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?