Elementary Education

Looking back at my last posts I see that they have become more in depth over time.  I have been able to make connections with my observations to things we have learned in class, and I have learned a lot more through my observations than just the prompts that have been given to us to write about.  I have been able to work with students a lot more hands on and learn about different materials and resources the teachers use. Using blog formatting hasn't really affected my learning and thinking.  I \think if we had just filled out google docs and made an online journal it would work just the same as blogging.  I have been able to connect things through the course such as assessments which we just talked about, helping students with disabilities, and having a diverse classroom.  I am grateful I got to get to know my students better and have a more hands on approach to learning about being a teacher.

In my service teaching I saw the standards being taught.  I saw the teachers write or display I can statements for their students.  And when observing their lesson plans that they let me look through I saw the standards there.  Some standards are more emphasized than others.  For example, reading, phonics, math and language arts seem to be the most important to most teachers.  Some of the standards that I didn't see a lot were P.E. standards.  At the school I have observed at I am a P.E. technician.  I am not required to follow a curriculum or standards, in fact I didn't even know there were P.E. standards.  Because I now know the teachers don't do as much with those standards, and because I now know that they exist I think I will try to incorporate more of them into my lesson planning for each grade level.

One thing I have noticed that the teacher I am observing does with her students is centers.  During theses centers she works one on one and is able to spend more time on specific lessons and topics with the students who need a little extra help.  She will also sometimes have me help these students in the hall if needed.  (Because I work at this school as the P.E. teacher I am aware of different disabilities and special needs). One thing that I love that my school does is that they have technicians that will come around and help students who may need more time to go over specific topics.  The teacher I am observing also has a lot of diverse books and uses various teaching methods to help diverse students.  She allows collaboration and sharing everyday and her class is filled with different resources, posters, and colors.  Another way I see the teachers here adjusting their teaching for the diverse students is enrichment.  They go off of test scores to d...

One thing I have seen my teacher do that I immediately thought of while going through this lesson was how she works with students who may struggle more and possibly have disabilities.  One specific thing she does during math time is she times her students doing an addition or subtraction sheet depending on where they are at.  If they get the sheet 100% during the allotted time then they get to move to the next number.  However there are a few students she doesn't time due to what I can only assume are disabilities or struggles that these students may have.  I love that she makes these accommodations because it allows the students to be able to succeed in something that may be difficult for them.  This goes along with the individuals with disabilities education act.

Some ways I have seen engaged learning in my classroom are allowing games. Mrs. Allsop allows computer games such as imagine learning to help students enjoy class. She also allows various  spelling games.  Some of these include spelling words with blocks or in salt. She encourages partner work so students can collaborate. She also has students retell things to help them remember and it allows her to check for understanding.  One thing I have seen that isn't as engaging is when they come in at the beginning of school they do bellwork where they just do worksheets in their books.  This seems like it isn't as engaging to the students.

This week during spelling, the teacher I am observing gave her students the option of working with a friend to quiz each other, or doing a worksheet to help remember the words.  I like that she did this because she gave students the option of using kinisthetic learning, auditory learning, or visual learning. The students were able to choose which method they felt would help them best.  The teacher I am observing greats her students every morning they come in.  This helps the students feel safe and cared for. She also points out things that she likes that the students do.  The teacher I am with encourages conversations with peers and using kindness.  She uses class and group discussions to help the students feel safe and secure. She makes a point to  call each student by name and have one on one conversations with them daily. The teacher has a schedule on the board that they follow each day.  This allows the students to know what they are doing and wh...