Last Day!

I couldn't believe yesterday was my last day going to the elementary. I had missed about three weeks going there because of testing, so I was very excited to finally get to interact with my students once again. When I arrived, the class greeted me excitedly. My teacher said how i had ben missed the past few weeks. Since it was my last day, I got to teach the students a mini lesson. It consisted of reading them a story followed by a worksheet about vocabulary from the story. The students sat around me as I read to them. As I have learned from my teacher, I engaged the students with questions throughout the story to keep them thinking about certain topics. At the end, we did an activity from the back of the book that lead towards the worksheet. The kllast twenty minutes, I walked around the class helping the kids write and answer their questions. Finally, right before it was time for me to go, my teacher gathered the students on the reading carpet where they each wished me luck. A little girl told me that she hoped mall of my dreams came true. It was at this time that I felt my eyes were getting teary-eyed. My teacher told me that she loved having me in the class and that she knew I would be a great teacher in the future. I cannot explain what an amazing and exciting experience this has been. Before this class, I wasn't sure whether or not I truly wanted to teach. However, this class opened my eyes. I loved being able to work with students and guide them through dififculties. To see the excitement of learning in their eyes made me want to be a better teacher to them to help them learn as much as possible. I am also very grateful for the teacher I had. She gave me the opportunity to feel like I was part of the classroom and gave me many tips which I will for sure use in the future. This has been a great class, and I will miss my students. I know they will do great as they move onto third grade.

AP English Lit Exam

On Thursday, I took the AP English Lit Exam. It consisted of 55 questions in 60 minutes over passages and poems. The second part was 2 hours where we had to write an essay over a poem, an excerpt from a novel, and a topic given to us. These types of tests are helpful because they allow the students to show how much they have learned over the course of a college level class and gives college credit if passed. It is a good way to asses how well you would do given college level material. The work load in an AP class is more rigorous in order to prepare you for the test and get through the material. The AP tests are by far harder than TAKS, because it takes more analytical skills. You have to use prior knowledge in order to help answer college level questions. I believe this tests are effective beacuse they are not easy. They actuallydo test whether or not you know the material. If well prepared, it is possible to get credit and save money and time in college.