Short week

I'm writing this on Wednesday because LMS is off Thursday-Monday. This week, though short, offered some good learning experiences. My co-op complimented me on my classroom management in our regular classroom from last week and I think (hope)I'm doing well. On Monday and Tuesday we spent time in the computer lab researching on a topic of the student's choice. They are writing persuasive letters to the editor and they have to find two sources on their topic. Topics ranged from school uniforms, to rules for skateboarders, to global warming and deforestation. We discussed the databases, credible sources, search terms, and then we were off. Monday was a little rough. People were getting started, I was trying to get around to all of them to approve their topics and things got a little loud and a little dicey at times. On Tuesday my co-op and I discussed computer lab classroom management and I tried to make the necessary adjustments. It went much better on Tuesday. I was able to address problems earlier and the students worked much better. My co-op said I did a good job trying to make the changes and advice he suggested. Today we didn't have regular class but we did watch the movie version of To Kill a Mockingbird. I had some problems with a few students who kept talking and picking at teach other. Eventually I moved on of the students and later another student asked if he could move. Aside from those management issues today went well. I hope that everyone has a fantastic Easter weekend. Enjoy your break.

Oh Middle School

What a week! This week I started out teaching half of the time on Monday and Tuesday. My students were finishing up their To Kill a Mockingbird unit with my co-op. They had their test on Wednesday and then I took over full time teaching on Thursday and Friday. The tricky part of the week was that on Thursday, when I took over, my co-op was out of the building part of the day and that particular part of the day happened to be when our classes were. What this meant for me is that 1. it was afternoon and the students were wound up and 2. at times it was a little difficult to keep them focused. One strategy that I found worked well was a little wait time. I would stop talking and just look at them for a few seconds and usually one of the students would tell the others to quiet down. Another way I found worked was to threaten to take away some research time from them in class. I told them that if we couldn't get through what we needed to in class then I'd have to take away their research time so we could finish it. Friday was the complete opposite. We got through so much because their classes were in the morning and it's a completely different atmosphere. When they have class in the afternoon they are loud and boisterous and when they have class in the morning they are much quieter and subdued. I also ran break detention on Thursday and Friday which was an interesting experience. Despite the fact that this is a punishment, many students try to talk during break detention and they even try to sit next to their friends. I had to tell them several times to be quiet and stop talking. I also separated a few students from their friends. Anyone have any suggestions for dealing with middle school classroom management?

All in all, despite the management challenges (and even then they were generally off on tangents that related back to the content of the class) I'm enjoying it. I'm trying to get to know my students and I know almost all of the names. I hope that by the end of my time I can develop a good relationship with all of my students and try to bridge some of the students who are a little more distant.

We also discussed our upcoming field trip this week. All of the 8th graders will be going to Washington D.C. on April 8th. We talked about the assignment they will do based on their trip as well as groups, chaparones and what students will be allowed to bring. I can't wait to see how it goes.

That's all for now. More next week! Have a great week everyone!

LMS Week 1

Hello fellow teachers!
I'll start by saying that I hope everyone's first week at the new placement (and Edward's continuing adventures at his placement) went well. I'm really happy to be at my new school. It's been interesting trying to get used to their schedule and the way they do things (ie: hall duty, lunch duty, bus duty) but I think I'll have it down in no time. Coming from a place where I was teaching up until Thursday, sitting at Lamberton this week and observing was difficult. My co-op was finishing with To Kill A Mockingbird and they'll finish up with that early next week. I'll be splitting time with him on Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday they have a test and by Thursday I'll be able to teach the whole block. I'm grateful that he wants to get me teaching again so soon because I feel like it will keep my momentum going. I'll be teaching a persuasive writing unit first and after that we'll see. My second unit will be starting during PSSA testing so it will probably be a bit more laid back (at least in terms of outside of class work). LMS allows teachers access to Youtube which is great because I really want to incorporate video clips and stuff like that into my lessons. I'll be showing my students some commercials and looking at how persuasion functions in them. Also, my co-op told me about itunes U which has some cool stuff on it. We went over my lesson plans today and my co-op told me he thought they looked good so I was happy to hear that. I'm going to try to plan out a lot for this unit this weekend so that I don't have as much to do later in the semester. The better I can plan now the better I can adapt later if necessary.

My students are a rowdy and entertaining bunch. I forgot what 8th graders were like after spending so much time in the h.s. I'm excited to take over and really get to know them. Some of them will be classroom management challenges but luckily my team is supportive and they already know who to watch for because generally it's the same students acting out. Nothing more to report really other than to say that when the weather is nice we're able to hold class outside right outside the classroom. I'll be looking forward to doing that more as we go forward. I hope you all enjoy the wonderful weather outside. Have a great day.

Resource

Hey guys....just wanted to let you all know that there is this thing on itunes called iUniversity (or something similar) where you can download all kinds of stuff for free. It has books, podcasts, etc. from different universities and organizations. They're educational and there is some good stuff on there. Thought I'd let you know because most of you probably have itunes. If you already know then just disregard my post. Haha.

Good luck

I don't know if anyone will be checking this before Friday or Saturday, but I wanted to say good luck and I hope everyone has a fantastic week at their new placement and in Edward's case a fantastic week.

8 Weeks down, 8 to go

I can't believe that is is already time to write this blog. Trying to reflect on the last 8 weeks seems like such a daunting task. I've had so many experiences that it seems hard to get to everything I've learned. I'll start by saying that this last 8 weeks has shown me that I am meant to be a teacher. Today was the last day that I spent at Shippensburg H.S. Each class (all 7 of them) had a party and we ate food and talked. My co-op passed around a small journal and had each student write me a note. When he gave the the book I almost cried. I know that it is something I'll keep forever and I'll have it to reassure me that I'm doing well and to remind myself why I love teaching when I feel like I might forget. When I got up in the morning I couldn't wait to go and get into teaching, even through all of the grading and planning headaches were overwhelming, I enjoyed being at school everyday. I'm sure there will come a time when that will change, but for now I'm going to enjoy it.



I had the opportunity during my placement to work with some wonderful, helpful and supportive teachers. My co-op teacher was an excellent resource and provided me with feedback, reassurance, and general teaching advice. I feel lucky to have worked with someone who sets high standards for his students and I think that I'll be a better teacher for it. I was also lucky to have wonderful classes. My students were well behaved, hardworking, and just generally interesting, unique kids. I hope to make it to some of their sports games this spring so that I can see them again.



I've learned a lot while at Ship but here are a few of the biggest lessons I learned.



1. Be FLEXIBLE- Sometimes there are meetings, assembly's, snow days, or other random disruptions. A good teacher can take these in stride and adapt.



2. Make copies in advance- The printer, copy machine, etc. will break at some point. Most likely when you need to make 65 copies of a test. If you have everything ready to go and make all of your copies at least a night before you'll feel a lot less stressed and rushed.



3. Don't be afraid to give students the grade they deserve- At some point as a teacher you have to come to terms with the fact that not everyone will get an A. This doesn't always reflect your ability as a teacher but rather the student's ability and effort.



4. Set high standards- Even though your kids will grumble a little bit one day they'll think back and silently thank you.



5. Become friends with your colleagues- Other teachers become great friends, confidants, and resources. They are the only other people who understand what a teacher goes through. That makes them the people to talk to when you're having problems.



6. Keep it fun- Students can have fun and learn at the same time. In fact, I would argue that some of them will learn better as they have fun. By combining activities that are high interest but still have a higher critical learning aspect they will absorb more of the information.



7. Be as specific as possible- This refers to handouts, instructions, and anything else that you could think of. You need to spell things out for students. The better the instruction, the more they understand it the better the result.



8. Appreciate your students- They have so many interesting things to say and contribute. Make sure you allow them the opportunity to ask their questions, and share their stories. They will be more relaxed and everyone will have a better experience.



I feel that I've learned so much more but if I talked about all of it I'd be typing forever. This experience has been one of the most gratifying and rewarding experiences of my life. Life was hectic, stressful, and sometimes very long during student teaching but it was all worth it in the end. To read the notes in that pink book and to hear students say "We'll miss you Miss Achey" made it all worth it. I feel that with my experiences in the past 8 weeks I'll be a better teacher. I can't wait to take everything I've learned and continue it in my next placement where I can keep growing and improving. I hope that everyone has had as good an experience as I've had. Congratulations, we're halfway there! See you all on Monday!

Observation 2

Observation 2, after it was rescheduled, went very well. Unfortunately due to the snow I was administering a test to my students so there really wasn't much of a lesson. I did get good feedback on my directions for the test. Dr. Mortimore said she thought they were very clear. She also complimented my quick response to student questions during the test. I also recieved positive feedback on my test (the test was for Honors on Julius Caesar). I'm currently working on grading them and students actually did worse on the true/false and fill in the blank than I thought they would. I thought the problems would come from the short answer. While they were working, I was able to share a homework assignment that I had them do with Dr. Mortimore. I had each student draw a picture of the character Cassius and write a paragraph about his personality and their opinion of him. Many of the students had interested, unique drawings. Dr. Mortimore thought that this showed my willingness to incorporate different activities that appeal to a variety of students. She complimented my desire to help my students connect to Shakespeare in a personal way instead of just reading it. I wish she could have seen more teaching, but there's always the next observation.

Overall I was satisfied with my observation. I felt that the period ran smoothly. There were no problems or anything out of the ordinary that came up. I'm anxious to see how my students performed on their tests. Initially it looks like these grades will be lower, again mostly because of the true/false and fill in the blank questions. That being said, I don't think that anyone will fail but some students may end up with lower B's and high C's. I hope as I continue to grade them that this won't be the case but we'll see.

Until next time, have a good week