Julia+Travis

Julia Travis 9/24 I am starting to learn the names of all the students in the classroom, and what kind of learner they are. It is nice to be able to work with the students and know a little bit about them too. Alexis loves to come over to me and tell me all about her life. I think that is great. She is probably going to be a great writer one day. Although occasionally I have to let her know that I am busy with other students and that I will talk with her later. It is encouraging to see her enjoy school so much. Elementary school is important to teach students the basics, but even more than that, it is important to instate a love of education and school into these students. If they learn to love school now, they will it for the rest of their lives. Most of my education classes here at Warren Wilson teach that the best way to teach science, or any subject is in a hands-on method that allows these students not only to see science, but also to do science. Is that possible with such big classrooms to do that? What do you see as the most effective way of teaching?

10/2 My last visit to the classroom, I was given the opportunity to get in front of the class and teach. Teaching in class was a great experience for me. I feel like I really got some good insight into what it feels like to be in front of a classroom, teaching 25 students. I now realize that I should have made sure the class was totally quiet before I started the next part of the lesson. It is hard to take time to get an entire class quiet and also teach everything that you need to teach in the allotted time frame given. I have noticed the methods that my host teacher has been using for quieting the classroom and they work very well. When I started putting my fingers up and counting to five, they all got quiet real quickly. I guess when planning a lesson plan, you have to allot some time for these kinds of things. It is hard to be prepared for everything that might go wrong, but as a teacher I will have to. I believe that my teaching just like anything else, will improve with practice.

10/15/06 I thought the activity my class did on Wednesday with the Peanut butter and Jelly sandwich was a great writing activity. Mrs. Sorrels asked the students to write how to make a peanutbutter and Jelly sandwich. She then took their written directions and followed them to a tee. For instance if the students said get two pieces of bread, she wasn't able to, because the bag was closed with a twisty tie. So she made them go back and write step by step what they were suppose to do. Any activity like this one provides a fun way to teach students to be very specific in their writing. This activity shows students that learning can definitely be fun. I believe at this age, teaching a student the love for learning and school is just as important as teaching them information that they will have to know. The love for learning starts right here in elementary school. We, as teachers could be the difference in a child's success or failure. Every time I visit the classroom, I become a little more comfortable with the students and with teaching. The classes I take at Warren Wilson are very important, but the truth is nothing beats just getting up in front of a class and teaching.

11/1 On Thursday my class, had a writing party with the entire fourth grade. Each of the classed picked several students to read their stories for the rest of the fourth grade. We have a lot of talent when it comes to writing in the 4th grade. All of the students seemed very enthusiastic about their stories. I think it is a great idea to have the students get up in front of the class and read their stories. It is necessary to start speech skills at a very young age. This is a perfect way of doing that, because the students have to make sure that they are speakingclearly and are annunciating their words in order for the class to understand them. After watching the class read their stories I helped Shayla a little with her math. When a student does not understand a math concept, it is sometimes really hard to describe the process in a way in which they will understand it. That is why using manipulatives is so vital to this age group when it comes to math. Using manipulatives, I can physically show her that when you have 20 objects and you want to divide it into four groups, 5 items are in each group. I know I will not always have access to manipulatives. So I am going to have to work on teaching math processes, so my students can learn and understand the process.

11/7 When my teacher was giving out the grades for the writing test last time that I was visiting, I noticed some of the students did a lot better than others. Tamia, specifically, was very upset with her grade and seemed very unreceptive for the rest of class because of the poor grade. Seeing other students around her do so well, seemed to make her feel even worse about herself. That is my main fear with grades. Can a grade make a student feel so bad that he/she gives up her will to do the best that she can in class? I know that grades and tests are necessary to access and evaluate students, but what kind of cost do you think they have on a student’s self-esteem? I know when I get a job within the public schools; there will be plenty of tests that my students will be required to take. So I must get use to them. Teaching in my class on Thursday was a little bumpy, but I believe that bumps in road are vital to learning how to handle a class. Whatever trouble I had last time, I can watch to make sure I correct it the next time. I was teaching social studies and having only 20 minutes for social studies, it seems almost possible to get anything done. How do you plan a lesson, knowing that you are going to have to take time to quiet the class, get them in their seats, etc?
 * Thanks for your notes Julia. Grades can have both effects that you mentioned above. They are fairly constant though throughout the public schools. Teachers give grades because many times they are the only thing that schools recognize as evaluation. How students respond is often dependent upon what happens at home when a grade is given. Keep up the entries! :Lynne**
 * 11/12**

12/2 My students are preparing for a preformance being given to their parents and friends about the importance of exercise and healthy eating. I have enjoyed watching the students rehearse for their performance on Monday. I believe that they will do great. The past couple of days my students have been given a piece of paper similar to the one they will receive on their writing test and they are writing forbattem what is on the board. This activity's purpose is so they can practice using the limited amount of space that they have to write their story. I guess I now also see the purpose of making the students’ copy what is on the board onto a piece of paper. It kills me though that we are required to teach these kinds of things, when teachers could be using this time to teach these students useful information about writing, such as the writing process. Science is now also being added to the list of things that students will be tested on and I fear that we are now going to have to teach that to the test too. Will I still be able to teach anything in a hands-on and fun way when I start teaching.

12/17 My time spent in Mrs. Sorrel's class has been a wonderful experience for me. I feel very excited about coming into her classroom prepared and ready to student teach. It has been great being able to get to know the students in her classroom and form close teacher-student relationships with them. I feel going into a classroom where I know the students and the learning atmosphere is going to be very helpful too. I am also a little apprehensive, but that comes with any new experience. I am not expecting this to be easy though. I believe though, the harder I work the more I will get out of the experience.