Week 4

With each week my feelings get better and better.  I feel more confident in what I am doing and how I am teaching.  It really is getting a better feel for everything and finding out how I like to teach and picking out the things I don’t like.  I love how it feels to have the class listen to you and be able to find the way I like to punish or just get the students to stop doing what they are doing and do what you tell them to do.  I have such a good class though now that the semester is coming to an end they are starting to get pretty crazy but they are a good class. 

            This week has been a different week since we have started to run out of things to do and have the students do. 

·         The majority of our day has been writing the pages for their All About Me Books.  This has taken over Reading time since we finished the book last week and also my center since we finished out work book last week too.  So besides my 2 math lessons all we did this week was write and edit the papers for their books.  I sat there with them and when they need to spell a word they would ask and I would help.  I would read their paper and give them prompts on what else to write.  I would check for punctuation.  The only thing that I didn’t know is if I should totally correct it or just help a little.  So I did what I could and helped them along.  Their books are starting to come together very nicely.  I can’t wait to see them all put together and the pictures they are bringing from home to put on them. 

·         The first math lesson I taught this week was on doubling.  I used coupons and told them about how stores will double coupons.  I should them there are two different ways to double a number (adding it to itself or by multiplying by two).  Each student got a coupon and had to double it and write it up on the board.  They students enjoyed the fact that they all got coupons and that they got to save even more then what was on the coupon.  It was a pretty simple lesson but they seemed to enjoy it.

·         The other math lesson we did this week was recording information on a graph.  We used dominos and probability to teach this lesson.  Each domino was an addition problem and they had to find out what the domino added up to be and write the problem in the column of the answer.  They seemed to enjoy this one too since they all got to take turns and answer the problems and check each other’s work.  We came back together in the end to talk about what we learned and go over the information on the graph to see what they could tell.  We discussed that you are more likely to pull out a domino that equals 6 and least likely to pull out one that adds up to 0, 1, 11, 12.  It was also a good way to walk around and assess how students are doing with their addition facts.  How long does it take them to figure out what it is equal to and do they have to count all the dots or can they just look at it and say 4 plus 5 equals 9. 

My stop and think moments were when I was helping student write their pages for their books.  I was able to stop and see the things in each of their writings that each of them were struggling with and helping them fix those main issues and how to go about helping them with those struggles.  So rather than focusing on all the mistakes we would just look at a few big problems they were having.  It helped them a lot rather than getting discouraged because everything was wrong and it also helped since we didn’t have a lot of time. 

My plan for next week is really just to try my best to keep the students on task and not out of control as best as I can.  They are still in school until they get out on Thursday and they need to remember that.  The last week is going to be a lot more relaxed but got to make sure they are still with us and doing what they need to be doing till the end.  

I have two cowboys in my class.  Last week their wore cowboy boots and so I decied I would dress up like a cow girl for them.  So Tuesday I wore my boots and some southern western clothes and they just loved it!! I had so much fun.  Over the last 4 weeks I have found the southern accent I thought I never had.  They speak in such a southern accent I start doing it too.  I love my kids!! Next week is the last week of school and I promiese you I will cry.  

Oh I have also been getting notes and pictures from my kids the last two week.  Also had some make little things for me!! I will try to get the pics on here!!  

<3  Erin Christina

Week 3

This week was a fun week full of lots of great feelings and experiences.  It makes me so happy to see the smiles on students face and I get excited when I see students understand the things that are being taught.  The “ah ha” moments are my favorite as well.  I love it when students will come to me to ask me a question and they think it is the coolest thing how I know so much.  With each and every time in the classroom I feel more and more like a teacher.  I am absolutely in love with what I am doing.  There are stressful points and points that I just have no idea how to handle a student but in the end I know that I will grow from that experience and that I can help the student as well. 

            This week:

·         We worked with the long /i/ sound.  Students were to identify the long /i/ pattern and also give examples of words that have a long /i/ pattern in it.  (ex: igh, ie).  Students took turns coming up to the board and telling me what words would have the long /i/ and also underlining the pattern in the words. 

·         We worked with irregular verbs.  The students had to identify the proper verb to go in each sentence out of a regular present tense verb and an irregular verb.  (ex get and got, tell and told, blow and blew)  Identify past tense verbs that do not end in –ed.  There were some sentences that the students struggled with but after rereading the sentences with the students and having them identify if the sentence was past tense or present and showing the key word that tells them it they were able to complete the worksheet. 

·         We worked on finding details.  Students had statements from the story we read that they had to go back into the story and find out more about that part of the story.  At least two details for each of the three statements.  Students struggled to come up with more details and when I would ask questions to probe their thinking they would write down one word answers.  It took a little bit of time but each student was able to come up with two different details from the points of the story.  Some students even went off on their own and dug much deeper into details of the story. 

·         We had to find and categorize adjectives.  Student had 3 sentences to find adjectives in.  They had to categorize the adjectives into either “what kind”, “how many”, or “special adjective”. The students had a little bit of difficulty in doing this but with a little help and reminders from me the student all were able to finish and accomplish the worksheet.  The helping included having the students find a noun in the sentence or I would give them the noun and they would tell me what word was describing it and helping to understand the concept that the adjective (the word describing the noun) will come right before the noun. 

·         We did some problem solving and inferring.  The students had a worksheet that gave them 2 different paragraphs that stated a problem someone was having and what they were doing about it but gave no solution.  The students had to tell what the problem was, what they were doing about the problem and how they might go about solving the problem.  The students could answer the first two questions but I had to help them with the last one.  I would ask a question for them to think about and answer to help them come up with an answer to the last question. 

·         I taught a reading lesson this week.  All it was for the reading lesson was to read that story and ask the students questions.  We did a vocabulary activity before we read the story.  The students were able to answer my questions and they did such a good job with giving ideas for what they think would happen in the story. 

·         The first math lesson I taught this week was dividing by two.  The class was so much fun and I could tell they enjoyed the activity we did.  I used the students had had them divide each other into two groups and tell me how many were in each group.  We even did remainders.  They class go this lesson so fast and concept.  They even tried to get into a more advanced topic about getting into decimals and not a remainder. 

·         My other math lesson this week had three different parts.  The first part was multiplying by 0.  That went by really fast, my class is so smart.  The 2^nd part was counting by 5, 4, 3, and 2 all the way to 100.  We colored charts to show the patterns to help them notice what happens when you count by those numbers.  The last part was a problem solving activity.  The students did struggle with this a little bit and I caught on to the fact that I needed to help them as a group, something I should of done from the start. 

The biggest stop and think moment I had this week was during the problem solving activity.  How am I to help these students understand?  The teacher said that they have done it before and would know how to do it.  I realized they needed some extra help so I made up my own example to show them what to do and how to do it.  I really wanted to help the students.  I hate that I hadn’t thought to give them an example from the start to help them understand more. 

This next week I am going to work on making sure to give the students enough information before they start working on something and it becomes too hard to finish because they are just too frustrated.  

 Another story to add to this day is when we were in the Library.   The kids were so cute and wanted to sit with me and play the clapping games (I taught them one from way back in my day ... "Miss Suzzy had a steem boat the steam boat had a bell....")  and the library at the school has a bunch of flags all over it from countries all over the world.  Well they started asking me what all of them were.  I was like ummmmm (no IDEA!! but you cant tell a student that because they look to you like you know everything)  I turned it into a learning experince.  So I thought on my feet...We are in a Library arent we?!  There has to be a book about the flags .. and one boy went and got it for me.  So we went through the book and found flags around the room.  I love my kids!! 

<3  Erin Christina

Week 2

This week was a good week.  The more I teach and interact with the students the more confident I feel and more I want to just keep teaching.  I wish everyday could be Tuesday Thursday so I could just be there every day.  I love this so much more then my other classes.  I have a slower reaction to my real name as well since I hear “Miss Elliott” all the time now.  A huge thought that has been with me each day is that I know I could not have any kind of impact or progress with the students if it wasn’t for the spirit.  I know that if I didn’t start each day with prayer and ask for the guidance and have the spirit there teaching with me.  This week has been full of good thoughts and feels and growing confidence. 

This week:

·         Did the reading lesson.  I read to the class The Mural.  Really all it consists of is reading through the story and in the teacher book there are questions and other things to ask and do with the students during the story.  At the start as a class using choral reading we read the preface.  We went over the vocabulary words they would come across in the story and in their work book pages.  After each page I would ask them the comprehension questions that went along with the pages.  I started calling on students whose hands weren’t up since I had the same three girls who would raise their hands even before I had asked the question.  I didn’t want to call on the same students over and over.  A lot of the questions were what they thought would happen.  When there are multiple answers they wouldn’t be wrong.  I liked seeing some of them smile after sharing a thought and finding out it was a good point.  There were also a few parts in the book that told me to write a word on the board and talk to the class about how a new ending to a word changes how the word is broken up into syllables. 

·         I had a mini lesson on writing words and what you had to do to the word to add the ending on it.  The students spelling words for the week end in -ed or –ing and they had to identify what to do to the base word to make the new word. (dropping the e).  I wrote the first one on the board and asked them what I should do to it.  After I did one I started writing just base words on the board and had the student come up and show me how they should write it and tell me and the class what they did to the word to make it that way.  I also threw in some other questions like why are you putting -ed at the end if the ending sound is /t/?  The class is so smart they know that –ed makes three different sounds and they knew that the end of the word had to be –ed.

·         Comparing Adjectives (adding –er or –est).  The students needed to identify when to use –er or –est when comparing adjectives.  The students were able to answer when I just asked them about how many items when I use –er but when I did switched the answer with the question they became confused.  They did a worksheet later and were able to identify the ending on that.  They started actually using them in the class talking about who was shorter and who was shortest.  One of them in a conversation almost got me to use the wrong comparing word.  It was a close call, if they hadn’t been learning about them I probably would not have caught myself. 

·         We did some comparing and contrasting in class this week.  The students were able to answer when I just asked them about how many items when I use –er but when I did switched the answer with the question they became confused.  They did a worksheet later and were able to identify the ending on that.  Student were able to pick apart a paragraph and say what only belonged to two different things and say what those two things also had in common.  I was surprised how fast they picked up on it.  It really only took a reminder from me to point out in the paragraph they were reading from to look for where is says “both stories” and where is said just said the name of one of the two kids. 

·         One math lesson this week was on translations.  I went into the lesson thinking it was going to be a hard lesson to teach but the students picked up in very fast.  I took to school with me my stuffed animal to use to show slide, turn, and flip.  The class just LOVED it.  I told them and showed them what each thing was.  The Saxon lesson wanted me to show them a bunch of examples but I deiced to let the students come down and show me the examples.  I also changed the game up a bit.  They came down and moved the dog and showed me on the board what they did so I knew they knew what they were doing.  While that happened the classes eyes were closed.  When they opened them a student would come down and tell me what they other student did and then they would have to undo it so the dog would be back in its starting position.  The class did their first worksheet and came back to the kiva and had so much to say about what they learned.  They had a lot of fun with this lesson.  They did their last worksheet so well that they even earned getting to pet and hold my dog stuffed animal while they lined up to leave for the day.

·         My 2^nd math lesson of the week was reading and labeling a coordinate graph.  The most important thing I did with this lesson is I stressed going right then up.  I really do have a smart class because they caught on very fast.  They even realized that when the 2^nd number is the same they will be living on the same street (I related it to addresses and houses).  I had the student come up and tell me the addresses to ones drawn on the board and then I would give them address and they would place them on the graph for me.  When we went back to their seats we normally go through the first worksheet together but as I was walking around the room they are all finishing it up on their own.  We went back to the kiva to talk about what we learned and they were all excited to tell me the different things they learned about for the lesson.  The final worksheet went very well.

My stop and think point this week was during my math lesson on Thursday.  I was being observed by Sister Gordon and one boy was acting up the whole time.  I did what I normally do when the class acts up but he didn’t stop.  He was the only one who was misbehaving that didn’t stop after one time.  I lost all my points for classroom management.  I had been feeling so good about everything and one boy in the class got me totally marked down and I felt horrible and lost every bit of confidence after talking to Sister Gordon.  I guess I felt even worse because she started off saying amazing things and building me up so high then it all came crashing down.  She had also told me that I need to be more positive when student do things right rather than just focusing on those kids doing things wrong.  I was sitting there after she left and the class was doing something else just thinking and going through my binder.  I do focus on what the students are doing wrong over when they are doing good things.  I need to watch for those good things.  I thought I was but maybe I need to do a little more and reinforce the good behavior. 

My main plan is to work on my classroom management.  I thought I had a good system down and the class had never gotten out of control and when it did I fixed it right away.  But after getting observed I have no management from what I was told.  So finding a way to make sure the class is on task and not doing over and over again what that one boy was doing all during my lesson on Thursday.  I have those few students I am still trying to work with to help them and find the best way to be able to get through to them.  I made a brake through with one on Tuesday and I hope to keep making progress with him.  

<3  Erin Christina

Week 1 Journal

This week was a really good learning experience for me in many ways.  There were a few things that I felt like I was pushed into but Miss Baird said that I did a good job and that there was still much more for me to learn.  I was nervous about some things and I was excited for some things.  I really only had one day in the classroom this week because on Tuesday we went on a field trip and I learned so much on the field trip, like how I never want to plan a field trip.  The students had fun but I spent the day worrying about if I was going to lose a student. 

            This week:

§  Responsibility of watching students and making sure all were with us.  Lots of counting students on the field trip and to make sure were all there.  A group of us walked from Albertsons to Nature Park and I was in the back making sure that no students fell behind us and I could see all students.  Learned lots of name because I had to use them to tell them what they should and should not be doing as they came close to running in the road or refused to walk in front of me.

§  I helped the class out with some sign language.  They read a story about a deaf class going to a concert and the book had some pictures of words. Some of the words were hard to understand how the hands were going and I had told them I took ASL in high school so I helped out the class with the sign language.  The students even came up to me afterword finger spelling words to see if I could tell what they were spelling. 

§  I taught the language arts center.  The work book pages we did had to do with the story we read.  It was using vocabulary words from the story and placing them in sentences.  The second page was dealing with giving more detail about a sentence.  This was the hardest page and not many of the students got past this page.  It gave them a sentence and they had to give more detail from the story about it.  The last page we were able to get to had to do with adjectives since they have been learning about them.  They had to color some words in a picture that were adjectives and they had to fill in the blank in sentences with adjectives.  It really tested their ability to recognize and use adjectives.  The first page they were able to do on their own but the second and third page they really needed a lot of help.  I would ask questions to try to help them figure out what the answer was.

§  I was on recess duty today with Miss Baird.  It was interesting and a little crazy.  The students all wanted to play with me and I kept hearing “MISS ELLIOTT” from all parts of the play ground.  I had I few girls attached to me most of the time so I tried to get them to run around and play.  We did some jumping jacks and played tag.  They kept complaining about how cold it was and by the time I was done with them they were complaining about how hot it was. 

§  I taught the math lesson on making and labeling arrays.  I am not a fan of Saxon math and their script for me to read to the students.  So I started off the lesson with them at the kiva and gave them some examples like a marching band or the calendar being arrays.  I showed them on the board what an array was and how to label the array.  I then went through the script having the student come up to the board and draw the array and label it.  I made sure that I called on every student at least once and asked lots of questions for them to all answer.  I used repetition on which number goes where and what were rows.  I had them go back to their seats and use the tiles and their work sheet to each draw and label some arrays.  They made it with their tiles first, then they could draw it when I told them too and label it when I said to do so.  I made sure each student was done before we moved on.  After the three examples were done they went back to the kiva and we reviewed again everything we had learned.  I went over the worksheet with them and handed it out to them.  I walked around the classroom and just monitored for the rest of the time. 

There were some moments this week that I really had to think about how to handle something.  In the moment I really don’t have time to stop and think but I have been thinking a lot yesterday after school about how I can help a few of the students in the class.  They give up way to easily and when I keep trying to push them to do their work they get more frustrated with me.  The only thing that I can really think of to help them is to go against one of my biggest things as a teacher.  I refuse to spoon feed the students.  I will not give them the answer.  I will ask them questions that will get them to give me the answer but I will not tell them point blank what the answer is.  I feel like the only way to help a few of the students is to tell them what the answer is.  Though even when I have done that one boy still gets mad at me because I tell him to write it down.  Another thing was how to I know how if the students know the material when they work in groups and I know for a fact that they wait for their neighbor to write down the answer and they write it down.  I tried to get a student to jump a question ahead to answer it for me and he got very upset with me. 

The biggest this I need to work on is just what is above.   I want to find the best way to help the students and help them learn and not get frustrated too much.  I believe that the stopping and thinking and what I need to work on really will be focused on this the next few weeks.  I know these will take time and multiple tries but I won’t give up on the students.  

<3  Erin Christina

2nd Grade Field Trip

First I must say that I really really wish that I had a camera and had permission to take pics today!  It would be so much better to be able to share with you.

So today the 2nd grade went on a field trip!! They arrived at school and I was there to great them at the door.  I used names that I could remember and got to use my teacher voice and make sure they all put their backpacks up and grabbed their lunches, coats, and stuffed animal and sat down on the keva.  Also had to make sure everyone was there and that they all had lunches.  You could tell how excited they all were for this field trip.  They were all showing me their lunches and their stuffed animal. 

We loaded the bus after I counted over and over again that we had all the kids (it is what I remember from field trips, teacher always counting us.) and one little girl from my class just had to have me sit next to her, so I did of course.  We sat at the front of the bus.  We headed off to the hospital to go to the Teddy Bear Clinic. 

The Teddy Bear Clinic is where kids can go and learn what it is like in a hospital and how to take care of themselves so they don't have to go to the hospital.  They even got to put their stuffed animal through the process of getting admitted to the hospital and getting weighed and measured like you do every time you go to the doctor and their animals ever got a shot AND a band-aid.  The schools all in the hospital district had a coloring contest too for this clinic and the winner would win a BRAND NEW BIKE!!  Well early in the rotations a lady came up to me and one of the other teachers looking for a student and told us that at the end of the rotations they would announce that he won the bike (one of the kids in my class won!! I was so excited and couldn't wait for them to announce it!!)  So we split the 64 Second Graders into 4 different groups to go through the clinic (and for half of the clinic I was the only teacher with the students!!)  The students got a tour of an ambulance!!  We then entered in through the ER and was shown a decontamination shower and they explained what it was.  We went into another room where there was a bear who was really sick wearing a mask and hooked up to an IV of honey.  The doctor explained what an IV was to the students and had the kids try to figure out what was wrong with the bear.  We went from there to learn about washing our hands and how long they should and about how bad germs were.  We had a D.A.R.E talk after that in the next station and about what is bad for our bodies.  Poison was the next station and the last was when they got to admit their animal to the hospital and go through that. 

The next stop on our field trip was Albertsons.  I know it sounds weird and different for a field trip but we went there and learned about the food pyramid (which is not the same one I grew up with).  It was fun to go around the store and learn about always and sometimes foods and what foods did what for your body.  One of the boys in the class I am in dad works at Albertsons so he was getting high fives and stuff from all the workers.

Our group was so large we split into two groups to go through Albertsons and we were in the first group and so my teacher had the great idea of walking to the park that we would go eat out lunches at.  This park isn't on the OTHER side of town but it is a LONG walk.  So the plan was just to walk so the student were just sitting on the bus for 30 min and the bus would pick us up along the way.  Anyways we were walking across town with me and the actual teacher and about 32 Second Graders...yes I was very much parinode of losing a kid!  I was in the back of the group and my teacher in the front of it.  Kids at the front were running so we were basically two different groups and I was trying to make sure all student were ahead of me.  I had a little attachment the whole walk there and a boy who would not walk in front of me and walking so slow and was SO mad at me for continually telling him to walk in front of me.  When the bus caught up to us my teacher told the students that they could keep walking if they wanted to and they could get on the bus if they wanted to.  I was happy the bus was there and planned on getting on it.  Well my attachment made me keep walking.  So I continued to manage my walking slower group and making sure all student were safe.  Then one girl in my back group was jumping over a bar when I told them not to and she hit her knee.  It was anything, will probably be a bruise tomorrow so to make her feel better I was making up songs about her knee.  "Your knee is wonderful!! It doesn't hurt at all!! Because it's wonderful!! Yes it is!!"  We also sang the same song about our feet. 

So we ate lunch at nature park and walked around and fed the ducks and it snowed while we were there a few times in the wonderful Idaho summer weather. 

We got back on the bus an hour later and went back to the school for like a hour and a half left of school.  We were all so tired.  They read a story about a deaf boy and it even had some sign language in the book.  I told them that I took it in high school (yea like 6 years ago!!) and so they kept asking me how to sign things.  I taught them after the story how to ask to go to the bathroom.  They thought it was so cool.  They had to do  a math sheet and then it was time to go.  By the end of the day I had almost all of their names down (I learned them on the walk because I had to keep yelling at them to behave!)  So I was handing out notes and papers to them and I would not give them the paper until I said their name.  I almost have them!! 

So that was our day!  Field trip day!!  Sorry I really tired to be in depth but I am so tired so I kinda didn't in places.  Came home and did homework for a few hours after that.  Now I am again up way past bed time and I really have to pass out. 


<3  Erin Christina

My Life as an Elementary Education Major

The new semester started on Tuesday.  This semester I am taking 15 credits. 
I am taking Math Method, Science Methods, Social Studies Methods, Assessment and Evaluation, and my Senior Practicum. For my practicum I am in the a 2nd grade class for the whole school day.  Actully I am there 30min before school starts to 30min after school is out.  I have been one day and it is an ever stronger testimony that I am were I am supposed to be.  I got to teach some yesterday too!  It was a lot of fun.  I still have some more to learn but I am excited to really grow more as a teacher.  I will hopefully be posting more here and sharing such an amazing experince. 

This is also my last semester on campus.  I am still waiting to hear where I will be doing my student teaching.

This is really all I have to say right now.  But I am excited to learn and to grow.

OH.  So my classes are only M-TH so I have Fridays off.  So since no class on Fridays I am so excited to be going to the temple in the morning and I will have the rest of the day for homework.  Three of my roommates and I went to the temple this morning.  It was amazing!  The weather outside not so wonderful but getting to go to the temple and do the work for the dead and being able to sit in the Lords house was just amazing.  I was able to reflect on so many things.  A main point being that on Sunday we will be celebrating Easter, the resurrection of Christ.  Christ suffered so that we might be forgiven for our sins and he hung and suffered to feel the ultimate pain and become the ultimate sacrifice for us, and he came back from the dead and he lives and all this he did for us for our lives here on earth and for what the eternity holds for us as well.  I am so grateful and so blessed. 

Happy Earth Day!

<3  Erin Christina

It is all messed up

Nothing has been going the way it should be going and it isn't very much fun for me to have to go through.  What is wrong and why wont by body accept the pills I am taking and just work like how they should.  I have only had one goon month out of the last 4 months.  It is just stupid and ridiculous for it to be reacting in the way it is.  If it didn't cost so much I would of stopped a while ago.

Other news...well there is none.  School is school and tests are tests and I am stressing if I can make it to graduation because there is still so much that has to be done. 

<3  Erin Christina