Conquering the Thesis Statement

Yesterday I taught a lesson all about the thesis statement. The day began by going over a slideshow with the students. They had to record notes in their notebooks while I was talking all about the parts of a thesis statement. Once they had a clear stance on the basics I then tested them on their ability to analyze a good thesis statement verse a not so good one. On the screen were examples of thesis statements and the students then had to write on their whiteboards whether it was good or bad. If it was bad they had to tell me what was wrong with it. They loved using the whiteboards. Once we finished with that they were then left to write thesis statements of their own. They were given the main points of the essy and from that, had to formulate the thesis.

Planning for this lesson I was quite nervous as to whether or not I was competent enough to teach this. So when the students really grasped this idea and easily formulated their own, I was beyond excited. The students were engaged and actually having fun while learning. When I finished and the children left, my teacher pulled me aside and told me I did a wonderful job and that I should invite the principal to come and observe me. I went down to the office and left a note with the secretary inviting her or the assistant principal to come and watch me. I was terrified and nervous. I spent the rest of the day worrying about my lesson. When I got to the class they didn't end up coming because there was an incident they needed to handle. Phew!!!

At the end of the day I was really pleased with myself. I taught a great lesson that reached my students, I invited the principal to watch me despite my fears and I left the day on a high note!

Judgment Day!

Today is judgement day! The students have finished their novel, The Man Who Was Poe and they have had planty of time to study.

Yesterday, for example, I prepared a Jeopardy review game to help the students with their studying. I had done this previously with my first placement and it went over well. What I wasn't prepared for was how into the game my 6th graders got. When it came down to the end and both teams were tied it was a battle, I say a battle, over the last question and how much to wager. Besides that, the students were very aware of the information necessary to pass the test.

I realize that on testing days it is not only a test of how well the students understand the material but it is also a test fot the teacher. It is a test as to how well did you prepare them for this examine. Needless to say, it is quite nerve-racking to watch them take the test and hoping they are all doing well.

From what I have seen so far in grading their exams, the students seemed to haev done well and really been prepared. As a teacher it makes me quite proud!

Peeking through the window of 8th grade

Everything is going as normal with the 6th graders. They are still reading the novel and taking their notes. So, I have decided to blog a little about my writers workshop class. It is a class my collaborating teacher has every other day. This classed is for 8th graders who did not score well on their tests and need more time working on their writing skills. The class sizes are not more then ten students. In this class they have recently read a short excerpt on the life of Selena. They practiced pre-reading strategies and making predictions. But, the primary focus was spent on being able to identify the main idea. The students used something called a post-it note strategy. In this activity they record 2-3 bits of information they learned from the particular section. They then find the common theme between them and form the main idea. They did exceptionally well with this.

Once they finished with the story of Selena we then ventured into the world of biographies. They were each allowed to choose a famous person to research. While they were researching they had to complete a planning sheet. This told them the particular bits of information they needed to have. Once they had all the information they were then sent to ReadWriteThink to complete the Bio-Cube activity. The students created these bio-cubes for their particular person.

The majority of the students have completed their cubes and were placed on a bulletin board for all to see.

Just another day in the neighborhood

Well today in the world of sixth grade was the same as any other. The students are still working through the novel, The Man Who Was Poe. At this point in the novel there are so many clues and plenty of characters that they are starting to get confused. On the bright side their note taking skills have improved which helps when trying to explain all that is going on. It is a blessing to see how into the novel my students are getting. As the plot thickens the students get more and more drawn in to the novel. They are constantly making predictions and have almost turned it into a game of sorts. Coming back to a typical day has been great. I have been sick for a few days and not able to attend school. It was comforting to get back into the routine of a typical day and actually see how the kids were doing. Other than that, nothing real crazy going on.

Rough day in the teaching world

Today was just not a good day. I have been over tired and getting very little sleep. I had to teach a lesson today and needless to say it was by far the worst one yet. I was told what I was suppose to be teaching on and not given much room for freedom to deviate from her plans. I was suppose to review part of the novel with them and have the students complete a worksheet to follow. The students were not having any better of a day than I was because they did not want to cooperate. I trudged through the review with them and left them to finish their worksheet. Low and behold the worksheet took them a little over 20 minutes to complete in a 40 minute class period. Trying to think quickly on my feet I assigned them a note taking activity for the chapter coming up. Though I did manage to maintain control over the students it was not how I normally conduct my lessons. At the end of the day I was shown the need to be flexible and quick on my feet.

Trying out the second placement in middle school.

I have started my second placement which is at the middle school. I have been nervous and a bit uncomfortable with the idea of teaching here. It's a new field of students with a whole new set of issues that all need a new style of interaction and discipline... none of which I have experienced before. Despite the nervousness, it has been going well.

The first couple days have been crazy withthe power outages and the ending of the semester. My teacher and I get along great so that was a plus. The schedule for my day went rfom having the elementary kids all (from the moment I got to school until they drove away on the bus) to really only teaching a few periods. I am in an English classroom with 6th grade mostly but I do have a couple writer's workshop classes where I teach 8th graders. My day begins with first period as a team meeting time. The teachers from that team all meet and discuss the students and meet with parents or guidance counselors. With the English depeartment they do back to back periods with the same group of kids. So for 2nd & 3rd period I have my first group of students. 4th period B days I have a writers workshop time while 5th period A days I have a different workshop time. Then 6th is lunch. 7th and 8th are the second group of students and 9th period is a prep period. Needless to say I was not prepared for all the free time.

The class right now is reading the book called The Man Who Was Poe, by Avi. They listen to the story on a recording while taking notes. Once the chapter is done, we as a class go over the notes from the chapter and fill out a characterization chart when necessary. They have been doing this and will do this until the book is finished. For me it's frustrating because it doesn't allow for any deviation. As of right now I am just kind of bored and really don't know what to do with myself. I am doing well and having a good time... I just feel like I need more to do.

Hook Mountain Field Trip

It has been forever since I have blogged. I apologize for that becuase I am just not in the habit of blogging. I am now at my second placement but I want to share my experince taking my class on their field trip to Hook Mountain.
We took the kids to Hook Mountain for part of their geography unit. We had to walk as a class up through the park to the base of the mountain. There the students got a lecture on the type of terrain we would be hiking through and how they need to stay with the group. Naturally the teachers broke into sections to keep an eye on a different part of the group. I was somewhere in the middle. I hadn't realized how steep some parts were going to be, let alone helping the kids work their way to the top.
Once at the top the students were split into two different groups because there wasn't enough room for all of us to fit. This was not the original plan. For my lesson, I had planned to instruct them as a group, so quick thinking was necessary. I started with my group first. I asked them to tell me which direction was south. Being at the top of the mounatin the students were confused as to what direction was what. Finally, one student said I can see the Empire State building. Instantly I jumped on the fact that if they could see a landmark such as that then they would know what direction it was in. (south) I then instructed them to record in their social studies notebooks what they saw in the southern direction. Then, I went to the second group and did the same with them. While the second group was working I went back to the first group and did the same activity for north. This bouncing between the two groups went on until each group had recorded their findings for each direction.
I was disappointed because I had a worksheet for the students to do after the directions were done. Because the groups were separated, I wasted a lot of time having to walk back and forth. The day overall was a lot of fun and I really got to bond with my students, learning things about them I hadn't known before.