A Day in the Life of a Student Teacher, Part 2
Well, I have finished my student teaching stint at the elementary school. For the last 2 weeks, I've been at the high school. It's quite different, as you might expect, especially in the content of the lessons and the language proficiency of the students. In particular, for the most part, they are much more literate than the elementary school students were.
So, here's what my day looked like on Thursday (for those of you who are interested):
7:30--Faculty Meeting. This one was especially devoted to teaching English Language Learners. My current cooperating teacher and the middle school ELL teacher led the discussion, and I passed out various handouts, making sure to take copies for myself.
8 AM--TA, which is basically homeroom for several juniors.
8:15 AM--Our first class of the day begins. It's called "Current Events", but it shouldn't be. It's really a social studies class for ELLs. They've learned some basic U.S. geography, and they're working on writing reports on the state of Vermont. Next week, they'll write reports on other states; each student has picked a different state to write about. After I take attendance, I circulate and help students as needed. It's a nice chance to get to know the students a bit and interact with them as individuals rather than as a group. The class ends at 9:45, and then the students start a break.
10 AM--Intermediate ESL begins. I have written several sentences containing idioms on the board. The students copy them and try to figure out what the idioms mean. After a few minutes, I ask for their ideas, which are quite logical. I affirm a student if he/she comes up with the correct meaning, or the logic of the response even if it's not quite right. Then I write down the actual meaning on the board. Then Inge, my CT (who is German, by the way--she grew up near Munich), teaches grammar.
10:45 AM--Part 2 of Intermediate ESL. This portion is devoted to literature. The students are currently studying poetry. They've read several poems (a published version and student poems from previous years) entitled "Where I'm From". Today they brainstorm so that they can write their own poems about their home countries and cultures. Inge has given them a worksheet to help facilitate this. I again circulate and help students as needed.
11:25 AM--Lunch, until noon. I get a cup of coffee from the cafeteria and then return to the classroom to eat my lunch with Inge.
12 PM--A math class for ELLs meets in our room. I serve as "push-in" help for a student who is at a lower level than the others in the group. This has been really interesting, because many in the school believe that she really needs some special education services. However, the special educator has let us know that we can't meet all of the legal requirements for that, simply because she hasn't been in the U.S. or in school long enough. That's a bit sad.
On the bright side, this student has a delightful personality. She's friendly, works hard, doesn't get easily frustrated, and has a great sense of humor. Not to mention, a wonderful smile, which I always enjoy seeing. I review counting by 1's, 5's and 10's with her, and then we work on some money skills using play money.
12:45--Prime Science begins. Inge is teaching the water cycle. She guides the students through a condensation experiment and write-up.
1:30 PM--This time is devoted to planning for the next day/several days. Whenever I have a little "down time", I read a bit of the book which I will need to start teaching next week. I also notice that Inge has some grading to do, so I volunteer to do that; it's grammar exercises, so it's relatively straightforward. After explaining to me her grading system for homework, I get to work.
3 PM--The school day ends. I continue grading for a few minutes.
3:15 PM--Inge and I go to a meeting of the Educational Support Team (EST) because they're meeting to discuss and try to help one of our students. The meeting is really interesting. There are a LOT of people there--the school guidance counselor, the principal, two ELL teachers, me, the reading teacher, an Instructional Assistant who works with the student in math, and several others (including a special educator). Not to mention, the student and his father. They're all there to try to figure out how to help the student be a little more successful in school.
I come away from the meeting with several important pieces of information:
1. The student's father is very concerned about him and his education, but is at work when his son is at home (so can't be as involved as he would like).
2. This student is clearly a kinesthetic learner--benefiting from manipulatives, hands-on activities, and some opportunity to move around.
3. He's also quite hard-working.
4. He loves soccer.
5. I really like the principal's concern to do what's best for the students whenever possible. I also appreciate the guidance counselor's point that the student's problems paying attention may very well be due to fatigue and the language barrier rather than ADHD (which one person brings up as a possibility).
5 PM--I get home and relax a bit.
7 PM--Home Group (small group Bible study with folks from my church).
So, here's what my day looked like on Thursday (for those of you who are interested):
7:30--Faculty Meeting. This one was especially devoted to teaching English Language Learners. My current cooperating teacher and the middle school ELL teacher led the discussion, and I passed out various handouts, making sure to take copies for myself.
8 AM--TA, which is basically homeroom for several juniors.
8:15 AM--Our first class of the day begins. It's called "Current Events", but it shouldn't be. It's really a social studies class for ELLs. They've learned some basic U.S. geography, and they're working on writing reports on the state of Vermont. Next week, they'll write reports on other states; each student has picked a different state to write about. After I take attendance, I circulate and help students as needed. It's a nice chance to get to know the students a bit and interact with them as individuals rather than as a group. The class ends at 9:45, and then the students start a break.
10 AM--Intermediate ESL begins. I have written several sentences containing idioms on the board. The students copy them and try to figure out what the idioms mean. After a few minutes, I ask for their ideas, which are quite logical. I affirm a student if he/she comes up with the correct meaning, or the logic of the response even if it's not quite right. Then I write down the actual meaning on the board. Then Inge, my CT (who is German, by the way--she grew up near Munich), teaches grammar.
10:45 AM--Part 2 of Intermediate ESL. This portion is devoted to literature. The students are currently studying poetry. They've read several poems (a published version and student poems from previous years) entitled "Where I'm From". Today they brainstorm so that they can write their own poems about their home countries and cultures. Inge has given them a worksheet to help facilitate this. I again circulate and help students as needed.
11:25 AM--Lunch, until noon. I get a cup of coffee from the cafeteria and then return to the classroom to eat my lunch with Inge.
12 PM--A math class for ELLs meets in our room. I serve as "push-in" help for a student who is at a lower level than the others in the group. This has been really interesting, because many in the school believe that she really needs some special education services. However, the special educator has let us know that we can't meet all of the legal requirements for that, simply because she hasn't been in the U.S. or in school long enough. That's a bit sad.
On the bright side, this student has a delightful personality. She's friendly, works hard, doesn't get easily frustrated, and has a great sense of humor. Not to mention, a wonderful smile, which I always enjoy seeing. I review counting by 1's, 5's and 10's with her, and then we work on some money skills using play money.
12:45--Prime Science begins. Inge is teaching the water cycle. She guides the students through a condensation experiment and write-up.
1:30 PM--This time is devoted to planning for the next day/several days. Whenever I have a little "down time", I read a bit of the book which I will need to start teaching next week. I also notice that Inge has some grading to do, so I volunteer to do that; it's grammar exercises, so it's relatively straightforward. After explaining to me her grading system for homework, I get to work.
3 PM--The school day ends. I continue grading for a few minutes.
3:15 PM--Inge and I go to a meeting of the Educational Support Team (EST) because they're meeting to discuss and try to help one of our students. The meeting is really interesting. There are a LOT of people there--the school guidance counselor, the principal, two ELL teachers, me, the reading teacher, an Instructional Assistant who works with the student in math, and several others (including a special educator). Not to mention, the student and his father. They're all there to try to figure out how to help the student be a little more successful in school.
I come away from the meeting with several important pieces of information:
1. The student's father is very concerned about him and his education, but is at work when his son is at home (so can't be as involved as he would like).
2. This student is clearly a kinesthetic learner--benefiting from manipulatives, hands-on activities, and some opportunity to move around.
3. He's also quite hard-working.
4. He loves soccer.
5. I really like the principal's concern to do what's best for the students whenever possible. I also appreciate the guidance counselor's point that the student's problems paying attention may very well be due to fatigue and the language barrier rather than ADHD (which one person brings up as a possibility).
5 PM--I get home and relax a bit.
7 PM--Home Group (small group Bible study with folks from my church).
posted by Lisa @ 6:49 PM
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