Week 2- Friday, January 15th

     Week two is complete and I'm ready to take a nap. This week was a virtual week for my 4th-grade class. They are coming back to school on a hybrid schedule Monday. It hasn't felt right trying to zoom them; I'm ready for them to come back. I would rate this week a 3 out of 5. My brain has felt very scattered lately with everything that I have to get done. Hopefully, when the kids come back, I will be on a more set schedule and my brain will relax a little bit. 

    My accomplishments for this week are minimal but at least there are some. This week I was able to teach a few science lessons to my students on zoom. Because of the lack of internet for the majority of my students, I would only have about 7 students show up. It was still nice to see them and see them participating. I was also able to get my lesson plans for next week completed, which I felt pretty good about. A lesson that I am still learning is procrastination. I am beginning to do a little better, but I could still definitely work on it. My long-term goal is to pass edTPA and successfully teach these 4th graders. My short-term goal is to complete my lesson plans and other assignments each week in a timely manner. If I am able to achieve my short-term goals each week, I will successfully complete my long-term goal as well. I think that this week I should have taken more time to just breathe. I was a bit overwhelmed this week trying to get things done and I didn't take much time to relax. I know that it will be a tough and busy semester, but I still need to take care of myself. I had some indecision this week while planning. I went back multiple times and completely changed them because I wasn't pleased. Ultimately, I need to be more confident when planning my lessons. I need to take time to get all of my ideas out and then put the lesson together. Next week, I will be taking over more lessons. I will begin planning my lessons for the next week on Monday. Getting them out of the way early in the week will benefit me a lot. 

    This week, I looked more closely at the IEPs in my class. We discussed what differentiation and modifications they need so that I could better plan my lessons. This made me a bit more confident in differentiating my lessons. A piece of advice that I would give to my fellow student teachers is to not only have a good relationship with your CE but also the teachers around you. I am thankful that I was blessed with a wonderful CE and the surrounding teachers are also great. They are all willing to help when I need it. 

NCTCS Standard 1: I was able to lead in the classroom this week by reaching out to my clinical educator and discussing data about the IEPs in our class. I was able to differentiate in my lessons more because of this new data. 

NCTCS Standard 2: This week I was able to encourage an environment that is inviting, respectful, supportive, inclusive, and flexible. I did this throughout my lessons on zoom. I encouraged the students to participate more and made sure that everyone was respectful toward each other. I encouraged students to help each other answer questions when someone might be struggling. 

NCTCS Standard 3: This week I was able to teach a few science lessons. At the beginning of these lessons, I would hook the students with something they found interesting. This curiosity made them want to learn more about the topic. An example is from a lesson that I taught about minerals. I started by showing the students a real diamond ring and a fake diamond ring. The rings looked extremely similar and you could not tell which was which by only looking at them. The students guessed which one they thought was the real diamond and then I taught them about testing minerals to know which is which.

NCTCS Standard 4: This week I was able to integrate technology into my lessons by doing interactive tours of the rock cycle, watching videos, and completing activities together. I was also able to encourage my students to ask questions throughout the lessons. 

NCTCS Standard 5: After my lessons this week, I was able to reflect with my Clinical Educator. We found some materials to send home in a packet next week that matched with what I taught. 

    I have completed my lesson plans and task 1 for edTPA. At the moment, my clinical educator and I do not require any support. 

Comments

  1. Rachel SmithJanuary 16, 2021 at 7:33 AM

    Hey Melissa, I enjoyed reading about your second week Student Teaching! I know that with students being virtual it is not the same as students being in the classroom. I completely understand about procrastination. It is hard to set deadlines sometimes. Something that has helped me is writing things down that needed to be done at least one day before the actual due date. This semester is going to be rough and I am already exhausted. One thing that has helped me is trying to go on a walk everyday. I don't get this done everyday but pushing myself everyday to be as active as possible. I am glad you took the time to look at your IEP/504 students to plan supports for these students. I am excited to see how you grow as a teacher this semester.

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  2. Ms. LivingstonJanuary 17, 2021 at 6:31 AM

    Hi Melissa, I really enjoyed reading your post. I am student teaching in 4th grade too. My school district is full remote. I start the day with a game to get interested and ready for learning. We use a points system as an incentive for attendance and participation. Modifying lessons for students with IEP's has been challenging. I can relate to procrastination. One thing that has worked for me is setting aside time each day to work on assignments. Wishing you well on your student teacher adventures next week.

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  3. Jenna Wacaster January 17, 2021 at 7:38 AM

    Hey Melissa! This week has also been very busy for myself and could use some extra sleep. I completely agree that this semester is going to be so tough, but in the end it is going to be worth it! Self-care is the most important thing to me right now because of everything that I have going on in my life right now. When I feel stressed or overwhelmed, I enjoy to color and light a candle to just sit and relax. I can only imagine how stressful it is for you when zooming and only 7 students show up, but it is nice that those students who are present on the zoom are participating. It is amazing that you were able to have discussions with your CE about ways to accommodate and modify your lessons to reach every students needs that are in your fourth grade class. I wish you the best of luck!

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