Blog 12

Overall my week went smoothly that I would rate it a 4. The biggest highlight of my week was finding out my edTPA score. I was so glad to finally get my grade.

 Seven questions to end your week:

How do you teach geometry in your classroom?

What kind of manipulatives do you use in geometry?

What is the easiest way to explain to students the differences and similarities between a rhombus, square, and rectangle?

What are some jobs you give your students during group time?

How are some ways you have integrated cultural diversity in your classroom?

What does your classroom do for Easter?

Where does your classroom go for field trips? Is the field trip connected with the curriculum your room is teaching?

• Observe: This week I was happy to complete the rough draft of my philosophy of education. I found it much easier to write this time than the first time I wrote one philosophy two years ago. I have not only read in books what happens in the school environment, but I have experienced situations for myself 
• Reflect: This week, students have been looking at a book which describes several different animals. Not only have students been learning about various animals, but they have been learning how to use details to describe the animals. Students must pick out the main idea which is the animal itself. Then students must pick out the details of the text which is something that describes the animal. This Friday and next Monday, students will be working on a writing assignment.
• Focus: I am going to make adjustments to my philosophy of education so I can begin making my video for the portfolio. My long-term goal is to complete the portfolio requirements such as Classroom Management plan, SIP, and PDP requirements 
• Be Productive: I wish I had spent more time in planning one of my math lessons this week. I made a mistake which I know I will never make again. In my geometry lesson, I said a rectangle and square were two separate things. The Eureka math book however clearly stated that a square is a type of rectangle. I had to spend valuable classroom instruction correcting the misconception the following day. My plan is to go over this concept every day with the students. They are still confused about the differences and similarities with the rhombus, square, and rectangle 
• Have Courage:  Once again, I find myself extremely nervous when someone is in the room observing me. The instructional coach came to visit me for a math lesson this week. Unfortunately, my lesson went poorly. One reason was because of the job description confusion and my misconceptions for the geometry lesson. I learned a valuable lesson of not only looking at the math flipcharts but at the Eureka book for the lesson. Also, whenever I give students job in groups, I need to give them a card so they will remember what job they have.
• Begin Anew: I will start next week by making better choices and implementing the plans the instructional coach recommended. For example, she said I should never tower over the children when they are sitting on the carpet. I should sit in a chair and teach. I will work on implementing this in the classroom, to make the atmosphere more comfortable and inviting for the students 

Adapted from: Cernoff, M. (2013, August 7). 7 Questions to End Your Week With. . Retrieved July 21, 2014, from http://www.marcandangel.com/2013/08/08/7-questions-to-end-your-week-with/

• What were some data you analyzed this week and how did it help inform your instructional decisions 

Next week, students are going to look at geometric shapes to decide what shape they are: cone, cylinder, rectangular prism, and sphere. Some students are getting confused with the names, therefore using real live objects will help students relate more to the strange names.

• What is one piece of advice you can share with other student teachers? 

Stay strong. We only have a handful of weeks to go.

• NC Teacher Candidate Standards (be sure to reference activities from your lesson plans to solidify your answer 

Standard 1: Teachers lead in the classroom modeling how to act. I have been enforcing the mindset that students never talk when a teacher is talking. Students have to be reminded about the rules every single day.

Standard 2: I sent a letter to all of the parents this week requesting them to tell me their ethnicity (where did their ancestors come from). Several of the parents responded. We will discuss students ethnicity next week in the lesson. I will show students what country their ancestors came from.

Standard 3: Align teaching with standards aways. My cultural lesson will be linked to what the word culture means for my grade level standards. Students will understand the lesson better because they can relate to their heritage.

Standard 4: I am planning on using a new technology in the classroom next week called chatter kids. This past week students learned a lot about different animals. They had to describe several details about each animal. Students must complete a writing assignment on Monday. After they do the written work, they will make a chatter kids of the animal they have written about. My plan is for them to screenshot the animal on their camera, then they can put in their picture. Students can make the animal speak in chatter kids by using their voice. For example, if the animal was a giraffe the student could say, “I am a giraffe. I have a long neck and I like to eat leaves from trees.” Students would pretend they were the animal. I do anticipate some issues since students have never done chatterkids before in the classroom, however I look forward to trying out the new technology.

Standard 5: I reflected on how my students performed on their phonics spelling. We are now giving two grades to students for the test. One grade is for spelling and one grade is for writing. If students do not write appropriately on the lines such as dangling a g or y or capitalizing a letter, the word will be marked incorrect. However, I still want to see what grade students can make by understanding the phonics skill. Several of the students did an awesome the on the test. Next week I will have time to go back over the phonics rules we have been studying. Students will play kahoot to help test their spelling skills.

• What components of your portfolio have you started to complete?

I only have to tweak my philosophy of education and my resume. Also, I hope to get as much done as possible for my portfolio the week of spring break by finalizing paperwork and getting it submitted onto, taskstream.

My CE and I do not have any questions right now. Thank you for your support.

I hope you all have a great week.