Audubon Teaching Journal

• Guidance counselor in today to talk about big problems and little ones using the Kelso model.
• Student store today. Lot’s of moms and dads to help.
• Snowmen turned out well.
• Art docents in for winter paper stories.
• Pipe burst in school because of frigid conditions.
• One more week of dyad.

Audubon Teaching Journal

• Mental Math similar as in K, I have the number 5, who has 12 except they do problems. Who has 42 minus 8, and so on and so forth. I got copies of the problems.
• Snowmen went into the kiln. Keeping our fingers crossed.
• Flat Stanley today. More cards coming back from Dublin, Toronto, and Memphis.
• I did a 5th Grade observation in the morning.
• Differentiated classroom, with 3 rotations between lit, science, and math.
• Working on science projects and bar graphs in Excel.
• Observation of 1st grade
• Surprised that kids were doing division.

Audubon Teaching Journal

• Assemble today for school. Kids did a number of songs and a dance number. Two sets of parents did a waltz to one of the song. Very cool.
• Met with my second emergent reader today in a kindergarten class. Got the intro done and did the assessment. Next week will be a follow-up activity.
• Our clay snowmen came out of the 1st fire from the kiln a redish color so we had the kids glaze all the parts that should be white. Glad Leia and I did not have to do all of them ourselves.
• I did my 3rd lesson on postcards which went well.

Literacy Journal -Lose the Spoon

In finishing the last two chapters of Routman for this semester I got to thinking about how much help is enough help for my students? I am not talking about those students that require a lot of hands on help in their writing every time they put pencil to paper. It’s the in-between ones, that are somewhat confident in their writing, and need some help from time to time. The help I am referring to is when we model our writing lessons for our kids. We solicit nouns, verbs, and, adjectives from the students for instance. We write them on the active-board or for the document reader to display. We then further model the lesson by putting the words together in coherent sentences. All good things, but when is enough examples, enough? I would submit that often times our solicitation of ideas from the class, results in a rather limited representation of the class. Certainly, insuring that everyone is participating by using name sticks is a strategy to call on all of the kids, but still are we tapping into each students individual creative mind? I don’t think so. Often it turns into a copying exercise, and while it looks to the reader (typically the parent) that their child can write, can they? What are they learning? So again, the question is how many examples do we use for them to get their own creative juices going? I submit a few, and throw away the spoon.

There is much to learn for me in literacy. Even the basics I feel I need to bone up on. Visions of taking the dogs down to Lake Washington in the sun this summer, and reading Routman, and Foxx are in my future. Neither book I feel will be far from my reach.

Audubon Teaching Journal

I was able today to spend some time in 4th grade classroom. Completely different teacher style than my MT at ether placements. Very animated, and very participative with her kids. At first I said “how is she going to rein these kids in” after a rather animated introduction to a lesson, complete with a few celebration rah! rahs! Yeeks. She did it. She got them settled right down with some sorta psychic power or something. Amazing. I enjoyed her style, and her enthusiasm with her kids. Just goes to show you, that you can be effective in different ways. Even a fun way, and still have your kids still respectful, and knowing where the line is drawn.

The game that got them going was a literacy exercise that they do first thing every morning called “Caught Ya!”, which she calls “Gottcha!”. A sentence or two are put on the board complete with punctuation, spelling, and syntax errors. The students job is to correct all the errors. It took a couple dizzying rounds of checking 25 papers before the first student got it all right, and gradually more and more got it. It certainly jumpstarts the students mind and the teachers stamina.

• Math exercise was an area measuring one where teams of students measured a number of things in the room using yardsticks, and rolled up tape measures. They needed to find the square area of the objects.
• Card flipping is used as classroom management tool.
• Class library includes the following authors Bev Cleary, Judy Blume, Louis Sachar, and Roald Dahl.
• I learned the math card game of Salute. 2 or 3 kids use a deck of cards, they take the kings out, the jacks count s 11, and the queen counts as 12. One card each is passed to the two player by the dealer who without seeing their own card place it on their forehead so the other player can see. The dealer does the math and called out the answer to the multiplication of the two cards. The players look at the card on the other players forehead, and does the math in their head to determine what card is on their own forehead. I am making it sound more difficult than it is. Ex. One player has a 5, and the other a 4. The dealer does the math and ay 20. If I am looking over at my opponents forehead I might see a 5. I would answer 4, as 5x4 = 20. Whoever answers 1st is the winner of that round.
• Back in the dyad class Leia did an awesome job on short notice in doing a lesson on nouns, verbs, and adjectives. I especially liked how she started the lesson (since this was a theme based lesson on things in December) by having the kids close their eyes and imagine a visual landscape for instance, glistening snow falling, cold blustery wind, etc..
• Tomorrow I will do a lesson on post cards. Leia did one last month. I also hope to work with Tyler, a kindergarten student, and accomplish my emerging literacy project with him.

Literacy Journal - Assessment

I think that in literacy, assessment depends obviously on the grade level your assessing.  I believe firmly that grammatical correctness should never stand in the way of the creative process of getting things down on paper.  I know I struggle until all of a sudden I get a spurt of creativeness,  and totally forget about the mechanical elements in favor of getting something down.  The other stuff being addressed sometime later.  I know its important for readability, and certainly a lot easier to teach than creativity.  Here you need to look at the student, and where they are at in their writing maturity.  Knowing where in the developmental level they are can direct you to what you should be assessing.  The goal, like a just right book, is to push the bar a little higher, and thus encourage the student to strive higher.  I think back to my first days in a kindergarten class with a room full of very early writers, and how the teacher would beam with encouragement to just get letters on a piece of paper. Even funnier was the students helping her spell out on the active-board exactly what they dictated, and again beam with accolades of encouragement.  That is the joy of writing,  and often times we get hung up on the technical parts of it.  Myself being a prime example, and ever reluctant to proof my work.  But I am getting better.

In working one on one in my placement with students that need extra help its important to always complement the sometimes, small strides they make in both reading and writing. I always on the evaluation sheet include more positive than negative observations which is how it should be I believe.  I have learned to choose my words carefully to encourage.  I like how Routman cautions against students work being “rubricized.”   

Write, write, write

Literacy Journal - Writing a Present

As I finished Bird by Bird, I was reminded of writing for people we love, and writing about people before they are no longer with us. I am sadly reminded of the missed opportunities I had to record my father, and mother’s life experiences. The details of my fathers survival at Pearl Harbor. How anxious my mother was, pregnant and in San Francisco, waiting two weeks to learn of his fate. I am reminded how as a youngster, half listening to my grandmother speak of a relative that fought during the civil war, and made his way west after to seek their fortune. How another was connected to the U.S.S. Maine that was sunk in Havana Harbor, and that gave cause for the Spanish-American War.

While these opportunities were missed by me, I was determined to leave some record of those I loved and that had important stories to share. It was too that end that I undertook the capturing of the oral history of a man I have known all my life as a second father to me. He was a veteran of not only World War II, but of Korea, and Vietnam. He rose to the rank of Command Sergeant Major of the Army, and his story was a fascinating one that kept me riveted for hours. From a young man who needed his parents permission to enter the Army because of his age, to the invasion of Europe on D-Day, and jumping as a paratrooper into France, through the Battle of the Bulge. It was important for me to capture his stories. Stories of a modest, and unassuming man, that did heroic things, through the decades. These stories that his children, and grandchildren can know, and their grandchildren can pass on.

My point is how important it is to do these things before the stories are lost. At the site of the World Trade Center, right at the point where now the subway passengers exit the station, there is a recording booth, dutiful manned to record the stories of the survivors, and anyone that had a story to tell of that fateful day. We have this semester learned about photo stories, which is another excellent method to record and publish for those we love, the stories of our lives, which ordinary or not, are important. With our often hectic lives we find it hard to make the time to do so, but yet they need to be done. I am reminded of how in the absence of a written language the Native American’s passed on their stories, and the importance of heritage, and who we are, and were.

Find your voice so we can hear the voice that is our heritage.

Diary of a Catholic School Boy

Audubon Teaching Journal

Kids entered the room at start of day very chattery and our MT immediately called them to the carpet, literally, and in no uncertain term showed her displeasure in them.

I like the shared reading we do quite often when there is a literacy exercise and the MT starts sentences and the students in unison finish them as they look at text on the active board.

Today was apple crisp day, with Leia reading the story about making pie, and me indicating on the document reader and a world globe where the ingredients come from.  You definitely need help in the classroom to pull this off with the kids measuring, mixing ingredients, and following the apple crisp recipe.  We baked them off in the cafeteria, and the kids feasted before going home with recipe in hand.

Audubon Teaching Journal

• Reading Workshop
• Scratch Art today using a turkey as the subject
• Letter “Q”, “q” Note: Lots of kids still make “g” instead of “q”
• Student desk groups called “learning center”
• Continuation of measurement unit with baby steps now being used to measure.  MT did an exercise using a story to contrast the baby steps of one student may not be the same as another student with obviously larger feet.  This was acted out by two students, one being the king, and the other the royal carpenter who builds a horse stall to the number his steps, when he should have used the kings steps, and the result was a stall too small for the horse.

Literacy Journal - Writers Block

Writers Block

Anne Lamott says on page 176 of Bird by Bird “ There are few experiences as depressing as that anxious barren state known as writer’s block, where you sit staring at your blank page like a cadaver, feeling your mind congeal, feeling your talent run down your leg and into your socks.”

Well, as I speak I am experiencing a block.  I usually don’t have a problem writing about something.  Mind you, it may not be good writing, but it’s writing never the less.  This week it has not been so easy as I skimmed back over chapter 4 and 5 of Fox, and Lamott.  Nothing struck me as something I could write a great deal about.  I even looked back over last weeks dyad literary experiences and there was nothing there that I thought would be interesting or that I had not talked about already.  I think writing is very much like a roller coaster where you get these incredible spurts of energy, and you write, write, write.  Then you get these periods where you have to write something, but you just can’t conjure up something.  I am not sure if its block, or if I am being a bit of a perfectionist, and need to get just the right subject, but here I sit.  Lamott suggests that your not really stuck, but perhaps empty.  I am empty of thought right now after a tough week of procrastination, deadlines, and finally a flurry of writing activity.  This was unfortunately the last thing on my plate for the week, and I pushed it off.  Lamott says just write something.  What does that mean?  Just put random, in coherent thoughts on paper.  Does this snap you out of it?  The rest of the chapter did not provide any other clues to jump start yourself, so with that, I will hope for better things next week.

Audubon Teaching Journal

We had yesterday off for Veterans Day, and just could not bring myself around to write anything.  I did read for classes, but that was it.

Today we make snowmen from clay.  This was a ceramic exercise which should prove to be very neat with lasting mementos that will forever sit on a winter days shelf by prideful moms, and dads.  Our MT taught the lesson to all three 3rd grade classes, and than off they went to create their snowmen.  We were blessed with having four moms in the class to help as our students dutifully followed the steps to make their masterpieces.  Even Leia and myself got to make them.  After Thanksgiving we will glaze and fire them.  
I was very proud of Leia in that she actually picked up a crayfish without getting pinched so that we could clean tanks today.  We both did some binding,  and set up folders of the kids work for the upcoming parent teacher conferences.

The day ended with the introduction of a new unit on measuring.  Kids learned to measure distances today by taking giant steps, and recording the number of giant steps from the classroom front door to the back door.  The class then discusses the reasons why there were differences, and what accounted for them in this exercise.

Literacy Journal - Expectations

One thing I have noticed in both my placements is the emphasis on reading and writing.  Perhaps emphasis is too light a word as each of my master teachers includes reading and writing each and everyday.  Both employ the writing workshop theme.  Both are sticklers for quality, and especially for work that is published or that goes home, which is nearly everything they do.  Routman speaks to this in chapter four.  No one in either class gets a free ride with sloppy or incomplete work.  Even those that struggle, or you might think we have low expectations for must produce a quality product.  In our dyad I spend a fair amount of time working with the strugglers, even to the point of scribing for them, and them copying it exactly to the project or assignment.  I am somewhat torn here, and wonder how this might be very frustrating to a student that for whatever reason can not produce work that would be considered the norm.  They get very frustrated with re-writes to be sure.  How far do we carry this?  I certainly can understand the reluctance to publish something in the hall or in a class bound project with the gambit of writing issues that are very obvious.  The other is sending work home that is edited and corrected for the parents to see.  Should the parents be insulated from this?  Are we doing them a disservice by not sharing the learners true level of literacy?  I don’t know but I will talk to my MT to better understand the reasoning behind it.

I do agree with Routman that we should always expect excellence from our students, and not accept mediocrity.  Perhaps by demanding it the student will learn that there are no shortcuts, and they had better put in the best effort they can.  I have also found it interesting how one teacher is concerned about spelling and the other is much less so.  I did ask the one why she is not, and she says that being overly concerned about spelling on the students part take away from the writing process itself.  Now there is a one grade difference in the two classes which might explain how one feels that at 3rd grade a student should be concerned about their spelling, and how at 2nd grade it is less of a concern.  My own feelings are that students should be actively engaged in getting cohesive, and connected thoughts down on paper first and foremost.

Audubon Teaching Journal

Art docents in today for painting lesson on landscape for fall.  How to use brush strokes.  I find it uncanny, be it in a small sampling, how art can also reflect those kids that may have academic issues as well.  Not sure if they just don’t care, or can stay focused.  SOmeone has had to have done a study on it I am sure.

Warm and Fuzzies - MT uses two jar in the front of the room.  She will grab some and take them out of one jar and move them to the other jar.  One is a good jar, and one not so good.  When the call as a whole is not focused or following instruction she will silently open the jar and take these fuzzies out of the good jar and put in bad.  When they are on task, she will then silently move some back to the good jar.  She does not name the jars but the kids understand them.

Happy Birthday to me.

Audubon Teaching Journal

Today is our observed lesson.  Leia did a great job with her postcard lesson for the month, and I did my math game Pigs, which went well I thought also.  We both did fine on the field instructors assessment, and she provided some great feedback, and tips on class management.   The game of Pig was used to accomplished two objectives, mental math, and an introduction to probability.  The probability I spoke about in the context of taking changes, and risk with this dice throwing game.  I would liken the game to craps for kids. These are some of the following points my field instructor made:

• Focus on only one or two objectives.
• Focus on chance, and risk which are terms children at this age would associate with.
• Focus on what you want them to know, what you want them to look for, and what you want them to listen for.

Audubon Teaching Journal

Today was my first of two lessons we teach during dyad.  I did nouns and verbs lesson with the students citing what nouns and verbs are associated with the month of November.  Overall, I was prepared and I thought the lesson went well.  My MT pointed out during the “doing” phase of the lesson a couple points to remind the students about.  She suggested that I develop a signal to use for the students that they know when you need there attention.  I have not settled on one yet, and will have to think about it.  Maybe a “getting ready to turn your attention back to me in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1”, I am thinking.  She reinforced showing lots of examples, and suggested I could have used more examples of nouns and verbs than I did.  I had taken the approach that rather than give a lot that the students might choose from, I gave a few and hoped that the students would come up with a lot more on their own.  Different teaching styles.  I have seen in general where my MT in the interest in teaching more I suspect does a lot of the ground work for a lesson.  Making copies, having stuff already made up, rather  than the students doing it.  My style would be perhaps more the students actively engaged in their own prep work.  I also had Leia film this lesson as I will do for her next week.  We both have our field instructor in to view next Wednesdays lesson.

• Math, I learned today a number of different strategies to solve subtraction problems.  Good stuff.  Most kids I see gravitating the the method I learned, and continues of the standard algorithm, of borrowing.
• Worked again as I do every week with 2 students in pull out.  Next week I will get three,  staying later on Wednesday to work with one so he can participate in the pull out group lesson.

Audubon Teaching Journal

• Celebrated first thing this morning with math achievement awards for those that can move up a level.
• Worked with one of my regular student on cleaning up their writing for the traditions exercise, and the “if I were a pumpkin” exercise.
• Children worked again on the all things pumpkin project citing scientific observations about pumpkins such as from seeds, to seedlings, to pumpkins.  There will be a math component also.
• Interesting reading and writing exercise on the Talking Cloth.  I cloth that is weaved in Africa which through colors and symbols a story is told.  kids started there own cloth project - Ashanti Adinkra.
• MY distributed better describing words sheets.  Trying to move from simple adjectives to more descriptive one in their writing.
• I will give my first of two lessons tomorrow.  This one is not observed by my field instructor.

Literacy Journal - Finding Our Voices

Finding Our Voices

We search, and struggle it would seem to be writers.  It’s not that we don’t want to write, or write well.  It’s just we can’t seem to get started in many cases.  We procrastinate, we put it off, we can’t quit find the right words to start.  Why are we afraid to write?  I am writing this on behalf of myself, and the children I see struggle every day to get something down on paper.

As I began reading Routman, some of my anxieties began to be addressed, and solutions found. One thing Routman does, that I have yet to see, and has sparked my interest is that she models by doing it.  Sure many teachers focus on creating a great subject, and getting the kids to cite the accompanying details that support that subject.  What I don’t see, and what I find valuable in the reading is for the teacher to take it a step further by modeling the writing process.  It''s the connection of these details in a fluid way that makes the story coherent, and interesting.  It is precisely here where they struggle in many cases.  Model the process as Routman does for the students she stands in front of, to “let students see you struggle”.  Seeing the real problems we all face as writers I think may give our students the courage to write, and not be afraid to make mistakes.  We also as teachers must celebrate the successes both small, and large. We cannot over emphasize the importance in doing this.  It also goes without saying that we need to set the environment where students are not afraid to write, least their work be judged, laughed at, or marginalized.

I have worked during the dyad mostly one on one with struggling readers, and writers.  With no formal experience at all in teaching literacy I try to make the connection with the oral story telling of my students to the written form.  To demonstrate to them that they are writers I will have them orally tell me their story and scribe it for them.  Then I will go back and discuss changing the order of things, what facts are pertinent to the story, and what are perhaps not.  The biggest challenge is leading them into the transition words that connect their thoughts. When finished we read the story together.  See, I tell them, your a writer, and all we did was massage your thoughts a little, and that just takes practice to get better at it.  It’s the confidence building that needs to be built upon.  As Routman puts it, “we must think of ourselves as writers”, which sadly in many cases we do not.

My primary placement, in a gifted classroom of 1st and 2nd graders brings with it it’s own literary challenges.  While penmanship, vocabulary,  and spelling is typically high, they in many cases have problems with the creative aspect of writing.  Here again they can have difficulties getting off the starting line, or worst yet a striving for perfection that can hinder the writing process by seeking out just the right phrase or word.  Just write, just write.  We can clean this up later, get it just right later.  For now let your thoughts flow.  We as teachers, especially in the primary grades can’t over structure the writing process and make our writers too fearful to write.  Punctuation, spelling, word usage can gradually be introduced as they become more proficient in their writing.  Other points brought out in the reading is to make writing varied, not just reports on what they read.  Poetry, note writing, cards, letters, book reviews all lend support to the writing process and add interest.

Audubon Teaching Journal

Feeling very comfortable in the classroom and relationship with our MT.  Firmed up the observed lesson arrangements with our field instructor. Cleaned the 6 tanks of crawfish.  This batch has not died like the previous two have.  Cause for great celebration as the students during the science lesson got to handle the live critters along with some nasty looking beetles for a compare and contrast observations.  Lovely Leia needs to get over her fear of handling these little pinching fellas, as our MT pointed out.  We know she can do it.  We will see when we have to clean their tanks again.

• Introduction of pumpkin related activity sheet, that include parts of pumpkins, name the pumpkin, story telling, life cycle, and math.
• Read aloud was pumpkin related
• Mystery Reader today with parents signing up to come into the classroom to do the read aloud.
• MT does a weekly newsletter she emails and send home to two students that do not have computers at home.
• Social Studies - Wonders of America lesson.  Worked with two students on Yosemite National Park with there comprehension of non-fiction story, and question answering in complete sentences.
• Family Traditions lesson where students select an annual family tradition , and do a cluster map of details about the tradition.   Most selecting Christmas, or Thanksgiving.  Students to take home and talk with parents about specifics and new ideas.
• Class will adopt an Orca from one one of the local pods.  Class will vote tomorrow on which one they want to adopt.  This is done though the Whaling Museum at Friday Harbor.  Cost is $75.
• Math leveling tests today.  Students do practice tests until they feel they are ready for the real test. When they take a real test they are only allowed to get one wrong to be considered successful, out of some 40 problems.  Most student in this class do just the addition, and subtraction problem sheets as division, and multiplication have not been introduced yet.
• Worked again with two pull out students, and the literacy teacher.  Comprehension, and reading proficiency are evaluated for one student. The other student I test using a timed reading that measures the amount of reading accomplished, and number of reading mistakes made along with comprehension questions.  

Audubon Teaching Journal

I got to do a short read aloud today and we scheduled our field instructors lesson presentation date.  I will be doing a math game as an introduction to probability with a dice game called Pig which requires students to roll dice, keep track of the sum of the two dice, and make a decision to stop rolling before the number 1 shows up on the dice (if a single 1 is rolled, they lose there points, and if a double 1 is rolled they lose all the points accumulated in the game so far).  It will be interesting to see what strategies they use to avoid rolling a 1.  Who will be conservative, and who will risk.  My other lesson will be a noun/verb exercise tied in with the special days that occur in November.  Stay tuned.

• Early work today (math sheets) and homework return.
• Student store today.  Each student has been taught how to use a checkbook, and maintain a register.  Throughout the month students earn money through various ways.  At least once a month the students can shop the store and buy fancy pencils, erasers, folders, pens, etc..  They can use cash or check or any combination of the two. It is a great exercise in teaching fiscal responsibility.  The store is run by moms.
• Time For Kids magazine
• Read aloud.  Jeremy Thatcher - Dragon Hatcher
• Did a pull out reading evaluation on 3 kids
• MT introduced math challenge for students that want to stretch, and challenge themselves.  Some 100 or so challenge sheets were put out should a student wish to do this activity.
• Interesting short exercise in process of elimination logic puzzles.

Literacy Journal Video

Choosing Books and Reading Aloud to Children

This presentation was written and narrated by Sarah Howard, Daniel Boone Regional Library Children's Services Librarian, in a collaborative effort with Golden K Kiwanis and Columbia Public Schools.

Audubon Teaching Journal

Use of active board that is on when students come in with 1st items that need to be done.  This is the hit the ground running activity that starts each day. This is called “Early Work”

• Homework
• 3 Math Problems
• Note: Basket for finished work that students put there completed work in labeled:
• Early Work
• Reading
• Math
• Writing
• Geography
• Finished right and left handfuls of beans for estimation and difference activity.
• After recording the counts from the student we did a line plot of the range of counts to see similarities, and differences, and explored why there could be wide differences.
• Each group of desks is called a “Learning Club”
• Big Buddies/Little Buddy was started with the kindergartners with an activity to get to know each other with a form, and then a read aloud by the 3rd graders to the K’s.
• Level Reading Program using a story about Yellowstone National Park.  I pulled out one student to complete assignment.
• Parent in to set up and conduct an art exercise combined with salmon facts using water colors.
• Did my weekly pull out of one of my students and another student that is being tracked to reading standards.

Audubon Teaching Journal

Assembly today where entire school has adopted the bucket program (drops and drips) we use in our classroom.  Good deeds, being respectful, helpful, and other acts of kindness are rewarded by the children and adults within the school.  Each month they will be added to the school bucket.  The mastery of our MT in getting so much accomplished can make your head spin, and is amazing to watch.  Every minute is treated as precious, and with the transitions happening so quickly, little time is wasted that can sometimes be the case when switching from one task to another.  Lessons, samples, direction for a unit or lesson are kept in manila folders, and filed.

• Math - Addition alternatives.  Samples in my portfolio.
• Compound sentences and the use of commas reviewed.
• MT did the read aloud during snack time, standing.
• Started some cursive writing, letters : ”a”, and “d”
• Using estimations and differences were introduced.
  

Literacy Journal

If felt nice being back in a kindergarten.  Maybe teaching kindergarten wouldn’t be so bad after all.  Well,  in any case I had an adorable and engaging little buddy, and throughly loved the read aloud.  It will be interesting to see through the formal assessment exercise where her literacy skills are.  While reluctant to write, she had an amazing eyes for the littlest details in the picture book I was reading to her.  She seemed perfectly at home with me and I suspect she is read to at home, perhaps even by a kindly grandfather.  It was interesting the discussion we had on racist, and sexist books and identifying them.  My guess is that some of the classic books that I grew up with and read to my children would fall under this classification.  I would say that some of the  works of Kipling, and colonial India would be considered very racist.  I was heartened to learn from our professor that we can sometimes use these questionable works in the context of when they were written, and to point out the representations that are sometimes portrayed can be hurtful, and unfairly stereotypical.  I often think of fairy tales, and while they are just that, they can possess some really questionable portrayals of people, and a high degree of violence.  Should we stop reading them? I had a discussion with my wife along these lines, she had recently suggested that she would like to see again Disney’s “Song of the South”.  There are a number of racial overtones to this work, as was the book “Little Black Sambo”, which was on my daughters list of favorite reads when she was young, and I never gave it a second thought as to not reading it.  I can certainly understand the sensitivity of certain works being introduced to the classroom, and the multicultural , and racial mixture of a typical classroom today.  I think as children grow older they can better understand the context in which certain works were written, but at these early ages there is so much out there that would not be controversial or disturbing to a child that it is perhaps better to not introduce them into the classroom. 

Audubon Teaching Journal

Day 2, and much of it spent doing another art project that is associated with social studies.  Our MT assures us that getting these out of the way will free us up for more observation but we did yesterday see a fair amount of classroom activity with good classroom management practices demonstrated by my MT.  I did have the opportunity to work one on one with a few needy kids on writing, and doing a powerpoint show yesterday.  The powerpoint is interesting as the MT has each of them keeping a monthly journal of a classroom event that they write about, month by month.  Our MT shared with us some classroom project from the previous month and would indicate to me that this is a very active and rich classroom with lot’s of writing activities that tie into art, and expression which I believe are elements of making learning fun.  I certainly look forward to see how the next few months play out along these lines.  I also today worked with the literacy specialist and was assigned a period to work one on one with another 3rd grader in a pull out session.  It is interesting how they evaluate the progress a student is making and when they are ready for a higher level of reading exercises.

• Makes use of the microphone in class
• Each day the class hits the ground running.
• Read aloud - The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Cause and effect review with students.

Books that help start the year running

• Have You Filled A Bucket Today - McCloud
• Warm Fuzzies - Brown
• How Full Is Your Bucket - Rath
• Crazy Hair Day - Saltzberg
• Sweet Briars Goes To School - Wilson
• Recess Queen - O'Neill
• Enemy Pie - Munson

Audubon Teaching Journal

Dyad Placement Audubon Elementary School

Today was our 1st day of the dyad placement. I am joined by Leia in a 3rd grade classroom.  Our MT seems to be very accommodating, personable, and well respected in the school as we learned later in the day. The classroom as made up of some 25 students grouped in clusters of 5 students.  Her classroom is not really large, and moving about between clusters is sometimes difficult when checking work and rendering assistance.  Today we assisted along with some 4 or 5 parents the supervision of painting life size figures of scarecrows that will be hung in the hallways for the autumn season.  The students worked on the available tables in the art room, on the floor, and out into the hallway.  It was nice to see a good sized turnout by parents, and the MT said that it was typical.  The classroom is made up of a wide range of students aptitudes form those requiring a great deal of help in producing work, and those that require little assistance.  Again, as my experience in the Lake Washington school district has been this classroom is also a very multicultural classroom.  I am looking forward to this experience with a wider range of student abilities.

Literacy Journal

Today I began my Dyad placement at Audubon Elementary in a multicultural 3rd grade.  It was a sharp contrast to the 1/2 gifted (Quest) children, I had at Franklin Elementary.  I had the opportunity coming out of the gates to work independently with five children and do a brief assessment of their writing, and vocabulary skills.  As you might expect there can be some dramatic differences in the skill levels, certainly within a classroom, and in comparison to the younger Quest kids I have.  Interesting observation I have had with the Quest ones is how sometimes while their mechanical skills are good (writing, use of compound sentences, etc), but getting started and the creative aspect is sometimes lacking.  Maybe they see things to concrete, literal and find it challenging to use their imagination.  I will find it interesting over the course of my Dyad experience to compare and contrast their skills, and glad I have this opportunity to have this different experience.

Intro To Placement

1. Describe one thing that you learned? To use the active board and document reader.  Whoopee.  I can't wait to start doing the neat presentations, and interactive lesson plans as well as the active vote feature for class voting.
2. What questions do you have and/or what do you still want to know? What do we have to do down the road a couple years to stay certified.  Pro Cert, NAtionals, Master's.  What is required?
3. What are you anxious about regarding student teaching/teaching? Staying creative throughout my career, and not keeping things fresh. Maybe changing grades every few years or when the opportunity arises to continually be challenged so I can challenge my kids.
4. What are you excited about regarding student teaching/teaching? Having my own class, my kids, my room, my school.

Franklin Teaching Journal

September 24, 2009

Last day of September Experience.  Have really enjoyed this 1st introduction to running a classroom, management, lessons, assessments, and a zillion other things.  If your a person who is not organized than run away as quick as you can because you will be buried and constantly behind.  Fortunately I am, and thrive on organization.  But I am flexible.  Timing is everything in teaching, so as not having bored kids or lessons that run short, and you need go to stuff to keep them engaged.  It is amazing how an experienced teacher such as my MT is, sees so much going on in the classroom.  She says its no trick, its just experience from seeing it all and how children react, and behave in a certain way that hones your detection skills as to what is going on or what the child is trying to tell you.  Amazing.  I will really miss my MT, and the children, and hopefully January will be here before I know it.  But until then I have another adventure to experience in another school, with another MT which I hope is as engaging is this past month has been.

Today’s learning goals, short “i” words, and in science predicting how our newly acquired seeds will grow.

10:56 Quick As A Wink short “i” words

12:20 Math Assessment today of Singapore Math.  What do you already know, is how it’s presented.

• Third planting of black walnut, douglas fir, Washington chestnut, and lavender today.  Kids know the drill by now.
• Quick game to kill some time, make other words by changing only one letter, silk, milk, mile, etc..
• Take one, pass it on, put your name on.
• Corrected math problems.  I think the kids did well despite the fact that its not our curriculum and the kids have not been formally taught some of the problems.

Franklin Teaching Journal

September 23, 2009

Staff meeting to discuss swine flu, precautions, and response to.  Art docent presentation.  This is a pull out activity with a volunteer.  PTSA rep discussed the big fund raiser, Jog-athon.  Expect to raise $30k.  Round table discussion with grade level teachers about Learning Goals. At end of day, resumption of staff and development meeting.  Review of goals and objectives from last year with the WASL scores.  Review of Continuous Improvement Plan.  While all the Quest kids did well well on the WASL’s, they are further judged to the Quest standard.  Most of their difficulties generally are in writing.  Their math and reading skills are excellent.  Even in 5/6 class the teacher reports poor writing, lack of punctuation, capitalizing, etc..  Reviewed on the web the Singapore Math curriculum and will test our kids on the sample tests provided on the web site.

One student who struggles with math on his own and getting started, when seated next to me (at the direction of the MT), and with a little encouragement, does very well with minimum intervention.  Not sure if it is a confidence issue, or a just starting problem.  Will need to think of a strategy to address this as I obviously cannot sit with him during math when I am teaching.

Learning Goals for today - Social Studies, Pledge of Allegiance.

10:00 Time FOr Kids - I led lesson about the newest Supreme Court justice.

12:20 Writing Workshop - Share student work with rest of class.

1:00 What does the Pledge mean.

• Handwriting - Review of all previous letters and formations.

Franklin Teaching Journal

September 22, 2009

Took over Bingo Math game and end of day routine from the MT.  Kids are testing us I believe in that our cinderella days are over, and need to reassert classroom management rules.  I need to use lower case letters, fewer words on the board which the students are having trouble copying down, and wider spaced.

Today’s Learners Goals

Math - 1st Subtraction story problems. 2nd Three digit addition.

Science - Parts of the brassica plant, and record observations.

10:00 What would Jessica do? short “e” verbs.

10:56 Chris, Leader of the Week math Challenge

12:20 Observing brassica LAWN Plant needs light, air, water, and nutrients.

1:00 Introduce next level matching game.

1:30 Library

2:00 Multiple Intelligence Game Bingo

Franklin Teaching Journal

September 21, 2009

Dog poop can make a disaster out of your lesson plan in the afternoon, after 3 kids tracked it into the classroom after PM recess.  I hope the evening cleaners can rid the room of the smell for tomorrow.  My luck my MT turned over the end of day routine for me after recess.  I like how with all the science today the MT made time to take the kids outdoors for a nature walk and how the kids were discovering seed pods.

12:20 Plant Parts That We Eat

1:00 Share Your Plants Reports in groups

• Posted Learning Goals for the day
• Math 1st - Adding up number strings, 2nd Subtraction using numbers that end in 0 for simplification.
• Science - Plant Parts We Eat
• Computer Science - Log On and Off practice.
• Math - Strategies, jump up, add the 10’s.
• Used the Star Reading results to group who should be reading red, yellow, and green books.  MT suggested two books for Book Walk.
• Plant We Eat - What part of the plant did food come from, flower, stems, leaves, roots, fruit, and seeds.
• Team share book reports on plants.

Intro To Placement

1. Describe one thing that you learned? Easy outline for a lesson plan. How not to teach to children by using sarcasm such as Fred has experienced in his classroom.  How you use words is so important, and how careful you have to be about how the listener perceives them.  Resist student comparisons.
2. What questions do you have and/or what do you still want to know? Is a totally quiet classroom the right way to teach?  Is being too picky about absolute silence  a waste of my energy, and counter productive to the learning process?
3. What are you anxious about regarding student teaching/teaching? My tendency to over-talk a subject I know well.  I need to facilitate more and talk less.
4. What are you excited about regarding student teaching/teaching? Community building with the students, the parents, and the school.

Franklin Teaching Journal

My lesson plan and lesson came off without  a hitch.  I received written praise from my MT (“Excellent first lesson”)for getting and keeping the classes attention, reflecting on the story with a mind to the exercise we were going to do, had my students speak up, and went back to students who did not have an immediate answer.  The speed of my delivery was good, and I followed up with asking if everyone understood the exercise of citing the problems that James and his creatures encountered, and how they solved these problems.  My lesson was organized, and was delivered smoothly.  Things to work on was alternating calling on boys, and girls.   I was very pleased with it.

• My MT introduced the “mystery walker”.  The leader of the week selected at random a mystery walker, and as we moved through the hallways the leader noted that persons behavior, with the MT’s object of quiet, considerate behavior by all the class as we moved about the building.  The reward was a S.T.A.R. ticket for the walker, should they prove to have excellent behavior.
• Math - I worked again with Chris on catch up.  Chris finds it difficult to concentrate and keep up with the work, and in some instances has not a clue as to how to go about solving a problem.  Working one on one I tried to raise his confidence in himself, and showed him some strategies to tackling problems.  He did well without the distractions of the classroom, and a path to solving the problems.
• Math - Math Families exercise were the students are given 3 numbers, and must show 4 ways to calculate them, 2 addition, 2 subtraction.  Ex. 7, 1, 8  7+1=8, 1+7=8, 8-1=7, 8-7=1
• When Your Done procedure.   Finish any work left in “working on” folder, and then may silent read.
• Writing Workshop - Staying on topic in their story writing.  MT gave two examples, one on topic, and one not.
• Did our second move of students that are distracted sitting next to each other.  Kenny moved away from Miranda who tended to mother him.
• PE Observation.  Kids behaved well and were actively engaged in the lessons.
• Music Class - Kids again well behaved  and surprising to me quick to pick up on recognizing notes.  Ta Ta, Tau Tau, etc..

Franklin Teaching Journal

September 16, 2009

Tomorrow I will do my first lesson.  As I have been reading James and the Giant Peach, I will lead a lesson exploring the problems and dilemmas  facing James and his creature friends, and how those problems were solved.  I got a quick lesson on using the document reader, and active board which I will use tomorrow.  My MT showed me a book on how information is processed in the brain , and how fidgeting is a good mechanism to help some students stimulate their brain.  My own bias would say that children should be attentive at all times and if they are fidgeting, they are not paying attention, but evidently this is not necessarily so.  The key I think is whether it becomes distracting to other students, so I expect I will learn to detect it with more experience.  Another tip for stimulating children and keeping them engaged is to periodically get them up and moving around.  The MT accomplishes this with stretching, and exercises generally everyday.

Graded papers and created a special math worksheet to help one student that is struggling in math.

I know have the general weekly schedule and will only document unique lessons for the day.

10:00 Short “e” words was covered with each student called upon to come up with an appropriate word.  Students that were unable to think of a word (met, pet, chef) were allowed time to think harder, and the MT came back to them.

10:56 Handwriting covered the letters, c, e s.

12:20 Prompted writing lesson.

• Pencils are taken from a central location by the sharpener.  MT says that students sharpening them throughout the day is very distracting.
• When instructing one grade they move up in their seats while the other class moves back or to the community table or the floor with clipboards.
• Handwriting - Students that can “test out”, that is have good handwriting skills may be excused from this exercise, and elect to read instead.
• Writing Prompt - Lesson stressed good story writing has a start, middle, and end with transitions to connect them.

Franklin Teaching Journal

September 15, 2009

The MT tried to explain how some children are allowed to fidget around during instruction.  At least the ones who are really listening and the fidgeting is just a physical activity.  I expect in time I may able to distinguish between good and bad fidgeting.  I am guessing it will be evident as I know my kids better.  I got very good marks from my MT, and a confidence builder that she expected I would be a very good teacher.  Yeah!  I do work well with my MT, and I have confidence in her abilities and am beginning to understand her style.

9:05 Announcements, Pledge

9:10 Math

10:00 TFK (Time Magazine for Kids)

10:30 Snack

10:41 Recess

10:56 Star of the Week Math Challenge

11:20 Wash Hands

11:30 Lunch/Recess

12:20 Science

1:30 Library

2:00 Silent Read, matching game

2:33 Recess

2:43 Daily agenda, pass back, pack up.

3:00 Read Aloud

3:30 Dismissal

• When is a good time to use bathroom review; individual work time, silent reading, lunch time, snack time, recess.  We will use the two finger horn sign for silent signal you need the bathroom.
• Time for Kids magazine.  Students read to themselves and then MT leads a discussion about the content of the magazine with questions at end.
• Leader of the week presents a math challenge problem that they bring from home.  They can collaborate with their parents at home.
• Science - Planting alfalfa, and rye grass. MT modeled procedure.
• Library - Have assigned seats. Reminded how books are put away.  Each student is given a place saver card for book walk.  Have three chances to find a book.  Must return before they can check out a new book.  Books stay in backpack and come back and forth to school each day.  Read to by librarian.
• Playing with velcro straps can be annoying.
• MT lead a discussion about the Think About It slips that are given for behavior problems if severe or after repeated verbal warnings.
• MT will at some point go one to one with students that have  Think slips.

Franklin Teaching Journal

September 14,2009

Knowing your kids is a book I just finished by Chip Wood, Yardsticks - Children In the Classroom.  Some notes from this read.

5 Year Olds:

• Move kids calmly, and unhurried.  Rushing creates frustration.
• You need to manage their day in lower grades.
• Connect with parents.
• Reversal of letters and numbers common.  Accept without comment.
• Use finger as word separator.
• Learn best through repetition.
• Need books with few words, lots of pictures, and something the children are familiar with.
• Learn phonics in small groups or with buddies with similar skills.
• Label classroom things.

6 Year Olds:

• The process is more important than the product.
• Eagerness, curiosity, imagination, drive, and enthusiasm are very high at this age.  They perhaps will never again match the quantity or intensity of this time throughout their lifetime.
• Learn best through discovery, love asking questions, and trying out new games, and ideas.
• Partner read.
• Phonics learning through guided reading with the whole class, and in small groups.
• They are moving on to chapter books.Story development is influenced by draing first their ideas.

7 Year Olds:

• Show great interest in new words.
• Rely on adults for reassurances.
• Still may tattletale.
• Have strong likes and dislikes.
• Like to be read to, board, and computer games.
• Need a quiet classroom.  Need to know how much time they have before transitions.
• Need humor to moderate their seriousness.

9:05 Announcements, pledge.

9:10 Math

10:00 Book walk, book shopping, partner read.

10:41 Recess

10:56 All About Me time for student of the week.

11:20 Wash hands.

11:30 Lunch/Recess.

12:20 Writing Workshop.

1:00 Silent read , and match games. (Match face to name puzzle)

1:30 Computer lab.

2:03 Music

2:33 Recess

2:43 Daily agenda, pass back, pack up.

3:00 Read aloud.

3:30 Dismissal.

• Math - Story math work, and geometric shape addition.  Story math used some coins to help in lesson.
• Thinking about plants vocabulary.  Students recall the facts and vocabulary they know.
• Writing Workshop - Spoke about hard to read writing such as. Incomplete erasing, missing periods, spacing between words, and messy writing.
• Writing Workshop - Finish one story before starting a new one.  Write about something that is true and had happened recently.  MT used one students story to review with class on.

Intro To Placement

1. Describe one thing that you learned? Deep inside, students want to learn, and it is our job to find that entry point into their brains.
2. What questions do you have and/or what do you still want to know? Time management techniques to get through your daily lessons, and get your kids to a specialty class on time.
3. What are you anxious about regarding student teaching/teaching? Misspelling a word on the board when writing down students responses to questions.
4. What are you excited about regarding student teaching/teaching? Getting in front of the class teaching, and interacting with my kids.