Never marry a tennis player. Love means nothing to them.

How crazy is it that this is our last blog for the semester?! I know that I am excited about seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. In my classroom this week, I had an observation, and I was extremely nervous for that, but it went well and the feedback was very helpful! My CE showed me the books that they are going to be reading during PDP meetings next semester, and showed me where to buy them at. These PDP meetings will help teachers with passing the Reading Foundation Test. So, if I do not pass the test when I take it this semester, I will have a lot of my time spent studying for it at these PDP meetings. My teacher explained in detail what the folders on top of each desk were. Turns out that each of those folders have a students name on them, and they have differentiated work inside each of them that is specific to that kid! I thought that those folders were a wonderful! They use these folders during WIN time, but this is the first I got to observe that, because they were finally not testing. I also observed some students take the STAR test today, and noticed a lot of them were just clicking answers to be done with it, and my CE noticed that and made them take it again during their free time.

For us in college, when we think of a brain break, we think about going home or away for the weekend. This past weekend, I was able to go home, and it was a wonderful brain break for me! I came back to school refreshed and ready to go. I think that everyone needs a brain break everyone in a while, and that is including our students. I found a great article on Edutopia talking about the importance of brain breaks in the classroom, and different strategies to implement brain breaks into the classroom. “When we take a brain break, it refreshes our thinking and helps us discover another solution to a problem or see a situation through a different lens. During these few minutes, the brain moves away from learning, memorizing, and problem solving. The brain break actually helps to incubate and process new information” (Edutopia). Some of the activities that the article suggests are as follows; A Squiggle Story is when students, on a blank sheet of paper, whiteboard, or Promethean Board, draw one squiggly line. Give students one minute to stand and draw with their opposite hand, turning the line into a picture or design of their choice. Another activity is called, Opposite Sides. Movement is critical to learning. Have students stand and blink with the right eye while snapping the fingers of their left hand. Repeat this with the left eye and right hand. Students could also face one another and tap the right foot once, left foot twice, and right foot three times, building speed they alternate toe tapping with their partner. This article has a ton more activities to have small brain breaks throughout the day in your classroom. I encourage each of you to look at this article and find a few strategies and activities you can use in your classroom. 

This article hits on the NCPTS number one, because I think it takes great teacher leadership to distinguish when your class needs a brain break. As teachers, we will sometimes think we need to push through the day to get everything finished that we need too. However, they are human too, and we all need a brain break every once in a while in order to absorb the material we want them to learn. 

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/brain-breaks-focused-attention-practices-lori-desautels

A man just assaulted me with milk, cream and butter. How dairy.

Each week, I feel like my CE's and I grow closer, and that is a wonderful thing experience! We work together professionally, but she can also be my friend. Our assistant was not at school Friday, so I had to help my CE with some things that I have never done before. Such as, check the students folders for notes from parents and help get the students AR points organized on their spreadsheet. Dr. Suttle had her meeting with my CE and I, and it went really well! Having this meeting with Dr. Suttle made the fact that I am student teaching in 2 months, so real! I learned a lot from our meeting, such as, ways to better prepare for student teaching while I am on Christmas break. The meeting with Dr. Suttle last almost an hour, so my CE did not get her usual planning period. My CE asked if I would take the students to lunch by myself Friday, so that she could stay in the room and work on lesson plans. I was a little nervous, but was super eager to take the kids to lunch for the first time by myself. We only had two little spills the whole time, which is pretty good considering my class! I had to make a little girl move her clip when we got back into the classroom, because she was acting up in the lunchroom. That was the first time I had to make a students move their clip, but they know the rules of the lunch room, so acting out is not acceptable. Other than that one discipline problem, my students were great! I really feel like my students are starting to see me more as their teacher, rather than just their friend. Which was a goal of mine at the beginning of the year. I had a student at the end of the day, come up to my desk and say, "Ms. Townsend, I just really love everything you do for me, and I love you." That made all the bad days before disappear, and brought back into view the reason that teaching is my passion and purpose in life.

This week I have been dealing with a lot of stress with a lot of different assignments and tests to to finish. At first, I honestly did not think I was going to make it out alive this week, but here I am and all the assignments were turned in on time and finished to the best of my ability! I have always been pretty great with time management throughout my entire college career, however, this semester seems to have tried to kick me when I’m down. I feel like I can never catch up, because of so many different assignments due. Now I can gladly say, that I see the light at the end of the tunnel. The semester is calming down a bit, and I can focus on my assignments more. What the little boy said to me Friday about how he loved me and appreciated me, really made me remember why I am doing what I am doing. I am so passionate about teaching, and I know that my purpose in life is to teach kids and love on them. I will push through the rest of this year with my head held high, and I know it will all be worth it. This week, I decided to research about how a bad day in the classroom will pass, even though I haven't had any bad days in the classroom so far! (knock on wood).  I learned something important: don't concentrate on the lesson you planned to teach, but on the students. If you are determined to stick to you lesson plan, and it doesn't seem to be working—for whatever reason--you will become frustrated and, very likely, show that frustration in your tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language. You may very well end up blaming the students and punishing them. Unless they are completely cowed by your authority or a lot more mature than you are, they will react negatively, and that day's class session goes down the drain. It is far better to come into the classroom with a focus on the students: read their signals as you teach and react positively before thins get out of hand. For example, say, "It looks like we all need some music today" and play a tape, or, like Larry, break for a game. Then try again. As the students work, move slowly around the classroom to see how they are doing. If many seem to be off track, stop the class and explain or demonstrate in another way. This article was great for showing me that every teacher will have a bad day ever once in a while, but it is how we handle the situation after we get frustrated that matters the most. 

This research ties to the NCPTS number two of teachers establish a respectful enviroment for a diverse population of students. We should all set a respectful enviroment for our students no matter the mood we are in that day. We should not take our frustrations out on our students, and should always always be respectful of each individual student. Below is the link to the article I researched. 

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/classroom_qa_with_larry_ferlazzo/2013/11/response_the_first_step_is_admitting_our_frustration_is_real_and_valid.html

Would a cardboard belt be a waist of paper?

I only went to my school on Friday, and we had a field trip! I got to experience everything that comes with a field trip. I was in charge of carrying the bag of medicines the whole time. I helped get the school lunched together for the students who did not bring a lunch. I had to sit with a problem student on the bus, and make sure he behaved and he did really well! We went to the Catawba Science Center. We were combined with another second grade class, and the teacher in the other group struggles with keeping her students in line, so that was kind of rough. At the end of the field trip, the people over the science center let our class do fun science experiments. Mainly, during this field trip, my job was to make sure the students did not wander off past where they were suppose to be. The students loved the field trip so much! When we got back to school, we made it just in time for their PBIS reward, which was to watch a play in the auditorium. My CE left to take the medicine bag back where it was suppose to go, so I was in charge of walking my students back to the classroom and getting them packed up. My CE never came back, so I was also threw into walking the bus riders to their designated spot and the same for the car riders. I had another teacher show me where to go, so that was stressful but it was a great learning experience. Turns out my CE had car duty she had forgot about, so thats where she was. All in all, it was a wonderful day!

The management strategies on this field trip were flawless, and just seemed like everything worked like clock work. I know that keeping the students managed on the field trip is no easy task, but I did not know all the behind scene stuff that went on during field trips. I researched how to help a field trip run perfectly as the teacher. This article comes from Education World, and is talking about the things that go on in the background to make field trips run smoothly. Some of the tips this article gives are to, visit the site prior to the trip. The preview of the place your field trip will be at, will help you identify potential problems and plan for them. Set ground rules. Let students know they are representing their school and you expect them to be on their best behavior. Inform them that the usual school rules are in effect, and add any other rules specific to the field trip (No talking while a tour guide is speaking, for example). Consider having each student sign a list of the rules signifying their agreement to comply with them. Go over bus rules. Keep in mind that some students do not take a bus to school and, therefore, might not be familiar with bus rules. Talk with students about the field trip. Let them know about the day's activities and inform them of any events that might be upsetting (loud noises, for example). Provide activities for students to complete while on the trip. You might, for example, give them a list of items to find, or a list questions that will be discussed when they return. Talk with troublesome students before the trip. If you have students who are likely to present behavioral difficulties, take them aside individually and ask for their cooperation. Establish a signal to get students' attention. If you need to quiet students, you might raise your hand and form a V with your finger. Consider your student groupings. Assign problem-prone students to chaperones with good management skills, but avoid grouping together students who tend to have problems when together. Bring a cell phone, if possible. Besides providing you with immediate access to the school in an emergency, a cell phone also allows you to contact the parents of a student who presents a problem. I saw a lot of these strategies while on my field trip, and plan on using them while I plan my own field trips in the future. 

This blog correlates with the NCPTS number one. Teachers demonstrate great leadership when they plan great field trips, and care for their students enough to visit the place ahead of time and set ground rules. By making sure everything runs smoothly, the teachers helps to ensure a safe enviroment for their students. The rest of this article goes into a little more detail about each of the things that we need to be aware of to make our future field trips run smoothly. 

Whiteboards are remarkable.

I went to my school twice this week, and my students were great this week! On Monday, I got to work with a math small group, and these were the lowest level math students in the class. I had to constantly make sure they were paying attention, and knew what was going on. I also had my guided reading Monday as well, and the students in my group, paid attention really well. However, I had a little Mexican girl in my group randomly say, "If Trump get elected, I'm going to be sent back to Mexico"...she was dead serious, and I was so caught off guard! I changed the subject quickly, because I did not want the rest of the group to get involved, but I thought that that statement was rather worrisome. The student looked very stressed out about this. The rest of the group time was great! On Friday, I got to help a group of low level students take a reading comprehension quiz on the novel we have been reading, and helping them with the written comprehension part was more difficult than I anticipated. During, my small group Friday, an ESL student got pulled from my group to go with an ESL teacher, and that has never happened while I have been in there before.

This week, I did research on diversity in the classroom. How can we prepare teachers to work with culturally diverse students and their families? What skills should educators develop to do this successfully? This article is from Harvard Family Research Project, and this website is very informational! One of the most important skills we need to develop in Pre-K–16 teachers is their ability to build on the knowledge that students bring into classrooms, particularly that knowledge which is shaped by their family, community, and cultural histories. It is often difficult even for good teachers to go out into the community to do the home visits that can build rapport. I advocate three family-specific alternatives to connect teachers with the primary or secondary caregiver(s) of each student at least once during the school year in order to offer positive information regarding student progress. (1.) Call each child’s family with positive information.

(2.) Email each student’s family during the school year with positive information.

(3.) Through email attachment, post office mail, or student delivery, send a positive message via audio or audio/visual medium regarding each student. My teacher is very passionate about home visits, and looks forward to doing them every year. This is something that I will carry onto my future teaching career.

This research connects with NCPTS number two or, teachers establish a respectful enviroment for a diverse population of students. As teachers we need to comfort the diversity in our classrooms, and make sure that we keep each culture alive. As teachers we need to learn how to embrace these different cultures in our community and in our schools. 

http://www.hfrp.org/family-involvement/fine-family-involvement-network-of-educators/member-insights/how-can-we-prepare-teachers-to-work-with-culturally-diverse-students-and-their-families-what-skills-should-educators-develop-to-do-this-successfully

Did you hear about the guy who got hit in the head with a can of soda? He was lucky it was a soft drink.

We had a very interesting week this week. I went to my school twice this week, and for a half day on Monday and full day on Friday. I learned how to laminate today, and that as fun! We got a new student randomly today, and my CE met the grandmother of the little girl at the parent teacher conference the night before. So we got the new girl all settled in to them class and got her a name tag and everything, then our students went to specials. When the students came back to the classroom, we had a new little boy in our class...apparently the new girl and boy were brother and sisters, and the boy was more to handle so they stuck him in my CE’s classroom. The little girl got switched to another 2nd grade classroom. We had to the get the little boy settled into the classroom. I assessed level one sight words with the new boy in our class while the rest of the class took a spelling test. The new boy, only knew two sight words out of a stack of fifty. I asked my CE why the brother and sister had moved to Bethware in the middle of this semester, and apparently the grandma took the kids out of a homeless shelter because the mom could not support them anymore. So the children have had a very hard home life. During my guided reading group today, my case study kid had a breakdown, and refused to pay attention to me and do his work in my lesson. If you call this kid down too much, he takes it very personally and just shuts down. So the little boy was mad at me for getting on him to pay attention throughout my whole lesson. After my group time, he left the classroom and would not do anything for my CE for about thirty minutes, and then he randomly started being a good student again. I was working with an EC and speech impaired student on fluency, and she actually read through her entire passage twice in one minute! I was so proud of her, and she was so proud of herself! I love seeing those moments. Lastly, a student told me that he was being checked out today to see his therapist about anger management. I would have never guessed that he had anger problems, because he is always an angel on our classroom.

In the second grade, students are learning about the different kinds of graphic organizers. In my small group, I like to us them to organize the students thoughts about what we have read, and to help them better understand the book. Instead of printing out copies online, I like to have my students make their own, that way, when they have to write on their own, they can organize their thoughts in different ways without having a worksheet. I found an article on Edutopia, talking about the correct way to use graphic organizers in the classroom, and I found it very interesting. I did not know that there was a right or wrong way of using the graphic organizers, I just thought whatever works, works. First of all, what is a graphic organizer? A graphic organizer is a visual display or chart that shows the relationship between ideas, facts, and information.  The ultimate purpose of utilizing a graphic organizer as a tool is to prepare students for writing. Simply put, a graphic organizer assists a student with thinking and is a pre-writing tool -- not the end product. Some young writers may need this thinking tool more than others. As I’ve seen in my many classroom observations, we teachers can get caught up with treating the graphic organizer as The Assignment, especially with struggling students. At some point, with learners who are struggling, we need to stop encouraging them to finish filling in those boxes or columns on the graphic organizer and move into what matters: the writing. It’s much more important for a student to practice writing -- the only way to build writing fluency -- and stumble through stringing thoughts together this way than to fill in a graphic organizer completely or perfectly. I am very guilty of just using a graphic organizer as the assessment piece of writing comprehension, but from researching this topic, I see now that graphic organizers should be used as a tool to guide writing, instead of the assessment piece all together. 

The research on graphic organizers is aligned with the NCPTS number four, because this shows how a teacher can facilitate graphic organizers in their classroom to enhance the writing progression in the classroom. Also, it explains how as teachers we could not be using them to their fullest ability.  

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/using-graphic-organizers-correctly-rebecca-alber

Fishermen Are Reel Men

I went to my school twice this week for full days, and had a blast as usual. There was a dead bird in gym class, and all of the kids freaked out over it. I got to observe their music class for the first time and it was amazing, and the music teacher was so great. They made rhythms out of their names. On Fridays, my teacher usually moves the class around, and every one gets a new desk. So today we did that, and she moved two students right at her desk, because they are struggling so bad. I got my very own Bethware shirt Friday, and I am super excited because we get to wear them on field trips! My teacher started this new thing this week, where she will play a popular song on the Smart board form Youtube with the lyrics, and the students will sing along with it and they have to read the lyrics as they go. This helps with reading fluency and the students get very engaged. We watched The Lion King today, and compared it to the novel that we just finished in class. A little boy in my class was balling his eyes out the whole movie, and it was so sad. I was working one on one with a little girl on a math assignment, and I noticed that every time she did not know an answer, she would put the number 7, and leave it at that. So I had to break her from that habit. 

My CE does an amazing job making her classroom feel safe and productive. I have complemented her many times on this process, and I saw a great article on Edutopia, that reflected how she makes her classroom a safe enviroment. In order for your class to be positive, the teacher needs to lay down expectations in the beginning of the school year. If the students know what is expected of them, this will help the atmosphere of my classroom become peaceful. Most of the time when people think of the environment of the classroom, they think of the behavior of the students, but the environment includes the teacher. Teachers must also focus on their behavior and be very careful not to send mixed messages to students. Another way to plan on making sure the classroom has a positive environment is making sure that the students come up with the classroom rules that are fair to all the students. I understand that I should not have rules for the classroom and only apply them to one student and not apply them to another student. When one student is allowed to break the rules and not be corrected, this allows the other students in the classroom to feel there is favoritism going on in the class. Communication is the key to a successful classroom, is what I think. When there is clear communication misunderstandings are at a minimum. When presenting or reviewing a lesson in my classroom I understand that it may take some students a little longer to answer a question. I should allow the student think time in order to answer the question. If a teacher quickly moves to the next student when a student does not answer as fast as expected, this could cause the student self-esteem to become low and it could possibly make other students think little of the student also. 

Creating a positive and productive enviroment in the classroom falls under the NCPTS number two, of teachers establish a respectful enviroment for a diverse population of students. We want our students to strive in our classrooms, and for them to be productive and do their best in the safe enviroment that we establish. 

Have you ever tried to eat a clock? It's very time consuming.

This week, I went for a full day on Tuesday and a full day on Friday. On Tuesday, I started my guided reading small group for 312, and that was extremely fun and eye opening. The group of students I work with have reading levels are on the first level of 1st grade. So, I worked with fluency and reading comprehension with them. I also learned where to check out the guided reading books, that I will use with my small group. I checked out 3 different guided reading packets for this week. My CE  told me about the new girl they picked up in their class about two weeks ago. She said that this child has moved four times this year, because of her family getting evicted from their houses. That fact right there, broke my heart so much. I hate that for the sweet little girl in my class. I watched the EC student in my class have the "light bulb" moment, and she answered a question so beautifully about the main idea of the novel we are reading. The EC student seemed like a whole new person today, and was paying attention to everything the entire day. She had a very good day, and even got her clip moved up for being so great! I got to go to playground with my students for the first time that day, and usually it is only my assistant teacher that is out there with two other 2nd grade classes. So, it was very interesting to see them all run around so wild for thirty minutes. I have already noticed so much growth from the first day I observed my class. During the second full day I was there, I went to specials like usual with my class, and when we got to art my students got very interesting. First, a little boy squashed his finger and was crying the entire class and this distracted him from work all day. Then my case study student had a meltdown in art, because the teacher called him down for not sharing. He would not leave the art room, so My CE had to walk all the way down there to pick him up and bring him back to the classroom. They finished their first novel today, and got to do a fun project on the book and they were all so engaged in this. The students got to get snow cones after lunch Friday for filling out their sticker charts and the students were so excited for this! My students are usually the worst on Fridays, but this Friday, they were the best they have ever been during anytime of the week. I was confused as to why, but I most definitely did not mind.  

Based on this week at school, I have already noticed that the small group of students that I work with are not motivated to read at all. They are all 2nd grade students who read on a kindergarten level, so I feel as if they feel like whats the point of reading since I’m not that great at it? Every time I do my guided reading small group, I compliment the students on what a good job they are doing reading, because they really have improved from the first day of school! However, that just is not enough, I want to know how to motivate my students to be better readers, so that is my research for this week. However, in guided reading, I do not always get to pick a book that sparks all of their interests and that is my dilemma. I found an article that has 10 wonderful tips for motivating students to read, and this article comes from Teach Hub, and has a ton of other interesting articles as well! 

1. Let students see you read. If you are going to encourage your students to read, then you better make sure you’re leading by example. Instead of grading papers when students are silent reading, read a book. Talk about the book that you are reading with them, and how you can’t wait to read before you go to bed.

2. Allow students to read the whole book before discussing it. Give students the opportunity to read the book before you pull it apart and talk about literary devices. Sometimes when all you do is talk about the plot, setting, or genre, you are taking all the fun and pleasure out of the story. Give students the chance to read it once through, then you can go chapter by chapter and dissect.

3. Invite a local author to class. A great way to promote a love of a reading is to invite an author to your classroom to discuss their book. This may be just the thing to inspire your students to read or even be an author themselves someday.

4. Teach students reading strategies. Many students don’t like to read because it’s hard for them. Teach children reading strategies (i.e. repeated reading) to help them feel confident and read fluently.

5. Set up a book club. Book clubs and reading groups are a great way for students to socialize and share their thoughts. This interaction makes reading so much more enjoyable, and it enhances their comprehension skills.

6. Let students choose their own books. Studies have shown that when students choose their own books it will boost their reading ability. Make sure you have an abundance of different genres and themes in your classroom library from which students may choose.

7. Use technology to create an e-book. Children love technology, and there is nothing is better than using these tools to get students to love reading. Download an app like Book Creator or ebook Magic and have students create their own works. Kids will love sharing their books with their peers and they can even submit their stories to iBooks.

8. Introduce students to a book series. Whether students are into adventures or fantasy novels, there is a book series for everyone. All you have to do is find out what your students love and get them to read the first selection. Once they get a taste of the set, they will definitely want to keep reading to find out what happens next.

9. Allow students to dislike books. Think of it like Facebook—students can give a “thumbs up” if they like it, or a “thumbs down” if they don’t. This will also help you choose future class novels as well.

10. Helps students see the importance of reading. Sometimes just knowing the facts can encourage someone to see their world differently. For example, knowing that maintaining a healthy lifestyle may help us live a longer life can motivate us to make better life choices. Laying out the benefits of reading may be the best way to enhance appreciation and encourage them to pick up a book on their own.

Now, not all of these are going to be useful in my guided reading group, but a good portion of them will. I especially like the last one about helping the students see the importance of reading, because once they see how important it is to learn to read in order to read carnival signs, warning signs, etc. They will be more motivated. This blog ties into the NCTS number 4, because I want to better facilitate learning to my students in a way that is engaging and motivating. 

http://www.teachhub.com/how-motivate-students-love-reading

What do ghosts serve for dessert? I Scream.

I had a very interesting time at my school this past Friday. First of all, it was a Friday and the students were very wild and talkative all day, and my CE had to be on them all day, yelling at them. At the end of the day, myCE  got a call to come to a meeting after school, but she said she had a student teacher with here, so she could come now. So, myCE  left me in the classroom by myself for about 30 minutes. The students were to suppose to finish up their phonics test and then read silently until they had to pack up for the day. Well, as they were finishing their tests, they kept talking and talking, so I had to constantly yell at them to read silently. I had my door open during this time, and the bathrooms are right outside our room, and a little girl fell over face first, and had a seizure. The teacher outside was screaming for help, so all of my students got up to look what was happening. I noticed that two other people, and the assistant principal had ran to help the little girl, so I closed the door and calmed down my class and told them she was going to fine. I have never ever experienced anything like that, but I knew I had to be calm about all of it. All of this happened while myCE  was not in classroom, but everything ended up being fine. Now onto what I was doing the rest of the day before that incident. My class went to the computer lab for a special, and I got to help some students read and take AR tests. MyCE  showed me how she practices with her class to get them ready for the EOG in the 3rd grade, and each week she will give them a test with 3rd grade material on it, and compare their data from each test to see how much they have grew. my CE  cares more about growth than good grades, and I feel the same way about that. I noticed that my CE  puts the struggles students next to her in everything that she does, which is a great strategy, because she can always see if they are doing what they are suppose to be doing. During a Eureka math lesson, it suggested they make rulers, but that did not work at all, so myCE  told the class, "This is a lesson on how some things just do not work the way they are suppose too." It was good to see that sometimes lessons just do not work out. They were measuring stuff in Eureka math, so I got to help a group with that and they had a blast. I got to assess the students on sight words, and mark whether or not they knew them. I also got to grade phonics papers for the time! I was asked by a teacher next door if I could watch her class, and this teachers class was even crazier than mine was Friday. That class made me appreciate the class I was in.

This week, I found a great article on Edutopia called, "The Power of Keeping Your Cool". This article talks about how as teachers, especially new teachers should learn patients and keep their cool when their classroom is being hectic. The article mentions many different ways to help us "Keep Our Cool", in the classroom and is definitely worth the read. However, calm doesn't mean using a flat or monotone voice. When reading aloud, posing a question, or explaining the exciting choices your students will have for an upcoming project, continue to be your dramatic, upbeat self. Students mirror our energy. If we stay calm when teaching, giving instructions, addressing individuals or the whole class, it's amazing to see that this too, happens with them. Whenever we want the responsibility or not, we are constantly modeling for the children we teach ways to be out in the world. We want them to see that kindness, flexibility and tranquil approach to others are vital skills to develop. Using one of the oldest and best practices in our business - Show, Not Tell - is the way to guide your students to emulate these very actions.

This article really hits on the NCTS number four, of teacher's facilitate learning for their students. If we project the energy that we want our class to have into ourselves, then we will have the control we want in the classroom, and learning will be more achievable.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/the-power-keeping-cool-rebecca-alber

What do sea monsters eat for lunch? Fish and ships.

All of my video release forms finally made it back to me! Everyone said yes to videoing, so that is a huge blessing. I am now able to walk my students to and from specials by myself, and I had to yell at a kid today for climbing on the poles outside, and he had to move his clip down two places. I helped a small group in math today, and they struggled grasping the concept, but at the end of the small group they all got it except for the one EC student. The EC student understood it more by the end, but could not do it on her own. Then the students who needed help in reading their AR books, would come up to me and read. I would then take them over to the computers and help them read the question to their AR test. The EC student in our class gets pulled away every Friday at 11. I got to give the students a Saxon phonics fluency and spelling test, individually. I have worked individually with the EC student on every subject we did today, but it was so great to be able to teach almost all day long.  I loved being able to teach small group almost all day long! I was also exhausted by the end of the day, but it was worth it. 

This week, I am going to research how to help the EC student in my classroom to be the best they can be. I found a wonderful website that talks about how the classroom could be set up in a way that is hindering the EC student from learning. "Common classroom conditions can and do affect many students adversely-to some agree, at one time or another, in one way or other0but, some students are especially vulnerable to classroom hazards. students with learning disabilities are among the most vulnerable-at chronic risk for "not learning" under the aforementioned conditions, for long-term academic and social problems, and for lifelong debilitating side-effects of their classroom experiences" ( Reading Rockets).  This website lists so many things that can effect the student from learning. I am just going to mention a few, that I notice in my classroom that may be effecting my EC student. The first being that the classroom is a busy place. Rapid verbal exchanges leave the EC student with a consistent residue of confusion and misunderstanding. The next is that my classroom is very time-driven. Transitions and interruptions batter the EC students already fragile orientation in time and space. Their frustration flares up when he loses his grip in time/space and, what's more, he is convinced that you take pleasure in constantly not letting him finish what he's doing. The last is whole group instruction. Overwhelmingly, classroom instruction relies on whole group instruction, accompanied by large amounts of loosely overseen seat work. Without frequent clarifying interchanges, the EC students are left in the dust of group-focused lessons and semi-supervised seat work. I will think about these different ideas while working with the EC student in my class, and talk with my CE about this situation. 

This blog ties into the NCTS number 4, of Teachers Facilitate Learning. I want to facilitate the best learning that I can for all of my students, regardless of their learning disability.

I wanna make a joke about sodium, but Na..

 This week at Bethware was very exciting and fun! My class went to the library and to computers this Friday. The librarian read them a book out loud, and she was great. Then they get time check out books themselves. On the computers they get to play educational games, and they were all very focused and quiet, the entire time they were on the computers. It is amazing to see how engaged kids get with computer games. Once they were back in the classroom, they had novel reading time, after they went over morning work. They have their own novel notebooks, with notes they are taking on the novel. Mrs. Scoggins hates guided reading, because she usually does not have enough helpers for it to effective. I actually got to help the only EC student in our class with her reading comprehension test, and that was very special! It took us about 30 minutes to finish the test, but it was well worth it. Then I got to have my own group of students to help with their Eureka Math, and they were the 4 lowest  performing students in the class, and keeping them focused was a real challenge, but we made it through. I got to use my teacher look so much during that math time.  

Since I noticed how engaged my students were during computer time, I wanted to research some different computer games, that my students could play during this time. Right now, they only have math games, but I want to see what it all out there and free for teachers to use. 

The website, Math Playground, has a ton of different computer games for kids of all ages and grade levels. This website is also linked directly with common core standards, so that is a big plus! The next website I found is called Common Sense Media, and what is interesting about this one, is that there are different tabs along the top for students, educators and parents. So if the parents do not understand how to do something, they can pull up this tab and see how it works to help their kid. This website is also strongly aligned with Common Core, and has tons of games and activities that the students can play. The last one I found is called Room Recess, and it does not just have math games, but also reading, writing, spelling and math games. This website covers all areas, so you could even individualize the learning for each student, by making them play a game in the area they may not be strongest in. 

Finding computer games that are specialized to our students needs would fit into the NC Teaching Standard 4. Facilitating learning in the classroom, and bring technology into the classroom, is a big part of standard 4, and what we are doing during our computer times in specials.

http://www.mathplayground.com/

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/common-core-friendly-math-apps-games-and-websites

http://roomrecess.com/

I'd tell you a chemistry joke but I know I wouldn't get a reaction.

This week in EDUC 435, we were talking about Learning Experience 4, and how it helps us to look more deeply into our school that we are placed in. We will research our schools report card, and improvement plan, and devise a plan of action to help our school improve our student performance. The idea of a parent night at our school really stuck out to me, but I also have no idea how to go about planning one. Therefore, I want this blog for this week to be researching ways to make a parent night go smoothly. I think this will be very beneficial to all of us somewhere down the road, and I really want to hold my very own parent night next year! My school has dropped in math scores last year, so I will be trying to find a math parent night idea.

The Scholastic website - http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/top-5-ideas-parents-night, has a lot of cute ideas for a theme of a parent night, from decorating T-Shirts together, to a guessing a game that requires some addition. Scholastic also described each of the themes in great details, so you understand fully. Also, Pinterest has super cute ideas for parent nights! Just search Parent Nights for Elementary School in the search bar, and the possibilities are endless. However, what I was trying to research was more of how to plan a parent night, and the resources I need to successfully run a parent night. This is a PDF that is a checklist for a parent night that I think is very helpful for making sure that you have included these critical components of the parent - night. file:///Users/ambertownsend/Downloads/parent_workshop_event_checklist_for_planning_a_parent_night.pdf
Here is also another list of what to include which also mentions babysitting services, which I found to be extremely important for parents who may have little babies at parent night with them, so that they can focus on their student that is in school right now. 
I hope that this helps with planning your very own parent night! There are tons of resources out there, you just have yo look.

This ties into the NC Teaching Standard #1, because planning your own parent night, shows great teacher leadership. Especially as a student teacher in the Spring, this will be a big project for us to do to help our students, and impress our staff.

I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down.

Friday was my first full day at Bethware, and I loved every minute of it! School started at 8, and the  kids came in like angels and grabbed their morning work. They then listened to announcements and  then as a class went over the morning work. I finally got to see the class pet chinchilla. They have  specials first thing in the morning, and I went to the P.E. and art classes with them. I got to watch  them take their first summative assessment at the end of the week, and they really struggled with the test, and did not really understand why Mrs. Scoggins could not give them the answers. I noticed that there are 13 girls in my class and 8 boys. Before they start any assignment, they  have to repeat the phrase "put your stinkin' name on it!" that way Mrs. Scoggins knows that they put their names on the papers. I found my schools PBIS, and it is an acronym for PRIDE. I noticed that  half of the kids were almost half asleep during some lessons, but Mrs. Scoggins did not seem to mind that much. I got the chance to have a girl who struggles with reading, read her book to me, and then I helped her read her AR Test. At the end of the day, they did a little bit of grammar, from what they  call "Petra". I believe that the 2nd grade teachers made up this system to help their students, because it is very personalized, I loved it! Mrs. Scoggins has a lot of positive reinforcement, and I really like  that. There is one little girl in the class who gets extremely distracted by me being there, and is  always getting called down. This little girl could not focus on anything, and even the things in her desk were distracting her from listening and passing her test. When the teacher came around to check on her work, the little girl covered her paper, because she was embarrassed. Talking to my CE, I found out that this student has ADHD. Today I am going to research some different ideas about how to help this little girl in my class stay on topic, and focus. 


I found a wonderful website that is specifically for teachers with ADHD kids in their classroom! This website broke down how to help the student into different categories like, seating, information delivery, student work and organization. 
Here are a few tips for seating to help the ADHD student:

• Seat the student with ADD/ADHD away from windows and away from the door.

• Put the student with ADD/ADHD right in front of your desk unless that would be a 

• distraction for the student.

• Seats in rows, with focus on the teacher, usually work better than having students seated around tables or facing one another in other arrangements.

Information Delivery for the student with ADHD: 

• Give instructions one at a time and repeat as necessary.

• If possible, work on the most difficult material early in the day.

• Use visuals: charts, pictures, color coding.

• Create outlines for note-taking that organize the information as you deliver it.

Student Work for a Student with ADHD:

• Create a quiet area free of distractions for test-taking and quiet study.

• Create worksheets and tests with fewer items; give frequent short quizzes rather than long tests.

• Reduce the number of timed tests.

• Test the student with ADD/ADHD in the way he or she does best, such as orally or filling in blanks.

• Show the student how to use a pointer or bookmark to track written words on a page.

• Divide long-term projects into segments and assign a completion goal for each segment.

• Let the student do as much work as possible on computer.

• Accept late work and give partial credit for partial work.

Organization for a student with ADHD:

• Have the student keep a master notebook, a three-ring binder with a separate section for each subject, and make sure everything that goes into the notebook has holes punched and is put on the rings in the correct section.

• Provide a three-pocket notebook insert for homework assignments, completed 

• homework, and “mail” to parents (permission slips, PTA flyers).

• Color-code materials for each subject.

• Allow time for student to organize materials and assignments for home. Post steps for 

• getting ready to go home.

• Make sure the student with ADD/ADHD has a system for writing down assignments and important dates and uses it.

I will mention a few of these tips to Mrs. Scoggins, and hopefully help this student to be able to pay attention in her class, and achieve her fullest potential. 

This would be a great correlation with standard 1 of teacher leadership, because as a teacher we are to take control of the classroom, and do whatever it takes to help our students to learn. I want the best for this little girl, but paying attention in class is so hard for her. Hopefully this blog helps others out there with ADHD students in their class. This website also has a ton of other tips! http://www.helpguide.org/articles/add-adhd/teaching-students-with-adhd-attention-deficit-disorder.htm

This Last Year is No Joke!

The first week of school is in the books for me, and it sure has been eventful! I went to Bethware for the Meet the Teacher night, and I fell in love with all my students and cannot wait to get into the classroom. This week in EDUC 435 we talked about all the expectations for the class, and what we have planned for the rest of the semester. I learned that we now are required to do a EdTPA instead of the big unit at the end of the semester. Apparently, almost all of the states have adopted EdTPA to be part of their way of hiring teachers. I think that this is a great idea, because now the teachers that just slide by, will actually have to prove that they can teach. However, this seems like it will be very helpful to helping us plan and reflect in the future.

Speaking of EdTPA, I figured that this would be a good blog to research EdTPA, and figure out what it is at a deeper level. First off, here is the website that you will need to register for EdTPA, and you can go here and learn a little more about it. http://www.edtpa.com/. "edTPA is a performance-based, subject-specific assessment and support system used by teacher preparation programs throughout the US to emphasize, measure and support the skills and knowledge that all teachers need from day 1 in the classroom" (edTPA) Therefore, this will be almost like a portfolio that we will create during student teaching. This portfolio will include 5 learning plans for Literature and Math. We will plan the lesson, record us teaching and assessing the lesson, and the reflect on the lesson. I also found this format online of a lesson, but I am not sure how true to the actual thing that it is. I posted the link at the bottom of the page.

I think that the edTPA hits on standard 3 of teachers know their content, and standard 5 of teachers reflect on their practice. Standard 3, because edTPA is making sure that teachers know their stuff, and can teach. Standard 5, because in edTPA we will have to reflect on the lesson that we planned and taught.


http://www.uccs.edu/Documents/coe/curriculum/TELP/UCCS%20edTPA%20Lesson%20Plan%20Format.pdf

http://www.edtpa.com/