Quick Images and Interviews

This quarter we've had the opportunity to work closely with students and practice elicit their thinking in new ways.  I have found that in my main placement that structure my lessons around repeating, adding-on, and re-voicing, ect... in the lessons I teach.  During our first quick image teaching experience, the questions didn't come naturally to me.  I still find that I forget wait time, and to ask students to connect two ideas (reasoning).
During the math interview with one student, I think I was too eager to use my questioning techniques.  There is definitely a time and a place.  For example, my student was making some great connections without me interjecting to ask how she could expand on her ideas.  Additionally during the math cohort meeting, several teachers made the same remark.  You won't necessarily use each of the five questioning techniques each lesson, or your kids will get bored.  With that said, i'm coming to realize which times are appropriate to ask which questions when I teach.  It's very useful!
Last week I introduced weight and mass.  A student told me that you'd weight 50lbs more if you were on Jupiter.  I asked him why, and once he introduced gravitational force for me, I asked him if I could add on to his idea by comparing the moon and the earth.  Our class had an unanticipated and exciting discussion about weight versus mass in the universe.  At the end, I asked someone to revoice (retell) what he had said about Jupiter versus the moon.  It was SO cool!

Constructive Feedback

On the 26th of January I taught a science lesson on making comparisons of measurements with my class of third graders.  I spent a lot of time preparing for the lesson with my master teacher, and it ended up being the best lesson i've taught.  I planned for the kids to continue our investigation from the previous day on arm span, compare class data, make frequency tables, and draw conclusions about the investigation's original question.  I was integrating Math Expressions, and the FOSS kit.  In addition to the objectives of the lesson, my goal was to pace my time well and utilize my master teacher during the lesson.  My field instructor felt I met both my goals.  I appreciated her feedback that I use a "firm but kind voice" with my students when asking for their attention.  This is something I strive for, and I have been using the past week as well.  Yesterday, I was so impressed with their attention and response, I awarded the class ten "free time" minutes. 
I appreciated my field instructor's feedback on assessment, and knowing how each student learned the material.  Lessons go by quickly, and walking by each table group doesn't give you the whole picture.  I collected group work, asked questions during the whole group lesson and collected conclusions.  One suggestion she gave another student teacher was to write notes on index cards as you walk around which note your observations of student thinking.  I'd like to try this!

The only way you’re going to know…is if you ask…

Earlier this quarter I posed a question for myself on how I would “work the gap” between what I currently knew about teaching children and what I hoped to learn this quarter.  I wrote:

·         “How can I take the first step toward assessing student understanding of a lesson and accommodating for individual learning levels? How do I know where a child has learned something?”

Throughout the quarter I have posted stories about assessment and teaching strategies in my second grade dyad classroom.  I have learned several skills, especially in the area of literacy, which I can now use to assess student understanding of a concept or a lesson.  On October 8^th I wrote: “Knowing what questions to ask to illicit comprehension of vocabulary and storyline has given me some great tricks to keep in my back pocket.”  Second graders are learning about accuracy, fluency, comprehension, visualization, character change, and vocabulary when reading.  These lessons are applied to their writing as well.  When I work individually with students we often practice reading fluency in one of their personal books.  To assess their understanding of visualization, for example, I may ask:

·         When you were reading this did you get any pictures in your head?  Did those pictures help you to understand the story?

In a small group or large group, I have learned the value of “wait time” as well.  The second graders in this classroom are eager to share when a question is asked, but a raised hand does not imply a well thought out answer.  Allowing the class thirty seconds to think about their answer is helpful for the student and teacher assessment.  When teaching my read aloud lesson I did not provide enough wait time.  I also cut short the “turn and talk” partner conversations because I was eager to talk as a whole group.  In the future I can see that giving students a longer amount of time lets them think through their answers. 

When a student responds it is important to ask: “How do you know that?” or “Tell me more”.  This asks students to not only justify their answers, but allows the instructor to better understand student comprehension.  It is also clear to me that students have a language of their own, and they can explain concepts to each other sometimes better than an adult can.  Observing their partner work and asking questions can aid in assessment.  In my blog post on October 14^th I discuss my experience reading about the sun with two seven year old girls.  At several points during our lesson the girls, who had never heard about the water cycle, attempted to explain the rotation of the earth or the water cycle to each other.  Listening to their explanations and justifications provided me with enough information about their comprehension.  They were not always accurate in detail, so I would know to interject and illustrate the concept again.  However, there was value in the two girls using each other as a resource.  The teacher is not the only “giver of knowledge”!  Working in small groups, or individually, is furthermore an appropriate way to accommodate for different rates of learning and comprehension. 

My work in literacy with second graders this quarter has demonstrated that learning is not always best assessed by a paper test.  When working individually, in small groups, and whole group the instructor is better able to ask relevant questions and acquire a more meaningful assessment of learning.  Students also participate in running records, reader’s theater, and essay writing to demonstrate their growing literacy skills.  Combined with course work this quarter, I feel better prepared to assess student understanding in literacy as well as their learning in the classroom. 

Roll like Dough

This week our dyad went to the Children's Theater followed by a half day Thursday and parent conferences.  The field trip was wonderful! I have been on several field trips, but usually I am in the background.  Teachers have suggested to me that when organizing a field trip yourself, it is best to not give yourself a group in case your need to be somewhere in an emergency.  However this time I was given my own, and it was really fun.  When we were waiting for the play, one small girl in my group (who looks a lot like me when I was 8 years old) was beat box rapping.  "....Because you stink like garbage and you roll like dough!".  Across the theater, the other student teacher sat next to a student who gave her a thirty minute recap of a bugsy bunny cartoon.  When the play started he said: "Ok i'll pause, and i'll tell you the rest later- about 40 minutes are left".  During the play the villain cheated in a bad race, and the audience yelled: "Boo!"  A little girl turned to me and asked: "Why is everyone yelling and upset? He's the bad guy! Of course he is going to do that!" This is why I'm becoming a teacher.  Life is never boring around kids.  The job gets hard, but you will never be bored.

My dyad placement is a great school, and has convinced me that I want to teach second grade.  I'm excited to see my kids again at the main placement too! Both teams of teachers seem to have a steady stream of ideas bouncing around between them.  Yesterday I learned about glyphs.  At first they appear to be an art project, when in fact they are used for graphing.  For example the class may all cut out a turkey, however the colors of wings used signify different experiences.  Purple wings mean I have been to a thanksgiving parade in person, yellow means I've seen one on TV, and green means I have never seen one.  There are many parts of the turkey (glyph) to graph as a class once everyone's project is done.  Such a wonderful idea!

Glyphs by Susan R. O'Connell

Honoring Veteran's Day

Peter Loos 

My Maternal Grandfather- Served WWII on the U.S.S Taney

Yesterday my dyad placement celebrated Veteran's day in the classroom and in a school wide assembly.  This day is especially significant to me because both my grandfathers were WWII veterans, I have several family members who were in the military over the years, and my boyfriend is a Iraq veteran.  I'm proud of their service, and in my own classroom i'll have the opportunity to share about their lives as well as the vets from the families of my students
The second grade classroom I was in chose to highlight a paragraph on Veteran's day for their classroom activity.  Honestly, after the first sentence, it had little to do with the men and women who serve our country.  I've been therefore thinking of other ways to meaningful incorporate lessons on Veteran's day into my future classroom.  For example, a reading on the American flag, when veteran's day began, how veteran's serve our country, and a class discussion of who we know who are veteran's.  Skype would be a powerful tool to bridge the generations.  For Veterans too old to visit our classroom, I feel kids would be excited to talk with them via a computer.  It's also important to represent veteran's in service today as much as veteran's from the past.  Essentially reading, writing, and social studies would be easily incorporated when studying this holiday.
The assembly went well, although it was too long for the second grade to sit still.  I had to opportunity to practice monitoring the class by myself, which I really appreciated.  The school showed videos of veterans, and the drama club performed a skit on POWS.  At the end Veterans were brought to the front and introduced.  It would have been great to shorten the assembly and invite our guests of honor into the classrooms!

The Highlight of My Week

Running Records

Some how the work we have accomplished in 409 keeps connecting to my dyad! For example, I mentioned in class last week that my dyad teacher was teaching VC, CVC, CV patterns to her students. This was especially helpful to me, of course, since I have never learned phonics. Now this week I was excited to observe my teacher using running records to assess student reading levels. The Benchmark literacy program provides running record assessments according to reading level. The teacher times the student as they read, and then follows along on a separate page marking errors, repeats and self corrections. After a few pages the student finishes the book silently. Then the teacher reads from preselected questions to prompt the student for comprehension: "Within the Text", "Beyond the Text", and "About the Text". Overall accuracy, self corrections, fluency, reading rate, and comprehension are taken into consideration before a child is "moved up" to a new level reader. A second student was assessed on Thursday and I was able to follow along. It was difficult to keep up and remember all the symbols! Overall I find the assessment more helpful than the DIBELS assessment I completed in my main placement. There appears to be more information specific to their attributes as a reader in this assessment.