And the countdown starts...

I cannot believe that it has already been almost 4 weeks since I started student teaching! The month of September will be over this week and I will only have one full month followed by most of November left! That just baffles my mind!

So it has been a few days since I last posted something so I have a lot to cover. I taught my first 'lesson' on Wednesday. It was a math lesson on even and odd numbers, which was a nice lesson for me to start with. One of the big things that I am taking from my experience so far is to never assume students know anything and teach everything! The minute that you think they know something, but they really don't and you don't catch it...then they will be that much further behind. Anways, the lesson went very well including the smartboard presentation that accompanied my lesson.

I am really liking the smartboard now that I have had time to explore it and make some lessons with it. It can be a hassle if you do not know what you are doing but if you can operate it then it can be a valuable asset. My students are doing terrific, and I am excited to come to school every day! It is tiring but it will all pay off in the end when I am better at what I plan on doing for my life! Stay tuned...I teach three math lessons this week!

Assignment 1

Assignment 1

9/17/10

At the end of week two, I am continuing to learn a lot and am starting to get a feel for the classroom dynamics which is very difficult to learn. Slowly I am taking over various parts of the day to gradually increase my responsibilities so that I do not get burnt out, which is very helpful.

We are starting a small unit on mammal classification for use in our small group reading group on Monday. The small group will start by creating a concept map for the unit to get an idea of where they are and will also complete a concept map at the end of the unit, to determine the growth of their knowledge. It will be very interesting to see where they start out at and where they end up and to know that I will be a part of that learning. It is a great feeling knowing that you are making a positive difference in a child's life. Stay posted!

9/14/2010

It has been a few days since I last updated my blog, so I will try and fill everyone in on the past few days. Monday was the beginning of the first full week of school! Getting everyone, (including staff), into a routine is quite the job! The students are doing great adapting to the school environment considering it is only the first full week of classes. I am also attempting to adapt to being in school for eight hours a day, but it is difficult!

I am working with the students for awhile in the mornings on CGI (Cognitively Guided Instruction) problems related to math. This is a new intervention that the school is starting this year, and it is interesting to see the how the students are solving word problems, which typically are not very popular with students. It is something that I need to work on, one of the many things that I am learning and improving on during this experience.

I hope my fourth graders who play football do great tonight! Also, I hope that every other student in my class does all of their homework! Practice makes perfect!

I also included pictures of the classroom and also my desk, finally!

First Days of School

Tuesday and Wednesday were the first days of school for Cass Lake-Bena Elementary School. Tuesday was an open house that allowed for students and parents to visit with teachers and faculty and vise-versa. It was great to meet all my students and to see how to begin that initial parent-teacher relationship so that the year can run smoothly. I am excited about the next 12 weeks!

Today, Wednesday September 8th, was the first full day of school! It was great to finally meet all the students and see first hand the group of wonderful children that I will have the privilege to work with until Thanksgiving! So much went on during school today that my mind is kind of scattered as of right now but I am just getting my feet wet. I did a short read-aloud with the students during reading time along with some Responsive Classroom activities outside. Seeing all of the coordination that goes on between teachers and staff is absolutely amazing! I am helping a great group of children that I know for a fact will help me as well!

Thursday 9/2/2010

So this is my first posting to my Student Teaching Blog! These first three days have been a whirlwind of excitement, anxiety, and fun. After meeting my cooperating teacher during CGI Training this summer, I knew that this experience was going to be a great one. Tuesday was my first day of student teaching and consisted of workshops involving the entire district staff. That was a great day, because I found out how small this world really is! Knowing staff within the district is a wonderful because it shows how much people enjoy the district and staying around the local area.

Wednesday included an Elementary school meeting followed by time to meet with our grade levels to discuss scheduling, curriculum, etc. Getting time to work on the classroom was awesome because I saw how much it takes to set up a classroom. It is nice to see what the classroom is going to look like and knowing that I am a part of that classroom is very humbling.

This experience is going to be awesome, so follow along as I keep everyone updated as to how my Student Teaching experience is going! Thanks!