Student Teaching: Can you believe it?

Yesterday I attended a seminar held by the organization I am a part of, ASCD, on how to create a portfolio and land a job.  I felt it was really informative because the person presenting was a recent graduate (2007) and is teaching in her very own classroom, making it seem possible that we can actually get a job.  It was nice to see how other people put together their portfolio, and although I started mine, I am looking forward to student teaching so I can add more to it.

Speaking of which, I will be student teaching in the Half Hollow Hills school district, right next door.  On Wednesday I went to their district office and met the assistant superintendent, Kelly Fallon, who was so nice and very approachable.  It was a group “interview” where we all introduced ourselves.  We were told to say our name and if this was a career switch for us, and why we want to be a teacher.  I was one of the few who was not an alumni or current employee, and oddly enough not a career switch — I’ve always wanted to be a teacher.  We were even offered to participate in their professional development program which I am really excited about.

I then spoke with Arlene, who put the whole event together.  She was very nice and told me Vanderbilt Elementary requested a Hofstra student (so luckily my university left a good name, even in this school district that has excellent ratings).  I was told to call Vanderbilt on Monday, but I was too excited, so I waited until the next day and called on Friday.  The receptionist was so nice it made me even more excited to be accepted there.  They seem very accommodating and it looks like I am going to be student teaching kindergarten, first grade,  and fourth grade (not in that order).  I should find out who my cooperating teachers are on Monday, and I am thrilled.

Last day at MLK

Yesterday was my last day as a participant-observer at MLK.  It was so sad to leave these 28 students and my cooperative teacher, but it was evident that I had left my mark in that classroom.  All the students were so upset when I left and much time was taken to say goodbye.  They each wrote to me a friendly letter of how much they will miss me, and all the things they learned from me.  They spoke of the lessons I taught them and how much fun they had learning — it was also interesting how some said they didn’t even feel like they were doing any work because they had so much fun!

It was so hard to leave my fifth graders — not only because they were giving non-stop hugs, but because I am going to miss them all so much.  I gave them each my e-mail address (and some even wrote to me already!)

I truly am going to miss spending my Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at MLK, but am planning to go back and visit as much as I can before I start student teaching the first week in January.

My cooperative teacher was very kind to make me a slideshow of the pictures she had taken during my time there.  She also got me a gift card to Staples (which will come in handy very soon as I need file folders).  Even one of the students went out and bought presents — candles and Christmas decorations.  It was just so sweet and unexpected, and I hope that these students continue to dream big and persevere to accomplish their every goal.

Math & Science Bulletin Boards

I was very fortunate that this semester I was able to actively participate, bringing in many of my own ideas into the curriculum.  My cooperative teacher liked my ideas so much that many of the things I brought in are now posted on the walls, such as place value hints for decimals and large numbers (on chart paper), and two bulletin boards.

One bulletin board was for math (and incorporated social studies) with the presidential election (and our class prediction was right!).  We learned about the electoral college, watched a BrainPop video, and learned how to convert fractions to percentages.  On the bulletin we included our essential questions, a map of the United States according to what was predicted would happen in the election, and we payed special attention to ’swing’ states.  Students created a class book in which their written responses were documented and displayed on our board.

The other bulletin board was for science.  The students were ecstatic about this lesson because they got to make ice cream!  We talked about why we use salt when it snows outside and brought that connection to why we would use salt to make ice cream.  When salt comes into contact with ice, the freezing point of the ice is lowered.  By lowering the temperature at which ice is frozen, we are able to create an environment in which the milk mixture can freeze into ice cream.  The class was split into 9 groups of 3.  Some groups were successful in making ice cream, one group looked like it was straight out of a freezer, and others had smushy ice cream, and a few had milkshakes.  We then discussed why some groups ice cream turned out better and came up with ideas such as: the groups that were successful had more ice, shook their ZipLoc bags faster and non-stop.  This lesson turned out great, got everyone involved, and allowed students to be actively involved and excited to see what the outcome would be.

Electoral College

Math and Social Studies Interdisciplinary lesson on Electoral Votes

Student Sample in Class Book

Converting fractions to percentages

Science Lesson: Physical vs. Chemical changes

Finished product: ice cream!

This past week

This semester I have been very fortunate to have a lot of teaching experience in the classroom.  I’ve been able to share with students my experience during the last presidential debate (which was held at the university I attend), create a math bulletin board inside the classroom incorporating the electoral vote state representation allowing students to predict what candidate has the best chance of winning (using fractions and percentages).  This activity was so exciting for the students and they were all so eager to know who I plan to vote for in the upcoming election.  My social studies professor from last semester had told me that it was okay for students to know who you plan to vote for, as long as they had reviewed each candidate and made a decision for themselves.  Well, all the students at MLK want Senator Barack Obama to become the next President of the United States, and many look up to him as a role model.  Although I am an Obama supporter, I feel that even if I told them I was a McCain supporter, there beliefs are set in stone, so I did in fact tell them who I am supporting.  Also, while presenting this lesson, I used a BrainPOP video which I found both informative and attention-catching: http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/usgovernmentandlaw/presidentialelection/ (although you have to be a member to use BrainPOP this is one of their free videos).

This semester I have been attending a lot of Career Center workshops in preparation for landing a job in September.  The most recent one that I attended was “Creating a Portfolio.”  So many people have been uneasy when it comes to this category of a job interview because some school districts do not want to be bothered with one because they simply do not have the time to look through it.  Others are all about the portfolio and want to visually see proof of the things you talk about on the interview.  However, not knowing what you will encounter makes this process tricky, especially since you are expected to put a lot of time and effort into not only a tangible portfolio, but an electronic one as well, you want everyone to see it.

Last Tuesday, I attended a science materials exhibit at The Carltun in Eisenhower Park, SCIMEX 2008.  It was  held by the Long Island Science Education Leadership Association, Inc. and it was very interesting to see the different sorts of textbooks that are out there for classrooms.  There was a lot of state preparation books and a good amount of literature in the science content.  I was able to pick up a science workbook “Measuring Up” for Grade 5, and a math workbook for grade 5.  The thing I did not like about these workbooks was that it did not have any hands-on experiences or suggestions for such.  It was simply reading and answering questions.  However, I do like that it simplified a whole textbook and put in the necessary information for the New York State testing so students can focus in on what is necessary, and then learn through real-life contexts.  The material that I liked the most was a free sampler incorporating literature and science.

I wish that these kinds of events were more well-known to the public.  If teachers knew they could attend these events and possibly receive some free materials, I think just about every teacher would attend.  I do however wish that the vendors were a little more friendly to those who visited their stations — many were uneasy about giving away their materials.

Teaching with Manipulatives

This past Friday I taught a math lesson in a small group setting at MLK elementary and the experience was wonderful.   I was asked to prepare a lesson for place value, and equivalent decimals.

On chart paper, I wrote out a large number: 547,650,321,489.432.  I had it arranged so every three numbers were in houses: the billions, the millions, the thousands, and the ones.  The children loved this and felt it really helped them remember how to say these large numbers.  Also, they just learned about the tenths, hundreths, and thousandths place, so we had to practice saying those numbers.

This was done through a game.  The students were paired off into teams.  They each got to choose their own team names, and tallys were kept.  Each group got a miniature dry-erase board with markers to write down their answer.  I wrote down a number and they had to write how you would say that number.  This was a great success!

Then, once I saw that the students understood this concept, we moved on to fractions.  I made eight circles, each cut into different parts.  For instance, circles included: 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/6, 1/5, 1/8, 1/10, and 1/12.  I wrote out a number, and asked students to find that number within the circles.  For instance, 1.5, or 1 2/12.  Interestingly enough, in some cases, there was more than one way to represent the fraction using these manipulatives, and it was interesting to watch the groups explore possible ways of finding a solution.  At times, the students had difficulties working in groups because they disagreed on their answers, but at times it was helpful because they did not feel confident enough in their responses to share aloud unless partnered up.

Once again, I found that teaching math through manipulatives was very positive and the students were able to have fun with a hands-on interactive lesson, with many visual aids.

It’s Official!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go in before my hours start and meet my cooperative teacher as well as the classroom that I will be teaching/observing.  It is a fifth grade class with 28 students!  Based on the hour that I observed, they all seem so eager to learn and I am so excited to be there.

My supervisor this semester is a former elementary education teacher in Hicksville and Westbury, and he seems very “coach-like,” especially since he is currently a sports coach!  It is going to be interesting to see his technique, which he made clear, is to connect things that you like and that the students like into everything you teach, especially… sports!  So this semester I will really have to think “outside the box” for my lessons.

For the first day of class, I already have an assignment to do, and I am so excited about it!  I was asked to write a letter introducing myself to the students so they can get to know me, and in return, they will each write to me a letter about themselves.  I am truly impressed that my cooperative teacher would think to do this, and from my position, it’s a wonderful first lesson to break the ice.  Also, I get to learn more about the students I will be working with for the next few months, which really helps to get to know them so I can develop lessons based on their interests.

Also, I suggested to my cooperative teacher that last semester, as a class we created a social studies unit for the upcoming election, coincidentally for the fifth grade.  She seems really interested so I’m looking forward to hopefully getting involved in incorporating the upcoming electon into her class.  Also, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I will have an opportunity to go to the presidential debate being held at Hofstra in October (the ticket lottery goes up on Monday).  At this moment, it seems like that once in a lifetime opportunity.  But I am also making sure I take part in the many opportunities Hofstra is offering because we are so fortunate to be having the presidential debate at our campus (minus the limits on parking with secret service and the soon-to-be media).  I’m looking forward to attending the upcoming events that focus on how to teach the 2008 elections to elementary/intermediate grades.

Upcoming Placement

I’m very happy to report that this semester I will be spending 90 hours as a participant-observer in a forth or fifth grade classroom at Dr. Martin L. King Jr. Elementary School in the Wyandanch School District.  I start September 22nd and I’m looking forward to observing and teaching math and science.

The school district that I will be observing in has brought about much controversy in Newsday: http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-vpwya055829623sep05,0,3566504.story

Senior Year – let the service begin!

As a senior, there is so much that will be going on this year.  I will be a participant observer in a “high needs” area, for 90 hours my fall semester.  Then, during the winter intersession I will be student teaching grades 4-6, and the spring semester kindergarten, and grades 1-2.  On top of the 18 credits I am registered for including 3 english classes (to complete my minor/specialization), 2 education classes (math and science), and 1 educate 08 class (hoping it will increase my chances of actually attending the presidential debate which is going to be held at Hofstra), there is so much more to a senior year than classes.  I have seminars nearly every week (which are not mandatory, but I want every ounce of professional development I can get!)  I have to apply to graduate school and decide between special education and literacy for my masters (which I plan to persue both down the line, but it’s hard to choose which one to earn a degree in first).

Now that I am on the executive board of ASCD, Hofstra Chapter, there is a lot of community service events that I will be able to participate in and create.  After attending a meeting at my professors house in Stonybrook, I was ecstatic to learn about all that this organization has to offer.  Not only do we organize and hold meetings monthly, with informative speakers and workshops that help us as teachers grow, we also have the opportunity to help schools, including many “high needs” ones in the surrounding Suffolk/Nassau area.

The second week of September we are going to label approximately 800 books according to Fountas and Pinnell’s book, separate them into approximately 80-100 books for each school, and later distribute them to “high needs” schools.  Also, in October we will be participating in JumpStart for Reading.  This year on October 2nd we will be reading Corduroy and donating this book to “high needs” schools in the primary grades (PreK to second grade).  It is our goal, to recruit 100 people from Hofstra University.  I can’t wait, and I am looking forward to meeting our goal

Participant Observer at West Side

Wow, I can’t believe I haven’t updated this since my first lesson.  The semester ends in 2 weeks so I have so much to share.  I only have 2 more days left of being a participant observer at West Side, and I am going to miss my second graders and all the people I met there.

Sadly I can’t post any pictures due to privacy rights.

Lesson 1: The students wrote about a community helper and how that person helps to make our community a happy, healthy, and safe place to be.  In addition, some students colored their community helpers and made them look like the person they wrote about.  I then turned their works into a book on community helpers (interdisciplinary study with language arts and social studies)

Lesson 2: The students explored poetry using our observations of nature from looking outside the classroom window.  The students each created their own poem and drew a picture.  I feel they each did an excellent job and I was able to work with two groups of 8 students and learn from my first time presenting the lesson.  As a result, the final product of the second group was exactly what I anticipated and I felt very accomplished. (language arts lesson)

Lesson 3: This lesson was my favorite!  I took some information from the National Geographic Explorer and information from books and the internet on kites to create a lesson on the history of kites.  The students were so excited and were introduced to a great deal of material.  They learned many things they did not know about the use of kites (airplanes, weather, lightening).  They created a timeline (their first ever) and at the end created their own kites.

Lesson 4: The students learned how to create an origami frog, and write an apostrophe poem, talking to their frog.  I felt I accomplished so much in this lesson, tackling a very interactive lesson that incorporated so much, and was able to keep the group on task, complete all my objectives, and finish this all in the limited 30 minutes.

Clinical Supervision

Today during common hour at Hofstra University all the early childhood, elementary education, and dual students had a meeting to meet our supervisors for this semester. I feel very lucky that I got Myrna who seems very dedicated to everyone. I felt so welcomed when I got a phone call from her two days before to inform me that she would be my supervisor. However, at the meeting they totally shocked everyone with all the information they were giving us. Luckily I have spoken to people who were in the program previously so I had some idea, but I had no idea we’d be teaching EVERY time. I am so excited to be doing this, but also a little nervous as a first timer really teaching in a classroom.

This Friday I meet my cooperative teacher, which I am ecstatic about, but nervous at the same time, especially about the parking situation (it looked like everything was parallel parking, and I haven’t parallel parked since I took my road test five years ago!) Until then…