Hello Spring Break!

It's finally spring break! Students and staff both much needed this break. Even though it was a short week, it was still very productive. I would rate this week as a 4 because even though it was a productive week as the week went on students became more restless. 

One of my greatest accomplishments this week was having a successful lesson while my principal came in to observe me. This was a planned observation, which is good because I was able to be extra prepared. It's bad because I was stressed all week about it. However the lesson went over great and students were very engaged.

A lesson I was able to build on and learn from is the hands on lesson I had planned for math. Students were learning about customary and metric units of weight. Students had the opportunity to weigh everyday objects using a balance. I learned quickly that I had to set some ground rules to prevent mass chaos. With each rotation that came through I learned more and more things to say to keep work focused and engaged.

My goal for this upcoming week is to relax a little and to also get some more work done on my portfolio. 

This week I exhibited 1B, teachers demonstrate leadership in the school. I did this by participating in an extended PLT and analyzing data from our student's benchmark tests.

I exhibited 2D, teachers adapt their teaching for the benefit of students with special needs. I did this by adjusting my lessons based on student's level in math rotations.

I exhibited 3A, teachers align their instruction to NCSCOS. As I planned for the coming week I aligned my plans to the NCSCOS.

I exhibited 4A,  Teachers know the ways in which learning takes place, and they know the appropriate levels of intellectual, physical, social, and emotional development of their students. I did this by planning hands on activities because I knew students would be more restless this week but would be engaged if it was hands on.

I exhibited 5A, teachers analyze student learning. I did this by adjusting my plans daily and during the lesson, based on the progress of the students.

Spring Break where ya at?

I'm pretty sure we are all beyond ready for a break. February and March has been a long stretch with no breaks. However, even with that this was still a great week. Every week I realize more and more why this will never just be a career to me. I have always described teaching as a privilege and student teaching has only affirmed that belief. I would rate this week as a 5.

This week my CE was our for a 1.5 days. Having the students on my own was such a learning experience. Even though I did the same thing as I do everyday it was just a little different without my CE there. That was my pleasant surprise for the week, how smoothly everything went even with my CE being out. I could really tell that students were well adjusted to my expectations and were ready to take on the day.

I also attended a PD on EVAAS data. Although I didn't have any students from a previous year to reflect on my teaching, it was very helpful to understand how this data can be used to guide instruction. Even though the data is on different students the data still speaks volumes to the teacher's style of teaching.

Another huge relief from this week was receiving my edTPA scores and finding out that I PASSED! With only 2 weeks of student teaching this definitely gave me the boost to finish strong!

My goal for next week is to continue working on pieces of my portfolio and finish the last week before spring break strong.

This week I exhibited 1A, teachers demonstrate leadership in their classroom. I did this by incorporating other students into our class while their class was testing and making sure learning still happened for all students.

I exhibited 2D, teachers adapt their teaching for the benefit of students with special needs. I did this by giving students time to work independently and pulling my struggling readers to the back table to assist them. Otherwise the assignment could have caused more frustration than necessary.

I exhibited 3A, teachers align their instruction to NCSCOS. As I planned for the coming week I aligned my plans to the NCSCOS.

I exhibited 4D, teachers integrate and utilize technology in their instruction. I did this by incorporating Quizziz into our guided reading rotations. Students have been utilizing it for math rotations and have loved it!

I exhibited 5A, teachers analyze student learning. I did this by adjusting my plans daily and during the lesson, based on the progress of the students.

Where did the week go?

Reflecting back on the week it seems like I was just writing my blog for week 6. It's crazy to think that there is only 3 more weeks of full time student teaching. Overall I would rate this week as a 5. This week went by very smoothly and very comfortably. Where I once needed to constantly check my lesson plans to reassure myself I now glance at them in the morning and I'm prepared for the day. Oddly enough I feel more comfortable and prepared than any week before.

One of my favorite moments from this week was during my guided reading lesson. We had read about different cultures and festivals associated with different cultures. So on our last day with the article we were reading I introduced the kids to the festivals through VR. They LOVED it! It was so great to see them excited and making connections from our reading, you could see their learning come to life. Hopefully I will be able to incorporate this more in the classroom with the overwhelming positive response I had.

This week in math we began our new unit on measurement. The pressure has been on as we are a tad behind due to snow and the students have a math benchmark this coming week. So getting students invested and interested was key. So day 1 we did a hands on measure things around the room that are about 1 inch, 1 foot, and 1 yard. Students were very engaged and then were ready to discuss and learn more.

My goal for this week is to continue being prepared for all of my lessons. I also want to continue working on my portfolio so I am prepared for the end of the semester.

Since we started a new math unit this week I pretested my students on measurement. This helps me know what students already know and then put them in groups accordingly. I've learned how crucial this is because my teaching must change so much from group to group to make sure I'm meeting the needs of each group.

This week I exhibited 1A, teachers demonstrate leadership in their classroom. I did this by reviewing students pretests and work to see what areas I would need to focus extra on and to group them accordingly.

I exhibited 2D, teachers adapt their teaching for the benefit of students with special needs. I did this by making groups for math rotations based on their pretest data.

I exhibited 3A, teachers align their instruction to NCSCOS. As I planned for the coming week I aligned my plans to the NCSCOS.

I exhibited 4D, teachers integrate and utilize technology in their instruction. I did this by incorporating a VR activity into my guided reading lessons.

I exhibited 5A, teachers analyze student learning. I did this by adjusting my plans daily and during the lesson, based on the progress of the students.

Goodbye Week 6, Hello Week 7....

I cannot believe I just finished week 6 of student teaching! I've changed so much and learned so much throughout these 6 weeks! Overall I would rate this week as a 5, it was good week with everything running as planned.

One of my pleasant surprises this week was getting a compliment from one of the student's specials teachers about how much just she had seen growth in me as far as managing behavior. Behavior management was a weaker area for me at the beginning because it's brand new. We practice teaching but behavior management is only something you can handle in the moment. So that compliment meant a lot from her!

A lesson I learned from this week was during guided reading. We did not have our normal flex groups this week and instead had our own students for guided reading. This showed me just how much differentiation was needed as most of my flex group is on the same guided reading level. My goal for this week is to continue working on my portfolio.

This week I taught about decimals, we only had 5 days to teach before students needed to be tested. Thankfully over 75% of the class scored proficiency. Students typically have longer to review material before they are tested. After reviewing the data I did a short review on what students missed and they will have the opportunity to retake the test.

This week I exhibited 1A, teachers demonstrate leadership in their classroom. I did this by reviewing students tests and work to see what areas I could have improved on as I taught.

I exhibited 2D, Teachers adapt their teaching for the bene t of students with special needs.  I did this by changing my guided reading plans to meet the needs of the students in the group.

I exhibited 3A, teachers align their instruction to NCSCOS. As I planned for the coming week I aligned my plans to the NCSCOS.

I exhibited 4E, teachers help students develop critical thinking and problem solving skills. I did this by helping students analyze different texts to discover literary heroes.

I exhibited 5A, teachers analyze student learning. I did this by adjusting my plans daily and during the lesson, based on the progress of the students.

"Ohhh we're Halfway There..."

I was definitely living on a prayer this week! But PRAISE THE LORD... edTPA is done!! Finally submitting it was such a relief and I'm ready to finish student teaching! Overall I would rate this week as a 3, it was exhausting, rewarding, and challenging. However, I felt like this week I grew more than all other weeks because this week was not easy but we still got through it! Did I mention it was a full moon week?

One of my accomplishments this week was definitely submitting edTPA. EdTPA took on a whole different meaning this semester, yes more stressful, but also it made more sense because I knew more about my students and their learning. A lesson I hope to build on from this week, was during my number talks. I have a handful of students that never respond. All week I tried different strategies to get them to voluntarily answer, some did but still others did not. So next week I hope to get these students engaged and involved during number talks as they will benefit greatly from these strategies.

My goal for this week is to continue working on my portfolio. This week I did not work on it much because my full focus was on edTPA. However, now I will be able to focus on the portfolio and finish strong! Next week I plan on incorporating another technology tool and making sure I'm prepared to complete each part of my portfolio.

This week I analyzed data on students writing prompts, this helped me reflect on my lessons and where I as a teacher could have strengthened to lesson to better prepare my students.

This week I exhibited 1B, teachers demonstrate leadership in the school. I did this by sharing about a new strategy, numberless word problems, in our weekly PLT. Numberless word problems help students focus on what operation to use instead of just jumping to the numbers.

I exhibited 2A, Teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults. We had a lot of students out at various times throughout the week. Bringing children back into an environment not only means preventing germs but also preventing them from getting behind on content.

I exhibited 3A, teachers align their instruction to NCSCOS. As I planned for the coming week I aligned my plans to the NCSCOS.

I exhibited 4E, teachers help students develop critical thinking and problem solving skills. I did this by helping students analyze different texts to discover literary heroes.

I exhibited 5A, teachers analyze student learning. I did this by adjusting my plans daily and during the lesson, based on the progress of the students.