Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Final Summative Field Blog Post
Throughout all my Field experiences in Ed 100, I have learned that if I am going to become a teacher, I definitely want to teach fifth grade. I thoroughly believe that my experiences have helped me to realize this. I always have known that I want to work with young kids, but I did not know what age group. Getting to see the many different ages through my field experiences has helped me to figure this out. My experiences have also helped me to see what I believe to be good teaching and what I don't. I have seen things that I agree with and hope to have at the school I end up teaching at and i have also seem things that I do not agree with. I realize that every school is different, but I now have an idea of the type of school I hope to teach at when I am older. I also now have a better sense of the type of teacher that I hope to be.
Field Post Blogs: Orchard Middle School (Fifth Grade Literacy Class)
September 28th
When I first got to Orchard, I got to witness their typical Monday morning routine. The reason I say Monday morning routine is because only on Mondays they have to come right in and clorox wipe their desks. After they washed their desks and did what was told of them, the students were all ready to begin their day. This Monday was a day full of test preparation. The class I had been observing was a literacy class, so the test preparation consisted of reading a passage and answering questions based on it. Something I noticed was how some students seemed more motivated than others. Some were eager to answer questions, and others sat there taking everything in. Mrs. Meyer kept calling out one student for not paying attention. At first, I did not feel as if this was fair, and I felt bad for the boy. I asked why she kept doing this, and she said it was to keep him on track because he does not usually pay attention in class. As another part of test preparation, they reviewed their homework from over the weekend. In addition, they went over what is expected of them when writing an essay for their test. They were also given a practice essay as homework. I was very surprised with the essays these 5th graders are expected to write. They have to find direct textual evidence to prove their points. I did not have to do such until seventh grade!!
October 5th
The day started a bit rough because the students would not listen to Mrs. Meyer. They were not doing the work she asked nor would they stay quiet. I do not think that the kids were meaning to be disrespectful, I just think they had a lot of energy. The class was started with something called "Status of the Class". This is where Mrs. Meyer checks on each students progression in reading. She asks what book they are reading and how many books they have read since the last "Status of the Class". After this, they change the classroom jobs. They get "good apples" if they follow through with their jobs. "Good Apples" are things that get turned in and pulled like a raffle. They are used as incentives for the kids to do their best on everything. The lesson of the day this day was about debatable versus undebatable aspects in different books. The students were asked to think about and look in their books for what was fact or what could be debated. They then had to provide evidence and explain their reasoning for why they thought the way they did. In the middle of this, an unexpected lock down drill occurred. This threw the students off and scared them as well. The teachers were not informed that a practice drill would be occurring, so everyone was caught off guard.
October 12th
Each Monday morning, I have observed that the students try very hard to speak and have a conversation with Mrs. Meyer. The kids will ask question on top of question to her. I feel like this is because she has created an environment where they all feel comfortable and want to share whatever possible with her. After she gets the students on task, doing what they need to be, their typical Monday begins. The kids were told to compare the two books that they were reading in class. The two books were Fly Away Home and Home of the Brave. I got to have one on one time with a student named Ashley because I read the story Fly Away Home to her. I was able to do this because she missed the day of class where it was read to them, and Mrs. Meyer asked me to catch her up. I was very surprised to hear all the comparisons that the students were coming up with. Their comparisons were so much more insightful than I was expecting! After this discussion, Mrs. Meyer did read-a-loud. Their read-a-loud book was Home of the Brave. The kids were beyond excited because they had not been able to do this for a week.
October 19th
This Monday, when I went to observe at Orchard, I observed a different classroom. This time, I went into Mrs. Elliott's classroom across the hall. While I was in her classroom, she was teaching the students about government. I noticed that to keep the students on task, she has a point system. If the students do something well or are on task, they earn points. Then, if they are not on task or not listening, they can get points taken away. In class this day, the students were reviewing for a test that they had coming up. The material they were reviewing was different types of government. The three different types that they were studying were democracies, dictatorships, and monarchies. When given a scenario, they had to determine what type of government it was. After they reviewed, a new project was presented to them called the social issue project. They were allowed to work with partners to create questions on social issues in society. They have to research the different opinions on the topic and present which they believe is the most logical. I felt as though this project was very complicated for fifth graders. They have to think very in depth and outside of the box.
October 26th
This Monday was also interesting and a different experience. At the time I was visiting, author, Gary Schmidt came to visit the school. He is the author of well known books, Wednesday Wars and First Boy. Many of the students at Orchard read Wednesday Wars in fifth grade and a select few fifth graders were reading First Boy at the time of this visit. Gary told the students about his writing process and that even when he's not in the middle of writing a book, he tries to write at least 100 words a day. He started the visit by telling the students how he believes that all good stories should start and end with a question. He also told the students that he found a lot of inspiration for his books throughout his childhood. He told them that throughout his books, he tries to leave things open ended so that the reader can interpret as they desire. In a way, he hopes that they create the story into their own. He also taught the students that in order to become a writer they must be avid readers, reading often, and they must write on a daily basis, as he does. The students were very engaged throughout the whole assembly, and they thought it was amazing to meet the author of a book they have all read!
November 9th
This was my last Monday visit and it was very bittersweet. By the end of my visit, I had somewhat created relationships with a couple of the students. They were all very disappointed to learn that this would be my last visit into their classroom! But, on this Monday they were learning the difference between sentences and phrases. They were being taught that multiple phrases can be combined to create sentences. At the beginning, many of the students were struggling to grasp this concept and create actual sentences. Although many were confused, they did better than I first thought they would. The second half of class was focused on guided reading. This is where Mrs. Meyer splits the class into four different groups based on their capabilities. Each group meets one on one with her to talk about the book they are reading. They are typically given the book and questions to answer after they read. They must bring this to class in order to be prepared for the discussion they all have as a group. For me, it was easy to tell which students were more capable than the others, but this is not necessarily noticed by the students throughout the class.
When I first got to Orchard, I got to witness their typical Monday morning routine. The reason I say Monday morning routine is because only on Mondays they have to come right in and clorox wipe their desks. After they washed their desks and did what was told of them, the students were all ready to begin their day. This Monday was a day full of test preparation. The class I had been observing was a literacy class, so the test preparation consisted of reading a passage and answering questions based on it. Something I noticed was how some students seemed more motivated than others. Some were eager to answer questions, and others sat there taking everything in. Mrs. Meyer kept calling out one student for not paying attention. At first, I did not feel as if this was fair, and I felt bad for the boy. I asked why she kept doing this, and she said it was to keep him on track because he does not usually pay attention in class. As another part of test preparation, they reviewed their homework from over the weekend. In addition, they went over what is expected of them when writing an essay for their test. They were also given a practice essay as homework. I was very surprised with the essays these 5th graders are expected to write. They have to find direct textual evidence to prove their points. I did not have to do such until seventh grade!!
October 5th
The day started a bit rough because the students would not listen to Mrs. Meyer. They were not doing the work she asked nor would they stay quiet. I do not think that the kids were meaning to be disrespectful, I just think they had a lot of energy. The class was started with something called "Status of the Class". This is where Mrs. Meyer checks on each students progression in reading. She asks what book they are reading and how many books they have read since the last "Status of the Class". After this, they change the classroom jobs. They get "good apples" if they follow through with their jobs. "Good Apples" are things that get turned in and pulled like a raffle. They are used as incentives for the kids to do their best on everything. The lesson of the day this day was about debatable versus undebatable aspects in different books. The students were asked to think about and look in their books for what was fact or what could be debated. They then had to provide evidence and explain their reasoning for why they thought the way they did. In the middle of this, an unexpected lock down drill occurred. This threw the students off and scared them as well. The teachers were not informed that a practice drill would be occurring, so everyone was caught off guard.
October 12th
Each Monday morning, I have observed that the students try very hard to speak and have a conversation with Mrs. Meyer. The kids will ask question on top of question to her. I feel like this is because she has created an environment where they all feel comfortable and want to share whatever possible with her. After she gets the students on task, doing what they need to be, their typical Monday begins. The kids were told to compare the two books that they were reading in class. The two books were Fly Away Home and Home of the Brave. I got to have one on one time with a student named Ashley because I read the story Fly Away Home to her. I was able to do this because she missed the day of class where it was read to them, and Mrs. Meyer asked me to catch her up. I was very surprised to hear all the comparisons that the students were coming up with. Their comparisons were so much more insightful than I was expecting! After this discussion, Mrs. Meyer did read-a-loud. Their read-a-loud book was Home of the Brave. The kids were beyond excited because they had not been able to do this for a week.
October 19th
This Monday, when I went to observe at Orchard, I observed a different classroom. This time, I went into Mrs. Elliott's classroom across the hall. While I was in her classroom, she was teaching the students about government. I noticed that to keep the students on task, she has a point system. If the students do something well or are on task, they earn points. Then, if they are not on task or not listening, they can get points taken away. In class this day, the students were reviewing for a test that they had coming up. The material they were reviewing was different types of government. The three different types that they were studying were democracies, dictatorships, and monarchies. When given a scenario, they had to determine what type of government it was. After they reviewed, a new project was presented to them called the social issue project. They were allowed to work with partners to create questions on social issues in society. They have to research the different opinions on the topic and present which they believe is the most logical. I felt as though this project was very complicated for fifth graders. They have to think very in depth and outside of the box.
October 26th
This Monday was also interesting and a different experience. At the time I was visiting, author, Gary Schmidt came to visit the school. He is the author of well known books, Wednesday Wars and First Boy. Many of the students at Orchard read Wednesday Wars in fifth grade and a select few fifth graders were reading First Boy at the time of this visit. Gary told the students about his writing process and that even when he's not in the middle of writing a book, he tries to write at least 100 words a day. He started the visit by telling the students how he believes that all good stories should start and end with a question. He also told the students that he found a lot of inspiration for his books throughout his childhood. He told them that throughout his books, he tries to leave things open ended so that the reader can interpret as they desire. In a way, he hopes that they create the story into their own. He also taught the students that in order to become a writer they must be avid readers, reading often, and they must write on a daily basis, as he does. The students were very engaged throughout the whole assembly, and they thought it was amazing to meet the author of a book they have all read!
November 9th
This was my last Monday visit and it was very bittersweet. By the end of my visit, I had somewhat created relationships with a couple of the students. They were all very disappointed to learn that this would be my last visit into their classroom! But, on this Monday they were learning the difference between sentences and phrases. They were being taught that multiple phrases can be combined to create sentences. At the beginning, many of the students were struggling to grasp this concept and create actual sentences. Although many were confused, they did better than I first thought they would. The second half of class was focused on guided reading. This is where Mrs. Meyer splits the class into four different groups based on their capabilities. Each group meets one on one with her to talk about the book they are reading. They are typically given the book and questions to answer after they read. They must bring this to class in order to be prepared for the discussion they all have as a group. For me, it was easy to tell which students were more capable than the others, but this is not necessarily noticed by the students throughout the class.
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