Week 16

I'm finished! Somehow, I don't feel quite as relieved and excited as I thought I would be. Maybe it's because I have to do the balancing act again next semester (AR, classes, contract hours, looking for a job, subbing, planning a wedding!...). However, I enjoyed my experience in middle school at Rivesville and could not have asked for a better student teaching placement. Above are group pictures of the classes that I had. I have loved teaching these kids and will miss them!

Week 15

I am officially finished teaching. I thought that the only thing that I would feel is relief, but honestly, I feel a bit of sadness. I told the seventh graders at the end of class that this would be the last day that I would teach them. I was surprised at how disappointed they seemed. I gave them my last survey for action research, and several of the students wrote, "We will miss you!" or "I wish you didn't have to leave!" Those comments made my day. I realized how much I have loved working with this group and that I'll really miss them. It will be weird being in here next week with Mrs. McCutchan teaching them since I have been with them since September.

Neal, the content that the students seem to have the most problems with is language, which is why I chose language for action research. The students really don't have many problems with story elements, comparing and contrasting, or even inferences in literature. Sometimes, I feel that they even comprehend the stories better than I do! I think that the reason that the students struggle more in language is because THEY DON'T FIND IT INTERESTING! I think that I've made it somewhat better for them because of my action research. I know that there is still more that I can do for these students and can't wait to have my own classroom so that I can see the students' development throughout the year.

Week 14

Today, I finished teaching the 8th grade and will only teach the 7th grade starting next week. It's going to be very strange only teaching one class! I feel that teaching these kids has been such a rewarding experience. I love the small class sizes in the middle school and hope that I will be able to teach in an environment similar to Rivesville. I have had the opportunity to develop a relationship with every one of my students, and I think that it is rare to have that in teaching. I feel very blessed and thankful that I had that opportunity.

Honestly, there isn't much I would do differently if I could do it all over again. I joke around with the students a lot, and I'm sure I could be more strict with them. However, I do not have many behavior problems, so I must be doing something right. One thing that I have learned is not to write anyone off before getting to know them. There is one student in particular that I dreaded having to teach, but after getting to know him, I have grown very fond of him. There is good in every student, and most of the "bad" ones are just misunderstood.

I still have a few students that I know aren't working up to their potential, but I will work as hard as I can for the next week and a half to get them to turn their assignments in. There is no reason for any of these students to fail or even get a "D." I will probably make them eat lunch with me and do their assignments if they don't get them in. I'm sure they will love that!

Week 13

I had wondered this week what I would write about, and thankfully, Neal has given me some questions to think about. First, I could go on and on about what I have learned from middle school. Most importantly, I have learned that this is an age-group that I could teach. I have never pictured myself teaching middle school because I had always envisioned myself as an elementary teacher. I thought that middle school kids would be so disrespectful and older than I would want to teach, but I have grown to realize that these preteens are still children! They still love to learn when the learning is fun and relevant to them. It may take a little more to motivate these students, but they are worth it. Similarly, middle school students still love to play review games and participate in hands-on activities. I thought that I would miss doing the "cutsy" activities that would normally be used in the elementary grades, but middle school students are just as hungry for them.

Second, I feel that I am the best at engaging in conversation with the students and making them feel comfortable around me. I have carried on conversations with all of the students that I have, and I feel that they are comfortable enough around me to talk to me as both a friend and a teacher. I think that this trait has helped me to build relationships with the students.

Finally, I know that I have a lot that I can improve on with teaching middle school. The first of which would to be more assertive in the classroom. I know that I can be more stern with the students and should cut off the talking a little bit more. This will definitely be an area that I will work on if I decide to teach middle school. I am glad that I now have another option for when I start my job hunt!

Week 12

This was my last week of full-time teaching. Next week, Mrs. McCutchan will start teaching the sixth grade again. It will be strange just being an extra body in the room as opposed to being the person who is running the class. It's crazy how much that these kids have grown on me. I was just telling my family about some of the students that I have and realized how much I'm going to miss them in a few weeks! I wasn't too sure about middle school at first, but now I see how misunderstood these students often are. Just like elementary students, they also need love and support.

I was telling my mom earlier that sometimes it's hard to know where to find the balance between being firm with the students and having enough of a sense of humor so that they actually care about what you have to say. I think that I'm still trying to find that balance and am definitely more on the sense of humor side. I try to be firm with the students, and I know that they respect me but think that some of them still try to test their limits sometimes.

On the other hand, we finished the six traits of writing this week in seventh grade. I was so proud of the ice cream sundae that I made as an illustration of the traits. I hope that the students will remember the six traits and apply them to their writing.

Week 11

The weeks are winding down! I have one more week left of full-time teaching to go. I was really productive this week because I have a busy weekend ahead, so all of my lesson plans are already finished for next week. On top of that, I have everything graded. If feels good to already have that accomplished. We have three seminars at WVU next week, so I know next week will be busy. To answer your question, Neal, we had to make an outline of the artifacts that we will use in the exit portfolio already. We also had to write one of our narratives. While it's hard to think about next semester already, I know it will be here before we know it, so it's good that we're starting to work on the portfolio already.

Action research is still going well. Their quiz scores on nouns were okay, and a lot of the students said that some of the grammar activities were their favorite this week. I just don't want to imagine putting all this data together to make some sense out of it!

Everything is going well overall teaching wise. My biggest problem with the middle schoolers is how chatty they are! I am constantly trying to figure out the best way for them to sit so that they don't talk so much. I know that they're at an age where all they want to do is socialize, but they need to realize that when they talk so much, it is disruptive to the rest of the class and me.

We finished the novel in seventh grade. They all seemed to really enjoy it. I wish that students had the opportunity to read more novels in school because it's books like Nothing but the Truth that keep students interested in reading. I had a few students, some who were very surprising to me, that went home and read the book on their own before we were finished with it in class. I was thrilled that they were so engaged in the novel that they couldn't put it down. How can we as teachers have our students doing that all of the time?

Week 10

I'm halfway through full-time teaching. Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with how it's going. I do my lesson plans on the weekend for the entire week so that I'm not as overwhelmed during the week. I also make sure that all of my papers are graded by the end of the day so that they don't pile up. I'm staying organized, and it's definitely helping me stay sane.

My action research is going well. I gave the students their weekly questionaire today, and a lot of them reported that their favorite activity was the noun activity. I was hoping that their engagement and enthusiasm about grammar would change, and I am happy that it is! I hope that the remainder will go as well.

There were a lot of interruptions with the eighth graders taking the ACT Explorer this week, but next week should be back on regular schedule. I have learned to be flexible with my lesson plans and know that they aren't set in stone.

I'm really enjoying these middle school students, and I hope that they are gaining as much from this experience as I am. The end of this semester will be bittersweet. I'll be excited that I completed this semester but at the same time, sad that I won't see the students anymore.