eventually, a classroom aid. I got to work with the students during center time and played a word game with them. It was really fun and I got to apply some of the techniques that I have read in my textbooks to helping the students sound out a difficult word and put it in the correct category. I got a lot of comments from the students that they enjoyed the game and were excited to play it again.
ReplyDeleteI did a lot of observing this time and would like to get more hands on with the students. I did help out with the center activity and helped students to understand what they were supposed to do while working on their reading workbook. I hope to also have their names down and be able to call on them by name and help them more.
The students will not be seeing much social studies at all during the school year. If they have time they may learn a little social studies. The learning environment is based on reading, writing and math. They will not be seeing much social studies or science.
I am looking forward to going back next week and learning more from my cooperating teacher and from the students.
What most surprised me about today's experience was how different it was from my urban Harrisburg placement last year. The second grade classroom that I am in is a totally different environment in terms of the socioeconomic class and cultural background of the students. I felt very welcomed by the students, my co-op, and other faculty in the building and was grateful to be able to jump right into taking lunch attendance, grading papers, helping students with their work, and asking questions to get to know my co-op, the students, and the classroom.
ReplyDeleteThis week, my co-op has been doing reading placement assessments with the students in the mornings which was definitely interesting to observe today, but I look forward to beginning to learn the routine and schedule of the class and watch my co-op teach lessons. Unfortunately, I don't think social studies is in the regular curriculum; however, I had the opportunity today to go to music class with my students where they learned about woodwind instruments from around the world so I think soical studies may be integrated in other ways.
I really enjoyed my field placement today. I am in a second grade classroom at Taylor Elementary school. The students were extremely energenic and were very willing to get to know me. I was also impressed with my co-op, Mrs. Carles. She was very nice and let me get involved with her lessons, as well as let me run part of the student's math assessment. What really suprised me though was the fact that the students had to take an hour and a half math assessment to see how their math skills matched with what they would be learning this year. The majority of the questions seemed more advanced than what the students would know coming from the first grade. Most of the students ended up leaving a lot of the answeres blank. They also seemed to get very impatient having to sit through the whole hour and a half.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I felt extremely comfortable in the classroom, and for the first time in my field placements felt like this was definitely the grade level that I would love to teach. I felt that I was able to step in and help Mrs. Carles with her lessons and help the students with their questions. I felt that I performed pretty well for the first day and felt that I tryed to assist my co-op with whatever she needed me to do.
Next week I am extremely excited to see the students again, as well as being able to teach the math lesson to the students. At the end of the math lesson today Mrs. Carles asked me if I would like to teach the lesson next week. I am extremely excited to be able to teach a lesson already, and especially excited to teach a subject that I enjoy a lot.
Social studies is definitely experienced in this classroom. Mrs. Carles rotates between science and social studies after every unit at the end of the school day. The first unit is a social studies unit on war. The students are writing letters to soldiers in Iraq, which will be sent out early next week. This is also a great way to integrate writing with social studies. I was extremely suprised and happy to see that social studies was included in the classroom, even though it wasn't seen every single school day. Overall, I really enjoyed my time in the classroom today and can't wait to have many more great experiences throughout the semester.
After my first day of placement I was surprised by many things. First and for most, was how much I enjoyed working with third grade students. I have always been placed with younger students (mainly Kindergarten) so being able to observe and interact with students that are at a higher learning level was enjoyable, informative, and interesting. I was also surprised by the maturity and respect that the students in my placement demonstrated; only a week and a half into school and the students have already developed a community in which everyone respects one another and behaves like an appropriate third grader.
ReplyDeleteWhen further reflecting, I feel that I performed well for my first day. I interacted with the students by assisting and supporting them when they had difficulty with classwork. I was able to work with students both in small group and individually, therefore further developing my relationship with each student. I actively assisted my co-op and tried to observe as much about the students, classroom management, and my co-op's instruction as possible.
When looking ahead to next week, I am most looking forward to getting to know each student on a more individual level. I am also excited about learning new strategies that I can apply to my future classroom. I can already tell that my co-op has excellent ideas on how to instruct and manage her classroom and I cannot wait to observe and participate in more of this effective instruction.
Finally, the students do get to see Social Studies everyday. However, it is the last subject taught of each day, therefore, it often gets cut short due to the fact that other lessons take up more time than anticipated.
Although, Social Studies may be the last subject covered, my co-op was sure to have the students comprehend and understand as much as possible in the short amount of time. During this particular day the class studied the continents and the oceans of the world. My co-op expressed to me that she didn't necessarily want the students to memorize the oceans, continents, or their locations on the map, but instead wanted them to try and visualize the world as a whole. She wanted the students to grasp the fact that Pennsylvania is just a small, small portion of this huge world. Throughout this lesson she allowed students to observe globes and thoroughly discuss these ideas in small groups.
I was really happy with how the first day went. My co-op teacher is really understanding and helpful and lets me interact with the students as much as I want. I was surprised at how different this school was from my urban placement and I'm not sure yet which I like better. I had been with 1st graders before and this time I'm with 2nd graders so I was excited to see the difference between them as well. I noticed a lot of things that were worked on in 1st grade and I can see the continuation happening.
ReplyDeleteI tried to interact with the students and help them with their different activities as much as possible. I want to become comfortable with the students before I need to teach lessons and I feel like today really helped. Mrs. Billig had me working on clerical stuff for her but also helping to walk around and assist kids with anything they needed. She was going to have me quiz students on their sight words but we ran out of time.
Next week, Mrs. Billig said that they will be doing stations and I could be in charge of one of them. I am excited to have the group time and be more one-o-one with the students. I like learning their schedule and seeing how she transitions from one subject to the next and the different activities the kids do.
The students have a scheduled science/social studies time combined which is only 45 minutes, but today math ran long and social studies was only approx. 15 minutes. The students were given a packet that said 'geography' on it and they talked about the difference between a globe and a flat map. The discussion was very short but maybe it will be longer another day to make up for it.
My field placement was much better than I expected. I loved the kids. I was suprised at how well behaved the kids were. My teacher has a great classroom management style. I was shocked to learn that Science is a special like music or art that they have twice a week with a science teacher. i hope to be able to see science a few times. I also thought that it was interesting that my teacher has social studies in his lesson plans and on the schedule for several times a week but he has yet to have time to have a social studies lesson this year. I hope he can find time to do a social studies lesson one or two weeks that I am there.
ReplyDeleteThis was the first time that I was placed in a 2nd grade classroom for placement so I did not really know what to expect. All the other placements have been in a pre-k classroom so there was a lot of interaction with the students. At the beginning of the day, I was a little nervous. By the end of the day, I could tell that I am going to really enjoy this placement. I think what most surprised me about my experience today was the size of the school. I am at the Milton Hershey School and the elementary school is twice the size of the high school that I went to, so it was a little overwhelming at first. The way that the school is run is also a lot different than the way public schools are run. It is kind of cool that the school is sort of like a miniature college.
ReplyDeleteI think at the beginning of the day, I was just trying to absorb everything that was going on, therefore I just sat in the back of the classroom observing. So for the beginning of the day I would give myself a low assessment score as far as interacting with the students and teaching them. After the morning routine, I think I did a lot better and began to break out of my shell. During lunch, I interacted a lot with the students. I got to talk to them about their house parents and what their routine is everyday. Afterwards, it was time for the students to go to their specials, and I assisted my co-op in correcting the student's homework from the night before. It was interesting to be able to see who needed help in certain areas. I noticed the one girl struggled on her math homework, so after she returned from specials, I pulled her aside and helped her understand which numbers are even and odd for her to correctly complete her homework. During the math instruction period, I walked around checked students answers and assisted them if they needed help.
Next week, I hope to be able to teach some of the students either one on one or as part of a lesson. I think it is great that my co-op is very easy going and willing to let me teach whenever I feel comfortable enough.
I talk to my co-op and she said that there is simply no time for social studies. Since the students are in 2nd grade, there are really no standards for the teachers to meet. She did say that she will try to integrate social studies into other lesson for them to get a basic understanding of the subject before going to 3rd grade. She said that most of the time though, there is just not enough time for it with language arts and math. Science at the school is even just taught as a special, therefore the students only have it twice a week. Overall though, I had a lot of fun today, and I am excited to go back next week!
Before going to the placement today, I was very nervous about being in a 4th grade classroom. I didnt know what to expect being that I have never seen anything above 1st grade. At the end of the day however, I realized even though 4th grade is not for me, I still love the children and love being around them while they learn.
ReplyDeleteMy co-op and I talked about social studies and science instruction, and she stated that they are hopeing to be able to teach social studies in the fall and science in the spring. Today I mainly saw writing and reading with a brief half hour for math.
I was surprised at how often students were taken out of the room for extra help and was wondering how could Ms. Kauffman possibly keep these students up to date on the work the others were doing. The answer was, during recess. Students who did not finish their work during class had to finish during recess. This seemed more like a punishment for the students needing extra help and I do not know how I feel about this idea.
I also feel that I was very helpful to Ms. Kauffman. I was able to walk around and watch students work while keeping them in track, grade papers, and do anything else she needed. I worked with one student especially who needed to be kept focuesed and I feel that this helped her and our day run much smoother.
Next week I am excited to see how much stronger the students become with the rountine and also I am hoping to see some since or social studies, or even math at this point. I was a little tired of all the english that we did today, although it is important, so are the other subjects. I cannot wait to go back!
My field placement went pretty well today. I was nervous to start this placement, but after today I feel a lot better. I think what most surprised me was how fast the day went. I was nervous to be at the school all day, but it went by quickly. I feel like a lot of the time was spent with classroom management, but then again it is still only the second week of school.
ReplyDeleteAs for my performance, I think I did pretty well. I think I could have gotten involved a little more, but I don't think I did too badly. I helped grade papers, and pass things out. I did not get too involved with helping the students, but then again it was my first day.
Next week, my co-op said that I would be reading the read aloud book to the students next week. Also, she told me that I would be working with the students while they are in groups. I think I am most excited to interact more with the students. I got to talk to a few of them, but I am excited to spend more time with them, and get to know them. I am also looking forward to reading aloud to the class, but I am nervous because she didn't tell me what book I would be reading.
The students in my class do see some social studies. For the last forty minutes they have either social studies or science, and this rotates every day. Therefore, they fall into the category of having less then two hours of social studies every week. When I asked Mrs. Curtin about it she said that she doesn't like the fact that she has such little time to spend on social studies, but she doesn't really have a choice. She also said that their social studies book is very dry so she doesn't love teaching it. They did have social studies today, and I agree that the book is very dry and boring for the students. I thought it was interesting because they were learning about communities, and how to become good citizens. My hope for next week is that I get more involved and get to meet the students.
I was surprised the most by the way my co-op treated me. In past experiences I felt like a college student there to observe, but this year I was treated as an equal. She took the time to introduce me to the other 4th grade teachers and allowed me to interact with the specialists in the room and respond with what I had observed. I feel like being treated as an equal on the first day was an excellent way to begin my transition towards student teaching. Yesterday was only the second day of school so the basic routine of the day was not established and 4sights testing was taking place. I did read a book to the class and helped cut out some posters and pass out papers.
ReplyDeleteI'm most looking forward to observing the regular routine. I'm hoping to have some involvement with the class in some capacity.
I asked about social studies instruction. The students see approximately 30 mins of social studies once a week. I also noticed when looking in the math book there were ideas for integration which seemed to be integration just for the sake of integration with little social education taking place.
I had a great first day of placement! I actually met my placement teacher prior to Thursday so that helped to alleviate some of my anxieties about the first day experience. One thing that really surprised me was the availability of technology in the classroom. My teacher has a Mac book that was given to her by the school to utilize. She also has a Smart board, clickers, Apple laptops, and Apple computers. My placement teacher incorporates technology into her lessons every day. She maintains a class page and posts podcasts weekly to showcase to parents what students have been working on throughout the week. I am very excited to be able to work with this technology throughout the semester and to learn about the benefits of it.
ReplyDeletePrior to the students’ arrival, my placement teacher told me there was one student in particular who she knew after the first day of school, was going to pose behavioral and academic problems. She asked me to see if I could figure it out. I knew right away as soon as the student walked through the door and my placement teacher just smiled at me to confirm my suspicions. Throughout, the day I assisted my placement teacher in any way I could. I ran errands, filed paperwork, organized things, and also assisted the students. I walked around the classroom and made sure the students were following directions and on task. At points, I worked one on one with the student Marissa who has the behavioral issues and assisted her when needed. She responded very well to my help and my placement teacher was impressed. Since, I did a lot of observing my first day; I was able to notice some things about the students that my teacher had not picked up on. At the end of the day, we discussed what I had seen and reflected on the overall day. She told me I had a natural apt and passion for teaching and was excited for the next several months ahead. My placement teacher is very supportive and helpful so I am very excited to work with her as well.
I am really looking forward to doing a read aloud next week especially since I get to read any book of my choice.
My students see social studies for 20 minutes every day and they actually did a social studies lesson while I was there. They went over six social studies content cards. Each card had a picture on the front of the card and a definition on the back. They included words such as rural, city, and suburb. She explained each and students figured out what area they lived in. Later on in the day, they did an integrated lesson introducing the theme of communities and their local town of Lititz. They did a KWL chart based on this and she had a bulletin board with a map of the town and specific places from the town with a picture of the place next to it. The students responded very positively to both of these lessons.
I was suprised that my co-op didn't let me get involved right away. In all my other experiences, my teacher always let me read to the students or grade homework or tests. In my kindergarten class, he was very in control of his classroom and it seemed like he didn't want anyone to intrude.
ReplyDeleteI really can't assess my performance because I was just observing for the day. The only interaction I got with the students was during centers at the end of the day. I was helping a few on the computer. They were doing literacy activities using a program called Bailey's Books, and during that time, I would say I made good relationships with the students who I was helping.
I am looking foward to getting to help in the classroom. Any aspect of my co-ops day that I could take over would be a step up from this week's experience.
My co-op intergrated it into their morning meeting. He plays a song that has them learn who their neighbors are and how to treat them. He read the class a book about Milton Hershey and what the history of the school is all about. He also informally asked the students who the 1st president was and what planet, country, state, and town we all live in. This is the way I will be seeing Social Studies.
What really surprised me about my placement was the fact that on the first day I was given several opportunities to be in front of and in control of the classroom (read alouds [2], and "me" bag)and classroom responsibilities (grading tests, interviewing students, and responding to the discipline chart at the end of the day).
ReplyDeleteI feel like I did a pretty good job on my first day and acording to my co-op and the morning sub they thought so as well. Of course, there is always room for improvement and with each time that I am there I hope to do better and become more confident and knowledgeable in my teaching.
Next week what I am looking forward to the most is just the entire day and seeing how my teacher runs her classroom for an entire day. On Thursday my teacher was out of the room for pretty much the entire morning so we had a sub and I was not able to experience the teaching of my co-op. I am also looking forwar to whatever my teacher has in store for me teacher wise, either next Thursday or whats to come in the future. Lastly, I am looking forward to seeing my class who all seemed to be very well behave, knowledgeable, and just an overall great class to be a part of!
The day I was there we did not really cover anyt Social Studies content; however, I made a point to ask my co-op about its presense in the classroom and she assured me the students would see it. Every day 1, one class from the second grade has a block of computer time while the others have a free block to cover whatever. My co-op came up with the great idea to split the teachers up (one with science, one with computer, and one with social studies), and then on every day one they would teach a class on their particular subject area (teaching each lesson to each class). This is a great idea because it is a way that all the students get to see science and social studies. My teacher feels strongly that both of these subjects are something which the students need to experience and gain knowledge about. She mentioned the fact that how are students suppose to have the foundation of these subjects in middle and high school if they do not see it in elementary, so we need to give them their building blocks! I agree with this 100% and am so glad it is a part of their cycle, I just hope I get to see it a couple of times before and not just during my 2 weeks there.
I had a blast at my first day of fieldwork! I am at Donegal Springs Elementary School in a third grade classroom. Upon arrival I was surprised with the set up of the school. They had the different grade levels set up in “pods,” meaning all the third grade rooms were grouped together with a big open space in the middle. I thought this was a very effective set up for a school. All the third grade teachers seemed really close and worked well together. The set up of the school definitely helped create this positive support system for the faculty. I was also surprised with how many different leveled students were in the classroom. I knew I would be seeing a few learning disabilities, but I didn’t think the range would be so wide. My class consisted of children with aspergers, ADHD, two gifted students, and a few children that were still being evaluated. I am excited to work with these children and gain more firsthand knowledge about each of them.
ReplyDeleteI would assess my performance as strong for the first day of placement. I was very comfortable in the classroom and was interested in getting to know each student. During the different activities I walked around and answered questions/helped the children with any problems. My co-op (Mrs. Hott) even had me work one on one with a boy who was struggling with one of the literacy topics. After the student and I completed the worksheet I made up a few extra examples to make sure he really understood what was being taught. It was awesome to see how excited he got when he grasped the concept at hand. When my co-op was working with a small group on guided reading I got to aid the rest of the class on their worksheets and bookwork. Mrs. Hott mentioned that the students may try to ask me questions that they can answer on their own, so I made sure to watch out for this. I noticed one of the students doing this so I simply pointed them in the right direction as opposed to giving an answer away. I also made sure to let kids answer their own questions, for example if they did not know a word I helped them sound it out instead of just telling them what the word was.
I am really looking forward to getting to know each student better next week. The daily schedule was a little off due to a test (practice for the PSSAs) the students took in the morning, so I did not see much reading and writing aside from the guided reading/worksheets. I can’t wait to learn the students’ different strengths and weaknesses. Also, I am excited to see social studies in the classroom! This week I did not get to because each day the class switches off between science, health, and social studies. It was refreshing to hear that social studies is a part of the curriculum! I also saw social studies integrated into the guided reading. The students were reading a book on courts, so I am excited to see if this ties in to what they are learning in social studies. Overall I had a great first day and cannot wait to go back next week!
I had such a great first day! My teacher was so nice and the students were really hard workers! I was really surprised how different Hempfield school district was from the Harrisburg school districts I had helped out in before. The atmosphere, students, and teachers were all very different. I was also really surprised how fast paced the learning was! My teacher would spend about a half an hour on a lesson and then quickly transition into another lesson very quickly. She had a meeting for an hour early in the morning and seemed to have caught herself up by the end of the day! It was very impressive!
ReplyDeleteI would say I did a good job the first day. I offered to help my cooperating teacher as much as possible and was eager when asked to do something. I did not have to do any teaching my first day so hopefully next Thursday I will have an opportunity to teach a short lesson or even just read to the students. On my first day of my fourth grade placement, I did not see any social studies. My teacher uses Basels for a lot of her lessons, so I am sure there is social studies incorporated in the week at some point.
I loved my first day of placement. It really put a lot of my worries aside and now I will be so excited for Thursdays. My co-op is very nice and I feel like with time she will really let me be a productive part of her classroom. As soon as I walked in she was so thankful to have extra help and put me right to work. I did a lot of side work for her in order for the class to run more smoothly. It was only their second day of school and that was actually really nice because it was new to them and new to me at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI mostly focused on learning all the students names and understanding their strengths and weaknesses from what Mrs. Potter told me. There is one girl in the class that has behavioral issues and I'm really going to observe her and the way Mrs. Potter handles her behavior throughout this experience. I interacted with her a few times that day and she really seemed to respond to me pretty well. My teacher is letting me do a read aloud this week already so I'm really excited about that!