Desert Habitat Writing Prompt and Activity

For science my students are learning about animal habitats. Here are some of the worksheets I found online and will use tomorrow during our science lesson. Hoping to get two days with these in my lesson!

Tic Tac Toe Spelling Review

Using this SmartBoard I created, I broke students up into two groups. Students wrote their spelling words on a dry erase board. Teams took turns placing X's and O's on the board! Interesting and engaging for students! 

Mighty Mustache!

Mighty Mustache! We all know that mustache's are very popular right now. To improve classroom behavior, if a student is being exceptionally good that day/week, allow them to stick a mustache above their lip and get to wear it all day. These mustache's are $2 on eBay! The class and school will learn that this symbol stands for good behavior! Just something fun to do and can help with troublesome students!

Finished Bulletin

Here is the finished bulletin board without the students work.

Bulletin Board

One of my assignments was to create a bulletin board. I'm starting a science lesson soon so I created it around that!

1/17/2014 Journal

DAR Journal

1/17/2014

Describe

            Today was Friday and casual day. If teachers wished to dress casual, they could pay $3 which went to a fundraiser. The day started off like any other day, witch students entering. Students came in and got to work on their spelling review wish was a word scramble. After students worked through their word scramble, the morning announcements came on. After the announcements, I reviewed spelling words with students. Then I began their spelling test. I read over the words and used sentences. After students were finished with their spelling tests, I graded them. The majority of students did well on these tests.

            After spelling, students had an SRI (Scholastic Reading Inventory) Lesson. Students walked down to the computer lab and worked on these assessments. Students answered a few questions about a passage. These questions produced a Lexille score for each student.

            After SRI, students returned to the classroom and my mentor teacher read through a Martin Luther King Jr. book due to the upcoming holiday. Students asked questions and my mentor teacher held a mini classroom discussion on Martin Luther King Jr. Students seemed to be interested in this story.

            After reading through the story, my mentor teacher moved on to math. Here, students reviewed coins and counting them again. After a brief review, students took a quiz. While some students mastered adding up coins, other students still struggled. One student in particular was struggling. I moved with her to the back table and we worked on her math quiz. She was getting extremely flustered and confused. I tried my hardest to persevere with her, but she was getting to the point where she wasn’t working. As the class lined up to head to P.E., I saw that the student was getting frustrated, so I thought it best to allow her to take a break from the quiz and head to P.E. The math quiz would be finished an another time.

            After P.E. students headed to lunch and then recess. When student got back to recess, they returned to the classroom for a brief period of time. In this time, it was enough time for students to get a drink of water and line up for art class. While students were waiting in the hallway, I had to play the quiet game where one student comes out of line, and picks the next quietest person. If at least 4 students get selected for being quiet, they get to do something fun the following day such as extended recess.

            When students returned from art, they watched a Martin Luther King Jr. video about him as a leader and why we celebrate him in January. Students were well behaved during this video and seemed to enjoy it. I only had to quiet down a few students. All in all it was a good Friday!

Analyze

            Once again I witnessed excellent classroom management. Students knew what needed to be done, and for the most part they did it. With the exception of specific students, it was a good day as far as behavior goes.

            Each and every day I am enjoying student teaching more and more. As I take on more responsibilities and learn each of the students, I look forward to coming. The students responded well to me during the spelling test and remained quiet. During the afternoon, my mentor teacher left and I was practically in charge of the class with the assistance of a resource teacher. I enjoy doing this, because it makes me seem like a solo teacher.

Reflect

            Ending my second full week of student teacher I remain to have a positive attitude. Yes, I am exhausted, but I still am enjoying it. There are a few moments during the day when I grow bored, but I know that I will need to take value during these downtime moments, for when I take on more responsibilities, I will wish I had more downtime. I'm continuing to mesh well with my mentor teacher. I will begin implementing science lesson starting next week. I am eager to begin these lessons!

Educreations

This is one of the iPad apps I mentioned in my previous journal entry.  It's a really cool app that allows students to be creative with their presentations.  Students can draw, type, and even share photos while recording their voices.  They can put on a presentation for the entire class!  I definitely encourage you to check this out...best of all, it's free!!!