Last Blog :-(

     Going to University Elementary school was an eye opening experience today.  We finally found out that our class was in the computer lab's once again which struck up the conversation between the other students teachers and I about technology.
     Our class is learning about all the countries and capitals of Europe and are using a game that I mentioned in my previous blog to help them prepare for the test that they have this Friday.  Sitting down and doing the game really helped me learn the different countries and capitals that I wasn't sure of or even know of before.  It's a great tool to help students study and can be looked at as a game as well.
     Technology is becoming so advanced that the students are just learning all these countries and capitals with out having to be lectured by the teacher.  This makes me wonder if technology become so advanced, could it put teachers out of jobs? I personally don't want that to happen but really enjoy incorporating technology into my classroom because it makes it interesting and fun for the students.
     I realized that I am really going to miss going to University Elementary because the students that I had really inspired me to become a great teacher.  With a great role model, my field experience cooperating teacher, I have really learned a lot about what not to do and what to do within my classroom to keep it fun, interesting, and enjoyable for the students.

Countries and Capitals

     Today in my field experience class we were in the computer lab and the students worked on finding the countries in Europe.  Within talking to Elise and Katie, we discussed how we had to do this in our Geography class for IU.  Even though we took the class not that long ago we still didn't get 100% on the test.  In a way I was a little bit embarrassed knowing that the 6th graders in my class were getting 75%'s on their 1st try while the three of us were struggling working together to get above that.  It was interesting to see how much we improved, in the 30 minutes we were in the computer lab, as well as the students.  

     We had one student that was so determined to get 100% and by the end of the class he was able to reach that personal goal of his.  I thought that it was interesting how he set up is own goal and made it into a game but was also learning valuable information while playing it.  I really enjoyed this website and would recommend it to anyone that needs their students to learn stuff about geography.  There are all different types of  games and it was really fun exploring this web site.

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/European_Geography.htm

     Overall today was really fun (I think it was because of the EXTRA recess....haha).  It was fun to interact with the students and do the activity with them.  In that sense, I feel like I was learning with them which I thought was very effective.

A day "off" is ON!

     Today in our Field Experience, Ms. Coake wasn't there so we had a substitute teacher.  With talking to the other student teachers in my class, I realized that taking a day off takes a lot more planning than assumed.  Knowing in advance that you will have to take a day off for either personal reasons or teacher conferences will be very helpful for your students as well as the substitute that will be teaching your class.  Having the day off is really on if you think about all the work that needs to be done before the day even starts.  Waking up sick as a teacher is almost one of the worst things that can happen.  For the substitute that  teachers your classroom, the schedule for the day has to be very precise so that everything is easy to go through.
     The substitute in our classroom today has been a substitute in the classroom before which was easier for her as well as the students.  It was helpful to have the 3 of us student teachers there to help her out if there was a question we could search around for the answer.  The activities are set but sometimes things are left out that are not always thought out.

     Ex. Doing a Social Studies lesson/activity and needing Atlas' but not knowing where those are affects the lesson.  By not being able to do the lesson without the Atlas's causes a problem.

     For substitute teacher, I could see how it could be a challenge to make it through the day.  Connecting with the students could also be challenging so I think that it is important to give substitute teachers a lot more respect and credit for stepping into an environment that they are not in every day.

Final MGRP

     I learned a lot from doing the MGRP.  I think that it allowed me to see the different types of genera pieces that I would like to include into my classroom someday.  I think that even this  project would be great to incorporate into my classroom as long as my students are picking topics that are relevant to what we are learning about in the classroom.  I think that it would be a great way to incorporate bibliographies into the classroom on a historical figure.

     I have learned a lot in the Cluster that I am taking now and I feel like it has really prepared me a lot more than I thought at the beginning of the semester.  I think that I know a lot more strategies for reading and writing that I can incorporate into the classroom. I really would like to incorporate invitations into my classroom because I feel like the students will benefit from that.  I think that it is an interesting way to open an activity.  

     I have been making a lot of lists in my writers notebook about the books that I would some day like to incorporate into my classroom.  Suggestions from other inspiring teachers has really helped me know what kind of library I would like to have for my students.  Along with fiction books, I have learned different ways to incorporate reading skills into those books and create a productive lesson. 

Play On

     My MGRP project is on Carrie Underwood.  I think that the reason I chose her to do for my project is because her music lyrics is so inspirational to me and it gets me through a lot of things within my life.  I have always wanted to take a closer look at her lyrics and figure out what they really mean and I feel like this project is perfect for allowing me to do it. 

     One song that sticks out in my mind is "Play On" and it had really helped me see the big picture of things.  Whenever I am down or don't think I can do a certain task, playing that song just inspires me to keep going and 'play on.'  A lot of her songs I realate to a lot of different things in my life such as teaching.  In my field experience class I realized that there are always going to be struggles but if you continue to 'play on' it will get better.  Working hard and having the drive to do better and be a better teacher in your classroom I think is very important.  I realized that after having difficult days, doesn't have to be looked upon as bad experience.  Instead it can be something that I as a teacher can grow from and come into class the next day with something completely different and throw my student off in a good way (suprise them). 

     Recently I have really needed inspiration because it's coming to the point where I am so close to having my own classroom, yet so far away and not prepared yet.  I want to walk into my classroom on my first day and feel like the most confident teacher which I know might take somet time but I want to reach that point where I and my students feel as if our classroom is their home away from home.  I want them to experience that feeling of 'playing on' and having the inspiration and drive to go after their dreams. 

Mid-Year Reflection

     I have really enjoyed this semester so far.  I feel as if I have learned a lot about different Language Art techniques in my classroom.  I have really enjoyed learning about the MGRP project as well as different things in my other classes.  

     My field experience has been great and I really enjoy my teacher.  I have learned a lot of techniques from her and how to keep the classroom fun so it engages the students in the learning process.  I have really enjoyed getting to know the students as well.  A lot of them are a lot smarter than I am which is a little bit intimidating but I think that it can be a challenge.  I would like to bring a lot of resources that I have found out about into my classroom.  I have taken note of a lot of ideas that I like in my Writers Notebook and I think that having that as a reference will be very beneficial in the future.  

A Junior (in College) learning about herself in a 5th Grade class....?

     Wow, so many things have been on my mind since we have started observing in the classrooms.  I found out a lot of things about myself as well as questioned some things.  I have found out that I really do LOVE being in the classroom.  I LOVE interacting with the students.  When you see the light bulb in their head go off or when they say something that makes you laugh or think "wow, I never thought of that," it really reassures me that this is what I want to do.

     I have recently been really excited to start getting the ball rolling with signing up for student teaching and student teaching abroad.  I have my meeting this week which I am both nervous and excited for.  10 weeks will be a long time away from my friends and family in a place I have never been but I am thinking of it as an experience of a life time that I can't pass up.  I feel as if it will be a great way for me to get to know how different school systems can really be. Australia, Here I Come!

     Through my observation class I have come to ask myself the question of: Am I prepared to teach a class of 30 students?  Will I be able to have enough control that they will pay attention and stay on task when I ask them too? Will I ever have enough lesson plans to last them through the whole day? Will I have enough lesson plans to last the students through the year? Will my students learn something in my classroom?  WILL I MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

     I want to feel confident and prepared when I walk into my first day of class as a teacher.  I think that with a few more classes under my belt I can feel more prepared to walk into my class and be a great teacher.

While it's fresh in my mind!

I'm sure like most of you do, I wait a week till I write about what I did in my observation class the week before.  Yesterday I had good conversation with the other "student observers" in my classroom about being prepared for having our own class.

Am I prepared to take on a class of 25 students?  It's scary to think in just under two years we will hopefully be getting ready to have our own classroom and getting our official lesson plans ready to go.  How could I possibly come up with enough ideas to teach a whole years worth of topics? All these questions keep popping into my head and I think that within the few classes we do lesson plans in are the ones I get most use out of.  I feel as if I can apply those lesson plans to my students some day and use it in the future.  Ok, thats my tangent about classes and my feeling of if I am prepared or not for having my own class.

Writers Notebooks:  I was really excited to get to look at 6th graders writers notebooks.  I felt as if I was still a little bit confused on what to actually do with my writers notebook but it was nice to read some of what they wrote and it gave me a lot of ideas that I hope to incorporate into my notebook as well.  I thought that it was also a great idea to put their spelling word activities in the back of their notebook.  It's a great way to reference words if you don't know them; or if they just learned them and want to use them.

A daily cup of coffee goes along way!

This past week in my field experience observation class I was astounded by how fast 30 minutes can go by when you are talking to a bunch of 5th/6th graders.  While we are there observing our class switches and it just so happened that today they needed to switch a half hour early which meant that Ms. Coake had about 30 minutes to spare and come up with stuff to fill that time before they headed to the computer lab again to work on their invention projects.  The conversation started off by Ms. Coake mentioning that she hasn't had her normal dosage of coffee in the morning so she was on the verge of getting a head ache.   Through this the class went off on talking about how people get accustom to certain things and without them they cant function with out them.  I was interesting because the student lead the discussion by asking questions upon questions which lead to them learning a lot about coffee or anything for that matter and how it affects your blood level and how without certain things it leads to head aches.  I thought that it was amazing that Ms. Coake was able to carry on that conversation and have the students learn something out of just them asking questions about how are head aches brought on and why you feel so much pressure when you have one.  I hope to one day be able to go off on a tangent and have my students learn something from it.

"It's Like You Have 5 Sets of Eyes"

My first day of field experience was very interesting.  I have had field experiences in preschool, 1-3rd grade, and 4th grade which have all been great experiences.  When I finally got assigned a 5th Grade class I was really excited; I really wanted to experience a class with older students who I can connect to on a hopefully more mature level.  When I realized that I was in a 5th/6th grade class I was a bit confused on how that worked. As I went on getting to know all the students in my classroom I realized "WOW, these kids are brilliant."  These were some of the smartest students that I have ever met, coming up with inventions that I probably wouldn't even have thought of in 5th grade. I began to question if I were even smart enough to teach them, could they really stand me up academically?  That faded pretty fast after I realized how much of a blessing it would be to teach such gifted students.  One of the students in my classroom can do rubix cube without even looking at it.  Students were all over the place. One of them had a questions, the other needed to go the the nurse, and another wanted to tell a story.  I was so shocked to see how my cooperating teacher was able to handle it with such ease, it was like she had 5 sets of eyes.  My cooperating teacher then made a great point..."Some of these kids I had last year, by that time I know them, they become like my own kids."

Where I am From

     I know that I mentioned this in class on Wednesday and I thought that I would share this with all of you since I think that with a few tweaks we could incorporate this into our classrooms.  It's a great way for the students to get to know their past by talking to their parents and then sharing where they came from with the rest of the class.

Where I am From

I am from (specific ordinary item), from (product name) and (product name).

I am from the (home description, adjective, sensory detail).

I am from the (plant, flower or natural item), the (plant, flower or natural item).

I am from (family tradition) and (family trait), from (name of a family member), and (another family name), and (family name).

I am from (description of family tendency) and (another one).

From (something you were told as a child) and (another).

I am from (representation of religion or lack thereof it).

I'm from (place of birth and family ancestry), (food item representing your family), (another one).

From the (specific family story about a specific person), the (another detail) and the (another detail about another family member).

I am from (location of family pictures, mementos, archives).

     Here is an example of mine just so you can all get an idea of what it turns out to be like.  I think this would be something great for students to do and then share with the class and then other students can ask them questions on what some things mean in their Where I am From Poem.

Where I am From

I am from my planner, from scrap paper, and sharpie markers. 

I am from the chaotic suburbs of Chicago.

I am from the white roses, the strawberries.

I am from hopi hopi lullaby's and creaky ankles, from Mary Ann and Leo Hayden

I am from neat as a pin, spaghetti dinners, and "can you pass the cheese please!"

From always follow your dreams and never letting the fear of striking out.

I am from the guardian angel above my bed.

I'm from Westchester, Ireland, and Czecholslovakia, corn beef and dumplings.

From the Friday night-lights, the wide receiver and the cheerleader.

I am from the scrapbooks underneath my bed.

Writer's Notebook

     While reading Ralph Fletchers "A Writer's Notebook" I found it interesting what writers could actually put in their writers notebook.  I know that throughout my day of classes I think about a lot of random things that just turn into questions or thoughts that I would like to write down but don't have a place to do so.  With most of the cluster classes being almost 3 hours long a lot goes through my head.  I think about my "To Do List," what I am going to do later that day, or reflect on past events that either happened earlier that day or in my life.  I think that a writers notebook will allow me to express my feelings about those things I am thinking of.  A lot of the readings that we do I feel will inspire me and lead me to a lesson plan idea and I want to make sure that I don't forget a lesson plan that could potentially be very effective in my class someday.
     BLOGGING! I think that as a teacher its a great way to blog and communicate with your fellow teachers.  Its a great way to share ideas and give positive feedback with lesson plan ideas.  I think that technology has definitely advanced over the past few years and taking advantage of blogging and sharing ideas through the different technology that we have will be great.  I want to make a difference for student and help them lean as much as I can teach them.  I want younger student to be educated in so many things and I think that collaboration can be very helpful.  I think that blogging is a great way to get that collaboration going and get the ball rolling in all of our classrooms.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world" - Ghandi

Fall Semester

     I am very excited for this semester, now that my Cluster I has started.  Language Arts has always been something that I haven't been very strong it and I would like to change that.  I would like to feel more confident in teaching Language Arts within my classroom so I hope that this Cluster prepares me for my future.  I feel as if many of my pre-rec classes haven't prepared me as much for having my own classroom but I have heard that it changes once you get into your clusters.
     I hope that at the end of this blog I will be able to state that I feel very confident with teaching Language Arts within my classroom.  I would like to know of some great book and keep track of them in my Writers Notebook.  I feel like my Writers Notebook will be something that I always have in my backpack and pull out whenever I am thinking of something that I don't want to forget.  I expect to have a lot of lists written in there since I am all about lists and post-it-notes, but I feel like I want to write a few narrative pieces as well as poems.
     I am very excited to start this semester and my cluster seems like they will be very beneficial.  Im ready to start this semester.....Full Steam Ahead!