Learning Letter

   Reflect on how you think your participation in this course has influenced your thinking about yourself as a teacher

This quarter has been challenging for both personal and professional reasons.  I have had a LOT of different responsibilities pulling me into directions that may not have been in-line with others.  This class has had a huge influence on me and my ability to manage my time while working on different fronts.

The hardest challenge was to try and complete the unit plan.  While I had plenty of warning of when to start, I did not heed them as well as I should have and really put myself under the gun.  While I needed an extra weekend to finish the project, I feel as if I did a good job.  It was extremely difficult to think about a whole three weeks ahead and plan for that, but that is something teachers must do all the time and I am glad for the experience.  

The book talks and mini-lessons were fun because we were able to see MANY different ways to teach English in different settings.  Coming into the classroom, I was quite nervous about my ability to impact learning into my students, but I now have a number of different tools to back me up.  It was great to get the TPA's from my classmates and take those home with me.

The concepts we went over early in the quarter were fantastic to learn about.  I went outside of the classroom and downloaded a couple of "iTunes U" podcasts talking more about Paulo Friere's theories.  Tovani's book is going to be a great resource for me to go back and review to make sure my students are understanding the books and materials I bring into the classroom, whether that's a history or English classroom.

The participation of everyone in the class was quite useful.  From our discussions about Friere and Tovani, and then into the mini-lessons, everyone was great in giving constructive feedback and creating meaningful discussions because we were all engaged in the materials.

Overall, I learned a lot this quarter.  I was extremely nervous about my abilities in an English classroom but now feel much more confident.  The TPA's are tough, but I am glad we have been given the opportunity to practice them while still learning from our classmates.

American Born Chinese - Yang

This book got me out of my normal comfort zone and I really appreciated it.  I haven't read a comic book since I was a teenager.  The story was a bit confusing at first, three seemingly disparate stories that interweave struggles that many students go through.  While this may have been written with immigrants and the like in mind, I feel that many kids can relate to the feelings of not fitting in and embarrassed of their home-lives.

There can be much done with the book.  The pictures can be analyzed to develop meaning, obviously.  I think a much more fun activity would be to have students create their own kung-fu master animal and have them make a comic book.  Within this book, characters have great personalities and would be a rich vein of lesson planning.

As I said before, I rather enjoyed this book, it is a bit different from what I have read but still has a lot of great qualities to it.

Night

I can see how this would be a hard text for students to read. The writing is not very complicated. And the author did not use a lot of foul language. But there is a lot of graphic, visually and emotionally exhausting scenes. Students could have trouble really understanding what is going on because they have never experienced something as horrible as the Holocaust in their own lives. It's hard to look at the Holocaust because there is so much hate and violence.
I would use Night in a Social Studies or humanities classroom as a text to supplement out historical study of World War II and the Holocaust. We would have at home reading assignments every night and  could place the events in the book and characters (Hitler, Himmler, Mengele) with those that we are studying in class. We would also use their textbooks to teach the students about the history. Finally, students would look at themes like hate crimes and government directives as they created the Holocaust.

Romeo & Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is one of those seminole pieces of literature.  It is something that has been studied for centuries.  I love there is so much that can be taken from this play.  There are love scenes, fight scenes, humor, tragedy, and all the while the main characters are 16 and 13 - ages at which our readers are at.  The play can be read with so many different levels to it, advanced readers can analyze the poetry while those not quite there can read for the themes of romance and tragedy.

Because the book has been read and re-read so many times, there are a TON of resources to help teachers find a quality lesson plan that would work for their classrooms.

The story itself I find a bit irritating at times.  I just want to shake these characters and tell them to stop being so stupid and vain - just wait until things have settled down a bit.  Your families want to help but there is just such a lack communication between everyone that it is SO frustrating I can't stand it sometimes.  It may be a literary device used by Shakespeare to move the plot along, but I still don't like it.

This is a classic story but because it has been done SO many times, I'm not entirely sure I would use it in my classroom.

Things Fall Apart - response

I just finished Things Fall Apart and I was a bit astounded by the ending, but it does go along with much of what I felt while reading this book.

Achebe has a great way of blending words and images to create a beautiful picture of the village and the people in it.  It was interesting reading, not only in how he describes the places/people but his style of writing.  I felt lost sometimes as I was reading with how stop - start his writing became.  The images he used were powerful at times, but I didn't understand some of them because of the vast cultural differences.  I did like how long he took to set the scene because it gave a lot of background into the life of Okwenko and his tribesman.  This did help a lot when the white man came and showed how quickly things had changed around our characters.

Okwenko's life was full of trials and tribulations from the time he was born.  A father who he viewed as unworthy did not leave him the traditional compound and farm.  He had to earn things for himself from the start.  He was a great fighter and known throughout all his tribe as a man not to be trifled with.  This does not mean he was unloved by his wives and children, as they understood him to be a strong man with incorruptible principles.  His passion for hard-work and perseverance was tried mightily through his walk with Ikemefuna, his unintentional shooting of a clansman and 7 year exile, the betrayal of his son, and influence of the white man and church on his home land.  It is a lot for a man to deal with, and he felt very alone.  His loneliness led him to his final decision at the end, he could not stand to be part of his tribe any longer.

Okwenko wanted so badly to e a man of importance.  He tried to lead his people but none would follow and so he viewed everyone else as a coward.

This whole book is an interesting look into African culture and the influence European culture has had onto the planet as a whole.  As I finished the last few chapters, I could only think of what I know of the Native Americans and their similar struggles to cope and eventual capitulation to the white culture.

TPA response

The TPA lesson format is a great learning tool.  Tedious and repetitive, it is a fantastic way to allow teacher-candidates a way to think completely about the lesson plans we create.  It is not my favorite thing to do, and writing 15 of them for the unit plan is going to take more time than it could really be worth.  I just take it as a learning tool and way to practice my way of forming lesson plans that will be most effective in the classroom. 

I have been familiarized with the TPA since my inception into the education program.  The first quarter in, our final project was really just one TPA – now with practice I am able to write them out in a much more timely manner.  I like thinking about how I  am going to reach each student and what I need to do differently in between the class periods. 

The TPA is a bit difficult to quickly adjust, and that may be where the most difficulties come from.  What do you do if things don’t go according to plan, but it’s working?  Are you still able to assess the same things?  What if the class is not getting the lesson?  How can it be changed on the fly?  If the TPA is viewed as a tool to get to the whole classroom, then it is worthwhile.  If it’s viewed as a hard and fast program, it’s going to be a rough class.

I think it’s great to get teacher-candidates to think about what they are creating.  I don’t foresee myself using them much once I am completely in the classroom on my own.

Differentiated Instruction for English Language Learners as "variations on a theme"

This article, written by 4 teachers for the Middle School Journal, talks a lot about how to reach ELL students.  They start out with a stat provided by the National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisistion that by 2025 1 out of 4 students will be an ELL student.  But the surprising note there is that most of them are going to be native-born, multi-generational US citizens.

As teacher-candidates, we all know we must differentiate instruction.  What I really enjoyed about this article is that differentiation does not mean "dumbing down".  They do make a distinction between 'sheltering' and 'differentiation'.  Sheltering is used in a whole-class setting, making it easier to connect with students where they are but differentiation is used to tailor to specific sub-groups of students.

The main point between the two is that differentiation and sheltering work to provide more opportunities to become more focused on language development within the CONTENT lesson.

They come up with a list of 10 principles that should be applied when working to differentiate a lesson: (keep in mind, this is an article geared towards ELL's and not the general population)

1: Know your students! - Get to know where the student's are at and don't be fooled by oral proficiency

2: Set common content objectives but differentiate the language objective - they should be working towards the same goal in content, but need new roads to reach it!

3: Make it manageable for teacher - a base activity w/ small variations for individuals make it easier to assess their learning

4: Make learning manageable for students - don't water down the objectives! just be aware of their language capabilities

5: Identify a base for higher-level students and tier downward: This allows for differentiation to happen and allows to all students to be challenged; always move towards same goal though!

6: Allow similar groups to work together - they will help each other out

7: Be flexible in grouping though!  Break it up at times to allow ELLs and HL learners to interact

8: Offer a choice of activities to students

9: Know language proficiency is related to cognitive complexity: if they don't know the words - they can't tell you!

10: Allow same number of minutes for differentiated tasks!

Access Tool - D.E.D. - Ender's Game

Quote: The monitor lady smile very nicely and tousled his hair and said, "Andrew, I suppose by now you're just absolutely sick of having that horrid monitor.  Well, I have good news for you. (p. 2)

This reminds me of:  This little bit of introduction to the character reminds me of when I was younger and had to go to my great-grandma's house.  She was one of those ladies who smelled a little funny (to a 7 year old) and would pinch cheeks and mess with my hair and clothes.  Looking back, I realize she was really sweet, but I never wanted to go and see her.

Quote: The bell rang.  Everyone signed off their desks or hurriedly typed in reminders to themselves.  Some were dumping lessons or data into their computers at home.  A few gathered at the printers while something they wanted to show was printed out. (p. 5)

This reminds me of: How I am always the last one to leave a bench after playing or coaching.  Everyone else seems to be rushing off to do something else why I let my mind wander a bit and reflect on what just happened.


Quote:  Ender knew the unspoken rules of manly warfare, even though he was only six.  It was forbidden to strike an opponent who lay helpless on the ground; only an animal would do that. (p. 7)

This reminds me of:  Wanting to win games or whatever but wanting to know that I beat the best.  It's best to keep your honor when you win, instead of just winning.

Response Based Approach to Reading Literature

This was not a real earth-shattering article.  Some of the other things we have read have really been eye-opening and made me think differently about how to teach.  This article really didn't provide much new material in the way of trying to motivate students to read and interact.  We have been discussing all quarter what it means to teach kids in a discussion based format and this seemed to be just another example of that.

I did appreciate what they had to say about creating 'horizons' instead of goals or objectives.  The learning and respecting of literature does not just stop when a lesson is over, but it constantly changes over time and with new understandings and discussions.  I don't know how many times I've read Catcher in the Rye but every time I do, there is something new to take from it.  The horizons keep changing for me too as I try to challenge and accept my students.

The 'horizon' metaphor also works because students are invited to explore new possibilities and things where they may have been blind to it before.  The discussions and activities should try and promote this level of exploration.

Social Justice: Creating Classrooms for Equity and Social Justice - intro

After reading through the first paragraphs or so of a few different articles I came upon one that seemed to concisely boil down the tenets of the idea of 'social justice within a classroom'.  It is actually the introduction to a larger book that I was unable to find, but this intro was available through rethinkingschools.org.

It touched on a lot of the same things that we have been discussing in class lately: open discussions in a safe and supportive environment, being critical thinkers of everything, and academically rigorous.  They did have a few other topics that were to be discussed in ensuing chapters, but I found to be quite helpful in making myself think about the classroom.

They mentioned how the classroom needs to "experiential" and active.  The more the students are engaged with more than just sitting in seats and need to move around and interact with every other student in the classroom.  The editors also write about how we want to invite students to become activists in the community and world.  While it is not our job to show them specific organizations and causes, we do want to show them they can make a difference in the world at large.

This was an interesting introduction and I think the book would be a good read as well.

Critical Pedagogy and Popular Culture

This was another interesting article with some great ideas of utilizing critical pedagogy in a classroom setting.  The teachers, working together, had some great insights on how to create a meaningful and productive project for their urban/diverse students.

The first thing I really liked about what they did in their classroom was to recognize the fact that students are all participating in a culture that is very different from the culture that had been imposed on them.  They were very creative in attempting to bring together the "hip-hop" culture and the "Shakespeare" culture through the lens of poetry and literature.  They were attempting to prepare the students for AP standardized testing but allowing them to explore the skills needed to read/interact critically with a piece.  I think this was a very good idea because it exposes them to classic writing and letting them read that, but also drawing connections between their current culture, and that of 400 years ago.

These teachers did not allow the curriculum to take-away the skills needed to be critical readers.  They helped them bridge the gap between the "language of power" and the language of the oppressed.  This also helped them to each to multiple cultures w/ "canonical" texts because they drew connections to many different cultures.  "The more we study the cultural practices of others, the more these practices seem logical to us and the more they help us to understand our own practices as equally unique and equally meaningful" was a good way to promote the students looking past their own windows to try and appreciate what they had in front of them..

Critical Pedagogy Reader

Hey Everyone,

Reading through this piece I noticed a lot of similarities in thought between Peter McLaren and Paolo Freire.  They are both looking for the freedom from oppression within the educational setting, or at least trying to examine the implications and circumstances that preclude the oppression.

He says that people can both be the oppressed and the oppressor without even knowing it.  I found that interesting because we are constantly barraged with circumstances in which we (as teachers) seem to have little control over, but in reality we are the ones who can set the stage for the student learning.

We then come to EWU and are seated in our desks and "filled up" most of the time with knowledge from our professors.  It is very rare that a professor actually attempts to engage us as students to try and create understanding of material.  As McLaren writes, "the dominant culture tries to 'fix' the meanings of signs, symbols and representations to create a 'common' worldview".  We are just as much a part of the dominant culture in our classrooms as politicians are to the populace.

The hegemonic structures are in place and not questioned because those in with authority keep things from those who concede the power.  While there is some logic to this argument, the debate is whether or not it is right.  McLaren and Freire both seem to think it is right to let the populace know how the sausage is made.  I believe that it may be counter-productive to have so many captains trying to steer a ship.  There is a hierarchical  form to our lives because we need to trust the people around us to do what is best for the entire population.

Pedagogy of the Oppressed Ch. 2

The BEST quote in the whole thing:


"Yet only through communication can human life hold meaning. The teacher's thinking is authenticated only by the authenticity of the students' thinking. The teacher cannot think for her students, nor can she impose her thought on them. Authentic thinking, thinking that is concerned about reality, does not take place in ivory tower isolation, but only in communication. If it is true that thought has meaning only when generated by action upon the world, the subordination of students to teachers becomes impossible."

 I noticed that throughout the Freire readings, he writes a lot about allowing students to think and understand for themselves - to challenge authority - and that it is the teacher's role to help students realize they do not have to be "filled up w/ knowledge" but can be an active member in the creation of knowledge and their own understanding.

This quote above from about half-way through the text really spoke to me. I have noticed a difference in my way of teaching to my cooperating teacher's in that I tend to ask a lot more questions of the students and try to engage their thinking a bit more.  He may do more of it when I am not in the room, but my goals are not only to get them students to read the material and answer questions, but to try and get them to make connections between chapters and ask questions.

This Freire chapters have been dense and difficult to understand at times, but I really enjoy how they have helped me to think more openly about my discussions within the classrooms and trying to allow the students to question and not be vessels filled up with my knowledge.

Pedagogy of Oppressed 1

Yea, didn't quite get to this...

Sorry Sean!

Common Core State Standards for English

These Common Core State Standards are kind of an incredible feat.  I didn't realize until I read more about them how much thought had gone into them by Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governor's Association.  It's nice to think that so many minds have gone into creating a breadth of standards all with the goals of creating career and college ready literate people.

In the introduction I appreciated how they made the goals try to align with international 'benchmarks'.  With the amount of technology and communication increasing throughout the world, we will need to create young people who have a common understanding of the world and share common experiences.

Obviously I have been using the CCSS in creating my TPA lesson plans and will continue to do so, but I like that I know more about where they come from and how each standard is in itself a goal to be achieved.

Discussion as a Way of Teaching

Good morning all,

This was quite an interesting article.  I really liked how the authors broke down the 'dispositions' and then the 'benefits' in chapter 2.  It really helped me to compartmentalize what to look for in a healthy discussion.  

Obviously working within the structures here at EWU, we have had a number of professors proclaim the benefits of working within discussion groups and collaborative learning in our classrooms.  And while I am wholeheartedly in favor of this, I found the author's interpretation of this as primarily a higher education learning tool a bit odd.  I will (hopefully) implement much of what is voiced here in my classrooms, but would have appreciated ways to help get the discussions going.  As it is, I really value what they were claiming that "discussion is a valuable and inspiring means for revealing the diversity of opinion" (p.3).

Discussion is a great way to go over the materials required of a class, but also to teach young people the respect and differing viewpoints that are part of a democratic society.  I appreciated how they write that it is difficult to get some people to speak up during a verbal discussion, but they did point out a number of ways for teachers to add what the quieter students think/feel by having journal entries, emails, individual/informal chats, etc. and sharing those views in a safe environment so they don’t feel too exposed.

I feel it is much more difficult to accommodate discussion teaching models in public secondary schools because of the constant need to accomplish certain learning targets.  While university professors can allow the class to almost lead itself in a discussion, asking questions or demanding evidence, I feel as if much of secondary education demands that the class be taken in a certain direction.  The one exception to this may be in our English classes where we can explore characters, plots, symbolism, and other aspects that may not have concrete outcomes. 

The dispositions are a great way to evaluate our teaching in discussions.  They provide a rubric that we can set up the ground-rules for the classrooms and allows for students to see what is expected of them.  Then chapter two gives us a rubric for evaluating how well the students are learning the ideals for society, but at the end of the article it shows that unless the teachers are confident in their ability to lead the discussion, that the material may become convoluted and messy without much outcome for the student.s

Introductory Letter - ENGL 493

Good Morning Readers!

A little about myself on this grey Friday morning.  I'm a secondary education student majoring in social studies and minoring in English.  This is my 2nd time going to university: my first time through was much more focused on athletics and the social aspects of the environment.  This change the last few years has been great for me as I feel I have been better prepared with life experiences and more focused on becoming a great teacher.

As mentioned above, I am a social studies major and that is truly where my passion lies with teaching.  Truth be told, I only started in with the English minor to make myself more marketable for jobs when I'm finally finished.  I generally have a hard time in English classes but do enjoy the 'artistic' aspects of analyzing a piece of literature and finding meaning within other's writing.  I am also not a prolific writer; I find it difficult to sit down and create longer pieces.  Much of my writing is short, concise, and specific.

Within this class, I am looking forward to challenging myself to create quality lesson plans.  Every lesson plan I have written up to this point has been geared towards either 8th grade U.S. History, or 7th grade Ancient World or Pacific Northwest History.  I am hoping to become much more comfortable within an English classroom and confident in my ability to help students learn.

Final Reflection

What have I learned about teachers during this quarter?

           
            I have had a lot of great experiences this past quarter with a lot of different teachers.  From the parents of the kids I coach, the teacher-candidates in our program, the teachers in my placement school, and my cooperating teacher – each one of them has been able to add a bit more to my excitement about teaching. 

            As many know, I coach a couple competitive soccer teams in the Spokane area and a number of the parents this last year were teachers and principals at local schools.  As we struggled earlier this year to find placements, I communicated with many of them and found them all to be extremely helpful.  They were not just parents on the sidelines anymore, but were genuinely willing to help me accomplish my goals of becoming a teacher.  It was great to get to know them on a bit of a personal and professional level and see how they were able to help me.  That’s one trait I think a lot of great teachers share, their willingness to help others succeed.

            The other teacher-candidates have really kept me motivated about teaching.  The enthusiasm they showed on a weekly basis about teaching was able to help lift my spirits when I was feeling overwhelmed.  I hope I was able to do the same to a few of them as well.  The group we have been going through school with is a fantastic group of young people and those with a bit more ‘experience’ and I think that adds a lot to our discussions. 

            The teachers and administrators in my placement school have been fantastic as well.  Because I am in such a small school, and I eat lunch with them every time I’m out there, I get to know them.  The school’s principal has been great in helping me feel welcomed – outside of the first interview when he tried to scare me – by showing me around the school and introducing me to all the teachers, he even gave me a good face-to-face interview amidst his busy schedule.  The other teachers have been fantastic to see too; obviously I do not get a lot of time to see them in front of their classes, but I do learn a lot about the inner-workings of the school.  From scheduling the MSP tests, the way they cooperate and work with each other to try and reach some of the more ‘difficult’ students, and how they interact with one another on a personal basis is awesome to see.  The school I’m in has a great ‘team’ atmosphere where the group are generally friendly with one another – getting invites to bbq’s and children’s graduation – it really shows in how the students interact with each other as well.

            My cooperating teacher has really taught me a lot this quarter.  Although I do not see myself teaching in the same manner as he does, he has FANTASTIC classroom management skills.  The way he interacts with students is incredible.  He has a great sense of humor, and that helps a lot with what he chooses to do when problems arise.  He is quick with a joke but knows which students need a stern talking to in the hall or an arm on the shoulder in order to motivate them. 

            His style of teaching history is generally just reading out of the book, but sometimes that is important as well.  There is a reason for the textbooks in the classroom and he makes use of them and the resources those textbooks provide.  I have gained an appreciation from that.  The breadth of information to be covered in 8^th grade U.S. History is staggering and would be too difficult to cover in depth.  The student’s reading is improved by it, and they gain an appreciation for listening to their classmates.

What have I learned about myself?

            This quarter has been difficult for me; 17 credits, coaching as a part-time job, school placements, and trying to be a husband and a social life have definitely taken their toll on me.  I have come through it though, and I believe I am going to be a better teacher for it.  I have learned that my teaching style is very much dependent upon the material we are covering.  Jigsaw learning, direct instruction, and collaborative assignments have all been part of my lesson plans this quarter and each of them has been (in my opinion) successful. 

            I have found that I am much better in front of the classroom and working with my students than I am in putting together my TPA lesson plans on paper.  I think there is a bit of a disconnect between what I do, or plan to do, in the class compared to what I am able to convey on the paper.  My lessons work well with the students and they grasp the learning objectives and comprehend what is given, but when I turn in my TPA’s and get my grades back, I don’t see my grade reflecting the efficacy of my lesson.  That is one thing I will need to improve upon before I really take on Pearson. 

What have I learned about schools during this placement?

            The school in which I am placed is a fun school to be in.  The students and staff all really get along because they are cognizant of the fact they all share the same community.  They go home and see their teachers in the neighborhood and the students of the classroom play sports with the children of the teachers.  It is a great atmosphere to walk into. 

The school is still a complicated place though.  This quarter has been dealing with a lot of MSP tests and working to get the 8^th graders in a position where they can go on and graduate to the high school.  The people inside are working together to finish of the year on a high note.  It is almost as if the school is alive, with so many moving parts, individually operating but still part of a greater whole.  If one part does not perform its function, the students suffer and so does the community.  Each portion of the whole does its job, working with the other pieces around it.

What is one lesson-learned to share with another student just beginning their 341 placement period?

            This is a difficult question, as I said above, my quarter has been difficult on me.  One thing I might suggest is to be wary of time management.  Although the requisite hours in a classroom is only 9, it generally takes up more time than that because you are helping to grade papers, create assignments, and be part of the school community as well.  I loved being in the classroom, and would be there much more than needed, usually in excess of 14-15 hours per week, and I found I was loosing focus on my Eastern Washington University work because I would much rather work on stuff for the middle school.

Weekly Blog #8

This last week at school was interesting.  My cooperating teacher was called in to be part of an interview panel all day so I was with a substitute.  Basically, my coop teacher gave me the run-down of the day and it was my job to take over the entire class schedule.  It was a lot of fun to be in front of the classes and instruct them on their final assignments.

The 7th graders were to create a powerpoint presentation on bridges.  History, definitions, materials, etc, and then they got to choose a famous bridge from around the world and give its details on construction, height, width, span, etc.
8th graders had a similar project, but they get to do it on roller coasters.
Each grade level was put into a group the last week and each individual discipline in the school was to contribute to part of the project.  History and English classes had them do research and powerpoint, science and math had them study the structural parts.  The 8th graders even got to build their own roller-coasters using marbles!  It was a pretty fun week.

I liked seeing the entire school come together for the students and help them finish with a fun project.  That really made me see the school year differently.

Weekly Blog #7

Man, I wish I had something to put here.  The holiday weekend stole my entire week at the school because I am only there Fridays and Mondays.  Hopefully something great will come about this upcoming Fri/Mon and I'll have plenty to write about next week!

Weekly Blog #6

I'm writing this as I sit in my classroom on Monday.  It's been an extremely boring day as each class is working on their long-term projects and finishing up their reviews before a chapter test tomorrow.  There is also one class finishing up "Gettysburg" movie.  So I feel comfortable posting about my highlights and such this week.

Friday was a pretty awesome day.  I had my supervisor come in to watch my lesson and I recorded myself to create the presentation for a few weeks from now.  The lesson I had observed was about the Gettysburg Address.  In short, I had them re-write the speech for themselves, sentence by sentence, and see if we could address the same themes and topics that Lincoln wrote about in November 1863.  The supervisor was astounded at how well I worked with the class.  He said my voice was great, in that when I needed to be louder, I just got louder but didn't sound mean.  The students were engaged in their groups as they re-wrote their sentences and I got a lot of participation when I asked for the themes/topics.  The Supervisor said the lesson really grew on him and he got caught up with what was going on; not a typical situation for such an experienced teacher/evaluator.  As we talked about the lesson afterwards, he gave me a lot of praise for my control of the classroom and my interactions with the students.  The only thing he told me I needed to do, was an entry task.  I feel as if I will have entry tasks in my classroom, but for the kids who have never done one before, it would be a bit strange to have them start it for just one lesson.

I'm becoming more and more comfortable in front of the students and more confident with my lesson plans.  I am starting to think differently about having them read from the book after talking with my supervisor and seeing the high school teachers last week.  I had been thinking I would assign book reading as homework, still keeping it part of the curriculum but not taking up as much class time for it.  My supervisor said it was important for the students to work on their reading skills and to hear their own voice, and the high school teacher had them read silently for the opening 10 minutes of class.  The high school teacher knew that if he assigned it, they would not read it on their own time.

No real problems were faced this week in class.  Unless you count your supervisor not being able to come up with anything to work on!

Anyways, that's my week thus far.

Weekly Post #5

A fairly boring Friday turned into an interesting Monday for me.  Friday's highlight included me geting a little face-time with the principal as he came in to do an observation on my cooperating teacher.  I got to see what he looks for in his teachers and how he assesses the progress each class is making.  A lot of the principal's notes were on one student.  He's been a bit of a difficult child all year and they were going to brainstorm ways to keep him engaged at their post-conference.  I did get to teach another lesson to the 5th period U.S. History.  Basically just reading with them and adding to what they were reading.

Monday turned out to be one of the most interesting days I've had all year.  I showed up at my normal time expecting to just work with much of the same.  The twist came in the form of MSP testing.  My cooperating teacher knew I wouldn't be doing much that day so he had it worked out for me to go across the street and join the high school classes.   I went for the first three periods watching a couple different teachers and classes.  First period was a world history class with mainly seniors.  He gave a lecture on the start of WWII.  I found his techniques for teaching a bit awkward, he was pretty 'gruff' with the students but they seemed to respond to him pretty well.  Senioritis had hit pretty hard and many of them seemed to be off task but they got the material nonetheless and answered his quiz questions.  2nd period was U.S. History and they watched a movie and filled out a guided note sheet.  I then went into another teacher's room and got to watch him teach a senior class about consumer law.

Each teacher I spent time with Monday morning had 30+ years of experience in teaching.  They are looking for an easy way to transition into their retirement.  They gave me a lot of good advice.  They said to stay involved with the kids and not try to be pushed around by them.  A large classroom of seniors can be pretty intimidating.

I liked how the high school teachers interacted with their students.  They were fairly tough on them and didn't put up with them not working.  The first teacher did have an air of playfulness about his taunts and criticisms and I think the students picked up on that and didn't take it too personally.

I will take what the high school teachers did by being able to push their kids a little bit, and give them a bit more challenging tasks, but make the note-taking and quick questioning a firm aspect of how I want to teach.

Weekly Post #4

Okay, so this week I was only really involved with the kids on Monday.  Friday was a "work-day" as my teacher called it.  Since they only have a few more weeks left of school and their big project is just a about due and Friday they worked on it.  It was a bit boring that day, I just walked around the room and watched them put together their "Webquests" or Prezi presentations.

Monday was my the day I worked with the kids the most.  I taught 3 out of the 4 history classes based on my teacher's lesson plans.  His plans mostly just consisted of reading out of the book and then answering questions out of the back.  It was nice to be in front of all the classes for the whole day though.

One thing I did begin to think differently about was just how much time I should give to the students to complete their long-term assignments.  To me, I feel like the students get a lot of free-time to work on it, but the time is spent in spurts, 5-15 minutes at a time.  I think the 7th grade project is putting together a presentation based on information about Washington State.  I can't imagine it would be that difficult but they are given a lot of time to work on it.  As it is, the students enjoyed the time to work independently with music playing and the sun shining outside.  I really don't think the students would have put much attention towards anything else on a Friday afternoon.

I will be putting into practice some of the time that he gives to his kids, but I think I will change the structure in order to make best use of the time I have available to give them.  The time was very unstructured and did not seem to be used wisely.

I really enjoyed being in front of the groups on Monday.  I wish it had been more involved than just having them read from the book, but it was cool anyway to add my own insights and experiences into the reading.

Looking forward to this week and next as the school year winds down and I become more involved with the lesson planning.