Progress and Proud Moments
Hello everyone!!
I hope you all had a wonderful, edTPA-free week! Isn't it a beautiful thing, not thinking about that anymore?! I think we all are almost on the same schedule, so with that being said, I cannot believe we finished week SIX of full-time teaching!! It is flying by, for sure.
This week was a relatively normal week. I was proud of myself for teaching all the lessons I had planned, and being prepared for them in advance. I have felt more productive and organized than I have all semester! Usually, I'm scrambling around to find/make my materials before some lessons, which just results in a lot of stress. Hopefully, I can keep this organization up (we'll see). Overall, I'd rate this week as a 4.5!
Yesterday, we had parent-teacher conferences. Like I said last week, we decided to do student-let conferences this time. Though the student would be doing the majority of the talking, I was still very nervous about interacting with all the parents. For some reason, this is greatly intimidating! But, it went wonderfully!! I cannot explain how proud I was of each students who 1) remembered the content they are learning and 2) show leadership qualities by guiding their parents on what to do! It truly made my heart smile (and also made me shed a few tears here and there). One family showed up without their child, though, forgetting about this process. So, I had to lead an impromptu conference with them, the traditional way. It all ended up being fine and I learned so much from this process. That entire day helped me practice with both Standard I.a and II.e!
One of my goals this week was to integrate literacy into all of my math lessons (Standard III.c). I felt like I accomplished this goal and brought in new vocabulary words for students to learn. Next week, my goal is to print off these words and add them to our word wall! That way, students can continue to get exposure to the new words. This week was also filled with a lot of technology integration (Standard IV.d). Since the students would be showing their parents some things on an iPad, I wanted them to get more practice before conferences. On Monday, students used their iPad to take a picture of the playground and used an app to 'map out' the playground. They had to label parts of the playground and use a compass rose to explain where places are. Additionally, the students worked on another app in their reading groups to unscramble letters and form sight words. They really need help spelling their sight words and I felt this would deepen their knowledge of the words they know.
Another moment this week when I was happy with myself was on Wednesday. The teacher's assistant was pulled to help with another class all day, so I had to act on my own. This was pretty rocky and very stressful at times, especially towards the end of the day when I was being observed. However, I got through it without completely becoming 'unglued.' I was still able to teach all of my lessons and no one went home crying. All in all, I'd call it a success haha! Functioning in this stressful and complex environment allowed me to get practice with Standard V.c. While I would prefer not to have it this way, getting the experience of teaching without help was beneficial.
Next week, my goal is to take more detailed anecdotal notes after my lessons. I also plan to work this weekend on my portfolio and especially with the Philosophy paper.
I truly hope you all have a great weekend and a WONDERFUL week next week!
Gabrielle :)
I hope you all had a wonderful, edTPA-free week! Isn't it a beautiful thing, not thinking about that anymore?! I think we all are almost on the same schedule, so with that being said, I cannot believe we finished week SIX of full-time teaching!! It is flying by, for sure.
This week was a relatively normal week. I was proud of myself for teaching all the lessons I had planned, and being prepared for them in advance. I have felt more productive and organized than I have all semester! Usually, I'm scrambling around to find/make my materials before some lessons, which just results in a lot of stress. Hopefully, I can keep this organization up (we'll see). Overall, I'd rate this week as a 4.5!
Yesterday, we had parent-teacher conferences. Like I said last week, we decided to do student-let conferences this time. Though the student would be doing the majority of the talking, I was still very nervous about interacting with all the parents. For some reason, this is greatly intimidating! But, it went wonderfully!! I cannot explain how proud I was of each students who 1) remembered the content they are learning and 2) show leadership qualities by guiding their parents on what to do! It truly made my heart smile (and also made me shed a few tears here and there). One family showed up without their child, though, forgetting about this process. So, I had to lead an impromptu conference with them, the traditional way. It all ended up being fine and I learned so much from this process. That entire day helped me practice with both Standard I.a and II.e!
One of my goals this week was to integrate literacy into all of my math lessons (Standard III.c). I felt like I accomplished this goal and brought in new vocabulary words for students to learn. Next week, my goal is to print off these words and add them to our word wall! That way, students can continue to get exposure to the new words. This week was also filled with a lot of technology integration (Standard IV.d). Since the students would be showing their parents some things on an iPad, I wanted them to get more practice before conferences. On Monday, students used their iPad to take a picture of the playground and used an app to 'map out' the playground. They had to label parts of the playground and use a compass rose to explain where places are. Additionally, the students worked on another app in their reading groups to unscramble letters and form sight words. They really need help spelling their sight words and I felt this would deepen their knowledge of the words they know.
Another moment this week when I was happy with myself was on Wednesday. The teacher's assistant was pulled to help with another class all day, so I had to act on my own. This was pretty rocky and very stressful at times, especially towards the end of the day when I was being observed. However, I got through it without completely becoming 'unglued.' I was still able to teach all of my lessons and no one went home crying. All in all, I'd call it a success haha! Functioning in this stressful and complex environment allowed me to get practice with Standard V.c. While I would prefer not to have it this way, getting the experience of teaching without help was beneficial.
Next week, my goal is to take more detailed anecdotal notes after my lessons. I also plan to work this weekend on my portfolio and especially with the Philosophy paper.
I truly hope you all have a great weekend and a WONDERFUL week next week!
Gabrielle :)
I am so pleased the student-led parent conferences went well. I knew you would be
ReplyDeletesuccessful in this process. I am proud of you! I am also pleased to hear you are feeling more confident in communicating with parents. Your positive relationship with parents is vital to your success and the success of your students. Keep up the good work!
Gabrielle, I'm so happy for you. I'm very glad to here that you had an awesome week. By the sound of it you were very busy. I think its wonderful that you spoke with parents and students played a part in their own conference. If I may , what app did you to create your map for the playground?
ReplyDeleteHey Chris! The app is called Seesaw! It's free and you can do SO much with it. I just create assignments and students log on, go to activities, complete it and add it to their profile. The app is wonderful and you can communicate with parents through it, too!
DeleteGabrielle, sounds like you've had a very productive week. I'm sure seeing the students be leaders in those conferences was so wonderful for you! Teaching without help is definitely a challenge at times and is for sure a learning experience, I know that's true even some days in 4th grade. Hope you have a great week!
ReplyDelete