"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.