Last Week in Mrs. Way’s Classroom

The last week in Mrs. Ways classroom was interesting.  We had a substitute teacher come in and the students would not listen him.  I felt a little guilty because I was not sure whether to jump in and have the students listen to me or let him keep going without them listening.  I finally decided to take control of the students and, I am glad to say, they listened right away.  I did not want to “over-step my bounds” but something had to be done.  After that, the children were great.

I taught my last lesson the past week and it was fun.  I taught them about adding and subtracting 10’s and 20’s.  The students really seemed to grasp the concept.  After the lecture portion, we played a game to gain a better understanding of the concept.  I chose the partners because some students would not work as well together but I did have one issue with my lesson.  I completely forgot to go over the rules with the class.  After a little while, they understood on their own but I feel that if I had gone over the rules with them, they would have understood faster.  The only thing I can do is to learn from this mistake and read the rules with them.  Otherwise than that, everything was wonderful.

Week 7 in Field

This week, it was wonderful to have the sun!!!!! I could tell that the students seemed to be in better moods and just more cheerful! I loved it!

I have still been having issues with Bobby. I feel as though he has already given up with school. When I was working with him today, he did a whole page of subtraction by himself with little help from me. After he was done, I said, “Wow, Bobby! Look how smart you are!” He replied with “Im not smart.” I felt awful because he knows he is a little behind in concepts. So, the only reply I could think of is” Oh Bobby! I know you are smart and you know it too! Dont forget, I am a teacher so I have seen a lot of students and I KNOW you are smart.” Whether that was good to say or not, I dont know. I was taken aback and that was all I could think to say. I know he can do math if he is more motivated and I find it frustrating that I am working with him for only 10- 20 minutes a day. I know that he is a bright kid, he just needs to learn that too.

Field Week 6

This past week I taught a lesson in science. Mrs Way has a huge book about the Earth and it talks about children working together to save the Earth. Then, the students and I brainstormed how we could reduce, reuse and recycle (3 R’s.)  I found this good song for kids about the 3R’s (please ignore the random photos of the artist.)

Almost everyday, I work with a reading group of about 6 students. We have been reading science books and then the students and I discuss the readings. I like working with them except a few of them get really excited and loud. Otherwise, they are all really nice kids. Mrs. Way told me that most of the teachers do not teach science as a subject but incorporate it in their reading. I disagree with doing that. I feel that the students need to experience science through experiments and being more “hands-on.” Reading is great and needed to get by in the world but I feel science is equally important.