Maggie Reflection 2/28

One of my take-aways for this week is that in order to be effective, I need to focus my energy into making one or two subjects great, rather than trying to save the world with every lesson plan.

I have been putting a lot of time and thought into my math lessons and I have seen some great improvements in what my students understand about fractions from lesson to lesson. Before changing to the interactive math notebook format of lessons, I found that the majority of students were just getting by in each math lesson and not really retaining information over a period of time. When the math unit test would roll around, we would re-teach all of the math from the unit and basically tell them how to do each problem on the test, but with different numbers. Even doing this we found that the majority of students were still not scoring well on the tests. I am hoping that the way in which I've broken down the fractions unit into smaller, simpler chunks and provided a ton of practice will help my students retain the math.

I also changed the format of homework from individual "busy work" worksheets to a homework notebook. Each night's homework involves students finding some way to practice spelling words, and the other part is a short math task. The math homework is essentially a mini-version or extra practice of the math we learned that day in the lesson. If students paid attention to the lesson and did the problems in the lesson, they are 100% able to do the problems on the homework. I have found that this has made homework more clear and straightforward, and I have seen a huge increase in the number of students who actually do the homework.

Moral of the story: I have found success in focusing on just one subject and making it "great" rather than trying to make every lesson every day a life-changer.

Analyzing Student Work

Analyzing Student Work Directions

Sam Reflection 2/23

This week went much better than last week. I was less exhausted and felt like I was starting to get more used to being the lead teacher in the classroom. I even subbed on Wednesday, where Jen was out of the classroom the whole time and it was a much better day than when I subbed last week! I've started following through on consequences more and having a tougher skin with that, and I think that has helped.

It was also my first time teaching a whole Reading Street Unit. The test results from this unit will definitely help inform what I need to be focusing on next unit. Math and Science will be wrapping up next, and I will begin the Science unit that I planned soon.

I learned a lot from my Social Studies lesson from Wednesday. There were a lot of concepts that I was trying to pack into one day, and the kids were sitting for too long. I needed to break things down more and get my kids moving around. I have really found that they sit down and focus on independent work after they are able to move around and do something kinesthetic or collaborative. I need to use this fact to inform my teaching and planning.

I am out Monday for PLC/planning, and it was great to have the Sub Folder that we made last semester to be able to use and make sub plans easily. I am looking forward to this week and will get the rest and planning done that I need this weekend to be ready to go Monday!

Norah's 2/23 Reflection

 This past week went well. I felt myself becoming even more comfortable with transitions and knowing how to move with the unknown changes a day can bring. Friday evening I spent time in my classroom, making sure I felt organized and had the week ahead planned out with activities for students to do in case they've finished early. I have new math groups posted, and also new expectations to cover Monday morning. Students will have a reading book for the day on their desks at all times, new turn in areas, math group folders, and options for students that finish tasks early.

Over the weekend I focused a lot of time on how to fix Daily 5 in my classroom. Over the past month, I haven't seen any positive changes or growth. Therefore this past weekend I've looked over MAP scores and re-created groups based off of my students scores in foundational skills and vocabulary. I did this because my students seem to be struggling with comprehension and I wasn't seeing full participation in my groups. I also added a new station, writing. This allows for 5 different groups, lowering the group size number. Next, it would be helpful to eliminate the fact that students choose the way they rotate, and just have a choice in what he or she does at the given station. They may cut down on talking in transition and waste less time in the long run.

Maggie Reflection 2/23

I feel like I am finally becoming "the teacher" in my students' eyes. Or at least most of the time. I have had more opportunities to be on my own in the classroom this week (without my MT there) and I have seen a positive change in my students behavior and in their response to my way of doing things. One of my goals when I started lead teaching, was to try and think of a way to manage my classroom without "yelling" at my class. I felt that this method created a hostile and negative environment and it wasn't working as a long term solution to behavior in the classroom. I have been using the color card system to reward positive behaviors (such as stopping talking and looking at me when I say 3, 2, 1, voices off) rather than as much for negative behaviors. On the same hand, there were times when a behavior kept occurring in the same few students, and at that point I would use the color cards to flip those students to a "lower color". When I see a student working really hard, staying on task, and not distracting those around them, I say "NAME you can flip to blue card". The reaction of most of the students to this is that they quickly start working and not talking. I don't know about the longevity of this system, but so far, so good.

Sam's Blog Reflection

This week went much better than last week. I was less exhausted and felt like I was starting to get more used to being the lead teacher in the classroom. I even subbed on Wednesday, where Jen was out of the classroom the whole time and it was a much better day than when I subbed last week! I've started following through on consequences more and having a tougher skin with that, and I think that has helped. 

It was also my first time teaching a whole Reading Street Unit. The test results from this unit will definitely help inform what I need to be focusing on next unit. Math and Science will be wrapping up next, and I will begin the Science unit that I planned soon. 

I learned a lot from my Social Studies lesson from Wednesday. There were a lot of concepts that I was trying to pack into one day, and the kids were sitting for too long. I needed to break things down more and get my kids moving around. I have really found that they sit down and focus on independent work after they are able to move around and do something kinesthetic or collaborative. I need to use this fact to inform my teaching and planning. 

I am out Monday for PLC/planning, and it was great to have the Sub Folder that we made last semester to be able to use and make sub plans easily. I am looking forward to this week and will get the rest and planning done that I need this weekend to be ready to go Monday!

Week of 2/10 Reflection

We could all comment on this post for our reflections for this past week!