Week 1: Introduction

 Paulina Kedzierski

Saturday, January 30, 2021

Thursday was my first day of observing first graders. As much as nervous I was, I could not wait to meet the children and see how the teacher manages the class remotely for 7 hours. We are talking about 6year old children starring at the screen for most of their day! With that in mind, I paid close attention to classroom management. 

The morning started off with me introducing myself and talk a little bit about why I am observing. To my surprise, the children were shy and did not ask any questions. Later I had an opportunity to work with children in the break-out room while they practiced subtraction. The teacher informed me that students are supposed to work together to solve the math problems. She put me in a break-out room with students who need more help and usually keep to themselves instead of working together. As the teacher predicted, the students were quiet, so I decided to use my whiteboard to draw counters and asked students to subtract the number and I would cross them out. After the time ran out we got back to the main room and the students answered questions while the teacher put the answer on her screen. Some children knew the answers right away and some did not practice. When one student was asked to answer a problem and it was wrong, his answer to why he did not practice was " My fingers let me down." It made my day, the funniest things children say and they are very serious when they say it. Overall, the children behaved and paid attention during class. One thing that I have noticed is that the teacher has to repeat directions many times, but that is understandable based on how old the students are. At the end of the day, I was less nervous and cannot wait until another observation day. 

 I have chosen this particular photo because it represents how I feel the first weeks of each semester. 

Week 1 : The first day!

 

By Brenda Johnson

Thursday January 28, 2021

 

Today was my first day in my MT’s classroom! I met the students, and it was so much fun. There were 15 students ( 8 girls & 7 boys). I had not been in a 2^nd grade classroom in the capacity I was today,  so  naturally I was nervous because I did not know what to expect. The students had so many questions for me, 2^nd graders are really something! One kid asked me what made me decide to become a teacher. Oh my! I was not expecting that one. They shared their favorites things with me and of course ask what mine were. They were so inquisitive/ that some of them were willing to lose some minutes of their lunch time just to ask me a question or share something to me.

I found my MT’s style of teaching interesting. She used different ways to make her teaching fun. The lessons were very engaging, and students participated actively. I admired her manner of speaking to the children ,she talked to them with so much respect. I was curious to see how she managed her classroom during this time of remote learning( this is one of the concerns that I have). It was reassuring observing her , as this showed me that ‘the mission is possible’. The kids knew when to speak , they knew how/when to mute and unmute themselves, they patiently waited for their turns. She had a simple but rich schedule, that I think could be used both virtually and in person. The Daily oral Language(DOL) stood out for me. At the beginning of the day students are given a piece that has some grammatical errors to work on( to fix) . When everyone was done and turned in their work, they worked on the DOL together. I think this is something I will do in my own classroom. The students were learning about money and read about the’ old man of the mountain’.  We learned that there were quarters with something on the back that represents a state. MT shared a picture of that of New Hampshire .While I am still nervous, I am excited to for this FE! I know that there is so much for me to learn from my MT and her students. I am eager to join these 2^nd graders every week. In fact I can’t wait to begin teaching them!

 

Week 1: First day with MT & students!

Amy Mustafa

1/28/2021

Today was my first day as a student candidate in my MT's Second-grade classroom. The class started at 9:00 AM and was very beneficial to me and my future teachings. I realize how difficult it is teaching hybrid but also realize that it is definitely possible! My MT Had told the students that they will be having a new teacher joining them every Thursday, which I thought was great, letting them know who I was before they wondered who the stranger in the classroom was. The students began by each taking turns telling me something about themselves that they thought I should know. I enjoyed this as they each gave me a little input on who they are. I then introduced myself to them and I felt that it made the students less shy than when they first came to class. After each of us had a chance to talk, it was time for gym. I joined the students in their gym class which I thought was a great way of waking up the kids and making sure they get a chance to get up and stretch. 

Moving on, during the day, the students all showed me that each of them were very bright and eager to learn. My MT went over the book they have been reading which is, "Pepita and the Bully". The students were engaged in the retelling of the story, trying to figure out the overall theme or moral of it. I thought that this was such a great book to read for this age group as bullying can start at such a young age and of course so they understand that bullying is never nice. At the end of the discussion, the students realized that the theme of the story was in fact, how Pepita handles the bully, Babette. After the reading, the students reviewed addition and subtraction. They were adding and subtracting using common core math which made me realize, I needed to refresh my memory because although this was second-grade math, it was much different than the way I was originally taught. As the school day was coming to an end, the students learned how to write both capital and lowercase letter "A" in cursive. Finally, the teacher initially wanted to do this with the students but as time ran out, she had assigned her students to watch and answer questions on an interactive hurricane video. She told her students that they can work on it themselves and next class they will review and do it together. Overall, I loved meeting the class and understanding a little bit more about how a Google classroom is run and taught.

Week 1: Meeting the Students

 Sara Kent 

Thursday January 28th, 2021

Today was my first day in my MT's class with her 1st graders. When we first logged on, my MT has each of her students say good morning so that she can ask them how they are and they can do the same with her and their classmates. I think it is a good way to start the morning off on a positive note. The kids seemed excited to meet me and I was excited to meet them. One girl even asked how my pets were and referred to them by name which I thought was impressive that her parents read her my intro letter. With that, I actually ended up showing the kids my rabbit, Marshall, over the screen and they showed me their pets. It was a nice and fun way to get acclumated with each other. 

Shortly after, my MT had the kids go into break out rooms for peer reading. She put me in a break out room with three students. I supervised as they read and helped them with their activity sheets afterwards. I was a little nervous to be in a break out room with them so soon but once I got more into it, I felt more confident that I could help them when they needed it. At the end of the day, I went with the students to their specials: P.E and Spanish. I thought it was neat to observe their specials because those tend to be the students favorite classes as they are a bit more fun. 

I learned a lot on this first day such as some new classroom management techniques. My MT has some cool little things she does that I will implement into my teaching. When the kids answer tough questions she has them "kiss their brains" and after the kids present their work she has the other classmates and herself do something called "spirit fingers" which is just another alternative to clapping that I thought was a cute idea. For simple questions she has the kids simply use thumbs up or thumbs down instead of having everyone talk at once. Overall, I felt like it was a very productive first day and it definitely eased my anxiety a bit.  

Week 1 - The First Day

 January 28th, 2021

By: Kate Drish

Today was my first day in my mentor teacher's second grade classroom! I was fortunate enough to have met her last week and she really helped settle my nerves about today. I finally met the students and I have to admit, I was a bit overwhelmed. Though only 19 students showed up to class today, my MT has 28 students altogether on her roster. Quite honestly, I was not expecting that big of a classroom size. As I reflect back on Field Experience 1 & 2, I was lucky enough to have just five students to teach. So, this was something that threw me for a loop. I was able to quickly become more comfortable on camera and with the kids as they started their segment, "Thankful Thursdays." This was put into place by the school district, so that the students get to reflect on things that they are thankful for. It was right off the bat that the first student that was called on said along with family and friends, that they were thankful for me. I was shocked and it definitely pulled on my heart strings. For these students to not know anything about me, but to be thankful that I was there to support and teach them was so heartwarming. It really reminded me of why I chose this career. Kids are so vulnerable and honest, and that is something I wish more of from the world. And of course, after that, each student who followed said they were thankful for me, as well. To say my heart melted, would be an understatement. 

Overall, today was a busy day and it felt great to be in the (virtual) classroom again, following along with a schedule. I was able to pick up a lot of the classroom management strategies that my MT uses, which I am so happy about. Classroom management was a huge concern for me since I've never really had the experience teaching remotely. It seems as though the students really respond well to those strategies so I plan to implement them when I start to teach. I was also exposed to Go Guardian for the first time which is such an awesome resource for teachers! I was able to support my MT and monitor the students' work while she met separately with other students for a bit. I felt really good that she trusted me to keep an eye out on the students and keep them focused. Honestly, I feel confident about this semester and I think I will do well. My only concerns will be time management and creating activities that are fun and engaging for the kids. However, I've already learned so much from class and I know we will learn even more. So I will make sure to incorporate this information when lesson planning. Here's to a great first day with the kiddos! 😀

The teacher's view from Go Guardian.

Week 1: Meeting the Students

   Today class started at 9:00am and I got to meet the students for the first time. My MT and I had met earlier this week to discuss how her day usually goes. She showed me a couple video projects that the kids had done to introduce me to the children. Today I just observed the class, the teacher didn't end up mentioning me to the students until later as she was surprised the students didn't mention me first. I observed how the teacher taught her students and I took note of what strategies she used to keep the children focused on their work. I think that a lot of my MT's lessons could have been more engaging. Most of them were worksheets that the children followed along with. I think that she could have made a fun google slide where the kids could follow along or something like that. I also paid close attention to the students background knowledge and what they can and cannot do. This information will help me when planning lessons for them in the future. I think that it will be a challenge for me to keep the children engaged and focused in my lessons. But I am excited to practice my classroom management skills.

    My MT also allowed me to join the student's gym class which was interesting to observe remotely. The students followed along to a video and moved their bodies. Furthermore, it was interesting to see how my MT handled the students remotely in regards to their behavior and classroom management. The students frequently wandered away from their computers so the teacher would call to them or text their parent. I really enjoyed seeing how GoGuardian worked. I thought that was a fantastic website to use. The teacher had complete control over what tabs the students have open and she could see exactly what they are looking at on their screens. Overall today was a nice day observing and taking note of how the teacher teaches and what strategies she uses. I am excited to start helping in the class more and to get to know the students even more next week.

Week 1 -First Day!!

Yasmine Mustafa

 Thursday January 28, 2021

Today was my first day in the classroom with my MT. It was my second time meeting her and my first time meeting her second graders! Before all the students began logging on, we went over some of the questions that I had. She answered all the questions I had and was extremely helpful and reassuring.  She walked me through the schedule and Go Guardian. When all the students logged on she had introduced me to them and informed them that I would be joining them every Thursday. I was able to introduce myself to them and say some fun facts about myself!  The students were super friendly and excited. I was super nervous since it was the first day, but as the day went on I felt all my nerves leaving my body. I was able to do break out rooms with the students. I had time every so often to talk to students individually. Today was a great first day!

It was only the first day, so majority of the time I spent observing. Looking at how engaged and excited the children are to learn was really great. She is truly such an amazing teacher, she has wonderful relationships with both the students and the parents. She does a great job keeping the students on track and engaged. I learned a lot from her on just the first day. I am so eager to see how the rest of the semester goes. She explained a lot to me with online learning and how it can be troublesome on certain occasions, but stated there is nothing to worry about. Although online learning is not something I  anticipated on going through, I am learning a lot. Seeing how great my MT does with online teaching and how well her students are behaved it makes me excited for the rest of the semester. I also enjoyed the fact that she allowed me to help on the first day with working with students and conversating. She hosted breakout rooms and allowed me to work with students on persuasive writing. I really enjoyed the time I had doing that. I felt that I was able to build relationships with the students by assisting them and helping them with ideas and providing feedback. When the day came to an end, she stayed on and asked if I had any questions and was extremely helpful!! Overall, it was a great first day!

Week 1 - Welcome to the Class!

 Stefanie Flory 

Thursday January 28th, 2021 

    Today was my first day in the classroom with my MT and her wonderful second grade class! Prior to meeting with the children today, I had met via google meets with my MT to discuss all the details of how Thursdays will go during my time with her students. During our meeting, I expressed to her all the questions and concerns I had going into the week. She was SO reassuring and so happy to help answer all my questions and concerns with open ears. This helped me a lot going into today for the first time. The children were so excited to meet me and although I was nervous before the meeting, once I started and introduced myself, it was almost as if I knew the students already. I introduced myself to them and we did a quick little Q&A so that the students could ask me anything they wanted. This came to my surprise because I have never worked with students above the grade level of kindergarten, and the children just started water falling all these questions and no one was shy even the slightest bit! This helped calm my nerves down SO much and it was so great to get to communicate and talk with them. I loved every minute of it. 

    As the first day, I spend majority of the day observing the students in the classroom. I took notes as I watched my MT teach the students. I looked at her classroom management such as how to get the children engaged, transitions from one activity to another, and overall how her teaching is reflected virtually. Some key ideas I took away from this first day was I was able to grasp some of the knowledge that the students know already. My MT had the students work on a coin counting activity, and to my surprise, most of the students were fairly familiar with the names of the coins as well as the value, so as they completed the activity I was able to see their knowledge of coins. This helps me with planning when it comes time for me to teach the lessons because I know their level of knowledge in this content area. I also documented some notes down about how she manages her time well with the activities. She uses YouTube timers for when the students are given time to complete something such as answering the QOTD which today was "What makes you feel happy?". This will help me when it comes to teaching my lesson because the students can visually see the timer. Lastly, I was able to see some of the materials that the students have in their homes. My MT uses plastic pockets as a way of incorporating the use of dry erase boards, this will help me with planning and implementing the lesson in an interactive way so I can assess the children during an activity. 

    Overall, today was a great first day and I can not wait to get started and become more active with teaching in the classroom!    

    

Week One, Meeting the Students

 Emily Pinto

EDEC 4581

28JAN2021

Week 1 Observations - Meeting the Kids

    The first day of my observational/teaching experience was very enjoyable. I was fortunate to meet with my MT before the school day started so I could ask any last minute questions and clarify anything that wasn't previously clear. Meeting the kids was an experience, to say the least. They started with asking me questions ranging from, "what's my favorite color," to "when is my dog's birthday." They were friendly and welcoming, and it gave me a boost of confidence for my future lessons. It was clear, as the day progressed, that I'm going to have to be creative in my ways of keeping the students engaged -- especially during math.

    Some things I noticed: my MT sometimes has issues keeping the students on task, but she is knowledgeable in the content she is teaching, and has a firm grasp on developmentally appropriate methods of teaching second graders. I was also able to sit in on their specials class, which is P.E. on Thursdays. The P.E. teacher was very animated and did an excellent job keeping the students focused and doing his planned activity within the 30 minute class time. Some of the technology I used and/or watched: the use of was the HMH literacy program -- includes literacy curriculum that is both online and within a textbook that each student has; GoGuardian -- where I sat in on small group math lessons about division and multiplication, as well as observed the other students doing online activities like Fancy Ants and Spelling City. Overall, I feel much more confident about this experience now that I have met the students and have been able to see how the class goes and the dynamic between everyone. I am a little nervous about keeping the students engaged. With this age, the students are more internet-literate -- they know how to get on other websites, watch YouTube videos, etc., so as I said before, I think I'll have to be creative in the ways I keep them on task with my future lessons. 

Week 1: First Day Observation

By: Jamia Royal 

Thursday, January 28, 2021 

Today is my first day joining my MT classroom and today has been very enjoyable. The children are very bright and well engaged. My MT introduced me and then I shared a few things about myself so the kids could get to know me a little better. I love the way she runs her classroom. Although this is just my first day observing I have picked up a few classroom management skills that I will implement during my lesson. The children did two breakout rooms where I was able to join one of them and listen to the children collaborate with one another. During mini breaks my MT will share tips about google classroom and how she runs things during class. My goal is to have a successful engaging lessons. My MT is very helpful and is willing to answer any questions that I have which makes me a bit less nervous. 

A concern I may have is my lesson not being as engaging as my MT's. To be sure of this I have been carefully observing and taking down good notes that will help me plan better. I made sure to write down my ideas that I may want to use during my lesson. I also made note to make sure my internet connection is up to par because I do not want to lose connection with the children during my lesson. It may throw me or the students connection to the lesson off. Overall, my first day being with my MT was knowledgeable and I was happy to meet the kids. I am excited to see what the next few weeks bring. :)