David Paige (Reading Expert) Reflection

Jennifer Lynch
1/27/2016
David Paige Reflection

I am glad that Mr. Paige talked to us after we had the two semesters of reading methods courses. Doctor Singleton did a great job teaching us about how the five components of reading work together to help a child comprehend what they read. She also did a good job teaching us about reading assessments. For her class, we had to lead a week-long intervention for one student, complete with entry and exit running records, and then we had to write a case study justifying which intervention methods we used and which ones should follow the intervention. This experience created great prior knowledge for Mr. Paige to activate.
I liked the story about how the people of India need to learn how to collaborate and to problem solve. The woman was very smart because she brought the think-pair-share idea to her school. I take so many parts of my education for granted, I am lucky that my teachers had us collaborate and to think critically about so many of the activities and lessons that we took part in. It was interesting to hear Mr. Paige speak about how everyone in the room had caught on to how the game of education works, so we need to think about how what worked for us might not work for others. He said that students in honors classes do not tend to hang out with students with learning disabilities. This made me reflect on my own experiences. Two of my best friends have learning disabilities, which I do not think were catered to enough. Most of the people that I hung out with in high school were low achievers in the academic world. I took college preparatory and honors classes, but I thought that many of my classmates were stuck up and did not offer as much as my friends who were not excelling in school. It was certainly awkward not having any classes with my best friends, and later it felt even more weird to see my friends beginning their lives as I headed off to college. I’ve always known that my friendship with these people was an enigma. I liked how Mr. Paige tied in how a school is a community/family. I have always embraced the idea that everyone owns every student. I think that if teachers work together instead of competing with each other, the students will benefit so much more. I really like that my cohort naturally set itself up as a professional learning community, because it will help me to jump into a professional learning community when I get employed at a school.
I loved that Mr. Paige brought extensive evidence with him. He did a good job incorporating rigor into his examples. The fact that he was able to begin to transform a school system gives me hope that I can transform my classroom if needed. I will use the chart of how students learn how to read when I work with struggling readers in my class. I really appreciate how much detail is in that chart.
I am very glad that Mr. Paige came to visit us. I have used Good Reads and Pinterest to hold books and links that he referenced so his information can still be available to me later, when I will need to revisit it. My host teacher is using the Word Journeys book for our struggling readers and she creates word sorts based on our spelling words for the rest of the students.

My Presence in the Classroom

Jennifer Lynch

1/26/2016

Component #2- Presence in the Classroom

STRENGTHS:

1. I have a loud voice, my students can hear me.
2. My students know that I genuinely care about them and am honest with them, this often generates a sense of respect towards me.
3. My students know that they can trust me and that I am in their corner.
4. I tend to think of ahead, which helps prevent some behavioral issues. If I feel that I am in a position where I can be in charge of the classroom, I am also pretty good at thinking on my feet to keep things moving.
5. After a year and a half at the daycare, I have gotten pretty good with the "how does that make you feel" conversation when students are unhappy with each other. I also ask students how they think I feel when they misbehave.
6. I pay attention to routines and adopt some of the ones that I like.
7. I do really well with connecting to students on a nonverbal level. I can generally feel the mood of a room, including if my students feel disconnected from me while I am teaching and I use these feelings to refocus if needed. I also read body language very well and have attended multiple trainings on this.
8. I think about how students feel. This can prevent the student from exploding. I try to come to a consequence or option that ties in what we both want. Sometimes this gets in the way of my level of strictness.

WEAKNESSES:

1. My teacher voice needs work. This concept really should be focused on during each block. Something that makes this even worse for me sometimes is my speech impediment.
2. I do not always know what the best practice should be.
3. Sometimes I'm too nice instead of being strict enough.
4. Sometimes I get overwhelmed, which may cause me to miss out on some smaller behaviors, I am working on getting better on this.
5. Sometimes I do not feel like I have the power to be in charge when I have to impress other adults, because I know that other adults probably want me to do things their way. 
6. Sometimes I lose track of time. I am countering this by writing the time that the lesson ends on the part of the whiteboard that is hidden by the SMART board. 

New Student

New Student
I like how the students got to ask the new student questions during the morning meeting.

Planner
Even though the students were not at school a few days last week, the teacher still allowed students to clip up for every signature that they had in their planner from snow days.  I liked that idea.

Banana Observation
Some bananas shrunk. Students shook their containers to see what would happen, that is an easy way to keep students interested in the project. The students were grossed out, but seemed to like it!

Writing
The students filled out a graphic organizer for a paragraph, which could either be about their snow day or of the topic that they brainstormed about the last time that they wrote in their writer's notebook. I got to help a small group.

Checking morning Work
I got to lead the class in checking their morning work while my teacher sat in the back of the room. I wanted to have as many students interact as possible, so I had a student from one table read the problem and I had a student from the next table set up and solve the problem while I explained how they did it (this was in the interest of time, but it would have shown rigor for the students to explain how they solved it. I continued this for 6 problems. The engagement level was alright, but it could have been better. I was very happy with how much the students were working on the work. My teacher voice was pretty good. My students voiced that they were not comfortable with multiplication, so I made them use multiplication to solve the problems whenever possible. I asked them which two ways (addition and multiplication) we could use to find the answer.

Double Digit Multiplication
My students are nervous about this skill. I tried to simplify it for them.

Ideas for the Future

Morning Meeting
I like how my students support their community by placing Alex and Sarah Long on their "we wish you well" list. The class also added their two classmates who had moved away before I joined the classroom and any students who were absent this day, this really helps to build the classroom community. The class also wants to support their community by having a hat, glove, and scarf drive.

Interventions
The Fire Time and Read 180 groups changed.

Spelling Sort
My class has two students who are reading at a lower level. Today was my first time getting to work with them during word sort time. It went really well. I love this type of differentiation.

Geography
My teacher was trying to explain longitude and latitude, so she placed rubberbands on a ball. she also taught them word tricks such as latititude flatitude, it is like a ladder. i loved how she made this idea so concrete.

Future Organization Ideas

• When I teach a lesson, I want to bookmark all of the links that students will need for the week. This will help the class time to keep moving. 
• I will also print all of the papers for the week on the prior Thursday. I understand that sometimes, things will change as I adapt to how the class is learning. If a paper is questionable, then I will not run my copies so far in advance. 

PD Day

WIDA Standards
It is nice to know that these standards exist and where to find the information that I need in order to use them in the future. This presentation was not very engaging, even though the presenter tried to use a lot of turn and talks, but I still learned a lot.

Professional Learning Communities
This session was very inspiring. It made me think about how my cohort works together, I am excited to join a PLC one day. My IUS class has been talking about PLCs a lot this semester.

How to Use a SMARTboard
I learned so many tricks in this session. I can't wait to use them in the future.

Lunch
It was nice to get to know some of the teachers outside of the school setting.

School Meeting

Relationships

Jennifer Lynch

1/14/15

Classroom Management- Component #1- Relationships

In classroom management, every relationship is of the upmost importance. Respect is always expected.
1. With Students
My comfort level: I am the most comfortable with my students. There is a level of trust and I feel free to talk to them. I do not have any stage fright with getting in front of my students.
What comes easy to me: It is easy me to gain trust from students. Students feel free to talk to me because I usually crate a safe environment.
Obstacles in building these relationships: Sometimes I have trouble with discipline, especially when I consider the student's motivate and how the student feels, but I'm getting better with discipline. I will get even better with discipline once I learn the discipline rules for wherever I work.
How developing this relationship correlates with how I will manage my class: If I have a good relationship with my class and I will generally respect each student, then the students will tend to respect me more. It will be a better experience for everyone involved.
How I will work with this group to develop and maintain my relationships: By doing an "All About Me" project at the beginning of the school year, I will be able to make content more interesting by tying it in with the interests of my students. I will have class discussions which allow my students to show their personalities.  There will be a time during each school day where students can tell me what is on their minds. I will have a mailbox and pieces of paper for students to give me constructive feedback about my lessons as well as my teaching style. I will attend their extracurricular activity events. I will celebrate birthdays and other important dates. I will set goals with my class and celebrate all improvements.
2. With Colleagues
My comfort level: I feel relatively comfortable with my colleagues.
What comes easy to me: I feel comfortable talking to people and starting conversation.
Obstacles in building these relationships: It takes me a while to warm up to people.
How developing each of this relationship correlates with how I will manage my class: My colleagues can give me good ideas and stories to learn from. They can also offer constructive feedback as they can relate to me.
How I will work with this group to develop and maintain my relationships: I will talk with them personally and share stories on my classroom, then when their birthdays and other special occasions happen I will celebrate them.

3. With Parents
My comfort level: It takes me a while to warm up to the parents because I want to make a good impression on them. Once I get a feel for the parent's personality, I am really comfortable talking with parents.
What comes easy to me: I can praise their children and can talk about common ground. I have learned to use positive words and to have student work available when I talk to parents.
Obstacles in building these relationships: Some parents can be difficult to work with and need to be handled delicately. I do not want to offend the parent or the child. I feel like my parent teacher conference practice in my Communication in the Classroom class really helped with this. Sometimes I forget to make a sentence sound more positive by using "and" instead of "but."
How developing this relationship correlates with how I will manage my class: Parents hold valuable information about the child that can help me. Having the parent on my team can help the parent create a positive change at home. If the parent knows how to do the work, then they can help the child study.
How I will work with this group to develop and maintain my relationships: I will e-mail and/or call parents before school begins. When I have negative news, I will try to sandwich it with positive news, no child is all bad. I will send newsletters and offer Remind texts for homework and important dates. I will also host conferences if the parent needs to meet with me.
4. With Administrators/Counselors/Outside Resources and Staff
My comfort level: I feel fairly comfortable with this group of people. If I need to talk with them, I can achieve my goals for those discussions. It can be scary because principals are my boss and I want to make a positive impression on them.
What comes easy to me: I can talk with them and I can also provide reasoning for my actions or questions.
Obstacles in building these relationships: Sometimes it can be difficult to talk to someone who is higher than I am because I realize how much power they hold in my life.
How developing this relationship correlates with how I will manage my class: Having this resource will help me with any students who are experiencing issues. These people could make a advice on many topics because they are trained to specialize in their individual areas.
How I will work with this group to develop and maintain my relationships: I will talk with these people and I will celebrate any special occasions that happen. I will find commonalities with these people.


I read the following article:http://hepg.org/hel-home/issues/27_1/helarticle/five-easy-ways-to-connect-with-students_492

Rotten Banana Science

Rotten Banana Science
The students absolutely loved this science project! I cut the bananas in half, and then I cut off the ends. The student groups placed their banana halves into a sealed Ziploc container and chose a location in the room to leave their banana when it was not being observed. The students observed their bananas every school day for a month, then they wrote a paper about their observations. The students were very engaged in this project because it was interesting, unique, and they had a choice as to where they placed their group's banana. This experiment was so gross to watch as it progressed. I am glad that the containers were only opened a few times. I would absolutely repeat this experiment in my own classroom.

Fun Day

Dragon Store
I got so many awesome school spirit items at the dragon store today! They only have it once a month, I would love it if they had it once a week. My last host school had the bookstore open every day. I guess it makes the dragon store more special. The clip on the lanyard is not kind to my ID, but I am glad that it has a safety snap on the back.

Birthdays
I love that the class sings "Happy Birthday Cha Cha Cha" for birthdays. It is so much fun! The teacher also sits next to that student during circle time.

Personality
One of my students really likes to know what is coming up. We have been learning about how some students do not like surprises, they need to know what to expect.

Math Goals
I like that my class has a long term goal. If they master area and perimeter, they get to do the zoo project.

Reading Mini-lesson Tips
They have assigned spots/partners. The teacher uses "magic tape" when she makes a mistake on an anchor chart, it acts as white out. I wrote down the names of students who talked to each other when they were not supposed to. I need to be sure that they do not sit near each other. During part of the lesson, my teacher wanted to make sure that students were listening to what their partners said, so after the turn and talk, she asked each student what his or her partner had said.

Reading Group
I watched the small group section of the reading workshop, I wrote down some nice tips for when I get to lead a few groups.

Parts of Speech Display

Morning Routines

1. Put up belongings
2. Turn in homework
3. Choose Lunch Choice
4. Turn in notes and lunch money
5. Morning Work
6. Get planner signed and clip up

All About Me

• I was glad that my students filled out my All About Me sheet as morning work today. It was exciting to get to know my students. I wrote their birthdays in my agenda book. I made a spreadsheet of their answers so that I can try to make my teaching fit their interests. 
• I made a student profile page in my notebook where I list interesting information about my students. I wanted to know if I knew my students' names so I tried to list them in my notebook. I did pretty good. A few of my students look alike and I confuse them with others, other students are very quiet, which makes it harder to get to know them. 

Parts of Speech
My teacher gave me a powerpoint which described that parts of speech. She had me trim the pages then she let me decide how to display them on the cabinets. I am really happy with how the display turned out.

3rd Compliment Party!
The class earned their third compliment party. On Friday, they will have an unhealthy snack party while they watch part of a movie.

Resources
After school, my teacher showed me how to find some awesome resources online. I will definitely use them in the future.

Introduction Letter to Families

Dear Students and Families,


Hello! My name is Ms. Lynch. I will be student teaching in Mrs. 

________'s class this semester. I am currently a senior majoring in 

elementary education at Indiana University Southeast. I am working 

towards my degree with concentrations in social studies and science. 

Before I transferred to Indiana University Southeast, I took music 

education courses at Indiana University. 


Teaching is really my life’s calling; I have wanted to be a teacher 

since I was five years old. I want to be a teacher because I love 

working with children, and because I love helping others. I am an aunt 

to two nieces and a nephew. I enjoy volunteering with 4-H. I have 

worked at a daycare for a year and a half, where I have worked with 

every age from infants through eighth graders. 


I have had the chance to meet the class, and I am really excited 

to get to work with Mrs. ________, as well as each student this semester. I 

know that I am going to learn just as much from the students as they 

will learn from me.  I am excited for this wonderful semester together! 


Thank you,

Jennifer Lynch

Converting in Math

Brain Pop
The student love the "You've got Mail" breathing exercise. I can use this knowledge for when I need to calm down my students need calm down in the future.

Circle Time
I decided to sit on the opposite side of the circle than my teacher does. I can sit by more students this way while I keep an eye on behavior.

Math Conversions
The teacher used the actual formulas, which is important for children to know. When the students struggled, I asked them how many 0's I added or took away to switch between the units (according to the chart). This helped some of the students.

After School 4th Grade Team Meeting
I liked hearing how teachers decided where to go for a class trip. It is interesting that there are 8 4th grade classes; that makes an impact on how the classes group for the trip and if they can go on the same day.

Student Allergies in my Class

• Gluten
• Nuts
• Tree Nuts

How I feel about my classroom

I love my classroom!

DESCRIPTION OF CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT

School District/Corporation: _______________ School: ___________

Approximate % free/reduced lunch: 40% Geographic Location: suburban

Grade level(s) in class: 4th Number of students enrolled in class: 30

Classroom grouping:

Whole class, small groups, some individual, some peer teaching.

Instructional materials:

Rarely textbooks, manipulatives, trade books, technology (Front Rowed Math, Reading A-Z, and Spelling City), worksheets, whiteboards.

Well equipped with Technology/ Resources:

SMART board, document camera, television with VHS and DVD player (might not be set up), 2 analog clocks, 1 teacher computer, 4 student computers, room phone, class iPad, class-sized buzzer set, label maker, Infinite Campus website for grade book and planner, Remind website, printer in the classroom, copier, laminator.

Some Teaching interruptions:

Train horn, pull-outs (Read 180, Systems 44, speech, Fire Time), push-ins (8:45AM phonics and 10:30AM reading), bathroom breaks, writing nurse’s passes, phone calls, drills, assemblies.

Help available:

Educational assistants, some parent volunteers, resource teachers.

Individual Differences:

9 Students are Culturally Diverse                 No Students with Special Needs

2 Students are ELLs

1 Student is Unidentified as Gifted and Talented __ Students are Free/Reduced Lunch

14 Male Students                                      17 Female Students

I like that...

• We have a SMARTBoard
• There are 6 student tables
• There is a workshop table which holds 6 students at a time
• We have hall passes and a hall pass sign out sheet. This is great for data. At the daycare, we have a student who goes to the restroom when he gets frustrated. A sign out sheet would provide evidence of that. 
• This classroom has so many great anchor charts!
• This classroom has Dollar Tree anchor charts like I bought last year. 

• I like that the job lists get printed off and posted in 3 places each week, but this can use a lot of paper. 
• Even though the "We wish you well" segment of the morning meeting is long time, it very important. It shows what students are interested in and clues the teacher into why a student may be distracted. The students were surprisingly interested in topics from the news. I like that there is a celebrations segment. I like that the teacher marks off who has talked and who she has sat beside so that she can give everyone attention. I love the "We wish you well" song. 
• *Update the teacher moved "We wish you well" to the beginning of the morning meeting. She begins with asking for celebrations then she pulls 6 sticks for who can add someone to the list. Everyone else has to write their requests on pieces of red paper and put them in the box. 

At the beginning of the semester, I had a table which I used to work with students. Now I have a desk and I have students sit on my side of the desk with me while I help them. My students seem to feel special when they get to sit on my side of the desk.


Other reflections from today:

• One of my students has a learning disability and does not skip questions when he does not know them. He spent a long time on Front Rowed Math today. I had to prompt him to answer the questions that I thought would be easy for him. He finished a long time after everyone else. 

Documentation for Final Evaluation – Block IV Student Teachers

Please provide documentation/narrative to complete the following questions.  Make your response as comprehensive as needed.
Make sure you “toot your horn” and let me know all you have accomplished.
List the question then following it complete your response.

1. Identify the diversity of the students/families in your classroom.

• Latinos, Caucasians, and one girl whose family originated in Iraq.
• Students who pay full price for their lunch, students who pay a reduced fee for lunch, students who eat lunch for free
• Students from Sellersburg and students who are from Charlestown
• Students who have siblings
• Students who live in a trailer, students who live in a house

9 Non-Caucasian Students                Some Students receive Free or Reduced Lunch
1 Student usually performs very well 14 Male Students
1 Student has a low IQ                             17 Female Students
1 Student has a learning disability

How has this changed your thinking and teaching?

• Students who have less money cannot spend too much money on school projects. 
• Some students cannot ride a bus to school. 
• Students who have different cultures, may interpret information differently. I need to make sure that they understand academic lessons and my references when I try to activate prior knowledge connected to schema. 
• Students with learning disabilities as well as students who tend to achieve lower need more help and scaffolding. Finding the way that they learn is of the utmost importance. 
• I need to be careful while celebrating holidays because not every student celebrates holidays. 
• My student whose family came from Iraq was very open. I showed interest in her culture as I learned more about it. I constantly complimented her on how pretty her hijab was. Between speaking to her and my other English Language Learning students, I learned some of the ways that their cultures are different from mine. More importantly, I learned how our cultures are the same. Even if a student looks differently than I do or wears a hijab, I will get to know the individual student to figure out how to best teach that student. 
• I need to use the WIDA standards for my ELL students. 

2. What is an effective classroom environment?

• Students are able to learn. 
• Students feel comfortable and like they have ownership over their classroom. 
• Students and the teacher are happy. 
• Students are willing to take risks. 
• Students like to know what is about to happen. 
• Students should be actively engaged. 

How have you created an effective classroom environment? 

• I listened to the students. 
• I tried to acknowledge students when they behaved well or did something that I knew was difficult for them. 
• I applauded students for trying new or difficult things. If a student was struggling, I tried to be as supportive and positive as possible. I wanted to let each student know that they could learn the material and be successful. I tried to approach the situation in a calm, supportive manner. 
• Even if a student was struggling academically or behaviorally, I made it clear that the student still mattered to me. 
• I stayed after with my teacher and we tutored the student with the low IQ along with her brother. 
• I created fun learning opportunities which included student choice whenever possible. I developed hands-on activities which involved student choice and small groups. 
• To make the best use of time, I created a writing process chart so that I could see where each student was on the paper. After the second day of working on the personal narrative graphic organizers, I took all of the graphic organizers home to edit them as well as to suggest which sensory details and feelings to consider adding to the graphic organizer before writing the rough draft. This idea saved a lot of time and allowed me to give more thoughtful comments. 
• I use check points for the line to stop at while walking in the hallway. The last checkpoint is at the corner before our classroom. Before sending the students into the classroom, I give them the directions to get ready for the next activity while we are at the corner. I know that the students are paying more attention before the make the transition of moving to their seats. 

3. What does effective instruction look and feel like?

• Student learning improves. (Students actually learn.)
• Topics keep moving. 
• The class average hits proficient. 
• Many students benefit from hands-on lessons. 
• If differentiation is needed, then it needs to be provided. 

4. Why is flexibility important in your classroom?

• Children are humans, which means that something is going to come up. 
• School assemblies and drills take place, sometimes in the worst possible time.
• One way that I plan to be flexible in my own classroom is to have a class set of materials ready for the week. If the class goes through a lesson too quickly, then they can move on to the next lesson. If something happens and I need the class to learn/practice independently, then the materials will already be ready. If the materials that I have prepared are not needed because my class has understood the lesson too quickly, then I can put the materials into the teacher's lounge with a note on them for other classes to use. The extra materials can also be used for differentiation. 
• Even though different situations may occur, we keep the learning flowing and fit as much of it in as possible. 
• If students do not understand the material, it may be necessary to sway from the lesson plan. This could mean reteaching a previous lesson or teaching the lesson in a different way. 

How does it affect your instruction?

• If a class is not learning well enough, then the students may need a different way to learn. 
• If a student needs immediate attention, then the rest of the class may need to learn independently. 
• If my class learns something too quickly, then I need to be prepared to move on to the next lesson. 

5. What role does assessment play in your classroom?

• It gives me a hard copy of what the students seem to understand. If the students do well on an assessment, then I can move on to the next lesson after a quick review. If the class does not do well on an assessment, then I need to find a new way to teach the lesson or go back and teach the fundamentals that lead up to that lesson. 
• Assessments act as data to provide validity to grades. 

How important is the data and how do you use it?

• I can analyze the data to show trends of the class. I can see what the class average is and how individual students compare to it. The students who are below the class average need extra attention. 
• Along with my teacher, I analyzed pretest data to create math groups. 
• During parent-teacher conferences, the data can reinforce what I am trying to say. It is always important to have data during a meeting like that. 
• Identifying an exceptional student to get either an IEP or to be admitted into the gifted/talented program requires consistent data over a long period of time. 
• If something happens, I need to keep the data for a few years. 

Here is the data from my IMPACT project:

6. What are the metacognitive thoughts/reflections you have had during your teaching experience?

• I thought about what worked and what didn't work. I used those conclusions to fix my lessons.
• When I thought of ideas, I thought about how they would play out. 

7. What type of records have you kept during your teaching?  How have you used the records in your classroom?

• I kept my blog which recorded how I felt about what happened in the classroom. These entries also show what happened in the classroom. I also created a classroom blog for the parents, this blog recorded what happened in the school as well as in the classroom. It included pictures of any flyers that were sent home as well as pictures of group project work. 
• I kept a grade book, which mainly recorded who turned in his or her homework. Students cannot go to recess unless they turn in all of their homework (and sometimes morning work or certain assignments). When it was time for report cards, I also added test scores to my grade book. 
• My teacher intends to teach me how to enter grades into Infinite Campus.
• I kept complete records on my IMPACT project. I used the grades to see what I needed to focus on more. Utilizing these records showed me what I needed to focus on during the hands-on portion of my unit. By the end of the unit, I was able to close the ethnicity and gender gaps to a one percent difference from the dominant group. 
• I kept a lesson plan book, which shows what was supposed to be taught. 
• I took a lot of notes, especially towards the beginning. I used them to make decisions and to keep track of what I needed to do. It also helped me to notice routines. 
• I kept student profiles, which showed what students like and how many people are in their family. These records allowed me to think about circumstances that may be related to this student.

8. What types of communication have you had with the families in your classrooms?  What types of interaction have you had with the caregivers of your students?

• At the beginning of the semester, I sent a letter home to the families introducing myself. This letter also had an All About Me attached which matched the one that the students had filled out. This showed similarities and allowed the students and families to relate to me.

• I sent home a letter which explained the fun day project during my impact unit. It helped parents know that their students were going to bring in an object from home to test. It included the rubric so that students could practice the presentation at home.
• In March, I created a classroom blog, which talked about important events that were happening in the classroom as well as in the school. I included pictures of the flyers that were sent home as well as of student work. I also created a section called "what are we learning?" This section allowed parents to talk with students about what was happening in school. As an aunt, I am very familiar with the following conversation: "What did you do in school today" "I don't know...nothing." As well as with this conversations: "I don't understand my homework or test." "What are you learning?" "I don't know." My reflection blog allowed me to update the parent blog all the way to the time when I joined the classroom. I officially update the classroom blog every Friday, but I add posts during the week and just update the post every day. On the day that my teacher posted my blog link on the classroom website, I had thirteen page views. I hope that this blog will help families to share in more special moments. 
• I met a parent when she brought her son back to the classroom to pick up a paper. I introduced myself. 
• I met a parent when I went with my teacher to take her children to her vehicle after we tutored her. I told her that I hoped that her son would get better soon. 
• I met a parent and two younger brothers while I was shopping at the Jay C in my town one evening. I met the family and then we talked about how the next day was the last day of the canned food drive. 

9. How have you contributed to the school community (classroom, grade level and school)?

• If my students were having a disagreement, I helped them to talk about their feelings. 
• I took over my classroom's morning meeting. Before that, I consciously decided to sit on the opposite end of the circle from my teacher so that I could help manage behavior and make more students feel special. 
• I was in the class picture. I purchased a copy of the picture. 
• I maintained the classroom calendar, which included placing stars on birthdays. 
• I created materials for my class. 
• I was in charge of a reading workshop station as well as of a math workshop station. 
• I supervised my classroom during the ISTEP+ test.
• I served the assigned duty each day. (Lunch, recess, detention, first wave of bus duty, and second wave of bus duty.) I helped chaperone my class during school activities. 
• I attended fourth grade team meetings every Tuesday. I contributed any ideas that I thought of. I attended PLC meetings every other Wednesday morning.
• I brought in twelve items for the canned food drive. This supported my class's progress towards winning the opportunity to participate in the students versus staff dodgeball game. The food went to a local food pantry. Some of the students in the school, including some students in my grade receive Blessings in a Backpack. 
• I wanted to play in the students versus staff dodgeball game, but the rules said that an aid needed to tell students when they could go back in, so that was my role. 
• I purchased dragon spirit items at the dragon store. My favorite item is my school lanyard. 
• If I did not have a shirt that fit a spirit week day, I wore an appropriate pair of socks to show my spirit. 
• On Down Syndrome Awareness Day, I wore the shirt that all of the teachers wore. I was in the student picture which included all of the students who wore blue and yellow on that day. I helped guide students to where they should sit in order to to be seen. I corrected behavior as necessary. 
• I attended events at the high school such as basketball games and musicals. Some of my students have other siblings. Quite a few of my students are interested in sports. 

10. How have you grown professionally in your thinking and actions during this classroom experience?

• I attended seven hours of professional development trainings as well as one hour and twenty minutes of additional trainings. 

• January 13, 2016 -1 Hour
• Suicide Prevention Training 
• January 18, 2016 Professional Development Day 8AM-11AM -3 Hours
• WIDA standards for ELL's
• PLC's
• How to use a SMART Board
• 1PM-2PM  Building Meeting ISTEP+ technology practice
• February 3, 2016 - 1 hour
• Google Classroom 
• February 11, 2016 6:30-8:30PM- 2 hours
• Ways of Managing Challenging Behavior

February 24, 2015

• ISTEP+ Training- This isn't technically a PD, but it was a required building training.
• March 10, 2015 7:50-8:10AM
• SCE Title I Meeting: How to View Acuity Results and what they mean. This isn't technically a PD.

• I gained experience as a lead teacher on the days when my class had a substitute teacher. 
• I began to plan units on my own.
• I took over adult duties. 
• I learned how to be in charge of a class during drills. 
• I collaborated with colleagues while eating lunch in the teachers' lounge. 
• I adopted a routine. Every morning, I wrote the menu and the morning work on the white board and opened the computers to XtraMath. I checked in and sometimes even graded assignments while students were in special area classes. I typed reflection blogs every night. I added to the weekly blog newsletter post every night. I printed spelling work every Wednesday afternoon. I met with my teacher every Thursday (sometimes Friday) to plan for the next week. 
• I prepared materials ahead of time. I knew that the spelling list and word work came from the book, Words Their Way, so I typed the spelling lists and word work answer sheets as soon as my teacher allowed me to use the book. This saved me time later in the semester. 
• I learned that my anchor charts look better if I create my anchor chart skeletons before the lesson. This also allows the lesson to move more quickly. 

11. In what ways have you demonstrated professionalism during this experience?

• I attended professional development trainings. 
• I attended grade level meetings as well as Professional Learning Community meetings. 
• I took over adult duties. 
• I respected confidentiality. 
• I completed any required duties. 
• I respected everyone in the school. 
• I kept my area neat and organized. This allowed me to quickly stop at my desk before the next activity. 
• I did not play favorites with the students. 
• I am a member of the following professional organizations: IUS Student Education Association (SEA), Indiana State Teachers Association (ISTA), and the National Education Association (NEA). 
• I keep my posts on social media professional and only make the ones that make me look the most professional public. I posted an album called Education Photos, which is like a professional portfolio of photographs. While attending a Swift Kick leadership webinar a few years ago, Tom Krieglstein pointed out that employers are going to check out my social media accounts anyway, it would be in my best interest to show them the best that I have to offer. I also turned my career section of my social media profile into a resume. 

12. Other accomplishments you have had during your student teaching experience.

• My class average was proficient by the end of my IMPACT project. 
• I passed my pedagogy exam. 

My Culture

Jennifer Lynch

Edu-E300

9/18/12

Excepts from My Personal Family Culture

Please view this Prezi: http://prezi.com/uu_s_w_jr8jk/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

My family has quite a few traditions. I have had a family member in basically every war this country has been involved in. My family loves to be involved in the community. 4-H is very important to us.

The extended Lynch family has a reunion in August during the Harrison County (Corydon, IN) fair and a smaller one in the fall. All of my aunts and uncles along with their children meet at my aunt Brenda’s house for the major holidays: Easter, The Kentucky Derby, Thanksgiving. A few of us go to my aunt Rita’s house for Christmas. Most of us go to Light Up Charlestown together, although a few family members, such as my brother, go to Light Up Louisville instead. The Lynch family leaves the Christmas tree up until January 11th because it is a way to celebrate my great grandparents’ birthdays. Regina’s birthday was on January 9th and Richard’s birthday was on January 11th.

My dad works at the Kentucky State Fairgrounds as a side job, so we go to a lot of events there. He also gets us a lot of free tickets to the concerts. My father, sister, and brother and I have all worked the Kentucky State Fair.

Many of my family members did not go to college. I am a first generation college student. My cousin, Allison is currently in college. My cousin, Lane, and my nieces also plan to attend college when they get older. The rest of my cousins did not go to college. The Lynch branch of my family (my aunts, uncles, parents, siblings, and nieces) loves Indiana University basketball. My father was forced to retire because he did not attend college, so my parents told us that we had to go to college.

Basically everything about my family has influenced my personal characteristics, beliefs, and values except for fighting in the war. I understand that wars are a necessary evil, but my conscience is too sensitive to fight in a war. I would rather work in an army ammunition plant like my grandmother did. I love to volunteer, especially with children. I see myself as being three fourths of a country girl. My family tends to have a lot of children. I do not really know how to be by myself since that rarely happens.

Students' Interests, Input, Growth, and Development

Knowledge about Students

• I had students fill out an All About Me. I compiled that information into a spreadsheet.
• As I noticed something about students that would be nice to know, I wrote in on my student profile page in my notebook. 

Knowledge About the Community

• I live really close to this community. 
• I know how to research a school's community. Here is a group project that I led about my block 1 school: http://prezi.com/fnspqs6wwuqp/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

Events that I attended this year

• The Little Mermaid musical - High School
• Homecoming basketball game -High School
• Senior Night basketball game -High School
• Round 1 of the tournament basketball game -High School
• Spamalot musical- High School

Fostering Active Engagement (based on individual and group motivation and behavior)

• Self-guided lab with fun day
• Student choice for fun day
• Small groups

Fostering Self-motivation

• Curiosity and choice

Building a Classroom Community

• I was welcomed into a classroom filled with love. The students genuinely care about and respect each other. 

Multicultural Stance

• We have a student who has an ethnicity from the Middle East. I respect that she wears a head piece. We talk a little about her home life and even her hair. 

Resources to Support Multicultural Learning in Classrooms

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Differing Development

• Yardsticks Book
• Different reading levels and levels of other knowledge.
• The school has firetime, Read 180, and other pull out resources. 
• Fine motor skills. I was able to teach 1 student to use a rubber band to bundle Popsicle sticks. The other student will take longer. Many students were able to bundle the Popsicle sticks on their own. 

Learning Styles

• Some of my students learn best by reading.
• Many students learn best through hands-on activities. 

My Diverse Students

• 2 true ELL students. I need to use the WIDA standards for my ELL students. I pull these students with the student who has a lower-than-average IQ so that they can get extra help. This mainly comes in the form of me reading the work to them or doing unique word sorts. My clinical educator did a good job of creating this differentiation. 
• Many students who are Latino, some of these students used to be ELL and I need to make sure that they understand academic lessons and my references when I try to activate prior knowledge connected to schema. 
• 1 of my students has an IQ that is lower than her age, because of this she reads on a lower level. Surprisingly enough, this student does not have an IEP. 
• Some of my students are on free and reduced lunch. 
• Some of my students are athletic. .
• I had students complete All About Me sheets, which helped me see ways that my students are unique. I compiled that information into a spreadsheet, to which I added other observations. 

Family Communication

• I sent an introduction letter and a completed All About Me home with students during the first week of class. 
• When I asked students to bring in items for Fun Day, I wrote a letter to the students and families. I was sure to put a rubric at the bottom. 

Pedagogy and Engagement

Major concepts, principles, theories, and research.

Discussion Techniques

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Nonverbal Communication

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Individual Students' Development

• 2 students need a form of differentiation to meet their reading levels. 
• 1 student needs more challenges because he usually does well with school work. 

Individual Students' Acquisition of Knowledge

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Individual Students' Motivation

• I praise students, especially when I know that they are doing something that is difficult for them. 

Group Motivation

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Development of Critical Thinking

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Development of Problem Solving

• When I planned my IMPACT project, I decided to introduce the unit by showing a video of the power going out on Star Wars (student interest) and asking students why they think the power went out and why they should fix it. I planned to complete the unit by asking how we should fix the problem, then showing the power coming back on. (I was unable to find these videos and my teachers did not like the idea of using those videos.)

Fostering Productive Social Interaction

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Creating a Supportive Learning Environment

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Fostering Active Inquiry

• When planning my Impact project, I decided to have students create their own information by making observations based off of examples. 

Fostering Collaboration

• I kept grouping for learning at half of the class to help more students engage. I had a multi-part lab where 2-3 students had to work together to guess if materials are conductors or insulators then they had to create an circuit to test their hypotheses. 

Engagement Through Group Work

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Fostering Supportive Interaction

• I encourage students to be kind when a student does not get the correct answer. 

Non-instructional Duties

• Restroom Breaks: My teacher did a great job designing this routine. There is a boys' room and a girls' room monitor. The monitor checks to make sure how many stalls are available in the restroom. Students who need to use the restroom stand up, others get a drink if needed then sit down. The restroom monitor calls the students over as needed and makes sure that students do not misbehave in the restroom. They tell me if students are misbehaving. Students bring a book so that they can read while they wait, students are supposed to stay on level zero. I think restroom breaks would be a great time for a quick academic review. 
• Grading: During the school day, I organize the papers so that they are facing the same way. If I do not have anything else that I need to do during special area or recess, I grade as many papers as possible. I prefer to grade every day, but I am okay with grading every other day. My teacher taught me the method that she uses for grading. 

Transitions

• Students read during bathroom breaks. I intend to have quiet academic review conversations as well. 

Passing Out Materials

• Instead of passing out individual papers, I like to lay down one pile of papers that has enough papers for everyone at the table. If I have time before it is time to pass out the papers, I like to have the paper sorted into stacks of 5. 
• We have a student job where the student manages/passes out materials if needed. 

Maintaining Records

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Professional Development and Snow Days

2016 PD

• January 13, 2016 -1 Hour
• Suicide Prevention Training 
• January 18, 2016 Professional Development Day 8AM-11AM -3 Hours
• WIDA standards for ELL's
• PLC's
• How to use a SMART Board
• 1PM-2PM  Building Meeting ISTEP+ technology practice
• February 3, 2016 - 1 hour
• Google Classroom 
• February 11, 2016 6:30-8:30PM- 2 hours
• Ways of Managing Challenging Behavior
February 24, 2015
• ISTEP+ Training- This isn't technically a PD, but it was a required building training.
• March 10, 2015 7:50-8:10AM
• SCE Title I Meeting: How to View Acuity Results and what they mean
• April 18, 2016
• My substitute teaching permit came. 

• I passed my pedagogy exam with a great score. 

2016 Snow Days
These are only the dates that I was at the school, not at IUS.
Snow Days
1/20/16, 1/22/16, 2/15/2016

Makeup Days
3/ /2016, 3/21/2016, 3/22/2016

2 Hour Delays
1/21/16

2015 PD
I attended the "I Teach, What's Your Super Power?" Training on Nutrition on May 7, 2015. This training counts for 2 training hours. I won the super hero costume contest.

I attended a Diversity Training for my seminar class from 9AM-12:30PM on October 16, 2015. It covered "Not this Child: What we must know to well-educate children in poverty circumstances," "Rights of Straight/Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer/Questioning Students," and Building Community to Prevent and Respond to Homelessness in Southern Indiana. The letter is in my car, which is still in the shop. I think they may have mailed a certificate to the daycare. I am requesting 3 1/2 training hours for this seminar.

I attended the Indiana Student Education Association's Fall Conference on October 16-17, 2015. Our keynote speakers were: Carol Draeger Thomas, Hoosier Educator of the Year, Lori Desautels, PhD, and Glenda Ritz, Indiana Superintendent of Public Education. I attended round tables about Outreach 2 Teach, Read Across America, Membership Benefits, and Building chapter membership. I attended workshops on learning community events, how we can change students' brains with education, Your First 30 Days in the Elementary Classroom From Survival to Success, and Expecting the Unexpected: Your First Year. The schedule for this conference is in the booklet that has my certificate in it. I am requesting at least 8 training hours for this conference.

I attended a seminar on teaching with primary sources on October 22, 2015. I am requesting at least 2 training hours for this conference. After this part of the seminar ended, we spent another hour in a panel about teaching gifted/talented kids as well as English Language Learners.

How to teach about timelines and how to use huge maps. December 2015


CPR/First Aid certified December 2015
*I was not aware that I have to be AED Certified in order to earn my education license, so I will have to take another training. I did this training for work. It was about infant, child, and adult CPR re-certification. I earned my first certification in January 2015, but my work wanted to make sure that all openers and closers were retrained on CPR. This is a good decision because there are only 2 openers and 2 closers for each of the buildings, totaling 4 people on the property at the time. Openers feed the children breakfast (mainly cereal).