Practicum Journals 4-6

For more info. on what these journals are and to read the first 3, please go to http://sfraww.blogspot.com/2014/11/practicum-journals-1-3.html. These journals are a great way for me to learn from my experiences as well as to remember how the semester at this school went.  

 

Week 4 (October 14 & 15) Journal

Week 4 wasn’t too exciting. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the students, teachers, and I did the same thing we have been doing for the past weeks. They followed their schedule and went about their day as usual. For reading and math, the students did their routine songs at the rug, and then went to centers. At centers, the 3 teachers called students to work with individually while I walked around and worked with other students in their groups. I continued to go to lunch and gym with the students to be with the students as much as possible. On Wednesday, my CT was out so a substitute came in. There were still 4 teachers including me, so it wasn’t a big deal. The SPED teacher took over just fine and later in the day, the smart board got fixed which was exciting for everyone.

 

I realized by Wednesdays, the students are more comfortable with me. Tuesday is the first day in the week I come to their class so this day they are getting used to seeing me again. Some of the students know I only come on Tuesdays and Wednesdays so they expect to see me the next day. In the first few days I was in my practicum class, one girl would cry for her mom during homeroom (right after being dropped off!) and would constantly ask if it was time to go home. For the past few days I was there, I have noticed she doesn’t cry anymore. She is one of the students who would ask me if I will come tomorrow (meaning Wednesday) and tries to get my attention a lot. I don’t know if my presence makes a positive difference to her, but if it does, I am glad.

 

I started to read to a few students at their tables after they finished their assignments for science. I read to a few students individually, and then more students came up to me asking if I could read to them or would sit close by while I read to their classmates. I was surprised (my wow moment) by how much they enjoyed this individual time with me and how comfortable I felt doing this. I think it is a little easier to read to a few students then read to a whole class. Of course I will have to read to the whole class eventually, but for starters, small groups are easy to manage and fun to work with a few students. Since the kindergarteners are so young and can’t read a lot of the books at their tables, they would pick books they wanted me to read to them. I think this would make a good reward for my future (younger) students (my ah ha moment). If students behave, say during the week, then I could treat these students to personal reading time with me. I read to more students later in the day until it was time to get ready to go home. I realized I would read to the same few students (because they would ask first), which isn’t nice or fair to the others, so I have to remember to read to other students as well (my oops moment).

 

According to the journal outline for weeks 4-5, I have to gather some information on student characteristics. There are 10 girls and 10 boys, so 20 students total in a class with 3 teachers (not including me). All of these students (and teachers) are Hispanic. Some of the students are Mexican, Puerto Rican, Columbian, etc. Their ages are 4-6 years old. There are 8 students with Individualized Education Program (IEP) and at least 3 bilingual students in this kindergarten class. As my CT says, she has IEP and bilingual students in a transitional classroom! 

 

There are a few students who I feel have attachment issues, one being the girl mentioned earlier (in this journal). It could be that their young age requires dependence on an adult or the fact that they were not taught a little bit of independence from parents and teachers is part of growing up. Two students in particular have issues with oral fixation (constantly putting fingers in their mouth or licking hands) and another student has anal fixation issues. Two students in my practicum class are a little too friendly with each other, almost like bf and gf (as the SPED teacher correctly identified). These latter issues can lead to problems for an educator. For example, if teachers have to constantly interrupt class time to tell students to take their hands out of their mouths, ask if students washed their hands after using the bathroom, etc. this will waste a lot of instructional time. Because of these two common issues in my practicum class, teachers have to constantly tell students about germs spreading. Students (and teachers) will get sick from other classmates unsanitary habits, leading to more absences, missing lessons and assignments. This in turn will lower the achievement of students and teaching time of teachers.

 

Week 5 (October 21 & 22) Journal
 

The most exciting thing that happened on Tuesday was that I got a chance to read to the students for the 1st time. My CT said for me to read to the class to practice for my observation, so I read The 13 Nights of Halloween. The teachers in the room got some work done while I kept the students busy for a period. I wasn’t nervous and the children were really into the book. I asked questions about the book while reading and later I had them do 4 squares.  They drew 4 events that happened in order in the book and colored their illustrations. The teachers complimented me while I was walking around and helping the students with their assignment. This made me feel a little more confident for my observation the next day.

 

I was surprised (my wow moment) that I was nervous the day of my observation. Just days before, I was telling my older sister that I was confident my lesson would go well and I thought I would do a good job. I realized after my lesson, that too much confidence, for me at least, isn’t a good thing. I got nervous with so many adults actually paying attention to me and the students were a little too quiet than usual. From the beginning, I felt my throat get dry. It didn’t help that my eyes were acting up again either.

 

There are a few things I noticed about my lesson. While I was doing my lesson, I realized I did some things out of order. It wasn’t a big deal because I did cover them eventually. I also said you guys to the students a few times. I didn’t think of adding a clear closure to my lesson either. But my biggest mistake (my oops moment) was afterwards when I realized my lesson was a little too hard for the kindergarteners. I thought it wouldn’t be, but I was wrong apparently. For next time (my aha moment), I have to keep in mind to focus more on what the students already know/ learned.

 

Besides my 2nd observation, I still have to write and teach 2 lessons as part of my classes. I should start out my lessons with what I know the students already learned. Maybe I can introduce a little bit of something new, but not focus too much on new material for my lessons. I could do what I want with my future students because I will know what they have been taught for the most part, but since I will be teaching a few separate lessons for practicum, it would be better I think, if I stick with a topic the students have worked with in depth for a good amount of time.

 

There are actually a lot more things I need to improve on for the next time. Hopefully, I can practice more with the students and get use to adults watching me teach. I will try to get more involved in actually teaching the students rather than just observing and helping them after the teacher is finished. I have to get over my anxiety, and would rather it be sooner than later!

 

Week 6 (October 28 & 29) Journal

I was really looking forward to teaching this week at practicum. When I asked my CT on Tuesday, she said she would be observed sometime soon, but I could definitely teach on Wednesday. She did get observed on Tuesday, but I didn’t get the chance to teach on Wednesday because my CT (and the SPED teacher) were out. I thought the TA and I could take care of everything and even after I was asked about my sub license, the school felt it necessary to split the class into two groups for the day because there was no substitute teacher. About 10 students went with me in a neighboring teacher’s room, and the other students went with the TA to another room. I didn’t get to teach like I wanted to, but I did get to see how another KG teacher ran her class.  

 

I mentally compared this other KG teacher’s room and teaching to my CT and I came to the conclusion that I really preferred the way my CT did (most) things. My CT has reading and math centers, sight words are taught, fun educational songs are used, the room is nicely organized, etc. Of course the other teacher had to adjust to having more people in the room and she may also do similar activities on other days. The students with me did similar work to the other students (mostly a lot of coloring). My students also got to eat lunch with their classmates and I did get to see the other half of the class for a while. Getting the chance to go into another KG teacher’s room was a different experience to learn from.

 

One student in particular that caught my attention was a bilingual girl. From the beginning of practicum, she would talk to me in Spanish and I would tell her to try and say it in English because I didn’t understand her (for the most part since I forgot a lot of Spanish). She would try to talk in English, but is definitely more comfortable with Spanish. She (along with another girl) came up to give me a hug on Wednesday morning. The day before when my CT and I were talking about the student’s work (not in front of them), we both noted how this girl did better than all her classmates! People would assume that since she is bilingual, she isn’t so smart, but that is not true at all. After doing some coloring with the students in the other room, I found it amusing and was surprised (my wow moment) how this little girl caught on that if she copied my color by number, she was actually doing it right. All the student were told to color the picture with whatever color they wanted, but this girl wanted to do it right.

 

The day before (Tuesday), the students went about their day as usual. Minus the 5+ adults in the room at one point in the day, everything was the same i.e. breakfast was served, journal writing, ABC and sight word cards, videos and songs, big book reading at the rug, centers, etc. During lunch, I brought in candy for the students, which they were excited about. After lunch, the class did an experiment turning white carnations into different colors using food color. This is a simple science experiment teaching students how water goes up the plant’s stem (capillary action), but I would consider doing this with my future students (my aha ha moment). The school counselor came in later to do a lesson on making good choices. I felt like she made her lesson to long and difficult for the students (oops moment). The students were getting restless (one girl was dosing off) and didn’t understand much of the lesson. Because the counselor made the same mistake as me, I saw how the students behaved when the lesson goes over their head.

 

I can’t believe practicum is halfway over! I hope I don’t have to be absent (feeling sick).

Black Sheep by Na'ima B. Robert

I read Black Sheep back in September this year, but wrote down some notes in my trusty reading journal to remember how I felt about this book :)

Book description from the back: Dwayne, 16, meets high-flying, uni-bound Misha, and sparks fly.

To Misha it feels like true love, but her mum is adamant that Dwayne is bad news and forbids her to see him. When Misha decides to follow her heart, the web of secrets and lies begins to tighten.

For Dwayne is not quite who he says he is. And as he struggles to turn his life around while hiding his darker side from Misha, his ties with Trigger, Jukkie and the rest of his boys draw him deeper and deeper into gang violence, more serious and bloody than any he has ever seen. One night, Dwayne’s two lives collide, with devastating consequences.

Fast, furious, and unflinching, Black Sheep explore the fatal attraction of gang life, and the redemptive power of love, hope, and self belief.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was really looking forward to reading Black Sheep because I enjoyed Na'ima Robert's other book, Far From Home a lot. After reading it, I gave Black Sheep 4/5 stars, which to me means it was really good (2-3 things disliked about the book).

Throughout Black Sheep, the point of view switches between Dwayne and Misha. This could be a good or bad thing, but it didn't bother me. The length of the story and the subjects makes it a good read especially for teenagers/ high school students in my opinion.

I hadn't read a gang related book in a long time, so Black Sheep was interesting and different, and I was curious to know if all the trouble Misha was going through was worth it for Dwayne. This book also got me interested again to read Malcolm X's autobiography.

While reading, I felt Misha's mother was the typical overprotective helicopter parent who means well, but wants to control their children's life. Dwayne's mother seemed the opposite; not expecting any good from her son and thinking he is worthless! This book is a great example and goes to show that hanging with the wrong crowd, especially if they are "friends", can get a person in a lot of trouble!  

I loved Leona's advice and talk with Misha around pgs. 228-233. However, the dialogue throughout Black Sheep was a little hard to decipher because of the British/ Jamaican accent. I liked that the ending wasn't a rushed "happily ever after" for the two main characters, but I did want to read more about what happened to Dwayne.

These are my thoughts on Black Sheep by Na'ima B. Robert. If you want to purchase this book, order a brand new copy from Books by the Dozen to support by business :)

Practicum Journals 1-3

This semester at uni. I am doing practicum. For my major (and program) I was assigned to a school and class to go to 2 days a week (from morning till afternoon) to work with the students and teacher(s). Throughout this experience, I am required to write weekly journals to submit to my supervisor. These journals have to include specific info. With practicum halfway done, I have written 6 "entries" and decided to share them here. I have been printing them out to go back to since I enjoy rereading my writing ;) but thought I could just post them here instead. I hope you find this interesting! Below are my first 3 journals.

Week 1 (September 23 & 24) Journal

(school name and location removed for safety). The school caters to PreK – 1st grade students, not 2nd graders anymore this year. (sent. deleted for safety) I noticed corner street stores right by the school. Driving around, I saw a few other schools around the area, like schools #11 and #19. In the (kindergarten) classroom I am in, of the 21 students, 20 if not all of them are Hispanic including the three teachers in my assigned room. From previous experiences in the area, I know (deleted) has a large majority of Hispanic families, with a few African Americans and other races.  

When I first walked into my assigned kindergarten class, I was welcomed by the special education (SPED) teacher and I think a teacher’s aide (I don’t remember the position of the latter). The cooperating teacher (CT) had not come to her room yet, but when she did, she was more than surprised to find me there. She was a little mad that she wasn’t “informed”. Although she said it wasn’t my fault or doesn’t blame me, I felt like she was a little mad at me for being there. The next day I found out why. She felt it was distracting to have so many adults in the room. The first day, including me there were four adults at first. Later, an observer from FBA came. So with five adults and others coming and going in and out of the room, my CT felt like her room was a circus. The other two teachers were nicer, but hopefully the CT will start to see me as an asset to her room and students rather than a distraction.

After the students came to their homeroom at the start of the day, I was a little surprised to see that they were provided breakfast. When I asked about it, the SPED teacher said the students got breakfast every day because many of the students came from low income families and don’t eat breakfast or at least a decent one. For example, the second day I went, a student didn’t want to eat the breakfast provided to him (he is a picky eater I heard). A teacher asked what he ate at home and he replied pretzels. She wasn’t satisfied and told him to eat it because he would be hungry again soon. Working with students whose families don’t have the means to provide (a healthy) breakfast everyday would definitely affect the performance and behavior of the students, especially young energetic children like these kindergarteners who need enough good food to grow and play.

Listening to the three teachers in the classroom and others in the teachers’ lounge, I heard many complaints about what they are required to do by people in “higher up” positions. They felt pressured and restricted with all the demands on them. One teacher was aggravated and said that she wasn’t going to do anything for anyone if she didn’t want to. She didn’t see the point of labeling words for the students based on tiers if the students didn’t understand the difference anyway. If I was to teach in that school in the future, I would probably feel like the teachers currently working there; unappreciated and lacking support. The fact that I am not fluent in Spanish in a school where the majority of the staff and students are Hispanic would also make me feel uncomfortable.

A lot went on in just 2 days. Something I think the three teachers could improve on is to not talk negatively about the students out loud right in front of them if the student is not being spoken to directly. The teachers did this once and the students would look up at the teachers a little nervous, thinking they might be in trouble or did something wrong. I loved the ABC songs on YouTube by Have Fun Teaching that my CT put on for her students while they were working. I realized little children like music and if it is educational, why not use YouTube as a resource?

So far I enjoyed the first week for the most part. Of course it will take time for us adults to adjust to each other. The amount of time spent in the school for practicum is also something my body and brain will have to get used to. But, the children make it worth it!

 

Week 2 (September 30 & October 1) Journal
 

I have enjoyed my time in the classroom more this week. I feel like the students and I are starting to form a good relationship. Many of the students are getting more comfortable around me and I am trying to get more involved in what the students do. One girl asked if I would be around when they were on the rugs while another boy gave me a quick hug later in the day. A quiet ESL student came up to give me his folder instead of giving it to another teacher and the same boy actually said bye to me at the end of the day on Wednesday! These might be typical actions the students do with their teachers, but for me, I found these to be signs that the students are really taking my presence in their classroom as a good thing which I am happy about.
 

This week, I have gone down to lunch with the students. Their lunch is around 45 minutes and the teacher’s aide stays with them. Spending this extra time with the students showed another side of them where they don’t have to be so serious and can talk as much as they want. I realized that little kindergarteners really need a lot of help; from the teacher going to the bathroom with them, tying their shoelaces, helping them with their lunch, cleaning up after them, etc. But they are young, so I didn’t mind! I also went to gym with the students again this Wednesday (the aide usually stays with them here too). This week, they played “bowling”. Some had a lot of fun while others were nervous to try something new, saying they couldn’t do it no matter how many times I said they can and should try. 
 

One day during a math lesson, the SPED teacher was looking for a number song on YouTube in front of the students. A previous professor told my class that teachers should already have videos chosen before the lesson instead of browsing the internet right in front of the students. It wasn’t a big deal, but it did waste some time and there is always the chance that something inappropriate could appear, especially for younger children.
 

My CT does centers with her students and has 5 centers each for reading and math. In reading they have played educational games online at abcya.com, listened to stories being read, wrote sentences, etc. In math, they also played games online, did jigsaw puzzles, sorted pictures into categories, made patterns with manipulatives, etc. While the students are in their groups, I go around helping, observing, and working with them. Some students like to show us their work, while others need extra help and I try to work with a few of these students.
 

During one period, the students watched the Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD which I liked! I think I can use this for a future class of KG students or even younger children. I thought I could also show this DVD to other children I spend a lot of time with. I noticed the teachers in my room put a lot of songs for the students to learn their ABCs, numbers, days of the week, months in the year, adverbs, etc. The teachers also read a lot of books aloud. With this being said, I think I should implement some of these in my future lessons with young children!
 

Overall, this week has been enjoyable with a lot to take in and I look forward to next week. It feels like time is going by so fast already. Four days (2 weeks) of practicum are already done
 

Week 3 (October 7 & 8) Journal
 

A lot went on this Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday October 7, the teacher’s aid was absent and this makes a big difference in a kindergarten class of 21 students where they are used to 3 teachers. For example, the TA usually goes to lunch with the students, but since she wasn’t in, I was basically in charge of the students in the cafeteria, with some help from other teachers. Before that, I was asked to work individually with a student during reading centers who needs extra help. I was specifically told to teach him how to correctly hold a pencil using his special one since he would place his fingers in what looked like an awkward position. There was nothing wrong with his hands physically, but after a few attempts at showing him how to position his fingers around the pencil and even holding his hand, he would go back to what he was comfortable with/ use to doing after maintaining the position for a few seconds. I was trying to get him to write a few sentences as part of work from a center, and although he could write a few letters correctly, I was surprised that he needed a lot of help, which I noticed later.
 

When writing, he would say he can’t do it, but I would insist he can and needs to try. A few times he would even ask me to show him how to write certain letters, so I would on another paper. Step by step, I showed how for example, for a  “k” make a long line going down, one little line going like this (showed him diagonally up) and one down (diagonally down). When some letters repeated, I would say he knows how to do it since we did it together. It wasn’t until I went to the computers with him to play capital/ lowercase alphabet bingo on abcya.com, did I realize, he didn’t recognize a lot of letters! In the game, a letter was said and the correct letter had to be clicked until a row was filled. I noticed he would randomly click letters until he saw he got it right. Because he had headphones on and I couldn’t hear to see if he chose the correct letter because he knew or randomly guessed, I told him to tell me the letters out loud. I started to write a few letters for him so he could match my letter with the one said on the screen. I also used the big ABC “flashcards” the teachers used during morning reading routines to show him how the letters looked. Eventually, after I showed him the cards for the letters said on screen, he started writing them on paper! I was pleased to see him do this on his own and doing a good job that I gave him a ticket (a reward system the teachers in my room set up) which he was really pleased with!
 

During math centers, the SPED teacher and I worked with groups of students to make monsters out of construction paper shapes. While they glued their paper shapes, I asked them what shape I was holding and suggested different shapes they use to make a funky looking monster. Later that day during science, the students had to color, cut, and paste the correct order of the life cycle of a pumpkin plant. Some students had difficulty with the sequencing, so while I went around the room, I asked them what order of the life cycle they remember from the pumpkin book that was read to them before the activity. The CT even modeled the correct order and it was on the board for reference, so I pointed to it while I explained and later on, some students brought up their work so I could compare their work with their teacher’s to see how they did.
 

Wednesday the 8th was picture day and it was nice to see the students excited with their hair-dos. The best part of this week was when the class went up to the playground on the roof for gym (because the gym was being used for pictures)! I didn’t know about it until I went up with them and I think the students didn’t either. They had so much fun on the seesaw, slides, and playing tag. I don’t like to just sit around, especially if there are younger children to interact with, so I walked around while they played, even playing a little “tag” with a few of them. Something I think the teachers could work on is to not sit around and chat, for example during gym, but rather go around and make sure the students are playing fair, don’t get hurt, are actually participating in gym, etc. Maybe because I was there the 2 teachers felt they didn’t need to get up, but I had to tell students to share, not jump off from high places on the gym set, or go up the slides (instead of down).
 

One thing I really like that the teachers say are the little sayings/ chants. For example, the teachers say, “I say, you say” for students to repeat information; “1, 2, 3 all eyes on me” to get the student’s attention, and “zip it, lock it, put it in your pocket” for the students to stop talking. I think these are really cute and creative, and would like to use these (if I remember to) when I teach! 
 

With 3 weeks done and only 9 more to go, I am trying to make the most of my stay by getting as involved as I can with the students. I told my CT that if she ever needs anything to let me know since that is what I am here for and although she doesn’t tell me to do anything really, I observe, walk around, and interact with the students on my own (and have been since the beginning). I am continuing to get to know different students more as I talk, read, and work with them. I also go wherever they go as a class, i.e. lunch, gym, getting pictures taken, collecting leaves, etc. I know I will miss the students once I am done with practicum!