My First Semester as a Teacher

In response to Mrs. Stevens blog

My first semester as a teacher was a great experience for my teaching career. I intern at Holiday Height Elementary School under Mr. Briggs, who teaches 5th grade and Mrs. Fitch, who teaches 1st grade. 

During my time at my sight school I spend the first 40 minutes in my 5th grade class while they are learning about American History. Once my time is up in my 5th grade class I go to my 1st grade classroom where they are practicing their math skills. 

My first day at Holiday Heights Elementary I was extremely excited, when I walked into each classroom the kids were very welcoming and excited for me to be there. This semester I am looking forward to learning more from my mentors and from the kids. 

My plans for the future

In response to Mrs. Stevens blog

 

1. I want to be more efficient in class during the second semester. In order to be more efficient in class I will need to spend less time on my phone and be focused on the task at hand. By focusing my time on what needs to be done, my grades will hopefully improve, not that there horrible it would just be nice for them to all be A's. If I learn to be more efficient in class it will help me while I'm in college and I will have a less stressful second semester.
2. I want to learn as much as I can in my internship during the second semester. In order to learn as much as I can I must ask questions about things that confuse me and to try to absorb everything I can. By absorbing all I can it will give me more insight on how to be a better teacher and prepare me for my own classroom.
3. I want to be excellent in everything I do during second semester. In order to be excellent I will have to be determined to do whatever it takes to achieve my goal. By having determination it will help me accomplish anything I put my mind to. If I am excellent in everything I do it will it will become a habit that I will use throughout the rest of my life.

Thought About Reading

This year I have found the joy of reading a good book. The unfortunate part is that it only took me 18 years to figure that out. When I was a kid there was never any real reason for me to spend 20 minutes a day reading, but I wish that there would have been. It could have improved so many things that would've made a huge difference now. As an intern, I can tell which students read and which don't, you can tell the most when you're talking to them. The ones who do use more sophisticated words and putting a sentence together is much easier for them. After reading this article I realize how important reading could be and will now make it a priority to read.

Solutions

In this world there is violence, unacceptable violence that seems to pour into our everyday life without our consent. The violence ranges from verbal, to thoughts, and more often then it should physical. Unfortunately the only guarantee we have in preventing violence is to know that we have control over ourselves to not to make decisions that could potentially hurt others. We can not determine what others will think of or do, and we can not control what they feel. Therefore there is always going some one who takes out their anger and frustration on others. I believe the only thing we can do to protect our schools is to make them like a jail. Barbed wire gates, guards at the front door, no one comes in, no one leaves until schools over, and i.d. pictures worn at all times. I also believe that school should be a fun place, an escape from the outside world. Not a cage where you're constantly reminded that someone at any point in the day could come in and do damage. So the real question is "do we want to caged in or thankful that nothing happened today?"

Are You Pinterested in Resources?

  NAME- Ms. Cassidy's
WEBSITE- http://mscassidysclass.edublogs.org
DESCRIPTION- This blog is all about creativity in the classroom! It has great ideas for holidays and has good ideas for the smart board. This is a perfect blog for teachers who like to be active constantly.

NAME-Cool Cat Teacher
WEBSITE- http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com
DESCRIPTION- Cool Cat Teacher has brilliant ideas for technology in the classroom. This blog has multiple blurbs on how this technology can be used.

NAME-Teaching Literacy in the Early Years
WEBSITE- http://teachingliteracy.global2.vic.edu.au
DESCRIPTION- This blog is mostly about how to use literacy. It also has different ideas on how to use ipads for activities. She also goes deep into detail about why you should you use something and why not, it is well thought out.

NAME- Stephanie Kelso

WEBSITE- http://pinterest.com/pin/122863896055139759/
DESCRIPTION- This pin is an example of how you can make vocabulary effective in the classroom. Having them define the word, draw a picture to represent it, and having it spelled out really helps the learning process.

NAME- Christy Pohlkotte Thompson

WEBSITE- http://pinterest.com/pin/186055028327412466/
DESCRIPTION- This pin is perfect for kids learning how to add and subtract. It uses the dots on legos to give visual aid to students. This would be good for first grade and maybe a refresher for second grade.

NAME- Megan Kegerries-Buzard 

 

WEBSITE- http://pinterest.com/pin/123778689729088458/
DESCRIPTION- This pin is all about learning how to sound out words and the spell them. It helps kids put two and two together. This would be perfect for first grade.