Weekly Reflections: February 8th

      This week I have learned and witnessed the effects of the flu, stomach bug, and other illnesses have on a classroom and a school.  Our school has had a lot of staff and students out for the flu.  My class alone we had many students out for the flu and stomach bug.  The students who were in class did not feel good and we were constantly sending students to the office.  I was out Monday with the stomach bug and have not felt very well all week.  I have taught and done the best I can this week for my students.  We have discussed many times this week how important it is to wash our hands and to keep our hands out of our mouth and face.  The reward system is still working very well for the students this week.  I would rate my overall experience this week as a four.  Although, we all did not feel very well, we were still able to have a successful week at school.  I was able to teach the students who were here and the students participated in each lesson.  My pleasant surprise this week would be that one of the students who has challenging behavior was able to have a great week and was rewarded with a trip in the treasure box.  He was so excited and could finally see how when you have good behavior you are able to receive rewards.  The lessons my work experience taught me this week were to always be flexible.  Since, the students were sick and I was sick, I had to change the schedule of some of the lessons around.  I have learned how to be more flexible with my lessons and teaching when unexpected events take place.  I will build on this knowledge by making sure I am able to fit all of the lessons I need to in next week and always remaining flexible, you never know when events will take place.  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 into my lessons 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 teaching and less time helping students who did not feel good, if the students would have felt better.  This comes with the territory so it is just learning how to help the students feel as comfortable as possible when they are at school, especially when they are sick.  I would say I was a little apprehensive about throwing my ideas for the 100th day of school out to the whole kindergarten grade level.  I ended up having courage and sharing my ideas of what we could do with our students on this day.  The ideas included dressing up like 100 years old and having fun centers where students could have a 100 snack at one, build a tower with a 100 cups, use their 100 board to count, etc.  The teachers ended up loving the idea and are excited to take part int he festivities with their classes on Monday!  The first step for next week is to make sure I have all the materials ready for the 100 day of school activities and to make sure I have all of the other materials ready for the rest of the lessons for the week.  The data I was able to review this week was on the students understanding of their sight words.  I can use this data to help guide me on which sight words to focus on during my teaching and guided reading groups next week.  One piece of advice I would share with other student teachers is to wash your hands as much as possible and to take your vitamins.  I will definitely make sure to wash my hands more and pray I do not get sick anymore this semester!
NC Teacher Candidate Standards 
 Standard 1a- Teachers lead in their classrooms.  I was able to lead in my classroom by taking control of the unexpected events that took place.  I had plans ready for when I had to be out.  I helped the students when they became sick and needed to go home.  I also was able to more lessons around to help give my students the best learning possibilities I can.
Standard 2a- Teachers treat students as individuals.  This week we have had two boys who do not get along when they play together.  We have taken steps to keep them apart in the room and outside.  I have been able to treat the students as individuals and help each one see who they should play with and who they should not.  I have helped the students see how they need to make good choices for themselves.
Standard 3d- Teachers make instruction relevant to students. This week we talked about jobs and related the content to the students real life.  This was done by asking students what jobs their parents have, what jobs they have, and what jobs they want when they are older.
Standard 4d- Teachers utilize technology in the classroom.  I was able to use many smart board activities for math with addition this week.  The students loved these and were fully engaged in the material by using these.
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.      
Other 
I have worked on my edTPA stuff this week.  My CE and I do not need any support at this time.