This week was my last week of full time teaching. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, I have been having problems with behavior. I decided to start a competition between groups. I wrote Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3 on the board. When all members in the group are sitting quietly and ready to listen, the group gets a smiley face. The group with the most smiley faces at the end of the day is the group that gets to line up first and pack up first the following day. Smiley faces can also be taken away. This has proved to be a pretty effective method. Students hate to see their smiley faces erased.
This week, I had a few teachable moments. On one of our worksheets, students were asked to fill in the beginning consonant blends. The one made the word dragon. There was a big debate about whether or not dragons were real. I asked the class if they have ever heard of an animal that has the word dragon in its name. Students immediately said komodo dragon. We then used the smart board to look up komodo dragons and learn a little bit about them by looking at pictures and watching videos. The students loved this! While the komodo dragon is a lizard, it looks like a small dragon.
Action Research Week 7
This was my last week of Action Research. It is very difficult for me to tell whether or not my action research was successful or not because of the way that the Everyday Mathematics series is set up. It is not just one or two concepts being covered; it is a multitude of concepts. From this research, my mentor teacher and I were able to create a smaller group of students who we found to be having a difficult time with the concepts. This allowed us to spend more individual time with these students and work on the skills that they were really struggling with.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
November 15-19, 2010
This week was my first week full time teaching. I had a lot of issues with the students respecting me. We had several talks over the course of the week about respect and disrespect. I am not sure what the issue is, but I could not get them to stop talking. On Friday, I just about had enough and they could tell how upset I really was. This is when I asked the students to put themselves in my shoes. I asked students to tell me how they would feel if they were trying to teach and I wouldn't stop talking...many of the students admitted that they would not be very happy and would be upset. This is when I asked: why do it to me then? They were dumbfounded. I think that this conversation had an impact on them. Today (Monday the 22nd), my teacher came in with a list of strategies that she has used in the past to keep students under control. I wrote the word "Walking" on the board today to indicate a reward of 15 or so minutes outside walking. I told students if I had to erase a letter, we would subtract 2 minutes. I also told them that they could earn a letter back. At one point, I had to erase the W and A, but students did eventually earn it back. This was the quietest I have ever seen them! After lunch, it started to go back downhill. I am not sure what the reason for that is, but it is really frustrating. I am hoping that I can utilize some of these strategies and that they are effective!
Action Research Week 5/6
This unit is a lot harder than Unit 3. No matter if I use a book or not, students are not performing well on the exit slips. Students are learning about measurement. This is a hard concept for students to grasp. Also, I think students are becoming sick of the exit slips because students seem to be flying through them just to get them done. I hope that I am able to get decent results from this research. I am still unsure about how to go about writing this whole thing up because I really don't think that my results can answer my question.
Action Research Week 5/6
This unit is a lot harder than Unit 3. No matter if I use a book or not, students are not performing well on the exit slips. Students are learning about measurement. This is a hard concept for students to grasp. Also, I think students are becoming sick of the exit slips because students seem to be flying through them just to get them done. I hope that I am able to get decent results from this research. I am still unsure about how to go about writing this whole thing up because I really don't think that my results can answer my question.
Monday, November 15, 2010
November 8-12, 2010
This week was my first week of teaching my Mexico unit. I think that it has been going really well. The students are seeming to really enjoy it. My only issue is that I have so much I want to do with it, but have so little time to do it. I am allotted 30 minutes a day for my class and 30 minutes a day for Mrs. Tuck's class. By the time, the students get in and settled down, there is really only 20 minutes left of instructional time. I have had to modify my lessons to a great extent. This really upsets me because I feel like the students are missing out on so much information that they could really benefit from in the future. On the bright side, we have been having a lot of fun with the unit and the students are really retaining the information. Each day, I try to do a little review with them of everything that we have learned thus far and students have been remembering a lot more information than I ever imagined. I never imagined that students would remember that Mexico's full name is the United Mexican States and that it has 31 states. This unit has also caught the attention of one of my ESL students. I have noticed that it is very hard to keep him engaged, but this unit has changed that. He is now participating and very interested in what is going on.
Week 4 Action Research
This week, students took their Unit 3 posttest. I looked at all of the exit slips and compared them to the post test. I have noticed that many of the students who have been performing poorly on the exit slips did very well on the posttest. I am wondering if this is because they studied or if that they just needed more practice. The way that Everyday Math is set up is so that once a topic is introduced, students continue to review it in their Math Boxes. At the end of each unit, students are only expected to know concepts that are continuously reviewed, rather than concepts that are introduced within the unit.
Week 4 Action Research
This week, students took their Unit 3 posttest. I looked at all of the exit slips and compared them to the post test. I have noticed that many of the students who have been performing poorly on the exit slips did very well on the posttest. I am wondering if this is because they studied or if that they just needed more practice. The way that Everyday Math is set up is so that once a topic is introduced, students continue to review it in their Math Boxes. At the end of each unit, students are only expected to know concepts that are continuously reviewed, rather than concepts that are introduced within the unit.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
November 1-5, 2010
This week, I took over Reading on top of Math. It was really beneficial to work in small groups with the students at reading stations. This allowed me to focus on their individual needs and see what each of their ability levels are. It allowed me to gain more insight into their academic abilities. This will help me in the future when I am planning lessons. Because I was teaching so much more, this week seemed to go by so much faster. Also, because I was teaching so much more and having more close interactions with the students, I was also able to pick up all of their germs. We have a stomach flu going around and it seems like it is just making its way around the grades. I am a clean freak and hate that the desks aren't cleaned every night so I try to disinfect them as much as possible. I think it is so strange that it isn't required that the desks are cleaned, especially with how younger students are. They are always picking their noses and coughing all over everything. It's just a big germ fest waiting to be spread around.
In math on Friday, we had students do a review sheet on time and counting money. It was evident that many of the students are not getting it. From the exit slips from those days, this was not clear. Many of the students did well on the exit slips. These review sheets came as a big shock. We started a "mini" intervention group based on my findings on my exit slips. We created a group of students who have performing poorly overall. Whether this be because they are not applying themselves or they just simply don't get the material, we are working to find this out. I have also decided that I am going to create 5 case studies on my lowest achieving students. I hope to incorporate their Math DIBELS scores in this case study as well. I would like to see if my action research is at all affecting their mathematical understanding. I will excited to see how this turns out.
Action Research Week 3:
This week went pretty well. This week was actually the opposite of all of the other weeks. The two days that I used the books, the students actually did worse on their exit slips. I am not exactly sure why. The two days I used the books, both dealt with money. We also did many physical activities while reading the books that got the students involved in the learning and the books. For example, on the dime day (Wednesday), I had 1 student come up at a time, pretending to be a dime, until students told me that there were enough people up there to make a dollar. I was working with the concept that 10 dimes make a dollar. We also worked with the concept that 2 nickels make a dime and 4 nickels make 2 dimes. The students were very engaged in these activities and seemed to really understand it, but their exit slips said otherwise. On Thursday, we practiced counting coins. Students were actively engaged during the story and were discussing how much money the girl had and so on. When the story was done and the students were back at their seats, it was like chaos. I could not get them to pay attention for the life of me. There are many factors that could relate to why they did poorly on this exit slip, but again I am not sure.
In math on Friday, we had students do a review sheet on time and counting money. It was evident that many of the students are not getting it. From the exit slips from those days, this was not clear. Many of the students did well on the exit slips. These review sheets came as a big shock. We started a "mini" intervention group based on my findings on my exit slips. We created a group of students who have performing poorly overall. Whether this be because they are not applying themselves or they just simply don't get the material, we are working to find this out. I have also decided that I am going to create 5 case studies on my lowest achieving students. I hope to incorporate their Math DIBELS scores in this case study as well. I would like to see if my action research is at all affecting their mathematical understanding. I will excited to see how this turns out.
Action Research Week 3:
This week went pretty well. This week was actually the opposite of all of the other weeks. The two days that I used the books, the students actually did worse on their exit slips. I am not exactly sure why. The two days I used the books, both dealt with money. We also did many physical activities while reading the books that got the students involved in the learning and the books. For example, on the dime day (Wednesday), I had 1 student come up at a time, pretending to be a dime, until students told me that there were enough people up there to make a dollar. I was working with the concept that 10 dimes make a dollar. We also worked with the concept that 2 nickels make a dime and 4 nickels make 2 dimes. The students were very engaged in these activities and seemed to really understand it, but their exit slips said otherwise. On Thursday, we practiced counting coins. Students were actively engaged during the story and were discussing how much money the girl had and so on. When the story was done and the students were back at their seats, it was like chaos. I could not get them to pay attention for the life of me. There are many factors that could relate to why they did poorly on this exit slip, but again I am not sure.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
October 25-29, 2010
This week, I took over Math. Because of my experience at Bridgeport, I feel like I am so much more prepared to be teaching. I absolutely love teaching; it pains me to just be sitting around. I have now moved away from using the Benedum lesson plan format which to me makes everything so much easier. When I was using the Benedum plans, I felt as if I had to follow them exactly and I constantly wanted to look at them to make sure I wasn't forgetting something. In my opinion, the lesson plan format is more like a script and really inhibits my teaching. I think it is good for tutors and even participants (first semester) to use so that they can think through their lessons, but at this point in our schooling I think that it just inhibits my teaching. I am so happy not to be using it anymore.
This week in math, we learned about adding and subtracting on the number, telling time to the half hour and frames and arrows. Adding and subtracting on the number line and telling time to the half hour was a lot harder for the students to understand than I thought. We had a couple students in tears on these days. On both of these days, I used books to help students understand the concepts. This seem to help them a little bit, but the concepts were just hard for them. It also could have been the way I taught it or how the book went about addressing it. I really wish that there was some other way to go about teaching these concepts and allowing students to practice them without using the text or worksheets. I feel like students are overwhelmed with worksheets. This is something that I need to look into.
On Friday, we had our Fall Festival. A tutor and I were put in charge of the bowling station. It was torture. The wind was blowing all of the pins over. I think that we spent more time picking up the pins than the kids actually bowled. It was a lot of fun though. The students really enjoyed it and had a lot of fun.
Action Research Week 2:
This week's data was a little different than last week's data. There was no clear pattern of students doing better when books were used and when they were not. I think that the material was a little bit harder this week. Students had a lot of difficulty understanding the concepts. I am not sure how I am going to analyze my data because I keep having these different results.
This week in math, we learned about adding and subtracting on the number, telling time to the half hour and frames and arrows. Adding and subtracting on the number line and telling time to the half hour was a lot harder for the students to understand than I thought. We had a couple students in tears on these days. On both of these days, I used books to help students understand the concepts. This seem to help them a little bit, but the concepts were just hard for them. It also could have been the way I taught it or how the book went about addressing it. I really wish that there was some other way to go about teaching these concepts and allowing students to practice them without using the text or worksheets. I feel like students are overwhelmed with worksheets. This is something that I need to look into.
On Friday, we had our Fall Festival. A tutor and I were put in charge of the bowling station. It was torture. The wind was blowing all of the pins over. I think that we spent more time picking up the pins than the kids actually bowled. It was a lot of fun though. The students really enjoyed it and had a lot of fun.
Action Research Week 2:
This week's data was a little different than last week's data. There was no clear pattern of students doing better when books were used and when they were not. I think that the material was a little bit harder this week. Students had a lot of difficulty understanding the concepts. I am not sure how I am going to analyze my data because I keep having these different results.
Friday, October 22, 2010
October 18 -22, 2010
This week was my first week back at Suncrest Primary. After being with 6th graders for such an extended period of time, I forgot how dependent the young ones are. This week has definetly been difficult at times because I am still transitioning from 6th grade to 1st grade. It has been difficult for me to bring myself back down to thinking on a 1st grade level. I have noticed that often times I am expecting too much from them. For example, the other day a student asked me what to do on the paper. I simply told him to read the directions without even thinking about it first because I was so used to saying that in 6th grade. Students in 1st grade are unable to read many of the words that are stated in the directions; therefore, they actually do not understand what to do. I have found myself doing this quite often, but I am working on it. I have started to realize that they are in 1st grade, not 6th. It is nice that I am with 1st grade this semester because I have been with many of these students since pre-school. Many of the students know who I am and I know many things about them. I am already aware of many of their learning styles and behaviors which will definetly help me when I start my full time teaching. I am excited to start teaching! It is always fun teaching the younger kids because they are always so much more interested in everything.
Because I have only taught two lessons this week, I have been able to observe the students. Also, I have had the opportunity to talk to many of the students and get to know them more. I feel like I have really made a connection with a child in the classroom with an unidentified disability. He has a lot of trouble staying on task and by working one on one with him I have been able to get him to get his work done. It has been a rewarding experience thus far. I still wonder: What else can be done to keep him more focused and on task?
I am really looking forward to start teaching math next week. I hate just sitting around and not doing anything. I love to be up on my feet and moving around, teaching something.
Action Research Week 1:
This week, I began my action research. I taught the lesson on Monday about even and odd numbers and used the book: Missing Mittens. It was a really cute lesson and the students were able to make the connection between the book and even and odd numbers. Students were given an exit slip at the end of the lesson which connecting the book to the concept learned. Tuesday and Wednesday, Mrs. Beckner taught the lesson, but the students were still given an exit slip. On Thursday, I did the introduction to the lesson, counting on a number line. I read the book Animals on Board and showed students how to add. I went one step beyond what I should have and I think that I may have confused the students a little bit, but it is a good introduction to next week's lesson. They had an exit slip that related directly back to the book and the concept.
I have collected several different forms of data thus far and quite frankly, I feel a bit overwhelmed. I am not so sure what to do with all of it! I have an exit slip from Monday-Thursday. A chapter 3 pre-test, student work from Monday, and an interest inventory. If you multiply all of that by 25, you get a whole big stack full of papers. I feel that all of my data so far is valuable data and I don't want to get rid of anything. I think that these sources will help me in answering my questions. When looking through the exit slips, I noticed that I am already seeing differences. More students are receiving check pluses and checks on the exit slips when a book is used than they are when a book is not used. This could be due to several reasons though. For one, the material learned could be of a different difficulty level on the days I don't use books. Also, students could be having an off day. In addition, the material could have been presented in a way that was confusing to students. Many factors exist that could explain why I am already seeing the results that I am. I wonder if I will ever be able to answer my question?
Because I have only taught two lessons this week, I have been able to observe the students. Also, I have had the opportunity to talk to many of the students and get to know them more. I feel like I have really made a connection with a child in the classroom with an unidentified disability. He has a lot of trouble staying on task and by working one on one with him I have been able to get him to get his work done. It has been a rewarding experience thus far. I still wonder: What else can be done to keep him more focused and on task?
I am really looking forward to start teaching math next week. I hate just sitting around and not doing anything. I love to be up on my feet and moving around, teaching something.
Action Research Week 1:
This week, I began my action research. I taught the lesson on Monday about even and odd numbers and used the book: Missing Mittens. It was a really cute lesson and the students were able to make the connection between the book and even and odd numbers. Students were given an exit slip at the end of the lesson which connecting the book to the concept learned. Tuesday and Wednesday, Mrs. Beckner taught the lesson, but the students were still given an exit slip. On Thursday, I did the introduction to the lesson, counting on a number line. I read the book Animals on Board and showed students how to add. I went one step beyond what I should have and I think that I may have confused the students a little bit, but it is a good introduction to next week's lesson. They had an exit slip that related directly back to the book and the concept.
I have collected several different forms of data thus far and quite frankly, I feel a bit overwhelmed. I am not so sure what to do with all of it! I have an exit slip from Monday-Thursday. A chapter 3 pre-test, student work from Monday, and an interest inventory. If you multiply all of that by 25, you get a whole big stack full of papers. I feel that all of my data so far is valuable data and I don't want to get rid of anything. I think that these sources will help me in answering my questions. When looking through the exit slips, I noticed that I am already seeing differences. More students are receiving check pluses and checks on the exit slips when a book is used than they are when a book is not used. This could be due to several reasons though. For one, the material learned could be of a different difficulty level on the days I don't use books. Also, students could be having an off day. In addition, the material could have been presented in a way that was confusing to students. Many factors exist that could explain why I am already seeing the results that I am. I wonder if I will ever be able to answer my question?
Saturday, October 16, 2010
October 11-15, 2010
On Monday, we had Parent/Teacher conferences. It was a really good experience. We learned a lot about our students that we didn't know. It was really interesting learning about our students outside of the classroom. It allowed us to gain insight into how to help our students within the classroom.
This was my last week at Bridgeport Middle School. It was a very sad week. The students constantly reminded me that I was leaving and constantly asked me why I had to leave. It was really comforting to me knowing that the students were that upset to see me leave also. It allowed me to realize that I did make a difference in their lives and left an impression on them.
My experience at Bridgeport, is one that I will never forget. Although, it was tough at times; it was extremely rewarding. I know that I made a difference in several student's lives. Knowing that I have changed how my students feel about science makes me the happiest person. I am so thankful that I was placed where I was and had the opportunity to work with the teachers that I worked with.
This was my last week at Bridgeport Middle School. It was a very sad week. The students constantly reminded me that I was leaving and constantly asked me why I had to leave. It was really comforting to me knowing that the students were that upset to see me leave also. It allowed me to realize that I did make a difference in their lives and left an impression on them.
My experience at Bridgeport, is one that I will never forget. Although, it was tough at times; it was extremely rewarding. I know that I made a difference in several student's lives. Knowing that I have changed how my students feel about science makes me the happiest person. I am so thankful that I was placed where I was and had the opportunity to work with the teachers that I worked with.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)