Sunday, April 7, 2013
Spring Themed Unit
Spring has sprung and it is time to redecorate the classroom. Instead of doing a bulletin board myself, I decided to get help from my little kindergarten and first grade friends. The first thing we did was cut our favorite things out of magazines and glued pictures on paper plates to create flowers. The kids then picked out their favorite ribbon to weave through the punched holes in the paper plates. The following day each kid wrote on a cloud shaped piece of paper what they love about spring. It was great to see all their unique ideas. The last day we read the story The Lorax by Dr. Suess and planted our own truffala trees (marigold flowers). Each kiddo has their own pot. Every week we are recording what we noticed is happening in our plant journals. Hopefully in a few weeks we will see flowers bloom. Growing the flowers has been an amazing activity to tie in the whole bulletin board and unit. A different student has the responsibility of watering all the plants each day. It is the best to watch their faces light up!
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Saint Patricks Day
This month the theme has been GREEN. In my art class we have been talking about this Irish holiday and how we are each lucky. This past week each kiddo decorated a four leaf clover and wrote all the reasons they are lucky. The things they came up with we're very thoughtful and deep for little kindergarteners and first graders. This week we made leprechaun traps. I just put out a bunch of cereal boxes, cups, popsicle sticks, stars, paper, cotton balls, etc and let the kids create their own traps. They started out looking all the same but as the kids got into the activity the unique qualities began to show. We set all of the traps in my office since we use the classroom for lots of different classes. Those pesky leprechauns destroyed the traps and left a huge mess. They also left gold and green necklaces and tons of gold candy. I normally do not give my kiddos candy because they don't need anymore sugar and it's not good for their teeth. This is a one time event. Hope it doesn't backfire. The leprechauns also left a note for the kids in tiny tiny writing. I wonder what the kids will think....
GR8 Reader Projects
The past two years the Bridge Project has been participating in a program called GR8 Readers. It is a program based on the idea that the more access kids have to books, the higher their reading scores are. Our program is modeled after the research by Richard Allington and Anne McGill-Franzen of the University of Tennessee. Their study determined that students who received books for summer reading at home showed significantly higher levels of reading achievement. Check out the amazing article at:
Many of the kids I work with do not have access to books at home. Each summer, kids select 8 books that they will read and create projects with. At the end of the summer they get to take the books and the projects home. The kids love, love, LOVE doing the projects. I try to select projects that cover all the story elements. These project include: puppets, story diorama, postcard from the main character, puzzle, picture collage, etc...
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University of Tennessee at Knoxville (2010, July 22).
Summer reading is key to maintaining or improving students' reading skills.
ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 1, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com¬
/releases/2010/07/100721112234.htm
Many of the kids I work with do not have access to books at home. Each summer, kids select 8 books that they will read and create projects with. At the end of the summer they get to take the books and the projects home. The kids love, love, LOVE doing the projects. I try to select projects that cover all the story elements. These project include: puppets, story diorama, postcard from the main character, puzzle, picture collage, etc...
Froggy's First Kiss by: Jonathan London
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by: Laura Numeroff
The Aliens Are Coming by: Meghan McCarthy
No, David by: David Shannon
Mercy Watson by: Kate DiCamillo
Miss Nelson is Missing by: Harry G. Allard
What awesome projects. I can't wait to see what creative projects they make this year!
Sunday, February 24, 2013
How to Make a Trailer Feel Like Home
To say that I despise the trailers is an understatement. Nobody should ever have to work in a building that shakes when the wind blows, has leaks when it rains or snows, has one bathroom that is only in working condition 1/3 of the time, and has thin walls that do not block any noise. Just recently we learned that the windows can be broken just by pounding a fist on the glass. We are very secure! The drama of the trailer has added so much to everyone's job at South Lincoln. We have a heightened need for security, have to be extra positive in front of the kids about the situation, and always need to meet different maintenance mean to fix the lights, the ramp, the toilet, the sink, the toilet, the windows, the toilet...Are you sensing a theme? If we were all in one trailer that would be fine but the kids go back and forth between the trailers for their different classes. In one trailer is the main office, social emotional class, and computer lab. In the other is the tutor room, my office, and my "classroom". On a nice fall day this is no problem but lets face it, we live in unpredictable Colorado where the weather is always changing. Just yesterday when we had a snow storm, I saw kids one by one fall down and knock each other over like bowling pins trying to walk up the icy ramp into trailer #1. It was hard not to laugh at some of the kids who were trying to ice skate on it and immediately ate it. I warned them! Disclaimer: Nobody was hurt while ice skating. What was i supposed to do, stop teaching so I could shovel??
Anyway, I have done my very best researching countless hours on pinteret on how to make my hallway of a room feel like a classroom without spending much money. I couldn't use any fun furniture because we can barely fit three white tables and 20 chairs as is. In the corner I have two tiny tall bookshelves to hold our "library" and classroom materials. I have used countless packs of 3m tape since we are unable to staple, pin, or attach things to the walls in any other manner. The trailers have to be returned in the same condition that they were when we got them. HA! Packing in over 90 kids a day in two trailers daily is not going to work. The first day it snowed the carpet was destroyed. Below is a picture of what the classroom currently looks like. I think it still looks bare but the kids love it. They love to see all of their work posted up all over the classroom. The take ownership of their work when they know it will be posted or hung up for everyone to enjoy. I teach K-5th grade so work from all different grades are included. I think it helps kids know what will be expected of them the next year.Take that Lakeshore and every other over-priced teacher supply stores that charge teachers way too much for a silly posters. The power of student work makes a classroom a home!
Anyway, I have done my very best researching countless hours on pinteret on how to make my hallway of a room feel like a classroom without spending much money. I couldn't use any fun furniture because we can barely fit three white tables and 20 chairs as is. In the corner I have two tiny tall bookshelves to hold our "library" and classroom materials. I have used countless packs of 3m tape since we are unable to staple, pin, or attach things to the walls in any other manner. The trailers have to be returned in the same condition that they were when we got them. HA! Packing in over 90 kids a day in two trailers daily is not going to work. The first day it snowed the carpet was destroyed. Below is a picture of what the classroom currently looks like. I think it still looks bare but the kids love it. They love to see all of their work posted up all over the classroom. The take ownership of their work when they know it will be posted or hung up for everyone to enjoy. I teach K-5th grade so work from all different grades are included. I think it helps kids know what will be expected of them the next year.Take that Lakeshore and every other over-priced teacher supply stores that charge teachers way too much for a silly posters. The power of student work makes a classroom a home!
Elmer the Elephant
In my kindergarten-first grade art class I have decided to incorporate literacy. Anywhere I can push books and reading I do. Every class I start out by reading a book and coordinate an art project to go along with it. This week I read the book Elmer by David McKee. The book is about an elephant that is multi-colored instead of grey like the rest of the heard. Elmer always is made fun of because of the way he looks. One day he decided to cover himself in mud to look like everyone else. When he blends in, the other elephants start to miss him. He didn't know how much people appreciated him. Then the rain comes and washes the mud away. All the elephants are so excited that Elmer is back, that they cover themselves will all different paint colors to look more like Elmer. This book celebrates diversity and being and individual. After we read and discussed the book, each student was given a cut out of an elephant. I provided each table with a variety of tissue paper squares. They layered tissue paper on their elephants to make their own design. Tissue paper and glue is much more difficult for little kindergarteners to work with than I had planned. Talk about a mess in the classroom. While the elephants were drying, each kid decorated a setting for their elephant. Some created a zoo while others chose to draw a jungle. When everything was complete they glued their elephants into the setting. We had an extra 10 minutes in class so I put on a movie about baby elephants. The kids went nuts! They loved how it all related to the book we started with.
Other book/craft projects we have done that I didn't document with photos include:
-Little Cloud by Eric Carle. We created shapes out of cotton balls and gluing them onto blue paper.
-I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Leaf by Alison Jackson We painted leaves. I cut out leaf shapes from coffee filters. The kids used watercolors and saw how the colors blended. Once the leaves were dry we hung them up on the wall for decoration.
-Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss. We wrote our own story. Each kid was given a page that said ___(name)______ has _____ apples up on top. They drew themselves and decided how many apples they had on their head.
-I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Rose by Alison Jackson. We made our own valentine's for classmates.
-All You Need for a Snowman by Alice Schertle. We made our own snowmen out of marshmallows. I used the tiny marshmallows for the craft. Each kiddos drew three circles with glue and placed the marshmallows on the glue. They then decorated the snowmen. As a treat I brought in large marshmallows to snack on after.
-My Mouth is a Volcano by Julia Cook. In class we have a lot of kids who like to blurt out answers and stories. This is a great book to bring up the conversation about why blurting out isn't always okay. We then created three volcanoes for our class. I had already glued a 2 liter bottle of diet soda onto paper plates and made a triangle out of construction paper. The kids then put different pieces of construction paper squares on the volcanoes. They decided what colors to use and how big the volcano was. Then we took all three volcanoes outside and blew them up. **Make sure you do this part outside. Drop a whole pack of mentos into a 2 liter bottle of diet soda and watch the volcano erupt. The little ones were so excited.
I have many more art project/book ideas that I have tried in my classroom. If you need anymore, let me know or share some of your own.
Other book/craft projects we have done that I didn't document with photos include:
-Little Cloud by Eric Carle. We created shapes out of cotton balls and gluing them onto blue paper.
-I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Leaf by Alison Jackson We painted leaves. I cut out leaf shapes from coffee filters. The kids used watercolors and saw how the colors blended. Once the leaves were dry we hung them up on the wall for decoration.
-Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss. We wrote our own story. Each kid was given a page that said ___(name)______ has _____ apples up on top. They drew themselves and decided how many apples they had on their head.
-I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Rose by Alison Jackson. We made our own valentine's for classmates.
-All You Need for a Snowman by Alice Schertle. We made our own snowmen out of marshmallows. I used the tiny marshmallows for the craft. Each kiddos drew three circles with glue and placed the marshmallows on the glue. They then decorated the snowmen. As a treat I brought in large marshmallows to snack on after.
-My Mouth is a Volcano by Julia Cook. In class we have a lot of kids who like to blurt out answers and stories. This is a great book to bring up the conversation about why blurting out isn't always okay. We then created three volcanoes for our class. I had already glued a 2 liter bottle of diet soda onto paper plates and made a triangle out of construction paper. The kids then put different pieces of construction paper squares on the volcanoes. They decided what colors to use and how big the volcano was. Then we took all three volcanoes outside and blew them up. **Make sure you do this part outside. Drop a whole pack of mentos into a 2 liter bottle of diet soda and watch the volcano erupt. The little ones were so excited.
I have many more art project/book ideas that I have tried in my classroom. If you need anymore, let me know or share some of your own.
Valentine's Day
This is a few days late but I had the best Valentine's Day this year. It was simple and did not include chocolates, flowers, or a boyfriend. I was surprised by all of my kiddos with Valentine's that they had made in another class. All they used was pink paper and markers to make these wonderful cards that brought a smile to my face. I am so lucky to work with such amazing kids.
James and the Giant Peach
This is a little late but in my 2nd-3rd grade movie-bookclub last year we read the book James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. Since the reading levels of the kids were all over the place I read the story too them which they followed along in the book. We spent a lot of time discussing literary elements of the story and new vocabulary. When you work with ELA kiddos, the more discussion and exposure to the English language the better. We would spend half of the class reading the story and half of the class watching the movie. It was amazing to see the lightbulbs go off when kids noticed the similarities and differences between the two. As a project, the very first week each student created a peach. We mailed a photo of our class, the peaches, and a letter to many friends and family around the country. Thank you to everyone who participated! The idea was to see the peaches travel the country and learn about its adventures. My friends and family were wonderful. Everyone sent the peaches back with photos of the peach at a variety of places in their home town as well as a letter. Some even sent extra goodies for the class. We tracked where the peaches traveled on a large map. It was a great project and very simple to do. The peaches are simply circles with orange, yellow, and peach tissue paper glued on. Allow 4-5 weeks from when you send the peaches out to get them all returned.
I'm Back!
Wow it has been so long since I posted but I am back! Since I last posted I have worked in Douglas County Schools as a severe special needs paraprofessional. Don't get me started on this experience. I loved working with the kids and learned a lot but it was a toxic enviornment. The special ed teacher did so many illegal things and treated the staff and kids with disrepsect. I am greatful for the friendships I made at Rock Ridge Elementary School but a year in that position was enough for me. Next I found myself looking for a summer position to hold me over until the next school year. I ended up emailing an old contact from the Bridge Project where I volunteered as a college student. They were in need of a summer teacher. I accepted the job on a Friday and started on a Monday. Since I had volunteered at the program before I know what I was getting myself into. The Bridge Project is a non-profit after school program that serves kids living in Denver Housing. They offer literacy classes, social emotional classes, technology classes, tutoring, and homework help. The goal is to keep kids in the program, engaged in school, and eventually into to college. If kids stick with the program, the Bridge Project will help them pay for college. It is an amazing program and it has always been my dream to come back and work there someday. Just my luck, at the end of the summer they were looking for a new education specialist at the South Lincoln site. This is the site I had been working at most of the summer. I LOVED the kids and the staff at this site. The day I was offered they job I cried. I was so excited and felt that my dream had come full circle. I was right where I belonged, helping kids that truly appreciated everything they received. Majority of the students at this site are Somalian refugees. I had no idea we had such a large population in Denver and it has truly been amazing learning about their culture and what they have been through in their lives. Now don't get me wrong, not everything at work is a walk in the park. When I first started I had to prove myself to the kids. There was a lot of butting heads and challenging authority until I proved I was in it for the long haul and would love them unconditionally no matter what they did. The other challenges include what every school in this country is facing. Large classes with students on a wide spectrum of levels. I had kiddos in my k-1 class who had never seen written language before or held a pencil to kids that were advanced in their grade. Add on top of that limited resources and not enough books for each student. Luckily I am thrifty and creative. I am now coming up on my two year anniversary of working with the Bridge Project and I could not be happier. I have seen kids grow so much in their maturity level and reading levels. There is no better felling than raising a kid from below grade level to ON! This year we were faced with a very challenging situation. Our old site was torn down due to redevelopment in the neighborhood. We are now located in two tiny trailers with even less resources. I happen to be teaching more classes and I have decided to look at the glass half full and make my lessons even more engaging and exciting for students. The are not required to come everyday to Bridge but yet at 3:05 each day the kiddos come busting through the door. I plan on posting some of the things I have done in the classroom. If I can do them in a tiny trailer with a bunch of crazy kiddos after school, anyone can do it in their classroom.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Behavior Management
This week I only substituted three days and it was filled with much of the same behaviors and lingering questions. I seem to raise my voice more often than I would like and spend much of my day trying to put out fires between students. My major issue I have when substituting is classroom management. While this is one of my strengths when in a classroom setting for awhile, the techniques I use are no feasible for a one day assignment. I am a stronger believer in community circles and building open relationships with students therefore when they have a problem, it is not awkward to have a one on one conference to figure out together a way to solve the issue. This week in particular each classroom had a different method for handling behavior problems. The first class used the red light green light behavior chart. When the clip was moved to yellow, a student loses 10 minutes of recess. When the clip is moved to red, a student must fill out a refocus form where they describe their behavior. I found it very difficult to be consistent with moving clips, partly because I did not know all the students names and because it took away time from the lesson. One student in particular was very vocal and always misbehaving. When he was told to move the clip from green to yellow he started talking back and arguing with me. Needless to say, by the end of the morning his clip was on red. There was no consequence after being on the red card; therefore he took it as his behavior the rest of the day didn’t matter. I wonder if there is a better method to use in the classrooms, especially for substitutes. I had a similar experience the following day using the same system. However this time when I asked a student to move her clip for throwing a pencil at someone, she burst into tears and made a big fuss. I again had to take time away from the whole class to get her to settle down. The rest of the day, I found myself overlooking some of her behavior because I didn’t want to move the clip to red and deal with a meltdown again.
The next day the class used a jar of marbles as a reward system for behavior. When everyone in the class turned in their homework or came into the classroom quietly. While this started out as a good idea in the morning, by the afternoon I ended up having to take away move marbles than I put in. This was the way the instructions read from the substitute lesson plan. Is it fair to punish a whole class for the behavior of a few students? I noticed near the end of the day when I would take a marble out for people not being on task and wasting time, certain students were targeted as the reason the whole class lost a marble. Usually they were not causing the problem; I’m not sure what was going on there. It made me wonder if there is a better way to manage a class without harming the self-confidence of certain students. If one kid does not bring their homework, will everyone in the class gang up because they did not earn a marble? Is this idea using peer pressure in reverse?
The last class I substituted for this week used team collaboration as a method for monitoring student behavior. The student’s desks were in pods, with each pod given a different team name. Teams that were on task or the first table to be prepared for the lesson would receive a point. It seemed like a very competitive environment. Similar to the marble jar classroom, I noticed certain students were constantly blamed for their table not receiving a point, even if it wasn’t their fault. I also noticed students were more interested in the points each team accumulated than the lesson we were working on. I tried to avoid giving many points because it seemed like a distraction. In this method, students were rewarded for good behavior but bad behavior was left unnoticed. A few of the students had also given up on the system. I believe after weeks of repeatedly not receiving points for their table, they decided to not even try to earn points. They refused to stay on task or quickly transition to the next activity along with the rest of the class. What is the method to fix this behavior? I didn’t want to give them points when they didn’t deserve it just to boost their confidence.
Of course with all of these behavior methods, I still keep a list of students for the teacher who were extremely helpful and those who were in need of refocusing. Do student need to see their behavior in a visual way? At what cost are these methods effective? Is there a method that substitutes could use that would be simple, yet effective?
The next day the class used a jar of marbles as a reward system for behavior. When everyone in the class turned in their homework or came into the classroom quietly. While this started out as a good idea in the morning, by the afternoon I ended up having to take away move marbles than I put in. This was the way the instructions read from the substitute lesson plan. Is it fair to punish a whole class for the behavior of a few students? I noticed near the end of the day when I would take a marble out for people not being on task and wasting time, certain students were targeted as the reason the whole class lost a marble. Usually they were not causing the problem; I’m not sure what was going on there. It made me wonder if there is a better way to manage a class without harming the self-confidence of certain students. If one kid does not bring their homework, will everyone in the class gang up because they did not earn a marble? Is this idea using peer pressure in reverse?
The last class I substituted for this week used team collaboration as a method for monitoring student behavior. The student’s desks were in pods, with each pod given a different team name. Teams that were on task or the first table to be prepared for the lesson would receive a point. It seemed like a very competitive environment. Similar to the marble jar classroom, I noticed certain students were constantly blamed for their table not receiving a point, even if it wasn’t their fault. I also noticed students were more interested in the points each team accumulated than the lesson we were working on. I tried to avoid giving many points because it seemed like a distraction. In this method, students were rewarded for good behavior but bad behavior was left unnoticed. A few of the students had also given up on the system. I believe after weeks of repeatedly not receiving points for their table, they decided to not even try to earn points. They refused to stay on task or quickly transition to the next activity along with the rest of the class. What is the method to fix this behavior? I didn’t want to give them points when they didn’t deserve it just to boost their confidence.
Of course with all of these behavior methods, I still keep a list of students for the teacher who were extremely helpful and those who were in need of refocusing. Do student need to see their behavior in a visual way? At what cost are these methods effective? Is there a method that substitutes could use that would be simple, yet effective?
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Teacher Researcher
Substituting in relatively new for me but so far I like it. I can’t wait to have my own classroom someday and have more control over the situation. I’m in the Far Northeast section of Denver which is considered Montebello and Green Valley Ranch. I didn’t even know there were that many schools in that area. It’s a rougher area but urban education is one of my interests. I also substitute for Jeffco but did not have any jobs in that district this week.
This week I only substituted four days this week but it was filled with much of the same behaviors and lingering questions. My major issue I have when substituting is classroom management. This week in particular each classroom had a different method for handling behavior problems. The first class used the red light green light behavior chart. When the clip was moved to yellow, a student loses 10 minutes of recess. When the clip is moved to red, a student must fill out a refocus form where they describe their behavior. I found it very difficult to be consistent with moving clips, partly because I did not know all the students names and because it took away time from the lesson. One student in particular was very vocal and always misbehaving. When he was told to move the clip from green to yellow he started talking back and arguing with me. Needless to say, by the end of the morning his clip was on red. There was no consequence after being on the red card; therefore he took it as his behavior the rest of the day didn’t matter. I wonder if there is a better method to use in the classrooms, especially for substitutes. I had a similar experience the following day using the same system. However this time when I asked a student to move her clip for throwing a pencil at someone, she burst into tears and made a big fuss. I again had to take time away from the whole class to get her to settle down. The rest of the day, I found myself overlooking some of her behavior because I didn’t want to move the clip to red and deal with a meltdown again.
Another class where I was a substitute used a jar of marbles as a reward system for behavior. When everyone in the class turned in their homework or came into the classroom quietly. While this started out as a good idea in the morning, by the afternoon I ended up having to take away move marbles than I put in. This was the way the instructions read from the substitute lesson plan. Is it fair to punish a whole class for the behavior of a few students? I noticed near the end of the day when I would take a marble out for people not being on task and wasting time, certain students were targeted as the reason the whole class lost a marble. Usually this was not the case. It made me wonder if there is a better way to manage a class without harming the self-confidence of certain students. If one kid does not bring their homework, will everyone in the class gang up on them because they did not earn a marble? Is this idea using peer pressure in reverse?
The last class I substituted for this week uses team collaboration and the method for monitoring student behavior. The student’s desks were in pods, with each pod given a different team name. Teams that were on task or the first table to be prepared for the lesson would receive a point. It seemed like a very competitive environment. Similar to the marble jar classroom, I noticed certain students were constantly blamed for their table not receiving a point, even if it wasn’t their fault. I also noticed students were more interested in the points each team accumulated than the lesson we were working on. I tried to avoid giving many points because it seemed like a distraction. In this method, students were rewarded for good behavior but bad behavior was left unnoticed.
Of course with all of these behavior methods, I still keep a list of students for the teacher who were extremely helpful and those who were in need of refocusing. Do student need to see their behavior in a visual way? At what cost are these methods effective?
This week I only substituted four days this week but it was filled with much of the same behaviors and lingering questions. My major issue I have when substituting is classroom management. This week in particular each classroom had a different method for handling behavior problems. The first class used the red light green light behavior chart. When the clip was moved to yellow, a student loses 10 minutes of recess. When the clip is moved to red, a student must fill out a refocus form where they describe their behavior. I found it very difficult to be consistent with moving clips, partly because I did not know all the students names and because it took away time from the lesson. One student in particular was very vocal and always misbehaving. When he was told to move the clip from green to yellow he started talking back and arguing with me. Needless to say, by the end of the morning his clip was on red. There was no consequence after being on the red card; therefore he took it as his behavior the rest of the day didn’t matter. I wonder if there is a better method to use in the classrooms, especially for substitutes. I had a similar experience the following day using the same system. However this time when I asked a student to move her clip for throwing a pencil at someone, she burst into tears and made a big fuss. I again had to take time away from the whole class to get her to settle down. The rest of the day, I found myself overlooking some of her behavior because I didn’t want to move the clip to red and deal with a meltdown again.
Another class where I was a substitute used a jar of marbles as a reward system for behavior. When everyone in the class turned in their homework or came into the classroom quietly. While this started out as a good idea in the morning, by the afternoon I ended up having to take away move marbles than I put in. This was the way the instructions read from the substitute lesson plan. Is it fair to punish a whole class for the behavior of a few students? I noticed near the end of the day when I would take a marble out for people not being on task and wasting time, certain students were targeted as the reason the whole class lost a marble. Usually this was not the case. It made me wonder if there is a better way to manage a class without harming the self-confidence of certain students. If one kid does not bring their homework, will everyone in the class gang up on them because they did not earn a marble? Is this idea using peer pressure in reverse?
The last class I substituted for this week uses team collaboration and the method for monitoring student behavior. The student’s desks were in pods, with each pod given a different team name. Teams that were on task or the first table to be prepared for the lesson would receive a point. It seemed like a very competitive environment. Similar to the marble jar classroom, I noticed certain students were constantly blamed for their table not receiving a point, even if it wasn’t their fault. I also noticed students were more interested in the points each team accumulated than the lesson we were working on. I tried to avoid giving many points because it seemed like a distraction. In this method, students were rewarded for good behavior but bad behavior was left unnoticed.
Of course with all of these behavior methods, I still keep a list of students for the teacher who were extremely helpful and those who were in need of refocusing. Do student need to see their behavior in a visual way? At what cost are these methods effective?
Monday, September 14, 2009
Dr. Arnold?
As I’ve been back in the schools lately, I’ve been thinking about my own education. Currently I am going to graduate school to get my masters in Curriculum and Instruction at The University of Denver. Last week was the programs orientation. Let’s just say I’ve never felt so intimidated. I am one of three Masters Candidates and the rest are getting their PHD’s. As a sat there I started wondering if I should become a doctor. The education has had a long run in my family. There is one principal, 5 teachers, and my grandfather was the superintendent back in Pittsburg. I know it would make him proud to follow in his footsteps. I’m still trying to decide if I can make more of a difference becoming involved in the politics of education and change the direction we are going, or if I should remain in the classroom. Just something I’m thinking about right now. I can’t imagine being Dr. Arnold.
This weekend I went to a Called to Protect Safe Environment class at a Catholic Church near my house. It was all about sexual assault. I felt like I was watching a Law and Order SVU episode. We are required to attend this if we wish to substitute in the Catholic School system. I hear they always need help. I can’t apply to any of the other districts in Denver right now because I’m still waiting on my certification. It’s been 15 weeks now that I’ve been waiting to get it. All my tests have been taken and passed, applications turned in, fingerprint cards complete but I still have to wait. Hopefully I get it before I apply for teaching positions next year!
This weekend I went to a Called to Protect Safe Environment class at a Catholic Church near my house. It was all about sexual assault. I felt like I was watching a Law and Order SVU episode. We are required to attend this if we wish to substitute in the Catholic School system. I hear they always need help. I can’t apply to any of the other districts in Denver right now because I’m still waiting on my certification. It’s been 15 weeks now that I’ve been waiting to get it. All my tests have been taken and passed, applications turned in, fingerprint cards complete but I still have to wait. Hopefully I get it before I apply for teaching positions next year!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
long time, no see
So my plan to blog while student teaching royally failed. I became way too busy and was just plain exhausted after a day at school to write about it. Hopefully I’ll do better now. Since I last wrote I finished student teaching, passed my board exams, graduated from the University of Tulsa, moved to Denver, was accepted into the masters program of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Denver, and became a substitute at Denver Public Schools. It’s been a very busy summer. I want to go ahead and start getting my masters now while I have the time and energy. I picked this masters degree because I believe every child has a right to education and we as educators need to alter the curriculum to engage every student. The problem in today’s society is that we are only teaching to the test so we can compare ourselves to other countries statistics. Well the first problem with that is that in other countries like China, not every child is given an education. Only the brightest are allowed to continue schooling. How can we compare our scores to them? We take all children from all walks of life. Don’t get me started….I’m sure I’ll have a lot more to say once I get started in my classes.
Substituting in relatively new for me but so far I am liking it. I can’t wait to have my own classroom someday. The worst part of it is the 4:45 wake up calls. When I hear that noise I never know what is happening. I’m in the Far Northeast section of Denver which is near the airport. I didn’t even know there were that many schools in that area. It’s a rougher area but I’m used to it. I love shocking all the kids when they are speaking Spanish to each other and I respond to what their saying. Yes I may be young and blonde but I DO speak Spanish kiddos!
Today while substituting we watched the Obama speech to all schools in America about Education. I don’t know what anyone’s problem was with him speaking. He said nothing about the healthcare plane, nothing political at all for that matter. All he talked about was overcoming the odds and always doing your best. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you are from, who your great great grandma was….you have the power to succeed if you do your best in school. Without educated your all of our jobs are going to be outsourced to smarter more literate countries. I also liked how he said that it doesn’t matter how pretty the school is, how many computers they have, if they have the best teacher in the world, if you’re not willing to work hard and do your best, we can’t help you. Finally someone was taking a tiny bit of pressure off of the teachers. The only bad part about all of this was that the third grade class today did not pay any attention at all. They were talking or sleeping through most of it. I guess when you’re that young you don’t think that any adult is actually talking to you. We’ll see if his speech made an impact on any other students.
Substituting in relatively new for me but so far I am liking it. I can’t wait to have my own classroom someday. The worst part of it is the 4:45 wake up calls. When I hear that noise I never know what is happening. I’m in the Far Northeast section of Denver which is near the airport. I didn’t even know there were that many schools in that area. It’s a rougher area but I’m used to it. I love shocking all the kids when they are speaking Spanish to each other and I respond to what their saying. Yes I may be young and blonde but I DO speak Spanish kiddos!
Today while substituting we watched the Obama speech to all schools in America about Education. I don’t know what anyone’s problem was with him speaking. He said nothing about the healthcare plane, nothing political at all for that matter. All he talked about was overcoming the odds and always doing your best. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you are from, who your great great grandma was….you have the power to succeed if you do your best in school. Without educated your all of our jobs are going to be outsourced to smarter more literate countries. I also liked how he said that it doesn’t matter how pretty the school is, how many computers they have, if they have the best teacher in the world, if you’re not willing to work hard and do your best, we can’t help you. Finally someone was taking a tiny bit of pressure off of the teachers. The only bad part about all of this was that the third grade class today did not pay any attention at all. They were talking or sleeping through most of it. I guess when you’re that young you don’t think that any adult is actually talking to you. We’ll see if his speech made an impact on any other students.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
No Talking Means Speak in Spanish
1/21/09
Today was the first day that I had most of the control of the class. It was very hard to switch from being a supervisor to someone they need to listen to. There is a group of boys that always always talk and goof off. Today I told them at least 20 times to stop talking. It was especially important in the hall. The funny thing is, to them no talking meant ok go ahead and talk, just in Spanish. One of these days I’m going to say something in Spanish and catch them off guard. I’ll just have to practice beforehand so I don’t mess it up. How embarrassing would that be? I’, hoping tomorrow will go better. Before I start teaching I am going to talk to the class and explain to them that I am a teacher just like Ms. P and I deserve the same respect they give her. When I say no talking that means silence. We were yelled at three times walking into the library today. To the classes defense, it was the time they were most quiet. They walked in whispering to each other and this overbearing Librarian corralled my class and yelled at them for being rude and disrespectful for talking. When we came back later for computers and typing she did the same thing. It’s one thing for a teacher to discipline a class but when the teacher thinks it’s appropriate behavior, don’t over step her. You’re a librarian! Scare kids to come to the library and they will not want to come and read books. All the teachers feel this way and I think it’s hilarious. I took control of the class most of the day because my teacher was busy with grades. The school started a new program this year to record grades on-line. I think it’s gradespeed. All the teachers today were trained on how to use it and grades for the whole quarter are due tomorrow morning. How are they to enter all the grades by tomorrow? The program seemed like a waste of time since most teachers already keep a written record of grades. Next year the school is adopting a new program again so the teachers will once again have to learn it. Anyway to allow my teacher to enter all her grades, I took over the class. Tomorrow is my first supervised lesson I will teacher. I have taught in front of Ms. P but not for my TU supervisor. I’m a little more intimidated by it because we are given a letter grade based on how well we teach. It could be a good day or a bad day depending on how many kids take their medicine for the day, who ate sugar for breakfast, or who didn’t sleep much the night before. Wish me luck!
Today was the first day that I had most of the control of the class. It was very hard to switch from being a supervisor to someone they need to listen to. There is a group of boys that always always talk and goof off. Today I told them at least 20 times to stop talking. It was especially important in the hall. The funny thing is, to them no talking meant ok go ahead and talk, just in Spanish. One of these days I’m going to say something in Spanish and catch them off guard. I’ll just have to practice beforehand so I don’t mess it up. How embarrassing would that be? I’, hoping tomorrow will go better. Before I start teaching I am going to talk to the class and explain to them that I am a teacher just like Ms. P and I deserve the same respect they give her. When I say no talking that means silence. We were yelled at three times walking into the library today. To the classes defense, it was the time they were most quiet. They walked in whispering to each other and this overbearing Librarian corralled my class and yelled at them for being rude and disrespectful for talking. When we came back later for computers and typing she did the same thing. It’s one thing for a teacher to discipline a class but when the teacher thinks it’s appropriate behavior, don’t over step her. You’re a librarian! Scare kids to come to the library and they will not want to come and read books. All the teachers feel this way and I think it’s hilarious. I took control of the class most of the day because my teacher was busy with grades. The school started a new program this year to record grades on-line. I think it’s gradespeed. All the teachers today were trained on how to use it and grades for the whole quarter are due tomorrow morning. How are they to enter all the grades by tomorrow? The program seemed like a waste of time since most teachers already keep a written record of grades. Next year the school is adopting a new program again so the teachers will once again have to learn it. Anyway to allow my teacher to enter all her grades, I took over the class. Tomorrow is my first supervised lesson I will teacher. I have taught in front of Ms. P but not for my TU supervisor. I’m a little more intimidated by it because we are given a letter grade based on how well we teach. It could be a good day or a bad day depending on how many kids take their medicine for the day, who ate sugar for breakfast, or who didn’t sleep much the night before. Wish me luck!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Day of Change
Today was a very important day in history. Barak Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States and the first African American president. At KW today we were able to watch live on the television. I was surprised by the students. Just like during the Martin Luther King Jr. video, they seemed uninterested and talked through the whole thing. I had to tell one group of girls more than three times to stop with the arts and crafts and pay attention. Actually, I shouldn’t generalize that all the students weren’t paying attention. A group of students did pay close attention and sang along to the songs. I wish in schools we were taught more about the presidents. We always learn about George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and a few others but that’s it. During the inauguration when George Bush Sr. and Bill Clinton were announced, the students didn’t know who they were. It’s so shocking because to me these presidents are important to the way we live our lives not. Social Studies is not a very big concentration in the curriculum because it is not on the test. Math and Reading are the main subjects covered. Hopefully with Obama as president, he will help change education and the way our schools are run.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
TGIF!
1/16
Finally Friday! Today was similar to any other day. The students that usually disrupt class did so again, forgetting their homework and constantly getting up to sharpen their pencils. The only difference today was at the end of class we watched a movie on Martin Luther King Jr. We have Monday off to celebrate the holiday which I am highly looking forward too. Shockingly the students did not seem to interested in the movie at all. I thought because of their background and obstacles they have had to overcome they would relate better to the story of racism and discrimination than myself but I found this was not the case. Many of the students in the class are Hispanic and didn’t find MLK’s fight very important. One child said “Why does it matter to us”. Some students were giggling during the movie or completely ignoring it. The lack of respect was shocking. Today I took away three tubes of play dough that students were playing with. I don’t like to always lecture the students but they need to know what appropriate behavior is. On Tuesday I will begin teaching the daily math and reading problems and I am so excited. Tuesday is also another extremely important day in the United States history. Barack Obama will be sworn into office as the first black president. It’s ironic that this is occurring the day after MLK day. One special adjustment KW is making is altering the lunch and recess time for the day so that all the children and teachers are able to watch live on television this moment in history. One odd fact I discovered today is that popcorn is sold on Fridays as a fundraiser for the school and it smelled delicious. I’ve been craving it all day. How it works is that students can bring money in on Friday in order to buy popcorn. The money raised is used to pay for field trips that classes take during the year. I’ll have to remember this for next week.
Finally Friday! Today was similar to any other day. The students that usually disrupt class did so again, forgetting their homework and constantly getting up to sharpen their pencils. The only difference today was at the end of class we watched a movie on Martin Luther King Jr. We have Monday off to celebrate the holiday which I am highly looking forward too. Shockingly the students did not seem to interested in the movie at all. I thought because of their background and obstacles they have had to overcome they would relate better to the story of racism and discrimination than myself but I found this was not the case. Many of the students in the class are Hispanic and didn’t find MLK’s fight very important. One child said “Why does it matter to us”. Some students were giggling during the movie or completely ignoring it. The lack of respect was shocking. Today I took away three tubes of play dough that students were playing with. I don’t like to always lecture the students but they need to know what appropriate behavior is. On Tuesday I will begin teaching the daily math and reading problems and I am so excited. Tuesday is also another extremely important day in the United States history. Barack Obama will be sworn into office as the first black president. It’s ironic that this is occurring the day after MLK day. One special adjustment KW is making is altering the lunch and recess time for the day so that all the children and teachers are able to watch live on television this moment in history. One odd fact I discovered today is that popcorn is sold on Fridays as a fundraiser for the school and it smelled delicious. I’ve been craving it all day. How it works is that students can bring money in on Friday in order to buy popcorn. The money raised is used to pay for field trips that classes take during the year. I’ll have to remember this for next week.
Apple Juice
1/15
How many apple juices do you think a 9 year old can drink? My guess would have been one or two, but today I was proven wrong. The one boy I work with, Mark, does not like to eat breakfast that is provided but he sure likes his juice. Usually there isn’t enough for him to have seconds. Today there was plenty of extra juice and he proceeded to drink all the extra. The difference with all the sugar in his body was shocking. He could not sit still during any of the activities or lessons. I guess what they saw is true; too much sugar is a bad thing. The students in Ms. P’s class have started to warm up to me slowly. I’ve been working on learning all of their names and have the trouble maker’s names clear in my head. The stories students feel I need to know are hilarious. I don’t know if they tell their regular teacher these stories but today I heard all about who likes who, what their favorite colors are, all about their home life and who is in jail or foster care. It was an earful for sure. Today I found out why there weren’t many student in class yesterday. One girl told me that she didn’t come to school because it was cold. According to my teacher, many students when they don’t want to come to school aren’t forced to by their parents. Their parents simply accept the fact and let them skip school.
How many apple juices do you think a 9 year old can drink? My guess would have been one or two, but today I was proven wrong. The one boy I work with, Mark, does not like to eat breakfast that is provided but he sure likes his juice. Usually there isn’t enough for him to have seconds. Today there was plenty of extra juice and he proceeded to drink all the extra. The difference with all the sugar in his body was shocking. He could not sit still during any of the activities or lessons. I guess what they saw is true; too much sugar is a bad thing. The students in Ms. P’s class have started to warm up to me slowly. I’ve been working on learning all of their names and have the trouble maker’s names clear in my head. The stories students feel I need to know are hilarious. I don’t know if they tell their regular teacher these stories but today I heard all about who likes who, what their favorite colors are, all about their home life and who is in jail or foster care. It was an earful for sure. Today I found out why there weren’t many student in class yesterday. One girl told me that she didn’t come to school because it was cold. According to my teacher, many students when they don’t want to come to school aren’t forced to by their parents. Their parents simply accept the fact and let them skip school.
Bang Head Here
1/14
Today I finally found the teachers bathroom. How exciting! I no longer have to squat down to my ankles to use the restroom. In the teachers restroom there is the most hilarious sign on the back of the door. It says “Bang Head Here”. Teaching is a rewarding job but it is tough at times. I’m not sure if it is because today is Wednesday or that I stayed up too late last night but I am exhausted. I don’t know how teachers do it every day. I’m planning on putting a coffee maker in the suite bathroom to get my extra caffeine in the morning. Many students were missing today and I’m not sure if it was because of the weather or they are all getting sick. It was snowing this morning and frigid. I’ve noticed they all have been blowing their noses a lot and coughing and I’m just waiting for when I start catching all their colds. Today I sat in on my first Child Study meeting. It consisted of a meeting with the principal, counselor, Ms. P, a special education teacher, a secretary, and one other administrator. They all come together to talk about a child when questions arise. They reviewed past IEP’s and medical records of the particular child. The mother wants her child tested for Autism even though nobody at the school believes he shows any signs. They explained to me that parents sometimes push for their children to be tested for all the possible disabilities, hoping their child may have one. For if it is severe enough, they parents can receive social security checks for life to provide for the child. The real question is would this money actually be used to help the child succeed in life or not.
Today I finally found the teachers bathroom. How exciting! I no longer have to squat down to my ankles to use the restroom. In the teachers restroom there is the most hilarious sign on the back of the door. It says “Bang Head Here”. Teaching is a rewarding job but it is tough at times. I’m not sure if it is because today is Wednesday or that I stayed up too late last night but I am exhausted. I don’t know how teachers do it every day. I’m planning on putting a coffee maker in the suite bathroom to get my extra caffeine in the morning. Many students were missing today and I’m not sure if it was because of the weather or they are all getting sick. It was snowing this morning and frigid. I’ve noticed they all have been blowing their noses a lot and coughing and I’m just waiting for when I start catching all their colds. Today I sat in on my first Child Study meeting. It consisted of a meeting with the principal, counselor, Ms. P, a special education teacher, a secretary, and one other administrator. They all come together to talk about a child when questions arise. They reviewed past IEP’s and medical records of the particular child. The mother wants her child tested for Autism even though nobody at the school believes he shows any signs. They explained to me that parents sometimes push for their children to be tested for all the possible disabilities, hoping their child may have one. For if it is severe enough, they parents can receive social security checks for life to provide for the child. The real question is would this money actually be used to help the child succeed in life or not.
Second Day- more of the same
Today was filled with more episodes from the autistic child in the class, chatter from the endless gossip the girls have to talk about, and sound of pencils being sharpened. I never knew how many times a day a pencil is sharpened, if the point isn’t extremely sharp the students don’t want to use it. It’s also a race to see who can write with the shortest pencil. I’m fascinated by how much useless stuff kids pack into their pencil cases used to distract themselves. One girl, we’ll call her Sally, spent a whole 40 minutes applying chap stick, then lip gloss, brushing her hair, and putting on lotion while the teaching taught math. I don’t think she even had her math book out. Another boy, we’ll call him Ryan spent the afternoon with a desk covered in paper cuttings, tissues, glue, and other odd assortments building a jet. If his focus and creativity was directed towards school work, he could be successful. Lunch is probably the most awkward part of the day. A group of teachers in the wing eat together in another classroom. They are very exclusive and not very friendly to newcomers. Today my teacher told me she’d meet me in there after she ran an errand. I was sent into the lion’s den by myself. It’s hard being the new girl. For the most part they are all young teachers so you would think they would bond well with a college student. In the afternoon we had an assembly with all the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classes. KW is starting a selection of clubs for Thursdays after school. They received funding to run clubs partnering with TU and other organizations. The clubs spanned from bike club, soccer, archery, Tulsa history club, environment club, ballroom dancing, and even the 4H club. This was an amazing addition to the school day and the kids were all very excited. It’s going to be so hilarious when I see a stream of my students riding bikes through the Tulsa campus during bike club. Oh yes I almost forget. Today I was trained on the copy machine that the staff uses. Everyone must be trained so they don’t break it. It consisted of opening the paper draw to put in your own paper, closing the tray carefully, and then typing in the number of copies I want. The most important lesson was not to stick sharp objects in the copier when paper jams because I might break something. I can graduate with a bachelor’s degree but need training easy for a 1st grader. Gotta love it!
First Day of Student Teaching
When a child has a severe disability, is it better if they remain in the classroom or is it more beneficial if they are removed and placed in a different learning environment? At KW there is a girl that I will call Beth to keep her privacy. She has severe autism and is not able to participate in any of the regular activities during the day. The teacher has tried to work with her but it is very difficult when you have a class of 22 other students who have the same right to be learning. Instead Beth sits at a computer in the front of the class. She is supposed to be on educational games and programs but in smart enough to work her way on to the internet to YouTube and other websites. She stays quite throughout most of the class time yet when there is any change or transition; she loses it and has an episode. An episode consists of her fake crying, screaming, and throwing herself on the floor disturbing not only the class but classes throughout the wing. It took me by surprise and I’m wondering how it is going to go throughout the semester. The first school I student teach at is a school in a lower income area. I expected to see a lot of new situations but one thing I did not expect to see were kids getting hair cuts at school. It was right by the gym entrance; students plopped in chairs getting their hair cut if it was too ratty or long. This is a good service but not one I expected to see. On aspect of being a lower income school, many of the students in the class have a big sis or big brother. This is a mentor program where students in High School and college are paired with elementary school students. During the school week, they visit and hang out, work on puzzles, eat lunch, or work on computers. One girl was taken out during reading, a kind of important subject, and her big sis stayed with her for over 3 hours. She missed all of the afternoon lessons. Don’t get me wrong it’s wonderful to have mentors for these children but I feel it’s counterproductive to have them taken out during class. Mentors help these students stay on the right path instead of getting mixed up in gangs. Speaking of gangs, I saw gang symbols today at school. I few students in class have partly shaved eyebrows which represent one of the gangs in the area. I don’t know much about gangs but it is so sad to see 9 year olds already influenced. On the positive side, lunch was probably the most hilarious thing I have ever seen. First all the teachers have to shovel their food in their mouth because they are given about 20 minutes to eat before recess duty. My soup didn’t even have time to cool down from the microwave. Once at recess it was like seeing a swarm of bees on the slide. Legs where flying, bodies stacked on body, with at least 10 kids climbing on the outside of the slide. The teachers didn’t seem fazed by this. On the other side was the largest game of soccer I have ever seen, made me miss my days of soccer. All in all it was a good day; it was just an eye opener to many things.
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