Student Teaching Week 13

This has been the first full week of school we've had in November. It was a struggle to get through all five days. I've been so spoiled! The week went well. We've been focusing a lot of our instruction around a Thanksgiving theme, included the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians. The students learned the sound for the letter Ii, so it worked out perfectly. They make wampums, Indian headbands, Pilgrim hats and bonnets, canoes, pots, and lots of other fun crafts. For their ABC book, they made an Indian, to represent the letter I. I was impressed to see how well the students caught on to the word Wampanoag and how much they understood about the way they lived during that time. I videotaped a vocabulary lesson on Tuesday for my portfolio. I read the students the book, "We're Going on a Bear Hunt," and had them incorporate movement. They loved it! The lesson tied in the vocabulary words with the story. They did a great job with it.

For action research, I let the students play different games they seem to enjoy the most, such as fishing for letters or matching upper and lowercase letters. I also had them write invisible letters on the wall with their fingers, and make the letters using their whole bodies. They surprised me with how well they could do. Their favorite activity is matching the letter flashcards when they are face down and I timed them. We did these activities everyday during that morning block. The biggest problem I faced was attendence. Three out of my four students missed over half the week due to pink eye and other sicknesses. I just decided to take whoever was there each day, and keep my research going. I think it was helpful to the students that were present because they had more of my attention. On Friday, I assessed the students for the final time. It was wonderful to look at the chart and see the progress they made within five weeks. Of course I know that their was a lot more that went into that progress than what I did, but I'm glad that they are closer to being on level with their peers.

No school next week!