Christmas Lesson Plan!

The lesson plan that i had for my students was to decorate wo ornaments and the only way they could decorate was to pay a penny for each decoration. The kids loved the activity and the teacher did as well she even told me that she would have to steal the idea. Everything went great and I had so much fun teaching and interacting with the students. While the kids were "shopping" we had on Christmas music and they all just had a blast. All the students created their own ornament of their choice some made sharks others made Santa. We all had a great time together. After they were done decorating they had to complete a worksheet and when they were done with that then they got a candy cane for their hard work and participation!

JA!

I had never been involved with Junior Achievement before until Nov. 19. and it was one of the most amazing expierience i ever had. Everyone was in a group of two and we each had a class to teach. My partner and I had a kindergarten class. The curriculum that they had us teach the students was amazing. It tought the students how to identify money and fairness and overall economics. My class was very good and they were great listeners. I think the Junior Achievement project that we had was amazing. It tought me a lot about what to expect when becoming a teacher. I learned that teachers have a lot of patience and that they are a big impact on the students as well. I knew that teachers were a role model and that it was hard work to take care of a classroom but i never knew how complicated it really was. When i first got into the classroom ill admit i was extremly nervous but then i got used to it because the students were so friendly and nice and also because they listened.

Websites

I think that the specific websites given to us would help young children learn in a fun way. Learning while having fun is a key in teaching.It helps the student engage more in what they are doing. The website

http://www.wordle.net/ is a great website to do so. I think i would have my students create a sheet of paper that expresses themselves. I think that is a great way to learn more about the student and to know what they need help with. Also these websites help with matching and learnign how to count.

Child Development!

A teacher can impact a student physically by taking them out for recess and letting them play games such as basketball. Also gym class is the perfect way for a child to develop physically. Students need to have a social/emotional development as well as physical. A way that the teacher can help a student do this is to have them be in groups sometimes and let the students get to know each other more and become friends. Last but not least it is very important for a child to develop cognitively. Teachers have a huge impact on the students for cognitive learning. Teachers can help them by reading and getting them to read to the class once in a while. Another good way to help students learn cognitively is to put them in groups and have somewhat of a book club.

Conflict Resolution

I have learned that conflict resolution is very important. I noticed that at Westwood the teacher i work with moves the kids around once in a while because wither kids aren’t getting along or because they cant stop talking to each other. Yesterday at Westwood I was helping 4 students with their problem solving worksheet and since they were a little behind I had to try something different to help them understand.  As the boys worked on learning the concept they started arguing because some understood it and some didn’t so they were getting frustrated. I had to resolve the problem so I stopped the lesson and told each boy to move to a different spot and the problem was resolved.

Communication

Yesterday at Westwood we asked our teachers some questions about communication. My teacher said that face to face communication was the best thing to do and the second best was through email and she also said that the very last thing on the list would be over the phone because some parents are busy doing other things and aren’t really paying attention to what’s going on over the phone. My teacher also said that if a student is having a problem with learning at school she would call the parent and set up a conference time so she can have a face to face conversation about the student. When I asked how she would deal with an angry parent she responded with letting the parent talk and trying to understand but if the parent keeps insisting then she would call the principle and have them help with the situation.

Blog # 5

Ive learned that it is very important to be child centered when you are working with kids. You have to care for the children and want to help them no matter what it takes. It is also important to dress properly and have good morals because the students are looking up to you so you have to be a good influence. I think an affected school has good communication between teachers and also between the school and the parents. Teachers should have meetings occasionally to discuss where each of the students are and what they can do to make it better. Also the school should inform the parents about what is going on the school as well as in the classroom by phone calls every now and then or even letters to be sent home or by email. I think an important technology technique for todays society is knowing how to use an active board. The active board ingages the students and helps them learn and the kids enjoy going up to the board to answer questions. After going to Westwood Elementary for a few weeks i have found that teaching is what i really would like to do. I love seeing the kids faces after ive taught them something and i love how they learning to become a better student.

Teach! Teach! Teach!

Yesterday when i went to Westwood Elementary the students were learning things on the active board. When they were done the students had to answer a problem solving question. There were three boys who had a little trouble figuring out what to do so i helped them. It was amaazing being able to teach them. When they were all done with answering the problem they got into groups and did another problelm solving activity. i went around and helped the groups. I helped a group of two girls and a group of three boys.  Whenever the kids got a problem right when i helped them i would give them a high five. Im glad that the teacher trusts me enough to help the kids without her actually having to watch over me and im happy to know that she can count on me to help the kids when shes with another student.

2 hrs. at Westwood!

Yesterday I went to Westwood and the students were learning how to count by 5's. Their teacher read a book to them and after they had to write in their math journals. I went around the classroom and helped some students out that needed it. One boy had trouble counting by 5's so i had to spend time teaching him how to do the work. He couldnt quite grasp the concept so when the teacher came around she gave him another easier problem. When the kids were finished with their journal they were able to get into workstations. i could not believe what i saw, 1st graders were using iTouches! i dont even know how to work one of those things and they already knew how to do everything on there. When they got out of their workstations they seperated into groups. One group went to one teacher because they were ahead of everyone else another group went to the next room cause they were in between and another teacher and I had another group who were a little behind everone else. In my group the kids sang songs from a book. After that the kids learned how to sound out letters and were telling us what each letter sounded like they all did very well and i was very happy that i was able to interact more with the students.

Teaching!

When i went to Westwood Elementary yesterday the students were learning how to make groups of ten.When im there the teacher is usually teaching and the kids arent really active during that time, so the teacher siad she would make arrangements to where i could help out more. While the kids were writing in their math journal and answering problems i was going around and making sure they were doing well. One student was a little behind everyone else so the teacher asked me if i could help him pratice and i did. The little boy had a little trouble at first so i kept explaing to him how to do a problem then he did the next two by himself and learned how to do groups of ten! He was so happy that he was done that he went straight to his teacher to show her how well he did.

1st day at Westwood!

Before i went to Westwood Elementary i was really excited and a bit nervous. Teaching is something that i've wanted to do for a while and to expierience helping students in a classroom was wonderful. When i arrived in my classroom the kids were listening to a video on the active board so i had to be introduced after. After i introduced myself they all said "Thank You Ms. Joann!" it was amazing. After we all introduced ourselves and the kids told me their names they played an addition game. i went over to help these two kids and when i was done helping them a little boy came and asked for my help it was a great feeling. i helped them and before you know it, it was time to leave i said bye and the kids said "Bye Ms. Joann!" and right before i left a little boy turned around and gave me a huge hug! I was sure about being a teacher before but after that amazing expierience i know that teaching is what i really want to do.