Weekly Logs

1/30/17
I have taken over class meeting lessons and am leading those now.
They have gone well so far, they are just quick 15-20 minute lessons
working on classroom comradery/communication. I have also started
taking over more reading rotations.

1/31/17
Mrs. Vernon was gone today so there was a sub--which essentially put
me in charge. It was great to take control of the class and have that
time with them. The day went well! I felt that I was able to have good
classroom management and help the kids to accomplish the goals for
the day.
I did a compliments lesson during their guidance time and it was pretty
cool! We took a roll of streamers and made a compliment web where
they went around and said compliments about each other and then
threw the streamer to create the web. It went well but did get a little
long and students got fidgety/a little silly towards the end to where we
had to complete the activity in our desks--I wish it could have just
finished how it was supposed to! We only had 2 kiddos left! However,
overall, I was pleased with how the lesson went and with how the day
went!

2/1/17
PLC Meeting notes/questions:
Dig into aReading
Encore
Data day--Tuesday
Red-Green still have to progress monitor--are these rules
somewhere?
How do you decide what they work on during encore?
What is the drop in behaviors due to?
Analysis to action

Had PLC meeting this morning where 2nd grade teachers talked about
data received from latest assessments given--it was interesting to
listen in on and see how their classes are doing. Originally Mrs. Vernon
was worried about their scores because some dropped or didnt make
significant jumps, however, after visiting, they have made some steady
progress (Graham Jones--principal was in on this meeting too and said
he was pleased with the results). For some reason, across the state,
there is always some kind of drop or stagnant in assessments because
they have a pretty big jump of what they are expected to do from 1st
to 2nd grade--I found this very interesting.
Today, I taught class meeting and again did reading rotation groups. I
am also going to start co-teaching math.
2/2/17

Today was another great day in 2nd grade. Students were a little off
today in regards to their routines--Mrs. Vernon said that even though I
was there with the sub and kept them on their routines, they get off
when she is not there. So we took a bit to discuss their behaviors to
help get them back on track with work.

During specials, we had a meeting with the other 2nd grade teachers
to determine where everyone is in their lessons/units to make sure
they are all pacing about the same. Something Mr. Bixler shared that
he has been doing during writing/encore time is writing letters to
various people within the school. For example, his class all wrote
letters to the lunch ladies and delivered them during lunch. This is
something he learned about during a literacy conference and it is
supposed to help with the climate of the school. I thought that was a
great activity to include into my future classroom.

2/3/17

During reading time, I went in to Mr. Bixlers class for a bit to observe
how he runs his reading time. For his small group time with the
teacher, he does guided reading, discussing summaries, short vowels,
and various meanings of words and themes (depending on the group).
Others were either working on iRead, a Capital I worksheet, or read
from their book bins. Kids are also able to pick out new books for their
book bins. Overall, there is a little buzz going on in the room, but all
students are on task and engaged in what they are doing. I am
impressed with the environment of the room. Mr. Bixler has a calming
or patient way of interacting with the students and it seems to spread
amongst them. After visiting further with Mr. Bixler, I was able to learn
some things he does.
-Wasting my time--Give me yours during recess or sometime
-Reading groups--lower readers read same page/line after someone has
read it so they hear it first

What were your most rewarding experiences? What was most

challenging?
Having Mrs. Vernon gone for one of the days was actually my
rewarding experience, not because she was gone, but because I was
able to take over the leadership role and really connect with the
students and lead them during the day. I felt confident in my abilities
and felt that I kept the kids in their routines pretty well. I also was able
to manage behaviors overall throughout the day as well, which I was
impressed with.
 Something that is still challenging for me is connecting with
Dylan--I try talking and connecting with him about different interests
he has (like hunting) but he is really not feeling it. I dont know if it is
necessarily a challenge or not, but I have been working on helping
students problem solve when conflicts arise, just by observing Mrs.
Vernon, I have learned some things that are helpful when talking them
through. (Let me hear your side of the story, what are you going to
do if something like this happens in the future? etc.)

What are your plans/goals for this coming week?

I have taken over class meeting and am now taking over reading!
So I am continually becoming more and more involved. Reading plans
this week are readers theater, so I think it will be a really fun week to
start their new unit!

2/15
Today was an interesting day. Had a lot of behaviors with Ben in
the morning--Im pretty sure he did not get any work done--so I had
him stay in from recess without friends (he usually stays in for recess
with friends because he cant handle being outside). He was also very
argumentative and talked back quite a bit--at one point he said youre
not my teacher and youre not my real teacher etc. We talked over
recess about his behavior and problem solved of how he can be
respectful and get his work done for the afternoon--which helped! The
afternoon went a lot better for him! :)
Had to deal with Marley writing very inappropriate words to
another kiddo in class--so he stayed in with me at recess so we could
visit about what happened and will be staying in tomorrow. Mrs.
Vernon will also be contacting his dad to visit with him because Marley
has seemed to have some issues with cursing and having drama at
recess.
Did not get to eat my lunch today due to the fact that I was
dealing with behaviors the whole time--welcome to teaching, right??
Updated writing time today and was pleased with the results.
Had students choose their seat spot and stay there once chosen. I had
them raise their hands if they thought they needed computers and I
went around to deliver computers to students that truly needed them--
others needed to use the books available. I also took time to have
individual conferences with students on their reports to see where they
are and how they are going. I put some students together to read each
their reports and give feedback--this all seemed to go very well. I have
some of my ELP students finishing earlier so will need to extend their
learning some how. We talked about possibly doing a food chain type
report. So do a report on the prey their animal eats and then a report
on the predator that eats their original animal--I want to think of other
options so they have choice.
 Although there were behaviors, the day went well and I feel that
the kiddos are starting to see me as their teacher and we are
continuing to build relationships--I definitely hate being the mean
teacher all the time, but I need to get them into routines with me--I am
trying to find the balance of discipline to get the point of Im not
messing around but the fun of I truly care about you all and want you
to succeed.
KuNay was also acting out a bit today, which he doesnt normally
do--will see how he does tomorrow.

2/16
This day was alright...I felt that the morning went really well,
then the afternoon was only Ok. I have been struggling with teaching
math--they are learning fractions, which is a hard thing for them to
grasp, but I feel like I need to improve in my teaching of math. It is
hard to differentiate because my ELP students seem to get it pretty
easily, but the rest of the students struggle--so I need to find the
balance of keeping my high kids engaged, while also making sure my
low and ELL students understand.
I felt a little defeated at the end of the day today because I feel
like I am constantly having to remind and get on the students for
behaviors all day.

2/17
This day was better, minus being called f-ing mean in the middle
of reading rotations by Ben. This took me by surprise--but I felt that I
handled it well in the moment. I didnt freak out or anything, I just said
to him That is inappropriate and then went up to him and stated he
will be staying in during recess with me to talk about it--which upset
him. I had to make a documentation for the incident and sat down
with Ben to discuss. He of course argued and said he didnt say the
actual word--that he said frickin but I heard otherwise and regardless,
it was the meaning behind the remark--he was pretty angry and upset
that I made the documentation (likely because those get sent home),
he said he will rip it up and tell his dad, then his dad will come to
school and yell at me. However, after long discussion, I feel like we
were able to determine an action plan for him moving forward. We
talked about him always arguing back, how the language is not
appropriate at school, nor is it ever ok to talk to me or any teacher like
that. I will need to remind him of this conversation on Monday. The
documentation I made will not be sent home because there may
possibly be some signs of abuse or rough home lifestyle that we dont
want to make worse for Ben (DHS has been contacted various times).
This was definitely an interesting thing for me to deal with.
The day ended on a good note because it was Fun Friday where
all students who are on pink get to participate in a fun activity with
me--which was going outside and having extra recess. Luckily, all
students regained themselves and ended on pink--making the end of
the day a lot more pleasant.
On a good note, I feel that Dylan and I are doing pretty well! He
is doing his work (most of the time) and is not defiant and is wanting to
participate more in whole group. I also made him laugh and had good
conversation with him at lunch--I am counting that as a win!

Overall Impression
So many behaviors to deal with! It is crazy that by just having a
new teacher (me) in their classroom, how quickly the students are to
revert back to behaviors demonstrated at the beginning of the school
year. It is a little overwhelming because I have things students need to
get done academically, but they are interrupted with all the behaviors I
have to deal with.
Teachers have to inhale their lunches or just dont eat lunch at all
because of the constant issues or things that come up--this is true
during planning time as well.

What are your plans/goals for this coming week?

Try and get the behaviors under control--most of the day is
classroom management (which I knew going into this) but it can be
draining to have to constantly be disciplining and reminding. I just
dont want to feel like I am the mean teacher who never smiles--I
want relationships with the students--I need to find the balance of I
mean business but I also care about you and am not mean all the
time.
I need to get my reading rotations under control. I feel that since
there are so many behaviors going on during these rotation times, I
cant focus on the small group I work with at the table and I feel like a
lot of their instruction time is wasted because I have to manage the
class as a whole.
Practice and find outside resources to help me with math. This is
the only subject where I feel that I struggle with teaching.
I started conferencing with students on their ocean reports, but
did not get through all students--would love to sit down and conference
to see how their reports are going.

2/19-2/23

Overall Impression

This week went pretty well! I feel like the kids are really getting
used to me and see me as their teacher. I had great interactions with
Dylan and feel like I have good relationships with the class as a whole.
This Thursday, the kids were pretty active and chatty--however, our
Thursday was like a Friday for the students since they dont have
school. I was pleased with the learning and classroom management
this week and am continuing to feel confident.
I was able to find some cool activities for my encore group that
kept them engaged and working, while also having fun. My reading
groups went better this week as well.

What are your plans/goals for this coming week?

Reading rotations went really well this week, we finished our
books, so I want to figure out where to go with them this coming week.
I want to figure out a good way to engage Kaden in sight words.
We have been reading Pete the Cat books that he picked out to just
practice his reading and words. I feel like his brain is on overload
trying multiple strategies all the time, so it was good for him to feel like
a reader and finish some fun books this week--I could tell he was
engaged and enjoyed it. I think it would be fun to find some sight
word games for him. I can just tell that sometimes he gets overloaded
and says I cant read that word or I dont know it, or I am not a good
reader, I just want to help him build confidence and practice! We tried
having me read the word and he would find it--that went pretty well, so
maybe I could find some kind of game with sound to letter recognition.

Need to make sure I create Bens smiley face chart for our
subjects. We started this at the beginning of last week to help with his
behavior, but I did not create it these past couple of days and feel like I
need to continue to follow through with this.
Try to find fun ways to interact with the class. They earned their
Special Treat Day letters, so try to figure out what cool thing I can do
with that.
We also have Dr. Seuss door day next week, so help to guide the
class to get this done.

2/27-3/3

Overall Impression

This was my last week of full time teaching. It went by pretty

fast! I definitely see how student behaviors can be up and down--last
week went really well, and although this week went well too, I felt that
the kids are trying to get away with a lot of things. We had to have a
class meeting about half way through the week to talk about what has
been going on. A lot of the kids said they were tired, hungry, or ready
for spring break...so I just think it is getting to a point in the school
year where they are a bit antsy.
Cole and Alec have been giving my patience a run for its money
these past weeks. Alec continually loudly blurts out and has been a
little sarcastic/rude in during the days. Cole has been off the walls!
Getting in peoples faces, constantly out of his seat, grabbing kids,
etc. Both of these students definitely have ADD, and I try to be patient
because a lot of the time they cant control it, but they have been
testing me! Lisa said they have been this way all year and especially
at the beginning of the year, so I dont think I am doing anything
terrible that is making them act this way--I think they have just finally
started wearing on me a bit.

What are your plans/goals for this coming week?

Lisa set up times for me to go in and observe other
teachers/grades to see their styles. I am super excited to do this and
see the differences among classrooms. I want to make sure I take
good notes and pictures of the classrooms to remember different
things I liked.
I also plan to meet with the principal this next week to get any
advice and what not as I begin applying. I want to ensure I keep my
connections with everyone at the school!
I also plan to write all of my kiddos letters thanking them for
letting me come work with them and sharing with them how proud I
am etc.
This week is my phase out week, but will be a little different than most.
Lisa is gone on Tuesday and Thursday, so I will be teaching all day on
those two days. I want to make sure I take in this last week and really
enjoy the time I have left at Hillside!