Jennifer Bowyer Journal edp650c Mar 11th MondayI am on my second week after displaying my list of rules and things

are much better in all classes except my 8th period. I have started to take time and modify assignments for the IEP kids in my inclusion class and I have taken them out and read assignments to them like their IEP's say I can. I am pleased to see progress and confidence building. I was unsure of how the teaching arrangements would be since I am the long term sub for language arts and the special education teacher is also a long term sub. He works well with me with discipline but does not do any of the teaching and we have not met to discuss lesson plans. I think I am on my own because the original special education teacher did not meet with the language arts teacher that I am subbing for now. They did not do any type of true coteaching. I'm not sure how to implement a co teaching model between the other sub and myself considering our unique situation. Mar 12 TuesdaySo many students are absent with illness and we are already a small country school. Today, I stepped away some from the original teacher's lesson plans. As soon as the bell rang, I made sure that everyone was seated and silent which takes less time now that my rules are established. In my lesson, I made sure to follow the lesson structure we have been reading about. I did a quick review from the day before, I introduced new material using notes on the board that were color-coded and had relevant pictures plus mnemonics, and I engaged the students using formative assessment by having them answer questions and come up with their own examples. Next, we completed a quick quiz and a Buckle Down lesson to prepare for OAA testing. Finally, the students completed a quick worksheet independently that we went over at the end of class. I have group of boys who are a constant discipline problem. They are not loud but they have almost this sign language thing going on that is enough to drive anyone crazy. They try to make arrangements to meet in the bathroom from separate classes. Today when I saw the ring leader begin his act, I took a chair (my students are grouped at tables) and I sat between the boys and cut off their eye contact without raising my voice or disrupting my lesson. But I did bring detention slips and laid them on the table beside me in plain sight. Finally, my time on task was where it should be. The lesson went well with my inclusion class. I have an empty table where I pull kids or place them into a new group. I read the quiz to the IEP kids and modified their quiz. I was pleased with the progress but I missed reading the worksheet to two students. I compared the work they did without being read to with the students who had had intervention and the results were amazing. The students who had the worksheet read to them with only two choices instead of four for multiple choice showed much more success than without the modifications. March 13 WednesdayToday, I had a student tell me that two boys had cheated off her quiz that they took when I was absent. I saw the exact same answers. I was very disappointed. I asked the boys if it were true and they tried to deny it but finally one admitted to cheating. I gave them zeros but I felt it wasn't enough. I have the students in groups at tables. The previous teacher had the students at tables end to end. The tables were so close together that I couldn't get through quietly to check on student progress but now I'm not so sure about the tables being in clusters. March 14 Thursday- We have a student with a behavior IEP and a mother who is very involved with

the school concerning her child. She threatens staff and calls the guidance counselor and principle on a consistent basis. For a while she claimed the child has Aspberger's but she has given up on that. The child's had terrible out bursts with fits of rage that he acted out by repeatedly stabbing his binder. As a staff, we were not allowed to upset the child. When the school suggested that the child have an aid to help control his behavior for his safety and others, the child has been a model student with no outbursts and has actually been actively participating in class and on his school work. Now that all is quiet, his mother wants the teachers to send her a detailed note everyday concerning his performance. The students have to do two book reports, one oral and one written, on their own time during the nine weeks. When I began teaching 9 weeks ago, I told the students that all book projects must be complete by March 15th so I can make sure everything is graded for the grading period. I have taken three days through out the 9 weeks for students to give their book talks and this past week, all students had one hour during their intervention to complete their projects and I gave all period on Friday. This particular student refused to do his book projects and refused to read for the first half of the 9weeks because his mother said he is an auditory learner and must have books on cd. Which he would listen to for 5 minutes a few days a week. I convinced him to read a book ( Fudge by Beverly Cleary). I told him he could do both projects on one book. The day he refused to do his projects I sent a note home explaining the child's behavior and refusal to work and the deadline for the projects. All students knew that a late project would result in a zero. The mother called the special education teacher and she called the guidance counselor. She proceeded to tell the staff that if I made the deadline for all students then her son was exempt because his IEP states that he has extended time. The special education teacher told me to call her and apologize then extend his time for an additional week. I am very frustrated. I tried to call the parent and left a message. I wrote a note explaining that I misunderstood and the child has another week to complete the work. I can not tell you the sour feeling this left in me. I have made a ton of accommodations for this child. I have dealt with him taunting me. I listened to him threaten an aid and say his mother would beat her up. Everything he has done has been documented but what in the world can you do legally with a parent like this? We teach the kids not to bully and this parent is the definition of bully. All of my other special education students have completed their book reports on time. That ended my Thursday. Tomorrow is a new day. Friday- March 15Today was a much better day. The student that I will be tutoring for edp572 has a 2nd grade reading level. Before I knew this student, I graded her oral book project at the beginning of the 9 weeks before the regular teacher left on maternity leave. The student scored a 7 out of 20. The teacher told me not to tell the student and to just give her a 15 out of 20 because she is so low level (this made me very uncomfortable). After learning new techniques such as cuing and the use of mnemonics, I led the oral book project. We were talking one on one. Maddie's IEP states that she can have material read to her and she can be prompted for answers. As we went step by step through the rubric, I used different colors to show the difference between static and dynamic characters. I eased her through the report and used questions that would jog her memory such as, what happened at the beginning, middle, and end of the book, and if the setting were taken out of the story what would happen to the characters instead of what is the importance of the setting to the characters and give textual evidence to support it. She scored a 16 out of 20 on her own! How can a child who's reading level is so low grasp so much meaning form a story that is entirely at least two grade levels higher than her reading level? Maybe I should say imagine how much more of the book she will comprehend when her reading level expands. Monday-March 18I changed seating arrangements today in order to help stop student talking during class. I placed the students in a horseshoe. I can now see each student. No one has their back to me. I sat students side by side according to behavior rather than low and high level. So far the arrangement has worked well.

Time on task increased and it made for a much more pleasant day for everyone. Tuesday- March 19thThis morning I went to a parent meeting for one of my IEP students. The parents are concerned about their son. They feel the staff in not communicating with them. The student has ADHD. They are also concerned because the boy's behavior has changed. He has poor social skills and is very immature socially. The parents are concerned about the boy's medication and the hormone changes of puberty. They feel that the teachers need to take more of a role in helping the boy with organization. The special education coordinator wants the social studies teacher and myself to email the parent every Monday with lesson plans and copies of homework for the week. I am a little overwhelmed. The lessons that the teacher I am subbing for calls for no homework. I asked them if he has a language arts folder and if he does then what color is it. I told them I would make sure he gets out that folder and places his work in it. They wanted me to pick a folder and label it for him but we have to be very careful because the student is sensitive and feels he is being singled out. I reassured the parents that I would do my best to help him. When I went back to my classroom, it was 3rd period and time for that student to come to class. I had him pass out reading logs and he now has a peer to help him put away his work. The student was a wonderful help. I try to engage all my students during lessons and hopefully, we can aid this student. The guidance counselor suggested using positive rewards for good behavior, the special education coordinator suggested a worry stone to help keep his hands engaged without being disruptive. I suggested the parents pick out the stone so as not to bring unwanted attention to the student. The parents want him in football but the grandmother hates it. The boy likes Mine Craft but the parents hate it. It was an interesting meeting when grandma kept disagreeing with the parents. I hope they start listening to their son and accept that what he wants may be different than what he wants. I would like to see him engage into class activities and become more confident in his abilities. The teacher that is subbing the rest of the year for the student's special education teacher was not present at the meeting. Should he be there or is the special education coordinator enough? Wednesday-March 20 I would like to change some of the lessons that the regular teacher has assigned for the remainder of the year. I feel like I am skimming over information and students are not completely grasping the concepts. I began using flash cards for vocabulary terms that the students will be tested over. After the students copy down the vocabulary words and we discuss their meaning, I quiz them in pairs over all the words. They are responding very well and they are showing interest in the words. I think it is a step in the right direction. Engaging the students with a game and changing seating has helped but not enough. They are still chatty and I had to tell them that if the chatting doesn't stop that we will no longer play the game with the flashcards. I feel that if the lessons were more structured instead of reading a story from Buckle Down and answering questions everyday that I may be able to get more student engagement and lessen behavior problems. I need to think about a way to do it that will allow me continue with my college classes. I feel like I have no time as it is. I need to decide if I want to continue with the teacher's lessons and place most of my time into my special education classes or find a happy medium. I am very attached to the student's and want to facilitate success. They are very bright students but lack of discipline is a predominant factor. We are not allowed to remove any students from class and send them to the vice principle. I wish the school had a universal policy for discipline. Friday- March 21Today the students in my communications class finished their how-to speeches. I finally felt validated. They were the best speeches of the 9 weeks. They finally had good conclusions and strong transitions. Maybe I am getting somewhere! When I allowed for more creative freedom and they used video taping and PowerPoint, their presentations became so much better. I know I wasn't the kind of teacher I

wanted to be. My background is social studies and trying to teach myself the material and continue with my online courses has been a real challenge. I am feeling very overwhelmed so seeing the accomplishments and growth in these students at the end of the 9 weeks has been a blessing. I will be more prepared for the next class. Monday- March 25- Today was a snow day. One of our teachers passed away from cancer yesterday. Our school has suffered too much loss. We lost a kindergarten teacher to cancer two years ago. We have two boys in the junior class battling cancer as we speak. I am very sad today. We will wear purple to honor Mrs. Pelino and hopefully as a staff we can offer comfort to her sons and the rest of the students. Tuesday-March 26Today I had a meeting with a parent, guidance counselor, another teacher, the special education coordinator, and parent advocate. I spoke at length with Dr. Southern and Dr. Jones at our face to face over the weekend. I drew up a contract between myself, the student, and his parent. In the contract, I laid out a plan to help the student complete his book projects. The parent wanted extended time. I gave extended time. I then asked her to help by having her son read for 10- 15 minutes a night and track his progress. I provided books at his reading level and promised to track his reading at school. She wants his school work and home work shortened but the special ed. Coordinator explained how research states that shortening lessons hurts the child not helps. The parent said she wishes we could handle the problems because she does not want to. She is frustrated. The student does not have any learning disabilities. His IEP states that he has behavior problems. Should this be a 504? The special education coordinator handled the situation quite well and stood behind the teachers. I am thankful to Miami University and the staff. I felt very prepared and was able to back up what I had to say about the student reading on his own with scientific research! The special education sub and I had a few minutes to talk about our inclusion class. We have come up with a way of preparing students for the upcoming OAA tests. We are on the same page and I'm looking forward to collaborating with him when we get back from break. Wednesday- April 3 Spring break is over. The special education sub, my co-teacher, made up a worksheet for all the students to use to dissect the old OAA tests. The students can look for the main idea and supporting details of each paragraph then summarize the passage. We also decided to give the students a worksheet ( made by the co-teacher) that they fill out as they read their book for their oral and written book projects. We both feel the students are not completely grasping how to analyze what they read to find the main idea and supporting details. I think the book projects will improve. Next, I began tutoring today. My student has a learning disability and is only reading at a 2nd grade level when she is in 7th grade. The tutoring will be to increase her reading fluency. I only have 6 hours for tutoring because this is for my 572edp class. We are working on repeated readings and WPCM. I was surprised when I asked her why she thinks she has an IEP because she said she didn't know. I asked her if she had been tested before in reading, she said yes but didn't know what the testing was for. I too k the time to explain why I had tested her with the IRI and why we were working on increasing her fluency. I used positive reinforcement and told her to ask as many questions as she wanted. She is a wonderful young girl. The repeated readings for the first session did not go as well as I wanted because I have never used this technique before and was not as smooth as I wanted to be. I counted WPCM and let her read the entire passage rather than timed readings. At the end of the 20 minute session, I reminded her of her vocabulary quiz on Tuesday and then taught her how to color-code and chunk the words. I was shocked no one had taught her these simple study skills or maybe they had and she didn't remember.

Thursday-April 4 Today was a good day. I feel like I actually accomplished something with my students. I gave them their vocabulary quiz and the entire class did very well. Drilling the kids on the words everyday made a huge difference. Except for three students which I will retest on Friday. One is my tutoring student. I'm a little perplexed. She said she studied. Tomorrow, I will take the three students and read the test to them and give them two options that is in accordance with their IEP. My mistake was asking them if they wanted the test read to them. They all said no. I should have just read the test and made the modifications. I have a new set of students for my communications enrichment class. They are a handful and their behavior is a problem. I structured lessons that leave no idle time. It went okay. They are listening but go off task so easily. I have to stay on top of my game with this class and they frustrate me so I have to overcome it and make sure they learn how to conduct themselves. Next week, we are going to talk about being positive. I had my second tutoring session today. She is struggling with words but I have seen some improvement. Friday April 5No tutoring today because the kids had an assembly. Today, I had to have a talk with my advanced class. They are extremely bright but are extremely chatty. I called out three of them for not paying attention. The other teacher gave them 5 point s a week if they read a book during sustained silent reading and 5 points a week for participation then points for completing work in class. I told them that is done. The work I grade is based on correct responses and their behavior does not constitute participation points. I told them the grade they receive this nine weeks is exactly what they earn. The rest of the class ran quite smoothly. I assign home work too. The other teacher did not. It is a learning experience but I feel that they are finally learning the content. I feel like we are cramming for the OAA's and it is very stressful. I know that we need to teach to the test to show success but are they kids really getting the skills necessary for higher learning? I took three students from my inclusion class and retested them on their vocabulary. When I read the test to them and gave them two choices they did very well. My tutoring student went from a 7 out of 19 to a 19 out of 19. She did study and when presented orally she did a fine job. I read the test once and read the answer column (matching) the first time. She answered everyone correct then. I read the test again and gave two options. The other students (one Autistic and one learning disabled) improved their scores dramatically. I will make sure to read the tests to them the first time from now on. Monday-April 8Today the students are getting restless. We finally had some nice weather. Today every that could go wrong did. The copier ate my worksheets and I was forgetful. I wrote a word on the board that the inclusion teacher and students said was wrong then the students told me I was not a teacher just a sub. The word was correct. I wrote it exactly like the book and the kids threw me for a loop. They have never been so disrespectful. The problem is me. As a teacher , we need to be prepared because any time off task can cause behavior problems. I was off my game. The lesson I learned was to take a deep breathe and not let stress affect my teaching. I will go over my lesson and practice it more. I feel the boys needed to be addressed who were disrespectful but I was so shocked that I froze. Tutoring, on the other hand, is going well. My student comes in on time and is ready to begin. She has a pleasant demeanor and is easy to work with. She remembered the stories from last week after I gave her the title. She did better than I expected. She is excited to learn and each time she read her story, she read faster with about the same consistency in errors. I don't know how she manages with the text

books in her other classes since all but math are inclusion classes. The only class she has a special education teacher is in my language arts class. I would like to have her WCPM lowering the next two to three sessions. Tuesday- April 9Today was a much better day. The students from third period and I had a talk about respecting your teachers. I also had a talk with my students about earning grades. The regular teacher gave points for participating and if they read their books during silent reading. I explained that until their behavior was outstanding and no one talked during class with out permission that I was not awarding anyone participation points. I explained that reading their book was their job and it was a privilege to be given class time to read. I told them that the grades the received were what they earned. I'm hoping to get more students to stay on task and start to pay attention to their work. Prior to me they were graded on a few items and some they went over in class using formative assessment and then awarded point for doing the assignment. I am grading the assignments or we are grading them in class and anyone who has below an 86% can redo the assignment for a better grade. In tutoring today, my student has not changed from the day before with her performance in repeated readings but she has improved with the proper use of punctuation when reading . She is also beginning to interject some emotion into what she is reading . She has a lot of hard work ahead of her. I asked her if her mom would let her read to her at home. She said yes and I am hopeful that it happens. The lesson on how to find the main idea and supporting details of a passage went well today. We used an previous OAA passage. I showed them how to read the questions first and then highlight the main idea and supporting details as they read. They responded well to the extra effort. I modeled how to respond for a 2 point and a four point question. I modeled how to break apart each question into sections using 1,2,3,4 and how to restate and answer each part. I had the students answer the questions out loud and as a class we answered them. Tomorrow, they will work on their own and use the tools to properly answer the extended response questions. Thursday-April-10I am using a study skill strategy where the students use high lighters and they high light important parts of a story such as main idea and supporting details. They begin by reading the questions then they look over the passage to find the title, author, headings, and graphics. They are much more engaged when they can write on their practice tests. Classroom management has not been a problem. We have open discussion about the stories. They are much more respectful and raise their hands. I have explained the importance of concentration when learning something new and that constant chatter means they are off task and not learning plus they are preventing others from learning. One of the students thanked me for talking to them not as children and explaining the importance of being quiet and concentration. If it helped one student then that's better than none. Then I showed the students how to use the question itself as a template for writing the answer to OAA extended response and short answer questions. They highlighted and labeled the question using numbers to represent the points. It worked well. My communications class gave their first speeches describing a friend/family member. They did better than I expected. I'm still having discipline problems. They are very chatty group. My tutoring student was absent today. My student with ADHD has been acting out more than usual since we had a meeting with his parents and grandmother. He was supposed to bring something like a worry stone to keep him from fidgeting but I have yet to see anything that keeps him centered and from writing on his papers. I asked him in the hallway when no was was around if he had gotten something to help with his restlessness. He said

he had tickets (I'm not sure what they are). I said OK and to remember to bring them. Friday-April 11 Today my student with ADHD was helpful with passing out papers but when it came time to begin class he was doodling again and speaking out. I quietly asked him about his tickets. He said he can't find them. After speaking with another teacher, I found out that he tore them up in her class. I am going to email his parents and see what we can do. On the other hand, the girl with learning disabilities that I am tutoring tried to skip tutoring today. She was energetic and responsive for the beginning of tutoring and now she does not want to come. I was not expecting the abrupt turn around. She was wonderful during tutoring though. She worked hard. I think spring is finally here and she wanted a free day like the rest of the students in her study hall. Also, the material makes her concentrate and work at reading. I will talk to her Monday and promote self-determination skills to see if we can get her a little more motivated. I have not seen much improvement with the repeated readings. When she understands or has background knowledge of a story she is fine. But when a story is about something new to her then she makes a lot of mistakes and gets frustrated. When we talk about the story and words that she does not know she brightens up and her reading improves. I asked her earlier to see if her mom will read with her. I will follow up on Monday. Monday-April 15 Today the lesson was to complete and OAA prep probe to prepare for the OAA reading test. The students have been rushing their work so as each one completed the assignment, I would circle to wrong answers and they would go back and redo any answers they got wrong. They seemed shocked by how many they were getting wrong and that I would have then redo the answer. Here is what I accomplished. They started to slow down and read the questions, they started asking questions, and they started using the dictionary for words they did not know. I was pleased with the outcome but it took two days to complete the task and time is of the essence right now to review for testing. In tutoring today, I finally had a break through. Maddie's time decreased and WCPM increased in all three repeated readings! I hope I will continue to see improvement through out the week. She was very excited. Tuesday-April-16 We continued with the OAA probe in language arts class. Tutoring went very well today. Maddie did not back track from her previous performance on repeated readings and she commented that she has begun to sound out her words and has been improving in math because she understands what she is reading. Wednesday-April 17 Today, I had an incident with a student on a behavior plan. We have had a 4 week lull with no behavior problems from P. He did not complete his homework from the previous week so I gave him (as well as anyone else who did not do the homework) the chance to redo it during study hall. He had been chatty and talking out in class in the previous class. During study hall, I noticed he was not completing his work. I told him he should be doing his work. He said he would do it later. I told him that he lost that option when he chose not to do the work the first time. He became belligerent and yelled at me about how much he he couldn't stand me so I waited and told him to get it all out and then he needed to get the work done. When he started swearing at me, I told him he needed to leave my classroom. (According to his IEP, he is to remove himself when he gets upset.). He refused. I had an aid in the room. I took P to the office. He refused to go into the principle's office and the principle would not come out to address the situation. ( There is a history of problems between the principle, mother, and student) I went to find the vice principle. He was with the high school principle. He was told we were

there for a discipline issue. We waited for ten minutes. I could not be out of the class that long. P had calmed down. I talked to him about his behavior. He went back to class and did his work. I am truly disheartened by the way the administrative staff handled the situation. I filled out a form so just we would have a paper trail should something happen. I handled the situation the best I could and tried to do everything legally. Thursday-April 17 Today in intervention, I broke up the class in half and had each half complete an old OAA test passage independently. Next, the group got together and checked their answers and made sure everyone had the correct answer. Then, the group picked a leader who assigned everyone a question to present to the other half of the class. Finally, each half summarized the story and presented the questions and answers. Each side made sure that each short answer or extended response had the appropriate answer that would get the maximum points. The lesson went very well and there were no discipline problems. I will continue that type of work when appropriate because the students were actively engaged and time on task increased. Tutoring is continuing on a positive note. I told my student that even after I complete my assignment, I would happily continue to work with her for the rest of the year. She readily agreed. I am looking forward to helping her continue to improve her reading skills and help her increase her self determination skills.