Week 6 (4/10-4/14) Trying Something New

Even though we had Iowa assessments all week resulting in 30 to 35 minute classes, this week has been packed with a lot. First off I tried something different with my 6^th period class which always has trouble staying on task. They are constantly talking, blurting out answers and asking questions that are off topic. It is a constant redirecting of questions and effort to bring them back on task. They are a great class, great kids, but are super super chatty!! Typically I would constantly stop and redirect them to what we were doing, but Tuesday I decided I had enough and needed to do something about it (especially it being my official first week of teaching).  I decided to bring in classroom management strategies that I used at the middle school (they were behaving like younger children). I started off Wednesday addressing the issue and explaining to them that we were going to try something different, and silly. I told them my expectations, when I say this you say that and that’s your cue that it is time to be quiet and put full attention to me. They immediately asked if they were the only class with whom I was doing this with because they were a “bad class” I told them, yes they were the only class with whom I was doing this with, but I made it clear that it was not because they were a bad class they are just the liveliest of my classes.  I didn’t want them to feel like they were bad kids, because they aren’t so I made sure I made that very clear. Things worked out well for the rest of the day. The next day, they didn’t like the attention getter, they said it made them feel like little kids. I acknowledged their feelings I asked them what it was that we could do as a class to stay on task. After a short discussion we agreed that I would work on my authoritive voice and they would work on staying on task. The rest of the week went by well, there are time where they become chatty but it has not become excessive like before.

The other thing that happened this week was an activity called Spelldown which my student absolutely loved! Standing in front of the classroom and observing my students interact with each other and be fully engrossed in the activity was an amazing feeling. I could tell by the atmosphere in the classroom and the eagerness in the students that each one of them was engaged. I had the opportunity to do this activity with my level 3 and level 2 Spanish classes and both levels enjoyed it. The activity served as a review for their vocabulary spelling test.

Next week will be filled with more engaging activities as my CT and I experiment without QR activity that will require or students venturing the hallways (more to come on this activity on my next blog!!)

Link to Spelldown lesson

https://1drv.ms/w/s!AqLF30a58fJHlXDn2zHfRIBaymai

Week 5 (4/3-4/7) Loteria!!

La Loteria 

        This week I used a traditional Mexican game called La Loteria. La Loteria is similar to bingo; everyone has a playing card and there is a deck of calling cards and they use beans as tokens to mark down what has been called. You yell LOTERIA! When you win.  

One of the playing cards for Spanish 3

I adapted this game to my Spanish 2 and Spanish 3 level classes. I created playing cards and calling cards using their vocabulary words. I even brought in the beans!! I first shared with them what the traditional game was all about, and some of the traditions that go with it.  I explained the rules and we were set to go.  For the first round we started playing as a whole class and I was the caller.  We played a couple rounds and I allowed some students to be the ones to call the cards. I also gave students options. For example, they decided what kind of game they wanted to play (fill the card, four corners, diagonal, any four in a row etc.) I also gave them the option to continue playing as a whole class or break up into two smaller groups. Some of my classes decided to continue playing as a whole and two decided to play in two smaller groups

One of the playing cards for Spanish 2

 Overall, the activity went really well. My students were engaged and excited, some more than other but overall students seemed to be enjoying it. During my 5^th period class the students thanked me for doing this activity with them. One of them said “thank you for coming into our lives, we usually just have to memorize things. This was really fun and I actually feel like I remember the vocab better”. It was super sweet and it reminded me that all the time and effort I put in adapting and creating this activity for them was worth it!

Week Four (3/27-3/31) Grammar, Grammar, Grammar!

Last week and this week we have been working on introducing some new grammar concepts as well as reiterating concepts we covered last chapter.  When it comes to speaking, listening, and culture aspects of the Spanish language I am 100% confident/comfortable teaching it and explaining it. It’s when we get to the grammar aspect of language that my confidence drops. Growing up as a native Spanish speaker explaining grammar was not given much emphasis. I know how to conjugate for different tenses, I know what the structure of a sentence should look and sound like and so forth. So I should have nothing to worry about. However, because I don’t feel 100% when explaining grammar it takes an impact on how I deliver that information.  Some say that, in acquiring a new language, knowing that buscó (looked for) encontró (found) are in the preterit are not important. They say that it is more important to know the concept that when speaking of events that happened yesterday, a year ago or in childhood require these conjugations.  I personally think that both can be used in the classroom. For some students it might be helpful to know what the name of the concept is, and for others it might be easier to think of it as situations in which you use those tenses.

            Going into this week I will have more opportunities to practice instruction of grammar. I am preparing myself to explain concepts in more than one way to make sure that I know it from memory. I have also talked with my CT about tips and tricks that I can use during grammar lessons. In addition, I will explain the concepts to my CT before I do it with the students to get some practice and feedback. I will also try to be more confident with presenting grammar points. Confidence is a huge part!

For Spanish 2 we are starting with the concept of direct object pronouns, but before we get there we are scaffolding by first labeling the parts of a sentence and what they do.  

Week 3 3/20-3/24: Starting off on the right foot!

Last week was filled with a lot. I started of the week Monday by taking my content area praxis test, glad to have gotten that out of the way! Tuesday was my first day back and it went well. Over break I created a playlist (with help from Faby) from which I chose a song for each day I will be in the classroom. The song plays before each class starts during passing period. As students walk in they are able to look to the board and follow along with the lyrics or just listen to it. Songs typically run from 3 to 5 minutes, and they know that once the song ends it is time to start class.

In choosing the songs I decided to carefully select a large array of artists from the many Spanish speaking countries. I printed a copy of the list of songs and posted it to the door so students are able to look ahead to see what songs will be playing for the week. Along with the date, name of song and artist I included a little blurb that tells the students where the artist is from. This is a good way to bring authentic material (culture) into the classroom and set classroom procedures.

So far it has been engaging and sets the mood for the day. It is great to see students come into class saying “I know this song!” and the couple brave ones that sing along! I already have a song request for April’s playlist and have had a student try to convince us to have the music play during the first five minutes of class. His argument revolved around the idea that listening to the songs at the beginning of class would help him learn new vocab and to retain past vocab. Although compelling, both my CT and I agreed that would not be likely to happen!

Week 3/6-3/10 Songs, Excitement, and More!

I have three sections of Spanish II and three sections of Spanish III. For most of last week and the beginning of this week I had been primarily working with my Spanish II classes. I had not addressed the whole class (Spanish III class) since the first couple of days of my placement. I had been greeting them as they came in at the beginning of class and saying goodbye, so on Tuesday when I began class and helped correct homework they were super excited! This level of excitement was not something that I was expecting from my high school students, it was great! My CT told me later in the day that there had been a couple Spanish III students that had asked “When is Srta. Angulo talking to us again?” Since Tuesday, I have been involved more and more with both classes and have lead for the majority of class time.  

For the most part they seem to be excited to hear someone else speak Spanish. My CT has mentioned that the only Spanish they hear is from the audio activities and herself. Having me in the classroom has exposed them to another Spanish voice. This is significant to me because part of my philosophy of foreign language is that students should be exposed to as much auditory input as possible. Therefore, I try to use the least amount of English as possible.

One of the activity that I created included listening to a Spanish Pop song. They were to listen to the song and fill in the blanks in the lyrics. As soon as the song started they all looked startled, and in disbelief that they would be able to catch all the words. I assured them that it was fine, and that I knew they could do it! As the song went on I was able see the students tapping their feet or bobbing their heads to the beat of the music—they were enjoying it J After listening to the song twice we went over the lyrics to make sure they had them down correctly. I then used the lyrics as an opportunity to include grammar (I had them conjugate verbs that were are working on). This was really fun for me, and the students really enjoyed it.  Also, my CT really liked it and I shared it with another Spanish teacher in the building who said she liked it and might use it in her classroom!

Week One (2/27-3/3) Hola!

First week of our second placement is almost over and it has definitely been an interesting transition for me. For starters, I have transitioned from seventh grade social studies to high school Spanish.  Class goes at a much different pace. It goes faster when it comes to directions, and we are always changing from one activity to the next. It is not unusual if we do four or more activities in on class period. I am also getting used to the size of the school—just in the Spanish department there are eight Spanish teachers! Another difference from 7^th grade to high school has been the level of energy. In 7^th grade I was constantly trying to meet their energy, in high school energy gets focused on getting them to be energetic and not just sit there.  

I’ve started taking attendance (hopefully this helps me learn ALL the names) and I am also getting the “power school 101 crash course”. Entering grades and figuring out all the tricks has been very useful, but I have seen how time consuming it is—definitely not one of the fun things to do in teaching. I been able to get involved here and there with some vocab practice and today with introducing a new grammar concept. I am looking forward to next week when I start doing a bit more in the class.

Week 2/20-2/24: Observations!

This week I had the opportunity to observe other teachers in the building. I visited the 7^th grade science teacher, 6^th and 8^th grade social studies teacher, 7^th and 8^th grade language art teacher and the 6^th-8^th Spanish teacher. Not only was it a great experience for me to see other teaching styles, but I was also able to see my students in different classroom situations. I noticed that some students that are typically quiet in my class were more talkative in science and vice versa. This got me to think about how teachers influence a classroom as well as how the different mix of student (social aspect) influences how a student act/performs in class.

As soon as I walked into 7^th grade science I was bombarded with questions, “ Ms. Angulo are you teaching us Science today—are you our teacher today?” “Ms. Angulo this isn’t social studies!” “Ms. Angulo what are you doing here?” I explained to them that I was just going to sit in and observe.  I was surrounded by them! An unexpected thing that occurred was having some students come to me with questions—“Ms. Angulo is it okay if we look this up?” or “Ms. Angulo, can you help us with this?”  This showed me that they had become comfortable enough to ask me questions (even if they were not social studies questions). It also made me feel like they actually regarded me as one of their teachers—which felt very nice!  

I received a variety of ideas from observing the different teachers form varying subjects in middle school. I wrote down some strategies/activities that I think could work great in social studies. Furthermore, having the opportunity to visit these classes showed me the importance of teacher collaboration and professionalism. It has been an amazing 7 weeks here. I am most definitely going to miss the students, teachers, and staff! They all made me feel welcomed and part of the school community.

Week 2/13-2/17: ONE-ON-ONE

Take away from this week--working one-on-one with a student is rewarding!

Billy* needed extra help with chapter 3. He had not finished reading the chapter nor had he completed the reading notes packet that had been assigned a few weeks ago. He was going through the motions in class, but not really making connections. There was a high possibility that Billy* would do well in the chapter 3 test. My CT and I decided it would be more beneficial, for Billy*, to give him extra help and an extension on the test. Doing otherwise would set him noticeable behind.  

We started Monday and set some goals:

• ·       Finish reading chapter 3
• ·       Complete reading notes packet
• ·       Go over notes taken in class.

o   Get notes that are missing or incomplete

• ·       Go over study guide for chapter 3
• ·       Go over skills/procedures that will help him as we move on to chapter 5

o   Complete assignments on time

o   Note taking skills

o   Organizational skills

• ·       Take chapter 3 test by Friday ( 2/17/17)

As the week progressed I was able to notice growth. We were going at his pace, something that you cannot do when you are in front of the whole class. The best part was when I did a review game with him and I was able to see the excitement in his face every time he got a question right. I could truly see it in his face when he knew something. When he had trouble responding to a question I made sure to ask him what the hesitation was and clear up any confusion that had him second guessing. Thursday we ended by going over what he needed to be done to be ready for the test. We went over material he would need to look over, and how he should go about finding them again. It was made clear that this is a process that he will have to start doing on his own.

Today he took the test, and the work paid off. He did very well on the assessment, and we hope that he is able to apply what was modeled for him this time to future classes.

Week 2/6-2/10: CHAOS

This week students had Iowa Assessments for half the day on Tuesday (periods 1-3) and half the day on Wednesday (periods 5-7). My CT took the day off on Tuesday to recover because she had been sick all weekend and we had a substitute teacher. The substitute teacher was nice, but was unable to get full attention from the students. This resulted in complete chaos. Students were talking to each other, and because they were talking to each other they had no idea what to do so they would end up asking the same questions over and over again. I waited to see if the sub would change his approach, or at least get everyone to be quiet until he finished instruction. He attempted to quiet them down but many continued to talk to each other in whispers.  After a couple of minutes of watching this chaos I decided to step in. ( I had been hesitant at first because I was not given instruction to give out the Iowa Assessment) I used our classroom attention getter ( I “Red Robin” students “Yummmm”) Once I had their attention I was able to clear up some of the confusion, as well as make instruction clear. I made expectations clear and went around the classroom to make sure that students had completed the forms correctly as did the sub. It felt great to have the students listen to me and follow my instructions.

However, following the assessment students proceeded to their 4^th-7^th period classes. Having to teach after the assessments was a bit tough. It took a lot of effort to keep them focused on what we were doing. I had to stop multiple times because they would begin to have side conversations any moment they got a chance to. If a paused to wait for them to take something out or finish writing they would start talking. If I asked a question they would start whispering as I had someone answer the question. The last time I stopped I had to give them a lecture on being respectful and covered expectations one more time. This was the first time that I’ve had to stop teaching to address a problem. Ultimately –after the expectations were reiterated—they remained on task.  My fifth period class came in and I had a similar side talking problem with them as well. This time I didn’t wait until I was interrupted time and time again to address all the side conversations going on and was able to put a stop to it much earlier in the class period. By the time my 6^th period class came in I didn’t give them the benefit of the doubt and before starting I went over expectations and made it clear that having side conversations was disrespectful and made it very difficult for me to teach and was distracting to their peers. By doing this at the beginning of class I was able to avoid stopping continuously throughout the lesson. It was also interesting to see how the students policed peers around them who would go of task. In all, I’ve had another great week! I can’t believe that we only have two more weeks left.

  

  

Week 1/30-2/3 : Finding my Style

My CT is great at showing her emotions. What I mean by that is that she wears her emotions and expresses them well. For example, if she is excited about something and wants the kids to feel the excitement she will throw her hands in the air, raise her voice and make it a very dramatic thing. She’s moving around the classroom and has the student’s full attention. Likewise, when students are not paying attention and it is clearly a frustrating thing she will dramatically sigh and make the problem known. Furthermore, she is very responsive to students; being big and dramatic and expressive is my CT’s style and it works great for her.

Over the last couple of weeks I have been reflecting on my style, and thinking “What is my style?” “Do I even have a style?” “Am I being responsive enough?” “How do I find my style?”  One thing that I know for sure is that I am not like my CT, and if I tried to act like her it would all seem artificial. I am very laid back and don’t usually express my emotions physically. However, after talking to my CT about it I have come to realize that even though I am not loud and dramatic, I do tend to smile a lot and laugh along with my students. The students see that I enjoy being with them and in a sense create a calm environment. Now what I have to do is go out of my comfort zone and try other things that work well with who I am and my students. Talking to other teachers in the building has shown me that sometimes a high five when a students has a great response goes a long way, and other times a smile and eye contact suffice.

Great advice from my CT “Finding your style will happen gradually, but that doesn’t mean that you sit around until it happens. You have to step out and find it.” 

Week 1/23-1/27: Movie Day!

This week I had my students watch a film. As was expected they were excited about it and foresaw the movie as a free day. The “yays” and “woos” shortly turned into sighs and grunts when I announced that they would have to take notes throughout the movie. Some, I assume, still viewed that as a free day. After all you can go undetected and get away with not doing much when the classroom is dark.  However, that presumption soon went away when I informed them that I would throughout the film be stopping at specific points. The stopping points allowed me to reiterate key themes of the film, check for understanding and to ensure that students were comprehending the big picture idea. This strategy also helped student who don’t have strong note taking skills. I made it clear that they should focus on highlighted themes, but to pay special attention to the moments in which I would stop the film. By doing so I ensured that students focused and had notes on what was important. Furthermore, I have typed my notes on the film and printed a few copies to offer students who were absent the opportunity to have those notes. I have also allowed students who wish to compare their notes to mine the opportunity to do so as well. This serves as a self-evaluating tool for students who are unsure of their note taking skills.

A goal from last week was to keep in mind the importance of structure and clear instruction. I feel like I have carried that well into this week and have improved from last week. Today a student’s question reminded me of the importance of stating the purpose or objective of an assignment. This is something that I had been forgetting to do or not been clear on because no one had to this day questioned the reasons behind what we were doing. My goal moving forward is to always state the purpose of an assignment. The purpose is essential and allows the student to know that their work is important and useful to them.

Week 1/16-1/20 :Every Day is a Learning Day

This week I had complete control of the classroom Thursday and Friday while my CT was out of town. I used an activity that my CT has done in the past and tweaked it to make it my own. In my lesson plan I had some front loading (something that my CT hasn’t done before) which is what day one consisted of. It was my first time leading a full 37 minute class—early dismissal day—in which I had to provide content and lots of instructions.

There are many things that I learned from being in charge all day. One of them, is that getting the hang of classroom management takes time! There are many many attention getters that can be used and are effective. The substitute teacher in the classroom with me was really helpful in helping me find something that worked for my students and I. He asked the kids to recall the Red Robin slogan to which they all said, “Yummm” from then on we established that whenever he or I said, “Red Robin” they  were to say “Yummm”, stop talking  and pay their full attention to the teacher in charge (me). During lunch hour other teachers also told me about the little things that they do in their classrooms. It is definitely something that I have to practice and find a groove that works with me and my students. --I will continue to use the “Yummm” thing while I am here, they seem to get it, and it worked.

Second, timing is important. I need to get used to checking the time to see when the period is over to figure out how much time I have left and what absolutely needs to get done during the period. --I ran out of time 3rd and 4th hour and didn’t get to make groups so by 5th and 6th hour I decided to ask myself “what do I want them to get from this?” by doing that I was able to make the information more concise and to the point. By making that small change I gained enough minutes to be able to assign groups at the end of the period.

Third, I have to remember to go step by step and structure is important! (I think it is essential especially in younger grades) When I asked my two questions during first period there was confusion as to what they were answering/doing. I realized that it would be more effective and clear if I ask one question at a time and give them time to process. It worked so much better once I did that!

 Furthermore, I knew modeling for students was important, I truly realized that modeling is not only helpful to the student but to me as well. By modeling I avoided confusion, and the million questions that follow. Things flow much smoother.

Overall, I think it went well! The students were responsive and I was able to maintain their attention. My goal for next time is to keep what I experienced in mind and to remember to do those things that we often overlook. I realized that sometimes it those little things that make a difference in the lesson’s flow.

(what my lesson plan looked like by the end of the day)

P.S.

The activity went great! Students remained on task, and I was able to go from station to station to check on their progress and allowed me to bond with them more (one of them said that I was her favorite student teacher!  J). Big thing I have experienced myself is that every class is different. Some class periods the students needed more of my guidance, while other class periods students were moving from point A to B with little assistance from me. We will be debriefing on Monday.  I really enjoyed doing this activity with them!

Professionalism with a side of smiles!

Professionalism as we discussed during our workshops on Monday is composed on many parts. One aspect of professionalism which I believe is essential is self-care which is necessary to perform at the highest of our abilities. That’s because when we feel good emotionally and physically we have a better chance of making important connections necessary for student teacher relationships as well as teacher to teacher relationships. Dressing well, being timely and knowing how to choose our battles are other important aspect of professionalism.

Day 1

I’m going to ruin the end of my first day of my student teaching story by spilling it right now that I had an AMAZING first day! I arrived at Solon Middle School—my morning home for the next 7 weeks—at 7:45 am.  Immediately I was greeted by warm, friendly smiles by the people in the front office. Every teacher and staff member that crossed my path either acknowledged me with a smile or greeted me with a “good morning”. It felt nice to be welcomed.

 In the classroom I got the opportunity to introduce myself to the students. I used a PowerPoint with a couple of pictures to help with my short introduction. I proceeded to ask them about activities they are involved in, interesting facts about themselves or their family. Without a doubt I learned pretty amazing things about them. My second day was no different. I have met and held short conversations with other faculty in the building as well as with the students.

I have been arriving early to the school because that gives me an opportunity to interact with the other teachers. It has also given me the opportunity to allow some students that want extra study time for their geography test into the classroom. Arriving earlier and interacting with other members of the school shows my professionalism in a way that shows that I care. It also tells me much about the professionalism about the faculty and staff of the school. They demonstrate it each day by welcoming me warmly. In addition, so far I have not heard any bashing of students in the teachers’ lounge. It is not that they don’t talk about students, because they do, it’s that they talk about students in a positive way.

This has been beneficial for me because it has shown me how a professional community supports and aid’s each other to succeed. All the positive energy can be felt and it really has an impact on how my day goes. This environment has allowed me to feel comfortable which in turn has allowed me to be confident. The openness of the school has allowed me to feel like I can go up to anyone and start up a conversation which is important in networking. Another amazing thing that has showed that they care is them giving importance to how to pronounce my last name. This not only shows me that they recognize that names are important to people’s identity, but it also shows that they are welcoming through their actions. This has really allowed me to feel part of the school in a short period of time.

My goal is to follow their example where ever I go. I am already a friendly person, but this experience has really shown me how far a warm smile can go. This is important for me to model because it will help create the professional community that I am currently immersed in. I will continue to arrive early to make sure I do not miss out on networking opportunities and bonding with the students because it is essential to establishing relationships.

Inspirations and Legacy

What inspired me to be a teacher?

I ultimately want to be a role model for my students. As an educator I have the potential to make a change. Whether it be big or small I have the potential to show them that learning is not always boring. In particular with history, many student find it tedious to learn—as many say, “about a bunch of old dead people.” I want to be the teacher that shows them that learning is not about memorizing dates and attempting to get the ‘A’. I aim to make material relevant to their lives and present it in a form that allows the student to become curious and want to learn more. Watching student become eager about learning more and applying to their lives is what inspire me to be an educator. The possibility that I can make students become passionate about learning is a rewording feeling.

What do I hope to leave behind?

My goal as an educator is to have my students question information. I want them to look at history and think about the perspective in which it was written or created. In this matter I also aim at including the voices that are often left out of the narrative. This includes reading or analyzing a document and discussing who wrote it, who was left out, and figure out what else the document is depicting aside from the obvious. I hope to show my student to look at their social world through different lenses that would allow them to be able to comprehend their perspective on the world as well as, how and why it differs from someone else’s perspective.