“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” -Dr. Seuss

I am trying to be better about updating this blog while I’m student teaching. I know that in the future, I will want to look back on this time. So, here I am. I survived week one of full time teaching without my host teacher around. There are twenty-five 4^th and 5^th grade students in my class. During math time I send my 5^th graders to my team teacher’s classroom and I take her fourth graders. This bumps me up to about thirty kids. 30 kids to one teacher is difficult at times. I have found that the hardest part of teaching is recognizing how diverse my students are and catering to each of their needs. For example, I have some students who are at a 2^nd grade math level. I also have some students who are at a 7^th grade math level. It’s incredibly difficult to plan and teach a lesson that keeps all levels of learners interested and engaged. I try my best but I am completely a work in progress. I guess the important thing is that I realize that I am a work in progress! 

Last week I not only started my takeover of the class but I also started teaching my integrated unit. We are learning all about Alaska. Being that I have only been in the state a little over three years, I am having a crash course in Alaska studies too! So far, it has gone very well. The kids are excited to learn about their state. They have been very well behaved and I rarely have to raise my voice. I have close to 100% participation (which any teacher can tell you is hard and rare) and the kids have SO many questions. Monday we are doing a couple fun things. I am having the kids paint with feathers. They are painting the Northern Lights and then we will hang them up with paragraphs they wrote about Alaska’s beauty. Also, we will be doing some mapping activities. Groups of students will be given envelopes with “missions” in them. They will have to label our blank map of Alaska with items such as mountain ranges, rivers, major cities, etc. I think they will really enjoy it! For the remainder of the week we move into learning about the native tribes that live in each region of Alaska. Being that we have several native students in our class, this should be fun! 

Also, this next week is Valentine’s Day, as if anyone could forget! In a moment of sheer stupidity, I ventured to Fred Meyers. It was packed! I’m not sure that I have ever seen so many people in that store. The jewelry store was hopping as well as the card section and of course, the many pink and red aisles devoted to the holiday. On Tuesday we will be exchanging valentines in class. I’m not sure how this will work but I have my v-day box made. I can’t wait for the kids to see it and I can’t wait to see what the kids bring in! 

 

My V-Day Box

My Valentines I'm handing out with a crunch bar.

 

In other news, my supervisor stopped by this week to observe my teaching. She had nothing but positive things to say! I approached her about adding her as a reference on my resume and she was happy to oblige. She is planning a meeting with me to discuss applying on the east coast. She lived and worked in Maryland (and I think a few other states) for several years before moving here. Despite the fact that she is a Terps fan and I am not…I will take all the info I can get! 

Tomorrow I’m meeting with my host teacher to plan out the week.

*Last week I kicked two kids out of my class. One for bullying and one for punching and kicking the bookshelf. I handed out four checks to misbehaving students but didn’t have to call a single student’s parents. Let’s hope next week goes better.*