Placement+2+Week+5+Experience

Week of April 12th, 2010

4/12/10

It was great to be back in the classroom after such a long Spring Break! I was also thrilled to start my week off by attending an incredibly positive and productive IEP meeting. The meeting took place before school started and was attended by the student - who has a specific learning disorder - for whom the meeting was held, his mother, Mrs. Gibbs - the school VE teacher, the 7th grade team of teachers, as well as Ms. Stamp and myself.

I was so happy to have the chance to attend a meeting where the parent actually attended! It was also nice to take part in offering guidance to her and her son. The fact that both mother and son were so full of questions about the exceptional education program and how they could work together with the help of the boy's teachers to make sure he did well in school was so heartwarming, too!

Tomorrow there will be a lot more fun to come! I'm planning to teach my Critical Thinking Lesson called "In a Pickle: Using Critical Thinking Strategies for Problem Solving." There is also another morning meeting to attend. This one is in regards to determining if a student meets the requirements necessary to be eligible for ESE services. Can't Wait!

4/13/10

I am thrilled to say that my "Pickle" lesson went off without a hitch! I was a little nervous because the kids seemed not too interested at first - they still weren't done talking about all they did over Spring Break, so the idea of moving on to something educational wasn't all that appealing this early in the week. Well, as soon as I got out the art supplies to be ready for the anticipatory set, explaining to them all the while that they'd be "in a pickle" this morning, they were all ears. I was proud that they came up with so many great solutions to the tricky problems I gave them to consider.

It also made me happy that when Ms. Stamp evaluated my lesson delivery, she noted that I took extra special care to involve one student who typically doesn't participate in group activities. I was careful to redirect and refocus his off-task behavior in a pleasant way, doing my best to keep the flow of the lesson, and have fun with the kids along the way.

Tomorrow should be another fun day for me. Ms. Stamp says Wednesdays are largely set aside for her to do lots of the planning and paperwork involved in looking after the twenty-something exceptional education students that make up her caseload. Meanwhile, I hope to work on the bulletin board in the classroom - I want to "pretty it up" for Spring. Plus, I'd like to firm up the lesson ideas I have for helping a student who is really struggling with fractions in math. Should be a busy Wednesday :o)

4/14/10

Today was such a refreshing day - I am very glad that Ms. Stamp has Wednesdays set aside as her "paperwork, planning, and random office work" days. I feel like I got so much accomplished! The first thing we did together was to tend to the IEPs of a few students, one that is soon to be ready for review and another that will be having a meeting tomorrow. Then, during 2nd period we taught Learning Strategies just as normal.

Even though it's only the beginning of the nine weeks, several of the students have managed to start falling being already in math! They are all so smart that the assignments are not really the problem; they all seem to be struggling with time management and prioritizing. For that reason, Ms. Stamp and I have made sure to help each student decide how many math problems they think they can realistically complete each night (in addition to all their other homework). These homework goals have been written on the front marker board, along with the due date for the work. Hopefully adding this bit of "process analysis" sort of breakdown to the work will help them find it easier to accomplish everything without feeling so overwhelmed!

One of the other things that I was able to do today was to begin gathering ideas and supplies to create the new bulletin board for Ms. Stamp's classroom. When I told her my idea was to design a big green alien with the caption "Attention Earthlings! Take Me To Your Readers!" Ms. Stamp was thrilled. We decided that we want to involve the students in the project too by giving them each a planet with their name on it where they can list the books they are currently reading. Then, each planet will have stars nearby with books the students want to read over Summer break. Finally, among other "intergalactic" decorations, I'll add the Sun to our solar system and inside I'll paste a list of the Sunshine State Reading Books the students can select from for their Summer Reading list!

It might sound really cheesy, but I am totally excited about making this bulletin board! I can't wait to snap pictures of it because it's going to look so "out of this world"! Hahahaha!



4/15/10

Today I discovered two very interesting things. While discussing what we knew about WWII in Mr. Waller's 6th grade Social Studies class, my students shared that "Hitler...he's that guy that makes those t-shirts. I think his first name was Tommy...yeah, Tommy Hitler."

In case anyone missed the humor there, the kids meant Tommy Hilfiger. Then, I also learned that my students were under the impression that the Holocaust was a church. That was, they all were until Mr. Waller gently pointed out that they were thinking of the church they had in mind was called "Pentecostal".

Somehow, I think saying "Oh Lord!" in this context is more than hilarious ;o)

4/16/10

What a week! Whew...these kids really will wear you out but, it a fabulous feeling! Today I finally had the opportunity to take pictures with several of my students. In Mrs. Arroyo's 6th grade science class, they were studying thermal energy transfer. In order to bring the point home for all the kids, she devised a spectacular science experiment - making ice cream! Needless to say, there are several new additions to the photo album I've created for this placement, so be sure to check it out!!!

For next week, I'm looking forward to working more with one of the girls in the Learning Strategies class on her math. She's learning how to work with fractions, but owing to LEP status as well as her learning disabilities, she's finding them pretty tough. Hopefully, I can help her out though! I'm also excited about putting the finishing touches on my snazzy bulletin board too.

Oh, and almost forgot...I learned one more important thing today! When dismissing a whole gym full of middle schoolers on Friday afternoon...GET OUTTA THE WAY before you say they may be dismissed & have an enjoyable weekend!

For the love! I don't think a single one of 'em heard me say the part about enjoying their weekend! They were too busy running me over to get out the door - lol! Oh well, live & learn...right?!?

Happy Friday Everyone!

4/17/10 Haha ~ okay, I know today is Saturday so I should probably give my brain a rest from thinking about teaching, but hey when you love it, you live it, right?! Soooo....just one more thought to ponder. How on earth do teachers get so good at keeping track of the wacky schedules they follow each day? I mean, time management is one thing, but wow!

For example, Ms. Stamp knows there are exactly four minutes between each period for students to move from one classroom to the next. She knows that, if she leaves the classes she co-teaches during the exact moment when the general education teacher begins her summary and wrap-up of the current lesson, she'll have just enough time to print out 16 late assignment reports, stop by the principal's office to let him know a student did exceptionally well on a tough exam during 3rd period the day before, make it out of the office before the next bell rings causing a flash-flood of gawky, socializing teenage students to fill the hallways, and get back to her classroom just in time to meet the 2nd period Learning Strategies students outside her door looking calm, cool, and perfectly collected! Where does this super amazing, down-to-the-second time-telling skill come from, and how long until I get my copy of the manual that tells me how to start doing it too?!?! Lol!