The most engaging and rewarding feature of my early studies in teacher education is field experience. Service learning, as it is known at CGCC, provides me the opportunity to work in a different classroom each semester. It brightens my day each and every time I step foot into my service learning classroom. Each semester I am given the opportunity to work closely with a mentor teacher and his/her students to experience the world of a classroom from an actual teacher's perspective. It gives me that foot in the door to let me make connections between what I learn in my courses and what I witness in the classroom.

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FALL 2009
Frye Elementary School
Grade: 3rd
Hours: 30

This was my first semester working with younger students and I could not be more pleased! From the first day of introduction to the students all the way to the last I was active and engaged in every aspect of the classroom. This semester I was pleased to work with a wonderful mentor teacher that had much to teach me. I was able to see how third graders worked, their lesson plans, had an introduction to Success for All reading program, and how the younger students adapt to the teacher. My focus this semester was general education, how children's literature is envolved throughout the classroom, and working with an English Lanugage Learner. I learned that my heart is very much into the younger students. I love watching them and how their minds work. I was able to engage with the students and help in all sorts of course work. I even had the opportunity to deliver two lesson plans with the students which gave me a look into what its truly like for teachers! I was able to see how much time and preparation it took to deliever an effective lesson plan. For my Childrens Literature course I was able to see how reading impacts students at such a young age. Frye Elementary is a Title 1 school so they adopted a reading program called Success for All. It incorporates all of the reading standards and vocabluary standards for English Language Learners into reading in the classrooms. SFA is an hour and a half block every day that allows the students to read a book and then follow up with a vocabulary or free writing activity in their guide books. It is an excellent way to keep the students constantly reading different books and a useful way to expand their vocabulary. For my Introduction to English Language Learner course, I was able to work with one student that had exited the program during my thirty hours. It gave me a true look on the how the mainstream process works. This student got to know me and I got to know her and later complied a profile of what I had gained from her individually. From the knowledge that I had learned in my course and application from my service learning hours, I was able to see how the corrolation between ELL classrooms and regular classrooms align with similar standards. Third graders are extremely bright and are able to do work independantly with guided instruction. I was very comfortable in the classroom and the students seemed to love having me interact with them. All of the students amazed me at their dedication and motivation towards learning. I would have to say I am so thankful that I was placed at Frye Elementary this semester. The love I had for those students makes me so excited for the students to come!

SPRING 2009
Greenfield Junior High School
Grade: 7th and 8th
Hours: 20

Greenfield Junior High is a wonderful place to complete service learning hours at. Not only is the administration quick to help with whatever we as future teachers need, I have seen the focus that they all share as far as what is best for their students. Greenfield Junior is not a very diverse campus within the Gilbert Unified School District. The campus opened in 1994 and currently has an enrollment total of 950 students in 7Th and 8Th grade. It seemed that in all of the class hours I have sat in at Greenfield are only about 1/4 ethnically diverse. Mrs. Brandi McMahan was so kindly to help me this semester with being my Mentor for my service learning hours. She not only has taken the time out of her prep period to complete an interview with me but she also has helped me to see the different levels of learning that she has in her classrooms. She has three honors courses and three traditional 8Th grade math classes. While she changes her lesson plans up every year, all of the honors students and all of the traditional students receive the same lesson throughout the day. Students at Greenfield work with a traditional schedule, having each class period set for 45 minutes a day. Not only do the students have a lesson presented to them at the beginning of the class, it is structured so there is time for help on homework questions that the students struggled on and also a review of the lesson at the end. I have learned many new ways of leading a Junior High classroom and feel that the structure above would be very helpful when educating students. I feel honored to have worked with Mrs. McMahan this semester as she was highly recommended for a Mentor from her peers.