Last Thursday was a pretty relaxed day at the elementary. I got there and noticed there was a sub. The students were working on coloring an easter bunny. I was proud of how well behaved they were being. After a few minutes of coloring, my teacher had instructed for the sub to read them a story. We all headed to the reading rug and listened to the story. The sub, who had subsituted for that class before, made sure the students were interacting and asked them questions about the story to help them stay focus. Afterwards, there was a big math packet to work on. It seemed to be like a review, containing fractions, shapes, and adding and subtracting. I went around helping the students through the problems. Since I had to leave early, the day went by fast. When it was time to go, a little girl said that it would be hard to continue to do the packet without my help. This made me my day because I felt like I was actually helping the students in some way. I told her that they were able to do it and to have confidence. I can't believe we only have three days left to go to the elementary.

Tests are an effective way to evaluate a students knowledge. However, alternative assessments can also be effective and provide different means to get information across. Alternative assesments can have students think on a higher level of Bloom's Taxonomy. They can create different activities to prove that they have an understanding of the material. Also, alternative assessments allow for students to have a more hands on learning experience. Overall, alternative assessments provide a different route for a teacher to evaluate the level of knowlegde by the students.

As I've been noticing for the past few weeks, the students have been practicing their math and reading skills in order to prepare for the upcoming end of the year benchmarks and other exams. Yesterday, they took their Spanish Reading Benchmark. It consisted of two passages followed by a series of questions. I could tell some students were a bit nervous. Also, most of them were finishing up early so my teacher walked around telling them to recheck their work. I walked around as a way to make sure all the students were being concentrated on their test.

An assessment is an important aspect in school because it demonstrates how much the student has learned. It also allows the teacher to see what level of skill each student is at and try to help maximize all of their skills to a greater potential. An assessment can also measure a teacher's effectiveness in presenting information to the students and show the growth of each student. The most common type of assessment is a standarized test. Alternative assessments include having the students make posters, write a skit, portofolios, or presentattions. By having the students create somethign to show their level of comprehension, it allows them to think on a higher level on Bloom's Taxonomy.

At the elementary school, I noticed that my teacher incorporated different teaching styles as she moved from subject to subject. The day began by reviewing the homework from the previous night. My teacher got the class involved in understanding why the right answer was right or to answer any questions. When that was done, the students began to learn a new poem. First, my teacher read the poem out loud, and explained what the poem was about. She also asked the students to visualize some of the imagery given in the poem. Later, it was the students turn to recite the poem. They were all so excited to learn a new poem, and even had hand motions when they recited it. To incorporate writing, the students next had to write the poem on a sheet of paper. They also had to write out the five senses and give examples from the poem. During this time, I worked with a little girl who is behind from the rest of the class as far as her writing skills. However, I was so excited when I noticed her writing and reading skills had improved. It was really interesting to view her progress. Once this activity was done, my teacher went on to lecture the class in science using the AvtiveBoard. This part of the class was also interactive because she kept the students focused by asking them questions.

Something I noticed and was very impressed by was how my teacher handles any bullying situation. Two little boys had made fun of a little girl and when the teacher found out she immediately took them to the side and had a stern conversation with them. Afterwards, they apologized to the girl.

As the year gears up to end, preparing the students for test is the main priority. The teacher had the students rotate stations while she worked individually with each student on their reading. I love when the students work in these stations because I get to go around and help and interact with each of them. While some read, others used computers to read a book online, and others praxcticed their writing. Overall, it was a productive day.

Within an elementary classroom, each student is at a different skill level. This problem is more evident in elementary because the students are developing at different levels. I've seen differential teaching in my classroom. There is a student who's skill level lags significantly behind the other students. My teacher, and myself, have had to accommodate when the assignment involves reading and writing. While I don't think this student is classified as special education, this is a great example of how my teacher has to develop different ways of teaching to help all student achieve success. I believe that no matter what a student's disability may be, it is important to allow them to have the same opportunities for an education as the rest of students. A disability only shows that a student has to have accommodations, however it is not an excuse to label this student as incapable of learning. As a future teacher, I would try to incorporate as much as I could any special needs student in my class with the regular students. Not only would this help the student learn, but it will also promote awareness among the the other student to respect everyone no matter their disabilities.