My First Classroom!!

Well, so much has happened in the last few weeks and I haven't had time to stay updated! To start the story, I was going to an interview in Brighton for a middle school math position and on my way home I got a call from the principal of the school that I had the 4th grade position. I didn't hear my phone so he left a message offering me a Kindergarten position at their school! I didn't even have to interview! With the way my luck has been going I decided to take the job : ) I went in about a week later to talk with the principal and looked into my room.... and this is what I walked into

Everywhere you looked there was stuff! Furniture, books, tables, chairs, toys, trash, lost clothes; you name it, you could find it in that room. My first thought was, "Oh my goodness. This is going to take a looooong time to sift through". Then I thought, "Well at least I will have some stuff to fill up my room". I checked out the other kindergarten classroom to get some ideas and make sure I wasn't forgetting anything. It was ready to go. It looked like students could walk in that day. I was pretty optimistic, but I did not think it would take a full week to get my room into working shape.

The first thing I did was sifted through all of the stuff. That literally took me a full day to go through. The next day my mom came in and we moved furniture, cleaned all of the stuff and started to organize things to where I think they should go. My mom was so much help this week. I literally could not have done this without her. On Wednesday, we worked on details and adding things that all classrooms should have. Thursday, I had two meetings so I went in on my own and stayed until 6 o'clock working on more details. And then we get to today. We finally were able to decorate the room, so that now people know it is an ocean theme and I think it looks amazing.

I give mad props to my mom who made the cool looking jellyfish, which determine the table colors and doing the background of all the bulletin boards. As I said before, I couldn't have done it without her.

So we completed this all in 5 days. Not too shabby I would say. What do you think?

Just Keep Swimming

Rejection. It's got to be one of the worst feelings in the world. Whether it's from a group a friends, potential significant other or a job. Rejection hurts. Some of us are better at hiding this feeling than others. Some of us need to talk it with a friend while others keep it bottled up in side. Sometimes it only take a few minutes to get over rejection, while for others it take days, weeks or even years.The worst type of rejection is when someone says that you are awesome, amazing, impressive (insert other uplifting adjectives), but then you get a phone call saying you were not impressive enough or amazing enough. It is tough not to get down on oneself and ball up in a minor state of depression or trying to get everyone to feel sorry for you, but in the end you have to preserver, learn from the experience and push on.

A quality that I have learned to use is finding the good in people and the situation not matter how bad it may be. Sometimes it is difficult to look on the bright side and think positive. After being rejected from what it seems like a million jobs, even though it's only closer to 7, I feel like I become better and more prepared at interviews and have almost no trouble with any question based off of my knowledge and experience. It's having a school find me a good fit for them and that's something you cannot control. I'm going to be a good fit somewhere, I just don't know where that place will be.

There was one question where I got stumped though, and it would really hurt if I knew that this was the deciding factor, because it was based off of knowledge and pedagogy, rather than experience. The worst is that it was about differentiation, which I know so much about because of the schools I have been placed at, but didn't know there were specific components of differentiation. I just knew when I had to differentiate and how I was going to do it. Once I heard the interviewer say the components I was able to explain how I have done each one of them in the classroom.  I found some good websites, so that if this question comes up I will be prepared, but I'm also going to summarize a bit based off it too. The more I write/type things the better I learn them!

http://sussex.de.schoolwebpages.com/education/projects/projects.php?sectionid=396
http://faculty.tamu-commerce.edu/lwickersham/greatexplanations/pbl/differentiated.html

The Components of Differentiated Instruction

1. Content
2. Process
3. Product
4. Environment
  (some people don't consider environment as a component)

Content: the 'WHAT' of teaching
  Example: Historical Fiction study - provide a selection of books that reflect a variety of reading levels and match students with an appropriate book or group books and let students choose from the collection

Process: the 'HOW' of teaching
 The content is the same, the same learning objective is achieved but the way that students are able to learn or process the information is different.
  Example: Culture study – students compare & contrast two versions of Cinderella from different cultures. Students can draw pictures of similarities and differences (visual learners), discuss and prepare an oral presentation (auditory learners) or create 30 seconds reenactments representing similarities & differences (kinesthetic learners). At the end of the time, all groups share their ideas.
 
Product: 'the 'SHOW WHAT YOU KNOW' of learning
  Example: Power Unit: Students may plan a debate or speech, present a multimedia presentation, write a report or perform a role play depicting specific events to demonstrate their understanding

Environment: the 'WHERE' of learning

Teamwork/Co-teaching

Over the past two years, especially this year during my long-term subbing position I learned how valuable and important it is to collaborate across grade levels, within a grade level (if possible) and work together as a team. During my internship year I didn't get to see much of this because it seemed like every teacher had a different philosophy about teaching. It felt like everyone was placed in an inner tube with a paddle and were all trying to go a different direction, so in the end there was no movement/growth. I learned how important it is to 'row in the same direction' and make sure that all teachers are on the same page, so that it is easier for students to transfer from one grade into the next.

Two topics/ideas I wanted to get more information on are Professional Learning Communities (PLC) and Team/Co-teaching. PLC's I think involves the people in your grade level, your school, your district and even the globe. Because of social media and the internet teachers can talk to people from different countries and share ideas with each other! I have found there are three important features on a PLC

Professional Learning Communities (PLC)
1. Ensuring that students learn
2. A culture of collaboration
3. Focus on results

    PLC's have a shared mission/goal/vision that focuses on students learning and their growth. These communities also make sure that everyone is 'rowing in the same direction' through collaboration. One example that comes to my head is when schools use the same type of vocabulary across grade levels so that students are already familiar with particular terms and styles. When students hear about the writing process in kindergarten and are already using words such as revision, pre-writing etc. it will be an easier and smoother transition into the next grade if everyone uses the same kind of language. Plus, teachers will not have to reteach those words every single year in depth. They will be able to review them, refresh the memory of their students and get into the meat of their learning.

Another topic that I have looked a lot into is team-teaching/ co-teaching. Now, different schools and districts use these terms in different ways. Some people believe team teaching can be defined as when a grade level that has multiple teachers focus on a certain subject and teach it to all the grade levels. For example, in many of the schools I have subbed in teachers will split up science and social studies, where one first grade teacher will teach all the first graders in social studies, while the other teacher will teach all the first graders on science. One teacher does not teach all of them at the same time, but takes one class. I hope this makes sense to you!

But the co-teaching definition I want to focus on is when a Title I teacher or a special ed teacher comes into the classroom and is teaching WITH the lead teacher. This was a question I have been asked on 2 separate teacher interviews so far and I didn't even know this existed when I was first asked the question, so I knew I had to look into this topic. First off what I have learned based on my research is that teachers need to have a good line of communication, have a shared vision for the class they are teaching and are open and honest with each other.  With co-teaching  it is important to talk about what each person's strengths and weaknesses are and not be afraid to talk about things they are noticing in the classroom. Based on my research, I have learned that there are (for the most part) 5 different types of co-teaching techniques. There are strengths and weaknesses to all of them and the style you teach in will be determined by the needs of your students.

1. Complementary Teaching
    The support teacher assists while the lead teacher does the formal teaching. While the lead teacher is doing the formal teaching the support teacher teaches different components of the lesson with a small group or individual students. The support teacher is basically walking around and helping any struggling students as a tutor/assistant.

2. Station Teaching
    The two teachers create and organize their own stations and teach the stations that they design. Students will go to each station over the course of one or two days depending on the length of the stations. In this case the teachers only worry about their stations.

3. Parallel Teaching
    The two teachers collaborate on planning the lessons and they divide the classroom into two groups. Each teacher delivers the same lesson and facilitates their group. This style helps if you have two distinct groups of students (high vs low like the word study groups during my student teaching) or if you have a large number of students and you want each student to be able to participate in a discussion type lesson.

4. Alternative Teaching
    Teachers work together to decide lessons/activities to best fit the needs of their students. The lead teacher does the formal teaching while the support teacher implements supplemental activities before or after the formal lesson with small groups or individual students.

5. Shared Teaching
    Teachers work together to decide lessons/activities to best fit the needs of their students. Teachers teach simultaneously, which means they feed off of each other and both conduct the formal teaching.

This is a link to the chart that I got most of my information. It was VERY helpful! http://trailblazers.wikispaces.com/file/view/co_Teaching_Models-W.pdf

As I said before, I don't think there is one teaching style that is the best. I believe that it depends on your classroom environment, the relationship you have with your co-teacher and most importantly the needs of your students. I would definitely be willing to try this in my own classroom because it would be great to bounce ideas off of someone else, especially one that has a lot of experience working with a diverse group of students. This is becoming more common in schools and I feel a bit more knowledgeable about the topic. My mentor teacher and I used some of these teaching styles when we were both in the classroom teaching because if you have two teachers you need to take advantage of the extra brain and set of hands!

Be a Light Bulb

I found this in an article a long time ago and can't remember where it was from, but I thought it was cute/inspirational. It's about how teachers should be a 'Light Bulb' for their students. Enjoy!

L. isten to all learners
I. nspire them with real world discussions
G. ive hope to everyone
H. eap compliments on students for quality work
T. each to your strengths

B. e available at all times, whether in person or electronically
U. nderstand that students lack your life experience or knowledge
L. earn from your
learners
B. e willing to walk in your students’ shoes

Experience

Well, it's that time of year again. My four month window of finding a full time teaching job in a respectable school and district. I thought that I would be starting to look out of state, but I've come to realize that it's just not something I want to do. My entire family is here and I don't know many people in other states, so it just doesn't seem practical to me. Plus I am feeling much more confident in finding a position this year than this time last year. I finally feel ready to have my own classroom. It's amazing how one year can do that for you.

To help prepare for interviews, writing essays and getting back into all the job hunting stuff I figured it would be a good idea to list some of my experiences with different situations, programs, curriculum and start to think about how I am going to answer some of those interview questions that arise.

RTI: Response to Intervention                                    

Curriculum: IB/PYP International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program

Math Programs
Everyday Math
Macmillian McGraw-Hill
Math Workshop
'Math Club': strategy groups during lunch time

Literacy Programs
Reader's Workshop
Book Clubs
Guided Reading Groups
LLI (Leveled Literacy Intervention)
Writer's Workshop
6 + 1 Traits
Lucy Caulkins

Reading Assessments
QRI (Qualitative Reading Inventory)
DRA ( Developmental Reading Assessment)
DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills)
Fountas and Pinell
Unoffical: Running Records

Long-Term Subbing

I had the opportunity to sub in a fourth grade classroom for 7 weeks and it was like night and day compared to my last classroom. It helped that the kids already knew routines, were respectful and felt comfortable in their room, but it truly was an amazing experience for me. I learned so much about myself as a teacher and what I am capable of doing in a classroom. This experience has given me so much confidence that I was lacking because I proved to myself that I CAN teach a room full of students on my own while also planning, teaching based off of student's weaknesses, testing, differentiation and all the other aspects and duties of a teacher. I loved the consistency and knowing what I was going to do the next day. I also had the chance to get to know some awesome students and network with teachers. There are so many things that I took away from this opportunity and ideas that I have for my future classroom.

- Post Homework outside of classroom: It wasn't as big of a thing for the fourth graders, but I saw middle school kids looking at their board all the time and writing down what homework they had for the night or double checking that they got everything. It's more convenient for the teacher too because the student can just check the board to see what the homework is for the night instead of asking the teacher.

- Write Schedule on Board: I did this on the first full day I was in the classroom and I told the students it was to help me get to know their schedule. I ended up writing the schedule on the board everyday because it helped keep students on task, since they knew when we would switch gears to another subject, and it helped the students know what specials they had and when throughout the day. I will definitely do this in my classroom.

- Must Do vs. May Do/Good Choices: This is something the teacher put in place in her room before I started, but on the board there are activities students 'Must Do' or need to finish and 'May Do' activities if they are to finish an assignment early. Students learn and know that the 'Must Do' activities, which is typically just their spelling, needs to be done before they can do a 'May Do'. In the third grade classroom they do something very similar by have a 'Good Choices' poster. It's a list of activities students can do if they finish with an assignment before the rest of the class.All activities are fun, but also educational.

Individualized spelling: We had individualized spelling in the 2nd grade room last year, but it was different in the fourth grade classroom. Students are given a spelling pre-test every Monday of 20 words. They check their words on their own and any they spelled incorrectly they have for a spelling word for the week. If they got it right then they chose a word from the 'challenge' list to have in place of the one they knew. In the end, all students have 20 spelling words, and it's tailored to their needs. They have to complete 2 spelling activities before their spelling test and one has to be writing the words in sentences. On Friday, they partner up and their partner gives them their spelling test, very similar to what we did in the second grade! I had 3 students that were such good spellers that they would be tested on the challenge list and then would use an even more challenge list to get the rest of their spelling words.

'While you were Gone' folders: These are folders that are placed on the desks of students that were absent with all of their work they need to complete inside of it. It helps keeps things organized for the teacher and students know that they can work on this work throughout the day when they have time and anything else is taken for homework.

Finger Scale: This was something I've heard of other teachers doing and I believe it's based off of Manzano's classroom strategies. I used this system typically during math, which it was as simple as putting the number of fingers up for how confident you are feeling on a skill we just learned and your understanding. Students would put a 1 up for if they had no idea what they were doing all the way to 4 fingers which means they complete understand and could teach it to someone. What I did was took all the people that had 1 or 2 fingers up and pulled them to the side to give them more instruction and those students that had 3-4 fingers worked on an assignment independently (the 1 and 2 fingered kids would work on the assignment with me. Once they felt they knew what they were doing they worked on it independently as well). After I was done with my small group I would check on the students that felt they knew what they were doing just to make sure they were doing to problems correctly. Sometimes I would have them walk me through a problem or explain their thinking to make sure they truly understood. This system ended up working great because I could give those students that were struggling more one on one attention and those students that didn't need any more help could keep moving forward.
   Something I didn't do but what I would do in my room is sometimes have numbers pair up with each other and work together where the 1's paired with a 4 and the 4 would have to explain the skill and teach their partner and so on. I might use a different system in my classroom, but I want to use this in the future because it will allow students to take control of their learning and understanding as allow me to work with those students that need the most help and let those that understand keep moving ahead. It will be important for me to explain what each number means and the importance of being honest with their understanding because it will only help them learn concepts in the long run.

- I also did some really nifty projects with the fourth grade class over the course of my time there including a 'Book Mobile' which was a book project they did for their book club books, where they had to write and draw a picture for different elements of their books, such as main characters, setting, problem, solution, favorite part and opinion. They turned out awesome!

  

Students also create a 'State in a Bag'. They had been learning about the East Region of the United States and had to research a different state and present their information in the form of a bag. They were required to find a map of their state, land features, industries/natural resources, fun facts, recreation and people. Inside of their bag they had to put in 3 objects that related to their state. Students had a great time learning more about their state and designing their bag!

Also students created Great Lakes Flap-books because we had been talking about water during our PYP unit. Students worked in partners to create a flap-book, but they first had to do research by reading books, encyclopedias and searching online.

Last thing I want to make sure I don't forget about is student-led conferences. We talked so much about this in my TE 401 class with Jan Alleman and how these conferences allow for the student to pinpoint their strengths and weaknesses as well as set goals for themselves for the rest of the school year. Students had to do a lot to prepare for conferences, but once they were completed I could see the benefits from all that hard work. Students had to complete reflections on each subject and how they thought they were doing as well as complete a goal sheet. Students practiced throughout the week with a partner so that they felt prepared to talk with their parents and had a general idea of what they were going to say. The way the fourth grade room does conferences is they have stations. The first station was meeting with the teacher and going over those reflections with their parents. Next students would grab their checklist and go to the other stations, which were set up inside and out side of the room. There was a project table where students showed off the projects I mentioned above, a portfolio station where students showed their parents some of the important pieces of work from throughout the year, including tests, writing pieces and other work they were proud of. Students also shared their PYP portfolios which relates to the curriculum this school uses and lastly they showed off their Hershey's similes and acrostic poems that were posted on the walls around the classroom. Some other options used in the past are going to the computer lab to show off different things they have done with technology, going to the Spanish classroom to see work they have done there and visiting the book fair, which always takes place during conferences. This school I was at does student-led conferences in March, but they have 'normal' parent teacher conferences in the fall, which I liked because it gives you a chance to meet the parents and let them know where their students are at in the beginning, but allows the student to show how they have grown come spring time. This is something I would love to do at the school that I teach at.

Teacher Station

Checklist on clipboards

Portfolio Station

Project Table

 As I said, I learned so much from this experience and finally feel ready to be in my own classroom. Now, it's just the right school for me and having someone give me that chance to show off what I can do!

Organization is Key

   Wow. The past month has put me under more stress than anything I have ever done before. I was consistently subbing in a first grade classroom with 22 students, in a huge classroom. I thought 22 students would be easy considering I dealt with 32 at one time during my internship, but when you have multiple defiant students, students with anger issues, students that refuse to do work, and more tattling and bullying than I've ever seen in my entire life, it makes things a lot more difficult. I am not writing this blog to bash other teachers and their styles. I did learn a lot from being in this classroom though, some things that were positive and some negative.

   First off, I learned how important it is for students to learn routines and expectations. The classroom seemed really disorganized and chaotic because students did not know what they were supposed to do most of the time. There were two doors in the classroom and if I asked students to line up for a special some would walk to one door and some would walk to the other, showing me that they did not know the routine for lining up. Simple routines, such as going to the bathroom, lining up, packing up for the day, entering the classroom, walking in the hallway etc. need to be taught, especially at such a young grade, so that students know what the expectations are at all times.

   This classroom also reminded me how much I dislike centers, especially when you have no extra hands to help. Very rarely did I have a parent come in and help with centers in the morning, but when I did the extra set of hands were very helpful. But most of the time I was on my own and had to create back up plans on the fly, which I have become really good and thinking on my feet and changing the direction of a lesson based on the student's response/reaction. When I was on my own I could barely focus on my reading group because it was so loud, students would come to me and interrupt, or students were fighting/not getting along. Students looked at centers as a time to goof off, play games or sit around and talk to friends instead if practicing their reading, phonics and writing. When you do centers by yourself students are not working at their best, they try to get away with doing what they want, or they see it as a social time and not a working time. Centers are only beneficial when most of the groups have an adult keeping them on task or if students know what the expectations are during centers.

    One thing we did during my internship year that was good for behavior management was the fact that the behavior of each student was recorded on their behavior chart and needed to be signed by the parent EACH NIGHT, along with doing their homework. In the situation I was in the only time the parents knew the behavior of their child was if I sent a note home at the end of the day or if I talked to the parent directly. It was very unorganized and very difficult to get to each of the parents and the notes were supposed to be signed and brought back to school, but they never were. Parents seemed to have no clue the procedure for students with bad behavior, so not only does classroom management need to be explained to the students, but also the parents. Plus there was no consequences for students and their behavior. they did not have to tell their parents what 'color' they were on and they did not make the connection between the fact that when they are well behaved they earn pennies to be used to shop at the class store. It was all done very secretively. Students did not physically put their pennies in their containers and when they shopped they didn't understand why their friend had a lot more pennies than them. It goes back to having set expectations POSTED in the classroom for the students to see and to be referred to when needed. (Classroom rules were not visible to the students).

   There are so many more things that I did not agree with in the classroom and things I took away that I do not want to include in my classroom, but I will keep the rest to myself. So all in all it was a very stressful position, but I know in my future classroom the importance of having a classroom management plan, having set expectations visible in the classroom and to teach routines for EVERYTHING you do in the classroom so students know what to do at all times.