Student Teaching Weekly Log

Directions: Answer these questions each week and email them to your student teaching
supervisor.

Name: Eve Thomas Week: One

1. How did you spend your time this week? What responsibilities did you have?

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, I spent my time observing Sandy teach and
helping out wherever I could. For example, I would lead one part of a round or assist
students on the instruments. On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, I retaught a short
song in third and fourth grade and then expanded it into a round. The fifth graders are just
starting their opera unit, so Sandy took charge of that, and the first and second graders are
preparing for their concert on April 11th. In those classes Ive started singing and doing
the actions with the kids so I will be ready to help out wherever I am needed at the
concert. Even though it is quite busy, I think Sandys schedule is organized well. She sees
all her classes twice a week, with fifth through third graders in the morning and first and
second graders in the afternoon.

2. What were your most satisfying experiences? What were your most challenging
experiences?

My most satisfying experiences this week were getting to know the students and
watching how Sandy dictates procedures, rules and consequences in the classroom. Ever
since my Elementary Methods course my junior year, I have known that I wanted to teach
elementary music, so I was very excited to start this placement. The kids as a whole are
quite well behaved and eager to learn about music. Sandy has a clear set of classroom
rules in place with rewards and consequences, which helps the students know what to
expect each day in music class. This directly aligns with an article I found about
classroom rules and expectations on the Professional Learning Board website. The author
states expectations that are clear and shared are essential to help foster the cause-and-
effect relationship between actions and consequences, (Benefits of Developing Clear
Classroom Rules and Expectations). Because Sandy reminds her students of the rules for
entering and leaving the classroom and playing instruments, as well as the consequences
for breaking the rules, students work as a team and help each other remember the rules.
The third graders were playing xylophones and other barred instruments, and I saw
students using non-verbal cues to remind their classmates how to take off bars (two
hands) and hold the mallets (trees on knees). There were even some students who
physically helped their neighbors who were struggling with resetting the instruments at
the end of class. Working as a team to achieve a common goal is a huge theme in Sandys
classroom, and it is something I want to incorporate in my own classroom as well.

Honestly, I did not have any challenging experiences this week. I felt comfortable with
the songs and activities I led, and Sandy had copies of all her lesson plans and songs
prepared for me at the beginning of the week so I could review them throughout the day
and at home. I think that the most challenging part of this placement will probably be
learning all the students names, since there are close to seven hundred of them!
 3. What are the plans for the upcoming week?

In the fifth grade classes next week, I will be reading the storybook The Magic Flute that
goes along with the opera performance. For fourth grade, I will watch Sandy introduce a
new song and game with the classes on Monday, and then teach it to all the classes on
Tuesday and Wednesday, reinforcing it the rest of the week. The third graders learned a
new song and game at the end of last week, so I will take over leading that with the
classes and guiding them towards discovering the high do in the song. Sandys first and
second grade classes will still be preparing for their concert, so I will continue to learn
the songs and help out however I can.

Student Teaching Weekly Log

Directions: Answer these questions each week and email them to your student teaching
supervisor.

Name: Eve Thomas Week: Two

1. How did you spend your time this week? What responsibilities did you have?

This week, I taught for about a third of each class, in addition to assisting Sandy
whenever the kids needed more help. Fifth grade is still going through their opera unit, so
I am reading the storybook in between each scene we watch. In third and fourth grade, I
took over one activity from start to finish, usually teaching or reviewing a song, playing a
game, and discovering the notes on the staff. The first and second graders are continuing
to prepare for their concert, so we always go over their songs in class. We spend half the
class in the music room with me leading songs and Sandy playing the piano, and half our
time on stage in the cafeteria, where I help with all the instrument parts. As I mentioned
in my last log, Wednesdays are early release days for professional development. This
week, all the elementary music teachers got to meet. It was nice to meet everyone and see
how well they get along.

2. What were your most satisfying experiences? What were your most challenging
experiences?

I had many satisfying experiences over the course of the week. One that sticks out to me
is something that happened during the second fourth grade class of the day on Thursday.
A few boys from the first class stayed afterwards to get information about Heartland
Youth Choir, so Sandy took them back to her office. The next class was waiting at the
door to come in, so I decided to invite them in and start class. My part of the lesson came
later in the sequence, but I had watched Sandy teach the other parts of the lesson earlier
in the day. I taught the first small chunk of the lesson, and then Sandy was back in the
room and ready to take over. This might sound like something small, but I am a person
who hates being put on the spot to teach or perform in front of others. However, I felt
perfectly comfortable starting class, and I actually enjoyed being spontaneous and trying
something new.
 Another satisfying experience Ive had throughout the week has been taking more
leadership in the songs for the first and second grade concerts. About half the songs for
the concert require piano or guitar accompaniment, and Sandy has been letting me take
the lead while she plays. It just makes me so happy to be up in front of the kids leading
the songs. I feel very confident and competent in what Im doing. I can tell that the
students enjoy having me be the teacher too, because I see lots of smiles when Im front
of classes, and almost every child is quick to follow my instructions.

Over the past two weeks, Ive learned so much from watching and talking with Sandy.
One thing she said that has really stuck with me is that it is better to start a comment
about good behavior with I noticed that instead of I like or love, because the former
helps students have greater intrinsic motivation for doing the right thing. The I noticed
statement makes a separation between proper behavior and what makes the teacher
happy. According to Vanderbilt Universitys Center for Teaching, extrinsic motivators
include parental expectations, expectations of other trusted role models, earning potential
of a course of study, and grades. This reinforces the idea that tying teacher emotions to
good behavior causes children to be externally motivated to behave because they want to
please the teacher, rather than changing their behavior because they want to do well in the
class.

3. What are the plans for the upcoming week?

For fifth, second, and first grades, my responsibilities will look the same next week. The
fifth graders should finish the opera unit by the end of the week, but the first and second
grade concert isnt until April 11th. I will continue to take over more control in the third
and fourth grade classes, teaching about half the material. My first observation is this
Wednesday, and I will be leaving Timber Ridge early on Friday for a job interview.

Student Teaching Weekly Log

Directions: Answer these questions each week and email them to your student teaching
supervisor.

Name: Eve Thomas Week: Three

1. How did you spend your time this week? What responsibilities did you have?

This week I taught for about half the class time with third and fourth grade. The fifth
graders wrapped up watching The Magic Flute, and I continued reading the storybook to
go along with that. The first and second graders kept on rehearsing for their performance
this coming Tuesday. Sandy planned a couple joint rehearsals each afternoon, where two
or three classes would come to the cafeteria at once (where the stage is) to run through
the whole program and practice concert etiquette. Towards the end of the week, Sandy
and I talked through what some of the lessons for next week will look like. On Friday, I
left around lunchtime to go to my first interview.

2. What were your most satisfying experiences? What were your most challenging
experiences?
 My most satisfying experience this week was taking over multiple activities with the
fourth grade classes on Thursday and Friday. One of the many things I love about
teaching elementary music is that I get the chance to teach the same lesson multiple
times, so I can make improvements right away and implement feedback. My part of the
lesson consisted of reviewing the song and game High Low Chickalo with the students
and teaching them to play it on the recorder. (It has several low sols in it, which is the
new note the student have been learning.) I used the strategy of scaffolding to break down
the steps in learning the song, first practicing each note, next going measure by measure,
then giving individual practice time, and finally trying to play the whole thing. The
second activity I led was a dancing game that goes with the song Turn the Glasses
Over. I began by having students echo my solfege patterns to reinforce the low sol, and
then re-explained the game. When I taught this lesson for the first time on Thursday, I got
a little frustrated by how rowdy the students were getting during the second game, and I
couldnt quite remember Sandys process for teaching a song on the recorder, so it was a
little stressful. Even though the two fourth grade classes were back to back on Thursday,
I was already able to make a few improvements in my teaching. Before students got their
recorders, I reminded them to think about their respect and materials point, and I used
more phrases such as eyes on me and freeze to keep the rowdiness to a minimum
during the game. When I taught this lesson on Friday, I felt so much more confident
about the process, and I could tell that my strategies really helped with classroom
management and made the lesson more fun. Instead of talking over the students to give
instructions, I waited until all eyes were on me and then whispered and used hand
motions to tell the kids what to do. This worked perfectly because I had every single
students eyes on me, and they were all actively listening to my instructions. Because I
started the lesson in that way, the students had much greater awareness and attention
throughout the class period.

My most challenging experience happened during one of the third grade lessons on
Thursday. The plan was that I would start out teaching and then Sandy would wrap up the
lesson. Right before the class came into the music room, an incident occurred in the
hallway between a student and a teacher, so Sandy ended up dealing with that in her
office throughout the class. The students were quite agitated because they didnt know
what was going on with their classmate, and the principal, assistant principal, and
guidance counselor kept coming in and out of the music room. In turn, I was flustered
because it was difficult to keep the students attention and remember the sequence of the
lesson. (It was my first time teaching the lesson to students, and I had not watched Sandy
model it ahead of time.) Even though the environment was a little chaotic, I kept the
students under control and mostly focused throughout the class. I think this was a good
learning experience for me because those types of situations could happen at any time in
a school setting, and as a teacher, the most important things to remember are to keep your
students safe and get their attention focused on something else. In her article Handle
Classroom Disruptions with Minimal Interruption, author Candace Alstad states, When
classroom disturbances do occur, it is crucial that you deal with them instantly and with
as little interruption as possible. You dont want learning to be interrupted for all of your
students (resumes-for-teachers.com). This is exactly what I did with that third grade
class. I had a few students try to ask questions about what was going on, and I responded
by saying that Mrs. Miller was taking care of the situation and our job right now was to
continue learning this new song and game.

3. What are the plans for the upcoming week?

As I mentioned above, Tuesday evening is the first and second grade concert, so our
planning times on Monday and Tuesday will be spent preparing for that. I am leading one
song at each concert and helping out with all the songs that include instrument parts. The
fifth graders will play a Jeopardy game and write a reflection to wrap up their opera unit,
and Sandy and I will start planning lessons to do with them in the second half of the
week. With third and fourth grade, I will continue to take over more of the teaching
responsibilities.