Things are starting to wind down.

We are almost halfway through November. Soon Thanksgiving will be here and a few days later, the end of my pre-student teaching.

I have taught my required lessons for this semester, but I am still co-teaching with D. She offers wonderful advice and pushes me to be a better instructor. I wish my other CTs would have put in half the effort D. has put in with me, I have grown so much in this class.

We have started Unit 21. The final unit before the semester ends. D. and I switched our parts around a bit during this class. I teach for the first portion, she teaches the second portion. I cover phonemics, spelling, and vocab.

This stuff is known to me in an overview. This class breaks down that overview into smaller pieces. I must say, I have learned SO MUCH  in teaching these lessons alone. I did not realize how much of an overview I had over English. This class addresses the little 'nuts and bolts' of English. It truly shows the students how to break a part the English language and to make sense of it.

I think that has been a pretty large struggle with this class personally. I felt as though I should have already known most of this. I didn't. I never studied what a predicate nominative was, I never studied vowel digraphs. These (and many more) terms were foreign. I felt like a big joke. I felt like my college career was a joke.

While I was teaching myself the basics of the English language, I also learned something that every teacher should learn, humility. I learned that I will not know everything, and I will learn something new everyday in my classroom. I learned not to be ashamed of what I didn't know and to strive to better myself. It is okay to say "I do not know", "I will find out", or "That is a great question, I will let you know!". It is important to provide the reassurance that you too are a person, not some sort of English whiz there to break a part your incorrect use of a word, your funky sentence, or to chastise you on spelling. We all are people, we all make mistakes, simply be honest with yourself, improve, and strive for success. Isn't that what we ask our students to do anyways?

-Ms. H.

My thoughts regarding the KATE Conference.

I recently attended the KATE (Kansas Association of Teachers of English) Conference. These are my thoughts regarding one of the days I was able to attend.

The conference started at 9:00 AM sharp. I car pooled with a friend and we made it there a little after 8:30. We quickly jumped in line and loaded our plates with heaps of food and grabbed some tea. It was pretty good! At 9:00 A.M the first Key Note speaker, Kathleen Blake-Yancey began. Kathleen is an established author and instructor. She didn't begin by throwing around her title or try to persuade us to purchase her books. She instead, lead the lot of us (current and former English instructors) in new activities that would allow the reader to connect with the text better. THIS WAS AWESOME! Seriously. I learned about pop-up poetry, similar to the pop-up video that occasionally pops up on MTV. I cannot wait to use this in my classroom.

Next we were allowed to pick and choose 2 different 45 Minute sessions to attend before lunch.

The first session I chose to attend was one regarding LGBTQ in today's schools. I felt like the topic was really relevant in today's classroom, especially in Kansas. There was a lot of information in this session. I really enjoyed hearing about different teaching experiences regarding LGBTQ in the classroom. I thought cracking down on the phrases, "That's so gay" was important. I also enjoyed how the presenters did not specifically single out LGBTQ, they also crack down on things like, "That's retarded", and etc. I really enjoyed the message that this presentation offered. I also liked the book suggestions and the safe place signs. I felt that this is what we should be doing with our classrooms. We are so much more than subject instructors.


I decided to attend a session over alternative book reports. I am pretty familiar with ABRs because my instructor, Dr. Mason, has shown us things like this session. Unfortunately this session turned into the instructor bashing the Common Core State Standards. Her partner tried to real her in and refocus the session, but the primary instructor really just went off and that was how the entire class was spent. I was really disappointed in this session, I had hoped to learn a few things about ABRs or get a few new ideas for ABRs.

Lunch time!!
Lunch was an extra fee, and being the poor college student that I am, I opted for the cheaper route. A group of us went to a local sub shop and scurried back to catch the next Key Note featuring Alan Sitomer.

I expected Alan Sitomer to be inspiring and bring new ideas to the table, much like Kathleen Blake-Yancey. What I got was someone simply trying to sell me his books. I wasn't really happy being a part of a sales pitch, but I dealt with it. I lost my temper when he made the remark or joke (I am not really sure the truth behind it), about a child who had sent him an e-mail. To summarize this, the child sent him an e-mail saying that he really liked his book but he found his instructor annoying. The child misspelled annoying and Sitomer replied along the lines to find a dictionary. I was rather surprised, I thought this was in REALLY poor taste and I couldn't believe KATE participants laughed at this. I do not think this story was real, but despite that, why is this funny? Shouldn't you be happy the child is reading? After this remark I left. I was done.

I ran into a few other participants and presenters after I left that really did not care for Sitomer's presentation either. I felt a little better. I was worried I was the only one who questioned it. I do worry that I looked too much into this.

The last presentation I was able to attend (I had to go to work after it :( ) revolved around the development of the one room class room and how it developed eventually developed into the public classroom. There was a lot of information about Horace Mann and a lot of pictures of one room classrooms across the United States. This class was refreshing and the CCSS were not mentioned at all. I got to learn a little history, look at fascinating pictures, and learn from people who really embody teaching and what it stands for. It was a good note to end the conference on.

Unfortunately I had to go out of town the next day and was unable to attend the conference.

Overall, I thought the conference was cool. I enjoyed learning new teaching strategies and meeting people from across the state of KS that have the same interests that I do. I felt that many aspects were tainted by the CCSS rift among the attendees. I also did not appreciate trying to be sold stuff (books, schools to go for my masters, and etc). I hope to possibly attend the conference in a few years, after the CCSS issue has calmed down.

Today.

8:00 A.M.

 Drowsy students saunter in

They are greeted with warm smiles and hellos

Students quietly shuffle towards the cubbies of need

Materials are ready

The bell rings

Students salute the flag that represents a nation

An anonymous voice projects the school day

8:05 A.M.

Let the lesson begin

8:06 A.M. – 9:14 A.M.

Reading, Writing, Spelling,

Vocabulary, Grammar, Speaking

80 minutes to span them all

Will we complete it all in one day?

Going through step by step

Eyes glaze with the sheen of boredom

Eye rolls

Attitudes

A fight for education

Students soon stand up to learn

The sheen disappears

Attention and learning fill their eyes

9:15 A.M.

Quiet shuffles

Students attempt to pack their items

5 minutes remain

Anxious glances at the clock

4 minutes remain

The lesson continues on

Attempting to reengage the the lesson

“Why can’t we just pack our things?”

2 minutes remaining

9:20 A.M.

The ending bell rings

Students reanimate

They scurry out the door.

Time to get the ball rolling.

The language class that I work with has been going well! The students have had a spelling test and vowel digraph test. A majority of the students did well on the vowels and a few more struggled on the spelling. My CT decided to allow students to retake the test if they missed four or more words (out of 15). The class grades are made up of participation and tests. Tests are worth more, so it is important to encourage the students to try their best and to do well. As I mentioned, a few students did struggle with the spelling portion of this test. My CT asked me to retest the students who needed to retake the test in both of her language classes. I happily agreed and I administered the test with a few new faces. The students did much better on their retest.

I always think the first test is the test ground. I have taken several tests and written several essays that I flat out did not get the grade I wanted to. Most of this was the first test or essay. First tests and essays are the ones you learn from. You learn what to expect on the next assignment and how to better prepare for it. I think the students felt the same.

The next test is coming up Wednesday. I have seen several students write their new terms out over and over, trying to prepare. Today my CT asked that I think of a way the students could review their spelling terms since we would have spare time at the end of class. I asked the students to write a short story using the terms. If they did not want to do that I asked the students to write a sentence for each word. Many students seemed to enjoy this assignment. Others did not. I explained that while it is helpful to write the terms over and over, it is also helpful to know how to use them in sentences. I look forward to seeing their results Wednesday. 

My CT and I began discussing our co-teaching method. We discussed co-teaching when we first met, but we haven't really done anything up until a few days ago. I met with D. during her plan period and we worked out who would teach what and when. We decided to break our teaching time into the specific lessons each day brings. As I mentioned before, this class covers grammar, speaking, writing, reading, vocabulary, and spelling. I will be covering speaking, vocabulary, reading, and spelling. D. will take on grammar and writing. As we move on from section to section we will take on our perspective roles. The idea is that I will cover two subjects, D. will then cover two, and I will finish up with the last two. This will give the students a little change of pace and a new presenter to occupy their attention. We are both think this will benefit the students. 

I get to play with a program called Smart Notebook. It is a program for the Smartboard. I get to use lessons already designed by the company that produced the program. D. asked that I incorporate some of my own stuff into the lesson plans. I am excited to see what I can come up with. 

The co-teaching will begin October 1st, which happens to be my birthday. I hope this will be a wonderful experience!

Ms. H.

Where do we go from here?

It has been about 3 weeks since I first began my adventures in pre-student teaching. I am slowly becoming more familiar with the class routine, my CT, my students, and the idea of myself filling the teaching role. It is hard to imagine that this will be my final year as an undergraduate. I am ready, I hope my current and future students are ready!

The last few weeks have been CRAZY! The language class I am currently observing/co-teaching in has been full of changes and testing. As I mentioned in my previous blog post, this class is for students who need a little bit of help in English. This class revolves around a series of textbooks and lessons that are designed for students to move along through. The lowest level is A and the highest level is F. This class is book D. A few students that were originally placed in this class were at a higher level than D so they were moved on to a course that taught book E. We also gained a few new faces. Once the class numbers stopped changing D. administered tests to evaluate where the students were in reading, spelling, and etc. Students ranged from the 3rd grade level to the 12th grade level in the various testing areas. It is startling to see exactly where each individual student falls. A student may have a 6th grade reading level but spell at the 12th grade level.

How in the world are we supposed to instruct a student with such diverse levels among other students with such diverse levels? Isn't this the question that all teachers face at some point in their career?

Well, I will certainly try to find out. I am very interested to see how this program works and how students react to smaller bits of information and faster subject changes.

Despite this class focusing on the basics of English, I hope students will embrace their strengths and pride themselves on trying to improve. I fear my students are embarrassed to be in this class, and they should never be embarrassed bettering themselves.

This class is very small. There are only 10 students in it. Because of the smaller number it is painfully obvious when kids aren't participating in group talks or activities. If we engage in an activity students slowly migrate to the front of the room and stand there when we ask questions or try to engage them. If we ask students to answer as a class we hear crickets. D. is always enthusiastic and engaging, but the students aren't biting. My current challenge is trying to find what will engage the students.

When I was in a middle school last year I would often offer my students a fist bump if they got a problem right. They loved this! They always smiled! I thought this was a little cooler than giving a high five. Apparently my high school students don't think so. I offered a fist bump to a student who actively participated and answered a question correctly. He left me hangin'.

Back to the drawing board.

Ms. H.

So, it is finally here! My last year (as an undergraduate) at Wichita State University. I have been in several public schools. I have seen several learning strategies; some worked, some did not. During this journey I have met many people, all of which have impacted my teaching persona. Now here I am, preparing to student teach, preparing to begin the final chapter in this part of my life.

Let us begin!

I was placed in a local high school instead of my requested middle school. I am going to be honest and say I was pretty disappointed. I knew I had to do this, so I sucked up my disappointment and contacted my cooperating teacher, Dee. It is only two weeks into the semester but I am truly enjoying the time I spend out in the school working with my assigned high school students. I can not believe I was ever disappointed! 

Dee teaches all grade levels in one form or another. We came together and determined that her Language class would work best with my schedule. There are currently ten students in this class. This class is designed to help students struggling in English. This class is a pre-designed class. What I mean by that is that the lessons are already planned. The text book covers reading, writing, spelling, vocabulary, grammar, and speaking all in one class period. My reaction to hearing about this type of education was of utter shock. How in the world would getting through all of these parts of English be obtainable in one class period? Well, the idea is tread the surface and go into more depth the next class meeting. I have not yet been able to see this type of lesson go into effect because of class introductions, testing, and replacements. Dee doesn't want to fully start the program until things are more set in stone. I completely agree.

So far, I am enjoying getting to know my students. It is hard to find what level works with some students because some students read higher than other, others write at a higher level, and etc.. Dee and I are currently working with students to find their specific needs. It is an annoying process for the students (it is obvious through the dull glaze of boredom seen in their eyes), but it will benefit them in the long run.

My concerns are that the students will not get the required help they so deserve in this class. I also worry how I will play into the new lessons. I do not want to fail these students. 

Overall I am excited to see what this semester will bring. I look forward to knowing Dee and the students better as well as embracing this foreign teaching strategy. I think if implemented correctly this program could really enable students.

Until next time.

Ms. H.

The First.

Hello, hello! This is the first post in my blog! I have never been a blogger, so I hope my experiences in student teaching come across well!

To the future!

- Ms. H.