This week I was able to teach alone for the first time this semester. My mentor teacher suggested that my co-teaching partner and I could try teaching alone and we decided to do so. I taught a social studies lesson. Students read a few pages from their textbook and then I asked them to complete a diagram about cause and effect and write a journal entry as if they lived in the 17the century. After teaching today and teaching a few lesson previously, I realize the importance of differentiating instruction. The students that I taught to are all 4th graders who are gifted. However, a few of the students have ADHD and struggle to get their work done in time. They are surely capable of producing great work, however it takes them much longer to do so than the rest of the students. One student in particular has a lot of trouble in writing. Today, I asked students to pretend that they were a kid living in a Spanish mission in Florida. The student who has trouble staying on task, completed only a few sentences while other students were able to write several paragraphs full of details.
Because I did not write out an actual lesson plan, I did not thoroughly consider differentiation. However, I realize that even without a step-by-step plan made in advance, differentiation is still a necessity and should be implemented on the spot. Therefore, when I noticed that the student did not have much on his paper even a few minutes into the activity, I decided to provide him with in depth guidance. I pointed to sections in the book that he could use as a resource. I also provided him with specific feedback when he actually wrote a sentence, probing him to think about additional details that he could add. Although this was the best that I could think of at the moment, after the lesson I realized that a need for differentiation is necessary before the implementation of the lesson.
In the book Leading and Managing a Differentiated Classroom, the authors discuss the importance of differentiated instruction not only for students with disabilities but with all students in the classroom. Each student has a unique background that should be respected and considered when planning instruction. In this case, it is best if a teacher is able to find out students' background information. Fortunately, I have had the opportunity to learn about all of the kids in my classroom. My mentor teacher has been exceptionally open with me and my partner. I intend to use the information that I know about my students when planning differentiated instruction for the Pathwise lesson next week.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Third Week
The third week was a shorter week due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. My partner and I were set to teach a math lesson on Tuesday, however, we were unable to teach it because we mistook Tuesday for Monday. On Tuesday, we stay in the class for a shorter period of time and we are out before students do math. For this reason, we had to scramble and after discussing it over with our teacher, we decided to teach a different lesson during Thursday's math class. This was an interesting dilemma because it allowed for us to see that teachers must always be flexible. No matter how much a lesson is planned and practiced, something may happen to interfere with the implementation of that lesson. This was the case for us on Tuesday. My co-teaching partner and I practiced and went over the lesson a few times during the weekend and were ready to go on Tuesday. However, early Tuesday morning we realized the mistake and had to make quick arrangements. Thankfully, our mentor teacher is extremely understanding and had no problem working with us to switch the lessons. So, we ended up teaching the lesson today. Although the topic was somewhat difficult and we did not have as much time to prepare, I believe we did well. It also helps that our class consists of only about 11 students. The fifth graders are the only ones in the class during math while the fourth graders are out for science.
The lesson that we taught was about using line graphs to describe relationships and tell stories based on the relationships. The lesson already followed a modified version of the "I do, we do, you do" model, so we were able to get a feel for how our future Pathwise lesson might be. The lesson was taught out of the teacher resource book, so the framework that I read about in our Better Learning Through Structured Teaching book was not followed exactly. In addition, my partner and I did not write or come up with the lesson ourselves, therefore, the framework is not exactly as it is described in our book. Still, we went over what students have been learning during the past few days and then introduced our new topic (I do). We provided examples and explanations while looking at new material. Then, we went over a few examples with the students, walking them through the questions when necessary (We do). Finally, students were given ten minutes to work individually on the rest of the problems (You do). Clearly, the "you do it together" step is not used. This is something that I want to make sure is included in my Pathwise lessons.
Lastly, my co-teaching partner and I were able to work with the fourth graders during social studies. The teacher let us work with them as they read from their textbooks and discussed the information. We also provided guidance as students answered questions about the reading. The students were somewhat rowdy when we were with them alone. This was probably due to the fact that this was a new situation for them and they felt less intimidated by us. This leads me to wonder in which ways and what strategies I could use to show students that I am firm but caring with them.
The lesson that we taught was about using line graphs to describe relationships and tell stories based on the relationships. The lesson already followed a modified version of the "I do, we do, you do" model, so we were able to get a feel for how our future Pathwise lesson might be. The lesson was taught out of the teacher resource book, so the framework that I read about in our Better Learning Through Structured Teaching book was not followed exactly. In addition, my partner and I did not write or come up with the lesson ourselves, therefore, the framework is not exactly as it is described in our book. Still, we went over what students have been learning during the past few days and then introduced our new topic (I do). We provided examples and explanations while looking at new material. Then, we went over a few examples with the students, walking them through the questions when necessary (We do). Finally, students were given ten minutes to work individually on the rest of the problems (You do). Clearly, the "you do it together" step is not used. This is something that I want to make sure is included in my Pathwise lessons.
Lastly, my co-teaching partner and I were able to work with the fourth graders during social studies. The teacher let us work with them as they read from their textbooks and discussed the information. We also provided guidance as students answered questions about the reading. The students were somewhat rowdy when we were with them alone. This was probably due to the fact that this was a new situation for them and they felt less intimidated by us. This leads me to wonder in which ways and what strategies I could use to show students that I am firm but caring with them.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Second Week
I am placed in a 4/5 combo classroom. There are 22 students in the class, 11 fourth graders and 11 fifth graders. The fifth graders are in the classroom throughout the school day, other than resource, while the fourth graders leave the classroom to go to Reading and Math with a different teacher. The fifth graders are slightly below grade level and the fourth graders are all gifted. This is the first time that I have ever been in a classroom that was set up in such a way, however it has not been as hard to keep track of the class transitions as I thought it would be. My mentor teacher has worked out a schedule that is effective and can easily be understood. All of the students are well familiar with how the schedule works and there are no issues when it comes to transitioning.
The classroom is quite small, but oftentimes there are only about 11 students in the classroom. The fifth graders are split up into three teams in the front of the class while the fourth graders are split up into two teams at the back of the classroom. Students are seated three-six students per group or "team." Each student in the classroom has a designated job that he or she is responsible for for the whole year. Jobs include distributing textbooks, checking that everyone has their homework written in their agenda, and passing out papers. This is a strategy that I want to use in my future classroom as well. I think that providing students with jobs gives them a feeling of ownership in the class. They are encouraged to contribute to the classroom community, which shows them that each student has an important role and that the class would not function as effectively if their roles did not exist. However, I wonder if it is more effective to have students switch roles every month or have them keep their roles for the whole year.
Being in the classroom for two weeks has allowed me to get to know the students on a more personal level each day. Through interactions with them and by asking the teacher about the students, I have been able to discover information that is helpful in informing my instruction and future lesson plans. My co-teaching partner and I also conducted surveys for a different class and were able to find out a lot of in depth information about our students. This will certainly be used as we begin planning our own lessons in the next few weeks. What has caught my attention is the diversity that exists in students' personal and home lives. There are only 22 students in the class, yet each students comes from different experiences. Still, the class is one big community, where the teacher encourages unity, acceptance, and respect. This is something that I want to achieve in my own classroom and I wonder how my mentor teacher was able to achieve such a cohesive classroom environment so successfully.
My teaching partner and I were also able to teach a reading lesson with training and constructive feedback from out teacher. As we practiced and taught our lesson, I thought about the "I do, we do, you do" teaching framework that we have learned about previously and that I read about in the Better Learning through Structured Teaching book required for this course. As I read about the importance of "I do, we do, you do together, you do alone," I realized that this was not the way that the reading lesson was structured. During the reading lesson, students are not engaged in group or collaborative work. Students would read excerpts from the required story and engage in whole-group discussion. However, students never worked collaboratively and they were not given the opportunity to practice any of the skills on their own. Unfortunately, the reading lessons are not scheduled with such a framework in mind. Math lessons, on the other hand, are. During math, the teacher introduces a new skill to be mastered, guides students through a variety of problems, and asks them to work on additional problems independently. The "you do it together" step is one that I first heard about in this book and have not seen it utilized much in the classroom. The other three steps are used regularly in most of the lessons. Throughout the semester, I would like to challenge myself to plan and write a reading lesson that uses this framework and see how students react to it.
The classroom is quite small, but oftentimes there are only about 11 students in the classroom. The fifth graders are split up into three teams in the front of the class while the fourth graders are split up into two teams at the back of the classroom. Students are seated three-six students per group or "team." Each student in the classroom has a designated job that he or she is responsible for for the whole year. Jobs include distributing textbooks, checking that everyone has their homework written in their agenda, and passing out papers. This is a strategy that I want to use in my future classroom as well. I think that providing students with jobs gives them a feeling of ownership in the class. They are encouraged to contribute to the classroom community, which shows them that each student has an important role and that the class would not function as effectively if their roles did not exist. However, I wonder if it is more effective to have students switch roles every month or have them keep their roles for the whole year.
Being in the classroom for two weeks has allowed me to get to know the students on a more personal level each day. Through interactions with them and by asking the teacher about the students, I have been able to discover information that is helpful in informing my instruction and future lesson plans. My co-teaching partner and I also conducted surveys for a different class and were able to find out a lot of in depth information about our students. This will certainly be used as we begin planning our own lessons in the next few weeks. What has caught my attention is the diversity that exists in students' personal and home lives. There are only 22 students in the class, yet each students comes from different experiences. Still, the class is one big community, where the teacher encourages unity, acceptance, and respect. This is something that I want to achieve in my own classroom and I wonder how my mentor teacher was able to achieve such a cohesive classroom environment so successfully.
My teaching partner and I were also able to teach a reading lesson with training and constructive feedback from out teacher. As we practiced and taught our lesson, I thought about the "I do, we do, you do" teaching framework that we have learned about previously and that I read about in the Better Learning through Structured Teaching book required for this course. As I read about the importance of "I do, we do, you do together, you do alone," I realized that this was not the way that the reading lesson was structured. During the reading lesson, students are not engaged in group or collaborative work. Students would read excerpts from the required story and engage in whole-group discussion. However, students never worked collaboratively and they were not given the opportunity to practice any of the skills on their own. Unfortunately, the reading lessons are not scheduled with such a framework in mind. Math lessons, on the other hand, are. During math, the teacher introduces a new skill to be mastered, guides students through a variety of problems, and asks them to work on additional problems independently. The "you do it together" step is one that I first heard about in this book and have not seen it utilized much in the classroom. The other three steps are used regularly in most of the lessons. Throughout the semester, I would like to challenge myself to plan and write a reading lesson that uses this framework and see how students react to it.
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