Week 4
Week four in the books! I cannot believe I am 1/4 of the way through student teaching.
This week was a little different for me. I taught all three 60 minute social studies blocks on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I tackled Lesson 1 in Chapter 1 on "The First Americans". I created lessons that covered how the early Americans came here, where and how they migrated, ancient tribes and how they utilized the natural resources available to them to survive and thrive. Creating engaging lessons and connecting them to prior learning is becoming easier for me to do. As I have mentioned in prior posts, it is easier and much more clear to see the big picture when there are actual students in front of you and one does not have to create a hypothetical classroom, like we did during lessons in prior classes. With that it mind, I realized this week that my focus needs to shift slightly from lessons and lesson planning ( not in any way meaning that I should put lesson planning aside or replace the focus!) to focusing just as much on other areas of the classroom: behavior management and holding the students accountable for their work.
Thursday and Friday this week, the students were MAP testing. This meant our blocks were shaved to 30 minutes classes, and the principal asked us to ease up on the lessons for the day because she wanted the kids to focus on the MAP testing and not be too stressed out with all the classwork. On Thursday, we finished a graphic organizer that we didn't finish in class the day before, and I had the students work on vocabulary flash cards for the Lesson 2. On Friday, the students had their weekly states quiz (the students who have gotten 100% on the states quiz have moved on to South America- I even have three students I've moved on to Europe!) However, during these two days of work without lessons in new content, I noticed a couple of things. First, the students have been increasingly acting up. Secondly, I realized that I assign students work, and have been a little lax on checking to make sure it's complete if I'm not taking it for a grade. On Thursday and Friday, I threw the proverbial hammer down. This is the thing: I've been fairly good with behavior management from the beginning- it helps being the mom of a toddler and a teenager! However, we are now a month into school and the students have settled into routines, found their group of friends, etc. All of this I believe has led to a rise in classroom disruption. So, this week, I focused on gauging the feel of the room. I've had to use other behavior management to control the classroom.
I still used the "Give me 5" and counting backwards from 10, but I have added to my repertoire. Those 2 strategies were not enough this week. I have had real discussions with the class without raising my voice. I have explained that the amount of times I have to address the volume level and direct the class to stay on task is not okay. I have assigned work for homework that we did not have time to finish in class because of time taken out for correcting disruption. Normally, the students are allowed to pick seats, but this week I broke apart two tables of 4 in my last block and they are no longer allowed to sit with one another until they prove they can stay on task and abide by classroom expectations. I even went so far as to have my students put all there things on the ground and sit silently for the last 5 minutes of class on Thursday (Block 3) because they could not handle keeping the volume down to an appropriate classroom level while making vocabulary flashcards. I will keep you posted on how the next week goes with behavior management!
The last thing I wanted to discuss was holding the students accountable for work. I began to realize that students were not completing work assigned unless I told them they had to turn it in for a grade. I had to remedy that. I made a check list for every assignment and went through every paper I had (graded or not) and checked off if the student turned it in or not. Thursday, as the students were completing their vocabulary flashcards, I went around to each person and checked their social studies notebooks to make sure assignments were complete. By Thursday afternoon, I had a complete list of students who owed me work, and exactly what they owed me. I went to each homeroom and called the students into the hallway. I told them what assignments they were missing from me, and gave them a chance to get it from their lockers.If they were absent, I made plans with them to catch them up on work. If they did not have it because they did not do it, they were instructed to have it done by the morning to show me, or they would have to go to Homework Intervention Friday afternoon when all the classes were outside playing. Additionally, a homework slip would be filled out and sent home for a parent signature. * Homework Intervention* is a genius idea created by the school's principal. After realizing last year that some students were fine with receiving zeroes for work not handed in, she decided to switch the policy. Any homework not done by Thursday would result in the student having to finish it in Homework Intervention. The student would miss out on the fun free time on Friday afternoon, and still be held accountable for completing the work. Grade reduction or zero, they STILL have to do it. I think it's a great idea!
Schmidt Chapter 4:
My idea of culture was enhanced by reading Chapter 4 because of the focus on the "codes of power". I have to some degree tried to bring some of those ideals into a classroom with me. For example, last week I was explaining to my students that when they're taking a test, they can often find the answer if they look very carefully at the words in the question. Not an awesome example, but an example of how I have tried to impart some life wisdom they can take through the rest of the educational journey with them. The "codes of power", however, is a phrase I have never heard before, and completely agree with! It is something I will henceforth be putting into practice in my classroom every day, considering my class is mostly minorities. Being myself, showing my passion for learning, and imparting nuggets of truth, wisdom, and guidance on how to deal with real life situations that many minority students never get access to can change the game for them forever, and I LOVE THIS IDEA!!!
This week was a little different for me. I taught all three 60 minute social studies blocks on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I tackled Lesson 1 in Chapter 1 on "The First Americans". I created lessons that covered how the early Americans came here, where and how they migrated, ancient tribes and how they utilized the natural resources available to them to survive and thrive. Creating engaging lessons and connecting them to prior learning is becoming easier for me to do. As I have mentioned in prior posts, it is easier and much more clear to see the big picture when there are actual students in front of you and one does not have to create a hypothetical classroom, like we did during lessons in prior classes. With that it mind, I realized this week that my focus needs to shift slightly from lessons and lesson planning ( not in any way meaning that I should put lesson planning aside or replace the focus!) to focusing just as much on other areas of the classroom: behavior management and holding the students accountable for their work.
Thursday and Friday this week, the students were MAP testing. This meant our blocks were shaved to 30 minutes classes, and the principal asked us to ease up on the lessons for the day because she wanted the kids to focus on the MAP testing and not be too stressed out with all the classwork. On Thursday, we finished a graphic organizer that we didn't finish in class the day before, and I had the students work on vocabulary flash cards for the Lesson 2. On Friday, the students had their weekly states quiz (the students who have gotten 100% on the states quiz have moved on to South America- I even have three students I've moved on to Europe!) However, during these two days of work without lessons in new content, I noticed a couple of things. First, the students have been increasingly acting up. Secondly, I realized that I assign students work, and have been a little lax on checking to make sure it's complete if I'm not taking it for a grade. On Thursday and Friday, I threw the proverbial hammer down. This is the thing: I've been fairly good with behavior management from the beginning- it helps being the mom of a toddler and a teenager! However, we are now a month into school and the students have settled into routines, found their group of friends, etc. All of this I believe has led to a rise in classroom disruption. So, this week, I focused on gauging the feel of the room. I've had to use other behavior management to control the classroom.
I still used the "Give me 5" and counting backwards from 10, but I have added to my repertoire. Those 2 strategies were not enough this week. I have had real discussions with the class without raising my voice. I have explained that the amount of times I have to address the volume level and direct the class to stay on task is not okay. I have assigned work for homework that we did not have time to finish in class because of time taken out for correcting disruption. Normally, the students are allowed to pick seats, but this week I broke apart two tables of 4 in my last block and they are no longer allowed to sit with one another until they prove they can stay on task and abide by classroom expectations. I even went so far as to have my students put all there things on the ground and sit silently for the last 5 minutes of class on Thursday (Block 3) because they could not handle keeping the volume down to an appropriate classroom level while making vocabulary flashcards. I will keep you posted on how the next week goes with behavior management!
The last thing I wanted to discuss was holding the students accountable for work. I began to realize that students were not completing work assigned unless I told them they had to turn it in for a grade. I had to remedy that. I made a check list for every assignment and went through every paper I had (graded or not) and checked off if the student turned it in or not. Thursday, as the students were completing their vocabulary flashcards, I went around to each person and checked their social studies notebooks to make sure assignments were complete. By Thursday afternoon, I had a complete list of students who owed me work, and exactly what they owed me. I went to each homeroom and called the students into the hallway. I told them what assignments they were missing from me, and gave them a chance to get it from their lockers.If they were absent, I made plans with them to catch them up on work. If they did not have it because they did not do it, they were instructed to have it done by the morning to show me, or they would have to go to Homework Intervention Friday afternoon when all the classes were outside playing. Additionally, a homework slip would be filled out and sent home for a parent signature. * Homework Intervention* is a genius idea created by the school's principal. After realizing last year that some students were fine with receiving zeroes for work not handed in, she decided to switch the policy. Any homework not done by Thursday would result in the student having to finish it in Homework Intervention. The student would miss out on the fun free time on Friday afternoon, and still be held accountable for completing the work. Grade reduction or zero, they STILL have to do it. I think it's a great idea!
Schmidt Chapter 4:
My idea of culture was enhanced by reading Chapter 4 because of the focus on the "codes of power". I have to some degree tried to bring some of those ideals into a classroom with me. For example, last week I was explaining to my students that when they're taking a test, they can often find the answer if they look very carefully at the words in the question. Not an awesome example, but an example of how I have tried to impart some life wisdom they can take through the rest of the educational journey with them. The "codes of power", however, is a phrase I have never heard before, and completely agree with! It is something I will henceforth be putting into practice in my classroom every day, considering my class is mostly minorities. Being myself, showing my passion for learning, and imparting nuggets of truth, wisdom, and guidance on how to deal with real life situations that many minority students never get access to can change the game for them forever, and I LOVE THIS IDEA!!!
You are so right about the benefits of having actual students for which to plan and on whom to focus. I know that when you plan lessons during classes and then maybe teach them to your peers, that is just not the same as having real students who are really dependent on you to teach them well.
ReplyDeleteI guess it's inevitable that the students' behavior takes a turn as they get comfortable. You are wise to notice and address this right away. Stay firm and consistent, but calm and respectful.
You discussed teo topics that perplex educators on a daily basis:classroom management and the appropriate course of action when student assignments have not been submitted.
ReplyDeleteClassroom management: I subscribe to the philosophy that at the elementary and junior high level a set of behavioral expectations should be posted along with graduated responses when expectations are not met. Given that you are only going to be at Meadow Lane for a limited time, I am suggesting that if you think that this is a good idea that you sit down with Ms. Wilcox and discuss the possibility of implementing such a policy. In the event that she does not agree, then ask her for the strategies that she has used and found successful in the past.
Written Assignment: The first question to be asked is why any particular assignment was made. I believe that there should have been some educational purpose for the assignment. If the assignment has a purpose and is valuable, then some type of value should be given to that assignment. The value of any one assignment is subjective, but the value of all formative written assignments should factor into the grade for a particular marking period. .You might assign a 2 to a completed assignment, a 1 for an assignment that is partially completed, and a 0 for an assignment not submitted.
The questions that then arises should students be expected to submit missing assignments and if so for how much credit. My philosophy was that I gave an assignment because I considered it important. I did not want students to take the easy way out and just take a zero. I would give them a 1 for submitting a late assignment.
Also, there should be a means for you to contact parents electronically. Let them know that their son or daughter is missing an assignment, that this assignment is important, and ask them to encourage their son and daughter to complete the assignment. Also inform them that the student will receive partial credit.
Many school districts have developed "electronic grade books" that parents can access at any time. Normally, grading standards and expectations with the electronic grade book. If Meadow Lane are this feature, then refer parents to grading policies.
Bottom line: It is important that you address both situations immediately, otherwise things will only deteriorate
Hope this helps