April 15 5th Observation

On Friday, April 15 I came to Davis for my last observation.  Mrs. Johnston was out that day so I went to Ms. Sneed's class who is another 5th grade teacher.  Ms. Sneed isn't an iPad classroom but she does have a smartboard and 4 DELL computers in the back.  First a spelling test was given and then the class finished work in their math journals.  I got to grade the spelling test and then there was a read aloud.  I also got to finish reading a book aloud about Easter.  Before lunch we watched "It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown" on the smartboard.  Being that this was the day before Spring Break the students were a little wild.  I went to lunch with the class and they were given a special ice-cream treat.  Ms. Sneed was so nice to have me observe in her room.  My overall experience at Davis was great.  The teachers were welcoming and I learned and got to see some new things regarding technology. 

April 14 4th Observation at Davis

My 4th observation was on April 14.  I am always here during math and this time they were going to use the iPads for their lesson.  Everyone got on IXL which is a 5th grade math website set up by state standards.  The teacher can log in to see how many problems they got correct, how many were wrong, and how long it took to solve them.  All the iPads in the room are synced together so they have the same apps.  Mrs. Johnston handed me an iPad so I could learn and experience one for myself.  This was one of my first times using them.  There were 11 pages of apps on the iPad, all educational.  Some apps that I used and explored were Analogy, BrainPop, Geoplay, iBooks, MathNinja, Lifecycles, Capital, DinoRush, PocketFrog, IQGym, and Geometry.  I continued to use the iPad while a language arts quiz was given on the smartboard and some students left for small group tutoring.  Mrs. Johnston said they use the grammar and 5th grade Vocab Prep apps everyday.  They also use StoryKit to do projects similar to powerpoint.  The other apps are used when they correlate with the lessons that are being taught. 

April 13 3rd Observation at Davis

On April 13 I returned to Davis Elementary for my 3rd observation.  I arrived while the class was doing math problems on the smartboard.  The guidance counselor came in to help prepare for PASS testing which they have after Spring Break.  Soon enough is was time for the class to go to lunch followed by recess and I joined them.  I am enjoying my time at Davis but I still haven't seen Mrs. Johnston use the iPads.  I hope next time I will get to see them.

April 7th 2nd Observation at Davis

On April 7 I came to Davis Elementary for my second time.  This time I got to meet Mrs. Johnston and actually observe her class.  We decided that arriving at 10:40 would be good because that is when the class is getting out of special areas.  When I walked in her room I noticed it was very colorful with lots of posters and wall decorations.  She had an area in the back with couches where the students could read.  There was a smartboard in the front and 3 Apple computers in the back of the room.  She was also one of the few iPad classrooms at Davis so I was very excited!  Each student had a personal iPad for their use.  I was curious to see some of the educational apps and how much they actually used them versus doing other activities on paper or in the textbook.  At 10:40 they are doing math so there were math problems and converstions on the smartboard.  They were learning about the "gallon man" and doing conversions of gallons, quarts, pints, and cups.  After this was over Mrs. Johnston handed out a worksheet to test what they had just learned.  I was in the back observing and 2 students were sent to me so I could work with them on the problems.  I was glad Mrs. Johnston got me involved on my first day. 

March 24 1st Observation at Davis

On March 24 we had our orientation at Davis Elementary.  We met in the library and the principal was very welcoming and glad to have us.  I eagerly signed up to observe 5th grade because that is one of the grades I am interested in teaching.  I got assigned to Mrs. Johnston's 5th grade class and we started communicating through e-mail.  She was very prompt and helpful which made me more comfortable to go on my first day.

5th Observation

On one of my last observations I returned to Mrs. Smith's 8th grade English 1 class.  They had just begun reading the tradgedy Romeo and Juliet.  First they read aloud "O, Romeo, O, Like, Wow!" and then they had to do a background knowledge chart.  Mrs. Smith gave notes on Romeo and Juliet, and there was a timeline of William Shakespeare's life on the smartboard.  After they learned about theatre and Shakespeare's life the class read the prologue and the first scene.  When Mrs. Smith's English 1 class was over I went to Ms. Hoffek's 6th grade advanced science class.  She always has a warm up, essential question and standard on the board so the class knows what the objectives are for the day.  Class began with the warm up/reinforcement to refresh the student's minds after the long 3 day weekend.  Some independent work was assigned in the book and lastly there was a Brain Pop about the Earth's Atmosphere on the smartboard followed by a quiz.  One thing I have noticed about Ms. Hoffek is that she has excellent classroom management.  Her students are well behaved and do a good job of transitioning from one activity to the next.  I hope when I become a teacher I will have good classroom management!

4th Observation

I arrived during Mrs. Smith's English 1 class during my 4th observation.  English 1 is an 8th grade class offered that can count for 9th grade english at the highschool if they make a good grade.  Her class was doing "independent reading" where they are suppose to read at least 3 essays and when they finish complete an evaluation for one.  The evaulation writing sheet included beginning, explanations, focal points, arguments, supporting details, figurative language, etc.  After this period was over I went to Ms. Hoffek's room.  This period was 6th grade advanced science and they were given a warm up on the smartboard about clouds- How do clouds form? What are the 3 types of clouds? Then there was an activity called "commingled clouds."  Everyone was given an index card with a particular type of cloud and the definition on the back.  The class commingled and had to pair up, come up with different types of clouds, read the definition, switch cards and commingle again.  The number of students were uneven so I got to participate! After commingled clouds there was a T-chart on the smartboard and students shared what they came up with.  Ms. Hoffek wrapped the period up with "think pair share" where she had partners work together on a weather worksheet.  I really enjoyed the commingled clouds activity and was glad when she asked me to join.  Both of these teachers have been very friendly and helpful when I come visit.

3rd Observation

On my third observation at Pineridge Middle School I went on an early release day.  Because of this the periods were much shorter. It was also job shadow day where students were given the opportunity to shadow someone for the day at a job they would be interested in.  I first stopped into Mrs. Smith's room who teaches 8th grade English.  They were finishing up the novel "To Kill A Mockingbird" and watching the movie.  Her class has tables with chairs rather than desks and her classroom has a wide variety of books all around.  Along with a smartboard Mrs. Smith has 4 computers in the back of her room for student use.  I went to Ms. Hoffek's room next where she teaches 6th and 7th grade science.  Her class was watching a Magic School Bus video on the smartboard. 

2nd Observation

On my second observation I returned to Mrs. Hoffek's room.  She had advanced 6th grade science and their lesson for the day was called "Ball Drop."  The purpose of this was to observe the difference between potential and kinetic energy.  They were given a worksheet and were to complete the steps of the scientific method such as the variables, hypothesis, data, and conclusions.  In order to do this we went to the science lab for their experiment.  The students were assigned to a lab table where they were in groups of 3.  They were to hold a tennis ball at 35 cm and drop it and record the bounce height.  Then they had to repeat these steps for drop heights of 50, 65, and 80 cm.  After the experiment we went back to the classroom and viewed "Types of Energy" on the smartboard.  A Brain Pop video was also shown relating to energy followed by a quiz.  After the quiz there was a fill in the blank activity on the smartboard where the students were sent up to the board to write in the correct answers.  This was a good way to get the students involved and have class participation. 

1st Observation

My first observation was on February 14 and I observed in 2 classrooms.  First I went to Mrs. Hoffek's 7th grade life science class.  Her classroom is well decorated with posters and pictures covering the wall and she has a smartboard, tv, and a computer at her desk.  She tries to use her smartboard as much as possible with her 6th and 7th grade classes.  During my visit Mrs. Hoffek showed Brain Pop on the smarboard which is an animated educational site for kids.  The Brain Pop was about immunity, diseases in the body, antibiotics, etc.  After the video was shown there was a quiz given on the smarboard.  It was 10 questions and I participated.  My next class I went to was Mrs. Smith's 8th grade English 1.  They were in the library doing a lesson on website evaluation.  First there was a powerpoint presentation and then the students were sent to computers with a worksheet to complete.  They had to research 3 main areas, authority, currentness, and content to see how credible the website was.  The teachers were welcoming and I will most likely return to their classes next time I do my observations.