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Reflections by preservice teachers learning to teach beginning reading.
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About Me
- Dave Koppenhaver
- Co-founder and former director of the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. Currently professor in Language, Reading, and Exceptionalities Dept. at Appalachian State University.
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I was pleased with the way my first visit went. I believe my teacher is a wonderful teacher and she does a lot of fun and interesting activities. She also keeps the kids up and moving a lot in order to keep them focused. I wasn't really fond of the school. I did not like how the classrooms are all connected. It seems to me that this could be a huge distraction for students because you can always hear other classes talking. I thought the kids were all very sweet and adorable. I was wondering why their is no science or social studies taught at this school?! Or is my teacher the only one who doesn't teach these subjects? I think this is extremely sad. Obviously we need to get rid of standardized tests so we can spend more time teaching science, social studies and the arts.
ReplyDeleteI was pleased with the way my first visit went. I believe my teacher is a wonderful teacher and she does a lot of fun and interesting activities. She also keeps the kids up and moving a lot in order to keep them focused. I wasn't really fond of the school. I did not like how the classrooms are all connected. It seems to me that this could be a huge distraction for students because you can always hear other classes talking. I thought the kids were all very sweet and adorable. I was wondering why their is no science or social studies taught at this school?! Or is my teacher the only one who doesn't teach these subjects? I think this is extremely sad. Obviously we need to get rid of standardized tests so we can spend more time teaching science, social studies and the arts.
ReplyDeleteHeather Johnson
After the first visit at Glen Alpine I noticed that for the most part, all the teachers were friendly and eager to talk to us. I was in a fifth grade class and there was not much interaction between me and the children. The teacher was quiet and did not really talk much to me and my partner. The teacher we had taught as a team with another teacher, therfore our teacher taught only math and sciece. (I did not get to observe a reading class because there was some confusion about whether the interns were to switch classes with the students). The entire time I was there the children did math worksheets, and did math problems out of the book. There were no games to be played or time for interaction. When it came time for science, only 30 minutes was spent on this subject. My question is 'Do the teachers not have the time to put in science? or social studies for that matter? I feel that all subjects are important, not just math. On a positive note our teacher interacted very well with the children, they seem to enjoy her and she really tries to make sure they understand what they are doing.
ReplyDeleteJoy Cooper
i loved my first day! I enjoyed every minute of it and look forward to getting to know the students and helping them learn. I found that every thing we have studied in class was done in Mrs. Duckworth's class. All we did is math and reading. However this is kindergarten, so when do they get introduced to other subjects? I also found it very distracting the setup of the school. The way they were all put together, no doors or anything, and you could hear the other classrooms very clearly. However, the students did not seem to be distracted. On a positive note, our teacher is absolutely wonderful and has so much passion for her job. I could really see that she has made a difference in the student's lives.
ReplyDelete-Molly Maness :)
I have to admit I was slightly nervous about today. I had never been to an elementary school in Burke County, so I didn’t know what the administration, teachers or students would be like. When I walked into the building I felt welcome by the faculty and staff. The principal did a wonderful job giving us an idea of what the school demographics were and she gave off a cheerful vibe. I am interning in a 3rd classroom and felt as though the teacher was very informative and worked with us on our assignments we are going to be completing within the next 8 days. I enjoyed observing her teach because she interacts with her students in ways I hope to interact with my students one day. As far as the students, there wasn’t much interaction, but I did enjoy getting to see their routine and how they behaved in class. The only question about my visit is did anyone else feel as though the set up of the school was confusing or distracting? We had an open doorway (with no doors) in our classroom that was connected to a pod and a few other classrooms so you could here the other classes distinctly. Maybe it was just me but I felt as though it was a little distracting. Other than that I enjoyed my visit and I am excited for the next few weeks!
ReplyDelete-Christin Jones
I was EXTREMELY pleased with my first visit. My teacher and her students were very welcoming. During the day, I noticed a lot of reading strategies that we have been talking about in class. My teacher started the day off with a morning message. She also used a big book called, "Yuk Soup," and did guided reading. She talked about the cover, the middle, and then the end. She also took strips of paper with all the sentences on it and had the kids put them in order. However, during math she did a sort of round robin but with numbers. She would go around the circle starting with one then each kid would go after until they reached 100. If they missed the number they had to go back to their seats. All and all, I loved my Kindergarten class. I am very nervous but excited about teaching my lessons. My question is, in Kindergarten there are no doors because the rooms are set up like cubicle rooms, did anyone find this distracting? I know my class is very good about keeping their voice down because our teacher has a great system, but I was getting distracted by the noise.
ReplyDeleteMolly Suddes
I was a little nervous when I arrived at the school, but once I met my teacher and was in the class I was quickly put to ease. My teacher was very friendly and welcoming. I thought the classroom was too small because the desks were very close together and it seemed very cluttered. My teacher taught on a team with another teacher and she taught reading and social studies. I observed her teach two classes and it was obvious that the classes were separated based on ability. She taught two completely different lessons for the classes and the atmosphere between the two classes was different. One class did a worksheet and was very quiet, while the other class got to talk quietly and walk around while they worked on an art project. Should the teacher use two totally different lessons just because their abilities are different? Overall, I had a great first day and can't wait to see what all I learn.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I think today's first experience at Glen Alpine was great. I agree with the others that said that the principal was very welcoming and seemed to enjoy having us there! My teacher, who is in 3rd grade, was very nice and welcoming. She interacted with her students well and they seemed to really enjoy her. She mentioned that this was her first year teaching 3rd grade and had been teaching 4th and 5th for years. Like Joy, we had no interaction with the students at all which concerns me. We were not even introduced to the class and we just observed the class while she was teaching. Observing gives us a lot to take in and learn from, but there was not really any opportunity for us to help them with things, it was mostly independent work or the teacher asking questions to the class. My question would be how to get to know the students more if the classroom is set up that way?
ReplyDeleteLaura Davis
I LOVED my first day! I'm in a 5th grade classroom where they had team teachers so I was exposed to two very different teaching methods that worked on the same class of students. My homeroom teacher, Mrs. Obsorne, was awesome! Initially I was concerned about talking back and rude behavior but that wasn't even an issue. The reading teacher split the class into two groups and they each read aloud a play. I need more time with her to see more of her methods but the kids really enjoyed reading their stories aloud. I was able to jump right in with the students and I felt very at home, very comfortable. At the moment I can't think of a question because I talked to my teachers for a long time today during silent reading, but if I think of one, I'll be sure to post it.
ReplyDelete-Amanda Jackson
My first experience at Glen Alpine was great. The teacher was really nice and the students were awesome and for the most part well behaved. The teacher was also really laid back and made us feel welcomed in her classroom. My favorite activity they did today was a probability activity using the American Idol contestants. I felt like it was something the entire class enjoyed and learned a lot from. Like a few other people I noticed for the most part science and social studies were ignored. They were though doing a dog sled activity that did incorporate some science and definitely some geography so I thought that was better then nothing. My question is has it come to where teachers just ignore other important subjects like science and social studies because they feel like math and reading or more important? or because they just don't have the time?
ReplyDeleteSarah Purrell
I enjoyed my first visit to the school. I really liked my kindergarten teacher. She kept the kids moving and let them get up and down a lot so that they were not bored. She was very organized and the students were never just sitting doing nothing. Most of the day was spent on reading. She really made a point to ensure that every child understood what she was modeling while they were in group. The school was set up a little different than most elementary schools that I have been to. The kindergarten classes were all connected which was distracting at times when other classes were counting or reading out loud. The overall instruction was good except they mainly spent time on reading and about 30 minutes on math. There wasn't any time spent on social studies or science. My question is if there are standards in social studies and science do they not have to be covered in the lower grades that are not tested?
ReplyDeleteKatie West
The first day went really well! The teacher i'm assigned to is very interactive with the kids and the daily activities that she does (word wall, morning message, calendar activities, read book aloud and discuss) were all activities that we have practiced in your class. It was really interesting to see actual kindergarten student's participate and really understand these activities. The class was for the most part extremely well behaved and although I mostly observed for this first day I am so excited to come back on Monday and work in smaller groups with the students!
ReplyDeleteThe questions that I had were pretty much answered at the school visit, I feel much better about the assignments I have to do for Block and I feel really comfortable in the school's atmosphere.
-Hannah Hobson
I really enjoyed my first visit to Glen Alpine. I am in a fifth grade classroom, which made me a bit nervous because I have worked more with younger children. I was worried about behavior issues, but there really weren't any problems in the classroom. Since fifth grade rotates through different classrooms, my teacher only teaches math and science. My partner and I didn't get to see a reading lesson because of this, but we plan to rotate with the students on Monday. The teacher did, however, have sustained silent reading and read aloud after lunch. The read aloud seemed to follow the guidelines from class fairly closely, as well. I felt like, however, the teacher was a bit quiet or shy because she did not talk much to my partner or me. Maybe this was just because there were two new faces observing her all day. The lessons only used workbook problems or worksheets, which surprised me because I expected interactive lessons and activities with technology integrated. Did anyone's class seem to use very interactive lessons, or did the focus seem to be on worksheets and practicing problems? Also, did anyone's classroom have technology implemented in some way?
ReplyDeleteKayla Rash
I really enjoyed my first day working with the students and teachers at Glen Alpine. I was nervous going into my first day but the teachers were very welcoming. I worked in the kindergarten class and the teacher and her assistant told us that they were willing to help with anything that we needed. I could tell they were excited to have us there. The kids were also a blast and I enjoyed watching them show us what they knew and learn new things. The kids were affectionate and they also enjoyed us being there.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that I was glad to see in my classroom was the use of the things we had been learning in our reading class. The class had a word wall, morning message, did guided reading, and other activities.
One question I had after the first day was how many students on average were in the other classes? My class seemed to be relatively small, with 18 students, but I wondered if this was true of other classes.
Leslie Sheppard
I had an AMAZING first day!!! I had 2nd grade and the teacher is probably one of the best teachers I've seen teach and the sad thing is she is retiring, but she's not old and boring. The majority of the day, actually probably all of the day was spent on reading and I was really suprised about that. She has a great word wall, LOTS of books, and did a guided reading read-aloud. They used partner reading when they were read out of their textbook and they also had a listening center in which they listened to the book and completed a story organizer worksheet. The 2nd grade has a reading goal and if they do not meet it, they have tutoring. My teacher said all of her students would be able to meet the goal so I guess having lots of reading during the day has payed off. I'm still having a hard time understanding reading groups. If you have children of all levels in the group then won't the higher level students be wasting their time reading easy books and the lower level would be having a hard time reading the harder books?
ReplyDeleteKarie Steelman
I had a great first day at Glen Alpine! I was in 4th grade and when we walked in our teacher was surprised because he had 3 interns! He said last year he only had 2. We observed him teaching math for the first 30 min or so that we were there and then he sat down with us and talked. We talked about Burke County and Glen Alpine, his classroom, the class, and what we were expected to do while we were there. He said that we were expected to teach, so Monday we are each teaching one of our math lessons and doing the QWIK assessment. He suggested that the next time we were there to go ahead and do our reading assignments that way we would have them done and if we wanted to do more than 1 we could. He was really laid back and easy to talk to. I found that his teaching style was different than most teachers you see. He joked around with the kids more than you would think. He said that was because a lot of them acted out because they wanted attention and sometimes it was just easier to give them those few seconds of attention than to yell at them. He said yelling and fussing isn't always the best way. He was very helpful and I look forward to working with his and the kids this semester. The kids were very welcoming and friendly. We would help them, and they would ask and want our help in return. Some even gave us hugs before we left. He mentioned to us about having a few of the EC kids in his class for different subjects. I guess my question would be, if you have some of these EC kids in your class for reading, how would you include them in the reading groups? If the child had reading problems and behavior problems, wouldn't it hinder the other children in the groups' to learn what they need to? I know we should include these kids; that is what they are in the room for. I just wonder how you would include them, keep them in task and not frustrated, while making sure that they rest of the group is getting the education they need.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed my first day at Glen Alpine. My teacher is really nice and was willing to help me and my partner figure everything out. I am working with a class that switches between teachers, so therefore I did not get to observe a reading lesson because my teacher teaches math and science. We talked with her and decided that next time we will switch with the students. Everyone seems willing to help us and open to all the interns being at the school. My main concern about the classroom situation I am in with the switching of classes is that it has to be hard on the students. How can they remember everything they are learning in science and social studies when they get 4 1/2 weeks of science then switch to another 4 1/2 weeks of social studies? The whole situation seems confusing to me and I am a college student, I can only imagine how hard it must be on the fourth grade students.
ReplyDeleteMy first day was pretty fun. I was in the fourth grade class. I like our teacher, he understands what we need to do and is really encouraging for us to get up and teach. He wants us to teach a math lesson everyday. The only reading that we observed in his class was for about 20-30 minutes. The kids split up into partners and read a chapter. Then they had to go back to their desk to answer the questions by themselves. I was surprised at how many children we had in our class with behavior problems/issues, emotional issues, and learning disabilities. We also had a lot of minority students in our classroom. The kids were all friendly though. Our teacher really wants us to go ahead and get started on everything that we have to do. While we were in the class we got to go with them while they were in art. That was fun. I was really sad to see how many students were stressing out over the EOGs. We saw one kid cry because he didn't understand a math problem. So I guess one question would be, how can I help the kids deal with the stress so they don't worry so much?
ReplyDeleteKayla Sizemore
After my first visit to Glen Alpine, i was pleased with my classroom and teacher. My teacher i work with is retiring after this school year so I feel like I will get a lot from her. Mrs. Wilson is very encouraging with her students an us. she put us right to work with some kids and let us go around the room and help with assignments as well. She gives the kids rules but allows them room to work with their own needs to get to their goals. They set goals everyday in class where they can finish an assignment by this time. When I first walked into the classroom i noticed all of Mrs. Wilsons decorations including word wall, calendars, schedules, pictures... She is also in a classroom where there are 4 rooms attached adn all opened to each other so you can hear everyones class going on during the day but I noticed that the kids were not distracted by this at all. I also noticed when I was going around helping the students how well they read and comprehend. I was very impressed by that. She also impressed with her library in her room. She had many books for the students to choose from, in all different categories.
ReplyDeleteA question I had after my first visit was I noticed they did not spend much time, if any on science and social studies, does the whole school do this and focus more on reading/writing and math?
Meggie Colhoun
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ReplyDeleteI have to say that I really enjoyed my first experience. I have known this school since I was little seeing as how I grew up in this county. I really liked the school it reminded me of my elementary school growing up. The teacher that I am working with is Anna Koon. She was very welcoming/inviting, she really seems to love her job and was very interested in making us feel welcome and helping us with anything. The kids in this class were very welcoming also. All of the students introduced themselves to us and wanted to know all about us. The schedule for Mrs. Koon's class was laid out in a planning book along with being hung on the classroom door. The children knew what they were supposed to be doing when and they really seemed to enjoy the activities that they were doing. I have to say that I have noticed that many people have mentioned that they thought the open classrooms were distracting or could be and I have to say having been in classrooms just like these growing up that the openness did not bother me. I am in a second grade classroom and I noticed a lot of reading and math things through out the room and I was wondering where the science and social studies things were. My question would be is Science and Social studies at these younger ages more taught in integrated lessons then by themselves.
ReplyDeleteDanielle Epley
I absolutely loved my first day in the classroom. I have already learned so much from my kindergarten teacher Ms. Duckworth and am so eager to learn more. A few interesting things about my class: Out of 22 students only 9 live with two parents. The others are living with relatives, single parents or in a foster home. My case study will be on the one foster home student. My partner, Molly, will be doing her case study on a little girl named Macy. Both of Macy's parents are deaf but Macy is not, she actually has to sit at a desk alone because she talks to much, it is incredible to watch. One student lives with her Aunt and great uncle, whose house has flees so she comes to school everyday with flee bites around her neck, it is very sad. These kindergarten students are so smart, smarter than I thought Kindergarten students were and they know alot more that I had given them credit for. Ms. Duckworth has only been teaching for 3 years. She went back to school after working for 10 years and is so great with her students. She is working on her masters now, as she teachers. I can not wait for Monday to come to go back and learn even more!! I am not sure if I have a question yet. One question might be something that I asked Ms. Duckworth, In the students case who has flee bites all over, can you not report this to social services? What is your role as a teacher and how far are you aloud to go?
ReplyDeleteBeth Hicks
I really enjoyed my first day at Glen Alpine! Everyone was very friendly and the kids were great! I worked in a third grade classroom. The kids were really sweet and well-behaved and the teacher was nice as well. As far as literacy, I noticed quite a few things. There was a word wall set up around the room and I saw a couple of kids looking at it. They also have their own reading boxes and during SSR (Student Selected Reading time)they get thier box and can read what they want ranging from smaller books to chapter books. They can then go take an Accelerated Reader test on the books they have read. The school really seems to be involved in the Accelerated Reader program. They have signs when you first walk into the lobby about "racing" to reach their goal in AR with themed pictures around the room. The students in my class are also participating in another reading program. They are studying the iditarod dog races in Alaska and there is an world wide internet race called the idita-read. The students "travel" a mile for every minute they read. The teacher logs their time for them and they track their progress just like they track the dog races. I thought this was an interesting concept. Another thing related to literacy was he teacher put the students into groups and they all read the first chapter of Stone Fox. They then answered questions on a worksheet by working together. These questions really made them think about what they had just read. While they were reading, each child took a turn to read a page. I know we have talked about how worksheets aren't learning but one of my questions would be, are worksheets effective when they prompt discussions about the reading in small groups?
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the first day at Glen Alpine. My teacher seems very eager to help us and is very encouraging. He really wants us to teach us much as we can and if we are not teaching then we should definitely be interacting with the kids, and I agree. I am in a fourth grade class and I absolutely love it. I love the students. It really amazed me how many students are in my class that have emotional issues, behavioral issues, financial issues, or family issues. I did not expect to have that much diversity in one classroom. It breaks my heart because fourth graders should not have to deal with the things they are facing outside of school. My cooperative teacher wants us to start teaching right away and I am very excited. The only thing I noticed that is bothering me a little is that there is not as much focus on reading as there is in math. Also, when I was looking at his schedule, it did not seem like there is much emphasis on science and social studies. I know that teachers have to teach a lot of math and reading, but do teachers not have time to teach science and social studies or do they not think it is important?
ReplyDeleteMegan Cockrum
I was very pleased with my first visit. It went smoothly and seemed like things were well organized. Of course, I felt a little out of place at first because we walked in in the middle of a lesson. After we got settled and met the teacher and students I felt like it was a success. Our teacher is extremely nice and seems like a great teacher. The students were very eager for us to answer questions and to help them. All in all I was very pleased with everyone! A few questions I have are that the students are broken between two classes with different subjects. One teacher teaches math and science and one teaches reading and social studies. We are with the teacher that teaches english and social studies. I am a little worried on how we are going to do our math lessons when we havent seen one yet?
ReplyDelete-Kala White
My first day at Glen Alpine was very exciting! The school is really nice, but I feel that the classrooms are too small. My teacher is really nice and very helpful. She has offered her help to anything we may need and if we have any questions just to ask her. She made us feel very welcomed. The kids are also so welcoming. At first, they were a bit on the shy spot, but then they started talking to me and it got easier to adjust. We found out that our teacher switches classes with another teacher. I thought that this would make our lesson teaching a bit hard to do, but the teachers have talked to us and it is not as hard as I thought. The first day I saw a focus on math a lot. They did a bit of science, but they were drawing mostly. They all had books with them to read when they were done with their work. They do SSR reading after recess. Im really looking forward to my next visits there and hope to learn a lot from my teacher. However, I have the same question as Megan. Why is science and social studies not taught more in depth if both are equally important as reading and math? (In my class, they alternate between science and social studies every nine weeks.)
ReplyDeleteSiomara Castillo
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ReplyDeleteMy first impression of the school was good. The principle was very nice and gave us facts about the school before even entering the classrooms. It was nice that she gave us background information on the school. The teacher that we had was only a first year teacher, but first impressions would have told me otherwise. She was great with her students and great with us. She was very informative and answered any questions that we had. We had some confusion at first when the classrooms switched, so I didn't get to see the students in math or science. We have sense figured out how we will arrange things, so that we can see them in both settings. It was a unique day because the students were doing how to projects. Emily and I ate very well that day. The children were very rowdy because of all the chocolate. It was very exciting to be in the classroom and get some hands on experience. At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to teach fifth grade, but after being in the classroom I think that I could do it. I look forward to our classroom. I think our teacher has a lot of information to provide. Science and social studies were only taught for thirty minutes a day. I feel like there was so much emphasis on EOGs that things were left behind. If that is what the principle requires than when do we as teachers draw the line?
ReplyDeletejoni little
I had a great first day at Glen Alpine! Everyone was very inviting and we had an exciting day in our class. The 5th graders were doing "How-to" speeches and a lot of them spoke about recipes, so we ate a lot of food. It was a good first impression, to say the least. Like Joni said, our teacher is a first year teacher, but she was an assistant for many years so she has lots of experience with kids. The kids seem to really like her and be comfortable with her. She seems very laid-back and personable, which is what I picture myself as while teaching. Like Joni, I didn't think that I would want to teach 5th grade before this, but I do enjoy the age group and I know I could definitely do it. I'm looking forward to the next several weeks with these kids. I did notice that our teacher used several worksheets with the students and I remember having a lot of worksheets in elementary school. All throughout our teacher education, I've heard to steer away from a lot of worksheets. Where should the line be drawn on using worksheets to teach lessons? Should we try to stay away from using them as much as possible? Or if the students get used to them, is it okay to stick with a familiar format?
ReplyDeleteEmily Fox
I also thoroughly enjoyed my first experience at practicum, I really loved the fact that the school is so welcoming and glad to see us all. I also like knowing that our teacher has had interns before and really knows what to expect out of us as well as what we will have to get done in the short time that we are with her. Mrs. Koon, a second grade teacher, is my classroom teacher; on our first day she made it a point to make use feel comfortable not only in the classroom, but also with her group of students. This classroom is very diverse and offers a lot of learning potential for me, I feel that the students can teach me about not only themselves, but where they come from. I really think that the classes will go smoothly and the kids will learn. I would like to know, like Danielle, are Math and Reading the only two subjects that are "spotlighted" throughout the day or are science and/or social studies supposed to as well?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI had a great first impression Glen-Alpine Elementary School. I am in a fifth grade classroom, and the students seem to be very friendly and smart. Most of the students are on or above grade level, although there are a few who are struggling. My teacher is very kind and helpful. She is willing to give advice if I need it. Most of the academic focus seems to be on math and reading. I understand that this is because math and reading are the two subjects that are pushed on the EOGs, but I think science and social studies should also be strongly incorporated into the curriculum. Why don't the teachers make more time for these subjects?
ReplyDeleteShelby Johnson