ViscardoFEJournal2

Today was the first day of my placement where I actually got to observe students. At the start of the class, the fifth graders spent time chatting and out of their seats. Through my teacher preparation courses, I was always taught to have students work on something – a bell ringer, warm up, do now, etc. While I plan on having my students have something to work on at the start of the class, I almost wonder if it is okay to let students interact for the first minutes of class and not have something structured to do right away. It was Friday, and they were all chatting, and in return I wonder if those few minutes allowed them to get out conversations and maybe avoid temptation to have side conversations later on.

Mrs. T put on the movie, //Miracle at Midnight// which relates to //Number the Stars// by Lois Lowry. The students just finished their //Number the Stars// unit which Mrs. T said they thoroughly enjoyed. In my Teaching Reading 4-8 class, I wrote a unit plan on //Number the Stars//. I was unsure of how students would react to the book because of the complex themes. So, I was glad to hear the fifth grade students enjoyed it. I like the idea of watching movies after reading a book. I think it would be effective for students to compare and contrast the two. During the movie, the students were extremely attentive. After the movie, Mrs. T asked led a discussion about the movie. I was impressed with the students inferring skills.

The students were very welcoming, friendly, and overall upbeat. There are about fifteen students in the class. They interacted well with each other, and even came up to me and introduced themselves throughout the period. Two student s caught my attention today. One student seemed zoned out. He sat in his seat slumped over. However, as class went on, I noticed he participated and completed his writing assignment. When he was done with his writing assignment, he even read it to a classmate and together they reviewed each other’s work. I am interested to learn more about him for the remainder of my placement. Another student that I was interested in was quiet and zoned out. He tapped his pencil for the majority of the class. He did not have his frayer model handout, so he drew it in his “toolbox” instead. I am curious to find out more information about him.

Overall, I really loved my time in the classroom today. I soon realized that Mrs. T is exactly the kind of teacher I want to be. Apart from characteristics that make her a great teacher (friendly, caring, approachable, knowledgeable, etc., etc.), Mrs. T teaches in a similar way I see myself teaching. She created a warm and welcoming environment for the students. She teaches in a variety of styles from discussion, explicit instruction, and guided instruction. The set up of her classroom is how I envision my own. Around her classroom, she had different posters of the Hamburger model for writing, which I plan on using to help my students with writing. Additionally, she used a frayer model (which I absolutely love!) for taking notes on narratives. Seeing the students fill out the frayers assured me that they are effective for note taking. I cannot wait to see more in this classroom, and I am looking forward to further getting to know the students and my mentor.