Day 81

Today was day number 81.  We had a writing common assessment.  We did some word work.  And I gave both classes about 60 minutes to work on their wiki book reviews.  This was the last chuck of class time I am going to be able to give them for the next week and a half.  I pushed back the research project start date until Friday 1-7-10 (tomorrow) because both classes expressed a need for some refreshers on using wikispaces and Portal to post their reviews since they were going to be required to get them done primary at home.

I am going to talk more about myself in this entry.  It's a difficult thing to look at ones self and try to figure out the areas that need honest improvement. 

1) Small Groups: I do not conduct consistant and pre-planned small group instruction.  This has always been a struggle for me.  Because I get uncomfortable with keeping the time under 20 minutes.  I have recived a lot of small group instruction training through several reading coaches at my school over the past couple of years but have never felt successful implementing it.

2) Conferring with Readers: I LOVED conferring with writers.  I always had something to say or something I wanted to teach.  It was easy for me to spot what needed work and where to go with a writer.  I feel very uncomfortable conferring with readers.  I always walk away feeling like I didn't help at all or very skeptical that the student will use the practiced/demonstrated strategie.  How can I know without demanding some proof? 

3) Hands on Experiments: I have seen great improvement in myself in this area.  My first year teaching, I hardly ever let the kids get their hands on the science.  I demonstrated experiments or we read about them or we watched videos or we did worksheets.  My second year, I dove in a little here and there.  My third year, I did the workshops full out but put the kids in large groups to conduct experiements or build models (4-5 students).  In my fourth year, I am much more confident in letting my students try out the science.  I find their observations more specific and their understanding of the concepts more complete.  I think adding in the choice board homework and technology has only improved my students science scores.

4) Planning farther ahead: In general, I have most of the week planned before Monday morning.  Usually I have all of reading planned because I need to get the ASL prepared in order for the technique to be successful.  I usally have the science planned but I scramble to adjust and prepare my materials the day before or the day of.  Fridays are usually wide open for make ups, reviews, or reteaches, and quizes.

There are more but these are the glaring struggles I feel are most important.  If you read this and you have tips, strategies, or ideas on how to help a young teacher with these areas!!!  Please don't hesitate to comment.

A New Year

Happy New Year!

I have done almost no thinking about work for two whole weeks.  Usually I spend my whole break really working on lessons or grading papers.  My brain really needed a vacation.  This was a rough semester for me as my own coursework was very demanding and adjusting to a new curriculum has been challenging to say the least.

But since I go back in two days, I'm working one my plans a little at a time.  I at least want my community builders, vocabulary, and read aloud to be ready.  I found a great little website with lots of team building and ice breakers.  My kids already know each other but they could be good to loosen everyone up again.  Plus I completely changed the seating arrangement before I left.

I am launching two new units.  We will be digging deeper into using nonfiction texts through a group project about some famous inventors.  Here's the lesson plan I'm using from thinkfinity.com.  I'll put the kids into three groups and give each group a box with a task list, resource books, and websites.  They must develop a poster visual aid and a power point, then make a presentation.  We will start on a Wednesday because I only teach reading on Wednesday and they can have their whole class period to get started.  The beginning of a project is always the hardest.  I will be teaching some lessons on taking notes from resources as well as how to cite sources.

My kids seem to have a good grasp of what nonfiction is so I don't want to waste time going over text features and genres.  I'd prefer they really learn how to analyze and utilize their nonfiction texts since that is mostly what they will read through their lifetime. 

I plan to continue my use of ASL during reading instruction.  I will also start my inquiry this month.  I will be meeting with my four ESOL students (one in my homeroom, and three in Donna's homeroom) in small groups to work on vocabulary using ASL.  I am trying to find out if the use of ASL during word work using the power teaching model will improve an ESOL students use of fifth grade level vocabulary words.  I will be assessing them through tests that have a variety of test items paired with my own observations and interviews with the kids. 

The other unit I'm launching is a short force and motion workshop. It took forever to get through my life science unit because I included technology lessons and a couple of projects.  But I felt it necessary to lay a foundation for project work that will occur during their science fair projects.  They needed to be able to create word documents, power points, and conduct research, along with citing their sources.  I'm keeping the physical science less about studying and product creation and more about inquiry and experiments.  Hence the roller coasters.

So, here's to a busy new year!