Student Teaching Placement #1 – 2nd Grade

Week 1

1. How did you spend your time this week? What responsibilities did you have?

Most of the first week was spent getting to know the class as well as going over classroom rules, routines, and procedures. We also worked on several different activities that incorporated literacy and math. For example, the students did an “All About Me – Math” sheet. Students shared their age and then had to create addition problems that equaled their age. The Thursday before classes started, I also had the opportunity to attend Open House and meet several of the parents and students before the first day. This was an invaluable opportunity and gave me insight into all of the little things that go into getting your classroom ready for the school year. My responsibilities for the first week consisted of helping with transitions, enforcing rules, reviewing routines and procedures alongside Mrs. Metzger, assisting students on activities as needed, helping organize classroom materials, preparing Friday folders, and participating in PLC on Wednesday. I also did a read aloud of My New Teacher and Me by Al Yankovic on the first day of school. I loved that I got to read one of my favorite stories to the class and engage them in a read aloud. Overall, I had a positive first week of student teaching.

2. What were your most satisfying experiences? What were your most challenging experiences?

The most satisfying experience was building positive relationships with the students throughout the first week. It has been a great experience being here since day one because the students see me as a teacher and I will have the opportunity to watch them grow during my seven weeks at Irving Elementary.

I think the most challenging part of my first week was being hesitant to enforce rules, even though my mentor teacher gave me the approval to do this. I made myself as familiar as possible with both the school’s rules as well as the classroom’s rules but was still worried I would be too strict or too lenient. However, after observing Mrs. Metzger more I become more comfortable and felt confident enforcing the rules. This will help with my classroom management as I begin taking more responsibility in the classroom.

3. What are the plans for the upcoming week?

The plans for the upcoming week are to begin spelling and math curriculum as well as finishing activities from last week. We will also continue to review and reinforce the rules, routines, and procedures throughout the next few weeks. During the second week we will also finish finalizing our daily/weekly schedule.

Week 2

1. How did you spend your time this week?

This week I began taking over morning duties. Morning duties include making sure students are signed in, assisting on morning work, leading the pledge, as well as reciting character counts. I also started teaching spelling this week and have had an overall positive experience doing so. Today (Friday), I also had the chance to administer the students’ first spelling assessment. All of the kids did exceptional so I was very ecstatic about their scores. I also participated in helping arrange reading groups for when we begin doing rotations. I enjoyed seeing everything that goes into determining groups. I never realized how difficult it is to place kids into groups that meet their level without it turning into a large group. Another challenge we faced was finding the time to meet with every group without going over the maximum amount of independent time students are allowed to have. The positive aspect of the experience was how well the reading teachers and classroom teachers worked together to come up with a solution.

2. What were your most satisfying experiences? What were your most challenging experiences?

My most satisfying experience this week was having several students give me a hug as they were leaving at the end of the day. It is so rewarding to see my positive relationships with the students mature. This week I also did a read aloud followed by a safety tip activity with the children. This was another satisfying experience for the week. I felt confident in how both the read aloud and activity went. I think the most challenging experience I had this week was administering the spelling assessment. I had a difficult time getting the students to understand it was a test and they needed to be silent as well as working independently. However, it was a good learning experience and I feel next Friday will go more smoothly. My plan is to ask students what the expectations are during the test before getting started and write student responses on the board. I am hoping that by involving the students they will take more responsibility as well as invest in the expectations.

3. What are the plans for the upcoming week?

This upcoming week I will be taking over math in addition to spelling, which I started doing this week. I will be working with Everyday Math, which is a relief because I am fairly familiar with the curriculum. Math is also one of my strongest subjects so I feel confident I will be able to thoroughly explain any topics that may be confusing for the kids. I am excited to be taking over more responsibilities in the upcoming week.

Week 3

1. How did you spend your time this week?

This week I started teaching bell to bell. My first day went fairly smoothly, minus a little chaos during transitions. I think the chaos we did have was simply the kids testing my boundaries since it was my first day with Mrs. Metzger out of the room. I also spent a lot of this week, after school, reflecting on my day such as what went well and what I wanted to improve. I found that reflecting really helped me make improvements throughout the week. This week was also a great time for me to really develop my teaching style, which will be highly beneficial going forward with my next two student teaching placements.

2. What were your most satisfying experiences? What were your most challenging experiences?

My most satisfying experience this week was simply surviving my first week of bell to bell and feeling confident with how well it went overall. I was a great experience, even though it challenged me at times. It was also satisfying being able to put to use all of the classroom management tricks I had learned from my professors over the years. Being able to do this made me very thankful for the education I received at Drake.

The most challenging aspect was transitioning to recess right after reading groups. The students’ noise level continuously got out of hand. My method for fixing this was calling on individual students who were quiet to line up and then allowing these students to go outside while I waited for the rest of the students to quiet down. This seemed to fix the problem fairly quickly and by the end of the week it was no longer an issue.

3. What are the plans for the upcoming week?

The plans for next week are to continue working on improving the transition from reading groups to recess. I will also continue to try to improve one thing each day and also reflect on what went well. In addition to this, I am looking forward to seeing the difference between my experience this week and next week.

Week 4

1. How did you spend your time this week?

I spent this week teaching bell to bell for the second week in a row. Although both weeks were positive experiences this week went better by far. Transitions went more smoothly and I saw a huge improvement in my management of noise level during line up times. This week was also spent planning for next week. I usually try to map out my plans for the entire week and check off things as we complete them. If we do not get to something I just move it to the next day. I also had my first experience testing one of my Read Well reading groups this week. They all passed and we officially moved onto the next unit. It felt really good to see them succeed.

2. What were your most satisfying experiences? What were your most challenging experiences?

My most satisfying experience this week was seeing my improvement from the prior week to this week. It is amazing what a few changes did for my classroom management during transition periods.

The most challenging experience of the week was not staying too late working on checking papers or planning for the next day. I felt accomplished but I wore myself out entirely too much over things that could have waited until the weekend. I do not think I had ever truly realized how much work teachers put in to get prepared for the days/weeks ahead. However, I decided to write a list that prioritizes what I need to do. Anything that needs done that day goes at the top, then things that need to be done by the following day, and last anything that can be done over the weekend. Hopefully, my system will help me stay on top of things without feeling overwhelmed.

3. What are the plans for the upcoming week?

The plans for next week are to teach bell to bell for the final time. I cannot believe how quickly time has passed me by while at Irving Elementary. I will be sad to leave but I am so excited to use my experiences here going forward. It is almost

unbelievable how much improvement I have seen from myself in seven weeks. I can imagine my teaching will be significantly better at the end of my final placement.