Successful Small Group Attempt

Yesterday, I discussed with my mentor teacher the possibility of making another attempt at the small group instruction for the students who are pulled out for reading services. She agreed and I immediately began clearing off the reading table so that we could actually use it. We worked out a plan where I would wait to assemble my group until the rest of the class had been given directions and were working at their seats so that we wouldn't be talking over each other.

The students that I was working with had several incomplete assignments that they needed to work on so I called them to the table and started passing out their work. Once they finished one assignment, I gave them the next until they were caught up. This went really well and most students were able to get all of their incomplete work finished and turned in. They were pretty chatty but I was still able to keep their attention focused on their work. One of the students has been identified as a child who has master the learned helplessness routine. He tried to work his charm on me a few times, but quickly realized that I would not feed into his games and settled in to work on his own.

Failed Small Group Attempt

Several students from the Blue Class are pulled out of Reading/Language Arts during first period for reading services provided by the reading specialist. Often, they come back with less than half an hour left in class and absolutely no idea about what they are supposed to be doing. Generally, my mentor teacher gives them what everybody else is working on expects them to catch up. Occasionally, she gives them extra time to work but that is not guaranteed. We decided that today, I would take them aside and work in a small group to get them up to speed. I was very excited about this because it was something that I had been hoping to do since the first day of school. Unfortunately, the "reading group table" was completely covered with posters and papers and a bunch of random stuff - pretty typical for this rather unorganized classroom. Instead, we commandeered Table 3 to work.

This was an absolute disaster. Not only did I have more students than I had desks and chairs, but I felt as though I couldn't even talk to them because my mentor teacher was lecturing the rest of the class so loudly. If I tried to speak, either they couldn't hear me over her, or I was yelling to compete with her. Next time, we need to communicate better about how and where I can work with these students so that they are getting the instruction that they need and deserve. I am also making it my personal mission to clear off the reading table so that it can be used for its actual purpose.

Reflecting on Sequence of Events Lesson

My first Directed Teaching Activity focused on sequence of events in a non-fiction text. Because we are departmentalized and students are already grouped based on ability, I decided that I would teach my lesson to the entire class. At first, I was concerned that I would not be able to maintain control of all twenty-seven students, but they were able to engage in the activities and work to complete the tasks I had set for them.

I thought that the discussions went really well. I was able to give them opportunities to speak and work with their groups which is not something that are able to do when the regular teacher is in charge. They seemed to really enjoy this and thrived off of the interaction. I also thought that my use of questioning to lead students to answers rather than flat out telling them was done well. Obviously, there is always room for improvement, but I thought that part went well.

The main area where I need improvement was my classroom management. I did not circulate the room enough and the students who are always the “trouble makers” were off task. The other problem was that during the before-reading activity, I had students writing on a timeline on the board and I was not monitoring it closely as we were talking. One student decided not to follow directions and wrote way too much and was off topic. That confused students who were trying to contribute to the time line after him. I need to find a way to monitor what students are doing on the board while I am facilitating discussion.

Time management was also an issue. I overestimated the speed at which my students would be able to read the text so I was not able to complete everything that I had planned because they took so much time to read. I realized after the lesson that the text I selected was not necessarily too difficult, but it was way too long for the amount of time that I had and that the lesson would have been much more successful if it had been shorter.

A Rainy Trip to Camp Schmidt

The other fifth grade intern and I were invited on the overnight trip to Camp Schmidt with our students. We were extremely excited until we saw that it was forecasted to rain the entire time - and, boy, did it rain! Although the weather was less than desirable, it was an experience that I am so glad to have been a part of and one that I will never forget.

We taught the problem-solving course. Students had to work collaboratively to figure out how to complete four tasks. The first was to swing across a pit of "quicksand" using a rope that was hanging directly in the middle of the pit. They had to figure out a.) how to get the rope without stepping in the quicksand and b.) the best technique to swing over the pit without touching. The second challenge was to fit the entire group (between 10 and 12 students) onto a tiny platform. Students struggled with this and not single group was successful. The third activity was the "electric fence" where students had to get through the holes in the fence without touching and part of it. And finally, they had to get over "THE WALL." The wall was almost 8 feet high and students had to work together to get over it. Almost every student was successful and the only ones who weren't refused to try. It was so interesting and entertaining to see how the students worked as a team to get over and through the various obstacles.

Although the activities were fun (students also went on a ropes course and a nature walk, worked on mapping skills, and explored the stream), there were several things that really had me concerned. For one, the walk to the dining hall was almost a mile away and we ate their three times during our stay. All three times, students and chaperones were left behind! I was left behind two out of three times! It was frustrating to see that the individuals in charge really had no idea who was missing from the group and were not concerned enough to wait for them.

I also was extremely bothered by the emphasis that was placed on scaring the students to the point that they were reduced to tears. The story is that Camp Schmidt was built on an old plantation owned by the Clutch family and that Old Man Clutch still haunted the grounds. Although these are "mature" fifth graders, many of the students were sobbing hysterically through the night, too terrified to sleep because of the stories. To increase their terror, one of the teachers and the other intern thought it would be funny to bang on the windows and doors of the cabins and further traumatize the students as they were trying to get to bed. For many students, this was their first night away from home in an unfamiliar environment and they were already scared based on that alone. I'm not sure what part of scaring children is funny, but, regardless, I felt that it was completely inappropriate, unnecessary, and cruel.

Oral Language Observations

For the purpose of this assignment, I observed my homeroom class during reading/language arts instruction. This is a ninety-minute period that lasts from 12:25 pm, when students return from lunch and recess, until 1:55 pm, when students are dismissed to go home. My observations took place on two separate days.

On my first day, September 13, 2010, I observed a lesson on text features found in non-fiction texts. Students were given a worksheet to complete independently. Students were constantly being told to quiet down by the teacher as they worked and after they finished. After they had been given time to work, the teacher went to the front of the room to call on students to provide answers to the questions. A few students were calling out in excitement to share their answers and they were consequently reprimanded. The only time students were permitted to speak was when the teacher called them on and their responses were limited to one or two word answers to the question on the worksheet. The teacher would then respond to say if the answer was correct or incorrect and then to point out the answer on the diagram on the worksheet.

At that point, the students were asked to discuss what they see in non-fiction texts with the people at their table. A timer was set giving students one minute to have their discussion. I was surprised to see that for the first thirty seconds, the students sat in silence as they tried to figure out what the question was asking or they read by themselves. As soon as they began to speak, the timer went off and they were asked to get quiet again. The students who did speak during discussion time supplied a few answers to the question (maps, pictures, bold text, etc.) but did not participate in any actual discussion with their peers. The teacher then asked a few students to share and then asked students to discuss what they thought those “things” were called. They were given thirty seconds, again timed, to talk with their table. Students were silent for the entire thirty seconds. Many of the students were writing down their ideas, but were not sharing them with the group. The teacher then called on one student to share their answer, “text features,” which she said was correct. From that time until dismissal, students work silently and independently on handouts concerning text features.

Student talk was only focused on the piece of writing on their handout. They were never given the opportunity to discuss books or their own experiences.

During the second observation, on Monday, September 20,2010, the situation was very similar. Students sat in silence as they completed worksheet after worksheet. Students were only permitted to speak when called on by the teacher to answer a question and their answers were restricted to only a few words. There was little discussion about why the answers were correct or only incorrect. Again, students were calling out answers without being called on and were disciplined each time.

The observations I made of the oral language in the reading classroom were very disappointing. Students are rarely ever given opportunities to talk with each other about anything. For the most part, the only times they are allowed to speak are when they are called on by the teacher to share an answer which is either deemed correct or incorrect. This is particularly frustrating to watch because most of the students in the class have been identified as Talented and Gifted (TAG) and, when given the chance to speak in other classes, they always stay on topic and make valuable contributions to the conversation. They are excited to share their thoughts with and learn from each other. Their opportunities to speak in reading/language arts are not particularly valuable to their learning. They are not learning any new communication skills by being called on to share a one or two word answer or sitting in silence for almost ninety minutes.

Academically, these students do not seem to really be suffering from the lack of oral communication they are experiencing in the reading/language arts classroom. These students are highly motivated on their own and are already several grades ahead of grade level. They are exceptional readers and writers and that has not changed yet this year. My concern is not that they will fall behind their peers, but that they are being held back from reaching their fullest potential. These students will continue to go above and beyond anything that is expected of them if given the chance. Unfortunately, they are largely being limited to silent work on handouts that provide neither an authentic or meaningful context for the information they are learning. Fortunately, although all but three of the students are African-American or African and many of them learned English as a second language, all students in the class are fluent in English and do seem to struggle with producing or understanding it.

Socially, on the other hand, several of the students are suffering. For many of them, their exceptional intelligence is accompanied by a deficiency in their social skills. Many are uncomfortable working with others and often isolate themselves from the group. Others are consumed by the need for perfection so they think for a long time before they say or write anything. They require more than thirty seconds to get their thoughts together so that they feel prepared to speak, but they are only given thirty seconds for discussion! For this reason, if not for any other, these students should be given more time to speak and work collaboratively with their peers. Their social skills are suffering and they need to be prepared for the “real world” where they are likely going to be required to work with others in a timely manner.

In my future classroom, I will provide many more oral language opportunities than I have observed in this classroom. Students benefit from working with their peers and learning how to participate in conversation. Giving students opportunities to discuss open-ended questions is a great way to do that. In the lesson I observed about non-fiction text features, students would have benefitted from having more time to discuss their ideas and even to create examples with their groups. It may also be beneficial to give students a short amount of time to think about their ideas and write them down, if necessary, before they share with their group like a think-pair-share type of scenario. This would have been beneficial for the perfectionist students in the class and it would also give ELL students time to think about the words they would like to use before they have to speak.

Supervisor Journal #1 - Transitions

In fifth grade at Montpelier Elementary School students switch classes for each subject so transitions had to be established rather quickly. The second day of school was spent listening to lectures about rules and procedures for entering the classroom, turning in work, and making transitions within the classroom and between subjects. For the first week, my mentor teacher had the routines and procedures for preparing for the day posted on the board at all times to tell students what to do. We also provided gentle reminders to students to make sure that everyone was on the same page. This was helpful because it reminded students to prepare for switching classes by putting all of the materials they would need into their tote that they carry from one room to the next. The idea behind this was to cut down on transition time as students would not need to search for and gather their belongings but could simply pick up their totes and go. In theory, this was a great idea. In practice, however, this has not been as successful as I would have hoped. Many students have not brought totes to school and instead pile all of their supplies on their desk until they go to another class where they often drop everything they have in the hallway. Once they have reached their destination, they spend a lot of time settling into their new class, restacking their piles and/or going through their totes to find what they need or asking to go back to another room to get things they forgot. It has been a pretty frustrating environment to work in as the teacher, and I feel that it is also frustrating for the students. The procedures for transitioning between subjects were explicitly discussed and laid out by the teacher, but transitions between activities within the classroom were not as clearly described. Students are still unsure what to do with their work when they are finished – sometimes they put it in their team folder, sometimes they give it to the teacher, sometimes they put it in a basket in the back of the room. This has also been frustrating for students because basically they have to sit in silence and wait for further instructions, which is very difficult for them to do. We have been in school for almost a month, and students are still being reprimanded for getting out of their seats to turn in work or asking what to do next.

During the first week of school, I was able to lead the class in the reading of a short story and the discussion that followed. Students were transitioning from going over their warm-up to going into a lesson about using the elements of a story to visualize what is happening. Initially, getting their attention was simple because they were already using active listening skills to discuss their warm-up. All I had to do was introduce the story and get started reading. During the reading of the text, I maintained their attention by periodically pausing to ask questions or ask them to complete a task like drawing a picture of a character based on a description I had just read. The fact that the story was entertaining was also helpful in maintaining student attention. They were engaged in listening and were excited to hear what was coming next.

Overall, I thought the lesson went well but I would change a few elements if I could do it again. The reading of the story would have been more beneficial if the students had a copy of the text to look at as I read. In the activity I stood in the front of the class and read to them. Although fifth graders do still enjoy being read to, they are more than capable of reading independently or in small groups and/or follow along in the written text as they listen. I would also have liked to better prepare myself for the discussion. I had thought about questions that I would like to ask but I didn’t really think about how I would guide the discussion where I wanted it to go or how to correct misconceptions. I had only thought about what the right answers were and assumed that students would be able to provide them. I found that it was a difficult skill to prompt and question students further to lead them to the correct answer rather than telling them the answer, accidentally or on purpose.

Bouncy Balls and Buttons

Today was my first day going to Science/Social Studies with my homeroom (Red Class). Science and Social Studies are taught by the same teacher during the same period. Generally, he teaches science three days a week and social studies two days a week. His classroom is completely different from anything else I have experienced. Each table has one exercise ball that students sit on. The ball is rotated to a different student each day. At first, I was really distracted by all of the bouncing bodies, but I soon realized that this was a great way for students to get their "wiggles" out while also paying attention to instruction.

They are beginning their study of life sciences and are focusing on classification systems using physical characteristics. Each table was given a handful of buttons of different sizes and shapes and asked to come up with at least two ways to classify or group their buttons. It was really awesome to see how the students worked together to come up with and justify their classification systems. This was also a great way to get them prepared for a lesson on the Linnaean Classfication system which has specific criteria and is much more technical than their button classification systems.

The demeanor of the class as a whole was dramatically different from what I have observed so far in Language Arts. They are much more engaged and full of life, likely because they are given more opportunities to move around and work collaboratively to complete hands on activities. It is amazing to see the difference that the teacher's style can have on the students. This single observation has really motivated me to create engaging lessons that allow students to participate more in their own learning rather than sitting and listening to lectures.