Saying Goodbye AND Hello!

My sweet goodbye letters I received from my 2nd Graders.

It has been an absolutely crazy last 2 months, but I have been having the BEST time. While UCI has been getting intense (the edTPA.. help..), I started my new Student Teacher placement in a 5th grade class in IUSD (Irvine Unified School District) and have fallen in love with teaching 5th grade. It was tough saying goodbye to my 2nd graders, and I wish I was able to spend more time with them. While it was extremely challenging at times, I learned so much from those students, and how to be a better teacher. It was so fun spending the time before Winter Break with them, and getting to experience the week before break as a teacher, instead of a student. The excitement that surrounded Winter Break was contagious and the students were all so excited to talk about what they had planned for Winter Break. My last day was bittersweet, and I was given a huge envelope of student letters, each note capturing the student's personality (some of these letters were a crack up!). I am so grateful and will miss those kids like crazy!

While it was sad leaving my 2nd grade class, I have REALLY enjoyed my time after the New Year at my new placement, in 5th grade. There is such a difference between 2nd and 5th grade, and it has been so much fun listening to these students have deep and meaningful discussions about complex topics in the class. I really hope to make a difference with these students, and be someone that makes their time at school positive and productive. It's amazing what these students are learning, and how quickly they can pick up a new idea or lesson.

These next few months are going to be even busier, because I will be starting to take on more responsibilities in the classroom (which I am SO excited about!!) and completing my edTPA. For those that do not know, the edTPA is basically a summative teaching assessment with relation to California's Teaching Performance Expectations. Basically it is a huge assessment that I do which allows California to determine if I can be a teacher or not. Yikes!!

I think I've reached the half way point in my program, and can't believe how fast it is flying by. I am so excited for the next few months, and can't wait to share with you!

Comments

How many days until Thanksgiving break?

These last few weeks have been some of the toughest weeks I've ever been though. UCI school has picked up and I've begun to teach lessons at my observation placement. Writing lesson plans and learning what works and what does not in a classroom has been eye opening. I've had a few bad lessons and learning on the spot about classroom management and directing students has been exhausting. It's rough being the student teacher and not the real teacher and I've had to learn how to present myself as an authoritative figure that students need to listen to. Creating a lesson that successfully engaged the students wile also touching on state standards while also planning for every minute of the day is nearly impossible. I've had a few tears but also some really great teaching moments. I was able to reteach a lesson that went going so poorly my Mentor Teacher had to stop and discipline the students the first time I did it. It was incredibly discouraging that I was not ...

Don't Have A Cow, It's All Part of Student Teaching!

These past few weeks have really put me to the test, and I've been doubting that I could take on the incredibly important role of being a teacher. Watching my Mentor Teacher lead the class, and then attempting to do it myself made me see that I still have SO much to learn and while the classes at UCI I'm taking are very valuable, there's nothing quite like field work. The classes I had been taken at UCI prepared me for creating a culturally diverse class, and exposing my students to a range of thinkings that may be outside their world. Then I get to the classroom and realize that teachers have to balance a diverse class environment, staying on track, covering an incredible range of ability and learning styles in the classroom, and also trying to get through science, math, language arts, P.E., history, and reading all in 1 day. I also learned that classroom management is incredibly important, and I'm now 100% convinced students can sense when you're doubting yoursel...

Kind Kids

This last week was Kindness Week and our school celebrated by having a school-wide Kindness Challenge. Students were encouraged to find new ways to be kind to each other, and it was so fun to see all the 5th graders get so excited about spreading kindness! 5th grade has been an absolute BLAST so far, and I have had so much fun beginning to teach and plan full lessons! My mentor teacher has been SO amazing, and has helped make all my lessons even better. I've been learning so much about my own teaching style, and establishing those clear expectations early on to make classroom management easy. My class is great, and the students are so much fun to talk with and hear how they see the world. Some of the things the students say and do make me laugh, and wish I could record all the funny things they say throughout the day. My days at school sort of make me want to relive my 5th grade days. It's been a crazy few weeks, with my increased teaching in ...

Lessons Unplanned

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