Week 1...

The first week was hectic, but amazing. I was surprised at how many things my CT was able to seamlessly integrate into her lessons. Trying to take in everything that is happening is difficult, so I am glad we have such an extended amount of time. I love going into the classroom every day, but I am slightly disappointed that I'm seeing so little. I am there for 2 hours a day and only see one subject. I feel like I'm missing a lot by only seeing a select chunk of the day over and over. I understand now why Joanne suggested we try to stay a few whole days!
My partner and I have already learned so much...I can't wait to see what else we get to take in over the next week. I can't wait!

Kindergartener's With iPods?

I had a very interesting start to my field experience. My first day I had a substitute, so I had to hold off the many questions that I had for my CT for another day. I also found out that my classroom was somewhat of a pull-out program that was all ELL students. This was another curveball for me, but I know that it will be a good experience. The first few days were a bit overwhelming just trying to get the feel of the classroom, but I'm starting to get more comfortable. The children do many different activities, one of them using iPods as a medium. Every Tuesday and Thursday they get to use applications on iPods that can help them with letters, sounds, and words. I was amazed by this. I would have loved to use an iPod Touch when I was in Kindergarten. I already had to be the bad guy once. We did an M&M activity and my CT told me that if they ate more than one at a time or didn't follow other directions of the activity, I would have to throw their M&M's away. Sure enough one little girl went overboard and ate 3, one right after the other. Do you know hard hard it is to throw away a Kindergartener's candy? Other than that the children have been pretty cooperative. I already know that I'm really going to miss seeing them every day when this is over.

Week One

The first day was somewhat overwhelming, our CT was not there so we were able to see how the kindergarten class acted when they had a substitute. Lets just say they were not exactly angels. Thursday and Friday of this week we helped our CT rearrange her classroom with the help of another school employee. We are setting up her room so that she can start doing the Daily Five with her students. It was nice to see what we've learned in class be put to use. Overall, it was a great week and I'm looking forward to going back on Monday.

-dragonfly28

Field Experience- Week 1

I can't believe how fast this week has gone by! I've been having a great time in my classroom. The students were full of energy today (since it being a Friday and almost Halloween!) I love walking into the classroom and seeing all the students get excited that I'm there. One thing I've noticed is how often some kids come and go. There's some students that go to speech therapy and then they go to special ed. What amazes me is that these students know exactly when to go. They keep track of the time and they are very independent. I'm very impressed with my classroom.

First Week

There are 21 students in my first grade classroom.  There is a WIDE range of abilities and behaviors in the classroom.  It is interesting to watch the CT adjust to try to benefit each student.  The behaviors in the classroom seem to be a large task for the CT to handle, but some days are better than others.  The students love to read books.  Yesterday, I read them a story and they got very excited and they stayed on task the entire time! This will be a great learning experience.  I know that I will be seeing growth in each student, even if it is only four weeks. 

A Blast!

My first couple days have gone great! All my the kids in my class (17) are really fun to work with and I love it! I can not get over how eager to learn all of these children are! In this classroom the students are able to choose their own station at math time and it amazes me how well they stay on task! I can not wait to go back every day just because there is so much more to learn every day. I had my first read aloud today and it went great! It is great how books can tie into different subjects, such as math, and help the children relate to the content being taught. Having a GREAT time!

First Couple Of Days!

This week has been SO much fun already, and I look forward to going to my placement everyday! No matter what kind of day you are having, everyone is so excited to see you when you get there, it just makes you smile. My CT is so knowledgeable, and the students are so curious as to what I do outside of helping in their class. Who thought first graders would know so much about college life? I absolutely love everything so far! It is hard learning everyone's names, but by the end of the week I hope to have them all down! Hope everyone is loving their experiences also :)

Having a blast!

The first week is almost over and I almost have everyones name down. There are a few names that I am getting mixed up becuase some of the girls look so alike. I also noticed that these children are getting attached to my partner and me already and we have only been there three days. I loved how our C.T. welcomed us and introduced us to the classroom. The children are very welcoming and they are not shy like I thought they would be. They ask me questions and they are very curious as to what I am doing and what they will be doing later in the day. I can't wait to see what the rest of the week holds.

So much FUN!

I cannot believe how much fun I am having in my kindergarden classroom. Every student is so different and there is so much to learn from each and everyone of them. The hardest part for me right now is trying to remember all their names. ha but I have about 3/4 of them down so I think I will have them all down by the end of the week. When I first saw that I was placed in a kindergarden classroom I was a bit nervous and didn't know what to expect, but so for I am having so much FUN and learning something new everyday that will make me a better teacher one day!

First Graders

My first two days have been a lot of fun. Our first grade class has a variety of children, on many different academic levels; our CT has a big challenge. Today I got to teach my own table group; teaching them to connect the dots with a ruler or straight edge. It was difficult at times because I was making adjustments to my lesson depending on the different group or specific child. Although it was a great feeling when they understood the concept and went ahead on their own without help.

Thoughts

I can definitely tell that I am in a classroom with an expert teacher. She was very welcoming along with all the students. A few things I have noticed is how well the children respond to key songs and chimes that are used to gather every bodies attention. It was interesting to see how the classroom was set up in different sections. The students know exactly where to be when they hear a specific sounds. The students have a very well structured room and know their daily routines. I am excited to have such a great teacher and a diverse class to learn from.

First day!

Today was a great day. i stared off helping my CT getting ready in her prep time. when the children got into the classroom the teacher introduced me and my partner.i thought it was great how they know what the plan is everyday and when that was changed they were very confused. All the students where very concerned about me not knowing what i was supposed to do so the "helped" me the whole time. Today could not have gone any better. I cant wait to go back tomorrow and see all the students again.

First day thoughts...

Organized chaos, would have to be the best way to describe this afternoon in the classroom. The two and a half hours I was their flew by. In pairs the kids took turns at "stations" to the library, at the computers, reading, etc. Lots of coming and going! My CT uses a set of wind chimes to get the attention of the class. I thought it was a very creative and effective way of doing that. It was a good first day, I like my class already and can't wait for tomorrow!

IM 421 Section 3 Fall 2010 Blog

Welcome to the IM 421-3 Fall 2010 Blog.  Please add your comments as your field experience unfolds.  Revisit the site often and comment on the postings of others.