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.