WEEK 3

WHAT

This past week I got to experience taking 4th graders on a field trip. The students just wrapped up their unit on dinosaurs on Friday. We got to go to the Thanksgiving Point Museum, and while we were there we went across the parking lot to the Art Institute. I had never been there before and it was such a neat experience. Especially since I learned that it is free and that you can go at anytime!

Field trips can be such fun, but I feel that they can also be very draining and nerve wracking. When we were at the art museum I was so paranoid that one of the students might knock over some of the glass pieces that I couldn't entirely enjoy myself. I guess that's the life of a teacher. I realized that as a teacher you have to be ready and willing to go with the flow of things on a field trip. Everything might not go as planned, but that doesn't mean that the entire trip has to be ruined.

SO WHAT

As I mentioned last week, I was very excited to start teaching about mean, median and mode in math. I'm starting to realize how precious time is when it comes to school. All the students had to learn last week was mean, median, mode, range, and order of operations. Unfortunately on Tuesday we had the field trip that took away from math time, plus we had an assembly one day. There just is never enough time in the day to get done what needs to be done.

I think that for the most part the students enjoyed the new concepts they learned in math this past week. I noticed that on their math quizzes on Friday, when I graded them, that the lowest scoring part of their test was order of operations. This tells me that the students didn't have quite enough time to pick up on this skill. This next week I'll have to encorporate it into the rest of the new material they'll be learning. I just wish that it was my own classroom so that I could arrange the day however I want it, so that I could spend as much time on whatever subject as I would like.

NOW WHAT

Starting tomorrow I will be teaching all day except social studies. Which means that I am finally starting my unit on science. SOIL. I have actually been dreading this day since I started my student teaching. Since they are on a rotation schedule for science with two other classes, it means that I get to teach about soil for 3 weeks. This seems like such a long time to me! Not to mention a very boring subject.

I think the thing that I am most scared about is my lack of knowledge on the subject. It's not like multiplication or division or reading - things that I have been doing my whole life and could do with my eyes closed. I don't know that I ever even learned about soil in elementary school. I'm nervous that the students will ask me a question and that I will not know the answer, and they will be able to see right through me. Then they will find out that I don't really know everything! This unit is going to challenge me to be very prepared and to study up on the information I'm teaching. Then again I was scared for math last semester and it turned out just fine, so I'm sure that science will too, hopefully!

WEEK 2

WHAT

This week I started teaching most the day. The only subjects I don't teach yet are science and social studies. My cooperating techer is finishing up her unit on those subjects this week so I will begin teaching them next week. I am loving teaching more and more everyday. The connections I have with the students grow more every day. It's so rewarding to see how they connect and catch on to the things that I teach. I also got to participate in DRA's this week, and it was so helpful to get to see how those are done.

One of my favorite things about this week was when I decided to start teaching about persuasive writing. I read the students the book the 3 little pigs, and the true story of the 3 little pigs. We then discussed how people try and persuade us and what types of techniques are used in persuasive writing. The students are going to be participating in a trial next week. Some of the class is on the jury, some are the 3 pigs, one is the wolf and the rest of the class is divided into prosecuters and those supporting the pigs story. They are going to have to use their persuasive skills next week during the "trial" in class to try and convince the jury that the wolf is either guilty, or not guilty. The students are so excited for the trial and have been preparing everyday, I can't wait to see how it turns out.

SO WHAT

Being able to do DRA's with the students really opened my eyes. At least when it comes to reading. It helps to see what exactly they are struggling with. Whether it be their comprehension, their decoding skills, or even just their level of reading. It's really difficult because 7 of the 9 lowest 4th grade students in the school, are in our classroom. It's very difficult to try and help the students independently, because instead of being able to pull a few aside and review the material, it's practically pulling the whole class aside.

The most frustrating thing for me is when the students simply don't read the questions they are answering carefully. I know that most of them know the information that is being asked of them. They are so caught up with being the first ones done that they don't double check their work. I don't know what to do about this to make them so slow down, and read carefully. I'm going to have to think real hard about this, so that we can both succeed.

NOW WHAT

This upcoming week on Tuesday we have a field trip where we get to go to the dinosaur museum up at Thanksgiving Point. I am so excited, I have been wanting to go to this museum for a while! I'm starting to realize that as teachers the class isn't entirely in your hands. You don't exactly have the opportunity to do what you want during the day, for the time periods that you want to. Because of specialties or recess of lunch, or because of teams where you switch classes with other teachers. It's just a little bit frustrating.

I also get to start teaching about mean, median, mode and range tomorrow. Which I am also very excited about, because it will be a nice change from division. There are so many more possibilities to make mean, median, mode and range more exciting for the students. Division is a little bit repetitive, which I got bored even myself teaching. I look forward to the things I get to teach this week. It's getting to become more my responsibility, and I get to do things my way.

FUN EXPERIENCE
Here's a funny little experience I thought you might get a laugh out of ha. On Friday I told the students that if they were silent during math, that I would come out during lunch recess and play a kickball game with them. Unfortunately the snow has yet to melt from their field, not to mention that it was hailing and snowing on Friday. So as I was running towards first base, I slipped and fell on my butt and ran into the little girl at first base. haha. Then the little boy that had attempted to catch the ball that I had kicked, called it fowl. So as I was walking back to home plate I slipped and fell again. The class loved it, and it was such a memorable experience haha.

WEEK 1

WHAT
This was my first week of student teaching and I have to say that I am absolutely loving it so far! I'm so glad that the elementary education program is set up how it is at UVU, and that I got to meet the students earlier in the year, and that they already know me. I haven't been doing a lot this week since it's just my first week, probably equal to what I did last semester in my fall field. I've been teaching the 4th graders math everyday and an occasional mini lesson for reading/writing.
Starting Tuesday however I will be teaching all day except for science and social studies, which combined equals an hour. So I am a little nervous about this upcoming adventure but I am very excited. It can get to be so frustrating though because you work so hard with some of the students on certain concept and since they don't have very much support at home, they don't get any practice on the concepts that they learn at school, and they usually forget them by the next day. You want to help every student so much, but there just isn't enough time to do it. It breaks my heart.

SO WHAT
I think one of the biggest things I'm going to have to learn is to accept what I can accomplish. I need to realize that I am probably not going to be able to help every student 100%. But. . . if I can try my hardest and put my all into what I do, I will feel successful, and that I have made somewhat of a difference. I just need to use all the available time that there is during the school day to make their day as meaningful and educational as possible.
Another hard thing that I have come across with this class is some children are very VERY very energetic. It's so hard for me when I have explained the directions and expectations set forth for them and clearly layed out what we are working on in class, and I look over and see one of the students doing an army crawl across the floor. haha. I get so frustrated at the moment, but as I tell the stories to my husband later on at home, I realize just how funny my day really is. So I think for me, I will have to work on being patient.

NOW WHAT
Now I really dive into my student teaching come Tuesday. I really need to always be prepared and on my toes for whatever may come my way. I want to be more vocal and active than I usually have been during my field experiences. I feel that in the past I have done a lot of the lessons that the teachers have provided for me to do because I didn't want to step on any toes and not present their lessons that they have done in the past. Not that I want to step on toes, but . . . a lot of the times, even I am bored with the lessons! I feel that I have a very good idea about what the students are interested in and feel that I can create lessons that would cater to the students needs and their attention.
I am so so so excited for my student teaching to finally begin! As I look at the clock throughout the day while I'm in my little fourth grade classroom, I am amazed at how quickly the time flies by. I feel that I really have picked the profession that is right for me and that I am truely going to love what I do. Times can be so frustrating during the day, but as I mentioned above, you look back at the day and the funny comments the students make and you are so glad that they were put in your classroom. I really do have an awesome class that I was lucky enough to be placed in and my teacher is maybe even better! I can't wait!
Let me know if this is what you meant by the: what, so what, and now what. I went off what I felt you were looking for. Hopefully starting next week I'll have more to talk about, teaching wise, since I'll be teaching more. Thanks so much for this opportunity Sandie.