This week was my 2nd full week taking over the classroom. It was also my edTPA teaching week. I started out in the week feeling like everything had to be "just perfect" this week since I was recording for edTPA, but I soon forgot the camera was even there. I found this to work better and actually eased my stress level.
I would rate this week a 3 out of 5. So many of my students were out sick with the flu and it put the whole class behind slightly. I've had to adjust my plans for next week several times already and I'm not even there yet. At this point, I am suppose to end our unit on area on Tuesday and start new material on Wednesday. However, with so many students out sick, I have way too many holes in my grade book. I think I have decided to use Wednesday as a "catch up day." Students who were absent have the opportunity to catch up on notes and work on missing assignments. Even the students who were here all week have missing assignments so the catch up day will benefit them as well and give them a free "second chance."
For standard 1 (NCPTS) this week, I was able to sit in on the School Improvement Team meeting. Since my CE participates in this committee, I have the opportunity to observe. While I only observe, it really benefits me to see how these meetings go.
For standard 2 this week, I spent some time accommodating my new students (3 new students!) and helping them adjust to their change. It is never easy changing schools in the middle of the school year, and I want to make sure these students adjust well and are as comfortable as possible.
For standard 3, I printed copies of the 8th grade math standards and their unpacking documents. I teach 7th grade, but I have one honors class who often need more in-depth and challenging extension activities. I started looking at the 8th grade standards to see how I can build on what we are learning and make the content more engaging and challenging to my honors class.
For standard 4, I spent some time looking for new resources, materials, and activities I could use in my lessons. We have been using a lot of the same types of materials and resources so I want to change things up a little and engage the students with something new.
Finally, for standard 5, I took the notes that my CE made on my teaching this week and reflected on them in anticipation of next week. There were more positives than negatives, which pleased me, but I still took the negatives and reflected on how I can turn them into positives in the upcoming weeks.
Monday, February 26, 2018
Week 4 of 10
Hello everyone, I am last posting for last week because my mind has not ventured far from edTPA this weekend. I have been so focused on edTPA that it seems everything else has slipped my mind. I'm sure we all agree that Thursday can't get here fast enough.
Last week was a decent week. I would rate it a 3 out of 5. It was not a special week and nothing "bad" happened. I just felt like the whole week I couldn't get caught up. I still feel that way in anticipation of this upcoming week. I know that also relates back to edTPA. I am really looking forward to next week because edTPA will be behind me and I know I can give more of my attention to my teaching.
Last week, I was able to demonstrate standard 1 (NCPTS) by collaborating with the other 7th grade math teacher. We typically get together once a week to plan our content and stay up to date on where each other is at in the curriculum. There have been a few times when he has asked what I had planned and then asked if he could use the same thing for his class. This week, he had a family death and had to be out unexpectedly for a couple of days. I told him to let me know what I could do to help and he asked me to get together some work for his classes to do while he was out.
I demonstrated standard 2 last week by going over the lockdown procedure and other safety information with each of my classes. With everything going on in the country recently, the students and the staff were all feeling a little uneasy. To help make my students feel safe in the classroom, we went over the procedures and took time for questions which me and my CE answered carefully and clearly. I also spent a lot of time reflecting (standard 5) about the recent situations and about how I can professionally advocate (standard 1) for change in our schools. Our students shouldn't fear coming to school and knowing that they do has really dampened my mood.
For standard 3 last week, I took some time to study the content I knew I would be teaching this upcoming week. This was content that I was a little uneasy about and was having a hard time remembering. I tried to write my lesson plans before studying the content, but I quickly found out there was just no way. I ended up having to set my plans aside and took some time to refresh my memory on this content. To some, this might sound like I don't know what I'm doing because I had to "study my content." However, I feel the opposite. Last semester, my CE told me that even she, who has been teaching for 13 years, has to study sometimes. I think this helps make for a good teacher - one who is not embarrassed to study her content.
Last week was a review week for my classes. We spent Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday reviewing material that would appear on their benchmark this upcoming week. On Thursday, my students took all of their "training" from the beginning of the week and participated in the "Math Games. This is an example of how I demonstrated standard 4 during the week. As students came into class Thursday, the room was decorated with a South Korean flag and an olympic sign. Instead of the usual warmup on the board, there were fun facts about South Korea. I tried to find facts that the students could compare to. For example, in America a birthday tradition is birthday cake, in South Korea a birthday tradition is seaweed soup. Class time on Thursday was spent playing review games in which teams competed for the "gold."
Finally, for standard 5 last week, I spent some time reflecting on how I can include more 21st century skills and integration in my lessons. I feel like I made good progress on adding 21st century skills, however I am still struggling with integration.
Last week was a decent week. I would rate it a 3 out of 5. It was not a special week and nothing "bad" happened. I just felt like the whole week I couldn't get caught up. I still feel that way in anticipation of this upcoming week. I know that also relates back to edTPA. I am really looking forward to next week because edTPA will be behind me and I know I can give more of my attention to my teaching.
Last week, I was able to demonstrate standard 1 (NCPTS) by collaborating with the other 7th grade math teacher. We typically get together once a week to plan our content and stay up to date on where each other is at in the curriculum. There have been a few times when he has asked what I had planned and then asked if he could use the same thing for his class. This week, he had a family death and had to be out unexpectedly for a couple of days. I told him to let me know what I could do to help and he asked me to get together some work for his classes to do while he was out.
I demonstrated standard 2 last week by going over the lockdown procedure and other safety information with each of my classes. With everything going on in the country recently, the students and the staff were all feeling a little uneasy. To help make my students feel safe in the classroom, we went over the procedures and took time for questions which me and my CE answered carefully and clearly. I also spent a lot of time reflecting (standard 5) about the recent situations and about how I can professionally advocate (standard 1) for change in our schools. Our students shouldn't fear coming to school and knowing that they do has really dampened my mood.
For standard 3 last week, I took some time to study the content I knew I would be teaching this upcoming week. This was content that I was a little uneasy about and was having a hard time remembering. I tried to write my lesson plans before studying the content, but I quickly found out there was just no way. I ended up having to set my plans aside and took some time to refresh my memory on this content. To some, this might sound like I don't know what I'm doing because I had to "study my content." However, I feel the opposite. Last semester, my CE told me that even she, who has been teaching for 13 years, has to study sometimes. I think this helps make for a good teacher - one who is not embarrassed to study her content.
Last week was a review week for my classes. We spent Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday reviewing material that would appear on their benchmark this upcoming week. On Thursday, my students took all of their "training" from the beginning of the week and participated in the "Math Games. This is an example of how I demonstrated standard 4 during the week. As students came into class Thursday, the room was decorated with a South Korean flag and an olympic sign. Instead of the usual warmup on the board, there were fun facts about South Korea. I tried to find facts that the students could compare to. For example, in America a birthday tradition is birthday cake, in South Korea a birthday tradition is seaweed soup. Class time on Thursday was spent playing review games in which teams competed for the "gold."
Finally, for standard 5 last week, I spent some time reflecting on how I can include more 21st century skills and integration in my lessons. I feel like I made good progress on adding 21st century skills, however I am still struggling with integration.
Friday, February 16, 2018
Teaching Middle Schoolers
Hello everyone! I want to start off this post by letting you know what its like to teach middle schoolers...Today one of my students came up to me and said "Ms. Ramsey, I need some scissors because my shoe string is stuck in my braces." There is definitely never a dull moment in middle school and I love it!
This week was my third full week of teaching and it feels like it flew by. I don't know about you guys, but it seems like the weeks are just flying. The day certainly goes much faster when you are teaching all day instead of observing.
I would rate this week a 2. I am still loving my placement, the students, and my team mates and other teachers/faculty. But, this week, and last week, I experienced a major "teacher struggle." So many of my students were out for days at a time, some of them more than a week, because of the flu. This resulted in a lot of students missing lessons and a lot of missing/makeup work. On Tuesday, I ended our unit on area, but I just didn't feel comfortable moving on without more of my students and with so many holes in my grade book. I decided to use Wednesday as a "catch up day." I made a table with all of the current assignments and the names of students missing each assignment. The students were able to use the entire period to work on missing assignments, and I was able to catch up the students who were absent for a week. Allowing for this "catch up day" made me feel much better about ending our unit, and I'm sure those students who missed so many days felt the same way.
Another "teacher struggle" I experienced this week was getting three new students in four days. Two of these students joined my 2nd period right in the middle of my edTPA lessons. This put me in a bind because I had to find a place to seat them out of camera range. This is a full class and I already had three students who didn't bring their forms back. So, I ended up cramming five students against the back wall. I hated to do this to them, especially the new students, but I didn't have much of another option.
For Standard 1 (NCPTS) this week, I was able to demonstrate leadership amongst my teammates and the other 7th grade teachers by volunteering to do "2nd load duty." All of the 7th grade teachers had a workshop to attend after school on Thursday so no-one was able to do 2nd load duty (usually the teachers trade off). I over heard a conversation between the principal and some of the teachers about this and they were really struggling to come up with a solution. I volunteered to do 2nd load since I was the only one on my hall who would not be at the workshop. The Principal was ok with it and the problem was solved.
For Standard 2, I want to talk about a particular student. When I first started, I was told that this student was home bound because he was receiving therapy for behavioral issues, and that I would need to prepare work for him every week. Then, I found out that he was coming back for one class a day and that would be my class. At first I thought "great, of course he comes back for my class." I had heard the stories about all the fights he got in, the way he treated teachers, and the girl who now has scars on her face from him scratching her. I was really nervous about him coming to my class. After four weeks, I can say that I have not seen even an ounce of what was described to me. I have only seen a sweet, quiet boy who struggles in math but who tries very hard. From his first day back, I have tried my absolute best to make him feel comfortable in the classroom and during the lessons and assignments. A lot of the time that meant I had to pull a chair up beside him and talk him through each problem while all of the other students flew through them independently. My heart has really grown for this student and I want to see him succeed. Today, I was helping him and he told me "I used to be really good at math and then something happened." I simply reminded him that as we get older, our classes get a little harder, but that I knew he worked very hard and I was proud of the effort he gave. Sometimes, its not about getting a 100, but about the effort that was given.
For Standard 3 this week, my CE talked to me about BAV, Building Academic Vocabulary, and how they use it in the school and in math class. Every subject in every grade level has a list of content specific words that the students are expected to know and understand. In math class, every 9 weeks my CE assigns so many BAV words in Google Classroom. The students must find a formal definition for each word, put the definition in their own words, illustrate it with a picture, and then write about how they will use it in real life.
For Standard 4, I had to adapt my lesson plans more than once to benefit not only the many students who were absent, but the whole class. I had to stay on top of students about catching up notes and missing work, while at the same time having extension activites for the students who were not absent. I hated the idea of "punishing" these students by giving them busy work, so on "catch up day" I gave them a small test practice on area and then allowed them to read a book, work on stuff for another class, or play Math Prodigy.
For Standard 5, I spent a lot of time reflecting on school security and procedures both in my current placement and in my future classroom. In light of the tragedy in Florida, I have really been thinking about how I would handle a similar situation. I decided not to worry about my future classroom as much right now, but to focus on the present. I reviewed my school's emergency procedures and had my CE walk me through what needed to happen incase of a lock down. God willing, I will never be in this type of situation, but I want to make sure I am prepared to keep my students and myself safe should it ever happen.
Well, I'm sorry to end this post on a negative note but I think every teacher in America has had these same thoughts this week.
I hope everyone has a restful weekend and a great week next week!
This week was my third full week of teaching and it feels like it flew by. I don't know about you guys, but it seems like the weeks are just flying. The day certainly goes much faster when you are teaching all day instead of observing.
I would rate this week a 2. I am still loving my placement, the students, and my team mates and other teachers/faculty. But, this week, and last week, I experienced a major "teacher struggle." So many of my students were out for days at a time, some of them more than a week, because of the flu. This resulted in a lot of students missing lessons and a lot of missing/makeup work. On Tuesday, I ended our unit on area, but I just didn't feel comfortable moving on without more of my students and with so many holes in my grade book. I decided to use Wednesday as a "catch up day." I made a table with all of the current assignments and the names of students missing each assignment. The students were able to use the entire period to work on missing assignments, and I was able to catch up the students who were absent for a week. Allowing for this "catch up day" made me feel much better about ending our unit, and I'm sure those students who missed so many days felt the same way.
Another "teacher struggle" I experienced this week was getting three new students in four days. Two of these students joined my 2nd period right in the middle of my edTPA lessons. This put me in a bind because I had to find a place to seat them out of camera range. This is a full class and I already had three students who didn't bring their forms back. So, I ended up cramming five students against the back wall. I hated to do this to them, especially the new students, but I didn't have much of another option.
For Standard 1 (NCPTS) this week, I was able to demonstrate leadership amongst my teammates and the other 7th grade teachers by volunteering to do "2nd load duty." All of the 7th grade teachers had a workshop to attend after school on Thursday so no-one was able to do 2nd load duty (usually the teachers trade off). I over heard a conversation between the principal and some of the teachers about this and they were really struggling to come up with a solution. I volunteered to do 2nd load since I was the only one on my hall who would not be at the workshop. The Principal was ok with it and the problem was solved.
For Standard 2, I want to talk about a particular student. When I first started, I was told that this student was home bound because he was receiving therapy for behavioral issues, and that I would need to prepare work for him every week. Then, I found out that he was coming back for one class a day and that would be my class. At first I thought "great, of course he comes back for my class." I had heard the stories about all the fights he got in, the way he treated teachers, and the girl who now has scars on her face from him scratching her. I was really nervous about him coming to my class. After four weeks, I can say that I have not seen even an ounce of what was described to me. I have only seen a sweet, quiet boy who struggles in math but who tries very hard. From his first day back, I have tried my absolute best to make him feel comfortable in the classroom and during the lessons and assignments. A lot of the time that meant I had to pull a chair up beside him and talk him through each problem while all of the other students flew through them independently. My heart has really grown for this student and I want to see him succeed. Today, I was helping him and he told me "I used to be really good at math and then something happened." I simply reminded him that as we get older, our classes get a little harder, but that I knew he worked very hard and I was proud of the effort he gave. Sometimes, its not about getting a 100, but about the effort that was given.
For Standard 3 this week, my CE talked to me about BAV, Building Academic Vocabulary, and how they use it in the school and in math class. Every subject in every grade level has a list of content specific words that the students are expected to know and understand. In math class, every 9 weeks my CE assigns so many BAV words in Google Classroom. The students must find a formal definition for each word, put the definition in their own words, illustrate it with a picture, and then write about how they will use it in real life.
For Standard 4, I had to adapt my lesson plans more than once to benefit not only the many students who were absent, but the whole class. I had to stay on top of students about catching up notes and missing work, while at the same time having extension activites for the students who were not absent. I hated the idea of "punishing" these students by giving them busy work, so on "catch up day" I gave them a small test practice on area and then allowed them to read a book, work on stuff for another class, or play Math Prodigy.
For Standard 5, I spent a lot of time reflecting on school security and procedures both in my current placement and in my future classroom. In light of the tragedy in Florida, I have really been thinking about how I would handle a similar situation. I decided not to worry about my future classroom as much right now, but to focus on the present. I reviewed my school's emergency procedures and had my CE walk me through what needed to happen incase of a lock down. God willing, I will never be in this type of situation, but I want to make sure I am prepared to keep my students and myself safe should it ever happen.
Well, I'm sorry to end this post on a negative note but I think every teacher in America has had these same thoughts this week.
I hope everyone has a restful weekend and a great week next week!
Friday, February 2, 2018
1 Down, 9 To Go
Well, I made it through my first full week of teaching! It was definitely one for the books and one I'm sure I will never forget. This week had some highs and it had some lows, but the one constant throughout the whole week was that I loved every single minute.
I would rate this week a 4 out of 5. The only reason I wouldn't give it a 5 is because some unfortunate situations arose at the end of the week. On Thursday, on their way out of my class, a student made a very serious threat against the school. With everything recently going on in schools across the country, threats like these are dealt with immediately and strictly and the student was suspended indefinitely. This was a student who we just had a team-principal-parent meeting on to come up with a plan on how we could get his grades up before the end of the semester. His grades were not down because of a lack of understanding, but because of a lack of simply doing the work. In the meeting, an incentive was given that the student would be able to wrestle next year if he worked hard and brought his grades up. Everyone was on board with this plan including him, so I was saddened that he threw this chance away. All of the teachers on the team, including myself, had high hopes for him and were willing to do their part if he would do his.
Later on Thursday, one of the teachers on my team went home to a horrible tragedy and in turn will be out for a little while. This made its way on the news, so Friday was a long and difficult day as we did our best to divert the students from talking about the situation and tried to keep them focused on school. I had to step up a little bit on Friday as I was left in the classroom completely alone for about half of the day. The substitute for my teammate never showed and we also had several other teachers in the school out. My CE was pulled to cover my teammate's room for awhile until someone could get there. Friday was a difficult day for teachers and students who sympathized greatly for their colleague/teacher.
Despite the hard ending to the week, I still enjoyed my first full week of teaching in the classroom. I surprised myself with how "not nervous" I was about taking over the classroom. From the very beginning I have felt completely comfortable and "at home" in my placement. It was very easy for me to step in a fill the teacher role, something I am extremely grateful for in my reflection of the week.
To prepare for next week, I spent Friday after school getting all of my materials printed and ready for next week's lessons. Before leaving, I also changed the desks around in the room and created a new seating chart for each class. Earlier this week, I gave my students an interest survey and many of the students said that math class would be better if we did more group work. I am a big fan of group work and students working collaboratively, so I moved the desks out of their rows and put them in groups of 5. When planning my seating charts, I purposefully placed at least one higher student and one lower student in each group. I then distributed the rest of the students evenly over the groups. My goal here is that the students will gain some insight from working with each other, and that the higher student can assist the lower student and/or other groups members when something is not clear. Typically, when working in groups, I will tell my students that if they have a question they must collaborate with their group before they can ask me. I am excited to see how the new grouped setting works out next week.
For standard 1 and 3 (NCPTS) this week, I had the opportunity to work collaboratively with the other math teachers in the school. Twice a year the principal organizes a "content day" for each core subject area. Content day for the math teachers was on Thursday this week, and we had half of the day to plan in the library while a substitute was in our room. I was able to plan with the other 7th grade math teacher, but also discuss with the 6th grade math teachers about what the students learned last year and how my lessons could build on theirs.
For standard 2, I gave each of my students (roughly 100 students) an interest survey to help me get to know them a little better as people and as learners. I asked some questions about themselves, but I also asked some questions about their ideal academic learning environment. For example, "math class would be better if..." "I like it when teachers..." "I don't like it when teachers..." "A good reward for working hard would be..." I took time to read through each one and took note of some of the more common responses I got. They also had an opportunity to tell me anything else they wanted me to know. I was surprised at the number of students who took advantage of this. They took the time to clearly describe themselves and their ideas for a learning environment, so in return I will take the time to create the best environment I can for each of them.
For standard 4, I spent a good amount of time looking for engaging activities, handouts, note taking resources, etc... My CE has given me access to her vast amount of materials and resources and even offered to share anything from her teacherspayteachers account. (If you don't have a teacherspayteachers account, I suggest getting one!) My students use an interactive notebook to keep all of their notes and assignments in, so I am continuously looking for new, cool, engaging things to use. For example, one day next week students will be using a "doodle notes" for their note taking on perimeter and area. Here are a few links to some things my students will be doing next week: Perimeter and Area Doodle Notes Area of Circles Notes Area of Circles Riddle
Finally, for standard 5, I have been some time reflecting on my first observation. It went extremely well, but of course there are always areas for improvement. For me, those immediate areas are time management and classroom management - I will say something but not always follow through. Next week, I plan to jump on these head first and have them mastered before my next observation.
I hope everyone has a long and restful weekend and a great week next week!
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