Blog 6

• Rate your overall experience of the week: 1-Very difficult | 5 – Great week - 5. Despite being sick one day this week and edTPA being due, I had a great week in my classroom.
• Seven questions to end your week:
• • Observe: What pleasant surprises / accomplishments did I achieve this week? I have began to notice changes in what my students can do by themselves that they weren't able to do at the beginning of the year and this was a nice reminder of why I want to become a teacher.
  • Reflect: What lessons did my work/experiences teach me that I will build upon next week? I need to be more consistent planning my lessons and preparing materials the day before the lesson. Next week, I plan to have every material for the week set aside in bins labeled m-f
  • Focus:  How are my short-term efforts and my long-term goals still aligned? My short term efforts are completing lesson plans, edtpa, and beginning portfolio work align to my long term goal of graduation.
  • Be Productive: What could I have spent more or less time doing? I could have spent more time planning materials for the week.
  • Have Courage:  How did apprehension and indecision impact what I did and didn’t do? Our PBIS team came in last week and we discussed how the program has been working for us. We discussed some strategies to implement in the classroom like individual clip charts and brain breaks at least every 30 minutes. I was nervous about these changes because I was unsure how my students would be able to move and dance, then sit back down quietly ready to learn. Having brain breaks in my classroom has helped the behavior disruptions throughout the day.
  • Begin Anew: What is the first logical step(s) for next week? What mental clutter can I clear? Next week, I will prepare all of my materials for the week on Monday.

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? I looked over my reading conference sheets and writing conference sheets so I can see exactly what each student can do.
• What is one piece of advice you can share with other student teachers? Keep a separate list of materials for each lesson for everyday of the week. It can be used as a quick glance to locate materials.

• NC Teacher Candidate Standards (be sure to reference activities from your lesson plans to solidify your answer)
• • • Pick an element from standard one of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element. - 1B- This week, the students who were doing the right thing without being asked were given a golden ticket to show other students I mean business.
    • Pick an element from standard two of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element. -2D- This week I have learned a lot about differentiation and how to differentiate for each of my students needs. I have the students who need greater support in lessons by giving them resources to use to support their learning such as tracing words and sentences.
    • Pick an element from standard three of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element. - 3B- Since I have been working with other Kindergarten teachers, I am learning some things about kindergarten I didn't know before which helps me teach the content.
    • Pick an element from standard four of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element. - 4C- In my lessons, I am using group work, partnerships, SMART board games, math manipulatives and other materials to help my students learn best.
    • Pick an element from standard five of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element. - 5C- I have learned to adapt to a complex environment such as the kindergarten classroom. All of my students are on different levels of behavior as well as learning.
• Other:
• • What components of your portfolio have you started to complete? Behavior Management plan for focus students, PDP, resume, and Global awareness.
  • What support does your clinical educator need from your university supervisor? None
  • What support do you need from your university supervisor? None

Blog Four

This month was yet another great learning month! This semester has flown by quickly but I have learned more than I ever thought I would. Seeing the connections between what we have been learning in our education classes and the real classroom applications is the best way to learn. This month in 435 we have been diving deep into edTPA while also writing a mock edTPA. I am so thankful we were able to practice edTPA in 435 because I feel better prepared to student teach in the fall because of it. In social studies, our unit plans were due as well as our virtual museum. My virtual museum was the museum for the town I am student teaching in. It was very interesting to see how all of this history happened in the small town of Stanley. After I showed my CE my virtual museum, she insisted that I shared it with the class. This connects to standard one of the NCTCS which is teachers demonstrate leadership. I am demonstrating leadership because my CE has lived in Stanley for a long time, and she learned new things as well. It was pretty cool getting to teach my CE something because she teaches me so much on a daily basis. In regards to my unit plan, I am proud of the progress I have made since last spring when I took SSED. My unit plan was only 11 pages last year and it is 18 pages this year. That shows me that I understand what I need to do in regards to writing lessons and including everything. This connects to standard five of the NCTCS because I am reflecting on the progress I have made in just one short year. In my clinical placement, I have been given more responsibility from my CE and I love every minute of it. She has been swamped with testing over the past few weeks and she started letting me lead lessons while she is testing other students. This is a great opportunity for me to practice writing on the board, answering and asking questions, develop rapport with students, and just practice the way I talk in front of the kids. Being able to step in for my CE relates to one through four of the NCTCS. Leadership because when Ms. Stone asks me to teach, I say yes ma'am and I do it for her. This shows her that I am reliable and here to help her with anything. Me stepping in creates a safe classroom environment because I get a chance to interact with the students while I am teaching. In order to teach these kids the lessons, I need to know the content within them. Teaching the students while my CE is testing gives me the opportunity to facilitate learning how I know best by explaining things and relating them to real life problems. The biggest problem I have encountered this month in my placement is that I need to remember that these students are still learning to read and write. If I tell them how to spell or read every word they don't know, they will learn nothing. This has been difficult for me because it is so easy to just spell the word for them instead of reminding them to use their sound power. This relates to standard four of the NCTCS because by not giving them the answer, they have to figure it out on their own. For my outside learning and research, I have been looking for ways to help students who struggle with writing numbers and letters backwards. By the end of kindergarten, the students should be able to write the numbers 1-100 and the letters of the alphabet. I found some hands on ways to engage these students to help them to remember which way the letter or number goes. Using a pan with sand in it, I will ask the students to write the letter or number I say to them. This allows them to use their hands to practice these skills. I could also use shaving cream on their desks to practice writing these letters and numbers. By researching these ideas, I have used standard four of the NCTCS because by using hands on learning, the students will practice writing letters and numbers so they can become more proficient. In my future classroom, I will always look for ways to fill the gaps of knowledge students have on a subject in a fun, interactive way. If the students are engaged in the learning, then they will get the most out of it. I have also learned that the job of a teacher is much more than just a teacher. I have seen my CE advocate for each student, she is a doctor to them, she cares about their lives at home, and she disciplines them. In my future classroom, I need to remember that if my students feel safe with me and respect me, they will learn to their full potential.

Blog three

The semester is moving very quickly and I am excited to be getting closer to student teaching in August! This month in my clinical placement was yet another learning experience for me as I taught all five of my edTPA lesson plans. My segment's goal was to have the students be able identify and retell key details in a nonfiction book. The first day, my lesson was centered around simply finding the main idea and the students had to write the main idea of their chosen book on their white board. Day two of my segment was for identifying key details and their task was to fill out an organizer that looked like a stool to show them that the legs are the key details and the seat is the main idea. In this lesson, I realized my students are not yet developed enough to write that much for one assignment. I had to use this to adjust my instruction for the next three lessons. This connects to standard five of the NCTCS because I reflected on my lesson and adjusted my future assessment methods knowing that they get disengaged when they write more than one full sentence at a time. My third and fourth lessons were identifying main idea and key details within a nonfiction book and to tell the whole class about it was their assessment which I have recorded so I can remember how each student performed on the task. My fifth lesson was an integrated lesson of main idea and key details and making dirt pudding. First, the students listened to me read a book using epic books about spring and then we worked together to identify what we think a good title for the book would be the main idea and key details that support it. By using Epic books, I am integrating technology into my lesson which is connected to standard four of the NCTCS which is facilitating knowledge to students by integrating technology into your instruction. They are all so fascinated with the SMARTboard so any chance I can use it, I do. Next, I passed out a short passage to the students with some questions about the passage to complete which was about spring. Then, I passed out a list of ingredients with the title missing. I told them we had to follow the ingredients to figure out what it was called just like we did with the book about spring. I let them throw out ideas of what we should name the stuff we made and they all agreed it was dirt pudding. It was a fun and yummy lesson to do and it reinforced using details to support the main idea. I facilitated the learning to the students by doing something they think is fun. One student even said to me "you did this activity to help us understand" which I thought was pretty cool coming from a kindergartner! This relates to standard four of the NCTCS which says the teacher facilitate knowledge to their students by using a variety of instructional methods. One of our students moved to another school but then we received a new student. Immediately, I wanted to make her feel comfortable being at a new school, with a new teacher, and new classmates. On my second day meeting her, she gave me a hug and brought me things on the playground. Establishing a relationship is important for creating a safe classroom environment which connects to standard two of the NCTCS. In my clinical this month, one of our students had a major behavior breakout where he was spitting on the other students while they were doing their work and the teacher tried to lead him back to his seat and he started spitting, biting, and kicking her. He was suspended for three days and will return 3/26. This influenced my outside research because I want to help limit his outbreaks so he does not fall behind in schoolwork. To begin with, when he returns on Monday I will not act any differently toward him because as a teacher I need to help all of my students succeed regardless of what they have done and everyday is a new day. The school has organized a new management system for him. It is a strip of pictures that show his schedule for the day and throughout the day he gets paid after he does a certain amount of things on the schedule for that day. When he returns on Monday, I hope this begins to work for him. This reflects standard one of the NCTCS because my CE is using methods to help this certain student succeed in kindergarten. In social studies methods, we discussed a thing called "One School, One Book." It's this really cool thing where a school chooses a book to be the school theme for the year. For example, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" the school would decorate like a candy factory and have theme days and other fun things. This prompted some more of my outside research and the One School, One Book website has a "utilizing title one" tab on the website and the school I am placed at is title one. This research connects to standard one of the NCTCS because I am gathering resources for student teaching at a title one school in the fall and  knowing the school you teach at demonstrates leadership. In my future classroom, I will always reflect on my own practice to improve my lessons according to my students needs. Creating a safe classroom environment is number one on my list for my future classroom because one you create this environment, it allows the students to come out of their comfort zones, which is the best way to learn. In my future classroom, I will implement multiple hands-on lessons for the students to interact with the material being taught and this is possible to do so through true integration. This was a short school month with spring break and teacher workdays but I still learned so much. I can't wait to see what April brings for me as a future teacher.

Blog two

February was a short month but this month was a month of huge growth for me personally. I am so thankful for all of the time I get to spend in my clinical placement because this is the time I can make the connections between what I am learning while doing the learning experiences, class discussions, and other assignments. We had to complete the leadership and collaboration project, as well as our rough drafts for our edTPA learning segment. Completing the leadership and collaboration project directly links to standard one of the NCTCS because to complete this learning experience I had to locate data about the school I will be student teaching at to help inform my future instruction. I was able to look at the school improvement plan (SIP) and the goals the school improvement team set for the whole school. Looking at these goals helped me to see where my class is at in terms of this goal. The first goal of the SIP is to increase 20% on iready reading and goal two was to increase 20% on iready math. During the project, I selected a goal I wanted to reach for parent involvement because I realize that parent involvement has a huge impact on my students learning. My action plan is to have a Kindergarten parent night and this will take place when I begin student teaching in the fall. The goal of the parent night is for the students and their parents to come to the school to play games with the teachers as well as learn some strategies to help their students with learning at home. This connects to standard two of the NCTCS because I am establishing a respectful environment for the students to learn in by involving the significant adults in my students lives. Writing lessons one through five was very beneficial because I know I will be writing edTPA next semester during student teaching. The goal of my learning segment is for the students to be able to correctly identify main idea and the key details within the story that support the main idea. To help my students achieve this goal, I included multiple strategies for my students to ensure I reach every type of learner within my classroom. For example, in one lesson I give the students "main idea bags" with different items in them and they have to look at the items to decide what the main idea of that bag is. Doing things like this will make the learning more concrete for the hands-on learners in my classroom. Another example from my lessons include the students coming up to the SMART board to play a game that is about main idea and key details. My students were born in 2012, which means they have never known a world without technology. Integrating technology within my lessons allows for these 21st century learners to achieve the learning goals. Catering to all of my students needs connect to standard four of the NCTCS which says that teachers facilitate learning to their students. By using technology and activities for each students learning style, I have provided an opportunity of learning to each student. In my clinical placement, I was able to attend a field trip to The Schiele Museum of Natural History with my class. While on the field trip, I was walking with students and reading some of the displays to them to help them understand some of the content within the museum. They attended a skit about the earth and how things work such as water, plants, and animals. For the students to be able to see this skit, I think it allowed them to understand what the characters were talking about. In my future classroom, I will use things such as a skit to help my students understand a topic that they may be struggling on. This month was Valentines Day as well as Presidents Day. My teacher used these holidays to help facilitate learning within her classroom. On valentines day, the class read a book about hearts, did a math activity using hearts, and created an art project using hearts. For Presidents day, the students read a magazine about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln and then they had to sort the facts into a Venn diagram. Using current events to engage your students is  brilliant way to relate learning to real life for the students. This connects to standard four of facilitating learning to your students because relating the learning to real life engages the students  to make connections with the content. This month's character trait is kindness and each class was given strips of paper to write kind things that happened in the classroom for a whole week. The classroom with the longest chain won a prize and every classrooms chain was hung at the front of the school above the character trait Kindness. Ensuring kindness within the classroom directly connects to standard two of the NCTCS which is establishing a respectful learning environment. I was able to assist my CE and her TA in testing the students on their uppercase and lowercase letters, phonemes associated with the letters, numbers 1-20, and sight words. In January when I began going to my clinical placement, I was able to help with the testing as well. It was really cool to see just how far these students have come in just the short amount of time I have been in the classroom. It also helped my CE to determine her guided reading groups, what she may need to re-teach, and who needs extra assistance. Testing the students allows the teacher to reflect on her practice which is standard five so she can see what her students know and what they need assistance with. For my outside learning and research, I have been researching classroom management strategies to help my teacher limit the distractions in the classroom. One strategy that the EC department utilizes for behavior is having a "reward chart" and at the start of every day the student who is misbehaving is allowed to pick a reward for that day and all day they have to work toward their goal so they can receive the reward. The rewards are things like extra recess time, getting to go see the EC teachers Guinea Pigs, getting in the prize box, sitting in the teachers chair, etc. This system has worked wonderfully for this student and has lowered his number of outbursts drastically. In my clinical placement, there are some students who struggle with letter-sound recognition so I have been researching activities I can use at my guided reading group to help these students learn that every letter has a sound that goes with it. One activity I found was to allow the students to use play-doh to make letters and then say the letter, and the sound it makes along with a word that starts with that letter. For example, I say the letter B and they will make the letter with their play-doh, write the letter three times on the line and then I will ask them what sound the letter makes, and then they should tell me a word that starts with B such as butterfly. I like this idea for my current and future classroom because it allows every type of learner to be engaged. I can't believe we are almost halfway through the semester and before we know it we will be student teaching. For now, I am excited to be able to learn new things every week in class and be able to apply them in my clinical.

Blog one

My first few weeks of 435 and SSED 307 have been stressful, but very rewarding with all of the information I have learned. I am placed in Kindergarten with Mrs. Stone and it has been very beneficial to spend time in my placement to see a glimpse of how life will be next semester and the years to come. One thing I have noticed is how many teachers don't recognize the importance of starting social studies in kindergarten. During my time throughout the semester and during student teaching, I will work hard on integrating social studies within my lessons to not only teach the students but to also show the teachers how simple it is to integrate into literacy and math. This connects to the fourth NCTCS which states "teachers facilitate learning for their students" by integrating social studies into my lessons, the students will gain a well-rounded education even though they're only in Kindergarten. The first two topics we have discussed in 435 are classroom management and collaborating with other adults such as other teachers, administrators, and your student's parents. Learning about my teachers classroom management strategies has been helpful because she uses more than one thing to hold her students accountable for their actions during class and outside of the classroom. Attending my first PLC meeting was really cool because they did things during the meeting that I have learned about and completed myself in my time here at Gardner-Webb. To see the connections between what I've learned at Gardner-Webb and what elementary schools are doing is beneficial for my learning. They discussed a PDP for the whole kindergarten grade, and collaborated to ensure their lessons are lining up so all students are on the same level. They were all proud that I could keep up in the conversation with them even though it was my first meeting (Thanks, Gardner-Webb!) Attending PLC's and collaborating with other teachers directly correlates to standard one of the NCTCS which states "teachers demonstrate leadership." Effectively collaborating with co-workers demonstrates leadership not only to my principal and professors, but also to my students. Modeling collaboration to my students will allow them to learn to effectively collaborate with their classmates. During my placement, I have been working hard on developing relationships with my students to create a respectful environment within the classroom. Sitting with the kids at lunch, reading books with them, and answering questions raised by the students while the teacher is busy have helped me to become closer with these student's. Forming relationships is important when first entering a classroom because the children have no clue who you are and you want them to feel their most comfortable when talking to you. This connects to standard two of the NCTCS which is "Teachers establish a respectful classroom environment for a diverse population of students." So far, I am pleased with how much I've learned in just a short amount of time just by simply being in my placement as much as I can be. Being in my placement helps me to learn what strategies work best for certain students in relation to classroom management and when teaching a lesson. For example, some students enjoy dancing, singing, games, etc. I can use these interests to help plan engaging lessons for the students that need extra support on a topic. Knowing how my students learn best is a great example of showing leadership within the classroom. There is a child in my class who sometimes becomes disengaged in a lesson and when the teacher tries to redirect him back into the lesson, he begins back talking by saying "you don't tell me what to do" or he covers his ears to show he is not listening to her. Last week, this happened but something set him off and he began destroying the classroom by throwing chairs, buckets, supplies, or anything he can get his hands on. For my outside learning, I have decided to do a little research about behavioral issues and how to prevent them in the classroom. First, I need to learn about what makes this student meltdown, it could be a particular subject, another classmate, or the assignment the students are tasked with. Once I know what causes the meltdown, I can prevent them from happening. Praising a students good behavior will motivate them to behave like they are supposed to because they enjoy being complimented by their teacher. This child gets pulled out some during the week and they allowed me to walk him to his other teacher and while we were walking, I had a discussion with him of how proud I was of him for being so good this week and that it makes me and Mrs. Stone very happy. I could see the sense of accomplishment and pride on his face just from me saying that. This goes back to standard two of creating a safe, respectful environment not only for that student but for the others as well. Being in my placement has allowed for me to really start thinking about my future classroom and what kind of teacher I want to be for my students. Creating a respectful environment and relationships with my students is something I will always do in my classroom. If a student is uncomfortable, they cannot learn to the best of their ability and having all my students succeed is the goal for an effective classroom. Something that will follow me into my career are the relationships I form with my students. Talking to them during lunch and recess, finding out what they like and/or don't like, and learning how they learn best is something I will always use in my teaching career to help my students achieve greatness. Overall, these first few weeks of class have taught me a lot because I am able to learn the material during class or through assignments, then I can apply my learning in my student teaching placement.