Weekly Reflections: April 26th

   This week was finally our spring break!  It was so nice and the weather was beautiful!!  I was able to make some final marks on my portfolio.  I would rate my week as a five.  My pleasant surprise this week would be making some well deserved time for myself.  We did have one teacher work day this week, this experience taught me how amazing this days are.  Teacher work days are very helpful in allowing teachers time to get the classroom organized, cleaned, and lessons planned.  I would say my short-term efforts for next week and the remaining of student teaching is to really focus on the blooms taxonomy and asking the higher level questions to students.  This is one of my weaknesses when I am teaching.  I have been able to add more of these questions in my lesson this week, but I would like for them to come more as second nature at some point.  I want to build more off of students responses and help them to dig deeper into their understandings.  This short-term goal aligns to my long-term goal of being successful in my student teaching and as a future teacher.  By including the blooms taxonomy in my teaching.  I will be able to push my students to take their understandings to the next level.  I could of spent more time on my letters to my students and less time on cleaning.  I had courage on giving my ideas for some things they could do for the father daughter dance this week.  My first step for next week is to make sure all of my portfolio is ready to go and I have practiced presenting before Thursday.  The data I analyzed this week would be my students sight word data.  I was able to use the data to determine which students were getting which rewards next week.  The advice I can share with other student teachers would be to embrace student teaching and enjoy it.  You will learn more than you ever thought possible during student teaching and this knowledge will help you in your future classroom.  
NC Teacher Candidate Standards 
 Standard 1a- Teachers lead in their classrooms.  I was able to be a leader in the classroom by performing my teacher duties during teacher work day. 
Standard 2a- Teachers treat students as individuals.  I was able to treat students as individuals by determining what rewards each student will receive based on their sight word endeavors.  
Standard 3d- Teachers make instruction relevant to students. I was able to help plan the instruction for the next week.  
Standard 4d- Teachers utilize technology in the classroom.  I was able to help work on the May calendar we use on the smart board each month. 
Standard 5b- Teachers link professional growth to their professional goals.  I was able to see what my students have been able to accomplish through the formative assessments performed. 
No support needed at this time.   
I wish you all the best on your future endeavors as educators and I know your students will be lucky to have you as their teacher!!! Congratulations Everyone!!!!

Weekly Reflections: April 12th

     This week has been different and felt a little weird.  By today I have transitioned all of my lessons back over to my CE.  It is really hard to be in the class and to not teach. I have really enjoyed the student teaching experience this semester and have learned more than I could have ever imagined.  I hope to be as good of a teacher as the teachers I have been able to work with this semester.  I have learned so much from all of the teachers this semester, I will be able to use what I have learned to help me in my future classroom.  This week I have been able to observe some other grades and teachers.  All classrooms are unique and are ran differently even in the same grades.  It is so neat to see how every room is set up and the different classroom management strategies used.  I would rate my week as a 5.  I have had a great week with my students and with the other students in the school I have been able to work with.  Are students are becoming very active and losing focus sooner than in the past.  I believe the students are ready for spring break as much as the teachers are.  My pleasant surprise and accomplishment this week would be having my observation completed by the principle of the school I am placed at.  The observation went well and I was able to receive valuable feedback, I can use to strengthen my teaching.  The lessons my work experience taught me this week would be that it is okay to stop and redirect behavior before continuing an activity or lesson.  I have done this most of the semester, but this has become very important to do even more here lately.  This has had to be done more lately because of the students’ short attention spans and increased energy levels.  I will build upon this next week by making time and activities to give the students a brain break when my CE is not teaching.   I would say my short-term efforts for next week and the remaining of student teaching is to really focus on the blooms taxonomy and asking the higher level questions to students.  This is one of my weaknesses when I am teaching.  I have been able to add more of these questions in my lesson this week, but I would like for them to come more as second nature at some point.  I want to build more off of students responses and help them to dig deeper into their understandings.  This short-term goal aligns to my long-term goal of being successful in my student teaching and as a future teacher.  By including the blooms taxonomy in my teaching.  I will be able to push my students to take their understandings to the next level.
      I could have spent more time helping with guided reading if I had set the expectations for group work more clearly before beginning centers.  My apprehension to talk to others I do not know, kept me from going to them in person to ask if I could observe them.  I feel like this would have been a better approach then sending an email, which is how I set up the times to observe the different teachers and grades.  In thefuture, I will push past my apprehension and will talk to others I do not know in person. The first steps for next week is to make sure all order forms and money are in and where they need to be for our field trip next week.  I will also gather any other items we may need for the field trip today and Monday, to ensure we are ready to go on Tuesday.  This week I was able to observe and analyze other teachers’ data.  I was able to determine how their students have grown and how they are doing now.  I was also able to see the different ways teachers keep their data.  I will be able to use what I observed to help me decide exactly how I want to keep my data in my future classroom.  One piece of advice I would share with other student teachers is to go to and see as many meetings (IEP, tier, etc) and classrooms as you can.  This will help you to gain the necessary knowledge on every aspect that takes place in the school before you experience them with your own students.
NC Teacher Candidate Standards 
 Standard 1a- Teachers lead in their classrooms.  I was able to be a leader in the classroom by leading the students through their day, no matter what came up or erupted.
Standard 2a- Teachers treat students as individuals.  I was able to treat students as individuals by building on the relationships with each student.  I take time to talk with each student individually throughout the day.  
Standard 3d- Teachers make instruction relevant to students. I was able to make plants relevant to students by letting students experience planting their own seeds.  
Standard 4d- Teachers utilize technology in the classroom.  I was able to use the smart board activity games for greater than, less than, and equal to.  Interactive smart board activities hold the students interest and therefore increase their understandings.   
Standard 5b- Teachers link professional growth to their professional goals.  I was able to see where my students are and I am able to see how I need to change my goals and teaching to help the students be successful in all subject areas and with all standards.       
No support needed at this time.    

Weekly Reflections: April 5th

    I wish I could see through the eyes of my students!  I love witnessing how excited and fascinated they are when learning new information.  I am so proud of my students and their growth.  It is encouraging to know I was able to help set them up for success.  I would rate my week as a 4.  The students had a pretty good week as far as behavior, until the end of the week.  I believe the students are ready for a break and are losing focus much faster than they did in January.  The pleasant surprise from this week would be I passed my edTPA tasks!!!! Praise the Lord!!!  The lesson my work experience taught me this week would be to stand by my decisions for students behavior.  If I don't hold onto my word, then the student will think they can do anything they want and get by with it.  I have to stay consistent, even when it breaks my heart as much as theirs.  I will build on this next week by encouraging the good behavior as much as possible!!   I would say my short-term efforts for next week and the remaining of student teaching is to really focus on the blooms taxonomy and asking the higher level questions to students.  This is one of my weaknesses when I am teaching.  I have been able to add more of these questions in my lesson this week, but I would like for them to come more as second nature at some point.  I want to build more off of students responses and help them to dig deeper into their understandings.  This short-term goal aligns to my long-term goal of being successful in my student teaching and as a future teacher.  By including the blooms taxonomy in my teaching.  I will be able to push my students to take their understandings to the next level.  I could of spent less time less time worrying, if I would of checked my email sooner.  I did not experience apprehension this week.  The first step for next week is to gather and prepare the materials needed for the lessons I am teaching next week.  I also need to double confirm the observations I have planned.  I am excited to observe other classrooms and grades, to see how different they are ran.  The data I was able to analyze was the students report cards.  I was able to see which students have improved and where.  I also was able to see which students need extra support and in which areas.  One piece of advice I would give to other student teachers is to keep your eye on the prize.  The light is at the end of the tunnel and it is getting closer!!!  
NC Teacher Candidate Standards 
 Standard 1a- Teachers lead in their classrooms.  I was able to be a leader in the classroom by leading the students through their day, no matter what came up or erupted.
Standard 2a- Teachers treat students as individuals.  I was able to treat students as individuals by building on the relationships with each student.  I created a stronger relationship with one of the students by discussing how the outcome of their day is their choice.  If they want to have a good day, they need to make the choice and choose to make the right choices during the day. 
Standard 3d- Teachers make instruction relevant to students. I was able to make plants and seeds relevant to students by finding plants outside, showing real life examples, talking abut their experiences with plants, etc.  
Standard 4d- Teachers utilize technology in the classroom.  I was able to use the smart board activity games for subtraction.  Interactive smart board activities hold the students interest and therefore increase their understandings.   
Standard 5b- Teachers link professional growth to their professional goals.  I was able to see where my students are and I am able to see how I need to change my goals and teaching to help the students be successful in all subject areas and with all standards.       
I am working on my portfolio stuff.  No support needed at this time.    

Weekly Reflections: March 29th

     I can't believe this was my last full week of teaching!!!  It has been an awesome journey this semester!!  I have really enjoyed my placement and my students!!  I have learned more than I could of ever imagined this semester.  I will use what I have learned in my future classroom and in life.  I will begin to hand the class over gradually to my teacher over the next couple of weeks.  I believe she is excited and has missed teaching.  I believe teaching is a second nature and when your. in the classroom and not teaching, it feels weird for teachers.  My pleasant surprise this week would be how  well my students were able to learn and absorb all the information we learned about frogs.  The students were interested, engaged, and were able to remember the information we had learned the previous day.  The lesson I learned this week was to incorporate some sequencing pictures for the students to follow when they are in their groups.  Even though you take time to explain what they should be doing the students still become confused, some don't pay attention, this keeps them from knowing what to do next.  The students who become confused end up finding activities they want to do causing disruptive behavior to erupt.  I believe if I was able to have picture cards for each activity they were supposed to do next, this would help.  The students would have a visual representation to guide them.  For example, I would have a picture of group work, name on paper, a picture of sight words, and lastly I would have a picture to grab the extra work.  I will try these next week.   I would say my short-term efforts for next week and the remaining of student teaching is to really focus on the blooms taxonomy and asking the higher level questions to students.  This is one of my weaknesses when I am teaching.  I have been able to add more of these questions in my lesson this week, but I would like for them to come more as second nature at some point.  I want to build more off of students responses and help them to dig deeper into their understandings.  This short-term goal aligns to my long-term goal of being successful in my student teaching and as a future teacher.  By including the blooms taxonomy in my teaching.  I will be able to push my students to take their understandings to the next level.  I could of spent more time on my portfolio, if I would of had my copies and material ready for each day.  I had courage this week to try a more challenging book to read for one of my reading groups.  I was pleasantly surprised at how well they were able to read this book choice and really enjoyed the story.  I have found if I am able to find interesting stories about topics the students are interested in, they are more excited to read and really enjoy the whole experience.  The first step for next week is to finalize the schedule on how my CE and I would like to transition the content.  This way I know what lessons I need to plan for and teach.  I was able to analyze my students counting data and their performance with subtraction.  This data will help me determine which students need interventions and one on one help with counting.  This data will also help me determine which students need extra support or even a re-engagement lesson on subtraction.  One piece of advice I would share with student teachers is to enjoy the experience of student teaching, take in all the information you can, and decide what aspects you would like to use in your future classroom and which ones you might not want to use in your future classroom.  Every classroom is different and ran differently even in the same grade level.

NC Teacher Candidate Standards 
 Standard 1a- Teachers lead in their classrooms.  I was able to be a leader in the classroom by leading the students through their day, no matter what came up or erupted.
Standard 2a- Teachers treat students as individuals.  I was able to treat students as individuals by building on the relationships with each student.  I created a stronger relationship with a few of the students by discussing how the outcome of their day is their choice.  If they want to have a good day, they need to make the choice and choose to do the right actions throughout the day. 
Standard 3d- Teachers make instruction relevant to students. I was able to make the theme of frogs relevant to students by bringing in real frogs, eggs, and tadpoles for the students to observe.  
Standard 4d- Teachers utilize technology in the classroom.  I was able to use the smart board activity games for subtraction.  
Standard 5b- Teachers link professional growth to their professional goals.  I was able to see where my students are and I am able to see how I need to change my goals and teaching to help the students be successful in all subject areas.      
I am working on my portfolio stuff.  No support needed at this time.  

Weekly Reflections: March 22nd

What a beautiful week it has been!  We were able to go outside and play everyday this week.  I feel like being able to go outside, really helps the students to burn their energy off and focus better in class.  Who doesn't benefit from beautiful sunshine and warm weather?  I know my students are getting so excited for spring break!  I would say my pleasant surprise this week would be how well my guided reading groups went each day.  The students were all excited to read their books and to participate in the guided reading time with me.  I also love how I am able to help students individually as soon as I hear or see them struggling with a word or letter sound.  I feel like this is so beneficial for the students and prevents frustration with reading from erupting.  The lessons my work experience taught me this week is to be patient and try as many techniques as I can to help the students who continually struggle to behave in the classroom.  I will build upon this next week by continuing the techniques that worked with the student or trying new techniques if it did not work with the student.  I also have come to realize what works with one student will sometimes not work with another student and what worked one day may not work another day for a student.  Our students need support, love, and patience in order to prosper and be the best they can be.  I would say my short-term efforts for next week and the remaining of student teaching is to really focus on the blooms taxonomy and asking the higher level questions to students.  This is one of my weaknesses when I am teaching.  I have been able to add more of these questions in my lesson this week, but I would like for them to come more as second nature at some point.  I want to build more off of students responses and help them to dig deeper into their understandings.  This short-term goal aligns to my long-term goal of being successful in my student teaching and as a future teacher.  By including the blooms taxonomy in my teaching.  I will be able to push my students to take their understandings to the next level.  I could of spent more time on my portfolio items and less time on preparing items for the next day at the end of each day.  I plan on making sure all copies and materials are ready and organized for each day before next week.  I would say I had courage this week as I participated in family night at my school.  I was able to interact with the parents and students in a very welcoming way.  I did not let my shyness keep me from being involved and talkative during family night.  The mental clutter I can clear is to make sure all copies and materials are ready for next week and organized.  This week I was able to analyze the assessment data I took on the students understanding of subtraction word problems.  I was able to use the data to determine who needs more help with subtraction and who is understanding subtraction well.  This helps me know how to plan my next lessons and remediation groups.  One piece of advice I would share with other student teachers is to realize how impactful you can be in your students lives.  I want my students to be encouraged, feel loved, and learn how to treat others.
NC Teacher Candidate Standards 
 Standard 1a- Teachers lead in their classrooms.  I was able to be a leader in the classroom by leading the students through their day, no matter what came up or erupted.
Standard 2a- Teachers treat students as individuals.  I was able to treat students as individuals by building on the relationships with each student.  I created a stronger relationship with a few of the students who felt comfortable discussing their situations at home.  These students opened up to me more this week and felt comfortable to talk with me about why they were sad and what they were feeling.  
Standard 3d- Teachers make instruction relevant to students. I was able to make the signs of spring relevant to students by having them look outside and see what is going on in the word around them.  Also, I related it to their own experiences in the spring. 
Standard 4d- Teachers utilize technology in the classroom.  I was able to use the smart board activity games for subtraction.  
Standard 5b- Teachers link professional growth to their professional goals.  I was able to see where my students are and I am able to see how I need to change my goals and teaching to help the students be successful in all subject areas.      
I am working on my portfolio stuff.  No support needed at this time.  

Weekly Reflections: March 15

Wow!  What a week it has been this week!  I had a teacher workday Monday where we were actually able to just work in our classrooms.  It was so nice to have this time to get ahead with my week.  I also took the time to clean as much as I could to help kill some of the germs going around.  I would say overall this week I would rate my experience as a three.  My students did well this week with their lessons and activities.  We had a new student join our group this week.  I have been a little stressed over how to help this particular student.  He has some behavior challenges that we are trying to help him with.  It is also stressful waiting to get information on your new students and not knowing more about them when they first start your class.  My pleasant surprise from this week would be how well my students are able to do with their academics when they are at school.  Many of my students go through a lot when they are at home and probably more than I will ever know about.  It is comforting to know and observe how safe and comfortable they feel in our classroom.  This allows these students to excel in their academics and perform to their best potential.  The lesson my work experience taught me this week is the importance of continuous assessments on the students understandings.  You also need to recheck their understandings from previous assessments to make sure they still understand.  I will build upon this next week by continuing to assess students and making sure each student is receiving the support they need.   I would say my short-term efforts this week are to continue to focus more on giving very clear and specific instructions for activities.  I even want to take time to have students model the correct way to act during the activity and how not to act during the activity.  This way students will have a visual on how they are supposed to act and what they are supposed to be doing during the activity.  This short-term goal aligns with my long-term goal of being successful in my student teaching and as a future teacher.  I could of spent more time preparing my lessons then cleaning.  This week I wanted to clean and get the germs out of the classroom.  My first steps for next week are to collect all of my materials I will need for next week.  I will also make sure to fix all of my centers to match the students needs.  The data I was able to analyze this week was our students phoneme segmentation data.  I will use this data to help me plan which students need more interventions.  I also reviewed the students sight word data.  I will use this data to guide the intervention groups I plan for sight words.  One piece of advice I would give other student teachers is to keep your head up and just keep swimming and swimming, we are almost there!  
NC Teacher Candidate Standards  
 Standard 1a- Teachers lead in their classrooms.  I was able to be a leader in the classroom by leading the students through their day, no matter what came up or erupted.
Standard 2a- Teachers treat students as individuals.  I was able to treat students as individuals by building on the relationships with each student.  I created a stronger relationship with a few of the students who felt comfortable discussing their situations at home.  These students opened up to me more this week and felt comfortable to talk with me about why they were sad and what they were feeling.  
Standard 3d- Teachers make instruction relevant to students. This week we talked about physical properties.  We were able to relate to the objects and examples discussed to our everyday lives.
Standard 4d- Teachers utilize technology in the classroom.  I was able to use the smart board activity games for subtraction.  
Standard 5b- Teachers link professional growth to their professional goals.  I was able to see where my students are and I am able to see how I need to change my goals and teaching to help the students be successful in all subject areas.      
I am double checking my edTPA task.  No support needed at this time.  

Weekly Reflections: March 8th

     This week felt very long for some reason.  I feel like my students are becoming very antsy.  The students are ready for spring break and warmer weather.  I know it will do the students some good when the weather is warm enough for them to be able to go outside and play.  I would rate this week as a three.  I was able to have two more students meet their goal of counting to 100, who had been struggling with this concept!  I was pleasantly surprised by this and excited for them.  I would say the lesson I learned this week is everyday is going to be different, you win some and you lose some.  I learned that when nothing seems to go right one day, its okay.  You just have to breathe and remember tomorrow is another day.  I will build upon this next week by pushing through and continuing to believe in myself and my capabilities.  I will know not everyday is going to go smoothly as we plan and that is okay, tomorrow is a new day.  I would say my short-term efforts this week would be to continue really spending time on making my directions/instructions clearer to the students before giving them a task or activity.  I also will make sure the expectations during any activities are explained to the students, so they know how they are supposed to act.  This will allow the students to know exactly what they are supposed to be doing, so they are not confused during the activity.  This short-term goal aligns to my long-term goal of being successful in student teaching and as a future teacher.  I could of spent more time teaching and less time correcting behaviors this week. We had one student who was not getting his medicine and we had a new student join the class this week.  This added some chaos to the room and the behavior this week.  By the end of the week, the students were adjusting and doing much better with their behaviors.  My apprehension of the worry of not being able to do everything perfectly as a teacher impacted me this week.  I was able to see and be reassured that I was doing what I was supposed to and I do have a good control on the class, its just the fact that everyone and every class has its days.  I do believe in myself and I know that I can do everything I need to as a teacher to the best of my ability.  I feel like I am right where I am supposed to be at this time in my career and will learn more each and everyday as a teacher.  The first steps for next week is to use my teacher workday to get ahead.  I will use this day to change groups around, review data, finalize group work, differentiate, and clean.  I am looking forward to having this day to be in the classroom and to work.  The data I was able to review this week would be the students writing.  I was able to use the data to determine who needs writing interventions and who is strong in writing.  This will help me to differentiate the writing activities for the students.  One piece of advice I would share with other student teachers is to always believe in yourself and to never doubt yourself.  God put you here for a reason, this is your gift, and you are doing great!
NC Teacher Candidate Standards 
 Standard 1a- Teachers lead in their classrooms. I was able to lead the students through their lessons, activities, and each part of their day.  I was able to show my control of the classroom and change the behavior around by the end of the week.Standard 2a- Teachers treat students as individuals. I was able to build closer relationships with the students by making sure I am available to talk to them and get on their level when they are upset or have questions.  I also allowed students to have time throughout the day to tell me anything they wanted to.  
Standard 3d- Teachers make instruction relevant to students. I was able to help students see how we can relate to Dr. Seuss books. Especially, with "Green Eggs and Ham," helping students to see the importance of trying new foods or activities because they might end up enjoying them.  
Standard 4d- Teachers utilize technology in the classroom.  I was able to use the digital read aloud book for students so they could play the rhyming words game.  
Standard 5b- Teachers link professional growth to their professional goals.  I was able to see where my students are and I am able to see how I need to change my goals and teaching to help the students be successful in all subject areas.      

 No support needed at this time.