February 1, 2008

Friday was Pizza Day for the students and faculty of Walton Elementary. Pizza Day was supposed to be the last day of the month, however they had to change the plans for other reasons. Pizza Day was very chaotic as usual. The students seem to have much more energy on these days than any other days of the week. Afternoon duty is always horrible during these times of the month. The grease seems to make our jobs more difficult.

February 4, 2008

Monday seemed to be much more interesting. The pizza frenzy had worn off and by the time I went to the class in the morning, they seemed to not want to work. Many of the students have a learning disability in one subject area, but I have some students that are very low and have difficulty even following along in the lesson. For these students a totally different activity or lesson has to be completed for them to master the objectives. These lessons must be on the grade level of the child and may even then require some assistance or guidance.

February 5, 2008

            Tuesday went a lot better. The students seemed to understand that school is not going to be over until three more months. Some thought that the faster they completed their assignments the faster they would finish school and be allowed to play all day. Once we moved past these moments I was able to tell which students needed to be placed together in groups in order to motivate their partner. This, I thought, would allow the lower students want to do better if they were able to get help from someone above their level. We also had to complete reviewing of skills since it was only a two day week.

February 6, 2008

            Wednesday is always the best day. This week was a two day week for students so testing was this morning. The students test until it is time for them to return to the classroom and retrieve their belongings to go home.

            Today I attended the Teacher Education Advisory Council Meeting along with the other student teachers. We were allowed to take the rest of the day off. The meeting advised us on what NCATE would be expecting to see and hear when they came to evaluate the Education Department of Tougaloo College.

February 7, 2008

            No school for students. Thursday we held Parent Teacher Conference at the school. This allowed the teachers to meet with the parents on the strengths and weaknesses of the students. Teachers also allowed parents to sign up their children for Extended School Year Services or Boost.

February 8, 2008

            No school for students. Friday we had a Professional Development workshop at Chastain Middle School. This workshop was informative in that it relayed information to the teachers about Alternate Assessment. Alternate Assessments are to be completed for the students with an EMR ruling in Exceptional Education.

February 11, 2008

            Monday is Monday as usual. The students are always sluggish and have millions of stories that they want to tell about their weekend. It is usually not hard to make them realize that we have to get back to business. I usually motivate my students with cupcake day or computer time. Since most of them do not own a computer they make sure that they sat on time and on task so that they can play educational games on the computer.

February 12, 2008

            Tuesday, we decided to make this week more interesting. Many of them like to compete against one another. So in tutorials we decided to play hangman using questions from the language arts skills that they are mastering for the week. This keeps their minds moving and also allows them to learn critical social and behavioral skills as well.

February 13, 2008

            Wednesday is the halfway mark. Wednesday means the week is almost over and it is time to begin reviewing the skills. Again I must equip myself with things that are interesting and motivating to the students because they are usually burnt out on doing worksheets. Today in math we had a timed game that tested their correctness and their speed on completion of addition and subtraction.

February 14, 2008

            Thursdays are usually review day. We try to review all skills that have been discussed during the week. Our students usually benefit from a review since some of them do not retain new skills well. This review jogs their memory and makes it easier for them to remember the skills and how to solve the problems.

February 15, 2008

            Friday is test day. The students come at their designated time so that we try and spend the same amount of time on each group. Also having a designated time allows each grade to have our full attention rather than trying to work with everybody at one time. Testing may sometimes run over in the afternoon especially if they have a long test. We have had to begin modifying the test because they have become ridiculously long and our students are having difficulty completing them.

February 18, 2008

I reviewed the lesson plans for the week and turned in the pages that we needed copies for so that our students could have different activities than the entire class. We noticed that our students would be quiet and listen to the answers the regular students gave and just repeat that to us. I went out this morning and by myself and proved that I could do it without the help of others.

February 19, 2008

            Today we prepared paperwork that was needed in order to pass the audit that was coming on the 25^th. I also went out this morning by myself. Now it seems to be easier now that I have the first day out of the way.

February 20, 2008

            Wednesday we started our review early for this week since we have some distractions. The fourth graders were combined for whole group this morning when I went out. The third graders blended in groups with their class and the second graders were combined in their class with the regular students as I guided them through the assignment.

February 21, 2008

            Today we had a workshop from 8 to 11 and we had lunch before we headed back to the school. The workshop was on the ESY paperwork that had to be submitted for each student rather than those lower functioning students as it has been in the past. The meeting seemed to be too late in that it was the end of Feb. and the paperwork is due March 1^st.

February 22, 2008

            Friday we have decided to send out the assistant to service the students because we have an audit and I was told that I needed to be present to see what goes on when the State Department comes to audit your portfolio.

February 25, 2008

Monday we are finishing our ESY paperwork and continuing to make sure that I go out to service the students. Also we had to continue testing the students who complete the alternate assessment students.

February 26, 2008

            Tuesday the students completed assignments from their folders. The fourth graders played a game in the afternoon on math problems for the math skills for the week. They really enjoyed the game and it kept them focused on the skills that needed to be addressed.

February 27, 2008

            Wednesday is reading day in the afternoon. We played hangman using language arts skills for the week. The students were a little confused at first believing we would e quizzing them on television shows and other un-educational items. Once they received their hint it was easier for them to recall information from class.

February 28, 2008

            Thursday we reviewed as usual, but focused more on math. The students really seemed to be having trouble with borrowing and renaming. We allowed the students to again participate in a math game that made sure that received the right answer. It was beneficial to finish fast, but more important to have the correct answer.

February 29, 2008

            Friday we tested all day and it seemed that the games really paid off. The students seemed to enjoy the games since they are not allowed to play games in the regular education classrooms because of the size of the class and the amount of noise that would be made. Our students did much better on the tests and seemed to able to recall the skills because of the games and how fun it was for them to do something different.