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.

Week 9

Full-time teaching has begun. I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off on Monday trying to get everything ready, but I'm getting used to the responsibility of it all. I enjoy teaching the eighth graders. Other than their eighth grade drama and desire to constantly socialize, they are a pretty bright group, and I think that I will be able to do a lot with them.

I'm still struggling with the absences in seventh grade. I told Mrs. McCutchan today that I feel like I'm doing everything for these kids so that they don't fail, but I don't know what more I can do with them. The two students in particular who are always absent still have a lot of work to make up and will most likely fail this nine weeks if they don't get their work in.

Action research is going fine so far. The students seem to enjoy the activities that we are doing with language instead of using the textbook. I think that my project should be pretty successful.

The sixth graders are doing well, but it's so hard to fit everything in that the textbook has mapped out for us to do. I like that grammar, writing, and spelling are already included with this series, but I feel that I can't get as creative with this class because there is no time! By the time they read all of the required reading and complete the workbook pages, there is no time left. I wish I could pick and choose what to cover in these lessons and give them more fun activities to help them learn the concepts rather than the repetitive workbook pages.

Week 8

Well, we're halfway there! Next week, I pick up the eighth grade and begin full-time teacher, so this will be a busy weekend getting everything ready. I'm excited to see how everything goes next week (and whether or not I will lose my mind!).

We began this week with an IS Day. I wish that these days entailed working in the classroom a little bit more. I think that this would be really beneficial for the teachers to have a day to work on things. On Tuesday, Neal came to observe and videotape a lesson with the seventh grade. I hope everything looked okay in the videotape so that I can use it for my e-portfolio! Mr. Stutler finished up his observation on Wednesday.

On Thursday, I introduced stations to the sixth graders. Naturally, this was also a day that Mrs. McCutchan was not there. The stations were a bit chaotic, but it was a learning experience. I talked with Mrs. Desmuke, the middle school Title 1 teacher, about this. She suggested using her room for students to work for one of the stations and contributed part of the chaos to too many students working in one area. We didn't finish the stations in one day, so I decided to try again today. The stations went a lot more smoothly. I had Mrs. McCutchan take the writing station to Mrs. Desmuke's room, and I sent a group to Mr. Malnick's room. I could now manage the three groups that were left in the room and keep everyone on task. Things are not always going to go as planned, and I'm glad that I had this experience to learn from!

Week 7

Thursday was the 8th grade field trip on the Potomac Eagle in Romney, WV. I'm really glad that I got to have this experience with the students. Not only did I see some beautiful sights, but I also got to know these students better. I haven't started teaching this group yet, so it was really great that I got to have this experience.

I started teaching the 6th grade this week. I have realized that this group is going to be more challenging than the 7th grade class. First of all, there are 20 students in the class, but the biggest issue that I am having is accommodating the special needs students in the class while not boring the higher achieving students in the class. The higher achieving students will finish an assignment in a couple minutes and understand the concept while the special needs students need at least 20 minutes and still may not understand entirely. I think that more group work would benefit these students.

Everything is going well with the 7th grade class. I'm going to try to come up with a late work policy because my biggest issue with this class is students not turning in work/turning work in late. Hopefully a new policy will solve this problem. I start the second half of my action research next week and am really excited about it! I think that the students will enjoy the change of pace of not using their textbook and workbooks so much. I am hoping everything goes well!

Week 6

I feel that a lot has happened in Week 6. First, I graded the language tests over last weekend that I gave last Friday and realized that the majority of the class did terrible! Obviously, I didn't do something right, so I changed my plans around for Monday so that we could have a long review. We went over the topic, the test, and even completed more related problems. I could tell that the students were getting it, and I was pleased. To help the students make up for the lackluster grades, I allowed them to complete similar problems from their textbook for extra credit. All they had to do was complete 20 problems for homework and bring it back to me on Tuesday. To my major disappointment, not one student took advantage of this opportunity! I was floored that the students really did not care about their grades. At this moment, I re-evaluated how I was going to teach this class. I decided that I will no longer give homework if at all possible, other than studying for quizzes and tests. I absolutely do not want these students to fail, and I feel that the only way to prevent this is to do more work in class. Also, I am going to center my lessons around the students' engagement. The more they enjoy what they are learning, the more likely they will be to care about the assignment. Since my epiphany, the week has gone very smoothly.

Tuesday night was parent/teacher conferences. We had nine parents show up, two of whom are in my seventh grade class. One was the mother of the most high-achieving and conscientious student in the class. I have come to the conclusion that most of the parents that attend these conferences and keep up with their children's grades have the most successful students in the school. Students need parents that care and are aware of what goes on at school. Also, I had a parent of a child that I have been having trouble keeping organized. I let her know that his unorganization has been a concern for me, and I gave her the work that he was not turned in. He turned in his missing assignments the next day. I wish I could have done this with all of the parents!

Next Thursday is the 8th grade field trip. I think that I am the most unfamiliar with these students and look forward to getting to know them better on this trip!

Week 5

Wow! Is it really week 5? Time is flying by at Rivesville. I just got back from Fall Festival, and I would say that it was a success (other than me not winning a basket!). I love that Rivesville has something as community oriented as Fall Festival. It seems like everyone in the community comes together for this event. It's nice to see the students enjoying themselves outside of class.

I feel that I'm starting to feel a little more at ease with the seventh graders. We started the novel this week. I think that the students will really enjoy it. I have a lot of neat activities and projects in mind for this book. We also started on the trait of organization today for writing. Mr. Stutler came in to observe part of this lesson (which, needless to say, was a little unnerving). Thankfully, the students were engaged in the lesson which I hope was a result of them enjoying the lesson and not because the principal was in the room. I enjoy teaching writing to these students and hope that my efforts will improve their writing.

One thing that I know that I need to improve on is time management. However, as Mrs. McCutchan commented in my last post, it is better to overplan than not have enough. I have realized that there is so much to cover during the 90 minute block and not nearly enough time. I know that I will eventually get better at decided what is the most important to cover and how much to plan in a day.

Next week will be another busy week with parent/teacher conferences on Tuesday and the WVU game on Thursday. I am just beginning to see how much is involved in the teacher profession. However, it has to be one of the most rewarding jobs. :-)

Week 4

We started off the week with Tutor Orientation on Sunday. I can't believe we were actually the interns at orientation. It seems like we were just in the tutors' shoes--nervous as can be with no idea what to expect of the program and Rivesville. Now, we're supposed to be the wise and experienced ones. I hope that they cohorts below us will come to us whenever they need to because I think that asking people who have been in the same situation has helped me out the most in this program.

I also started teaching the seventh graders this week. They seemed to have been enjoying the writing. The telephone writing activity was a success, and the students are getting really creative with their narratives. I've used the Whiteboard just about everyday and am so thankful that we have so much technology in the classroom! I think that using the Whiteboard makes the lessons more interesting and keeps the students involved. I have used it a lot this week with the workbook pages for language. Doing the workbook pages in this manner is a good way to keep the students interested. However, I am excited to start the second part of my action research where I start to deviate from using the language book and workbook pages. I took an interest survey today with the students, which I will be administering every Friday, and most of the students rated grammar as their least favorite lesson. I think that my action research will be successful and that the students will learn better and be more interested when they are studying language in a different manner. I also taught spelling this week and was really excited that the students did really well on their spelling tests today! I hope that spelling always goes so well.

Next week, I will begin teaching the novel Nothing But the Truth. I am really excited to teach a novel. I read the book myself this week, and I really think the students are going to enjoy it. I have already found a lot of great lessons to accompany the book and think that this will be a great experience!

Neal, as for those sixth graders, it's not really poor behavior that is a problem so much as the variety of learning styles and abilities in the class. The off-task behavior stems from the frustration that comes with not understanding the material. One of the lower students is transferring schools next week. Mrs. McCutchan and I have learned that another one is best helped by using praise and staying in contact with his mother. You are right; understanding why these students act out and knowing the best way to deal with the behavior can really help the students. I believe that the more we get to know the students, the better we are going to be as teachers!

Week 3

Another week has gone by already! This was my last week of observing. Next week, I will start teaching the 7th grade. I feel like I am prepared for next week. I tried to use my planning time wisely this week and got all of my lesson plans finished before the weekend! I think that the students will enjoy the writing activities that I have planned. I am going to be introducing the six traits of writing each week starting with the trait of ideas. They will be developing a narrative next week while focusing on this trait. I found a really neat prewriting activity in a Mrs. McCutchan's 6 Traits of Writing book. The students will brainstorm as a class ten characters, ten settings, ten problems, and ten solutions which will be numbered in four columns. The students will then use the last four digits of their phone numbers so that they have one character, setting, problem, and solution from each column. This will give them an original story to write. I hope that they get really creative with this assignment! I will also be teaching language and spelling next week. Language is a big part of my action research, so I will start teaching it using mostly just the book and workbooks. In week 8, I will start teaching language using other means such as magazines, newspapers, and novels. Mrs. McCutchan is teaching literature next week, but the following week, I will start the novel Nothing But the Truth with the seventh graders.

The sixth graders are constantly keeping Mrs. McCutchan and me on our toes! We have had a lot of laughs this week with this group! Mrs. Morris asked what I found the most challenging about the sixth graders. I think that one of the most challenging things about this class is the size compared to the other two classes. Also, we have a few students that need a lot of individualized attention. It is difficult to keep these students working and to give them extra help while at the same time teaching the rest of the class. Does anyone have suggestions for how to keep these students on task and to help them learn without slowing down the rest of the class?

This week has also exciting because we got to hear President Obama's speech to the students. I think that he did an excellent job addressing the children, and I hope that many of them will take what he said to heart. We had the seventh grade class when the address aired. They were attentive during the speech and journaled afterward about their own goals. I think that President Obama helped them to realize how important it is to do well in school and to set goals in life.

Week 2

Week 2 went by so quickly! We are always keeping busy in the middle school, so time flies by. I am starting to feel more at ease with the students. I have tried to get to know the students better this week, and I definitely think that being able to relate to them will help me when I start to teach.

I feel that the sixth grade class is the most challenging. There are 20 students in the class which is double the amount of students in the seventh and eighth grade classes. Along with the large class size, the sixth graders need the most individualized attention. They are still trying to transition from elementary school to middle school which is a big change for them. The students are learning how to be responsible and accountable for their work. Mrs. McCutchan does well with these students at making sure that they have their logs completed each class period. I will take her lead when I start teaching because this helps the students to stay on task.

Mrs. McCutchan and I talked this week about when I will start teaching. I will start teaching the seventh grade in Week 4, add the sixth grade in Week 6, and be full-time teaching in Week 9. I am really excited to start teaching the seventh graders. They are a wonderful group of students and seem like they like reading. I am planning on teaching a lot of writing with them. I hope that they will enjoy what I have planned for them. Along with writing, I will also start teaching language. Mrs. McCutchan is going to finish the literature unit that they are on, and then I am going to start a novel with them. Next week, we will be doing a Writing Roadmap with the students. I will use this data for my action research since my project will be focused on the seventh grade class.

Next week is a four day week, and I'm sure that it will go by quickly! I am going to start developing my lesson plans next week, so I hope that I can come up with a lot of great ideas!

Week 1

Welcome to Rivesville! I have successfully made it through two days of school with middle school. Whew! I have to admit, I was a bit apprehensive about taking on this age group, but I think that I am going to learn a lot from this experience. I have three grade levels, so I think one of the biggest challenges that I will face is learning all of their names. Today, I tried my hardest to memorize all of their names, so I hope that my memory won't fail me tomorrow!

I thought that I would be really nervous about full-time student teaching and am quite shocked by my unsually cool and calm demeanor. I think that Rivesville and Benedum have done an excellent job in preparing me for this experience, and I feel that I am ready to start teaching!

So far, I have observed Mrs. McCutchan as she has taught and have assisted as needed. Seeing how she runs the class will help me a lot to figure out how I will set up the class when I start teaching. All three classes seem like great groups of students, and I am excited to get to know them better.

Tomorrow is open house for the school until 5:30. I will have to start getting used to these long days!