Journal Entry #4
Date of Service Learning Experience: 9/27/07
Total hours that day: 3 hrs. 12:30-3:30
Total hours of experience: 9 hrs.
Today’s service learning experience was very nerve wrecking. I had to do my read aloud to the class and I was so nervous because I knew the teacher was critiquing me. When the kids came in from lunch, they were excited to see me because the teacher had told them earlier that I would be in to read. Once I got up to read and knew the kids were excited for me to read to them, I was not as nervous as I was. The kids absolutely loved the book I read “Wild About Books” and they were so engaged the whole time I was reading to them. They don’t ever get read to in class, so they were so happy for me to read to them. After I finished the book, the kids all clapped for me and they all wanted to have the book! I ended up doing a writing assignment with them where they had to draw and write a summary of that drawing about what their favorite part of the book was. The number one favorite part was when the “otters never went swimming without Harry Potter!”
This week I also went and meet with my Junior Achievement kindergarten teacher, Mrs. J. She is one of the most effective teachers I have been around in a long time. She never once yelled at the kids who were being rowdy and she always made the students feel like they were very smart. Every time the students would answer a question that was hard or they just finally figured out the question after a few times, she would tell them to “kiss your brain” and they would kiss their hand and then put their hands to their head. The kids absolutely love this because they feel that they are smart and can accomplish anything if they try at it. Another great thing about Mrs. J, is that she is ESOL endorsed and can speak Spanish to some extent. The school that I am doing Junior Achievement has a very high Hispanic population so it is great that she can speak Spanish. During one of her activities, Mrs. J let the Spanish children speak in their own native language because they couldn’t say some words like “rectangle” in English. I really enjoyed being in her class and I really can’t wait to go back and teach my JA lessons to them because the children are so well behaved and the teacher is an excellent teacher and I really want to learn some techniques of teaching from her.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Lisa Roberts 9/25
Today I worked with many students trying to catch up the running records for reading fluency. I was working with the teacher's assistant who was making sure I did it correctly. I mentioned this in one of my classes but every time they miss a word, even one that is a name that could be pronounced a million different ways, I was told to count it as a mistake. The same reading passage was being used for all of the students and nearly all of them mispronounced the name every time they came to it. After the reading the students were not told how many words they got correct because the top readers were engaged in a competition to see who read faster, not more fluently, just faster. I was instructed not to take the time to tell students the correct pronunciation of the words they missed. This seemed so illogical to me that I pushed the issue and was told that if I wanted to tell them what they missed and how it should be read I could, but that in "real life" I would find that I didn't have time. It took less than 30 seconds per child to explain and have them reread the words correctly. I hope that when I am a teacher I am never so busy that I don't have an extra 30 seconds to teach a child how to fix a mistake that might avoid a future one. If you don't correct them they would continue to miss the same words indefinitely.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Raiza Perdomo
This is more of a reflection of multiple service learning experiences. I have been a little bit busy so I haven't had the chance to sign in and reflect on my experiences each day.
So, on Tuesday I went over to Oakcrest Elementary School to complete the first lesson of my junior achievement lessons. I was in Mr. Paskus's class, which I was surprised to find out that there were only eleven students in his class. I thought it went pretty smoothly at first. I tend to talk very fast. So when I gave them a brief bio of myself as the introduction to the lesson the teacher said I was zooming through that pretty fast. I did not realize it at the time though probably because I was so nervous. The students were very cooperative and listened to everything I said. As usual there were a few students that were eager to tell stories that really had nothing to do with what we were talking about. But, they were very adorable. When I asked them what their parents, family members or neighbors did for a job their answers were interesting. Most parents worked at Burger King, Wal-Mart, Salvation Army, or cleaning houses. The students when I asked them what they wanted to be when they grew up mostly said a teacher just like Mr. Paskus. But, one very cute student said, " I want to be a trucker." So the lesson was pretty much a success and I will be back there next Tuesday for the following lesson.
I then volunteered at Ward Highlands Elementary School on Thursday in Mrs. Hank’s first grade class. I was there from 12-2 so pretty much the end of their school day. The class was very vibrant. She had a frog theme going on. Everything from number lines to book bins the frogs were swarming the place. The class is not very big only 17 students and only 4 of the students are Hispanic or Black. None of the students are English language learners. Also the teacher said that they’re all pretty much close to the same levels of learning except one student. Student J was just placed in her class a week ago but he is very advanced. She creates an entire different curriculum for him because she knows that he can handle it. Student J's parents want to advance him in to second grade but the teacher is encouraging them not to because he is very immature. Though he is very bright she does not feel that he is ready to go into second grade. I think he's parents will be taking him out of Mrs. Hank’s class.
Though, I really enjoyed being in her classroom I left with a headache. She is a very good teacher but she is very...how do you say...anal. :-) She yells at the students for every little thing. She spends more time saying, "Excuse me! I believe I was talking..", "That's funny I thought I was talking...""Hmmm last time I checked I was the teacher and use should be listening to what I am saying". Very sarcastic and just too much.
On Friday I went back to Mrs. Hanks class for the whole day. That was an experience I had never been at an elementary school from start to finish. It was apple day so it was crazier than usual. The students began class by watching the teacher make applesauce. They then listened to her read about apple fractions. Afterwards they molded Play-Doh into apples/balls and cut it into fractions using dental floss. I was going around making sure they could cut the Play-Doh with the dental floss. She then rotated with three classes. So she did the same lesson 4 times. Each class had different behavioral problems. The first class was pretty much like her class so they listened to her. But, the second group opened with one student saying, " I don't want to play with Play-Doh." Which of course the teacher replied, "That's great. No one asked you to. Please sit down." He later then played with the Play-Doh. The last class, one student was just wandering around for five minutes before she began and she just stared at him in amazement. He looked lost. :-). Then that was a wrap. All her students came back to her class and then watched a video on Johnny Apple seed. The video was hilariously bad. The spent the day making Johnny Apple seed puppets and doing fraction worksheets.
Finally, lunch came and the students went there way and I headed to another first grade teacher's classroom with Mrs. Hanks. She has lunch with two other first grade teachers every day. You think they would talk about television, family or gossip. But, they spend their entire lunch talking about their students. To top that they don't even talk nicely some of them openly criticize the parents and the students. The teacher actually said "I can't believe that little fat black boy that came into my class today he was so fat he couldn't cross his legs." To me it seemed just a little under the belt. There six and seven years old. Student J is always the topic of conversation at lunch. Mrs. Hanks despises him. In class he told me that he would not be in class on Monday and the she asked why. He responded that he wasn't allowed to tell her and I guess she couldn't get over that. She ranted on how he was a little smug brat for 10 minutes. It seems their lunch is complied of "do you think you have it worse" banter, where the problem students are the main topic. I hope in my entire career that I never turn into Mrs. Hanks. She may be talented in teaching curriculum but her attitude is sour. She is the middle-aged white America teacher who squirts antibacterial liquid on her students hands, demands them to be quiet, pay attention, look at me, sit still, and follow my way of everything. She expects her students to act and be like the way she was raised. The students who have the worst behavioral problems in her classroom...surprise the 4 students of different backgrounds.
Another sad incident was when a female Hispanic student picked up the book Dick and Jane to read in her free time. She whispered into one the classmate’s ear and then said to the teacher, while pointing to the word Dick, "this is a bad word." The teacher made a scene that could have won her an Oscar. She yelled at the girl and made her feel like she had just committed a crime. She called her "perverted" and "disrespectful". Then asked her to put her book away and sit at her desk with her head down. The little girl practically shrank right in front of you while the whole class was paying attention and the teacher yelling at her. Maybe I'm insane but why not just pull her aside and talk to her about. What do you gain by making her feel two inches tall?
I know I am being a pretty harsh critic of Mrs. Hanks. She's been teaching for 15 years. She's got to be doing something right. But, I just find her attitude too much. I have her for a another week so maybe my thoughts will change.
Oh and by the way I learned that students no longer learn Spanish in elementary school or at least at Ward Highlands. They don't have enough funding to teach them a second language. But, high schools do. It makes a lot more sense to teach them a second language when they are younger and can absorb it better then in high school.
So I taught on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday I observed a lot, and basically graded papers. I hope to read to the students soon and maybe help the students with their reading or math. Something other than grading papers and putting smilies on them.
So, on Tuesday I went over to Oakcrest Elementary School to complete the first lesson of my junior achievement lessons. I was in Mr. Paskus's class, which I was surprised to find out that there were only eleven students in his class. I thought it went pretty smoothly at first. I tend to talk very fast. So when I gave them a brief bio of myself as the introduction to the lesson the teacher said I was zooming through that pretty fast. I did not realize it at the time though probably because I was so nervous. The students were very cooperative and listened to everything I said. As usual there were a few students that were eager to tell stories that really had nothing to do with what we were talking about. But, they were very adorable. When I asked them what their parents, family members or neighbors did for a job their answers were interesting. Most parents worked at Burger King, Wal-Mart, Salvation Army, or cleaning houses. The students when I asked them what they wanted to be when they grew up mostly said a teacher just like Mr. Paskus. But, one very cute student said, " I want to be a trucker." So the lesson was pretty much a success and I will be back there next Tuesday for the following lesson.
I then volunteered at Ward Highlands Elementary School on Thursday in Mrs. Hank’s first grade class. I was there from 12-2 so pretty much the end of their school day. The class was very vibrant. She had a frog theme going on. Everything from number lines to book bins the frogs were swarming the place. The class is not very big only 17 students and only 4 of the students are Hispanic or Black. None of the students are English language learners. Also the teacher said that they’re all pretty much close to the same levels of learning except one student. Student J was just placed in her class a week ago but he is very advanced. She creates an entire different curriculum for him because she knows that he can handle it. Student J's parents want to advance him in to second grade but the teacher is encouraging them not to because he is very immature. Though he is very bright she does not feel that he is ready to go into second grade. I think he's parents will be taking him out of Mrs. Hank’s class.
Though, I really enjoyed being in her classroom I left with a headache. She is a very good teacher but she is very...how do you say...anal. :-) She yells at the students for every little thing. She spends more time saying, "Excuse me! I believe I was talking..", "That's funny I thought I was talking...""Hmmm last time I checked I was the teacher and use should be listening to what I am saying". Very sarcastic and just too much.
On Friday I went back to Mrs. Hanks class for the whole day. That was an experience I had never been at an elementary school from start to finish. It was apple day so it was crazier than usual. The students began class by watching the teacher make applesauce. They then listened to her read about apple fractions. Afterwards they molded Play-Doh into apples/balls and cut it into fractions using dental floss. I was going around making sure they could cut the Play-Doh with the dental floss. She then rotated with three classes. So she did the same lesson 4 times. Each class had different behavioral problems. The first class was pretty much like her class so they listened to her. But, the second group opened with one student saying, " I don't want to play with Play-Doh." Which of course the teacher replied, "That's great. No one asked you to. Please sit down." He later then played with the Play-Doh. The last class, one student was just wandering around for five minutes before she began and she just stared at him in amazement. He looked lost. :-). Then that was a wrap. All her students came back to her class and then watched a video on Johnny Apple seed. The video was hilariously bad. The spent the day making Johnny Apple seed puppets and doing fraction worksheets.
Finally, lunch came and the students went there way and I headed to another first grade teacher's classroom with Mrs. Hanks. She has lunch with two other first grade teachers every day. You think they would talk about television, family or gossip. But, they spend their entire lunch talking about their students. To top that they don't even talk nicely some of them openly criticize the parents and the students. The teacher actually said "I can't believe that little fat black boy that came into my class today he was so fat he couldn't cross his legs." To me it seemed just a little under the belt. There six and seven years old. Student J is always the topic of conversation at lunch. Mrs. Hanks despises him. In class he told me that he would not be in class on Monday and the she asked why. He responded that he wasn't allowed to tell her and I guess she couldn't get over that. She ranted on how he was a little smug brat for 10 minutes. It seems their lunch is complied of "do you think you have it worse" banter, where the problem students are the main topic. I hope in my entire career that I never turn into Mrs. Hanks. She may be talented in teaching curriculum but her attitude is sour. She is the middle-aged white America teacher who squirts antibacterial liquid on her students hands, demands them to be quiet, pay attention, look at me, sit still, and follow my way of everything. She expects her students to act and be like the way she was raised. The students who have the worst behavioral problems in her classroom...surprise the 4 students of different backgrounds.
Another sad incident was when a female Hispanic student picked up the book Dick and Jane to read in her free time. She whispered into one the classmate’s ear and then said to the teacher, while pointing to the word Dick, "this is a bad word." The teacher made a scene that could have won her an Oscar. She yelled at the girl and made her feel like she had just committed a crime. She called her "perverted" and "disrespectful". Then asked her to put her book away and sit at her desk with her head down. The little girl practically shrank right in front of you while the whole class was paying attention and the teacher yelling at her. Maybe I'm insane but why not just pull her aside and talk to her about. What do you gain by making her feel two inches tall?
I know I am being a pretty harsh critic of Mrs. Hanks. She's been teaching for 15 years. She's got to be doing something right. But, I just find her attitude too much. I have her for a another week so maybe my thoughts will change.
Oh and by the way I learned that students no longer learn Spanish in elementary school or at least at Ward Highlands. They don't have enough funding to teach them a second language. But, high schools do. It makes a lot more sense to teach them a second language when they are younger and can absorb it better then in high school.
So I taught on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday I observed a lot, and basically graded papers. I hope to read to the students soon and maybe help the students with their reading or math. Something other than grading papers and putting smilies on them.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Rebecca Guess
I've been in my class three times now in two weeks. It's been interesting to see that I'm a huge help to the teacher, she gets relieved when she sees me but I feel as though the jobs I'm doing are way beyond my qualifications. I'm in no way prepared or trained to administer fluency tests or anything along those lines. Every time I come in I'm handed off to administer these tests as though I actually know what I'm doing. I can understand why she would expect me to do these tests, she simply doesn't have the time to do them herself and properly teach the kids as well. But, I can't help but feel uncomfortable in doing what I am. How do I even begin to work with the kids? Am I allowed to tell them words they don't know before they begin the test if they ask? Do I count the words they miss each time, even if they are the same. How do I calculate the score at the bottom? What do I do if they ask me a question in the middle of their time?
I'm in another classroom as well and this one is first grade. I can't help but notice that teachers yell non-stop. They yell at the kids right and left. Don't get up, raise your hand, be quiet, take out your homework folders, stop being difficult...the list goes on and on. The kids seem to be remarkably good at tuning the teachers out. I can't help but wonder, are they yelling too much? I encountered a teacher yelling at her class after SHE had gotten them all wound up and jumping around for some activity they were doing. After they didn't calm down in three minutes she started yelling. Wasn't it her fault for getting them so riled up? Is it unfair to expect such young children to come right down from that play mentality? I feel overwhelmed and apprehensive and hope that I will have the patience to not scream and yell at every little thing.
I'm in another classroom as well and this one is first grade. I can't help but notice that teachers yell non-stop. They yell at the kids right and left. Don't get up, raise your hand, be quiet, take out your homework folders, stop being difficult...the list goes on and on. The kids seem to be remarkably good at tuning the teachers out. I can't help but wonder, are they yelling too much? I encountered a teacher yelling at her class after SHE had gotten them all wound up and jumping around for some activity they were doing. After they didn't calm down in three minutes she started yelling. Wasn't it her fault for getting them so riled up? Is it unfair to expect such young children to come right down from that play mentality? I feel overwhelmed and apprehensive and hope that I will have the patience to not scream and yell at every little thing.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Gina Harris
9/25/07
Tuesday I went into the class armed with some ideas and techniques to use to try and work with student J. We discussed different ideas in class on Monday, so I was anxious to try them if the opportunity arose. Well, as usual the class totally falls apart when the students are dismissed to reading centers. In one group I had the two students, M & A, that I have given reading assessments to. While we were working in the group "A" says I can't work with all this noise, it hurts my ears. (J was the source of most.) I asked her if it was like this in the mornings and she said "yes, but not as bad." The next group had J in it and he was very rambunctious. After explaining the assignment, they began to work. J was disruptive as usual so I initiated a conversation with him. I asked him how many brothers and sisters he had. He response was, " I have 50 brothers and one stupid little sister." Then he changed that to, "I have 10 brothers, 1 little sister..." Needless to say, the timing wasn't right or something and he just continued to be a mess and didn't much work done. Also, I feel very uncomfortable doing things my was since it is not my class. I am also working with and helping the classroom aide and do not want to step on her toes :-) I thought the assignment was lame but not my call. The word crouched was in the story and J said it was crotch and from there they totally digressed.
I noticed the teacher was frazzled that day and when I left I was too.
I do observe what she does to get ideas and she does some things I would definitely use, but they almost seem like a waste of time because the kids just don't listen. She went over blends and try to demonstrate how 3 letters blend to make one sound. She used water, sugar, and lemon juice to show how 3 things put together can make one. Great idea, I thought but the kids kind of kill it because they are so unruly. She changes their desk arrangements often. I think she is trying to work out the discipline problems with different methods. When I left I told myself I didn't want to go back.
9/27/07
I went back. And I'm glad I did. I realize we are all different and I could never run my class like she does hers. She is super nice. But I could not put up with kids getting up continuously to get a drink, sharpen a pencil, throw something out, go the bathroom, or just wander the room while teaching a lesson. They walk right in front of her while she teaches on the way to do all these things. This is not a Special Ed class and I think more should be expected from these students. Today, I was asked to do more with the students (the classroom aide wasn't there) and I had no problem with that but I was going to use my judgement as far as how to deal with some of these kids. I had great centers today because I only allowed so much foolishness and got involved with them. They did phenomenal work. All but a few finished the whole assignment in the time allotted which is rare. My biggest joy however was J. He came over rowdy and immediately I got him focused on the assignment. He had made a comment a couple of times since I have been coming to the class about this little pinkie ring I wear. He touched it today at centers and I asked him if he would like to wear it. He eyes got wide and he said yes. I told him he could wear it until the timer went off to end the center time but he had to complete the whole assignment. He wore the ring, completed the assignment perfectly (even erasing and rewriting sloppy handwriting) and was good until dismissal time. He actually crawled on the floor for a good purpose this time. He, on his own, picked up every piece of garbage on the floor. Before he left, he gave me the biggest hug. I wanted to cry.
Tuesday I went into the class armed with some ideas and techniques to use to try and work with student J. We discussed different ideas in class on Monday, so I was anxious to try them if the opportunity arose. Well, as usual the class totally falls apart when the students are dismissed to reading centers. In one group I had the two students, M & A, that I have given reading assessments to. While we were working in the group "A" says I can't work with all this noise, it hurts my ears. (J was the source of most.) I asked her if it was like this in the mornings and she said "yes, but not as bad." The next group had J in it and he was very rambunctious. After explaining the assignment, they began to work. J was disruptive as usual so I initiated a conversation with him. I asked him how many brothers and sisters he had. He response was, " I have 50 brothers and one stupid little sister." Then he changed that to, "I have 10 brothers, 1 little sister..." Needless to say, the timing wasn't right or something and he just continued to be a mess and didn't much work done. Also, I feel very uncomfortable doing things my was since it is not my class. I am also working with and helping the classroom aide and do not want to step on her toes :-) I thought the assignment was lame but not my call. The word crouched was in the story and J said it was crotch and from there they totally digressed.
I noticed the teacher was frazzled that day and when I left I was too.
I do observe what she does to get ideas and she does some things I would definitely use, but they almost seem like a waste of time because the kids just don't listen. She went over blends and try to demonstrate how 3 letters blend to make one sound. She used water, sugar, and lemon juice to show how 3 things put together can make one. Great idea, I thought but the kids kind of kill it because they are so unruly. She changes their desk arrangements often. I think she is trying to work out the discipline problems with different methods. When I left I told myself I didn't want to go back.
9/27/07
I went back. And I'm glad I did. I realize we are all different and I could never run my class like she does hers. She is super nice. But I could not put up with kids getting up continuously to get a drink, sharpen a pencil, throw something out, go the bathroom, or just wander the room while teaching a lesson. They walk right in front of her while she teaches on the way to do all these things. This is not a Special Ed class and I think more should be expected from these students. Today, I was asked to do more with the students (the classroom aide wasn't there) and I had no problem with that but I was going to use my judgement as far as how to deal with some of these kids. I had great centers today because I only allowed so much foolishness and got involved with them. They did phenomenal work. All but a few finished the whole assignment in the time allotted which is rare. My biggest joy however was J. He came over rowdy and immediately I got him focused on the assignment. He had made a comment a couple of times since I have been coming to the class about this little pinkie ring I wear. He touched it today at centers and I asked him if he would like to wear it. He eyes got wide and he said yes. I told him he could wear it until the timer went off to end the center time but he had to complete the whole assignment. He wore the ring, completed the assignment perfectly (even erasing and rewriting sloppy handwriting) and was good until dismissal time. He actually crawled on the floor for a good purpose this time. He, on his own, picked up every piece of garbage on the floor. Before he left, he gave me the biggest hug. I wanted to cry.
Katherine Bergstrom
Preservice Date: 09-07-07; 10am - 12:30pm
Hours: 2.5
I approached my assigned classroom with excitement. The teacher that I am working with was an old teacher from when I attended the elementary school. I had preconceived notions of this teacher and was hesitant on working with her.
After the first 5 minutes, my opinion of her changed drastically. She explained the rules of the classroom with me by having the students review them aloud. She was very caring towards the students during their independent reading lesson and it was evident on how much the children cared for her as a teacher. Gazing around the classroom, I mentally picked up on a few classroom management ideas. The teacher had the students listed by number rather than their names. With the number system, there was a job list and discipline chart on the board.
I feel like I can learn a ton from this teacher throughout my hours.
Preservice Date: 09-13-07; 10am - 12:30pm
Hours: 2.5
The second time coming to the class. The boys in the class were happy to see me. I believe it is just because I am tall.
I was able to see the students completing a math lesson. Half the class is completing diagnostic tests while the other half is finishing a math lesson. The room, however, is not in chaos. The students are quieting working at their desks. When they have a question, they can either go to the teacher or come to me.
When they complete the diagnostic test and find out what questions they answered incorrectly, they have to explain on another piece of paper what the correct answer was, what their answer was, and how they can achieve the correct answer. One child was having a problem with instructions. So the teacher asked the children to come to the front of the class in a circle. She had one of the other students explain the directions and when they finished she asked another student to explain again. When the class broke back into their activities, the teacher approached the confused student and asked if he had any questions.
I probably would not have dealt with the situation quite like that but it was good to see another way.
Preservice Date: 09-21-07; 10am - 12:30pm
Hours: 2.5
The class was in the middle of a FCAT practice. They were editing their writings and explaining what their strengths and some of their weaknesses. The teacher later explained that the students were learning how to write the middle of an essay. They needed help of explaining their reasoning.
After the FCAT practice, the students went into SRAs. I walked around the class observing and assisting with any student who needed help.
Hours: 2.5
I approached my assigned classroom with excitement. The teacher that I am working with was an old teacher from when I attended the elementary school. I had preconceived notions of this teacher and was hesitant on working with her.
After the first 5 minutes, my opinion of her changed drastically. She explained the rules of the classroom with me by having the students review them aloud. She was very caring towards the students during their independent reading lesson and it was evident on how much the children cared for her as a teacher. Gazing around the classroom, I mentally picked up on a few classroom management ideas. The teacher had the students listed by number rather than their names. With the number system, there was a job list and discipline chart on the board.
I feel like I can learn a ton from this teacher throughout my hours.
Preservice Date: 09-13-07; 10am - 12:30pm
Hours: 2.5
The second time coming to the class. The boys in the class were happy to see me. I believe it is just because I am tall.
I was able to see the students completing a math lesson. Half the class is completing diagnostic tests while the other half is finishing a math lesson. The room, however, is not in chaos. The students are quieting working at their desks. When they have a question, they can either go to the teacher or come to me.
When they complete the diagnostic test and find out what questions they answered incorrectly, they have to explain on another piece of paper what the correct answer was, what their answer was, and how they can achieve the correct answer. One child was having a problem with instructions. So the teacher asked the children to come to the front of the class in a circle. She had one of the other students explain the directions and when they finished she asked another student to explain again. When the class broke back into their activities, the teacher approached the confused student and asked if he had any questions.
I probably would not have dealt with the situation quite like that but it was good to see another way.
Preservice Date: 09-21-07; 10am - 12:30pm
Hours: 2.5
The class was in the middle of a FCAT practice. They were editing their writings and explaining what their strengths and some of their weaknesses. The teacher later explained that the students were learning how to write the middle of an essay. They needed help of explaining their reasoning.
After the FCAT practice, the students went into SRAs. I walked around the class observing and assisting with any student who needed help.
Jennifer Harrison
Date of Volunteering: September 21
Total Hours: 6
Much to my dismay, when I arrived at the school, and walked into the classroom I noticed a major change. The class had be broken down to two classrooms and “D” was no longer in this room, he had been moved to an EH room. My quest to get to the root of the reasons for his inappropriate behavior (behavior that is inappropriate for an EH student) has ended. The class was reduced by four, leaving six students in Mrs. J’s room.
In addition to the students that were moved out, the teacher’s aide was also not there. The behavior of the students in the class was like night and day! The students were sitting at their desks, actually doing their work, and were in jollier moods. Isn’t it amazing what a child can do, when they do not have someone yelling, and nagging them all day?
Another aspect of the room that had change was the grade level each student was on. The classroom that I volunteer in is a VH room. The students in the class previous to today were on grade levels of K-5 even though they are classified as 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade students. Before I had arrived at the school that day, the Assistant Principle had informed Mrs. J that all students need to be on 4th or 5th grade level textbooks now. She stated that this was in order to raise their Florida writes and FCAT test scores. The problem with this is that now the students are trying to learn and comprehend information that requires previous knowledge, knowledge that would have been obtained if they were to have stayed on their original route. Their comprehension of the subject matter is being completely lost for the lower level students. Lessons took twice as long and left little time for anything besides Math, Science, and Reading. Mrs. J has a huge challenge and confided that she feels as though she is doing a great injustice to her students, but that she had to do as she was instructed. The challenge for her now is to be able to attempt to teach students that are already behind, new material that only two students are on the appropriate level to comprehend. I guess I will see how it goes.
Total Hours: 6
Much to my dismay, when I arrived at the school, and walked into the classroom I noticed a major change. The class had be broken down to two classrooms and “D” was no longer in this room, he had been moved to an EH room. My quest to get to the root of the reasons for his inappropriate behavior (behavior that is inappropriate for an EH student) has ended. The class was reduced by four, leaving six students in Mrs. J’s room.
In addition to the students that were moved out, the teacher’s aide was also not there. The behavior of the students in the class was like night and day! The students were sitting at their desks, actually doing their work, and were in jollier moods. Isn’t it amazing what a child can do, when they do not have someone yelling, and nagging them all day?
Another aspect of the room that had change was the grade level each student was on. The classroom that I volunteer in is a VH room. The students in the class previous to today were on grade levels of K-5 even though they are classified as 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade students. Before I had arrived at the school that day, the Assistant Principle had informed Mrs. J that all students need to be on 4th or 5th grade level textbooks now. She stated that this was in order to raise their Florida writes and FCAT test scores. The problem with this is that now the students are trying to learn and comprehend information that requires previous knowledge, knowledge that would have been obtained if they were to have stayed on their original route. Their comprehension of the subject matter is being completely lost for the lower level students. Lessons took twice as long and left little time for anything besides Math, Science, and Reading. Mrs. J has a huge challenge and confided that she feels as though she is doing a great injustice to her students, but that she had to do as she was instructed. The challenge for her now is to be able to attempt to teach students that are already behind, new material that only two students are on the appropriate level to comprehend. I guess I will see how it goes.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Kristy Westfall
Service Learning Experience
September 24, 2007 3hrs.
15 hrs. total
Wow, what a day! I had a few unique experiences happen today. First, "A" was walking around the room so I went over to her and asked if anything was wrong. She said, "I have to go to the bathroom." I said, "Okay, you can go." Her aide had left the room to return some books to the library and "A" had seemed to be doing okay. As she went into the bathroom, she began to get upset and started to raise her voice. She wanted me to stay in the bathroom with her. I said, "How about if I keep my foot in the crack of the door and keep my hand inside." The bathroom is inside the classroom and Mrs. F was right there when this was happening. My body and head were outside the bathroom. "A" was okay with this and things were okay for the rest of my time there. When her aide came back, I told her what happened. She said that was normal for her. Her mom is aware of it and the aide does exactly the same thing that I did. This experience took me by surprise because, as we all know, you are not to be alone with a student in that type of situation. But, I thought it was good to write about because it could possibly happen once we are teaching.
Next, a second autistic child in this class began coming for the whole morning. "B" spends half of the day in the autistic class and is now trying to spend the whole morning instead of a few hours in the class. Today was the first day of this. Quite interesting. "B" was yelling out in class, pulling up his shirt, and did not want to stay on task with the class. He was especially upset when his center group did not get as many points as other groups. Points are given for the quietest group, the cleanest group, and the group that completes the task at the center. I noticed that centers are better since this has been implemented. "B" was taking the points personally and was not quite comfortable with it.
September 24, 2007 3hrs.
15 hrs. total
Wow, what a day! I had a few unique experiences happen today. First, "A" was walking around the room so I went over to her and asked if anything was wrong. She said, "I have to go to the bathroom." I said, "Okay, you can go." Her aide had left the room to return some books to the library and "A" had seemed to be doing okay. As she went into the bathroom, she began to get upset and started to raise her voice. She wanted me to stay in the bathroom with her. I said, "How about if I keep my foot in the crack of the door and keep my hand inside." The bathroom is inside the classroom and Mrs. F was right there when this was happening. My body and head were outside the bathroom. "A" was okay with this and things were okay for the rest of my time there. When her aide came back, I told her what happened. She said that was normal for her. Her mom is aware of it and the aide does exactly the same thing that I did. This experience took me by surprise because, as we all know, you are not to be alone with a student in that type of situation. But, I thought it was good to write about because it could possibly happen once we are teaching.
Next, a second autistic child in this class began coming for the whole morning. "B" spends half of the day in the autistic class and is now trying to spend the whole morning instead of a few hours in the class. Today was the first day of this. Quite interesting. "B" was yelling out in class, pulling up his shirt, and did not want to stay on task with the class. He was especially upset when his center group did not get as many points as other groups. Points are given for the quietest group, the cleanest group, and the group that completes the task at the center. I noticed that centers are better since this has been implemented. "B" was taking the points personally and was not quite comfortable with it.
Kristy Westfall
Service Learning Experience
September 21, 2007 3hrs.
Total: 12 hrs.
I decided to go to Mrs. F's class in the afternoon. I had been going in the morning but I wanted to see what happens in the afternoon. I was able to see their after lunch activities. Today, the class finished the Junie B Chapter Book in shared reading. Some of the children were on the carpet, some were finishing a picture at their desks, and some wanted to sit at their desk and listen. I thought it was nice to see all of the children being quiet and respectful of Mrs. F. "A", an autistic child, was sitting in a desk away from the class. This was her choice. At times, she likes to take a "break" from the group and be alone. As I was watching her, I could see that she still had her book open and was following along with the group.
During the science lesson, Mrs. F was asking questions about the lesson. All of the students were eager to answer her and be involved in the discussion. One student tried to answer a question but it wasn't the right answer. Mrs. F did not say, "Wrong" and leave it at that. She was positive and said, "Well, that's not quite right but, you are on the right track." I believe the way you respond to a child helps to shape how that child will respond in class. If you are negative when the child gives a wrong answer, that child is not going to want to answer a question again. You need to be positive and reassuring to the child.
September 21, 2007 3hrs.
Total: 12 hrs.
I decided to go to Mrs. F's class in the afternoon. I had been going in the morning but I wanted to see what happens in the afternoon. I was able to see their after lunch activities. Today, the class finished the Junie B Chapter Book in shared reading. Some of the children were on the carpet, some were finishing a picture at their desks, and some wanted to sit at their desk and listen. I thought it was nice to see all of the children being quiet and respectful of Mrs. F. "A", an autistic child, was sitting in a desk away from the class. This was her choice. At times, she likes to take a "break" from the group and be alone. As I was watching her, I could see that she still had her book open and was following along with the group.
During the science lesson, Mrs. F was asking questions about the lesson. All of the students were eager to answer her and be involved in the discussion. One student tried to answer a question but it wasn't the right answer. Mrs. F did not say, "Wrong" and leave it at that. She was positive and said, "Well, that's not quite right but, you are on the right track." I believe the way you respond to a child helps to shape how that child will respond in class. If you are negative when the child gives a wrong answer, that child is not going to want to answer a question again. You need to be positive and reassuring to the child.
Jennifer Lung
September 24
12:30-2:30
Today was finally my first day of service learning. Unfortunately, it was not all I expected it to be. The teacher had no idea I was coming and was therefore not prepared for me. Still, the moment I walked in the door, I was asked to read a story aloud and I did so. I was later asked to write the spelling words on the board and I did. I felt as if I was told to do the things the teacher did not feel like doing.
The students, what can I say about them except they are quite rowdy. There were very few if any moments of silence during the hours I was there. I began to analyze the situation to try and figure out why the students could not even pay attention long enough to hear instructions. First, I noticed how the seating was arranged. All of the desks were apart and facing the front of the classroom. I then realized how quickly the teacher began to yell and lose her temper with the students. I would assume that the students do not like the seating arrangement and do not respond well to being screamed at.
The teacher had reward at the end of the day for students who had collected five dollars. Whenever a student is good, they receive a dollar, when they are bad, they give up a dollar. If they have five dollars at the end of the day, they can buy a piece of candy. But even if the students did not have five dollars they could convince the teacher to give them candy anyways. The whole class suddenly is centered around fighting to get more money. This, in my opinion, did exactly what it was trying to prevent, which was create chaos. I am not so sure if this is a good system for this group of students.
My next weeks in this classroom will reveal more information as to what is causing the restlessness in the children.
12:30-2:30
Today was finally my first day of service learning. Unfortunately, it was not all I expected it to be. The teacher had no idea I was coming and was therefore not prepared for me. Still, the moment I walked in the door, I was asked to read a story aloud and I did so. I was later asked to write the spelling words on the board and I did. I felt as if I was told to do the things the teacher did not feel like doing.
The students, what can I say about them except they are quite rowdy. There were very few if any moments of silence during the hours I was there. I began to analyze the situation to try and figure out why the students could not even pay attention long enough to hear instructions. First, I noticed how the seating was arranged. All of the desks were apart and facing the front of the classroom. I then realized how quickly the teacher began to yell and lose her temper with the students. I would assume that the students do not like the seating arrangement and do not respond well to being screamed at.
The teacher had reward at the end of the day for students who had collected five dollars. Whenever a student is good, they receive a dollar, when they are bad, they give up a dollar. If they have five dollars at the end of the day, they can buy a piece of candy. But even if the students did not have five dollars they could convince the teacher to give them candy anyways. The whole class suddenly is centered around fighting to get more money. This, in my opinion, did exactly what it was trying to prevent, which was create chaos. I am not so sure if this is a good system for this group of students.
My next weeks in this classroom will reveal more information as to what is causing the restlessness in the children.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Priscilla Carpenter
Journal Entry #3
Date of Service Learning Experience: 9/21/07
Total hours that day: 2 hrs; 10:30-12:30
Total hours of service learning experience: 6 hrs.
Today’s service learning experience was not what I would have expected. I was very disappointed by the class today and I was very disappointed in myself and the teacher. I was very sick today and really didn’t feel like doing much of anything, which I know sounds completely terrible. The teacher was very stressed out today as well because of a very sudden and deadly illness in the family had occurred and she had a lot of meetings she had to endure that day. So as you can tell, the class was a little rowdy due to the fact of the lack of organization within the classroom. Then to make matters worse, the air conditioner broke and it made it extremely hot in the classroom. It was going to be a long day…
The time that I observed and helped the children was during their reading time. The teacher really didn’t feel like teaching a lesson per say, so she decided to have the students work in pairs and read a chapter about Sounds in their science textbooks. After they read the chapter, they were supposed to write their own questions about what they read and quiz their other classmates. The students had fun with this assignment and came up with some very interesting questions. You could really tell who was asking the higher order questions and who was asking the lower order questions. After this assignment, they had a little time for silent reading while I helped some students with the STAR test and dibbles. Also during this time, one of the students birthday’s was today so he brought in cupcakes and goody bags for the students, which of course made them even more rowdy!
This weeks service learning experience wasn’t a very productive one to me, but I still enjoyed being with the students because they can always make you laugh no matter how bad you feel. Next week will be more exciting when I get to do my read aloud and a lesson I incorporated with it. I am also excited about next week because I start my Junior Achievement lesson’s as well. So I am very disappointed in myself this week because I didn’t learn as much as I should have and I don’t think I helped the students as much as I should have. However, that will definitely change next week when I teach a lesson to the class and do my read aloud!
Date of Service Learning Experience: 9/21/07
Total hours that day: 2 hrs; 10:30-12:30
Total hours of service learning experience: 6 hrs.
Today’s service learning experience was not what I would have expected. I was very disappointed by the class today and I was very disappointed in myself and the teacher. I was very sick today and really didn’t feel like doing much of anything, which I know sounds completely terrible. The teacher was very stressed out today as well because of a very sudden and deadly illness in the family had occurred and she had a lot of meetings she had to endure that day. So as you can tell, the class was a little rowdy due to the fact of the lack of organization within the classroom. Then to make matters worse, the air conditioner broke and it made it extremely hot in the classroom. It was going to be a long day…
The time that I observed and helped the children was during their reading time. The teacher really didn’t feel like teaching a lesson per say, so she decided to have the students work in pairs and read a chapter about Sounds in their science textbooks. After they read the chapter, they were supposed to write their own questions about what they read and quiz their other classmates. The students had fun with this assignment and came up with some very interesting questions. You could really tell who was asking the higher order questions and who was asking the lower order questions. After this assignment, they had a little time for silent reading while I helped some students with the STAR test and dibbles. Also during this time, one of the students birthday’s was today so he brought in cupcakes and goody bags for the students, which of course made them even more rowdy!
This weeks service learning experience wasn’t a very productive one to me, but I still enjoyed being with the students because they can always make you laugh no matter how bad you feel. Next week will be more exciting when I get to do my read aloud and a lesson I incorporated with it. I am also excited about next week because I start my Junior Achievement lesson’s as well. So I am very disappointed in myself this week because I didn’t learn as much as I should have and I don’t think I helped the students as much as I should have. However, that will definitely change next week when I teach a lesson to the class and do my read aloud!
Brandy Barnett
Service Learning
9/21/07 8am-10am
On September 21, 2007 I completed my read aloud assignment at Emerald Shores Elementary School in Mrs. Beach’s first grade class. I chose to read Five Little Monkeys Play Hide and Seek by Eileen Christelow. This is a very cute, lively, and funny story. It also happens to be a favorite of my four year old daughter. I had already previously completed four hours of service learning in Mrs. Beach’s class, so the students were familiar with my presence. I had anticipated that this would be a great time of sharing and learning. I love reading to my children at home. I did not anticipate feeling so nervous when it was time for the big event.
Mrs. Beach instructed the students by their assigned group color to go sit in a corner of the room where she normally does group class activities. I sat in a chair in front of them while they were all seated on the floor. As soon as I introduced myself formally and reminded them of story time etiquette, I was amazed at how a wave of nausea and nervousness swept over me. I remember thinking, “Brandy, you have got to get it together, these are first graders for crying out loud.” I asked them what they thought the book was going to be about based on the cover. Their answers seem to be a distant memory. My fingers fumbled as I opened the book and began to read. My voice quivered as I read the first two pages. During the third page, I invited the children to count along with me in the story. It was at that moment that these children became my four year old little daughter. A feeling of enjoyment and familiarity overflowed. I sailed through the rest of the story as I had done many nights before. The children laughed and participated. They actively searched for the monkeys on every page. I had made a mental note to make sure all the children got to see the pictures. This reminder came as a result of a comment from our read aloud with our peers in the classroom. My southern accent that I gave to the character of Lu Lu made the teacher smile. By the end of the story, I had become somebody the children could identify with, not just a stranger who helps the teacher in the classroom. It has to be one of most memorable experiences in the classroom thus far in my education career.
At the end of the story, I asked where the children like to hide when they play hide and seek at home. I got an overwhelming response of answers. I did notice that once one child said “the toilet”, the next couple of children tried to make a response more inappropriate than that one. After questioning the validity of their answers, the remaining responses were good hiding places. The teacher frowned upon the initiating of the inappropriate responses and made mention of that to the children when I was finished. Mrs. Beach said that I was more than welcome to read a story every Friday if I wanted to. I took a lot of pride in that compliment.
9/21/07 8am-10am
On September 21, 2007 I completed my read aloud assignment at Emerald Shores Elementary School in Mrs. Beach’s first grade class. I chose to read Five Little Monkeys Play Hide and Seek by Eileen Christelow. This is a very cute, lively, and funny story. It also happens to be a favorite of my four year old daughter. I had already previously completed four hours of service learning in Mrs. Beach’s class, so the students were familiar with my presence. I had anticipated that this would be a great time of sharing and learning. I love reading to my children at home. I did not anticipate feeling so nervous when it was time for the big event.
Mrs. Beach instructed the students by their assigned group color to go sit in a corner of the room where she normally does group class activities. I sat in a chair in front of them while they were all seated on the floor. As soon as I introduced myself formally and reminded them of story time etiquette, I was amazed at how a wave of nausea and nervousness swept over me. I remember thinking, “Brandy, you have got to get it together, these are first graders for crying out loud.” I asked them what they thought the book was going to be about based on the cover. Their answers seem to be a distant memory. My fingers fumbled as I opened the book and began to read. My voice quivered as I read the first two pages. During the third page, I invited the children to count along with me in the story. It was at that moment that these children became my four year old little daughter. A feeling of enjoyment and familiarity overflowed. I sailed through the rest of the story as I had done many nights before. The children laughed and participated. They actively searched for the monkeys on every page. I had made a mental note to make sure all the children got to see the pictures. This reminder came as a result of a comment from our read aloud with our peers in the classroom. My southern accent that I gave to the character of Lu Lu made the teacher smile. By the end of the story, I had become somebody the children could identify with, not just a stranger who helps the teacher in the classroom. It has to be one of most memorable experiences in the classroom thus far in my education career.
At the end of the story, I asked where the children like to hide when they play hide and seek at home. I got an overwhelming response of answers. I did notice that once one child said “the toilet”, the next couple of children tried to make a response more inappropriate than that one. After questioning the validity of their answers, the remaining responses were good hiding places. The teacher frowned upon the initiating of the inappropriate responses and made mention of that to the children when I was finished. Mrs. Beach said that I was more than welcome to read a story every Friday if I wanted to. I took a lot of pride in that compliment.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Jennifer Sonneberger
I just wanted to share something funny that happened today. I went with Mrs. Mullins, my service learning teacher, to meet another teacher, Mrs. Christopher. I am going to be in Mrs. Christopher's class with Junior Achievement. Right after we entered the classroom, the fire alarm went off. One little boy literally pushed Mrs. Mullins out of his way so he could get out the door first. It was too funny.
Just thought everyone would enjoy this "Seinfeld" moment.
Just thought everyone would enjoy this "Seinfeld" moment.
Jennifer Sonneberger
Today, I went to volunteer at Romeo Elementary. This is the third time I have been there. I am volunteering in a 3rd grade class. I have known the teacher, Mrs. Mullins for a couple years. I did my service learning experience in her class last year. When I first went into her room, I recognized a few of the kids that were in a Kindergarten class I volunteered in a few years earlier. There was one little girl who used to light up the room in Kindergarten, and as soon as I walked in, she had a big smile for me. Somethings never change.
For the past few weeks, she has had me work with a few students at a time, so I have gotten a chance to talk to some of them, and learn about them. Everytime I go she puts me with one little girl. I know she has already repeated one grade, and she is really struggling to read. I think the teacher is hoping some individual attention will help her, but I think someone dropped the ball long ago. I feel this is a big problem at this particualr school, and probably throughout many schools here in Marion county. This is a rural school, and many of the families are either poor, or consist of single mothers raising these children alone. This is a huge problem. When you are trying to survive, you do not have time to help your children with school work, or read to them every night, like they need. I will try to help her, but htere is only so much one can do. If the foundation for reading has not been properly laid, the building cannot be built.
For the past few weeks, she has had me work with a few students at a time, so I have gotten a chance to talk to some of them, and learn about them. Everytime I go she puts me with one little girl. I know she has already repeated one grade, and she is really struggling to read. I think the teacher is hoping some individual attention will help her, but I think someone dropped the ball long ago. I feel this is a big problem at this particualr school, and probably throughout many schools here in Marion county. This is a rural school, and many of the families are either poor, or consist of single mothers raising these children alone. This is a huge problem. When you are trying to survive, you do not have time to help your children with school work, or read to them every night, like they need. I will try to help her, but htere is only so much one can do. If the foundation for reading has not been properly laid, the building cannot be built.
Gina Harris
9/20/07
Today I did my read aloud in class. I read the book, Hey, Al by Arthur Yorkins to to the class. I introduced my self even though they know me and briefly mentioned behavior as a listener (thought it couldn't hurt :-). They are as you know, a very rowdy bunch and I thought that would be my biggest hurdle. Student J was speaking out, but was very interested in the story. He knew exactly what was going on and answered the high order questions without hesitation. As a matter of fact his use of higher vocabulary was definitely inspiring. Intelligence is obviously not his problem or maybe it is. Maybe his is simply bored out of his mind. I wish I was qualified to evaluate. They moved around, even in front of me while I read, but I never lost my train of thought and they were still engaged with the book. The teacher allows this kind of behavior and I did not feel that I should do anything but read the story. Despite the restlessness of the students they were involved in the story and were willing to answer questions. The different perspective of each student is always a treat to me. I try to apply what I have learned so far in my classes. I see techniques used by the teacher that have been mentioned. She used photo analysis in her reading lesson. She had the students use a Venn Diagram in the analysis, but so many were not on task.
I read with M & A in the hallway and they worked on their spelling sheets. I noticed that when they are separated fro the class confusion they are so much more focused and did really good work just at a slower pace. I see how individual attention can make a big difference in the success of some students.
Today I did my read aloud in class. I read the book, Hey, Al by Arthur Yorkins to to the class. I introduced my self even though they know me and briefly mentioned behavior as a listener (thought it couldn't hurt :-). They are as you know, a very rowdy bunch and I thought that would be my biggest hurdle. Student J was speaking out, but was very interested in the story. He knew exactly what was going on and answered the high order questions without hesitation. As a matter of fact his use of higher vocabulary was definitely inspiring. Intelligence is obviously not his problem or maybe it is. Maybe his is simply bored out of his mind. I wish I was qualified to evaluate. They moved around, even in front of me while I read, but I never lost my train of thought and they were still engaged with the book. The teacher allows this kind of behavior and I did not feel that I should do anything but read the story. Despite the restlessness of the students they were involved in the story and were willing to answer questions. The different perspective of each student is always a treat to me. I try to apply what I have learned so far in my classes. I see techniques used by the teacher that have been mentioned. She used photo analysis in her reading lesson. She had the students use a Venn Diagram in the analysis, but so many were not on task.
I read with M & A in the hallway and they worked on their spelling sheets. I noticed that when they are separated fro the class confusion they are so much more focused and did really good work just at a slower pace. I see how individual attention can make a big difference in the success of some students.
Learning Service/EDG 4467
Hello, this is Alia Kasem
September, 20, 2007
From 7:45 am. Until 10:00 am.
I entered the class and the students were doing their bell work which was daily math, proof reading, and writing the letter I. We started with the pledge then the attendance. The teacher asked the students to start reviewing the proof read first together. He is trying to build the trust in the students and let each person checked his own paper with pen while reviewing. Students did well at the trusting part except one student, but they learned to put period between abbreviations like 30 M.P.H. and learned to put a coma before a conjunction like but. The teacher asked who found the nine mistakes in the line. The only one student was the one that cheated and I did saw him and directed him not to do it again. The teacher was smart and did pass him and said I saw you changing your answers and I do not want you to do it tomorrow because today is not for grading, but tomorrow will be.
Next was the daily math sheet. They went over the symmetry line, transition, reflection, and rotation. The teacher did relate each movement to another name that makes students understand it better. He named them slide for transition, flip for reflection, and turn for rotation.
Next the front desk announced that today there will be some visitors in the classrooms who will be reading stories to the kids. After few minutes, the reader came and read Jack and the Giant. The teacher informed the students that it is an AR book and you can take a test on it to collect reading points. The students were very polite and quiet, and the story teller was interesting and full with enthusiasm. After the teller left, the teacher started to ask questions about the story. He asked where was the story took place, when was the story happened was it in the past, in the present, or in the future, who are the main characters of the story, and describe the giant and Jack. I loved the teacher’s questions because they were in different order levels. Some were direct questions and needed direct answer; others were high order level questions. He informed the students that there are two kinds of descriptions, the physical and the personality ones. One of the students described Jack smart, but the teacher improved the students vocabulary and told them there is another word to describe beyond smartness is the word CLEVER.
One thing I noticed from the teacher that he is teaches the children to behave in a good and interesting way. On the door before they go to specials, he reminded the students that we still have visitors in the school. Therefore, we have to look our best and raise your head to represent yourself and your school. The students started to straighten up themselves and checked their clothes and out the class went very quiet. Then I left.
September, 20, 2007
From 7:45 am. Until 10:00 am.
I entered the class and the students were doing their bell work which was daily math, proof reading, and writing the letter I. We started with the pledge then the attendance. The teacher asked the students to start reviewing the proof read first together. He is trying to build the trust in the students and let each person checked his own paper with pen while reviewing. Students did well at the trusting part except one student, but they learned to put period between abbreviations like 30 M.P.H. and learned to put a coma before a conjunction like but. The teacher asked who found the nine mistakes in the line. The only one student was the one that cheated and I did saw him and directed him not to do it again. The teacher was smart and did pass him and said I saw you changing your answers and I do not want you to do it tomorrow because today is not for grading, but tomorrow will be.
Next was the daily math sheet. They went over the symmetry line, transition, reflection, and rotation. The teacher did relate each movement to another name that makes students understand it better. He named them slide for transition, flip for reflection, and turn for rotation.
Next the front desk announced that today there will be some visitors in the classrooms who will be reading stories to the kids. After few minutes, the reader came and read Jack and the Giant. The teacher informed the students that it is an AR book and you can take a test on it to collect reading points. The students were very polite and quiet, and the story teller was interesting and full with enthusiasm. After the teller left, the teacher started to ask questions about the story. He asked where was the story took place, when was the story happened was it in the past, in the present, or in the future, who are the main characters of the story, and describe the giant and Jack. I loved the teacher’s questions because they were in different order levels. Some were direct questions and needed direct answer; others were high order level questions. He informed the students that there are two kinds of descriptions, the physical and the personality ones. One of the students described Jack smart, but the teacher improved the students vocabulary and told them there is another word to describe beyond smartness is the word CLEVER.
One thing I noticed from the teacher that he is teaches the children to behave in a good and interesting way. On the door before they go to specials, he reminded the students that we still have visitors in the school. Therefore, we have to look our best and raise your head to represent yourself and your school. The students started to straighten up themselves and checked their clothes and out the class went very quiet. Then I left.
Learning Service/ EDG 4467
Hello, this is Alia
September, 12, 2007
From 12 noon until 2:00 pm.
As usual I went to Mr. Hunt class and the students just finished lunch. The teacher started telling the students to get out their science folder get the paper inside it, and clear you desk from any thing else. Most of the kids did except the same two students that do not organize their papers, so I helped them to look for it.
The teacher: Now we will talk about science and what would you do when you have a science projector a science experiment, what is the first thing you will do?
None of the students raise their hands.
Teacher: There is something you will do first and talked about it yesterday.
Student: Ask a question.
Teacher: Good. You will ask your self why this happened, what cause this thing to happen. What is the next thing you will do in the experiment?
Students: We do not know.
Teacher: Hi Ashely, Hi Eric.
Students: Started to laugh.
Teacher: I said Hi because the word starts with Hi Hypo..
Student: Hypothesis.
I really liked the way he scaffold the answer from the kids by relating it to something familiar and funny. He explained the hypothesis to the students as their guess of what would happen. He agreed with them from two days ago to bring different colors T-shirts to check which color will make them feel warmer and which will make them feel cooler. He talked about the tools, the steps, and the variables.
Then they moved to reading period. The asked all students to get out their reading book and pulled Hooray for Tay Tay. The teacher told the students now it is phonics time, we will read loud together for one minute and count how many words we can read in one minute, and if you feel comfortable standing up or sitting on the floor I have no problem. They start to read and I was making sure that all of them were reading loud. After half minute, some started to get slower and softer, so the teacher praised a student for reading loud and clear from the beginning to the end. The read 108 words /minute and the average for 3rd graders are 97 words/ minute. The next time they scored 112 words/ minute.
After few minutes, the teacher asked the students to go to take AR tests on the computers on the books they read before. The teacher asked me to use the multiplication cards to let them memorize their tables. I did it as a competition and it was really a successful practice because they had a math test the next day.
I just felt very comfortable in the class and with the students because everyone was participating and looks happy. Not only the students, but the teacher too, he looked happy and comfortable because they did finish the first two weeks testing. So the personal feelings of the teacher do in fact reflect on the students’ performances.
Alia Kasem
September, 12, 2007
From 12 noon until 2:00 pm.
As usual I went to Mr. Hunt class and the students just finished lunch. The teacher started telling the students to get out their science folder get the paper inside it, and clear you desk from any thing else. Most of the kids did except the same two students that do not organize their papers, so I helped them to look for it.
The teacher: Now we will talk about science and what would you do when you have a science projector a science experiment, what is the first thing you will do?
None of the students raise their hands.
Teacher: There is something you will do first and talked about it yesterday.
Student: Ask a question.
Teacher: Good. You will ask your self why this happened, what cause this thing to happen. What is the next thing you will do in the experiment?
Students: We do not know.
Teacher: Hi Ashely, Hi Eric.
Students: Started to laugh.
Teacher: I said Hi because the word starts with Hi Hypo..
Student: Hypothesis.
I really liked the way he scaffold the answer from the kids by relating it to something familiar and funny. He explained the hypothesis to the students as their guess of what would happen. He agreed with them from two days ago to bring different colors T-shirts to check which color will make them feel warmer and which will make them feel cooler. He talked about the tools, the steps, and the variables.
Then they moved to reading period. The asked all students to get out their reading book and pulled Hooray for Tay Tay. The teacher told the students now it is phonics time, we will read loud together for one minute and count how many words we can read in one minute, and if you feel comfortable standing up or sitting on the floor I have no problem. They start to read and I was making sure that all of them were reading loud. After half minute, some started to get slower and softer, so the teacher praised a student for reading loud and clear from the beginning to the end. The read 108 words /minute and the average for 3rd graders are 97 words/ minute. The next time they scored 112 words/ minute.
After few minutes, the teacher asked the students to go to take AR tests on the computers on the books they read before. The teacher asked me to use the multiplication cards to let them memorize their tables. I did it as a competition and it was really a successful practice because they had a math test the next day.
I just felt very comfortable in the class and with the students because everyone was participating and looks happy. Not only the students, but the teacher too, he looked happy and comfortable because they did finish the first two weeks testing. So the personal feelings of the teacher do in fact reflect on the students’ performances.
Alia Kasem
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Rebecca Guess/Service Learning
I started my service learning this week at College Park Elementary. It was…..interesting. The kids were switching classes between another teacher, so I still have no idea as to which kids belong where regularly. I felt very abandoned because as soon as I walked through the door the teacher passed me a list of names and papers and said, “Here, take these kids one by one and give them this fluency test”. For a moment I think I stared stupidly at her while processing the information. I know nothing about kids and here I was being given the task of grading their reading.
The children were as good as one could expect and I did encounter one student who was more interested in anything else but the reading. I soon realized why when she began, she could barely read. I really believe that she didn’t want to start and delayed me as much as she could.
I also volunteer at Forest High in Mr. Y’s class. While
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Lisa Roberts/Service Learning
Today was my second day of service learning. I felt like I was thrown off the deep end of the dock. I have volunteered at this school in the past so I guess they just thought I knew what I was doing so they gave me the instructor's manual and a lone ESOL student and said "take him to the cafeteria and do his lesson". I quickly realized that there is alot you need to know before you can just go teach a lesson. The lesson was on reading comprehension, spelling, and vocabulary. I had not read the story so I didn't really know if the student had comprehended it or not. I also was told to give him a spelling test and if he got at least 90% correct he would not have to take the test on Friday. This seemed to go OK and he speeled all but one word correctly. He had his workbook with him but I wasn't exactly sure how many pages we were supposed to do. The lesson was clearly broken down into reading blocks or mini-lessons. The Sunshine State Benchmarks were also written on each page so it would be easy to follow once you have the format figured out. It basically runs one story per week. The student would read it on Monday and follow up with lessons throughout the week on the same story. After "winging" it in the cafeteria we returned to the room where the rest of the class was working on silent reading (ha-ha). They were in pairs and some groups were reading others were doing various odd things like sitting on top of one another (for real). I decided I would be most useful preparing myself for next week's reading block and read the story that "my student" will be working on so I am not lost. My main lesson of the day is that "PLANNING" is a requirement of succesful teaching.
Excellent job
I enjoy reading everyone's posts. I get a feeling for each classroom from what you write. The variety shows how different teaching can be and how challenging it can be. I'm glad there are private, religious school posts as well. I think this blog is working. I hope you do, too.
This is alot of work in such a short period of time. Keep up the good work.
Tom Murray
This is alot of work in such a short period of time. Keep up the good work.
Tom Murray
KC Knudsen
I started serving my service learning hours on Monday, September 17, 2007. I served about 3.5 hours. When I first arrived at the school, I met with the principal. She placed me in a sixth/seventh grade math class. The class was learning about the Pre-Algebra concept of the distributive property. I couldn’t believe my eyes! The entire class of about 16 students was participating in the lesson. It was great. The instructor gave me a book and I was able to help students that were struggling with the concept. The class lasted about 50 minutes, but the time flew by. In that miniscule period of time, I learned so much. I realized that even though the teacher may teach well and accommodate all of the students, sometimes students need to have someone else explain the concept to them. I don’t understand why this works, but it did several times during the period.
All afternoon, for the next 2.5 hours, I sat in a second grade class. I didn’t like this class so much. Well, I don’t think it was the class, I think it was the instruction. There was absolutely nothing for me to do. I sat for 2.5 hours, it was terrible. I did observe a few interesting things. I observed that the instructor used the “count down method” to get the kids under control after lunch. You know, the 10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1, and it actually worked. Well, for the most part. After the kids got settled, they shared the sentence and picture they drew before lunch. The teacher didn’t seem like she was paying attention. But, she would know when one student stopped and she would signal for the next student to begin. When the class was finished with sharing their pictures, they began religion class (I am doing my service learning hours at a church school). She popped in a 30 minute video for the kids to watch. Needless to say, I did learn a lot about Joseph. At the end of the video, she briefly, I mean briefly, discussed what happen in the video with the students. The class then began their science lesson, which was another 30 or so minute video on how plants grow. The teacher briefly discussed the video and they moved on to social studies. The class read out of the textbook, one student per paragraph or section, and they discussed the new vocabulary. The last lesson I “observed” in the classroom was the handwriting lesson. The class went over the problems with the previous letter “K”. I thought that the teacher made a weird lower-case “K”. She looped the “<” part of the “K” so that it kind of looked like a weird cross between a cursive “K” and a script “K”. I didn’t have time to ask her why students are being taught the letter this way. I intend to next week.
All afternoon, for the next 2.5 hours, I sat in a second grade class. I didn’t like this class so much. Well, I don’t think it was the class, I think it was the instruction. There was absolutely nothing for me to do. I sat for 2.5 hours, it was terrible. I did observe a few interesting things. I observed that the instructor used the “count down method” to get the kids under control after lunch. You know, the 10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1, and it actually worked. Well, for the most part. After the kids got settled, they shared the sentence and picture they drew before lunch. The teacher didn’t seem like she was paying attention. But, she would know when one student stopped and she would signal for the next student to begin. When the class was finished with sharing their pictures, they began religion class (I am doing my service learning hours at a church school). She popped in a 30 minute video for the kids to watch. Needless to say, I did learn a lot about Joseph. At the end of the video, she briefly, I mean briefly, discussed what happen in the video with the students. The class then began their science lesson, which was another 30 or so minute video on how plants grow. The teacher briefly discussed the video and they moved on to social studies. The class read out of the textbook, one student per paragraph or section, and they discussed the new vocabulary. The last lesson I “observed” in the classroom was the handwriting lesson. The class went over the problems with the previous letter “K”. I thought that the teacher made a weird lower-case “K”. She looped the “<” part of the “K” so that it kind of looked like a weird cross between a cursive “K” and a script “K”. I didn’t have time to ask her why students are being taught the letter this way. I intend to next week.
Gian Harris
9/18/07
When I walked into the room, the first thing I noticed is that the kids were quiet and listening to the teacher reviewing a story. The second thing I noticed was another woman evaluating the teacher. The kids seem to be well behaved when a person of authority is in the classroom and opposed to the teacher, myself and an aide. I did notice that the teacher was not allowing them to talk without raising their hand and was more aware of their restlessness. She was making eye contact with the students and moving to stand near their desk whenever it appeared that they may cause a distraction.
She was reviewing the story in the reading book and asking some very good critical thinking questions. The story was about families and they did a little picture analysis before reading. They discussed the pictures in the book, with her asking some critical thinking questions such as, What do you see? What do you think is happening? and What do you think might happen next. She gave the kids positive reinforcement when they participated in a respectful manner.
The person who was evaluating the teacher left the room and things began to deteriorate.
Then it was time for Reading groups. The kids become very disruptive and student J starting setting the pace for the class once again. After Monday's class and Dr. Murray pointing some things out, I did notice that J was in control. Everyone went into their groups (sort of) but not J. He crawled on the floor, ate paper, and did pretty much what he wanted to do. He yelled out, "This is stupid, I hate everybody, and this is boring." I sat with him, well I sat and he rolled, and read Shel Silverstein poems to him. He acted like he didn't care and kept saying it was boring, but stayed in area and wasn't disruptive to the rest of the class. He would look up at the book every once in a while and I know he was listening. I am inexperienced and do not know how to deal with a student like J. It would be a full time job giving him all the attention he needs. I'm puzzled as to what the teacher, parents, or administrators should do. Despite the craziness, I am learning quite a bit about how things could be in a classroom and I hope to see a way to make it better.
When I walked into the room, the first thing I noticed is that the kids were quiet and listening to the teacher reviewing a story. The second thing I noticed was another woman evaluating the teacher. The kids seem to be well behaved when a person of authority is in the classroom and opposed to the teacher, myself and an aide. I did notice that the teacher was not allowing them to talk without raising their hand and was more aware of their restlessness. She was making eye contact with the students and moving to stand near their desk whenever it appeared that they may cause a distraction.
She was reviewing the story in the reading book and asking some very good critical thinking questions. The story was about families and they did a little picture analysis before reading. They discussed the pictures in the book, with her asking some critical thinking questions such as, What do you see? What do you think is happening? and What do you think might happen next. She gave the kids positive reinforcement when they participated in a respectful manner.
The person who was evaluating the teacher left the room and things began to deteriorate.
Then it was time for Reading groups. The kids become very disruptive and student J starting setting the pace for the class once again. After Monday's class and Dr. Murray pointing some things out, I did notice that J was in control. Everyone went into their groups (sort of) but not J. He crawled on the floor, ate paper, and did pretty much what he wanted to do. He yelled out, "This is stupid, I hate everybody, and this is boring." I sat with him, well I sat and he rolled, and read Shel Silverstein poems to him. He acted like he didn't care and kept saying it was boring, but stayed in area and wasn't disruptive to the rest of the class. He would look up at the book every once in a while and I know he was listening. I am inexperienced and do not know how to deal with a student like J. It would be a full time job giving him all the attention he needs. I'm puzzled as to what the teacher, parents, or administrators should do. Despite the craziness, I am learning quite a bit about how things could be in a classroom and I hope to see a way to make it better.
Jennifer Harrison
9/13/07
After another day with Mrs. J, I began to realize just how much nagging, and lost of instructional time there is due to disciplinary actions. Once again when the students came back from lunch D was in trouble. This time when I approached him, he was even more upset the day before. We began to discuss his behavior. At first I was very disappointed in the fact that I felt as though maybe my method had not worked. During the entire time I was talking with him, he responded with, “Yes Miss Harrison” and “no Miss Harrison”. I was shocked; this was not typical behavior from him.
After thinking about what was occurring, I came to the realization why D never seems to be able to control his behavior. I have watched this student try, and with every attempt there is an aspect that does not meet the requirements of the aide in the room. She constantly nags, gripes, and picks not only at D but several other students. Personally I would not want to try to do anything if no matter what I did I was still being griped at. I talked to my teacher about this issue, and I was told that her hands are tied. Mrs. J also told me that if I wanted to attempt to get through to D, I was more than welcomed to. She cautioned me, warning D was not as innocent as he proclaims and behaves when I am around. My feelings on this are I will try.
After another day with Mrs. J, I began to realize just how much nagging, and lost of instructional time there is due to disciplinary actions. Once again when the students came back from lunch D was in trouble. This time when I approached him, he was even more upset the day before. We began to discuss his behavior. At first I was very disappointed in the fact that I felt as though maybe my method had not worked. During the entire time I was talking with him, he responded with, “Yes Miss Harrison” and “no Miss Harrison”. I was shocked; this was not typical behavior from him.
After thinking about what was occurring, I came to the realization why D never seems to be able to control his behavior. I have watched this student try, and with every attempt there is an aspect that does not meet the requirements of the aide in the room. She constantly nags, gripes, and picks not only at D but several other students. Personally I would not want to try to do anything if no matter what I did I was still being griped at. I talked to my teacher about this issue, and I was told that her hands are tied. Mrs. J also told me that if I wanted to attempt to get through to D, I was more than welcomed to. She cautioned me, warning D was not as innocent as he proclaims and behaves when I am around. My feelings on this are I will try.
Jennifer Harrison
9/4/07
Today was my first day in Mrs. J’s room this year. Everyday I have the opportunity to work with each individual student as they finish up their work after lunch. As the students came marching through the door, some of their faces were somber. Apparently lunch did not go so well. One child, lets call him D, in particularly received quite a nagging. After speaking with Mrs. J, I received more information about said student. I was informed that he consistently causes trouble, refuses to follow the rules, and does his work only when he feels like it. I asked if I could make an attempt with the student, and was granted permission.
I walked up to D and kneeled right by his desk (his desk was already moved away from the rest of the class). Proceeded to ask him what had occurred at lunch. With a little prompting he had confessed that he was yelling across the cafeteria. I asked him if he thought the behavior was appropriate and if he would like it if someone were to yell in his ear. This conversation continued for a few moments more. I walked away feeling as though I got through to the student. At that time he began to do some of his class work. Time will only tell if this will work with him, it has got to be better than nagging.
9/4/07
Today was my first day in Mrs. J’s room this year. Everyday I have the opportunity to work with each individual student as they finish up their work after lunch. As the students came marching through the door, some of their faces were somber. Apparently lunch did not go so well. One child, lets call him D, in particularly received quite a nagging. After speaking with Mrs. J, I received more information about said student. I was informed that he consistently causes trouble, refuses to follow the rules, and does his work only when he feels like it. I asked if I could make an attempt with the student, and was granted permission.
I walked up to D and kneeled right by his desk (his desk was already moved away from the rest of the class). Proceeded to ask him what had occurred at lunch. With a little prompting he had confessed that he was yelling across the cafeteria. I asked him if he thought the behavior was appropriate and if he would like it if someone were to yell in his ear. This conversation continued for a few moments more. I walked away feeling as though I got through to the student. At that time he began to do some of his class work. Time will only tell if this will work with him, it has got to be better than nagging.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Rita Inman
I have now been to my volunteering with a 3rd class four times, so I will try to catch everyone up. The first day I was assigned two boys *Sam and *Dave. I am working with the two students by helping them go over their math work. The first day both boys were a little quite, and didn’t seem to really want my help. I noticed right away that Sam gets frustrated very easily and Dave gets side tracked easily. My first thought was that Sam has never understood the concepts of adding and subtracting. With Dave my first impression was that he is lazy, and doesn’t want to do the work.
Day two I started to work with the same two boys, and both boys seemed happy to see me. Dave while doing his work constantly laughs. He might be embarrassed in front of his peers, or my husband says he might just think I’m pretty. (LOL) Sam was very concentrated on his work today, and got mad when Dave kept distracting him with his laughter. I’m still getting to know both boys, so I’m not sure what exactly to think.
Day three Sam was very excited when he understood how to do fact families. 1+2=3, 2+1=3, 3-1=2, It was nice to see how excited he became about finishing the rest of the problems on the worksheet. Dave is still a little distracted. When the teacher is going over the lesson with the other students he wants to listen to her. I think that he want to be a part of the whole class.
Day four was rough. Both boys seemed to be very distracted, but I found out two things today that might be the reason. Sam said he didn’t get to play a P.E. today, because this morning he didn’t follow directions. Dave said the same thing. So both boys missed out on the one time a day that they can run and play, instead of school work. I also found out that both boys are ESE students, but the ESE teacher quit right before school started and has not been replaced yet. So the time that Dave and Sam would go to get extra help is unavailable until there is a new teacher. I feel that both students need some more time for their work without the distraction of the teacher talking in the background, so I hope that the school finds a new ESE teacher soon.
Day two I started to work with the same two boys, and both boys seemed happy to see me. Dave while doing his work constantly laughs. He might be embarrassed in front of his peers, or my husband says he might just think I’m pretty. (LOL) Sam was very concentrated on his work today, and got mad when Dave kept distracting him with his laughter. I’m still getting to know both boys, so I’m not sure what exactly to think.
Day three Sam was very excited when he understood how to do fact families. 1+2=3, 2+1=3, 3-1=2, It was nice to see how excited he became about finishing the rest of the problems on the worksheet. Dave is still a little distracted. When the teacher is going over the lesson with the other students he wants to listen to her. I think that he want to be a part of the whole class.
Day four was rough. Both boys seemed to be very distracted, but I found out two things today that might be the reason. Sam said he didn’t get to play a P.E. today, because this morning he didn’t follow directions. Dave said the same thing. So both boys missed out on the one time a day that they can run and play, instead of school work. I also found out that both boys are ESE students, but the ESE teacher quit right before school started and has not been replaced yet. So the time that Dave and Sam would go to get extra help is unavailable until there is a new teacher. I feel that both students need some more time for their work without the distraction of the teacher talking in the background, so I hope that the school finds a new ESE teacher soon.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Gina Harris
9/13/07
The first thing I noticed when I walked into the class was the students were in there seats and they were listening to their teacher (for the most part). The second thing I noticed was a particular "student" was not in the class at this time. As I sat there in amazement, the door opened and in walked the "student" with the guidance counselor following behind him. Also in his hand was a big white envelope to bring home. He looked mad and sat down quietly. He was restless in his seat, but wasn't talking or yelling out, while the teacher was talking. The guidance counselor walked over to me and I said to her " some intervention?" and she said "yes."
After she finally left the classroom the kids including the "student" started acting up, however, it did not get as bad as it has been until the last 15 minutes. I observed a little different classroom management from the teacher and it kind of worked. She patients to a fault.
I gave the girl student her reading evaluation today. It went well, but I don't really feel completely qualified to score these tests. I would like to know more about these tests and procedure, but there is not enough time to talk to the teacher. I am there for 1 1/2 hours every Tuesday and Thursday but it is during there reading sessions and then it is time for them to go and she is at the pick-up area for a while afterwards. Hopefully, I will get to talk with her before too long. I am learning about different student behaviors and hope to figure out or learn how to deal with them and make a fun learning environment. Right now, not much fun.
The first thing I noticed when I walked into the class was the students were in there seats and they were listening to their teacher (for the most part). The second thing I noticed was a particular "student" was not in the class at this time. As I sat there in amazement, the door opened and in walked the "student" with the guidance counselor following behind him. Also in his hand was a big white envelope to bring home. He looked mad and sat down quietly. He was restless in his seat, but wasn't talking or yelling out, while the teacher was talking. The guidance counselor walked over to me and I said to her " some intervention?" and she said "yes."
After she finally left the classroom the kids including the "student" started acting up, however, it did not get as bad as it has been until the last 15 minutes. I observed a little different classroom management from the teacher and it kind of worked. She patients to a fault.
I gave the girl student her reading evaluation today. It went well, but I don't really feel completely qualified to score these tests. I would like to know more about these tests and procedure, but there is not enough time to talk to the teacher. I am there for 1 1/2 hours every Tuesday and Thursday but it is during there reading sessions and then it is time for them to go and she is at the pick-up area for a while afterwards. Hopefully, I will get to talk with her before too long. I am learning about different student behaviors and hope to figure out or learn how to deal with them and make a fun learning environment. Right now, not much fun.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Critical Thinking Lesson Planning
I enjoyed the fresh look at lesson planning. I have done many reading groups, and I have always brought in higher order thinking plans to expand on the reading material. I have never before thought to bring in music or use a digital camera.
I have used the video clips (really photographs or other pictured books) to expand upon the readings. I have also seen music used before in the beginning of class, as students come in and unpack, or during AR (quiet reading) time. This is usually to expose them to other cultural music or just to soften the day. I have also seen digital cameras used in classroom before, but for the purpose of photographing group activities to display on bulletin boards.
I really enjoyed the assignment of using a digital camera and relating it to the topic. It was exciting and brought the group together in a relaxed way. It also gave us the opportunity to express ourselves. We discussed the pictures we took and explained why.
The music was another great variation to the everyday lesson planning. Having the lyrics available to read as the music played, gives the students a chance to hear the music, and at the same time, analysis the meaning. Music is related to the times and reflects just that.
Once again, I enjoyed this learning segment, and hopefully will have an opportunity to use it in my own classroom someday.
Donna Getchell
I have used the video clips (really photographs or other pictured books) to expand upon the readings. I have also seen music used before in the beginning of class, as students come in and unpack, or during AR (quiet reading) time. This is usually to expose them to other cultural music or just to soften the day. I have also seen digital cameras used in classroom before, but for the purpose of photographing group activities to display on bulletin boards.
I really enjoyed the assignment of using a digital camera and relating it to the topic. It was exciting and brought the group together in a relaxed way. It also gave us the opportunity to express ourselves. We discussed the pictures we took and explained why.
The music was another great variation to the everyday lesson planning. Having the lyrics available to read as the music played, gives the students a chance to hear the music, and at the same time, analysis the meaning. Music is related to the times and reflects just that.
Once again, I enjoyed this learning segment, and hopefully will have an opportunity to use it in my own classroom someday.
Donna Getchell
Friday, September 14, 2007
Kristy Westfall
Journal Entry #3
EDF 4467: Learning Theory and Assessment
Date: Friday, September 14, 2007
Time Spent: 8:15 to 11:15; 3 hours; total hours to date: 9 hours
Grade: First
ESOL: 0
Autistic: 2
Today was my third visit to Mrs. F first grade class. Instead of having the students fill in the blanks of a phrase for their morning journal, Mrs. F wanted them to use their “thinking” skills. On the board she wrote, “Write a story about two bad ants.” The story they had read for this week was about ants so the students knew what ants could do. I thought this was a good way to get their critical thinking skills going.
Mrs. F was kind enough to let me look at her lesson plans. She reminded me that hers are not in much detail, but advised me to have my lesson plans in great detail for the first couple of years at least. I saw that with Science, Math, and Social Studies she listed the standards that were being met. I also saw that the assistant principal had come by a few times already and initialed the lesson plans. I worked at the school last year and I do remember having her come by and check to make sure lesson plans were completed. The teachers also have to incorporate extra time (besides P.E.) for physical activity. The teacher needs to have listed, in their lesson plan, when this activity is taking place and what they are doing with the class.
I was able to grade the reading comprehension tests the students took today. I also reviewed sight words with the students who missed quite a few on their test the day before. An exciting activity that I got to do today was have a child come back to the table with me and I had them read a story to me and I then asked them questions to see if they were comprehending what they were reading. The students varied in their reading ability. One student was able to read each word and others could read most and some had a very difficult time reading. I had to help them sound the word out on a regular basis. This activity was helping them with the short vowel sounds.
The student I had been observing and helping occasionally was doing quite well today. “J” did not have to be reminded to do his work as often as last week. “A”, who is autistic, was happy to see me and would come and sit next to me while I was helping other students.
EDF 4467: Learning Theory and Assessment
Date: Friday, September 14, 2007
Time Spent: 8:15 to 11:15; 3 hours; total hours to date: 9 hours
Grade: First
ESOL: 0
Autistic: 2
Today was my third visit to Mrs. F first grade class. Instead of having the students fill in the blanks of a phrase for their morning journal, Mrs. F wanted them to use their “thinking” skills. On the board she wrote, “Write a story about two bad ants.” The story they had read for this week was about ants so the students knew what ants could do. I thought this was a good way to get their critical thinking skills going.
Mrs. F was kind enough to let me look at her lesson plans. She reminded me that hers are not in much detail, but advised me to have my lesson plans in great detail for the first couple of years at least. I saw that with Science, Math, and Social Studies she listed the standards that were being met. I also saw that the assistant principal had come by a few times already and initialed the lesson plans. I worked at the school last year and I do remember having her come by and check to make sure lesson plans were completed. The teachers also have to incorporate extra time (besides P.E.) for physical activity. The teacher needs to have listed, in their lesson plan, when this activity is taking place and what they are doing with the class.
I was able to grade the reading comprehension tests the students took today. I also reviewed sight words with the students who missed quite a few on their test the day before. An exciting activity that I got to do today was have a child come back to the table with me and I had them read a story to me and I then asked them questions to see if they were comprehending what they were reading. The students varied in their reading ability. One student was able to read each word and others could read most and some had a very difficult time reading. I had to help them sound the word out on a regular basis. This activity was helping them with the short vowel sounds.
The student I had been observing and helping occasionally was doing quite well today. “J” did not have to be reminded to do his work as often as last week. “A”, who is autistic, was happy to see me and would come and sit next to me while I was helping other students.
Kristy Westfall
Journal Entry #2
EDF 4467: Learning Theory and Assessment
Date: Friday, September 7, 2007
Time Spent: 8:15 to 11:15; 3 hours Total hours to date: 6 hours
Grade: First
ESOL: 0
Autistic: 2
Today was my second visit to Mrs. F first grade class. I was there right when the students began coming in. Their first task in the morning is to take out their “Morning Journal” and fill in the phrase that is on the board. Today’s phrase was:
Today is ______________.
Today is a new day.
Today I want to ___________ and __________.
Then I will feel _________________.
I had a chance to speak with Mrs. F about lesson planning and how she does them. She said it is hard to plan way in advance because you never know what will happen. For example, while I was there today, one of the autistic children (“A”) became very upset when people came in to take a picture of the students who wore their school shirt. “A” did not have her school shirt on and she wanted them to take a picture of her Pokemon shirt instead. Mrs. F said it is a constant moving forward and going back motion; you never know when you might have to spend extra time on something or sometimes the students will get it right away.
Later on, “A” was able to show her shirt to her classmates. All of the students made such nice comments and really made “A” feel good. Mrs. F said that all of the students are great with her and seem not affected by her occasional outbursts.
Mrs. F introduced Accelerated Reader today and told the students they would get a $10.00 gift card to Wal-Mart, AMC Theatres, or Target once they read twenty books. I asked her if she would spend her own money on that and she said, “Yes.” She told me she probably spends about a $1,000.00 of her own money during school year. She said it is a small price to pay to get the kids to read. She had a student one year that went from a first grade reading level to a fifth grade reading level. She also had a student that went from a fifth grade reading level (who was in second grade) to a twelfth grade reading level.
A side note: Mrs. F told me that she had an intern who came to visit. “A” went up to her and told her to “Get out of the classroom; I will hurt you.” “A” did this because it was someone new coming into her environment that she did not know. “A” remembers me from last year when I worked with her so I think that is why she talks to me and comes up to me with no problem.
EDF 4467: Learning Theory and Assessment
Date: Friday, September 7, 2007
Time Spent: 8:15 to 11:15; 3 hours Total hours to date: 6 hours
Grade: First
ESOL: 0
Autistic: 2
Today was my second visit to Mrs. F first grade class. I was there right when the students began coming in. Their first task in the morning is to take out their “Morning Journal” and fill in the phrase that is on the board. Today’s phrase was:
Today is ______________.
Today is a new day.
Today I want to ___________ and __________.
Then I will feel _________________.
I had a chance to speak with Mrs. F about lesson planning and how she does them. She said it is hard to plan way in advance because you never know what will happen. For example, while I was there today, one of the autistic children (“A”) became very upset when people came in to take a picture of the students who wore their school shirt. “A” did not have her school shirt on and she wanted them to take a picture of her Pokemon shirt instead. Mrs. F said it is a constant moving forward and going back motion; you never know when you might have to spend extra time on something or sometimes the students will get it right away.
Later on, “A” was able to show her shirt to her classmates. All of the students made such nice comments and really made “A” feel good. Mrs. F said that all of the students are great with her and seem not affected by her occasional outbursts.
Mrs. F introduced Accelerated Reader today and told the students they would get a $10.00 gift card to Wal-Mart, AMC Theatres, or Target once they read twenty books. I asked her if she would spend her own money on that and she said, “Yes.” She told me she probably spends about a $1,000.00 of her own money during school year. She said it is a small price to pay to get the kids to read. She had a student one year that went from a first grade reading level to a fifth grade reading level. She also had a student that went from a fifth grade reading level (who was in second grade) to a twelfth grade reading level.
A side note: Mrs. F told me that she had an intern who came to visit. “A” went up to her and told her to “Get out of the classroom; I will hurt you.” “A” did this because it was someone new coming into her environment that she did not know. “A” remembers me from last year when I worked with her so I think that is why she talks to me and comes up to me with no problem.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Carpenter, Priscilla
Journal Entry #2
Date of Service Learning Experience: 9/11/2007
Total hours that day: 2 hrs; 10:40-12:40
Total Service Learning Hours: 4 hrs.
Today’s service learning experience was a little hectic because every assignment for the day was cut short due to picture day. Of course, this made the students a little unfocused during their lessons because they were worried about their pictures. They were also hyper because they had to eat lunch in the room due to the pictures being taken in the cafeteria. However, the students were excited to see me and they were ready for me to help them on some of their assignments.
The time that I observed and helped the children was during their reading time. For the first half of reading, they worked on their daybook which is a fascinating assignment book. I really love using the daybooks with the students because it gets them to use their critical thinking skills. Within the book, there are little mini stories that the students read. Before, during, and after reading, there are questions throughout the book that gets them thinking critically about the stories they read. These books help them really comprehend what they are reading, and by using these books, Mrs. D states that many of the children’s reading levels have risen. For the other half of reading, the students worked together in partners to complete an FCAT based worksheet about Radars. This was mostly busy work before they had to leave to go to Successmaker Lab.
Successmaker Lab is a new program that has been implemented into the school to help students successfully pass the FCAT. The students like this lab because they get to use the computer, but I see tremendous flaws with this program and so does Mrs. D. With the program, the computer reads to the students the question and possible answers. Well on the FCAT, the questions are not read to the students, the students must read it themselves. Also, a lot of the questions that are asked on the computer program do not pertain to FCAT questions which is hard to believe when the program is suppose to prepare the students for the test. I personally think they should have taken the money for this program and used it elsewhere to benefit the students’ education. However, all in all I had a great time in class and I really enjoy Mrs. D. She really helps me with providing me with materials I might need as a teacher or giving me advice. I really learn a lot of great things from her and she is very helpful and a great teacher.
Date of Service Learning Experience: 9/11/2007
Total hours that day: 2 hrs; 10:40-12:40
Total Service Learning Hours: 4 hrs.
Today’s service learning experience was a little hectic because every assignment for the day was cut short due to picture day. Of course, this made the students a little unfocused during their lessons because they were worried about their pictures. They were also hyper because they had to eat lunch in the room due to the pictures being taken in the cafeteria. However, the students were excited to see me and they were ready for me to help them on some of their assignments.
The time that I observed and helped the children was during their reading time. For the first half of reading, they worked on their daybook which is a fascinating assignment book. I really love using the daybooks with the students because it gets them to use their critical thinking skills. Within the book, there are little mini stories that the students read. Before, during, and after reading, there are questions throughout the book that gets them thinking critically about the stories they read. These books help them really comprehend what they are reading, and by using these books, Mrs. D states that many of the children’s reading levels have risen. For the other half of reading, the students worked together in partners to complete an FCAT based worksheet about Radars. This was mostly busy work before they had to leave to go to Successmaker Lab.
Successmaker Lab is a new program that has been implemented into the school to help students successfully pass the FCAT. The students like this lab because they get to use the computer, but I see tremendous flaws with this program and so does Mrs. D. With the program, the computer reads to the students the question and possible answers. Well on the FCAT, the questions are not read to the students, the students must read it themselves. Also, a lot of the questions that are asked on the computer program do not pertain to FCAT questions which is hard to believe when the program is suppose to prepare the students for the test. I personally think they should have taken the money for this program and used it elsewhere to benefit the students’ education. However, all in all I had a great time in class and I really enjoy Mrs. D. She really helps me with providing me with materials I might need as a teacher or giving me advice. I really learn a lot of great things from her and she is very helpful and a great teacher.
Lisa Roberts/Service Learning
Today was my first day of service learning. I was excited about it and had been pre-asssigned to work with a student whose first language is Spanish. I did not have alot of information about the child, only that he is in 5th grade. I would be able to help him during the 90 minute reading block. Unfortunately when I arrived I found out that the class was doing testing.This turned out to be a good thing in many ways because I had the opportunity to talk with the teacher (quietly) about lesson plans, grading writing pieces, and general classroom planning. I asked Mrs. Sparrow how far ahead she planned her lessons and found out that she chose to stay about two weeks ahead for detailed plans but had a basic plan for the whole year. She did this by taking into account all of the SSS standards required for the year and dividing them up into four terms. She explained that at the fifth grade level certain subjects had a pre-determined sequence. In math the knowledge is built upon and pretty much follows the textbook. Social studies also follows a time-line starting with explorers and moving forward sequentially. Mrs. Sparrow turns in her lesson plans at the beginning of each week to the principal. She keeps a copy in her classroom and she uses her own template as opposed to a fill in the blank format. I also had the chance to look over the teacher's copy of the textbook that my student would be using for reading. It was very self explanatory and clearly listed the SSS standards that were being addressed by each section. I also found out from the ESOL assistant that my student moved here from Cuba about a year ago. He has one younger sister and he choses to speak only English. I found it interesting that the ESOL teacher thought that his refusal to speak any Spanish was limiting him in his ability to learn English. She felt that if he connected what he was learning in English to his pre-requisite knowledge in Spanish he would learn faster. He really wants to fit in with his English speaking peers though and refuses his home language. I would like to see him embrace both and my feeling is that once he is more confident in his English he will feel more comfortable being bi-lingual.
Overall I feel my first day was very productive and useful even though I didn't get to tutor. I learned alot and had a chance to get to know the teacher a little which I wouldn't have been able to do if she had been busy teaching.
Overall I feel my first day was very productive and useful even though I didn't get to tutor. I learned alot and had a chance to get to know the teacher a little which I wouldn't have been able to do if she had been busy teaching.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Gina Harris
9/11/07
I primarily work with the same two students during their reading time. Today I worked with the boy. We sat in the hallway and I could tell he was anxious to read. I gave him a reading evaluation. He did very well. He reads below his grade level, but I noticed he did not feel intimidated by the test. He completed all the levels, with worse results as he read a little more difficult material. He never became discouraged or reached the frustration level. He was relaxed and focused in the beginning (the evaluation lasted 45 min.) but gradually became restless as time went on. However, I also became restless because we were sitting on a hard floor in a hallway full of activity. He completed the test and felt very confident. When we returned to the noisy, active classroom, I noticed he was being pretty disruptive himself. I don't know if it was because he was falling in with crowd or he just felt really good about himself. As I was filling in charts on his evaluation sheet, the teacher was trying to line the students up for library. They were wild and she tried several methods to calm them down. I noticed positive reinforcement, Reiterating line-up rules and finally practicing lining up procedures. Nothing worked and the class missed library. She never seemed to get too flustered and I am trying to figure out her classroom management skill she is trying to incorporate.
I primarily work with the same two students during their reading time. Today I worked with the boy. We sat in the hallway and I could tell he was anxious to read. I gave him a reading evaluation. He did very well. He reads below his grade level, but I noticed he did not feel intimidated by the test. He completed all the levels, with worse results as he read a little more difficult material. He never became discouraged or reached the frustration level. He was relaxed and focused in the beginning (the evaluation lasted 45 min.) but gradually became restless as time went on. However, I also became restless because we were sitting on a hard floor in a hallway full of activity. He completed the test and felt very confident. When we returned to the noisy, active classroom, I noticed he was being pretty disruptive himself. I don't know if it was because he was falling in with crowd or he just felt really good about himself. As I was filling in charts on his evaluation sheet, the teacher was trying to line the students up for library. They were wild and she tried several methods to calm them down. I noticed positive reinforcement, Reiterating line-up rules and finally practicing lining up procedures. Nothing worked and the class missed library. She never seemed to get too flustered and I am trying to figure out her classroom management skill she is trying to incorporate.
Brandy Barnett
As soon as I walked in, I saw one of the same students in the same “time out” desk as last week. I didn’t ask Mrs. Beach about him, but I did observe him today. Two tests were given first thing this morning, a spelling test and some other test possibly comprehension. Students had cardboard blockers they put up around them since their desks were facing each other. After the exams the students got to do a cutting/coloring activity. That is one thing I notice about Mrs. Beach. She does a great job about limiting instruction or activities to about ten minutes before she engages them in something else whether it is related to the previous activity or not. I think that is good since children in first grade have a short attention span. During a group activity where they learn about each other, no one called on the boy who had been at the time out desk. Finally, the teacher took over and gave him a turn. His face brightened up with a big smile. He was so excited to be included. I felt sad for him. I wonder if the time at the isolation desk has affected the way the other children see him. Mrs. Beach has at least one student who has English as their secondary language. I spent some time talking with one of the ESOL paraprofessionals.
Emerald Shores Elementary uses a Structured Immersion Program. In this program, ELL/LEPs stay in the classroom with their native English classmates. There are 2 ESOL paraprofessionals (each one is responsible for 3 grades). They go around to each classroom that contains ELL/LEPs and work with them if they need any extra assistance. They are also available for their parents and work with the teachers as well. Two reasons that influenced their decision for this model are: #1. Their parents prefer this method. They do not want their child pulled out of the classroom. The child already feels different than the rest of the children. #2. Being alone with a child in a “pull out” situation may create an environment that could result in allegations. The paraprofessionals feel that it is not a safe program for their careers. I would recommend this type of program. The paraprofessionals are bilingual speaking Spanish and English. They work with ELL/LEPs of all different L1 languages. Their job is to explain things using ESOL techniques (visuals, hands on, etc.) She said that she always answers the child in English even if Spanish is more comfortable for them. She says that the children learn so much from watching and observing other children and mimicking what they do. With the requirement that all teachers have to now be certified in ESOL teaching strategies, I have to wonder if their position will eventually be phased out. Their purpose is work with ELL/LEPs of all different languages using ESOL methods, so the fact that the paraprofessionals are bilingual may not be enough of an asset to keep them in the school system once all teachers become ESOL certified.
Emerald Shores Elementary uses a Structured Immersion Program. In this program, ELL/LEPs stay in the classroom with their native English classmates. There are 2 ESOL paraprofessionals (each one is responsible for 3 grades). They go around to each classroom that contains ELL/LEPs and work with them if they need any extra assistance. They are also available for their parents and work with the teachers as well. Two reasons that influenced their decision for this model are: #1. Their parents prefer this method. They do not want their child pulled out of the classroom. The child already feels different than the rest of the children. #2. Being alone with a child in a “pull out” situation may create an environment that could result in allegations. The paraprofessionals feel that it is not a safe program for their careers. I would recommend this type of program. The paraprofessionals are bilingual speaking Spanish and English. They work with ELL/LEPs of all different L1 languages. Their job is to explain things using ESOL techniques (visuals, hands on, etc.) She said that she always answers the child in English even if Spanish is more comfortable for them. She says that the children learn so much from watching and observing other children and mimicking what they do. With the requirement that all teachers have to now be certified in ESOL teaching strategies, I have to wonder if their position will eventually be phased out. Their purpose is work with ELL/LEPs of all different languages using ESOL methods, so the fact that the paraprofessionals are bilingual may not be enough of an asset to keep them in the school system once all teachers become ESOL certified.
Brandy Barnett
Service date and time: Friday 08/31/07 8:00a.m.-10:00a.m.
My service learning experience is being conducted in Mrs. Beach’s first grade class at Emerald Shores Elementary School. While I was waiting to get my volunteer pass in the administration office, I observed the morning announcements via television. The vice principal was recognizing two 3rd graders. One had gotten a perfect score on the reading portion of the FCAT and the other had gotten a perfect score on the math portion of the FCAT. Both of the students received a certificate and recognition school wide. I began to wonder how that recognition makes other students feel. Surely those two students deserved an award of some kind with attaining a perfect score, but what about the students that only missed one or two questions. How do they feel about their performance now?
Upon entering Mrs. Beach’s room, my eyes were immediately drawn to the way the children’s desks were organized. They were in groups of four, with the desks facing each other. This method is one that Vygotsky would recommend. In the center of the desks were two baskets. One basket contained books and the other contained crayons, scissors, and glue. I saw two children sitting by themselves on opposite sides of the room and made a mental note to ask Mrs. Beach about the reasoning behind that. My task for today was to work with two students on the phonics and writing of letters. I had flash cards each with its own letter on it. I was to show the children a letter, have them give me the sound the letter makes, a word that starts with that letter, and then have them write the letter down. I could tell immediately that the two children needed individual help in this area. They both had a hard time finding words that began with the letters. They would start to look around the room searching for things that started with that letter and then they would get off task paying attention to other children. They were easily distracted and not interested in learning this skill at all. I could see that they were not engaged in this activity. So, I decided to modify it a little bit. Instead of me giving them the letter, I would hold out the cards in front with the letters facing away from them and let them pick their own letter. This seemed to spark their interest and make it a little more personal. Going through twenty-six letters can still be tedious, so I told them that once we finished with the letters they could take the cards and spell out their name with them. This seemed to make the activity flow much better. I only worked with two children before we went to the library, but with the time needed for those two children I began to realize how easy it is for a child to not get the individual attention they may need. Mrs. Beach has at least seventeen children in her class and working one on one with two children took about an hour. It would definitely be hard to schedule that kind of time in daily. At the library, I asked Mrs. Beach about the children in the isolated desks. She said one child had stolen something from another child and lied about it. The second child she said had behavioral problems with the group he was sitting at. She said that once the student is moved out of the group desks into an individual desk, they remain there for a week and then are allowed to return. I have not learned anything about behavioral and classroom management yet to reflect on the effectiveness of this discipline procedure. I did think that a week seemed like a long time for a first grader to be in what I considered “time out”.
My service learning experience is being conducted in Mrs. Beach’s first grade class at Emerald Shores Elementary School. While I was waiting to get my volunteer pass in the administration office, I observed the morning announcements via television. The vice principal was recognizing two 3rd graders. One had gotten a perfect score on the reading portion of the FCAT and the other had gotten a perfect score on the math portion of the FCAT. Both of the students received a certificate and recognition school wide. I began to wonder how that recognition makes other students feel. Surely those two students deserved an award of some kind with attaining a perfect score, but what about the students that only missed one or two questions. How do they feel about their performance now?
Upon entering Mrs. Beach’s room, my eyes were immediately drawn to the way the children’s desks were organized. They were in groups of four, with the desks facing each other. This method is one that Vygotsky would recommend. In the center of the desks were two baskets. One basket contained books and the other contained crayons, scissors, and glue. I saw two children sitting by themselves on opposite sides of the room and made a mental note to ask Mrs. Beach about the reasoning behind that. My task for today was to work with two students on the phonics and writing of letters. I had flash cards each with its own letter on it. I was to show the children a letter, have them give me the sound the letter makes, a word that starts with that letter, and then have them write the letter down. I could tell immediately that the two children needed individual help in this area. They both had a hard time finding words that began with the letters. They would start to look around the room searching for things that started with that letter and then they would get off task paying attention to other children. They were easily distracted and not interested in learning this skill at all. I could see that they were not engaged in this activity. So, I decided to modify it a little bit. Instead of me giving them the letter, I would hold out the cards in front with the letters facing away from them and let them pick their own letter. This seemed to spark their interest and make it a little more personal. Going through twenty-six letters can still be tedious, so I told them that once we finished with the letters they could take the cards and spell out their name with them. This seemed to make the activity flow much better. I only worked with two children before we went to the library, but with the time needed for those two children I began to realize how easy it is for a child to not get the individual attention they may need. Mrs. Beach has at least seventeen children in her class and working one on one with two children took about an hour. It would definitely be hard to schedule that kind of time in daily. At the library, I asked Mrs. Beach about the children in the isolated desks. She said one child had stolen something from another child and lied about it. The second child she said had behavioral problems with the group he was sitting at. She said that once the student is moved out of the group desks into an individual desk, they remain there for a week and then are allowed to return. I have not learned anything about behavioral and classroom management yet to reflect on the effectiveness of this discipline procedure. I did think that a week seemed like a long time for a first grader to be in what I considered “time out”.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
alia kasem reflection
Hello Dr. Murray'
This is Alia Kasem. Here is my first reflection.
Alia Kasem 8/29/07
EDG 4467 8/30 /07
Five hours.
My Reflection
In my first week of service learning hours in Mr. Hunt, third grade classroom, I noticed some of Vygotsky’s developmental theory. Mr. Hunt arranged the desks in the classrooms in a way that all students can see the board clearly, in the mean time, Mr. Hunt can move between the rows easily.
For morning class work, he gave the students with a sheet of paper divided into five sections. Each day they do one section of Brain Storm Math problems. He used this method to avoid the noise and the laziness.
This week was testing week. Students were tested on dibbles, fluency, special services, and star reader for the accelerated reading on the computer.
Students were learning about Median, Mode, and Range in the Math subject.
Mr. Hunt gave the students a hint to remember what the mode means. He said mode is “most”, and kept repeating mode, most number appeared in the series of numbers.
Mr. Hunt used the Vygotsky’s concept of zone of proximal development based on the idea of children can learn from self by working individually and from other student or adult. He broke the class into groups of four students to work on the math work sheet. Then, they went over it together.
September, 6th, 2007
2 hours
Teacher was teaching grammar. Four students were lost and not doing anything because they are lazy and careless about doing class work. They misplaced their papers and had not been doing the grammar class work for three days in a row.
I worked with two while they were in their seats. I fel that they need to be pulled out and put together in a corner of the class so I can talk to them louder. Do you think I can do this?
The teacher was very experienced in egnoring the minor misbehaves of the students. He thinks that the students will catch up with the class rules when no body gives them the attention when they misbehave.
I learned from Mr. Hunt, that to make the lesson interesting, make it authintic.
Alia Kasem
This is Alia Kasem. Here is my first reflection.
Alia Kasem 8/29/07
EDG 4467 8/30 /07
Five hours.
My Reflection
In my first week of service learning hours in Mr. Hunt, third grade classroom, I noticed some of Vygotsky’s developmental theory. Mr. Hunt arranged the desks in the classrooms in a way that all students can see the board clearly, in the mean time, Mr. Hunt can move between the rows easily.
For morning class work, he gave the students with a sheet of paper divided into five sections. Each day they do one section of Brain Storm Math problems. He used this method to avoid the noise and the laziness.
This week was testing week. Students were tested on dibbles, fluency, special services, and star reader for the accelerated reading on the computer.
Students were learning about Median, Mode, and Range in the Math subject.
Mr. Hunt gave the students a hint to remember what the mode means. He said mode is “most”, and kept repeating mode, most number appeared in the series of numbers.
Mr. Hunt used the Vygotsky’s concept of zone of proximal development based on the idea of children can learn from self by working individually and from other student or adult. He broke the class into groups of four students to work on the math work sheet. Then, they went over it together.
September, 6th, 2007
2 hours
Teacher was teaching grammar. Four students were lost and not doing anything because they are lazy and careless about doing class work. They misplaced their papers and had not been doing the grammar class work for three days in a row.
I worked with two while they were in their seats. I fel that they need to be pulled out and put together in a corner of the class so I can talk to them louder. Do you think I can do this?
The teacher was very experienced in egnoring the minor misbehaves of the students. He thinks that the students will catch up with the class rules when no body gives them the attention when they misbehave.
I learned from Mr. Hunt, that to make the lesson interesting, make it authintic.
Alia Kasem
Kristy Westfall
Journal Entry #1
EDF 4467: Learning Theory and Assessment
Date: Friday, August 31, 2007
Time Spent: 8:15 to 11:15; 3 hours
ESOL: 0
Autistic: 2
Today was my first visit to Mrs. F first grade class. I was there right when the students began coming in. Their first task in the morning is to take out their “Morning Journal” and fill in the phrase that is on the board. Today’s phrase was:
Today is ________________________.
I feel happy today.
Sometimes I feel _________________.
The students were also to draw a picture of how they felt. It was interesting to see that most of the children filled in the blank for, “Sometimes I feel” with sad. I’m not sure but could they be making a relation for the opposite of happy? Once they were finished with the journal, the student was to go and find a book to read quietly until it was time for the next activity. During the lunch count, Mrs. F incorporated a mini-lesson in math. She asked how many children wanted PBJ and how many wanted a meat sandwich. Next, she asked how many children brought their lunch. Then, she relayed what they had found out. “We have 16 children in class today. Four want PBJ and eight want a meat sandwich. How many is that total? How many children should have brought their lunch?” The class answered with 4. I thought this showed how you can make a lesson out of any activity.
I was able to help a student one on one with a vocabulary fill in the blank worksheet; I will call him “J”. He seemed like he knew the answer but he was unsure of himself. He would sometimes switch the words around when he was reading. I was told by the teacher that he is one of the students in the class that you have to “push”. He gets distracted easily and does not want to stay on task. I’m glad I was able to coach him as he read orally. After the vocabulary worksheet, they had snack and then, came the “field trip”. The school has a butterfly garden on property and we took a science walk to see what we could find. Each student had a small, spiral notebook and was told to draw what they saw. I also have a spiral notebook that Mrs. F gave me so I could draw what I saw. After we came in, each child got an opportunity to go in front of the class to share their pictures of what they saw.
EDF 4467: Learning Theory and Assessment
Date: Friday, August 31, 2007
Time Spent: 8:15 to 11:15; 3 hours
ESOL: 0
Autistic: 2
Today was my first visit to Mrs. F first grade class. I was there right when the students began coming in. Their first task in the morning is to take out their “Morning Journal” and fill in the phrase that is on the board. Today’s phrase was:
Today is ________________________.
I feel happy today.
Sometimes I feel _________________.
The students were also to draw a picture of how they felt. It was interesting to see that most of the children filled in the blank for, “Sometimes I feel” with sad. I’m not sure but could they be making a relation for the opposite of happy? Once they were finished with the journal, the student was to go and find a book to read quietly until it was time for the next activity. During the lunch count, Mrs. F incorporated a mini-lesson in math. She asked how many children wanted PBJ and how many wanted a meat sandwich. Next, she asked how many children brought their lunch. Then, she relayed what they had found out. “We have 16 children in class today. Four want PBJ and eight want a meat sandwich. How many is that total? How many children should have brought their lunch?” The class answered with 4. I thought this showed how you can make a lesson out of any activity.
I was able to help a student one on one with a vocabulary fill in the blank worksheet; I will call him “J”. He seemed like he knew the answer but he was unsure of himself. He would sometimes switch the words around when he was reading. I was told by the teacher that he is one of the students in the class that you have to “push”. He gets distracted easily and does not want to stay on task. I’m glad I was able to coach him as he read orally. After the vocabulary worksheet, they had snack and then, came the “field trip”. The school has a butterfly garden on property and we took a science walk to see what we could find. Each student had a small, spiral notebook and was told to draw what they saw. I also have a spiral notebook that Mrs. F gave me so I could draw what I saw. After we came in, each child got an opportunity to go in front of the class to share their pictures of what they saw.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Gina Harris
9-4-07
Today was my first day of service learning. I am working in forth grade during their scheduled reading time (1:00-2:30). The students are rather wild, however, it may be due to the time of day. I have not been with them in the mornings, so perhaps they are calmer. There seem to be children at all different levels of learning. I have given a reading evaluation to two different students. In the classroom they cannot concentrate and do not read well. When I take them into the hallway, they are more focused and their reading comprehension is much better. The teacher is very nice, but it is her second year of teaching and I think she is still just getting to know her students.
9-6-07
Today I was so pleased working with the two same students I worked with on Tuesday. They were very excited to see me. We went out into the hallway to read and they were so eager. They are below a forth grade reading level, however, they really try to pronounce the words and do not get discouraged or distracted. I did notice that although they did not read fast or pronounce all their words correctly, they comprehended the story and we had a great time discussing and analyzing it. They were well behaved and when we returned to the classroom they did not act restless like the rest of the class, but worked on something else immediately. Some of the kids were reading and others were doing picture boards. There wasn't much guidance and I noticed even the normally on task kids were playing around. The teacher has a really good ignoring mechanism, but I'm not sure if it is a good thing in this case.
Today was my first day of service learning. I am working in forth grade during their scheduled reading time (1:00-2:30). The students are rather wild, however, it may be due to the time of day. I have not been with them in the mornings, so perhaps they are calmer. There seem to be children at all different levels of learning. I have given a reading evaluation to two different students. In the classroom they cannot concentrate and do not read well. When I take them into the hallway, they are more focused and their reading comprehension is much better. The teacher is very nice, but it is her second year of teaching and I think she is still just getting to know her students.
9-6-07
Today I was so pleased working with the two same students I worked with on Tuesday. They were very excited to see me. We went out into the hallway to read and they were so eager. They are below a forth grade reading level, however, they really try to pronounce the words and do not get discouraged or distracted. I did notice that although they did not read fast or pronounce all their words correctly, they comprehended the story and we had a great time discussing and analyzing it. They were well behaved and when we returned to the classroom they did not act restless like the rest of the class, but worked on something else immediately. Some of the kids were reading and others were doing picture boards. There wasn't much guidance and I noticed even the normally on task kids were playing around. The teacher has a really good ignoring mechanism, but I'm not sure if it is a good thing in this case.
Carpenter, Priscilla
Journal Entry #1
Date of service learning experience: 9-6-07
Total hours that day: 2 hrs.
Within my first day of my service learning experience, I knew that it was going to be different this year than last year. As I entered the classroom, the students were quietly settling down after lunch. This took a mere 10 minutes where it would have taken much longer last year. My service learning classroom is the same classroom as it was last year, but the children this year are at a lot higher level. Last years students were mostly ESE and ESOL students who were extremely disobedient and were always being told to settle down. This years students are very gifted, with some of the students being above the fourth grade level. These students were extremely obedient, and what a difference it was from last year.
The time that I observed and helped the children was during their writing and math block. These fourth graders have a very imaginative brain! There writing prompt for the day was tell me why you enjoy going outside and include a story about being outside. Many said they liked playing with friends, swimming, or going to the beach. However, this was not what I thought was the amazing thing about their writing. The different techniques that these children used to write their different stories was amazing. They all had their own style of writing and not one of the students had the same. Their teacher, Mrs. D., really encourages this of her students. She wants them to think outside the box and she will help guide them along the way.
While observing and helping the students during their math lesson, I was even more impressed with their way of thinking. The students had to do an assignment about mean, medium, mode, and range. They were given a box of raisins each and they had to count how many raisins they had in their own box and compare it with the rest of the class. The different ways that the students counted their raisins was very clever. Each student had their own style of rationing out their raisins to be counted. Some counted one by one, while others counted either by 2, 5, or 10s. Watching the students brains just clicking a mile a minute, finding new ways to accomplish tasks is very exciting.
I really enjoyed my first two hours of service learning this year. It definitely is a big jump from last years students to this years. I can't wait to continue my experience with these group of children and I can't wait to watch them grow in knowledge throughout the year. I am excited to go back next week and continue my experience during a different time of the day so that I can see their minds at work during different subject areas.
Date of service learning experience: 9-6-07
Total hours that day: 2 hrs.
Within my first day of my service learning experience, I knew that it was going to be different this year than last year. As I entered the classroom, the students were quietly settling down after lunch. This took a mere 10 minutes where it would have taken much longer last year. My service learning classroom is the same classroom as it was last year, but the children this year are at a lot higher level. Last years students were mostly ESE and ESOL students who were extremely disobedient and were always being told to settle down. This years students are very gifted, with some of the students being above the fourth grade level. These students were extremely obedient, and what a difference it was from last year.
The time that I observed and helped the children was during their writing and math block. These fourth graders have a very imaginative brain! There writing prompt for the day was tell me why you enjoy going outside and include a story about being outside. Many said they liked playing with friends, swimming, or going to the beach. However, this was not what I thought was the amazing thing about their writing. The different techniques that these children used to write their different stories was amazing. They all had their own style of writing and not one of the students had the same. Their teacher, Mrs. D., really encourages this of her students. She wants them to think outside the box and she will help guide them along the way.
While observing and helping the students during their math lesson, I was even more impressed with their way of thinking. The students had to do an assignment about mean, medium, mode, and range. They were given a box of raisins each and they had to count how many raisins they had in their own box and compare it with the rest of the class. The different ways that the students counted their raisins was very clever. Each student had their own style of rationing out their raisins to be counted. Some counted one by one, while others counted either by 2, 5, or 10s. Watching the students brains just clicking a mile a minute, finding new ways to accomplish tasks is very exciting.
I really enjoyed my first two hours of service learning this year. It definitely is a big jump from last years students to this years. I can't wait to continue my experience with these group of children and I can't wait to watch them grow in knowledge throughout the year. I am excited to go back next week and continue my experience during a different time of the day so that I can see their minds at work during different subject areas.
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