Week 2

1/16/18-1/19/18

Classroom Confidential- Chapter 3

After reading this chapter of Classroom Confidential, many of my previous assumptions about behavior in the classroom have vanished. As I think back through all my different placements, I was able to visualize the different types of free-range behaviors that she was describing in the chapter. One of the biggest things that I took away from what she had to say about behavior was that the way we look at students' behavior makes all the difference. Instead of always correcting and shutting down behavior, I loved how she encouraged teachers to ask themselves "what is this student hiding?" I think this question is so powerful because it actually works to help understand the student and works towards positive change unlike repeatedly getting frustrated with the student.

I found it interesting how she made the argument that all behavior is motivated by one of two basic instincts: to seek pleasure or to avoid pain. This notion changed my perspective drastically and caused me to look at behaviors in the classroom much differently. I completely agree with Schmidt that many behaviors in the classroom can be a camouflage students use to hide something deeper. I firmly believe that if teachers take the time to switch their approach from getting frustrating and yelling to trying to investigate a possible deeper issue that the benefits will be great. 

As she described the different types of camouflagers, I was able to tell that in my class there seems to be a large amount of charmers and a class clown or two. Many of the students are very well behaved and helpful. However, after reading this I am starting wonder if they too are hiding something. Seeing the different types of camouflage has helped me to assess the students in the class' behavior differently than I had before. I appreciated the pointers on how to pierce through camouflages. I completely agree with the method to handle behavior in a constructive manor. In the past, I have observed teachers addressing issues in a more frustrated manor that did not end as well.

Another great idea that I took away from this chapter was that it is okay not to have all the answers and to refer to the experts. I liked how she said to encourage students to think and talk positively about themselves. I can speak from personal experience that students can be hard on themselves when it comes to academics. Teaching students to think positively about what they can do and encouraging mental health makes school a more appealing place for them. Lastly, I noticed that most times teachers see clicking a pen, tapping a pencil, and shaking a leg as annoying habits that need to be shut down. However, these actually can be energizers for students! I am excited to use what I have learned in the rest of my student teaching and in my future classroom. 

What Happened

This week Fulton had Martin Luther King Jr. day off of school. When we returned on Tuesday the class went around talking about what they did over the long weekend. This weekend update time showed me how important is to remember the social aspect of school as well as the academics. I could tell the students truly enjoyed this time and sharing. This time also allows their peers and I to get to know them better. 

This week I taught the Phonics lessons. On day one students were doing a "blind sort" by trying to find the pattern in the set of spelling words they were given. We then went over the pattern and sorted as a class using the ELMO. I thought the activities went well and they met the objectives I had for them. The second day of Phonics we color coded the words and defined them as well. Then the students filled in the words in the correct category practicing their spelling. This day of phonics was a little tougher because the students had some difficulty with the two different vowel sounds in the set of words (/ur/ and /ir/) Some of the students struggled to define the words as well but the class did well with building on one another's answers. The third day students worked with a partner to identify the spelling word that matched a group of synonyms. This lesson didn't go as well as planned due to lack of clarification in the directions. They then moved into sorting their words on a dry erase board with partner. The final day of Phonics with this set of words our class had our own "spelling bee" by having the students type the words in their notes application on their Chromebooks as I read the words aloud. This activity was beneficial for students because they will be using computers for MAP and PARCC testing so this helps them practice their typing and spelling skills on the computer. However, this activity didn't go as smoothly as planned. I learned that the students tend to take things extremely seriously and the student with an IEP got frustrated when he missed a word and had an outburst. In the future, I would definitely make it clearer that this was a fun activity and to just put forth their best effort. 

Throughout the week I also did the morning work which was a continuation of the alliteration cursive packet from last week. Again, I think this morning work effectively warms up the students brains while connecting to figurative language and writing skills.  My cooperating teacher was working with adjectives and having students use er, est, more, and most. The students then moved on to working with similes and metaphors. She also was working with the skill of making connections (text to self, text to text, and text to world). She had them try these connections with the book Shiloh that the class had read before break. I like how she is still using a book they read a while ago and connecting new concepts with it. 

In math the students were working on subtracting fractions as they transitioned from previously adding fractions. My cooperating teacher gave the students and exit slip for adding fractions in which they all succeeded. Therefore, she moved onto subtracting fractions. The following day students were introduced to adding mixed fractions. Throughout math this week I was able to see how well she used formative assessments such as dry erase boards and observations to see how to adjust her instruction. 

Due to MLK day, my cooperating teacher read an informational text on Martin Luther King and the class watched a video on his life as well. I really liked how she tied in informational text to the subject. For science, my cooperating teacher did another experiment using a balloon, water bottles, warm water, and air temperature water to discuss molecules and physical change. In my schooling we didn't do experiments until later on but I can tell that this age of students really benefits from the experiments. 

One thing that happened this week that I was able to connect back to what I've learned in my courses is that every lesson will not go as you plan. In one of my phonic's lessons we didn't get to the final activity and just finished it out in an open time later in the day. When I look back at last semester I tended to be quite the perfectionist, yet this semester I can already see myself growing to be more flexible. Another thing that I encountered in relation to what I have been taught is to elicit and build on student responses. In class we have talked about how important this concept is and is a part of the EdTPA. In one of my phonics lessons I found myself struggling to build on the incorrect or incomplete definitions that students gave for some of the spelling words so I am going to work on strengthening this skill. 

What I learned

This week I saw my teacher use a smart strategy for incorporating students independent reading into the classroom and keeping them accountable. She has them fill out a reading log but also has several options they can use while reading. For example, this week they each shared a question that came up while they were reading their book. I think that activities like this are beneficial because they make reading independently and reading logs as less of a duty or just going through the motions. 

My school has been using Newsela (https://newsela.com), but when my teacher assigned the last article and quiz there were some students that didn't take the assignment seriously. The students at the back table seemed to be the ones that quickly skimmed the article and got most, if not all, of the answers wrong. With the program, the teacher can see how much time each student took, if they annotated the article, and their score. The students did not realize this and were visibly embarrassed when she discussed with the class the issue. She explained that if this continues to be an issue that she will print out the article and assign it for homework so they can redo it. This situation was helpful to see classroom management scenarios along with academics. 

The curriculum that my school uses for math also has a workbook that accompanies the textbooks. However, sometimes the set up of problems in the workbook can be confusing and difficult. Therefore, my cooperating teacher walked through a simpler set up process with students and then transitioned to the workbook format. I think that this strategic approach really paid off and shows that she knows her class well and how they learn. 

Another strategy my cooperating teacher used for Science was to have students take 3 pictures at home: one of a liquid, one of a solid, and one of a gas. This activity was a fun way to help students take learning home and involved with the families. The students also really enjoyed sharing their pictures and I enjoyed seeing them. 

Today I was able to see how a classroom management technique I saw in the classroom last semester actually works. She has a chart at the back of the classroom labeled respect on the y axis and the x axis is labeled chart. Each time a student does something kind or respectful they get to sign their name on the chart. Once the chart is full, my cooperating teacher does a raffle by taking a bag that has a ticket for each intersection of the row and column and selects 7. For example, she will put out a ticket that may say RA and the student whose name is in that box receives a homework pass coupon. I thought this was a fun little way of encouraging kindness and respect in the classroom

I've noticed that my cooperating teacher does a great job of connecting what is being learned in the different content areas. For example, in Literacy, the class is working on figurative language (including onomatopoeias). They were also doing an experiment in science using a balloon. My teacher asked students what noise the experiment might make if something exploded and the students suggested "Boom!". I think that just a simple connection like that is so powerful in helping students see that knowledge they are gaining is transferrable and makes what they are learning more meaningful. 

Throughout my teaching experiences this week, I was able to identify some areas in which I need to improve. Sometimes the transitions between activities or subjects were longer than they need to be. Also, I could have done a better job with building on top of unpredictable responses from students. I've noticed that I tend to be more comfortable when I can predict what the students might say. However, this is not always the case and sometimes the most growth comes from building off students answers to help them better understand. This realization addresses the Illinois Professional Teaching Standard 2 which states, "The teacher understands how individuals grow, develop, and learn and provides learning opportunities." I will continue to work to improve on the skill of building on responses in order to maximize student learning and growth. This week I also got the opportunity to not only self- reflect on my lessons but to also have a conversation with my cooperating teacher on how my lessons went. It was really helpful for her to hear my comments and vice versa. We also talked about improvements that could be made and what went well. This discussion and self reflection demonstrates Illinois Professional Teaching Standard 10 which states, "The teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates how choices and actions affect students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community."

Goals

One of my goals last week was to get to know the students better. I did not get the chance to give them a survey, but since I am at the school everyday instead of two days like last semester, I am able to have more conversations with them. I also am going to ask my cooperating teacher if she has any of the get to know you surveys that she gave at the beginning of the school year. I am excited to continue to get to know them all more each and every day. 

My other goal was to experiment more with small groups in math. This week the students were learning a new concept and were more on the same page compared to last week. However, my cooperating teacher and I have been brainstorming on how we could incorporate the small groups in upcoming math concepts. Since I am only teaching two subjects next week still, I want to work on making transitions smoother in and out. I also noticed that I should slow down and be more open to how the lesson goes instead of expecting it to follow an exact structure. With transitioning, I would like she try counting to ten, when needed, to move things along. I also want to mentally remind myself to slow down and let the lesson go where the students lead it through their responses without getting off track.