Free Post on School Visits

My field experiences have been great! Because I have been observing/participating in my cooperating teacher’s room, I have been able to establish a better relationship for when I take over her class in the fall for student teaching. (FYI-I am in a 6^th grade Language Arts classroom.)

I do not have one favorite visit. I LOVE all of my visits. I LOVE going into the school environment. I LOVE walking into the Sixth Grade Building and seeing all the students. I am sure my overwhelming excitement shows through to the students.

I am learning new ways to deal with middle school students on a daily basis. Although I do not agree with all of the teaching techniques my teacher uses, I am gaining a different perspective as to why she does certain things. This learning experience is very necessary on the road to helping me become a great teacher in the future.

Please Help Me!

I am trying to make my picture appear when I follow other blogs from class. I posted an image on my blog, but this same image does NOT appear when follow. I have tried every little setting thing on this dang blog with no luck!

Reflection 03/29/09

I wonder if what I want would be a mixture between Literature Focus and Thematic Unit? I want to have an overall theme, but I also want to read books that the whole class can discuss. How about I choose several different novels that fall under a broad topic so students can choose between the options I give them? This allows for student choice in reading groups, yet all of the books are focusing on a specific theme or author.

For example, I could choose Christopher Paul Curtis as the author. I could also choose several books connected to an overall theme such as historical fiction around a specific time period, maybe even what they may be studying in Social Studies.

Sharon Draper books, maybe? The book Holes, and others from the same author? There are so many possibilities on this topic. I really don’t know which to choose from. Because I have only started reading YA novels, (since EDU-255), I do not have a lot of knowledge of which books are appropriate to teach or if these book have been very successful in the classroom before. I know that even though I would love to do Literature Focus, I don’t believe that this option allows the students much room to decide what the class reads.

As for activities, I guess I need to decide on a topic/book first. Since I have been observing in my cooperating teacher’s class, I have been taking notes on the different novels the students read. I hope that through this class, among my other classes, I will become more schooled in the novels middle school students would benefit from reading in my own classroom.

Reflection 03/15/09

Yay for Free Blog!!!! Just kidding. I actually like having guiding questions. I always have trouble just free writing. Okay, so . . . hmmmm. I did enjoy spring break. Even though the snow kept all three kids home on Monday, I enjoyed my break. Don't get me wrong; I absolutely love my kids. I was really looking forward to some quiet time. Anyway. I did observe at West Millbrook Middle several days. I loved being in the school environment. I cannot wait to be teaching in my own classroom! I hope everyone has a great week. I will see you ladies on Monday!

Reflection 02/16/09

Even though I am majoring in English, I have always had trouble writing. I continue to learn better writing strategies with each paper I complete. Having a blog is a little strange to me. I have never been one to journal every day, and I still struggle with this issue now. As with writing, I am learning the benefits from writing for five minutes every night. I am not a big fan of the blogging idea yet, but I can see how helpful it is for many people. I believe that through practice and self-discipline, I will gain insight on the rewards of journaling and, possibly, blogging.

The book project is kind of fun. I could not decide what to write about, but through the help of several table members, who shall remain nameless, I have a topic. I think writing a book about coming to college as an older student will hopefully give others a look at the obstacles most non-traditional students face beyond the classroom.