Day 4

Day 4 had a very smooth start. Word has gotten around that I am the person who put ms Perez' email addresses in so that they show both the parent and child's names, so I spent my morning going from room to room showing the other teachers in the building.  I also have become really close with the nurses, you could call me a "regular" and they had me talk to the janitor about the best arrangement for the room.  So as far as knowing the other professionals in the building I have been doing quite well.

I've been taking the time to get to know the children while doing their math assessments.  I asked them who they had played with at recess and if they were having a good time. It was nice to make this connection with them.

As a whole, my week has gone very well. I have completely taken over hallway transitions and I will take over morning meeting on Monday.  I plan to use the smart board for the meeting for the first time with the students.

day four

I am working hard to learn policies, procedures etc.  at our school.  I am proud to report that I know every student's name (and almost everyone's last name).  Learning the policies and procedures has been slightly more difficult, as my cooperating teacher doesn't like to teach these explicitly in the classroom.  I've kind of been learning as we go, and asking lots of questions.  Ms. Jorde tends to be pretty loose with these types of things so I do feel a bit behind.
Meeting other staff has been tricky as well, but in this department Diane is very helpful.  She is extremely outgoing, and always introduces me to other adults.  Additionally, since we have the only air conditioned space in  the school, we have a lot of visitors in our room and other teachers tend to linger and chat a bit longer.

Day Four

I am happy to report that I have learned the names of all the students in my class. I was nervous about this task at first, but after the second or third day I had them memorized. It helped that on the second day of school I had to take individual pictures of all the students as they came in in the morning for a project. I checked their names off after their pictures were taken and this helped me review the names. I think knowing and using student names is really important so I try and say hi to each of them every day by name.
I think I am also learning policies and procedures pretty well. We had a practice fire drill on Wednesday so I learned what door to use when exiting and entering. I also learned about the Grab and Go bag that has to be taken during fire drills and field trips. The bag contains supplies from the nurse, epipens and asthma inhalers. I also learned where to take the students at the end of the day to catch the bus, and where walkers and students who get picked up go.
I am trying to meet the other staff members in the building as well. It can be hard being the new person in the building. Especially a student teacher! I have gotten to work with the other fourth grade teachers a lot. I have also met all of the teachers in my hallway. They have been really nice to me. One teacher even made extra copies of a bunch of worksheets and materials that she thought I might want to use someday. I did some observations at Lake Harriet last year so I had meet some of the educational support staff and middle school teachers as well. I hope to get to know more people as the weeks go on.  All in all I am starting to feel more comfortable in the building, which is nice. It has been very helpful and comforting to have Meggie there as well! I am sure I will be sad to leave by the end of the semester!

Day 3

I had a great day 3! It seems like my students are starting to understand the routine  and we have began math assessments. The kids are still falling apart after lunch, which is concerning because math, which all first grades will do at the same time of the day, is scheduled to star next week at 3pm. We have discussed moving it, but there isn't a common time that the other teachers share.

The child who called me a jerk at the end of the school day approached me early in the day and apologized, however later in the day when I asked her to wave at her friends we were passing I the hallway instead of running to get a hug, she again became very upset. I reminded her that she has to speak to me with respect and allowed the moment to pass. When pulling students out for the math assessment I took that time to talk with her a bit more about how sometimes I have to tell her no and that just like everyone else in class she must follow directions. She understood what I was asking of her and by the end of the day she was holding my hand as we walked to the bus! Im glad I have had the opportunity to address the behavior problem independently, as I will have to do this in my own classroom shortly.

Day Three

Day three was a very hot day in room 114. With temperatures in the 90's, our room was very warm by the end of the day. Needless to say I was happy to go home! I was not sure what to write about, so I decided to write about something that crossed my mind many times today. I remember thinking several times, Wow, my teacher has a lot to do! This first crossed my mind when we both came in early today to organize supplies because we found no time in the last two days to get it done. We both spent most of the morning organizing all of the group supplies that came in on the first day so we could get done before the team meeting at 8:30 or 8:45. I then began to think about this again during Writer's Workshop. Students were working on post card poems and had to have their sentences checked before they could make a final draft. Both my cooperating teacher and I were busy the entire writing time conferencing with students and still did not get to everyone who wanted to be seen. With 35 kids in a class it is hard to work with everyone. Then during prep time, we had to copy, fill out, and stuff many letters for students regarding advanced placement in math or alternative arrangements if they did not make it into the advanced class. On top of those things, my cooperating teacher graded all of the initial math assessments last night and I worked on grading the initial spelling assessments.

I guess I was aware that teachers always had many things to get done, but it is interesting experiencing it now first hand. There are two of us and it seems like many things to accomplish. I imagine it may seem overwhelming when I am doing things all alone. I am sure with experience I will find ways to fit everything in, it is nice to practice with another person now.

day three-choice

Today we began the day with our usual morning meeting, but Ms. Jorde decided to use this space as an opportunity to talk to the students about a new middle schooler who is joining our building.  This new student is severely disfigured--to the point that all staff were briefed about his arrival so we could prepare ourselves, and our students, to see him in the hallway.  Before school the fourth grade team had met and the other teachers were chatting about how they were nervous about how to prepare students.

I was SO impressed by the way Ms. Jorde navigated this with our class.  She began by reminding our students that there are many kids in the school who were born with differences and that these differences cannot be changed.  She asked one of our students (who she knows well from last year) to share about the braces he wears on his legs.  Then she asked students to think about whether they were born with any differences that couldn't be changed (kids offered examples like eczema and asthma).  At this point she brought up the new student, and mentioned that he might look pretty different, and we might even be surprised by it the first time we saw him.  She gave a few of the details we were told at the staff meeting, but didn't dwell on descriptions.  Then she said that she wasn't sure, but had a feeling this student might be a bit nervous about how others would treat him at a new school.  She had students volunteer ideas of something they could say if they saw him in the hallways.  The first two responses came simultaneously--"say hello!"  At that point she closed the conversation and moved on.

I really appreciated her authentic conversation with the students, the way she connected with them on this question, and the way she kept the conversation brief.  I think I might have drawn it out much longer, which would have been unnecessary, and ultimately made this into a bigger deal than it was.  I am so glad I got to see an experienced teacher handle that.

interactions

It was interesting to see that today's prompt was about student-teacher interactions, because my cooperating teacher and I had a long conversation about this today.  I had asked her if she had any particular classroom management plan that she used with her class and she was telling me that mostly she just works really hard to establish a strong rapport with students, and that that tends to take care of most behavior problems that arise.  While I'm not sure that in my own room, I would rely solely on student-teacher relationships, I do recognize how strong her relationship is with her students and how important that is to the way she (and teachers in general) run the room.

Today Ms. Jorde and I were correcting student work for a get to know you project.  We were reading responses to different prompts, while the students were working.  I was surprised and impressed that Ms. Jorde started calling students to our table away from their work to come tell her more about what they had written.   She asked questions and showed really authentic interest in what the kids had to say.  I hadn't even thought to distract the students from their work, but it turned out to be a nice way to initiate conversations and learn a few things about the kids.

I was struck many times today by my own interactions with students.  I kept feeling like my back and forth with the kids is not yet genuine, it felt forced and a bit awkward.  I know that I tend to be a shy person, and that small talk is always challenging for me, but watching Ms. Jorde I really see how effective this can be for bonding with the students.  I know that part of why it probably feels more authentic to listen to Ms. Jorde is not only her experience, but also the fact that she knows these students really well (she looped her class from last year). I am hoping that as the days go by I can find more of these small, one on one ways to connect with the students. It is clear that it makes a huge difference!

Day Two

I am happy to report that I had another good day at school! I was less nervous and things felt more routine!  I was able to interact with the students more today. I got to take them to and from different things in the building and teach a lesson. It was nice to jump right in and practice my teaching skills! I saw many positive interactions between teachers and students today as well. I noticed right away that my cooperating teacher tries to be very positive with students. She told the students that she would never yell at them, but might need to simply redirect them if they are off task or can't focus.

One example of teacher-student interaction that stood out happened today while my class was seated on the floor for a group discussion. A boy was having trouble focusing, was off task, and needed to be moved. My cooperating teacher simply asked the boy if he would move and sit next to another student because she thought he could focus better there. Her words were kind, but direct. She told students that if they are asked to move during a group discussion, it is because there might be a spot in the group where they can focus better. I felt like this method was less disruptive to the group than others I have seen and did not make the student feel like they were being harshly punished in front of their peers. I hope to remember some of these examples and hopefully use them in my own classroom. 

I am looking forward to day three and more chances to teach students!

Day 2!

Hello fellow cooperating teachers!
     Today was another full day of reviewing school rules, practicing hand writing, and a bit of math.  Because of the construction there are no art or music rooms, which means means today art was in our room, which meant we couldn't utilize the space for prep. We are working to find a good place to hide and be productive.  Otherwise the day ran very smoothly!

     At the end of the day during a meeting on the floor a girl attempted to crawl past my chair to get closer to the other girls. When I told her to sit where she was she became upset. I pulled her aside to talk to her and when I asked what's up she responded with "you're a jerk" at that point I told her that it was not appropriate to speak to me that way, restated that when we are on the floor we need to stay in one seat, and sent her back to her spot.  When we walked out to the bus Ms. Peretone outraged me to follow her to her dad and speak to him.  I did, and it was a great small way to practice talking to parents about a conflict that was easily addressed.

In all it was a great day and I'm ready to rest up and have another great day tomorrow!

My first day!

Today was a very fun and busy day in my first grade classroom!  It was very hectic as the kids came in, but quickly settled once the kids were all at their desks.  I am really excited to see my cooperating teacher use her classroom managament skills in action as she develops her classroom environment.  Our campus is currently under construction  so we can't open the windows and the air conditioner is out of order.  We did manage to find a big fan, but the papers were flying accross the desks.  Needless to say we were all very hot and excited to go home at the end of the day.

Ms Perez and I worked quite well together today.  We started with a solid plan for where I would be in the classroom during all of the activities which worked well.  The kids left the day commenting on how much fun they had had and they even taught me a new dance called achooichaha...? The song is recorded on a cd the teacher has and all the kids knew it.  It involved sticking your knees together, butt up, tongue out, and spinning in circles.  It was definitely a fun filled day!

Day One

Today was our first day of school, and my first day as a student teacher.  I was VERY nervous about today.  I didn't feel fully prepared for the day, and I was nervous about what my role would be in the room on this first week.  Most of all, I was nervous about how to act around the students and how the day would play out.  I'm happy and relieved to report today went really well. I was surprised how smoothly everything went and shocked by how fast the day went by.  It was great to get the students in the room and start the year.  

I really felt like Ms. Jorde supported me today and helped me set the tone that I am a 'real' teacher jsut like her and have the same authority she does in the room.  Going into the day I was a bit unsure of what my role would be in the room, especially during these first few weeks.  But, Ms. Jorde let me take the lead introducing one of our week-long projects and she let me take the lead in giving the spelling inventory for the class.  Throughout the day she treated me like a co-teacher, rather than a student, assistant or guest in the room.  She made sure I had opportuniites to quiet the class, give instructions for transitions, and other management tasks.  Although the students did not always respond as quickly to me, I was able to get control and Diane supported me without undercutting me.  

I am excited for tomorrow, but still a little anxious about the rest of the week.  I'm interested to see how things go tomorrow as we continue to get settled into our routines and space.  

I am happy to say that my first day of fourth grade was a good one. As I arrived at school this morning, I was filled with excitement and anxiety about the unknown. I imagine some of the students in my class felt the same way! The halls were filled with energy as students began to enter the building and find their rooms. I started my day by helping students in the hallway find lockers and put away their supplies. It was so nice to meet and talk with all of them as they came in! I am still trying to remember all of their names, but I think I know most of them. It is difficult to learn 35 in one day. Along with learning names, I tried to learn about the culture of the school. I was surprised by the fact that walking in quiet, straight lines was not as heavily enforced at this school as I have seen it be in others. It was also surprising how fast the day went by. It seemed like I had just arrived and it was already time to go home. I am looking forward to the rest of the week and getting to know the students in my class better! It will be interesting to learn about each of their personality types. I hope day two goes as smoothly as day one.

I am looking forward to hearing about everyone's first day! Let me know if you have any questions about how to post. Thanks! Dr. K