Today was a great day at Longfellow Elementary. All the kids were happy to be there and there were virtually no arguments all morning! During math time the teacher put two particular students together who normally would have moaned and groaned, but there were no gripes or complaints. And during reading time, my partner and I worked with our two students, and both were right on cue with nearly every thing we did.
As with any job, there are good days and bad days. I know that there will be down days as well as up days in my teaching career. It'd just be nice if the majority of days were up! :)
Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Not Always as Easy as Pie
As teachers, sometimes I think we take for granted that school has [probably] always come easily to us. I don't specifically remember learning to read, or being taught letter-sound correspondences. All I remember is that I loved to read and there were many times my parents would have to take my books after bedtime because I stayed up too late reading, or when I would get in trouble for reading after the teacher told us to put our materials away.
I know and understand that children with learning disabilities generally have a very hard time learning to read. I love helping people learn to do something that is difficult for them--that's why I chose learning disabilities as my minor! But sometimes it can be very frustrating when I try ten different ways to teach the letter sounds in the word 'ran' but none help the student understand. I try my hardest to be patient and accommodating when a student is having a hard day or when they are acting exceptionally hyper.
During my final two semesters at UW-Eau Claire, I hope I will take a class that can shed light on how to get through to unmotivated students. I don't think I'm alone in feeling frustrated, but sometimes it feels like I am.
I know and understand that children with learning disabilities generally have a very hard time learning to read. I love helping people learn to do something that is difficult for them--that's why I chose learning disabilities as my minor! But sometimes it can be very frustrating when I try ten different ways to teach the letter sounds in the word 'ran' but none help the student understand. I try my hardest to be patient and accommodating when a student is having a hard day or when they are acting exceptionally hyper.
During my final two semesters at UW-Eau Claire, I hope I will take a class that can shed light on how to get through to unmotivated students. I don't think I'm alone in feeling frustrated, but sometimes it feels like I am.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Time Spent in the Teacher's Lounge
Today I administered a diagnostic assessment for the first grade student I'll be be teaching reading to. Both my partner and I did the same assessments for each of our students, but since we'll be writing and teaching our lessons together, we have to write our lessons based off the lowest score of either student. So, since my student knows three of the 26 letter sounds of the alphabet but my partner's student knows seven, we will be teaching both students nearly all the letter sounds from scratch even though both students aren't presently at the same level of performance.
It was frustrating for me to assess my student for several reasons. First, she was squirmy and more excited than usual today, which did not help her concentration or attention span. Second, the classroom teacher put us all (my partner, the two students, and me) in the teacher's lounge, so my student was hearing both my partner and me talking which confused her. She couldn't concentrate on my voice alone. Third, since the door to the lounge doesn't close, my student was very distracted by the noise in the hallway. Finally, she wasn't doing very well on the exercises I was asking her to perform, so she was frustrated before we even finished the assessment. I don't know how accurate her scores were considering all these environmental factors, but I have to take her score and results as they are and use them as the basis for planning out the next two weeks of reading instruction.
It was frustrating for me to assess my student for several reasons. First, she was squirmy and more excited than usual today, which did not help her concentration or attention span. Second, the classroom teacher put us all (my partner, the two students, and me) in the teacher's lounge, so my student was hearing both my partner and me talking which confused her. She couldn't concentrate on my voice alone. Third, since the door to the lounge doesn't close, my student was very distracted by the noise in the hallway. Finally, she wasn't doing very well on the exercises I was asking her to perform, so she was frustrated before we even finished the assessment. I don't know how accurate her scores were considering all these environmental factors, but I have to take her score and results as they are and use them as the basis for planning out the next two weeks of reading instruction.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
A New Beginning
This Monday I began my eight week field experience for SPED 404. I am in a learning disabled classroom at Longfellow Elementary School in Eau Claire. My partner and I will be there for the next three weeks and then again for three weeks after Spring Break.
I go to Longfellow for three hours Monday through Friday and work with several students throughout the morning. As with all classes, I'm sure that no two days will be the same. There is always something new and exciting happening in the classroom, and being at school is never boring!
On this blog I will tell stories, anecdotes, and share experiences that I feel will benefit other future and current teachers. Please feel free to post a comment or ask a question. As the saying goes, 'we're all in this together'!
I go to Longfellow for three hours Monday through Friday and work with several students throughout the morning. As with all classes, I'm sure that no two days will be the same. There is always something new and exciting happening in the classroom, and being at school is never boring!
On this blog I will tell stories, anecdotes, and share experiences that I feel will benefit other future and current teachers. Please feel free to post a comment or ask a question. As the saying goes, 'we're all in this together'!
This blog is part of an assignment for EDMT 380; I will evaluate the Blogger service and comment about it on our class wiki page.
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