Welcome to 2nd Grade!!!

Well, I am now four weeks into my full time teaching in Salem, Oregon. I love my second graders! Up until now I have been focusing on learning the routines, habits, students, and staff at the school. It's a good thing I did because I take over FULL TIME for five whole weeks this Monday!! I am a variety of emotions!

My days are filled with (of course) teaching, planning, job searching, and travel. I decided to student teach in Salem while living in Eugene! I am a frequent traveler on Amtrak (including buses)!

[I found this draft I started last week and surprise...I didn't get to finish]

----------------HERE is the real update! ------------------

I am now FIVE weeks into my full time student teaching and began teaching full time starting today. It felt amazing to be in charge of a class full time. I will be the "teacher" for the next five weeks. I am sure I will experience every range of human emotion between now and then, however, I am looking forward to it!

Here are a few things I have done in the classroom, more to come!!

A Daily 5 Graphic Organizer:

Daily 5 is something that the class has been doing the whole school year. I wanted to make it more independent and allow students to practice taking responsibility for their learning. Each day they choose one of the five to do, they must choose a variety. I will only step in a advice them to make a different choice if I see that they are only sticking with one choice. 

(I keep track of thier choices on a clipboard)

This helps them to see what is expected and be self-directed!

Class Points System:

This is a way I have decided to keep class points. A second grade standard says that students need to understand money. In an effort of addressing this everyday I award class points in coins. It is up to the class to determine when it is a dollar and every dollar equals one class point. Once we have reached a specific number of points the class earns a reward. 

((I must give credit to my past mentor teacher for the idea! Thank you!!))

 The students seem to be responding well, I'll check back in next week with an update! 

University of Oregon Football Players VISIT!!

In my fourth grade class I saw a need for bullying to be addressed! As a way to bring awareness to bullying in my school and in my classroom I inquired about having University of Oregon football players into the classroom to talk to the students. It was an easy process and the students were so excited! I am a big believer in including community in the classroom. The talk was influential and the O Heroes were able to reach my students at a level I wouldn't have been able to!
Thank you O Heroes for making this happen! 

A week later I let the students know that an article had been written about our class, they were ecstatic! 

Here is the article!!

http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205390492

Magazine Project!!

This is something I am extremely excited about!!

 My fourth graders created a magazine modeled after a Time For Kids magazine we read together. The students were so excited about this project they didn't want to stop working to go to recess! 

As a student teacher I was excited that the students felt a purpose for their writing. Not to mention it integrated my literature unit (What does it mean to be a hero?), things they recently learned about in science (microscopes, owl pellets, habitats), and math!

We started the planning process with an Editors wall. 

I made templates that modeled the Time For Kids magazine we read and the students used them as a jumping off point to plan their articles. 

The Editors' wall was a great place to hold team collaboration meetings and record thoughts/ideas/inspiration with sticky notes. 

As a teacher I saw the Editors' wall as an interactive learning tool for students work on a project in a cooperative group!!

[If you are interested in the FRONT COVER template leave me a comment with your email address]

After a week and a half of research, writing, group meetings, and revision it was ready for the press (Kinkos). I made a trip to have it bound to resemble a real magazine! 

The kids were excited to send a copy off to the President of the United States!

This is how it turned out!

Front Cover

page 1

page 2

page 3/4

page 5

back page

Around the classroom....

It seems like just yesterday I was writing about starting my unit. Time has flown by and now I am done! Yes, done! In that time I have planned and taught my 3 week unit plan: Heroes. I started out with the HM text, Lou Gehrig, the Luckiest Man. We explored this text doing various activities.

We created a timeline as a way of organizing the main ideas into a format that was easy to see. This made it evident that he had a lot of things to handle in a short time period.

The students were paired up and given a specific page and date to research. Their task was to identify the date and the event that happened to impact Lou Gehrig's life. Soon after the dust had settled from the sticky note chaos I heard, "Miss. Glenn, I notice that all the sticky notes are in one spot." Another students responds, "Thats because earlier in the line he wasn't doing anything."This is when we decided to write childhood on the timeline.  Many other students started to share their observations about the timeline with their groups and it evolved into a wonderful discussion about the story of Lou Gehrig's life. 

It was pure beauty! I didn't pose any questions leading them to thinking in this way, they got there on their own. Students are hardwired to inquire about, anything! Giving them a direction to point their inquiry was successful. 

An interactive timeline was just what the class needed for everyone to take ownership. Being a class timeline means that everyone must agree with the placement of the sticky notes. Rest assured, we all agreed! 

Next, we focused on fact and opinion. I wanted something interactive for a large group of fourth graders first thing in the morning. I decided to play Jeopardy with facts and opinions within the story. After a group of students picked a Jeopardy card (giving me to coordinates) and gave a correct answer the card was then placed on the appropriate side of the " Fact and Opinion Tree".

We also did a Venn Diagram where the students compared service dogs as heroes and Lou Gehrig as a hero. Before setting them loose we made sure to construct a chart with all the details we could think of. This helped the students construct the Venn Diagram, a fairly new concept! 

I am so excited about what I have done so far in the classroom, I had to share!! 

My first  lesson with this fourth grade class (not a part of my work sample) was with a book titled, Mr. Peabody's Apples. The students and I created a wonderful representation of a cause and effect relationship with a  flip-book . They were engaged and it allowed them to think about the details of the story in a different way. I created a sample with a oversized piece of paper. The whole project actually has two cause and effect relationships!! (the picture one shows one..)

 I found that color coding the signal word, the cause, and the effect was very helpful. The colors also corresponded with the sentence frames presented to the students. 

This is a great book, as my cooperating teacher pointed out, to take with you if you are sub! It has multiple lessons within; spreading rumors, judgements, cause and effect, fact and opinion, and many more!

A pile of ...things to do!!

It's okay to admit I am feeling overwhelmed, right? With student teaching during the day and class to promptly follow, homework, planning, and work sample. Where do I find the time for normal things? Like doing laundry, the dishes, or grocery shopping...everyday things!

I am enjoying every moment, mostly because I know that it won't last forever--the constant balance of a million and one plate in the air! I taught my first whole group lesson today with 30 squirming fourth graders. It was a slight change from 20 attentive first graders, but hey, I'm flexible. Which is what I had to be to get this lesson done! I used my natural teacher instinct to go a different path sensing that the plan would only divert them further away. I have had time to reflect and know what the change and watch out for...tomorrow when I get formally observed!! What? Yes, it's true! We are to that stage people! I'm so close to finally reaching my goal I set when I was in fourth grade!!

Better get back to being overwhelmed. Funny how I can find time to blog and not to do any of the above! Until next time!



Side-note: Students do not like my hair scrunched!! I get comments like;

"Ms. Glenn, it looks like you just woke up, you have bed head."
"Did you have a hard time fixing your hair this morning?"

But, come in with straight hair and you will get a once over that results in an approving head nod and a compliment, "your hair looks good, today."

September Experience!

I am now two and a half weeks into my September experience, experience being the optimal word! Although the students have only been there a mere seven days..I have gained so much already!

 

The students and other teachers refer to me as Ms. Glenn, a title I believe I have earned (being in grad school and all). It is the first time I have been called this in an elementary school. Wanting to be a teacher my whole life this simple title feels weirdly surreal and an accomplishment. 

I have a new found appreciation for teachers preparation going into the school year. I spent the first week, eight hour days, doing just that! Laminating, copying, and writing name tags!! ..Preparing the small things that often go unnoticed. 

--One of my professors made the point--

In what profession does one have to think, plan, and prepare for every minute of their day?  

A: Teachers!

I have discovered this to be one hundred percent true! Everything from transitions, whole group instruction, expectations, homework folders, communication between home and school, and small groups (The list goes on!)...

Anyhow, this past week I have had the responsibility of small reading groups. Right now we are reviewing the alphabet, one letter at a time. I review the letter name and sound with the groups and then we brainstorm together words starting with the designated letter. This may sound simple and straight forward. HOWEVER--I value the organization and planning it takes to keep a first graders attention!! 

Will update soon! ...

--Ms. Glenn (haha, couldn't resist)