Week 10

I am horrible at goodbyes. Most of the time I just ignore the fact that they are happening. This was no exception. My whole student teaching placement seemed to have flown by and I completely ignored the fact that I would have to leave until week 10. Once week 10 arrived, I got extremely sentimental and very sad to be leaving. I have loved every second of my 5th grade student teaching experience and I had a great time getting to know each of my students. As my last day approached, I wrote each of my students a note. I wrote the same thing for each student but made sure to add one special sentence that pointed out something I enjoyed about them in class...for example, their love of reading or excellence in writing or passion for sports. It was a great way to reflect on my time there and on each of my students.

Most of the week we spent a lot of time in preparation for the PARCC test. I was sad to see the students getting burnt out and anxious from the tutorials and practice tests but my cooperating teacher and I gave lots of pep talks about doing their best and were able to share some tips and opinions of the fourth graders who were currently testing.

On Monday, my principal observed me teach a social studies lesson on slavery. It was the third of a three lesson unit on slavery. The first lesson was about West Africa and the dilemmas West Africans faced and how they were stolen and traded into slavery. Next, was a lesson about the Middle Passage and the terrible treatment of the West Africans as they were taken to America. Finally, was a lesson about arriving in North America and becoming a slave. We talked about slave auctions and "scrambles" as well as plantations, overseers, and how the slaves responded. Many slaves tried to do their best in hopes of winning the overseer's favor and becoming a house salve, but some protested by faking sickness or breaking tool, and some brave slaves ran away- risking what would happen to them if they were caught. We had a very involved discussion about the dilemma the slaves faced and they had to decide with a group what they thought they would do. I was able to show the students some pictures of my trip to Zanzibar where I saw a slave auction building, now renovated into a church. The students loved seeing pictures of what they were learning about and I think it really affected a lot of them to see what it was actually like for the Africans when they were being sold into slavery.

On Friday, I met with my principal to discuss the lesson and also to have a mock interview. I was encouraged to hear that he enjoyed the lesson and I appreciated the advice he had for me. He suggested always having the students summarize back to me what the main ideas of the lesson were in their own words. What a quick and simple way to assess their learning. I will definitely be using an exit slip at the end of lessons to see if my students can summarize what they learned in their own words instead of just repeating the purpose of the lesson for them at the end of a lesson. The mock interview went very well. I was very appreciative that he took the time to do this with me because it gave me practice for future interviews and he responded after each of my answers with advice on how to make them even better. He is very knowledgeable on research based practices and explained to me why my answers were researched based or what other research based practices I could refer to. Overall, this conversation was a great experience for me!

After my interview with the principal, I return to my class to find a SURPRISE PARTY!!! (Not to mention my cooperating teacher had already surprised me with a "Good Luck" cake at lunch!) Some of my students had chipped in to purchase me gifts off of my wedding registry including a beautiful frame and wall art. My cooperating teacher also purchased me some beautiful pillows and a storage bin. As well as a ton of awesome teacher supplies from Lakeshore!!! It was so unexpected and so incredibly kind of them. Other students got me some very nice gifts and wrote me some heartfelt cards. Best of all was an advice book from the class. Each student and my cooperating teacher took the time to write me a letter with kind words and advice. It also had each of the student's yearbook pictures and some whole-class pictures we had taken the day before! I LOVED IT! I felt so loved and I will truly miss each of them.

My next placement is at a transition program with 18-22 year olds. It is definitely going to be an adjustment, but I am excited! Student teaching is truly flying by!

Classroom Confidential Chapter 16

 

Throughout my last 10 weeks teaching 5th grade, I have taught a literacy block each morning in which writing is the focus. During the block I would typically give a mini-lesson on things like determining importance or effective endings or figurative language. Then, the students would work on their writing assignments and I would conference with them. One of the major projects this quarter was writing a research paper. I definitely saw some students find their niche in writing as well as others who struggled along and had a hard time ever starting their writing. I enjoyed reading the strategies that Schmidt talked about to help students become better writers. In particular, I really liked the brainstorming ideas strategy called "Empty Your Head." I think my 5th graders would have gotten a kick out of this activities name and I think it would have helped a lot of them kick start the writing process and starting their writing. This activity has student jot down every word or phrase that comes to mind when thinking about a certain topic. I think this would have worked nicely with the research paper as well because it would've helped the students organize and see everything they already knew about their topic. My next placement is at a transition program in a vocational room so I am not sure how much writing we will be doing but I would love to try and incorporate this brainstorming activity into my next placement as well as a few other of Schmidt's ideas. I think that being able to write and enjoy writing is something so important to making life-long learners and I hope to foster a classroom of writing lovers!