Weekly Reflection Log Week: 9

3/28/16-4/1/16
1. How did you spend your time this week?
This week I took a more active role in the classroom. I did the morning
meeting and science lesson every morning, helped students as
needed, and observed Mrs. Joens teach and manage her classroom. We
had a field trip and an assembly on Friday, which made for a very tiring
day! For professional development on Wednesday we had a building
meeting about classroom management. I also spent a lot of time trying
to talk one-on-one with the students in an effort to get to know them
better (especially the ones with behavior issues to try and better
understand where the misbehavior is coming from).
2. What responsibilities did you have?
I led the morning meeting each morning this week and taught a
science lesson directly after. There have been a few times where Mrs.
Joens needed to leave the room and in those cases I was responsible
for the whole class. During the field trip I helped make sure each child
was where they were supposed to be and behaving well. There were a
few instances this week in which I assisted with disciplinary issues as
well. At the end of each day I am in charge of waiting with the kids
until the appropriate person picks them up.
3. What were your most satisfying experiences this week?
I seem to be establishing relationships with the students which is
immensely satisfying. I'm still working on establishing myself as an
authority figure with some of them, but hopefully this will come with
time as they get to know me. I have definitely made headway with one
student in particular (who has some behavior issues) and hope to keep
this up. I hope we will get to the point where he knows I care about
him, won't talk down to him, and have high expectations for him (and
everyone in the room).
4. What were your most challenging experiences this week?
I think my biggest challenge with this group will be management. Even
my mentor teacher struggles with this class, and she has about 30
years of experience under her belt. There are about 5 kids with clear
behavior issues and another few who sometimes have trouble. There
are some strong personalities in the class and one or two that
simply won't accept the consequences and will sit there yelling "NO!"
at you. Obviously, this makes teaching a lesson quite difficult! Dealing

with distractions and misbehavior will be a good challenge for me, but
certainly frustrating. Creating engaging lessons and understanding the
root of the behavior issues will hopefully help me keep a handle on
things and get some learning done. We also just got a new student on
Friday who is much lower than the other kids, presenting another
challenge.
5. What are the plans for the upcoming week?
Next week, I plan on taking over math in addition to the morning
meeting and science. Math involves a smaller group lesson, a whole
group lesson, independent work time, and problem solving time. In
total, about 2 hours! We are currently working on measurement, so I
have a lot of telling time lessons and activities planned for next week. I
hope to keep the lessons engaging to discourage misbehavior. I also
plan on implementing my "awesome behavior puzzle" that I used in my
last placement on Monday. Their class reward for getting all the puzzle
pieces will be an extra recess. Hopefully this will motivate them- and
they only get one recess so it should benefit me as well!

Weekly Reflection Log Week: 10

4/4/16-4/8/16
1. How did you spend your time this week?
This week I continued to build relationships with the students and get
them accustomed to seeing me in the "teacher's role." I plan and teach
lessons, read to the students, and help individual students as time
allows. However, I would say I spend the majority of my time trying to
manage the classroom so we can get some learning done. When I go
home, I continue to reflect on what I can change or do better.
2. What responsibilities did you have?
I have currently taken over every subject except reading. In the
morning I greet the students as they eat breakfast, do the morning
meeting, and science. During guided reading groups I assist individual
students. I've been working with our new student on reading because
she is a lot lower than the rest of the class. I take the students to
lunch, complete recess duty, bring the students in from recess, and
take and pick them up from specials. In the afternoon I teach small
group math extension, whole group math, and problem solving. We
finish up the day with writing and a read aloud.

3. What were your most satisfying experiences this week?

This week I implemented a new positive behavior reward with the
"Awesome Behavior Puzzle." The class earns a puzzle piece for good
behavior. Once the puzzle is complete the class will earn an extra
recess. Each time they earn a piece we discuss how they earned it and
I praise them for making good choices. I've heard them tell each other
a couple times to quiet down or listen so they could earn a piece. I
think once they get the first reward they will be more motivated to
earn the pieces. I'm trying to find ways to recognize those who are
doing well, rather than constantly yell or punish the whole class for the
actions of a few. I've also realized the kids really like read alouds and
have decided to make time in the afternoon to read chapter books to
them. I'm hoping this will be a calming and enjoyable time for them to
break up the afternoon.
4. What were your most challenging experiences this week?
I'm feeling a bit like a broken record, but management is still the most
challenging aspect of this experience. We had two students who were
suspended for a half day this week because they ran around in art
class throwing rulers and scissors and are now not allowed to go to
specials until Tuesday. Another frustration is that I'm trying to find ways
to make the lessons more engaging (thinking that some students may
be bored and acting out), without creating a management nightmare
for myself. For instance, I'd like to do more partner and group work and
"hands on" activities, but kids inevitably start fighting or stop listening,
etc. Something to keep working on.
5. What are the plans for the upcoming week?
Next week I will continue teaching the subjects I've been teaching and
also begin teaching the guided reading groups. We are lucky to have a
resource teacher come in during reading groups and work with the
lower groups so each group gets a full 30 minutes. I will keep
rewarding positive behavior and not put up with misbehavior with a
calm but firm demeanor. I'm also scheduled to meet with the principal
for a mock interview.

Weekly Reflection Log Week: 11

4/11/16-4/15/16

1. How did you spend your time this week?

I spent my week teaching, planning for next week, and reflecting on
how I can improve classroom management and make lessons more
"hands on" and engaging. I attended PLC planning time on Tuesday
and Thursday, PD (professional development) on Wednesday, and
participated in a mock interview with the school's administrator. We
also had my midterm evaluation this week.
2. What responsibilities did you have?
I taught every subject this week except the whole group reading
lesson. I am responsible for planning and teaching lessons, rewarding
great behavior choices, and handing out consequences for poor
behavior choices. I walk students to lunch and specials and pick them
up, and wait with them at the end of the day to make sure they are
picked up. During my mock interview this week, we decided that
before I leave Oak Park, I need to be the one to make a call home to
parents if the opportunity arises. I've witnessed many such calls, and
I've spoken with parents after school or at conferences, but have yet to
call home during the day.
3. What were your most satisfying experiences this week?
I'm getting more and more hugs each day, and I'm hoping that means
I'm building relationships with these kiddos. Afternoons in this
classroom are really challenging. Friday afternoon however, went really
well! I know exactly why, which is both satisfying and frustrating. First,
their morning was interrupted with a dance presentation from
performers (causing them to dance for 30 minutes and wear
themselves out a bit). Next, they were SO close to getting their last
puzzle piece and earning an extra recess. I told them I believed in
them and was so positive they were going to earn the last piece that I
already scheduled the extra recess and they had about 45 min. to
show me they deserved it. During this time (math) I did a lesson in
which we graphed the amount of jumping jacks we could do in 5, 10,
and 15 seconds (more movement!). They did great, so they earned the
extra recess. When they came back in we did a bit of reading, writing,
and totaled up their table team points to see who earned a prize. The
afternoon was successful because I incorporated movement, they got a
brain break, and their afternoon was broken up into manageable bits.
Since changing their schedule is not an option, I will simply have to

find more ways to appropriately break up this time and incorporate

movement.
4. What were your most challenging experiences this week?
The most challenging part of each day I think, is my "small" (about 17
kids) math group. They come in from specials and go directly into
these math groups. The resource teacher who leads the group in the
back of the room has been out with a broken ankle and we've had a
different sub every day. These kiddos are not the easiest to manage
and the group in the back is often a bit louder than I'd like. I've been
struggling to find ways to engage my group in the front while keeping
them quiet as to not disrupt the other group. This is particularly
challenging because we are on the carpet. I want the students to be
doing something rather than just sitting and listening. I've tried using
individual whiteboards (not so successful), and hard books with a piece
of paper on it (somewhat more successful, but still takes a while to get
set up and settled in). I may try giving them directions on the carpet
and sending them back to their seats to work. We'll see.
5. What are the plans for the upcoming week?
Next week will be my first official week of full time teaching in this
placement. It is a review week for reading, and I plan on incorporating
lots of Earth day materials and activities. We will continue studying
nutrition during science. We'll finish up our graphing unit in math and
take the chapter test on Friday. I will be persistent and patient in trying
ways to grab their attention and engage them in lessons.