Final Week Reflection

April 23rd

What have you seen in language arts/reading instruction? What connections have you seen between what you observed and our readings  and/or class discussions.

- Tuesday our teacher had a meeting on universal screening so we had a substitute.  Since we had a sub there was not as much teaching, it was more seat work.  We did help out with reading groups again and in my group the children rote their trick words five times each in different colors.  The substitute read them a story before lunch and i noticed that she was very enthusiastic which caught the student’s attention!

Have you done any teaching in your internship? What have you taught ? Have you worked with a child or a group of children? What did you do with them (e.g., picture/word sort, DRTA, Text Talk) ?

- I helped out with the student’s individual reading and trick words.  The child would come read their book to me and I would see if they could recite their trick words without errors.  This was my favorite time of day because I got to see how the students improved over the time I was at the school.

Comment on any interesting things that you have noticed about your school, the teachers, the students, or the curriculum.

- Nothing out of the ordinary happened on Tuesday but I did appreciate all of the thanks we got from the teachers and principal!  The students made Kelley and I goodbye cards and they were so sweet.  I really enjoyed going to Moravian Falls and learned so much from the precious children in our class.

Post any questions that you have about teaching/learning.

Reflections April 16th

What have you seen in language arts/reading instruction? What connections have you seen between what you observed and our readings  and/or class discussions.

- The fundations program is continuing to be worked with.  During reading groups I helped out by playing a matching game with the children dealing with blends and digraphs.  On Tuesday the teacher was really trying to get the children to come up with a story on something that they had done in the past week and this was hard for the children.  They kept wanting to right about something they were going to do or make the story up.  The class had their universal screening and the teacher was hoping that they had improved since the last screening.

Have you done any teaching in your internship? What have you taught ? Have you worked with a child or a group of children? What did you do with them (e.g., picture/word sort, DRTA, Text Talk) ?

- As I said in the last question I helped with reading groups and had five children to myself.  There were pictures on magnetic boards and the child had to find the blend or digraph, and the ending letters to spell the word out. This was a great activity because it was fun as well as very educational.  The children really knew their blends and digraphs and the activity seemed almost too easy for them.

Comment on any interesting things that you have noticed about your school, the teachers, the students, or the curriculum.

- I thought the universal screening was interesting because it wasn’t exactly an EOG but still a form of assesment to let the school know how well the child was doing.  It seemed like a very good way to see how the child was doing because there was a mixture of important activities that the children had been working on.

Post any questions that you have about teaching/learning.

Reflection Week 2

What have you seen in language arts/reading instruction?

I have seen a lot of the techniques that we learned in your class.  Today our teacher did choral reading with the lower level students and DTRA with the higher level students.  Every day they have “fundations” where they learn about consonant blends, digraphs, and how to “tap out” words.  It all clicks now that I am in the classroom and when you would always sound out the words makes a lot more since now.  Every child learns how to spell the word they are writing by tapping out each sound on the fingers.  I find myself doing this with them to help them get it and it seems to be the most effective way.  Today the teacher read them an easter story and they made up there own easter story and wrote it out on paper bunnys.

What have you taught in your internship?

I help the children with the books they take home every night and their trick words.  I let the teacher know whether they need another night of practice or if they are ready for a new set.  I help the children tap our words in small groups and I even got to lead my own fundations small group.  During this i said the word, helped them tap it out, then they made the word on their magnetic board. It is great to know that I can make a difference in their lives and really help them learn how to read and write!

Comment on any interesting things that you have noticed about your school, the teachers, the students, or the curriculum.

This week has been really great because my partner and I have completed all of our assignments that need to be done in the schools, all we have left are the write-ups.  Today we went to the library where every child got a free book to keep.  It is a program or grant they have that every  child gets a free book each month, which is amazing!  We also had an easter egg hunt that was so much fun because the students got to go hunt for eggs in the pretty weather.  I have noticed that almost every child in my class is in letter-name stage, but a few are making it up to within word.  Most of the teachers at this school seem wonderful despite the situation they are in and are really making a difference in these students lives.

Post any questions that you have about teaching/learning.

1.  How to get a student to correctly spell a word when they don’t understand by “tapping it out”?

2.  How could my teacher make time for social studies and science because the students don’t have these subjects at all?

3.  How to teach chidren words with silent “e’s” or letters in general?