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Taylor Blair Seminar Reflections Trace Crossings Mrs.

Farnlacher Librarian The librarian plays an essential role in a students education. Not only does the librarian work with the students to foster a love of reading, but also he or she works with the teachers to find literature that is an appropriate level for the teachers to use in lessons and other activities. Librarians have a wealth of knowledge on what books go well with certain content areas, and are aware of what students enjoy most. During our time with Mrs. Farnlacher she first read us a book called Tadpoles Promise which had a very unexpected ending. She told us that she often reads this book to third graders to encourage the students to be creative with their writing instead of writing about the norm. This kind of story also shows students that as you get older stories arent going to happen or end the way you think they should. Mrs. Farnlacher made it clear that the librarians role is not to teach students how to read, but to help students foster a love of reading. If students do not enjoy reading it is crucial that you only have them read books that have topics that interest them. The students go to the library for thirty minutes one a week and the students are allow to make drop ins throughout the week. She mainly teaches book talks and she finds resources online, so she rarely has to make them up on her own. When using technology to teach, she gives the students a list of sites to visit and the students have to figure out which one is fake/ non-reliable. The students learn that not everything on the Internet is true. Mrs. Farnlacher attends conferences that are posted on Ala.org. She also writes

reviews for the School Library Journal; they send her the book for free to review and you also get paid. Mrs. Stone Assistant Principal Mrs. Stone first spoke with us about the drills that occur each month. While we were in class with Dr. Blueitt one day there was a code red that we were not warned about, so Mrs. Stone wanted to clarify the procedures that must be taken. Mrs. Stone came to talk with us about how they are trying to implement technology into the classrooms and the school as a whole at Trace Crossings. The third and fourth graders all have nooks as a part of improving technology availability and exposure. The nooks have a variety of academic games available to the students along with access to books students can find by genre, author, or title. The nooks have been implemented to improve reading comprehension as well as a love for reading. Students who do not have access to books at home can use their nook to stay on track with the books they are currently reading. The second graders and younger students do not have nooks simply due to reliability issues. The main technology the younger students use is the computer. On the computer at Trace Crossings the younger students spend most of their time on Raz kids, Spelling City, and IXL. In my classroom the students use these programs for extra practice, instruction and even for fun during centers time. Mrs. Stone emphasized that they are trying to encourage Google docs for teachers to use and share with one another as well as dropbox. This will allow teachers to easily share and access different resources and information. They are also trying to use more presentations and movies in the classroom. All of the teachers have iPads and the main focus is finding the most beneficial apps to use. One of the apps they have purchased and

use regularly is called Aurasma, which is an augmented reality application. This app allows you to take a picture of something and link a video with it. During Read for the Record we had the opportunity to use this app. For the event is was used to capture the picture of the book, which would lead you to a video of the students reading that page of the book. Apps like these create a fun learning experience for students. Mrs. Puchta Math Coach As the math coach at Trace Crossings, Mrs. Puchta meets with classes as a whole and individually. She talked with us about the different strategies she uses to teach math to students of all grades and all different levels. During the time she was with us we mainly focused on doing the activities she does with her students. First we participated in a number talk with adding big numbers. She was very fond of the wait time strategy as we all sat in silence for a long time until we could think of a variety of ways to add numbers to get the same sum. We all felt uncomfortable at first, and hen when she explained that she was teaching us the importance of wait time we understood better what was going on. The wait time really helped us experience the effect. Students often dont try and think of an answer to a problem because they know the teacher will tell them within a matter of seconds. This ensures that all of the students are taking the time to think long and hard about different ways to solve a problem. The next activity we did was called arch patterns. We split up into pairs and try to figure out the pattern of the blocks that made an arch figure. A different number of shapes were used to construct the arch in each stage. We had to figure out the pattern in order to determine how many total shapes would be in the arch in the last stage. We were given the first three stages. During this activity we had to create our own formula, and

work with our partner to come to a conclusion. After we all found a formula we all talked about hoe we found our answer. It was interesting to see how many different groups came up with the same answer in different ways. Finally we split up into partners again and played a game that involved a circle chart of numbers. You would roll the dice and add the two numbers together and add one. Whatever the number equaled you would place your color marker on that number and it was yours. The number were in pairs so when you had your marker on the pair of numbers no one could bump you off, but if you only had one marker on one of the numbers in the pair the other person could bump your marker off and take your space. The goal was to add numbers together quickly and get practice with repetition. Mrs. Smith School counselor In order to become a school counselor it is recommended that you first be a classroom teacher. It is very helpful but not necessary because it helps you relate to situations you will have to deal with, and help you relate to the teachers. It used to be required that you be a classroom teacher before you can be a school counselor, but because now there is a great need for school counselors the department made a change and you do not have to have been a classroom teacher. The role of a counselor is to support teachers so it is very much recommended that you have experienced that. Counselors usually work more months than teachers due; typically 10 to 12 months. Mrs. Smith has been a counselor at universities, high school and elementary schools. Counselors get paid a higher salary when they have their masters. They also have a state guidance counseling plan they must follow (like common

core standards) everything they do aligns with the childs social, emotional, academic and the career needs. How counselors spend time varies dramatically. In high school it is a great way to be there for students who is not a parent or teacher. In middle school it is a calling; it is a very difficult job because they are going through so much and changing so quickly. The students in middle school are very vulnerable. In elementary we have the opportunity to make a greater impact on a childs life in the early elementary years than any other; we can provide resources that will prevent so many concerns and behavior in the future, little children have big needs. A lot of time is spent working with parents and counseling not just the students, but also parents and the families as a whole. Trace just put in place an advisory council, so there are parents coming from all areas of the school zone including diverse families from all backgrounds. The counselor also works a lot with the food program (Trace treats). This program sends home food every other Friday to specific families churches and other volunteers even businesses donate food otherwise it is extremely expensive. And Snacks at school are available to children who dont have one. The counselor does two to three six week units for guidance lessons in the classrooms, and individual meetings vary throughout the year and focus on grief, behavior problems etc. As a teacher always try and have a positive relationship with the parent, let the counselor be the buffer and be the bearer of bad news, and to tell them the hard things that might be confrontational. The teacher is with the parents the whole year where the counselor is not. Simply put you would rather the parent be angry with the counselor than the teacher.

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