Wrapping It All Up

 At the beginning of this semester I set four goals for myself. Throughout my clinical experience I have been working on each one of these goals. The first goal I set for myself was to better my planning and differentiation skills. This would include making appropriate and effective modifications for my students. As I have spent time in my clinical placement I have experienced many opportunities to plan and differentiate for my students. I think I have improved on my skills to differentiate for my students in new and creative ways.

The second goal I had set for myself was to be able to effectively and professionally work with my colleagues. This would include my peers in my college classes along with my cooperating teacher and other faculty at my clinical placement. Throughout this semester I got to practice this skill in numerous aspects of my education. In my classes we worked with co-teachers to complete a unit project. In class we also worked with a grade level team to create a curriculum map for an entire school year. These experiences in class were very enriching and helped my build many of my cooperating skills. Outside of the classroom I got to witness and experience my cooperating teacher working with another kindergarten teacher. The two teachers would meet everyday during lunch and work on their plans for the future week. The teachers set a great example of discussing, planning, and making compromises to fit each of the teacher and students’ needs. I think this really helped me grow as an adult this semester.

The third goal I had set for myself was to broaden my horizons when it comes to content areas. In the past I had only had experience in math or literacy lessons and lesson planning. This semester I have been able to broaden my teaching horizon in many ways. My cooperating teacher has given me many opportunities to experience and try new things in her classroom. I have had the opportunity to teach science, social studies, and literacy. I also participate in math and literacy activities each time I am in her classroom. She has also made me see how easy it is to think on my feet. For example we had to have some maintenance done in the classroom spur of the moment last week, so we went to the foyer and I read the students a book about frogs and then taught them a music and movement song I know about frogs. I have been given a lot of freedom along with guidance in her classroom. I definitely feel like I have broadened my horizons and I can’t wait to experience more as my teaching career goes on.

The fourth goal I had set for myself was to be able to better interpret formal and informal assessment data. Last semester we had some practice with this process, but I think this is a task that you get better at with time and practice.  This semester I have got to experiment many new and different types of assessments. I think getting more practice with these has made it easier for me to decide which assessment is best to use in different situations. I still think I need improvement and that practice will help make this an achievable goal for me in the future.

The fifth goal I had set for myself was a goal that was close to my heart.  My person goal was to become a compassionate teacher. My cousin who passed away became a teacher that gets to know each and every one of her students on a personal level has inspired me to do the same. I worked very hard in the short time that I was at my clinical placement to get to know my students and build a connection with each of them. I believe this semester I was able to make progress and get to know more students that I ever had before in past clinical experiences. Throughout my education I would like to continue to grow and learn as a compassionate educator.

In the future I still hold these same five goals. I think there is always room for improvement, as I become a teacher. As I enter student teaching I will continue to improve in each of these areas and remind myself each day to be compassionate as I enter the school building. One area I have come to realize that I need improvement on is my classroom management. This is an area that I won’t fully have control of until I am in my first year of teaching. Each semester I am introduced to knew ideas of classroom management and I have changed my opinion on teaching method throughout that time. I’m looking forward to becoming my own person with my own strategies in the near future.

Overall I think this semester was a blessing. I was placed with a cooperating teacher who was challenging but also so inspiring. I learned so much at my clinical placement. I was tested in ways I never thought I would experience. I was tested inside and outside of the classroom this semester but I think I was able to grow as a stronger independent adult because of it. I also had a clinical supervisor how challenged me in ways I hadn’t been challenged before. I think both of these people combined have had a giant impact on who I will be and how I will conduct myself in the future.

Since this is my last assigned blog post I would like to leave everyone in the education world with this:

“Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.”

I would like to leave my lovely peers with this:

            “Promise me you will always remember- you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”

            -Christopher Robin, Winnie the Pooh

I love each and everyone of you.

Social Studies Lesson Extension

After teaching my social studies formal lesson I was able to do an extension lesson the next day I attended clinicals. I taught my formal lesson on Monday April 7th and got to complete an extension today. The students needed a little bit more time to finish a flipbook they were completing during my formal lesson. My cooperating teacher also wanted to give me a chance to see what the students had retained from my lesson and practice some of the techniques that we discussed during our debriefing. I was not feeling very confident after teaching my lessons because I ran low on time due to not having the proper ability to pace myself and keep track of time during the lesson.
When I completed the extension lesson today I felt way better about the lesson I had taught and my teaching abilities. I was able to use a clapping attention getter that the students readily and easily responded to. This helped me keep the students attention and their focus throughout the lesson. I was also able to better communicate with the students and let them speak out and discuss on their own. Since I was able to teach this extension I was able to reteach my academic language and make sure the students really took away the important facts I was trying to teach the students.
My cooperating teacher was very supportive throughout the lesson and gave me time before the school day started to prepare. She was going to finish the flipbooks on tuesday but decided to let me finish out what I had started so it would be a good learning experience for me in the long run. During my prep time I took out two of the pages that proved to be too difficult for the kindergarten grade level and that made the completetion of the flipbook a more developmentally appropraite task for the students.
I am excited to take away everything I have learned from this teaching experience and apply it to my future lesson implementations.

Science!

Science in my clinical placement has been like the warm weather in the past few months, off and on.

This semester we are required to teach once science lesson at our clinical placement. Before teaching this lesson the only science I experienced was the teacher doing the mid-year assessments. I had never actually witnessed her teach a science lesson. From our discussions what I can tell is that science is not a topic they spend a lot of time on in kindergarten at this particular school. The lesson time for ANY topic is from 10:10-10:40 this is a time of the day that my cooperating teacher has set aside for whatever large lesson she is teaching that day.

Since I taught my lesson I have seen one science lesson taught in the classroom. My cooperating teacher and her students created an anchor chart about what they thought they knew about the sun and earth, what they proved were facts, and what happened to be misconceptions. This was interactive for the students and they discussed the reasoning of each fact and misconception as they created the chart. Since a lot of this was discussion that my cooperating teacher then had the students participate in a gross motor activity by acting like the planets as they revolved and rotated around the sun. My cooperating teacher was the sun and the students spun and walked around in a circle. As they were doing this my cooperating teacher also explained the seasons. The planets (students) that were far away from the sun and not facing the sun were in winter. The plants (students) that were close to the sun and facing the sun were in summer. The students were really understanding and grasping this idea. The more she continued the activity the more the students began to understand the concept.

I wish science was taught more in the classroom. The students really love the topics and ideas that the teacher does teacher. I honestly really agree with the ways my teacher has taught science when I am there. I believe I implemented my lesson in a similar manner. My cooperating teacher has been very inspiring with many of her teaching techniques. She is very spirited and engaged with the lessons that she teachers. She also continuously gives me tips while she is teaching and whenever we have a break in the day.

Comparing what I have seen to what I am learning at Illinois State University is almost incomparable. In my current science class we are learning all about 5E lesson plans and using Next Generation Science Standards. In these lessons we have learned a lot about cross cutting concepts. This is not at all what I am seeing in my clinical placement because science isn’t very often implemented when I am there. Science is something that comes around during assessment time or when there is extra time in the schedule.

This is a great explanation of the techniques we are being taught at Illinois State University.

YouTube Video 5E Model

In the future I plan to teach science at an inquiry based level. I have enjoyed learning more about science education and finding out how much young students can actually do. I would like to let students explore and experiment with ideas and concepts in the world around them. I can’t wait to have the freedom to implement this in my future classroom. I love seeing students come up with questions about science related topics and then work together or on their own to find the answers.

I am wondering if I will have time to implement the types of science lessons I am hoping to when I have my own classroom. There are many details in a daily schedule that are out of the teachers’ hands. I believe this is what makes it so difficult for teachers to find time for subjects like social studies and science.

Social Studies Experience

This semester in my clinical placement Social Studies lessons are few and far between. On my first day at Olympia my cooperating teacher and I spent sometime going over their daily and weekly schedules. Social Studies was not a topic we covered during this time. We started to lay out the dates of my lesson plans and my cooperating teacher said that they generally have Social Studies lessons that revolve around important holidays. Since there aren’t any major holidays in the months to come I would not be involved in any of her social studies lessons. She also said that her clinical student last semester covered the topic of community helpers because she had to complete the same assignments that I am having to complete this semester. So overall I have not witnessed a Social Studies lesson so far in my clinical experience.

As I reflect on this I go back to what I have been taught in my TCH 277 social studies instruction class. I also spent a lot of time looking at the standards we have been provided with for that class. There is so much information we could be teaching a kindergarten class when it comes to social studies. Kindergarten is supposed to be about students learning about themselves and their place in the community. They could also be learning about the community they live in, their wants and needs, and other topics they would learn and grow from. The general social studies content in Illinois for kindergarten is suppose to focus on “Myself and Others.” This focus builds each year throughout the early childhood years until third grade when the standards focus on “Illinois: Part of My Country and World.” What my clinical placement is doing is just focusing on the holidays rather than supporting the individual and community growth of the students in the class.

It is unfortunate that I have not been able to witness or experience any social studies lessons so far in my clinical experiences. If I were going to add Social Studies into the curriculum as an everyday subject area I would do many of the things we have been taught in class. I would support my learners by having interactive workjobs they can use during downtime. For example In a kindergarten class I could use the wants and needs workjob I made for my TCH 277 class.

I have also included some examples my peers made for kindergarten work jobs:

I would also implement many classroom activities that would help incorporate all social studies subject areas into the curriculum, these include, civics & government, economics, history, geography, sociology & culture, and psychology. I would make time for this by making sure all other subject areas are scheduled for the appropriate length of time for a kindergartner. I think it is important to make time for this in a kindergarten classroom so the students begin to learn their place in the physical and social world. At this point in my education I want my social studies lessons to be very interactive and student oriented. I want to set up my learning environment so we can all be on the same level. I imagine a lot of my social studies instruction would be on the rug. During this time I hope to have students doing a lot of turn and talks, think-pair-shares, and classroom discussion. I will use knowledge checks that I have learned from my classes at ISU and from my clinical placement. Some quick and easy knowledge checks include thumbs up, thumbs down, whiteboard work, hands up, elbows up, etc. If students are introduced to these ideas at a young at age , they will have a much better platform to build off of form the more complex ideas they will learn in the future. 

I use the following sites for many of my social studies lesson ideas:
Scholastic
Pinterest

This is a direct link to my early childhood education pinterest board where I have compiled a lot of the ideas I shared in this blog:
Kelsey's Pinterest

Literacy Strategy and Assessment Reflection

After becoming familiar with the processes and routines that go on in my clinical placement for the spring of 2014 one subject area I would like to reflect on is literacy.

Literacy is done in many different ways in the kindergarten classroom I am placed in. I have witnessed lessons being taught in large group, small group, and individual instruction. So far I have personally participated in small group and individual instruction. As I observe and become familiar with the processes I have realized that my cooperating teacher has a lot of effective strategies that she uses with her students. When she is instruction large group she gives each student a chance to respond as long as time permits. As she is doing this she keeps the students interested by having them give signals or cheers to show if they agree or disagree with the student who is responding to the questions she provides. When the students are in a small group literacy instruction setting there is an adult at each table. At my placement the teachers are very lucky to have parents that are actively involved in their students’ education. They have parent volunteers they come in and work the literacy stations (along with math stations, classroom parties, other classroom activities, and completes the photocopying & laminating). These parents help teach mini lessons at each station or table. Since students are in such small groups at this time there is also an opportunity for individual instruction if needed. During these instructions the students are read to by the teacher, read on their own, and do some guided reading along with a teacher or adult. The teacher or adult asks the students questions throughout the reading to keep them engaged.

During my time in my clinical placement I have not seen a lot of formal literacy assessments. The assessments I have seen seem to be rather informal and formative. My CT does a lot of white board checks, hand signal checks, and other ways that keep the students active or engaged as she asses. By doing this she can see what the students grasp or what she may need to reteach or support them with. She does this by telling them if letters are “walking backwards” or if they need to make any other changes as they work.  My CT also collects student work on a regular basis. This gives her a chance to take the time to look over their work. One thing she does is has the students make corrections the next day. This is a way for students to learn rather than to just get a complete or incomplete mark on their paper.

The students in this are actively involved in their learning and in their assessments. My CT uses many signals as ways for the students respond. The signals may include: Hands up, hands on your head, cowboy cheer, thumbs up, etc. The students also use whiteboards. As the students work they can either hold up their board for the teacher to see or the teacher can walk around and see the students work.

I believe a lot of the strategies used in this class are more effective than I thought they could be. I never realized how much information you can take away from simple assessments like checking their whiteboards as they work. By doing this you can help plan for you next lesson or a follow up lesson. Many of these strategies I will carry into my future. The hardest task is going to be getting the parent involvement that these teachers have been able to get. By being at the school for 28 years she has made a lot of connections. Some people that come in to help are parents, grandparents, or even parents from past years that still enjoy helping in the classroom. There are also retired teachers from the district and the area that come in to support the learning. I am looking forward to finding good strategies to get parents involved in my classroom.

We have spent quite a bit of time learning about assessments and literacy strategies at Illinois State University. My CT demonstrates strategies that we learned and how important each type of assessments are. Although I have not been able to witness many summative assessments my CT has made it clear that they are equally as important. My CT also supports what I have learned at ISU by using literacy strategies that I have learned about in class. She uses haggerty phonics lessons, we practice handwriting, we practice sitting correctly while doing handwriting, and we support the students by including group work throughout the literacy lessons.
  As I go on to be a teacher there are many things I have learned from and that I will take away from focusing my attention the literacy in my clinical placement. I will remember that having students interact with their peers during literacy can be beneficial. I will also remember to keep all students involved and engaged during a large group lesson or reading. I intend to do a little more research about this though. I want to find more ways to keep the students engaged other than agreeing and disagreeing with the response of one student. I will also concentrate closely on formative and informal assessment. By doing these assessments I will be able to better plan my lessons and future activities for my students. I may also need to look at ways I need to differentiate for my students. Literacy is something I have always enjoyed as a young student and as an adult. I hope to teach my students not only to read but to love reading.

To give you an idea about some of the attention getters that can be used with young students I have included examples:

I have also included a link to some great informal assessment ideas that can be used in the classroom: Informal Assessments

I also included a link to another education blog that has great ideas for Literacy Centers.

Let me Introduce Myself...

Hello Fellow Bloggers!

My name is Kelsey Marlow. I am a 23 year old Early Childhood Education Major at Illinois State University. I've lived in the same small town in central Illinois my whole life. I have known that I want to be a teacher since the young age of 5 years old. I made this discovery when I was ahead of the game in reading. My kindergarten teacher let me sit in front of the class and read to them. At this moment my mom, my teachers, and I knew that I would become a teacher in the future. I am just 11 short months away from my graduation date. I'm starting this blog for my third clinical block of classes. During my clinical experience I will be placed in a Kindergarten class. I can't wait to start my journey in the education world.

Throughout my time in this clinical experience I have four main goals I would like to achieve. My first goal is to better my planning and differentiation skills. This would include making appropriate and effective modifications for my students. In my past clinical experiences I have not been in a situation where students needed any modifications or extreme differentiation. I'm hoping to be in a classroom setting where I can work on this skill. My second goal is to be able to effectively and professionally work with my colleagues  This would include my peers in my college classes along with my cooperating teacher and other faculty at my clinical placement. In my last clinical placement I witnessed teachers working very well together and relying on each other for support. I want to learn how to build a relationship with my peers that will be beneficial to all of us. It will be important for us to know how to work well with others and to effectively communicate with other teachers when we get out in the teaching profession. My third goal is to broaden my horizons when it comes to content areas. In the past I have only had experience in math or literacy lessons and lesson planning. I am looking forward to trying new subjects. When I was in clinical placements before I never got the chance to even observe a social studies or science class. I am excited to be able to add these subjects to the list of topics I have covered and taught. As I am implementing my lessons I hope to find topics that my students are interested in and can connect with. My fourth goal is to be able to better interpret formal and informal assessment data. Last semester we had some practice with this process, but I think this is a task that you get better at with time and practice. Throughout the semester I hope to take into consideration the students assessment results when I am implementing and planning my lessons. 


One final goal I have for myself is to become a compassionate teacher. Before I started my journey at Illinois State University I went to my community college to get my general education classes taken care of. During this time my cousin, Lisa Schmidgall, who was a 6th grade teacher got diagnosed with stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer (not caused from smoking). I was the family member with the most flexible schedule so I took care of her during her 10 month battle before she passed away. Lisa was a teacher with more compassion and love for than job than anyone I had ever met. She took me under her wings at a young age and let me help make bulletin boards or staple papers for her during the summer. She has had a huge impact on the type of teacher I want to be. If you follow the link below you will understand the type of person Lisa was and I want to be. 

Pekin Teacher Leaves Lifetime of Memories for Local School - CIProud