Week 13

I would rate my week a five. I was able to get all my standards checked off with some exceptions to modify my lessons and to do a group project in the classroom. I feel that I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel for graduation. Next week, I look forward to getting all the documents ready for my portfolio presentation. I am so thankful for an Easter break where we can power down just a little and enjoy some time with our families.

Seven questions to end your week:

How do you do group projects in your classroom?

 Are there any geometry math apps you use in your classroom?

Do you use brain pop for science or social studies?

 What did your students do for Easter?

 How do you discuss Easter in the classroom?

 What are some researched based strategies you have learned in the classroom?

 What did you do for your spring bulletin board?

 Observe: I was very happy to get my bulletin board done for spring before we started vacation. I wanted student’s art work on the wall plus something they had written. Fortunately, because Wednesday was our Easter play day I had time in the morning to get two simple crafts done, a butterfly and a ladybug. For the written part, I asked students to write about why they liked spring. I modeled for students by telling them I liked the warmer weather and the flowers blooming. Students then wrote what they liked about spring. I was so happy to get these crafts completed since finding time to make crafts for a bulletin board is not easy.

o    Reflect: Students were taught a one-day lesson about text features. For the activity, students were to find text features in a times magazine. My goal was for students to identify text features on their own after the lesson. However, they still needed a lot of help. Therefore, my next week of teaching, I will include a text feature discussion when I read from a non-fiction book. 

o    Focus: My short-term goal is to get most of my portfolio completed this week. My long -term goal is to get all of my portfolio completed by mid-April.

o    Be Productive: I spent to much time this week thinking about how to complete my rock science unit for next week. I spent to much time looking at books for rocks. What I should have been doing was looking more for interactive activities with rocks.

o    Have Courage: My fearful moment this week was when we were getting ready to go on the Field Trip. I was so worried that I was going to forget something important that I may need to take. Next time I need to do the simplest thing any person would do. I will make a list of what to bring and check off the items on the list when all the items have been accounted for.

o    Begin Anew: After spring break, I will be talking about rocks for the science activity. I found a neat craft which gives the example of starburst versus the igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphous rock cycle. Igneous starburst is heated on a plate. Sedimentary is the starburst stacked on top of each other in layers. Metamorphous: several starbursts are mixed together. Being able to have something visual such as the candy will help students understand the rock cycle more. For mental clutter, I am thankful that I do not have to concentrate on grading papers, modifying lessons, and assessing students next week. I can concentrate on my portfolio. 

For data this week, I was happy to note students understood simple fractions such as one half and one fourth. The only person who did not completely understand the material was my EC student.

Advice: Hang in there. We only have one more month to go. Stay strong. Finish strong.

Standard 1a: My proximal praise in March has gotten better compared to my observations in February. Positive praise is much more important than negative reprimands. Most students will do better if they see their peers are being recognized.

Standard 2b: For the next few weeks after spring break, the school’s literacy lessons will be focused on comparing different Cinderella stories. One story will be about a girl like Cinderella in China. Students will compare the stories orally.

Standard 3d: Last week, I used two different math books to help students understand math principles. They read a geometry book about different 3 D shapes and they read a fractions shapes. After they read the books, they were able to take a quiz to see how well they understood the material. Literacy and math were linked together in these lessons. The students read the story while also learning about math material.

Standard 4h: Last week, students enjoyed collaborating with each other in making shapes out of pattern shapes. I let students choose groups. While I monitored students, I noticed that some students were wanting to build their own thing. I explained to these students they needed to work together to build something all of them completed. The end results were good. Each group of student completed a structure out of pattern shapes.

Standard 5: Assessment is such a crucial time to see if the students have understood everything we as teachers have taught. I am very concerned about one of my students from our last math module test. Most of the students did well in the module four-unit assessment, however, she failed. The hard thing to do is move on to the next math module. If all the students had failed, I would have known that I had taught the material correctly, however most students successfully completed the material. My plan is to give her additional help in the tens and one’s concept.

For my portfolio, I have been working on collecting videos and pictures so that I can begin inserting and creating everything I will need to make a successful presentation.  

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

I hope you all have a great week and a happy Spring Break.