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.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
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.
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.
Friday, October 16, 2009
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!
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!
Saturday, October 10, 2009
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!
Friday, October 2, 2009
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!
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!
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