I was really excitd to see the Charney reading in the list for April options. My supervisor has had our group reading this book since last summer. However, I chose this reading because it is a different edition than the one we read. The one thing I really like about Charney is that she gives real life examples of the techniques she is telling you about. This really helps me to see exactly how and when to use certain strategies. I found that some of the examples here were different from those in the most recent edition, which I find helpful.
The steps outlined in the timeout guidelines that I found particularly interesting for my situation with my case study were numbers 4, 5, and 8. I really like that #4 tells you, “time-out is a direction, not a negotiation.” This is something that I had a difficult time with when I started using it with my student. I didn’t want to come across as mean or cruel. However, after a lot of discussions with the counselor, I realized that I wasn’t being mean, I was being a teacher. This kind of goes with #5, in my opinion, which states, “I like you. I don’t like that behavior.” What a relief! And as long as I express this to the student, she (or they) know that they will receive lots of caring words from me but they also need to be caring and respectful back.
The idea of time outs being carried out in another teacher’s classroom (#8) once bothered me a little as well. I think it is because we had a teacher at the beginning of the year that brought students to our room for time out and they became quite a distraction. However, now, I am comfortable with this as long as I send my student with work. I do not think time out should be “rest time” to just sit and relax. Students should continue their work when and if appropriate.
Okay, so the changes that I mentioned in the previous post including things such as: only give the student one directive (do not tell her multiple times what to do otherwise they will come to expect that lag time before you are taken seriously); walk away after giving the directive the first time (if student chooses to not do what is expected, then return to reprimand; hanging around while she is supposed to be doing her work means she will get attention, even if it is not the kind you think she wants); isolate the student when need be (whether by use of time out or completely moving her away from the group for the entire day). I will say that these ideas have worked to an extent. However, I still find that the student is quite defiant in the mornings. We have had to completely remove her from the room several times (usually at least three times a week, which I think is a lot). One huge problem is that when she is sent to the Principal’s office, she typically goes to the assistant principal, where she is pretty much treated like a little princess and she gets candy when she is there. Now, she actually asks to go there when she does not follow expectations! Because of this, the counselor has set up another classroom for her to go to instead of allowing the student to “get what she wants.” Last Friday the counselor also called the student’s mother who seemed to think the behavior is recent and due to the fact that the student has not been to see her father. However, the counselor made it clear that this is a growing problem from kindergarten. Even with the days that are good, I still feel at a loss with behavior interventions.
Hello everyone…as if it isn’t obvious, I am very far behind on my blogs! It has been a very interesting month! I was sick for quite some time, which led to the first missed blog then it just snowballed from there. I apologize for not being “present” via our blogs.
I am writing about the progress that was made with my student for the month of March. It was a difficult month for both the student and myself. I found myself very upset at the end of each day because it seemed like nothing I did was working. I honestly felt like a failure. Then, the wonderful principal, Dr. Napp and the great counselor, Mrs. Gregory met with me and we discussed new options. I had renewed hope in my case study! Only time would tell if it would work! 
Wow! I cannot believe that is is already the middle of March! Although, as busy as I have been, I am not surprised that time has slipped right through my fingers!
Last week was a good week at my placement. The students worked very hard all week. We worked on our Clicker projects for social studies, which they are all doing a great job with. I also was able to collaborate with Mrs. McMullen (our librarian) about using Flip Cameras as part of the social studies unit as well. We actually started that today and it has been a blast!
In science, we washed rocks on Thursday. The students had a great time seeing the change in the rocks. Who knew that something I found somewhat boring would be so interesting to the students?! On Friday, our class started our very own rock collection. This is something that has really excited the students as well.
My only concern now is regarding our math. I feel that I am going too slow for the pacing guide but too fast for the students. I hope we get through everything that is required before the end of the quarter!
I hope everyone else has had a wonderful week!
I think the biggest thing I got from this month’s reading selection is an idea of the type of defiance that my focus student exhibits as well as ideas for this and other students. I really believe that my student is exhibiting direct defiance when she throws her tantrums in the classroom. Now that I know this, perhaps it will be easier to identify her stressors. I believe 100% that frequent and specific feedback for this and a few other students in my class can make a huge difference in the classroom community. However, my concern is time…how can I find time in the day to provide this feedback while continuing with what I need to do to teach the rest of the class? I understand that with a couple of students, the feedback doesn’t have to be as frequent but with others it seems like it would need to be at least every 3o minutes…that’s a lot.
I really liked the idea of reinforcing school expectations in the classroom. Otherwise, what is the point of having school expectations?! Furthermore, the idea of positive reinforcement and reprimands is key in the classroom for me. After completing this reading, I started my own Eager Eagle program in the classroom. Reinforcement and reprimands have become much easier. Each time I see a student doing the right thing by following our classroom expectations or helping others outside of the classroom, I give them a slip of paper to put their name on. The paper is put in a large bin. On Friday, I randomly draw a name and whoever I pick is our Eager Eagle for the day. They get to wear a fun hat all day. They also get an award certificate to take home. Holding their certificate and wearing their hat, I take their picture to display on our Eager Eagle wall that I put in the hallway. They also get to pick a prize from my treasure chest. When students are not doing the “right thing” in the classroom, they now know that I offer one warning. After that, they are asked to get a reflection form from the TA. Then they have to reflect on the behaviors they were exhibiting while sitting in “time out” from the rest of the class.
I hope that these new things will lead to more harmony and community in the classroom. I have seen a slight change in the behaviors. I only hope it continues!
What a week! It started off kind of rocky but by the end of the week, I was all smiles! I am officially teaching all subjects in the classroom and while I have to adjust to the rapid movement in the classroom, I couldn’t be happier! It was a strange week to start teaching because the students were so hyped up for Read Across America. I was so happy to see them that excited about something though! We started our social studies unit (which is my integrated unit) this week. The students enjoyed a read aloud with the librarian in our classroom to kick the unit off. We did interactive writing activities focused on the unit as well as using technology (or attempting to) for our “All About” books.
On Monday, we started our Show and Tell time during snack. The students seem to really like it. They are always so excited when it is their day to share! It’s so cute and it reminds me of my first grade year and the things that really helped me to get to know my fellow classmates.
The students are still enjoying the post office. I have started writing to every student on our post office days. They are so excited to get nice notes from the teacher! I made another UDL book for science this week since the students liked the one I used for the beginning of our unit last week. They just love having the animated characters read to them. So, I plan to make one for each week.
I also started the “Eager Eagle” award in the classroom. Each time I see a student doing the right thing by following our classroom expectations or helping others outside of the classroom, I give them a slip of paper to put their name on. The paper is put in a large bin. On Friday, I randomly draw a name and whoever I pick is our Eager Eagle for the day. They get to wear a fun hat all day. They also get an award certificate to take home. Holding their certificate and wearing their hat, I take their picture to display on our Eager Eagle wall that I put in the hallway. They also get to pick a prize from my treasure chest. My principal is excited about this being used in the classroom as a motivational tool for the students. By Friday, all I had to say was, “I’m looking for Eager Eagles who are doing the right thing while we work on our math.” As soon as they heard that, they started refocusing. It was really amazing.
I have tried to do more interactive writing in the classroom however I am struggling with the amount of time it takes to complete the writing as a class. On that same note, I am struggling with how often I use the carpet for lessons. My students sometimes get off task when it is time to transition to and from the carpet, so at times it is more time consuming and troubling to use the carpet than it is to stand at the front of the class.
This week should be a great week. My principal is coming to visit my class this week, which is exciting but also makes me a little nervous! I can see the students getting more accustomed to me being in the classroom. Behavior concerns have begun to change as well. I cannot wait to see how things go with week two of full time teaching!
This was a very interesting week for me. I think that I definitely learned how to be flexible in my planning. First of all, Monday morning, I was informed that my class would be in “Career Week” from 8:30-9:00 each day, which cut into our literacy center and guided reading time. Then, on Tuesday we found out that we would not have speakers for Career Week on Wednesday and Thursday but those days would be made up next week (which we still are not sure on). I was able to work around this time change, but it also meant sacrificing some of our writing time. Then, my CT told me that she was having an awards show on Friday so anything I had planned for the afternoon “wouldn’t happen” because the kids would be too “hyped up” to focus. In reality, she allowed all students to leave early if their parents came. So, after our 1o minute awards show, I have 5 students left. I felt like it was a major waste of an afternoon because I still had over an hour left in the school day.
Probably the best thing for me this week was the Post Office center I started as well as beginning science. The students really seemed to enjoy science and I am getting more and more excited about teaching it. Next week I am very much looking forward to starting Show and Tell in the classroom. I have made a lot of changes in the layout of the room (as far as the walls/whiteboards go) and I plan to make more in the upcoming week. Starting tomorrow, I will technically have full control of the teaching reigns although I still have concerns that my teacher will be attempting to do a lot of the things that she normally does…we will see!
Originally, I had chosen a student in my class who had what appeared to be some emotional concerns because he would easily cry over the smallest things. However, after I began collecting data on this student, a lot of the behaviors I wanted to document and work with ceased. This made me wonder if a lot of the concerns were due to maturity and maybe he is growing out of a particular phase of his life. So, I started over with another student in my class, a girl named Rachel. Rachel has a lot of the same emotional concerns that my prior choice exhibited. She also shows some defiance towards adults, which can be particularly difficult in the classroom. She enjoys one on one instruction so that she can get a lot of attention. When she is not the student picked for various roles in the classroom, such as math leaders or line leader, she gets extremely angry. At least twice a week she has a tantrum in the classroom and proclaims to the world that “Efland Cheeks is just the worst place ever” and that she is never coming back. I have a lot of ideas for this student but I don’t want my plans to seem partial with the other students. Maybe I should create an individual plan for Rachel but also a class plan for the whole class…any thoughts out there?
Although this week started out kind of rocky for me, by today, I am feeling on top of the world! On Monday and Tuesday, I honestly didn’t think I could stay in my placement much longer. My CT was being so critical towards a couple of the students, even though they were doing what they were supposed to. I was so angry that I considered emailing Jennifer and demanding a new placement! To say the least, I was infuriated. However, I went home Tuesday afternoon and talked to my husband about it. We talked about the ways I can make it through this experience with the least amount of stress and I decided the best way to do that is to shrug off what my CT says and does and to make sure that I spend as much time helping the students as possible. I want them to know that they are not “bad” children and that they can do the work. I have set up new behavior plans for several students and I am already seeing a difference.
This week, I have been teaching three of the five reading groups and I implemented Morning Meeting this past Monday. The students seem to LOVE our time together in the mornings. We do a fun Good Morning Greeting (that I initiated this week, but starting next week, there will be a different student leader each day), then we have calendar time. Next we have been working on our classroom expectations and the reasons we have these expectations. After we do this, I have an activity for them. This week, we did tongue twisters to boost phonemic awareness. It was a lot of fun for all of us! After our activity, I go over the centers and off they go! On Tuesday, after a discussion with Jennifer on Monday, I started using the straws to work on place value when we do our calendar. The kids are so excited to help! I put all of their names in a bag and randomly pick students. If I call their name, their little faces beam as they come to the front of the carpet! It has been a blast! Next week, I plan to include activities relating to the clock and telling time.
As far as my reading groups, they went well…or as well as possible. One of my groups is reading a great chapter book and we are learning reasons for reading (through comprehension questions). Another group just finished their second book. With this group, I feel like one of the students needs to be moved to a higher level of reading. He is able to read the book quickly and efficiently. Afterwards, he can answer questions regarding the story as well as complete a graphic organizer about the story…yet my CT says he doesn’t comprehend the text. (Go figure) My third group that was added this week is a small group of three and I feel like this week was very much a trial for all of us. I was getting used to them and their reading styles and they were getting used to me. I really think next week will be better with them than this week was. I am concerned, however, that one student in that group is not quite at the level that she should be because the book we read this week, which was at her instructional level was very difficult for her. She read it at 81% accuracy but my CT doesn’t want to move her. My challenge now it to teach her in a way that will bring her reading skill to what it should be all while teaching the group. One fun thing that I think the children like is our new word walls. For each group, I have started a word wall that pertains to each book we have read or are currently reading. When we go to our group, we first take a “Word Field Trip” to the word wall where we go over them together prior to reading. It is a lot of fun…they pretend like they are on a bus that is giving them a tour of words!
Today, I spent my planning time getting ready to pick up math and science next week. I am excited about both. I am frustrated that I cannot find all of the materials for my science kit, but feel confident that I will by the time I start the unit on Thursday. I have created math centers to incorporate three mornings a week and I have used Math Expressions cards to use as extensions and interventions during math if students finish their work early. Pretty much all of the materials I am using are manipulatives given to my CT with her Math Expressions books yet I had to take them all out of their shrink wrap this week. Crazy, I know…such good manipulatives that are collecting dust! I also found several SMART board games that pertain to my unit so the students can play these after we finish our lessons as well as an enrichment activity.
I made sentence strips like Christina Hammond has for the goals and objectives. I had to put them kind of high because there is so little space on the walls, but they are there! I made a class schedule on sentence strips as well that will be laminated and have a magnet on them that way the students know what they will be doing everyday. I am excited to see how that goes!
Completely off the subject…on Thursday, I had to leave right after school for a doctor’s appointment…we got to hear the baby’s heartbeat! It was magical…and quite possibly the reason that today was such a great day at school!
I think perhaps the most exciting thing about this week was that it was a whole week with NO SNOW!!! I was very happy about that. I saw that several school systems were on two-hour delays one day this week because of the high winds and possibility of trees falling down. I was so grateful to see that OCSS was not one of those!
This week, I picked up two reading groups. I am trying something new one of the groups: chapter books. They really seemed to enjoy the new experience. I started a new word wall with each group that we add to each day. It’s really neat to see them learning new words and using them when talking and writing now that they are visible in the classroom. Our “regular” word wall is very bare so there are a lot of words that the students want to spell but do not have ready access to.
The behavior contract I started with one of my students seems to be going really well. My CT and the TA, however, see things differently. Now they are “flipping” her color for petty things, like taking too long to use the bathroom (when only one girl is allowed to go at a time and she is the very last one before a transition). They are also trying to use my contract as leverage against her. I constantly hear them saying things like, “You are going to fail at your contract” and ”You won’t get to sit with the group because it’ll take you two years to meet enough goals.” It’s so frustrating. I just pray that I have the strength to make it through my student teaching experience. It has gotten to the point that every day is a struggle to not go insane from due to my CT’s close minded beliefs and attitudes.
So, next week I will be picking up more reading groups and I will be implementing morning meeting in my classroom, which should be interesting. I am not anticipating this to be easy with my CT but I really think the students will enjoy it and that is enough to make me look forward to it.
