I was very excited walking in to my classroom yesterday. The kids as soon as they saw me greeted me enthusiastically. I will admit that at first I didn't think they would like me simply because they had another student for their class last semester. Yesterday also presented itself with how a teacher must accommodate with different challenges the day might bring. For example, my teacher relies heavily on the Active board. All of her flip charts and notes are on the system, but yesterday it decided to stop working. She tried for a few minutes to get it to work, but when she realized there was no use she directed the class in a different direction. Instead, she handed out copies of a text and the students began to read over it and paraphrase what they had read. As a teacher, it is good to introduce and use different technologies in the classroom, however, since it can also be very  unreliable it is good to plan for when things don't work out a certain way. I was most excited when I was able to work with two kids individually. These students fall behind the rest of the class. Their ability to read and write are not as high up. I worked with them and helped them get their thoughts in order by asking them to tell me things they had learned. Then I helped them write by sounding off whatever word they did not know how to write.Sometimes it was difficult for them, but I managed to keep them focus and try their best. It was  great knowing I was helping these two students be able to succeed in the classroom and that my teacher trusted me to do this.

Part 1
We learned the importance of drills to practice how we should react under those circumstances. Yesterday, we experienced an unplanned fire drill. All the seniors were at the assembly, while the lower grade levels were in their study halls. The students and teachers who were in their classroom knew exactly the procedure to follow. They headed to their their designated areas, while the teachers maintained order as to where their class was. As I has heading outside, I even saw some classes that were lined up oputside. However, the seniors that were in the auditorium had to follow a different kind of procedure. The handful of teachers didnt have a roster to know where exactly their students were. Also, we just headed outside without sticking with our class. It wasn't too chaotic, but we did move slightly slowly considering it could have been a real fire. That's just because there are only two exits in the auditorium. After the fire drill, we all headed back to the assembly. Considering the circumstances, I believe the fire drill went well because we still knew the procedure.

Part 2
Our guest speaker discussed how prominent stereotypes are. People guide themselves by what they see and judge a person before spending the time to get to know them. We have all been a part of this. It is really easy to simply stereotype a person especially when we know nothing about them. I think in these times, stereotyping has become more evident in school and everywhere. Minorities are usually seen as uneducated or lazy. In most cases, it is quite the opposite. It is important to make an attempt to stop stereotyping in order to reduce hostility among dirrefent groups of people and instead try to become a more unified community. instead of judging people based on myths we've heard, we should treat each person as what they are, an individual with different strengths and weaknesses. reducing steroetypes will open our eyes to see the potential of each person and not shut them down before even knowing them. Stereotypes hinder each group from moving forward.

January 13th 2011

I was very excited going back to the elementary and getting back into the classroom. I decided to stay with the same teacher and students because I wanted to stay consistent. However, I was kind of disappointed when I realized there was a different group of students. Last semester, the teachers rotated classes. My teacher was involved with reading and writing and then the students rotated to another teacher for math. This semester, however, the teachers decided to keep their homeroom students and teach all subjects. My teacher had to adapt to the changes. She has never taught math before so she's been getting help from a different teacher as to how she should approach this. This will be an interesting experience as it will allow me to see more than just reading and writing. I'm also excited to meet a whole new group of kids and work with them as much as possible. They were a little off guard by me at first, but the more I helped them the more they began to trust me. Also, my teacher rearranged the room for this new semester. By rearranging the room, she made the classroom atmosphere more exciting and workable. Something I really admire about my teacher is how she engages the students in the activities and how involved she is with them. She has a good teacher-student relationship and you can tell the students really respect her. She handles problems really well too. I cant wait to see what this semester has in store for me.

Holiday Lesson Plan

I was really nervous going in to my classroom on Thursday. We had been planning this holiday lesson plan for about a week. Thursday morning was the day we had all been anticipating. I had my materials ready for the morning. Throughout the week, I had already separated everything I needed so I would not be fidgeting around in the classroom trying to get things together. When I arrived, my teacher and the students were ready to begin the fun activity. I began my reading them The Polar Express. I read enthusiastically and periodically stopped to ask them comprehension questions. Something I would have done differently is I would have read the story prior to the day and actually think about questions to ask the students. While I did ask them, I feel that I could have been asking them a variety of questions. The kids seemed attentive and every time I asked them a question, they answered right away. I loved having all the kids sitting at the reading carpet listening to my story. Next, I explained to them what the craft activity was. They moved to their seats and I began passing out the materials. I decided that I would pass the materials step by step so kids would not be tempted to play with the materials and possibly loose them. We started by gluing the sticks in a triangle shape to form the reindeer head. I noticed that they all helped those who were having difficulties and I as well walked around the classroom helping and making sure everyone was on the right track. We then proceeded with the googly eyes, the nose, and the antlers. The kids really enjoyed the activity and being able to have a hands on experience. They all were eager about going to the next step in their reindeer process. Another thing I would change about my lesson plan would be to really connect the craft with the story and make them have connections of their own. This would have really tied the whole lesson together. Overall, I feel it was a successful day filled with fun. This semester has been quite the eye opener. The more I've spent time with the kids, the more I've realized that I would like to pursue an career in education. I have been part of some of the student's progress and that it very rewarding. Also, I have learned how to deal with kids whose abilities are slightly behind those of the majority of the class and how to accommodate to those kids. My teacher has been helpful, and I have learned a lot from this experience. I can't wait for next semester!

Friday Field Trip

Teaching kindergartners about economics at a basic level was very fun. We had a bag filled with activities and stories to encourage the students to think about economics. Each bag included five different sessions which took thirty minutes each. Each session had a story along with worksheets which made the lesson interactive. It helped keep the students stay entertained and focused. When we first arrived, I was really nervous. The teacher was really excited to have us there, and the students seemed ready to listen and participate.We started with the first session. The kids payed close attention to the story. At first it was a little nerve racking, but the more we got into the story the smoother it went. After the story, they had to go to health fitness, lunch and finally recess. During recess, we got to play with the kids. Once in the classroom, we began with the sessions once again. The stories revolved around economics at a level which the students could understand. The activities that followed the stories allowed therm to take what they had learned and apply it. For example, one of the stories discussed money and its value. The activity that followed involved identifying the coins and their value. Whenever the kids got too rowdy, the teacher helped us keep the class focused. This JA opportunity was effective because it helped put economics in a perspective in which small children could understand. At a young age, they are being introduced to the value of money and the importance of saving it.

Technology in the classroom

In today's society, technology plays a big role in daily routines. Exposing kids to technology at an early age will allow them to develop the kills they will need as they mature into the world. If I were to be teaching a second grade class, I would incorporate the use of netbooks and use educational websites in my lesson plans. For example, I would dedicate one day to working on their reading skills by using the website meegenius.com. This is a great interactive website in which they show a picture book and you switch pages by clicking on the arrows. What is great about this website is that reads to the student the story, so they are able to listen to the words and connect them with how they are written. I would have them listen to the story first and then have them read the story and answer comprehension questions. Another day, I would focus on their math skills. The website I would use is mathplayground.com. This website has interactive games all requiring the use of math skills to accomplish them. I feel that by making math fun the kids will have an easier time making connections and enjoy learning about it. Once they become familiar with math concepts such as addition and subtraction, I would give them worksheets  to apply what they've learned. Finally, incorporate different skills such as reading, math, and history, I would have them use tes.iboard.co.uk. This website has a variety of activities with different levels. The games are fun while still teaching kids different skills and abilities. By using this kind of technology, the learning is more hands-on and the kids are more apt to receiving the information given to them.

A teacher's impact

The middle age stage in childhood is a time that unravels great growth within a child. Children spend much of their time in a classroom, which is why a teacher will have a significant impact in the child's physical, emotional/social, and cognitive development. Teachers provide the children with resources and information that they use in order to learn new concepts. They fuel a child's brain to absorb what is being taught. They develop different techniques in order to accommodate every child and allow them equal opportunities to learn. At this stage, teachers prepare the students to begin thinking on their own and making connections between what they are learning. They prepare lesson plans in which they help students really learn by having hands on activities that promotes the students to think. A teachers main goal is to get the students to begin thinking and exploring the information they are receiving and applying it as well. teachers also impact a child's social and emotional development. They allow for kids to interact with each other and the activities they are presented require this kind of interaction. In a classroom, children must learn to get along with one another and work together to accomplish a task. They also impact a child's self esteem. Teachers can improve a child's self esteem by encouraging and praising them. They can also impact it in a negative way by punishing them for not understanding a concept. Also,  a teacher's expectations impact the student. If she expects high of a student, the student will respond to that expectations likewise if she expected low of the student. A teacher also impacts a child physical development. They encourage the use of gross motor skills when they are out in the playground. Children begin to learn to run, climb and play fight. Inside the classroom children learn to use their fine motor skills for more intricate use of their muscles. With the vast amount of time spent in the classroom, it is no wonder that teachers impact this growing stage in a child's life.