Kristie+Kannaley

Genre Reflection #3

Dear Third Period, Thank you for letting me teach you guys over the past two weeks. You have really surprised me with your intelligence. I did not learn some of the information I taught you until I was in high school and college. Even though the work was difficult, you guys still listened and understood what I was trying to teach. I really enjoyed planning activities for you that I knew you would think were funny and interesting. I think my favorite lesson was the one where I showed you the // Mary Poppins //movie trailers. Do you remember that? One of the trailers made the movie look like a wholesome family picture, while the other one made it look like Mary was a villainous witch who was out to capture the children. You guys were really freaked out by the second one, but you wanted to watch it again anyway. Also, I think you did a great job of describing the scene when I played you different songs with pictures on the PowerPoint slides. That activity was really difficult, since the pictures did not seem to fit the music selections. I knew you would love hearing the music from // Jaws //matched with a picture of Dora the Explorer. Even though that lesson was somewhat abstract, you all made a solid attempt to describe the mood and tone. Over the past few weeks, I have been thinking about one moment that made me really excited about teaching you. It actually occurred during one of the first few lessons. Remember when I read you that excerpt from // The Watsons go to Birmingham, 1963 //? Even though you didn’t have it printed out in front of you, you still listened intently because you thought the writer was funny. After I stopped reading, you made the same “AWW/NOOO” sound that you make when we turn off the movie at the end of lunch time. Then you asked me where you could get the book because you wanted to keep reading it. I was very surprised that you asked me that, since most middle school students do not like to read. Since you guys have been so great the past few weeks (especially when my supervisor came in J ), I plan on leaving you with a copy of the novel, so that you can either read it as a class or take turns borrowing it. Thank you so much for your attention and acceptance! - Miss K // TOSS student teacher //

Genre Reflection # 2

Many of you probably have some experience with writing Word Photos from 3310, but just in case you have forgotten, a Word Photo is a short piece of writing (100-150ish words) that focuses on a specific memorable moment. Below are three Word Photos I have written in response to my TOSS experience.

To be Correct Hands in the air, but there’s too many of them to help all at once. They’re willing to fight for attention, fight for the possibility of winning candy. He sat by the teacher desk, eager to take the opportunity to snatch me before anyone else. “Is this right?” he asked, showing me his sentence diagram. It wasn’t, but it was only a little wrong. He fixed the prepositional phrase and won his candy and I didn’t tell anyone that he actually missed it the first time. He won the prize, I won his trust. The Tall One Since I’m so tall, I must be an eighth grader, or a really big sixth grader. Since I am dressed like a teacher, I must be a substitute, I must be someone who is there to teach someone something. I look at the class, and they stare at me like I should tell them what to do. After I begin, I’m not afraid because I know that I know how to do English stuff. They respond to my questions, which tells me what to say, and we keep going and going until the time is done, and it feels like we were only in there for like five minutes. I take up their papers and notice that I’m not shaking like I was in methods. Excerpt I didn’t think they were really listening to me, since I’m the teacher, and I’m reading something that isn’t //Seventeen// or //Sports Illustrated.// I tried to do the different accents (or whatever), even though I felt kind of weird about it since I don’t have anything in common with the characters. Walking around the room, I feared they wouldn’t understand. I should have done this and that and given them their own copies and had them follow along and blah blah. But when I stopped, they made that same noise they make when the teacher turns the movie off after lunch. They actually wanted to read the story.

Genre Reflection # 1

Dear Diary (Day One),

Today was kind of random because I was placed with a CT who I will probably not end up staying with because she has planning first period and social studies second period. The school is trying to find a new teacher for me. I am kind of disappointed because I am eager to get to know the students I will be working with for the next five weeks. I am nervous about getting all of my assignments done, even though I know it’s only the first week. I was surprised to find out that teaching middle school is a little different than I expected. **My CT explained that sometimes things are not done as logically as one would think.** You have to be willing to adapt to randomness, like testing and fire drills. The teachers are getting ready for conferences, and they already have the huge work load of trying to turn in grades for the 9-week period. My CT teaches six classes, and they are not all the same subject. She has sixth grade inclusion social studies in the morning and eighth grade language arts in the afternoon.

During my CT’s planning period, I got to meet the principal of the school, and he was really friendly. He is going to look for a new CT for me, and he didn’t seem annoyed about it or anything. I was concerned that my afternoon schedule would be an issue.

The inclusion class was very interesting to watch. My CT explained that there are nine special education students in the class, and there is a co-teacher who assists. The sixth graders were really sweet and fun. I wonder where I’ll be tomorrow!

Dear Diary (Day Two), I was really excited to meet my permanent collaborating teacher today. This time, I was placed solely in sixth grade. In the morning, my CT teaches two regular English classes and one enrichment class. So far, I have noticed that there is not a lot of diversity at my school. Almost all of the kids are white. There are less than five African American students in almost every class I have observed so far. There are very few Asian students in the entire school and even fewer Latinos.

Luckily, I was able to work with the students on my first day with them! We went to the computer lab. The students were working on typing their papers and needed a lot of help with MLA format. It was really cool to watch the kids teach other kids the tricks I had shown them on the computer.

Third period was a lot different from first and second. They are very rowdy, and they are on a different curriculum, since they are an enrichment class. They had just finished reading //No More Dead Dogs//, which I was excited about since I just read that book for one of my college classes. Additionally, I was able to work with a special education student with a rough family life. The special education teacher challenged me to get her to write one sentence. I got her to write one, but she wouldn’t write any more afterward. Although I have taken a special education class, I felt really unsure about how to best assist the student!

Dear Diary (Day Three), Today we went to the computer lab again to give the students more time to type their papers. I felt guilty because I accidentally told the students a wrong answer! In my defense, they didn’t give me enough information. They asked me how to place a conjunction in their papers, and I taught them how to use coordinating conjunctions. Apparently, they were supposed to use subordinating conjunctions. **I will have to be careful and ask my CT about the specific details of the assignment next time.**

I am trying really hard to learn the students’ names, but there are so many of them in every class. However, the students are starting to talk to me and not feel as intimidated or shy. I am having a few behavior problems (excessive talking, goofing off), but I think I can make it work. I’m not sure what to do when they don’t listen to me, so I’ve been watching my CT very closely to see how she handles them.

Dear Diary (Day Four), Today, I had some really good experiences with some of the students, individually. I worked with one boy in the computer lab when he asked me for help with his paper. He told me I could read it, if I wanted to. I felt like I had been given a rite of passage into his head. He told me all about his pet snake, and we looked for places in his story where he could add more figurative language. **He worked really hard, and I was proud of him.** The kids are starting to warm up to me, which makes me so happy. They want to tell me how they feel and what’s going on in their lives; they want my approval. I got to teach them as a group for a few minutes today. I read them my Reader’s Response project from one of my college classes because it was a humorous piece that related to the book they had just finished. I think they really liked it, and they were eager to respond to my questions!

I found out today that my collaborating teacher wants me to teach third period. This will probably be easier on my supervisor, since my CT has planning right afterward. The enrichment classes rotate every nine weeks, so I actually haven’t met the students quite yet. I am happy to have another week before I will be teaching so that I can have a chance to get to know the class chemistry.

Dear Diary (Day Five), Today was one of those days that teachers tend not to look forward to- the day when they have to give out multiple quizzes. I helped my CT out by grading all of first and second period’s work. She felt bad about giving me that kind of work, but I didn’t mind. I would much rather have something to grade than have to sit there and watch the students take their tests! I suppose I could have gone to observe other teachers, but I really wanted to be helpful to my CT, especially since she was asked if she could take me within 24 hours of my first day! Overall, I have really enjoyed my first week at the middle school. I have my worries about how classroom management will be for me, and I plan on creating lesson plans that will (hopefully) engage the students. I’ve noticed that they are much more well-behaved when they are busy and interested in the work. My CT has given me an infinite realm for planning- I can do whatever I want, as long as it fits within the sixth grade standards. I think I am going to try to plan a mini two-week unit so that all of my lessons will be cohesive and build off of each other.