I did my student teaching at Westwood Elementary in Ashe County, NC. I completed it under the direction of Principal John Gregory, my cooperating teacher, Sara Poole, and my advisor, Henry McCarthy. I began my student teaching on August 22, 2006 and will complete it on December 5, 2006. I slowly began to transition into teaching the full load and actually began teaching the full load on September 25th. I started to give back classes to Ms. Poole on November 6th and will give them all back by November 27th.
I absolutely love teaching at Westwood! In all of my college career I have never been in an elementary school with as much technology as this one has. Each classroom has a Smartboard and I attended a Smartboard training class to learn how to operate it. Each teacher received a brand new digital camera last month to use in their classrooms. I attended both training sessions on how to use these cameras. The teachers have their own laptops in which they use to create lessons and teach them efficiently in their classes. Each teacher has a Palm Pilot to do their assessments on which makes things go a lot more smoothly rather than doing them by hand. I will be very lucky to get a job in a school with as many technology resources as this one has.
The cooperating teacher I worked with this semester is one I will never forget. She has shown me how to be a wonderful teacher by her example. She is so great with the students and thinks quickly when she needs to. Throughout my student teaching experience I have learned how to manage my time more efficiently in the classroom and I have also learned some classroom management skills. I have been shown several different ways to work with the students to ensure they all understand what is expected of them.
Another valuable lesson I have learned while student teaching is how to work collaboratively with the other teachers to plan lessons and work on creating lessons which will reach all of our diverse students in second grade. We have students who have learning disabilities and we also have a few ESL students whom we have to accommodate for. When creating our lessons we have to be sure that they will meet the needs of our diverse students as well as the rest of the students.
My favorite thing we do in second grade are rotations. Rotations are from 12:30-1:30 each day. This is the time when we, the teachers, incorporate Art, Science and Social Studies all into a lesson. The rotations last one week and sometimes they last two weeks. All of the second grade students are divided into color groups: red, green, orange, yellow and blue. Each day the color groups go to different teachers. So one day you will have the yellow group and the next day orange group and so forth. This is a wonderful method of teaching because it allows diverse learners to have five different teachers presenting information to them and hopefully out of these five teachers they will find one who best meets their learning style. The rotations I've been involved in so far include: Artist rotation, where we studied Michelangelo, Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picas, Claude Monet, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Leonardo Da Vinci, Pierre Renoir, Mary Cassatt, and Edgar Degas; Gotta Backbone, where we studied hamsters, worms, fish, ants, and dogs; Poetry and Sound, where we learned about cinquains, riddles, haiku, acrostic, and concrete poems and Voting, where we studied Veteran's Day, the flag, and symbols. Our next rotation is Native American Study and is about their food, language, culture, government and traditions. The last rotation I will get to see will be in December and it is Holidays Around the World. We will study Israel, Africa, France, Germany and England. I believe the students get a lot of valuable information from the rotations and I know from talking with them that they really enjoy this part of their day.
Alignment:
I met NETS Standard III Indicators A, B, C, and D during my student teaching experience. Throughout my entire time spent student teaching, I was able to access all of the great technology resources available at Westwood Elementary. I was able to use this technology to enhance the learning environment of my students. The technology and its use enabled me to help the students reach their critical thinking levels. The use of the technology which includes the Smartboard, laptops, Palm Pilot, and the Dukane also allowed us to reach the needs of our diverse students. It allowed the visual, hands-on learners to see what is being taught to them and not just be lectured to. It is imperative that these diverse learners get the kinds of experiences they need to understand the material being presented.
I met DPI Standard 2 Indicator 2 and its details while teaching math this semester. The second grade Standard Course of Study requires that the students learn basic geometric shapes, lines of symmetry, measurement of length, money, and time. We practiced these concepts of math several times throughout the school year and continue to do so in order to allow the students to grasp these concepts.
I met DPI Standard 6 Indicator 2 when we did our Artist Rotation. For two weeks we taught the students about famous artists as mentioned above and did activities which related to the art in which they produced. For example, we did pictures with Pointalism such as Monet did. Once the two week rotation was over, we took the entire second grade on an "Artist Hop" around town. We visited the local galleries and viewed several different types of art. The students had a great time and really learned a lot!
I met DPI Standard 7 Indicator 1 by using a pacing guide while creating my lesson plans for the students. I did my best to ensure they were where they were supposed to be in the curriculum. While planning, I constantly referred to the NCSCOS to make certain we were on the right path.
I met DPI Standard 9 Indicator 5 and its details while teaching math. The students were taught to use pictographs, line graphs, and pull information from word problems to solve mathematical problems which entail gathering data to find the answer. I taught the students to use symbols to represent their data, such as tally marks and pictures.
I met DPI Standard 11 Indicators 2 and 3 during Reading group time. In one particular group, we were learning about inventions and the inventors who created them and so the students were sent off on an inventor scavenger hunt. They used a kid-friendly website on the internet to research a particular invention and then write a report about what they learned.
I met DPI Standard 11 Indicator 4 by incorporating mathematics in my social studies lesson. In our voting rotation we talked about how high the Statue of Liberty was. I taught them that the statue of liberty would measure as high as 150 second grade students standing on top of each other's shoulders. This was an easier way for them to imagine the height of the statue.
I met DPI Standard 14 Indicator 1 by learning very quickly that different communities view education in different ways. Some communities value it and feel it is the only way to make something out of yourself, while other communities do not value it as highly and may encourage their youth to only pursue it as long as they have to. I understand that people are different and views are also diverse among communities.
I met DPI Standard 14 Indicator 3 several times during student teaching. When students would argue or fight about something they did not understand, I took the time to explain to them what was going on and helped to guide them to a solution.
I met DPI Standard 14 Indicator 4 by being involved in the decision making of how to educate our diverse students. I understand and value the fact that the parents play a huge role in helping us to educate our diverse children.
I met DPI Standard 14 Indicator 6 by learning how to be a more effective teacher for our diverse students. I modeled the teaching of my cooperative teacher and how she strived to reach all of our students. I played a role in helping to decide the methods of teaching the diverse students and the goals that were set for them to reach.
Here are some math lesson plans and activities I did throughout the semester.
Attached below are some examples of Reading and Spelling plans I've done this semester. There are also a few worksheets and activities included.
One day during lunch, the principal of my cooperating school asked for all teachers to get with the students immediately. We had no clue what was going on, we just did as we were told. We got to the cafeteria and they were pulling the blinds closed. Word spread quickly that there was a threat on our school. I had never felt so scared in all my life! But I knew I had to remain calm and keep my composure because my students were watching every move I made. It turned out to be fine, and the "suspect" was apprehended. However, I know what it feels like to be very close to going into a full lockdown. I feel that this experience, although it was a horrible one, was something that helped me grow and gain experience as a future teacher. I've attached a copy of the letter below that was sent out the same afternoon to parents to inform them of what happened in the school.
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