Week 12-Field

What? This week was the second week of field experience. We had the opportunity to teach and help out more and also to teach 2 social studies lessons. For the first social studies lesson we taught we created a power point but we weren't able to hook up the computer at the school so were weren't able to use it. Erica and I have learned a lot about accommodating when things don't work out exactly the way we planned. The second time we taught created the power point in Google Presentations so we were able to use the teachers computer to do the power point. Google Presentations is very helpful because so long as you have the internet you have access to your presentation.

So What? I have actually enjoyed working with and teaching the 6th graders more than I thought I would. I was so scared to teach them because I want to teach 2nd or 3rd grade. I never thought I would do well working with the older kids but I have actually enjoyed it. This field experience has helped me to realize that I can do things that I originally thought I could not do. It is good to be able to try new things and gain different experiences and a new perspective on my abilities.

We were able to incorporate art into one of the lessons we taught this week. we taught the students about different city states in Ancient Greece and then we divided the students into groups and assigned each group to be a different city state: Athens, Sparta, Thebes, etc. and had them create a flag representing their city state. We gave them an info card about their city state and told them to use that information to create their flag. The kids had a lot of fun with it and I think it will really help them remember the information about the city state they did their flag on.

Now What? I have learned a lot from watching my cooperating teacher teach the students. There are a lot of things that I would do similar to what she does and other things that I would do completely different. It is fun to get ideas from her and see different approaches to teaching so I can find out better what way I would like to teach and to see first hand how these things apply in the real classroom and how students respond to these teaching methods. I know that in my future classroom I will teach math different than she does. The kids do not seem to understand the math very well at all. There are a lot of things I would try differently.

Week #11: Field

What? This week we started our 3 week field experience. Erica and I are in a 6th grade class at Edgemont Elementary in Provo. We haven't had the opportunity to teach yet, but we've observed a lot and we've been helping the kids out, especially with math. I've realized I've forgotten all the 6th grade math I know and I've been relearning it as I help the students with their questions. This has been helpful to me because I realize that just because I've learned something in school, doesn't mean I will remember it when it comes time to actually teach it.

So What? We have not seen the students do very many art projects. They are, however, making a movie about the Trojan War and we were able to see them film some of it. I think this is really helpful to the students. They learn Greek history while at the same time they are developing their language, memorizing lines, learning how to speak clearly and confidently, and having fun. I think this is a great way to help the kids learn Greek history in a fun way that will help them actually remember it.

Now What? I think that observing the teacher and helping the students with their questions will be really helpful to me as a future teacher. I've learned so much about how the classroom works and what things work for the students and what doesn't. A lot of the kids in the class really don't understand the math. It is helpful to see what the teacher does to try to help them understand. When I have my own classroom, I will have to use different techniques to help my students understand topics when the way I thought would work, doesn't work. I could teach a whole lesson and they might not get it and I'll have to find a new way to teach it.

Reflection #10

What? This week, Erica and I worked on figuring out what lessons we will teach during field and how we will integrate creative arts into those lessons. We are going to teach a unit on Ancient Greece so we were able to add the arts in easily.

So What? For one lesson, we are going to have them make a flag in groups representing their city-state (Olympia, Athens, Sparta, etc.). We will give them an info card about their groups city-state and have them design a flag using markers, colored pencils, etc. incorporating the information on the info card into their flag in a visual way. For the second creative arts integration we are still deciding between 2 different activities, both in the drama category. For one, we thought we could have them do a mock trial. We would assign students to be different Greek gods and goddesses and they must answer the questions as if they are that person. Our second idea is an idea that Erica found online. Zeus, the head god, is retiring and he is taking applications for a new head god. We would assign the students each to be a different god or goddess and ask them interview questions and they would have to tell us, as their character, why they should be the new head god/goddess.

Now What? Now we will have to develop the ideas further and after we meet the students on Monday we will decide between the two drama activities which we think would work better for that particular class and which activity they would like better. Also, we have not came up with an idea for the trial, so we can't think of anything, we will end up doing the drama activity. We also need to decide what kind of paper we would like to have the students make their flags on and if the teacher has it or if we need to provide it for them.

Reflection #9

What? I learned a lot during the music presentation. I don't know a lot about music and I'm a really bad singer. Singing with the group helped me to realize maybe I can sing with my students. I just have to practice a lot so I can actually sing in tune and stick to really simple song.I realized that songs are a really good way to help kids remember confusing things such as parts of speech and dates in history. It's easier to remember things when they are put into a song.

So What? I think it will be good to remember how much easier it was to learn when the groups sang the songs over and over again. When I'm teaching I think I'll be tempted to put up a poster with the words on it if my students are able to read it. I need to remember that's not the most effective way to teach a song.

Now What? I will work on singing so that I can sing in tune and not teach my students wrong. I need to find lots of good CD's with music on them to teach with since I might not be able to sing well enough to teach no matter how much I practice. I really liked the idea of using music to teach the parts of speech. I think I will get some more Ruth Heller books and use them to make up some more songs to teach about nouns, verbs, etc. I really think that music helps the kids remember it longer.