Dear Interactive Teachers,
One of my assignments for my Teaching K-6 Social Studies class was to go to the Tampa Bay History Center. One MLK Day, I celebrated by visiting the history center. I had so much fun! I learned how to take in the history, as a student, so I can take my class here in my future career. I played on horse saddles and felt like I was really horseback riding. My favorite experience was during a 15 minute film. The theatre was set up in Florida's forest. It had a screen and two active models. The film was about the Seminoles tribe in Florida. I loved learning about this because it showed the Seminoles perspective and the American General's. Also, I am currently teaching a Native Americans unit in second grade so it was great to learn both perspectives of what happened toNative Americans in American history. I think this is very important for my teaching because I want to teach my students both perspectives so they can learn everything about history and follow what they believe in. I bought a graphite arrowhead for my students to write with and connect to the Native Americans they are learning about. They loved it! I know have a better understanding of fully learning the content you are teaching, I can make my Native American lessons so much more interesting because I learned fun facts from the Tampa Bay History Center.
Look in my gallery to see pictures from my trip at the museum!
Sincerely,
Miss Hester
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Reflect & Connect 1/12
Dear Explorers,
Last Friday I went on my first field trip as a student intern. My second grade class traveled to a Riverfront Park. It was a lot of fun! We got to go on a nature hike, learn about trees, and learn how to plant a tree. It was interesting how 123 Elementary had no buses, so individually we had to drive our students there. The majority of the class was not well-behaved during the field trip, which I was very surprised about because compared to the other second grade class their everyday behavior is amazing. I learned a lot from watching how my CT reacted to certain behavior situations. For example, there was a child who kept running away, wanting to do something else. My CT talked to the child about their behavior and said they can still be sent to the office because our school was right down the road. As a new teacher learning about how to become a teacher I wish there was another way to handle misbehavior without rewards/punishments. That is something I am inquiring on my own. I have learned from my Level II Intern class that we should research and reflect everything we do as teacher's. I am taking my time to learn from a book by Dr. Marshall called, Discipline Without Stress, Punishments, or Rewards, to teach myself how to take away rewards and punishments from the classroom. This connects to my Level II Intern class because we are currently reading,
Last Friday I went on my first field trip as a student intern. My second grade class traveled to a Riverfront Park. It was a lot of fun! We got to go on a nature hike, learn about trees, and learn how to plant a tree. It was interesting how 123 Elementary had no buses, so individually we had to drive our students there. The majority of the class was not well-behaved during the field trip, which I was very surprised about because compared to the other second grade class their everyday behavior is amazing. I learned a lot from watching how my CT reacted to certain behavior situations. For example, there was a child who kept running away, wanting to do something else. My CT talked to the child about their behavior and said they can still be sent to the office because our school was right down the road. As a new teacher learning about how to become a teacher I wish there was another way to handle misbehavior without rewards/punishments. That is something I am inquiring on my own. I have learned from my Level II Intern class that we should research and reflect everything we do as teacher's. I am taking my time to learn from a book by Dr. Marshall called, Discipline Without Stress, Punishments, or Rewards, to teach myself how to take away rewards and punishments from the classroom. This connects to my Level II Intern class because we are currently reading,
The Reflective Educator's Guide to Classroom Research: Learning to Teach and Teaching to Learn Through Practitioner Inquiry.
Have fun researching,
Miss Intern
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Reflect & Connect 1/5
Dear Revolutionaries,
This week I have returned to 123 Elementary. I am so happy to be back in my second grade classroom. I sure have missed my students over break! UTRPP has brought me exciting new opportunities for the 2014 year. First, I will be experiencing intermediate elementary school. I am paired with a fifth grade teacher at 123 Elementary for two hours a week. My first day I was very nervous, but also super excited to see what teaching an intermediate grade level is like. I loved every minute of fifth grade. My collaborating teacher is energetic, loud, and very passionate about teaching fifth grade. I observed her teaching a social studies lesson, where her and her students were reading along to an article about a woman who helped Colonists during the American Revolution. It was very cool to learn about history with a women in power. This article she was teaching connected to my social studies class from earlier that week. My social studies professor taught us how to teach students history from a different perspective. This is important because it teaches students the unwritten curriculum of our cultures values. For example, I never knew women helped out during the American Revolution. I assumed their only job was to be housewives and have children. Also, in my instructional planning class we read an article by Banks called Curriculum Reform Approaches. This article connects to teaching social studies because it went over how teachers cultures and backgrounds are the perspectives they teach from.
I am very excited to see what else connects in my future classes with my new fifth grade class! Also, I wonder if getting experience in an intermediate grade is going to change my mind for what grade I want to teach. As of now I am set on Kindergarten but my experience in fifth grade might change my mind. We will have to wait and see!
Happy New Year!
Miss Hester
P.S. Here is a picture of the social studies article from a students binder and the set up of a science/social studies/math word wall my fifth grade CT's classroom.
This week I have returned to 123 Elementary. I am so happy to be back in my second grade classroom. I sure have missed my students over break! UTRPP has brought me exciting new opportunities for the 2014 year. First, I will be experiencing intermediate elementary school. I am paired with a fifth grade teacher at 123 Elementary for two hours a week. My first day I was very nervous, but also super excited to see what teaching an intermediate grade level is like. I loved every minute of fifth grade. My collaborating teacher is energetic, loud, and very passionate about teaching fifth grade. I observed her teaching a social studies lesson, where her and her students were reading along to an article about a woman who helped Colonists during the American Revolution. It was very cool to learn about history with a women in power. This article she was teaching connected to my social studies class from earlier that week. My social studies professor taught us how to teach students history from a different perspective. This is important because it teaches students the unwritten curriculum of our cultures values. For example, I never knew women helped out during the American Revolution. I assumed their only job was to be housewives and have children. Also, in my instructional planning class we read an article by Banks called Curriculum Reform Approaches. This article connects to teaching social studies because it went over how teachers cultures and backgrounds are the perspectives they teach from.
I am very excited to see what else connects in my future classes with my new fifth grade class! Also, I wonder if getting experience in an intermediate grade is going to change my mind for what grade I want to teach. As of now I am set on Kindergarten but my experience in fifth grade might change my mind. We will have to wait and see!
Happy New Year!
Miss Hester
P.S. Here is a picture of the social studies article from a students binder and the set up of a science/social studies/math word wall my fifth grade CT's classroom.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Reflect & Connect 12/2
Dear Performance Fans,
This past week has been very stressful at 123 Elementary. For me, it is finals week with a project due every night, and for my focus group we changed from Book Club to having a Readers Theater. The children are so excited to put on a play for the other second and third grade focus groups! This is my first readers theatre so I am learning with my students. They have been practicing their lines this week and tomorrow we are making props for their play. I am very excited for them to perform but I am also very nervous. I am nervous because I gave them their lines last Wednesday and our assistant principal said she is going to invite their parents to come in this Wednesday to watch them perform! We still have to make props and learn how to act out what we are reading. I am very excited but am also impatient that we could not have more time for my students to practice. I expect them to try their best, and to most importantly have fun with readers theatre! After all thats what it is for, fun fluency.
Wish us luck! :)
-Miss Hester
This past week has been very stressful at 123 Elementary. For me, it is finals week with a project due every night, and for my focus group we changed from Book Club to having a Readers Theater. The children are so excited to put on a play for the other second and third grade focus groups! This is my first readers theatre so I am learning with my students. They have been practicing their lines this week and tomorrow we are making props for their play. I am very excited for them to perform but I am also very nervous. I am nervous because I gave them their lines last Wednesday and our assistant principal said she is going to invite their parents to come in this Wednesday to watch them perform! We still have to make props and learn how to act out what we are reading. I am very excited but am also impatient that we could not have more time for my students to practice. I expect them to try their best, and to most importantly have fun with readers theatre! After all thats what it is for, fun fluency.
Wish us luck! :)
-Miss Hester
Monday, November 25, 2013
Reflect & Connect 11/18
Dear Anyone Who Needs A Break,
I have good news! Fall break is this week for students and teachers! It is awesome to be apart of University of South Florida's Urban Teacher Residency Partnership Program because of the teacher experience it gives we have access to. I am in the classroom Monday through Friday and I get to go to faculty meetings, lesson-planning time, and a staff book study. This upcoming week I have off school Monday through Friday because 123 Elementary has their fall break. I love how the URTPP treats their students like teachers. My friends at USF do not have off until Thanksgiving. I feel my CT and I have been so exhausted and in need of a break. This week off I am going to be spending time with loved ones and finishing all of my homework!
Last Tuesday was Family Literacy night at 123 Elementary. Teachers decorated doors for Thanksgiving for families to see. Here is a picture of our door!
I have good news! Fall break is this week for students and teachers! It is awesome to be apart of University of South Florida's Urban Teacher Residency Partnership Program because of the teacher experience it gives we have access to. I am in the classroom Monday through Friday and I get to go to faculty meetings, lesson-planning time, and a staff book study. This upcoming week I have off school Monday through Friday because 123 Elementary has their fall break. I love how the URTPP treats their students like teachers. My friends at USF do not have off until Thanksgiving. I feel my CT and I have been so exhausted and in need of a break. This week off I am going to be spending time with loved ones and finishing all of my homework!
Last Tuesday was Family Literacy night at 123 Elementary. Teachers decorated doors for Thanksgiving for families to see. Here is a picture of our door!
My CT and I had our students write on each finger, of their hand turkeys, the name of someone they are thankful for. Our students loved crafting their turkeys. It is such a spin on what they do everyday that they were happy for some change. During family literacy night I connected to my Emergent Literacy class because the station I was working at had activities for young and mature readers. My station was all about bones in the body. Students would learn about bones in an x-ray machine then they would read a paragraph about a broken bone and they would have to guess what bone it is from x-ray pictures. This connects to my Emergent Literacy class because the comprehension pieces included a literacy lesson involving ELL, young, and mature readers. I learned it is important to have all students be engaged in learning no matter what their reading level is. There is always room for accommodations to improve understanding!
Readers have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Enjoy your break,
Miss Hester
Monday, November 18, 2013
Reflect & Connect 11/11
Dear Elementary Education Interns,
Over the past two week I have started to teach social studies and I absolutely love it! It is so much fun to teach American History. My CT gave me a lesson plan packet, made by the district, on American symbols. The purpose of teaching American symbols is to teach students why they represent America and how to research these symbols. I have read a few non-fiction books to teach my students how to use research from a book to find out information on symbols. Then, after I taught my lesson I went to Teaching Children's Literature and we learned all about the importance of informational text. I learned how informational text is connected to Common Core State Standards and how it motivates younger children to read. These were my favorite facts of what I learned about non-fiction because I would love to teach kindergarten and get them hooked on non-fiction books! It is so great how it connects to CCSS.
I was thrilled to know that what I was teaching my second graders made an immediate impact. For example, a student of mine raised his hand at the end of the lesson asking a question about the Statue of Liberty. I did not know the answer but my CT gave him a non-fiction book to research and find what he was looking for. A few minutes later he was raising his hand in the air like an eager puppy, because he wanted to share the facts that he found. After recess my class went to centers. At individual reading time a couple of my students came up to me showing me the non-fiction book they choose to read to find some interesting facts. I love how my classes connect to my internship. I cannot wait until spring semester when I get to take Teaching Children's Social Studies!
Here is a picture from my Social Studies lesson.
Enjoy,
Miss Hester
Over the past two week I have started to teach social studies and I absolutely love it! It is so much fun to teach American History. My CT gave me a lesson plan packet, made by the district, on American symbols. The purpose of teaching American symbols is to teach students why they represent America and how to research these symbols. I have read a few non-fiction books to teach my students how to use research from a book to find out information on symbols. Then, after I taught my lesson I went to Teaching Children's Literature and we learned all about the importance of informational text. I learned how informational text is connected to Common Core State Standards and how it motivates younger children to read. These were my favorite facts of what I learned about non-fiction because I would love to teach kindergarten and get them hooked on non-fiction books! It is so great how it connects to CCSS.
I was thrilled to know that what I was teaching my second graders made an immediate impact. For example, a student of mine raised his hand at the end of the lesson asking a question about the Statue of Liberty. I did not know the answer but my CT gave him a non-fiction book to research and find what he was looking for. A few minutes later he was raising his hand in the air like an eager puppy, because he wanted to share the facts that he found. After recess my class went to centers. At individual reading time a couple of my students came up to me showing me the non-fiction book they choose to read to find some interesting facts. I love how my classes connect to my internship. I cannot wait until spring semester when I get to take Teaching Children's Social Studies!
Here is a picture from my Social Studies lesson.
Enjoy,
Miss Hester
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Connect & Reflect 11/4
Dear Multicultural Readers,
Last Tuesday, my Teaching Children's Literature professor asked my class to bring in a multicultural children's book. Everyone shared their book and I learned a lot about different cultures. The cultures talked about was African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, Jews, and people with disabilities. There was book about Autism that I fell in love with. It is called My Brother Charlie by Holly Robinson Peete and Ryan Elizabeth Peete. I was so happy that we got to share our books and learn from each other because it really opened my eyes to why multicultural books are so important for children. In second grade we have a student with autism but his parents do not want us to give any accommodations. I always wonder if students know that he struggles with autism. My Brother Charlie would be a great real aloud because it can teach my class to understand autism and maybe it could point out to my student who has autism that it is okay to be different.
I introduced the book to my focus group by looking through pictures and words. Then we started reading the book by playing the game popcorn. While playing popcorn, one of my students got so excited and happy to see words written in Spanish. A boy was struggling to pronounce the Spanish words and she raised her hand saying, "Miss Hester I can do it! I know Spanish!" Then I paused the popcorn reading and asked if anyone else knew Spanish. Nobody else did. She was so excited to be reading out loud in Spanish. Also, it was an eye opener to the rest of the group because they loved hearing something new. I was so happy to see that what I learned about multicultural books in class was happening right in front of me. I got to experience the powerful effect that different genres have and how many teachable moments there are in reading.
Last Tuesday, my Teaching Children's Literature professor asked my class to bring in a multicultural children's book. Everyone shared their book and I learned a lot about different cultures. The cultures talked about was African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, Jews, and people with disabilities. There was book about Autism that I fell in love with. It is called My Brother Charlie by Holly Robinson Peete and Ryan Elizabeth Peete. I was so happy that we got to share our books and learn from each other because it really opened my eyes to why multicultural books are so important for children. In second grade we have a student with autism but his parents do not want us to give any accommodations. I always wonder if students know that he struggles with autism. My Brother Charlie would be a great real aloud because it can teach my class to understand autism and maybe it could point out to my student who has autism that it is okay to be different.
During focus, my group of students participates in a literature circle. This week I picked a multicultural book to open their eyes to different genres of books. It is called A Birthday Basket for Tia and is written by Pat Mora. It is a story about a girl creating a birthday gift for her Great Aunt. The story is written mostly in English but some parts are in Spanish.
Sincerely,
Miss Hester
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