Looking Back

I came into this semester wanting to learn more about education and differentiation. This semester I struggled with defining the difference between differentiation, accommodation and modification.  I intertwined them in my lessons.

From the feedback I have received this semester I can say I know what differentiation is. It is implementing your lesson to the whole classes needs not just one child in your classroom. There will be so many types of learners in my classroom. I will have visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners all in my classroom at one time. This is why I need to make sure my lessons are varied, effective and teach to the whole class.

Accommodations and modifications are only made for an individual child. They are for children who have IEPS, 504 Plans, etc.

Even though it took me longer then expected to truly learn what differentiation was. I am happy to say I know it. This will help me in student teaching and as an educator.

Another goal for this semester was to learn how to deal with taboo topics in the classroom. I know I have a better handle on this from what we learned in class. I know it is always important to be aware of these topics. They are occurring all the time around us in our world. I know this from the news reporting we did each day in Social Studies. I liked how we went over how we would teach it to the certain grade levels we were assigned. As an educator I know I cannot talk about world news like I do with an adult. However, the other day I was taken aback when one of the little boys in my classroom was reading an airplane book to me. The next thing I knew he was talking about the missing plane from Malaysia. The other children in the room started to ask questions. I didn’t want to address it because first it is Mrs. Holtke’s classroom. Secondly, it is a scary topic to talk about even for me. Thus I said lets read a new book and dropped the subject.

My third goal was to learn more about how to transition students from one activity to the other. I got a better idea of this. To be honest, I am not sure this is simply because I am in third grade classroom and the children are older and better listeners. This is one reason why I am excited to student teach in the fall. I have been placed in a first grade classroom. I believe kindergartners and first graders are the hardest to transition.

My last goal was to be a more confident teacher. I know I accomplished this. I can address the class in a firm matter. I can now teach reading science, math and social studies to both large group and small groups.

All of these goals stated above. I have now reached. This will help me tremendously moving onto student teaching. However, going into student teaching I need to write down new goals. Every teacher should do this for each school year.

Going into student teaching I want to get a better balance on giving out praise and encouragement but telling a child he or she is wrong. I want to work on having a firmer hand and not be so sensitive and sweet. Additionally, I struggle with math. This is because I don’t know where every child is. Lastly, there are so many new methods of teaching math that I don’t know. I need to really sit down and read over the curriculum for any school district I am at.

I was in contact with my student teacher the other day. It was very exciting. I couldn’t believe it. She said she will show me the curriculum she teaches. That makes me very happy.

The goals I have go hand in hand with the ones I listed for student teaching. I want to be the best educator I can be.

 I was excited to have a new cooperating teacher. Mrs. Hotkey has been great on so many levels. She has showed me that a true educator is compassionate, understanding and nurturing.

Additionally, I have enjoyed our time together as a class. The discussions we have had and the friendships we have made will stay with me forever. Lastly, I want to thank you for being a great mentor. I mean it from the bottom of my heart. Thank you.

Science at LeRoy

At LeRoy the science curriculum is very much integrated into the math unit. Mrs. Holtke teaches them simultaneously. I am unsure how I feel about this. I like how they are connected. However, I think there is a time and place for it. Yes, they can be integrated. However, there should strictly be a time for math and science. Similarly, I have noticed a pattern not just with math and science but also with social studies and reading workshop

 Additionally, LeRoy divides teaching science and social sctudies. They teach science for a month and then switch back to social studies. After observing this I definitely do not like this. I think science and social studies should both be taught every week. I think it confuses the students. It confuses the students because they have to switch their way of thinking completely. If I were a student this would put me over the edge.

Currently, science is being taught in the Third Grade curriculum. Mrs. Hotkey is teaching the students about simple machines. This is what I taught my science lesson on. I taught the students about the lever. I really liked teaching this lesson. It was fun and interactive. It was interactive because I had the students hold up their arm and bend it up and down. I explained to them that their elbow was the fulcrum and their arm was the lever. I believe this really stuck with them because it is something they can feel, see and touch.

Also, in my lesson I showed a Brain Pop video. The kids loved this. The video told them specifically about the lever and the fulcrum. It showed different examples like a seesaw, scissors a broom and a shovel. The kids really understood the seesaw. This is because they have played on a seesaw multiple times. They have seen it on the playground since they have been little. After showing the video I created a PowerPoint video that I showed about different levers. I asked them what part was the fulcrum and why it was a lever. For the last part of my lesson I had the kids draw different types of levers and a type of fulcrum. They liked this because it was visual. Lastly, kids like to draw.

Mrs. Holtke gave me lots of praise for implementing my lesson. She said I did a good job showing how simple machines are a unit in science. This boosted my confidence and makes me want to teach science more in the future,

In the future when I teach science I hope to teach it every week. I think science is fun and interactive. I believe it is the subject that allows students too use their minds in a way that is different from every subject. They have to make predictions and plan objects out. They need to work together and implement science. Furthermore, if children are good at science this will help them on standardized tests. I believe this because science pushes students to think outside the box.

LeRoy does a good job at teaching science. However, I think they can do better. They need to make it a part of the weekly schedule. 

Literacy Focus

 LeRoy Elementary School takes hands on approach to teaching literacy in the classrooms. For my learner demographic analysis I interviewed Erin Conn the Principal of LeRoy.

Conn says LeRoy’s main goal right now is to have a guided reading workshop approach model. As a school they want there to be consistency on what is being taught to each child according to their level. I thought this was really neat because I remember when I was in elementary school their was no set way of teaching reading as a school. It alternated between teachers, which confided me and gave me anxiety ultimately deterring me away from reading completely. Thus, I think Principal Conn’s approach is realistic and attainable.

Additionally, LeRoy Elementary School uses the Fontas-Pinnell Guided Reading to scale their students. This scale allows each student to be given a Lextile score.  I have been placed in Traci Holtke’s third grade classroom. For this clinical assignment I have decided to focus on a guided reading group consisting of  four girls. Their Lextile level is between 600-699.

Instructionally this group of students is at a P on the Fontas-Pinnell Guided Reading Group. This is the teaching level that Mrs. Holtke is implementing them on. She is currently working with them on comprehension, fluency, and decoding words.

Right now independently they are at an O on the Fontas-Pinnell Guided Reading scale. These are the books they can read at home on their own independently. It is books that are meant for fun that does not cause stress. The words flow easily and will deter the students from getting stuck on words.

Additionally, LeRoy likes to use blooms taxonomy and apply it to the students level. Some examples of this that Mrs. Holke uses are using a character from the book; solving a problem and having the students apply the story to their own lives. She also says she has the girls illustrate something from the book as well. Overall she wants the students when writing about the story to state their opinion, the proof and the explanation from the text that proves their opinion.

I choose this group of students because I believe they need to focus on comprehension. They need to think more in depth. I want them to ask themselves questions while reading. For example why does this happen etc… Lastly, the more they are aware of foreshadowing and making predications the better readers they will be.

Traci also believes that they too can focus on comprehension as well. I have been observing Traci teach this group of girls since being in her classroom. I feel comfortable teaching the classroom because Traci makes 

me feel comfortable and at ease in her classroom. After teaching this lesson I will feel more prepared to student teach because I will have itemized a lesson based on a small groups needs not a large groups needs which I believe is harder. This lesson will be more rewarding for me as a future educator.

Overall, I think the lesson will go very well. One other thing I like about Traci’s room I that there is a vast amount of books students can use and check out to bring home. This is very sweet of Traci.

Social Studies

The third grade team at LeRoy alternates units between social studies and science. Typically they spend a month on each unit. When I first began my clinical experience in Traci’s classroom they were starting a social studies unit on explorers. Me being the history buff I am really enjoyed this and jumped right into the activities. It was fun to teach the kids more of the history component to social studies because that is my passion. I had my explorer lesson all set to go but unfortunately was unable to teach it.

When I got back they were already done with the unit on explorers. They were working on taking their ISAT. After testing had finished the third grade team has bow started introducing the topic of simple machines. This was good and bad for me because I could no longer teach my explorer lesson. However, I did get to teach my science lesson on the lever.

After talking with Traci we have decided that when she moves from the simple machines unit to the famous inventors unit covering the social studies end that this will be a perfect time for me to teach my lesson. I am going to teach on April 25^th at 10 am. I haven’t decided if I want to teach my lesson on Ben Franklin or Thomas Edison. However, I know that with either inventor I can plan some fun historical interactive lessons.

I am really excited to teach this lesson because history is a passion of mine. I originally was a history secondary education major. This is why I love our class because I think it is vital to teach students about the past and how we can learn from our mistakes.

Last semester I was at Tri- Valley in Downs. It hard for me to compare the two social studies units to say if one is better then the other. At Tri-Valley they were not interactive and fun like at LeRoy. It was more work sheet based, writing and reading.

Overall, I think LeRoy does a good job encompassing social studies into their teaching. I don’t know if I like how they alternate between science and social studies monthly. Where at Tri- Valley they alternated science and social studies every other day.  Honestly, I am so unsure of my feelings on the two situations that I can’t give either a fair assessment at this point. I think they both have great qualities, I know once I teach everyday I will a better understanding of what I prefer and what I don’t prefer.

Honestly, I think Traci does a great job teaching about the past and is sensitive to every child and their backgrounds, Traci always makes sure to tell her students before she begins a lesson and says that if at any time they feel uncomfortable to put their head down on the table. This way she will know to stop the conversation. This was a great learning experience for me because all students should feel safe in their classroom otherwise they won’t want to learn. That is the last thing any educator wants. Traci knowing this deters any negative feelings from happening. History is one of those topics that can be had for others, which is why I believe many schools try to ignore it all together which doesn’t do any good. Children need to know about the past because they are our future.

My question for Traci is. I want to know what her teaching philosophy is when it comes to social studies in general?

Third Clinical Goals

My name is Becky Peters. This is my senior year at Illinois State. I am majoring in Early Childhood Education. I have always loved working with children from an early age. My mom has been a first grade teacher since I was in second grade. Watching her have an effect on her students empowered me to become a teacher. In addition, I have been an aunt since I was fifteen years old. Presently, I have four nieces and nephews. Watching them grow every day is truly extraordinary. Having such a positive impact on their lives has encouraged me to have the same effect on other children.

This semester I would like to learn how to differentiate my lessons. This is important because not one child is at the same academic level. If I can tweak my lessons by making them more complex or easier this will allow me to be a better teacher. In addition, I want to be able to recognize when a student or group of student needs more me to tweak the lesson and needs more time. Lastly, I think parents can see differentiation as a bad thing. I want to learn how to explain to parents that it is a good thing and should not be looked down as a negative.

Also this semester I want to learn how to talk about taboo topics in my classroom. I know my mom often struggles with this herself. I think it is so important to talk about these issues. Children need to know what is going on in the world. This will not only make them better learners but more concerned learners. Yet as stated above I don’t know how parents will react to this. For example, when 9/11 happened my school did not talk about. It was like it never happened. This confused me as a child. I didn’t understand why something that was all over the TV was not being talked about in school. If students are taught world news they will be more aware of the world around them and a better understanding of places that our different. Lastly, knowing I will be placed in Leyroy this semester I think this will be a great experience to see how taboo topics are handled in a small rural school. I think urban schools are more lenient on taboo topics then schools in rural areas.

In my clinical site I want to learn how to transition. I watched this happen at Tri Valley but I didn’t really get a handle on it. To be honest it intimidated me. It scares me because I know soon I will be student teaching and I don’t want to lose control of the class when I move from one lesson or activity to the next. My goal is that we will spend a lot of time on this. I want to take what I learn from our class and apply it to my clinical site. I am going to ask my cooperating teacher if one day I can transition the students from one activity to the next. I really hope she says yes.

Lastly, during this clinical my overall goal is to become a more confident teacher. Last semester I feel like I would second-guess myself a lot. Furthermore, I would then look to my clinical teacher for her approval or help if the situation called for it. I know I need to respect my cooperating teachers wishes. I just want to be hands on and confident with my teaching and response to students. If I accomplish this semester I believe I will be prepared to student teach.

I know I can reach these goals from the help of my cooperating teacher, Kira, my classmates and most importantly, myself.