Week 3- Friday, January 22nd

     Another week has come and gone so quickly. It feels like it's going by fast but it also feels like I have been here for years now. I would rate this week a 4 out of 5. It has been a lot different than the previous weeks because the kids have come back on a hybrid schedule. This week was a little exhausting, but I love having the kids here. This week, I was able to take over Literacy and Math instruction. I feel like these lessons went well. My students were engaged throughout and they were retaining the information that I was presenting. At one point in the week, a student looked at me and said "you're fun". I'm not striving to be fun, because that isn't as important as making sure the students know the content. But if students look forward to me teaching; I think I can make a difference. I feel like one of the greatest accomplishments I made this week was growing in my relationships with my students. I faced a big challenge on the first day that the students came back to school; my CE had to be out for personal reasons. I became the substitute in our class that day. I'm proud of myself for being able to take over with such short notice and get through the day with everyone's heads still attached. It was a great day. 

    My lessons this week taught me that it is important to keep the students engaged. With only having each group of students here twice a week, we have to double up on the content that we are teaching. This can be exhausting for the students. Next week, I begin my 10 weeks of student teaching. I plan to find ways to engage my students in new ways so that they aren't as exhausted when learning. My short term efforts of getting my lessons planned and teaching the content to the best of my ability are still aligned with my long term goal of passing EdTPA and successfully completing student teaching. 

    I think I could have spent more time planning my lessons at the beginning of the week. It seems to start piling up on me when I get close to the end of the week. I think that if I start planning my lessons on Monday, it will feel less overwhelming. Indecision this week impacted my lesson planning this week. My CE was not in school for a couple of days so I was trying to think of ideas for next week's plans. I kept going back and changing everything. Ultimately, everything is completed and I am satisfied. My first steps for next week are to start my 10 weeks off successfully. I will be fully taking over and I will have a lot on my plate. In order to not go crazy, I will need to plan my lessons early and get any other assignments completed as soon as I have a chance. 

    This week, I was able to give a pretest for the lessons that I will be teaching for EdTPA. The data that I gained from this pretest have guided me in my instructional planning. A piece of advice that I would like to share with other student teachers is to relax! (I'm honestly telling myself this). This is a very critical time in our lives and there is a lot of pressure put on us but we have made it this far. We are almost there. Take a minute to breathe and be proud of yourself. 

NCTCS Standard 1: I was able to demonstrate leadership this week by teaching in my classroom. I had the opportunity to teach the two biggest lessons of the day each day. 

NCTCS Standard 2: I was able to establish a positive and respectful learning environment with my students. When students would share work, we would give them positive feedback and thank them for sharing. The students are starting to become more comfortable with sharing in my class. I tell them to stand and read with their proud speaker voice and they do. 

NCTCS Standard 3: I was able to teach several times this week. I planned my lessons according to the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. I was also able to make the content relevant to students by providing them with multiple means of instruction. 

NCTCS Standard 4: I was able to plan instruction appropriate for my students this week. Engaging students in the learning process and responding to the needs of students helped me to have appropriate instruction. 

NCTCS Standard 5: I was able to reflect on my teaching this week with myself and my CE. I taught and recorded my first lesson for observation this week. I don't like to go back and watch myself but I am able to see where I need to improve and what I'm doing good. 

    I have task 1 completed of EdTPA. I will be teaching my EdTPA lessons next week! At the moment, my CE and I do not need any extra support. 

Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 22, 2021 at 5:13 PM

    Hi, Melissa! I enjoyed reading over your blog this week. It was exciting to finally have the kids back in the classroom, it's been far too long without them! I am glad to hear that your lessons went well that you taught this week. It is always encouraging when the students enjoy the lesson that we teach, but I like what you said about making sure they understand the content being the main goal. To me, it sounds like you have found the perfect balance of how to making learning fun and engaging while getting the content across, which is the main goal for us teachers! I'm sure you feel more confident about taking on the classroom after filling the shoes for your CE one day this week and being the substitute. I will actually be taking on the role of the substitute teacher this upcoming week as well because my CE will be quarantine due to exposure to a positive case of the virus. You have the right idea about getting your lesson plans done as early as possible, things really do seem to pile up quickly! I am sure you will do a great job over the next 10 weeks and once you get into a routine they will fly by. Best of luck this upcoming week!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownJanuary 23, 2021 at 8:35 AM

    Hi Melissa,

    It sounds like your student teaching experience is off to a great start. I am teaching with a residency license and accepted my first teaching position at the end of September 2020. I love your advice to just "relax". The demands are endless, especially once you become the teacher, but we have so much to be proud of. We have worked so hard to get to this point. We need to make sure we celebrate our daily successes and use our failures or challenges as an opportunity to learn and grow from. I think it is also important to remember that we are teaching during some of the most challenging times that education has ever faced. I keep telling myself that if I survive this year, nothing will be able to stop me in future years :). I can also relate to your feeling of lesson planning piling up on you. I feel like this every week because I'm not given much if any time to plan at school. Unfortunately, lack of time is a challenge that I think we will always face as teachers, but with more practice I think we will become more efficient in writing our lessons plans. Good luck this week and enjoy every week of this monumental milestone :).

    Best,
    Amber

    ReplyDelete
  3. Terri AllenJanuary 24, 2021 at 6:54 PM

    Melissa, I am so glad to hear that Tuesday went well for you, I knew you were going to do great. I love that you are building those relationships with your students and that they are receiving you well! I agree with you about the fun statement you made, but hey if you can both keep the students engaged and know that they are learning the information you are throwing at them I think fun is a perk! Keep up the good work!

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