Week 6 Blog 1

It's my last week with the third grade! I am really sad but also excited that SCORE is coming to an end. I've had a lot of fun with all these kids as well as the teachers. What I will miss most about my SCORE project is definitely all of the kids! They are all so cute and I have a feeling they will miss me too. I will also miss the teachers I worked with. They were so kind to me, and also always had things for me to do, which I loved. This has been a  really great experience.
I am not ready for graduation. It is so soon and I feel like I still have so much to do. I still have to finish my paper and my finish my presentation! I'm not sure what I'm going to do my presentation on yet, but I have a lot to talk about so I think I'll do okay. I just want to engage the teachers that I will be doing my presentation in front of. I feel like a lot of kids have really cool ideas on what to do their projects on and I'm just like, uhh yea power point...
What ever I do will be fine, I just can't wait to get the presentation over with because then I will really be done with high school. It will be such a good feeling to finally be done with everything!

Week 5 Blog 3

What I have noticed from working at the elementary school is how much drama there is when teaching kids. You have the staff that you don't have to be best friends with, but you have to be nice to them and get along with them the best you can. Then you have the kids that you either click with, or don't click with. Some years might be better when it comes to how well a class is behaved or not. Then you have the aids that come into your classroom every day to work with certain students. You have to find room for them in your classroom as well as your schedule. Then.... you have.... the parents.
Some of these parents are psycho. Some of them believe that their kids are the most important in the whole school. Hate to break it to you parents, but your kid isn't as important as you think. Some of these kids have their parents totally fooled. They may get away with a lot at home, but in school, they are put in their place. You cannot act like you are at home. You cannot lay on the ground and cry hysterically.. it's usually unnecessary and usually, well, just plain rude. These kids have their parents kissing their butts. They get whatever they want when they want, because it's Manchester.
Some of these parents just don't even care that they are one out of hundreds of other parents. If their kids gets into trouble at school and complains about it at home, there are so many times when the parent would say, "Well 'so and so' has never acted this way at home, so it must not be true". Bottom line, these days parents have their kids on a pedestal. Yeah, your kid is great, but teachers at school shouldn't be the only teachers in their childs lives. Something I have noticed is that some of these parents should be a little more involved in their kids lives.
(I apologize for the very aggressive post :) )

Week 5 Blog 2

Yesterday, (Saturday), I babysat one of the kids in my class. He is a really great kid who is very smart and very athletic. He is really a good kid, so I was excited that I would be able to babysit him! I am nervous for the other kids to find out that I babysat him though. All kids love extra attention from teachers or adults, and not to brag or anything, but extra attention from me is something that they love to share with other kids or teachers. I have noticed that a new presence in the classroom gets the kids pretty excited because it is a new face and another adult that they can share their stories with.

During our morning routine, a few of the students are given a chance to "share". I think I've already explained what sharing is but the kids are able to share a story about something that will or has happened to them. The student I babysat for will most likely share with the class on Monday morning, and I have a feeling it will be about how he saw me outside of the classroom. 

I don't know why I feel so weird about it but I just don't want the other kids to think that I don't want to see them out of school or anything. The 8 year old mind is truly a mystery so I don't know how these kids think, but I just don't want them to be upset if this one particular student begins to brag. 

Week 5 Blog 1

This week for science class, the kids worked with soil and worms. Things got pretty messy, but the kids were obviously really into it. They love when things from outside the classroom are brought inside to use and discover. The kids wrote down some things they thought they might find in the soil. Some of the students got pretty creative of what they might find. Then they studied the soil and wrote down things they saw. They weren't supposed to write down everything they saw, but they literally did. Every single detail. One of the students thought that they had found the egg of some kind of insect or animal. I'm pretty positive it was just a piece of a leaf or something.
Doing big projects with 8 year olds is always scary. You know what kids will be able to handle and which ones won't. You have to constantly keep your eye on their participation and how they are doing with every detail of the project. Usually the teacher will give step by step instructions so that all of the kids are doing the same thing at all times, which is easier to handle and keep track of.
Even though the worms may have upset some of the princesses in the class, the kids did well with this special project, and I believe we will continue with it next week. They love to be able to look through the soil and play with the worms.

Ivy: Week 4 Blog 2

Today is Wednesday. My SCORE supervisor is doing reading testing all day and won't be in class. We have a sub in class. She is great though and the kids love her! She knows what she is doing and gets the work done. If she were over at the high school I bet kids would actually get work done if she was subbing. We have had kids going in and out of the room to do the testing today which can be kind of distracting for the other kids, but they understand that they need to focus on what they are doing.

I am not sure why this testing is going on. What I have gathered is that the kids were tested at the beginning of the year on their reading level. Throughout the year they are tested to see how they have improved. 

The different reading levels in this class is very versatile. I have read with kids that can read as fast as I can. I have also read with kids that are below their age reading level. The difference is really huge. Their are a few kids that are right in the middle where they should be at this age. 

The testing will determine if the kids need extra help next year as third graders, or if they are on track. I don't think there are too many that will be needing help. We read every day at 9:00 with the students and they all make an effort to read whenever they can throughout the day. I don't remember reading so much when I was their age. I never have free time either so the amount of reading going on in this classroom every day is very impressive. 

Ivy: Week 4 Blog 1

I finished the rainforest projects!! Finally. They kept me busy every day, but they were a pain to make. Now the whole second grade will have a book to do their projects in! The second grade teachers love that I was able to be here to make them. It really is time consuming and I can't imagine how they would get it done because they are already so busy!

I helped out different classrooms today because there was not much for me to do in my classroom. I did little projects which is always kind of fun I think.

I am the copy machine Guru! I now know how to do double sided sheets. If any of you teachers need any kind of copying done... I'm your girl. It's also fun for me to do these copies because I am so good at it. No one should ever feel bad for asking me to make copies. It might turn into a hobby of mine. 

I made a few different packets today for the second grade teachers with my awesome copying skills. I also found a prom dress so the hunt for the prom dress is now over. We must find another fun activity to take up our free time!

I didn't do a lot on Tuesday. I made a few copies (of course) and helped out in another 2nd grade class for an hour. It was a pretty relaxed day in our class. We just did the normal routine. At 10:30, the kids have a math lesson until 11:38 which is lunch. I never have anything to do because it is a long period of just straight learning. The kids know what to do and they are usually either doing a worksheet or playing a game. I need to find something to do during this time. Sometimes I will go to the library and help out my mom with little things that need to be done. 

Ivy: Week 2 Blog 3

I am almost done with this rainforest book project thing. I have made like maybe 40 books so far. I have a really good system going so throughout the day when I have nothing to do, I can usually make 5-7 books. I have gotten to the point where if they are not lined up perfectly I have to either pull them apart or cut pieces off of the sides so that they look perfect. This project is basically my child, and it must be perfect!

The students keep coming up to my work space and asking me what I'm doing. I tell them all of steps (which they don't care about) then show them the finished project. They all say "woah" and get excited to start the project. I've used about 5 different colors so the kids can choose what color they want to use for their project. 

I remember when deciding what color something should be was the most difficult part of my day. If I didn't get the color I wanted, my whole day would be ruined. You watch these kids struggle over which color they want a shirt to be in a picture that no one will see and you think what a small problem that is. When you're an 8 year old, it is important to you and is a day to day issue. I understand where the kids are coming from. These are the first stages of decision making. When you're a kid the decisions you make aren't that important, but as you get older they become more and more important. 

Ivy: Week 2 Blog 2

So.... I have been working with two amazing teachers! They are so great with the kids and love having me there with them. Ms. Gould, I have known since she was my teacher in 3rd grade, and Mrs. Seal work in the room with me. Mrs. Seal is a special aid we have in class but does a ton of other work as well. We have a lot of behind the scenes fun that the students don't see.

I have recently been freaking out because I am in need of a prom dress! They asked me about my dress and if I had a date the first day I started. It's so fun to be able to talk to them about my high school life. 

Anyway, they have been helping find a prom dress for weeks now. At first it was just a fun thing to do and talk about. Now they have gotten really into it and have made it a side project. While the kids are out of the room or at recess or something, we will sit on the computer and all look at dresses. Every day they come to school with a new website to look at. We pick which ones we hate and which ones to consider. 

We do a lot of work in class all day with the students, and this gives us time to have a little freedom and do something fun! It's really been kind of a bonding experience and I am so appreciative of them to be helping me out! We realize how silly it is to take so much time to look at dresses, but it's become something we look forward to all day!

Ivy: Week 2 Blog 1

This was the first week back from vacation for everyone. The kids all came back with stories about what they did over their break. It took up a lot of the day actually. Every day during morning meeting, we usually have one or two of the students "share" which is kind of like show and tell but most of the kids just share stories about what they did after school the day before or something funny that happened at home.
Throughout the day, we went through each student who shared what they did over the vacation with the whole class. Some kids went to Florida or California. Some kids even went to to warm Islands and had great stories that even us teachers enjoyed. Most of the stories drag on about a whole dinner conversation the students had the night before, but the stories about their vacations were actually interesting. They all get so excited about talking about things that they have learned or seen. They feed off of the other kids "oohs" and "awes".
Other students stayed home, but they still had some pretty interesting stories. I did nothing over vacation so I didn't have much to share with the class.
Sharing time gives the kids that chance of having the focus be on them for 2 minutes with no interruptions. I think this is an important part of class time because these kids really do love the attention from all of their peers. They love the attention from the other students as well.

Week 1 Blog 3

I just completed copying which consisted of 800 pieces of paper in the end. I know this will help the children learn, of course, but I can't help but feel guilty for using so much paper. It took about 1 hour to copy everything and then 20 minutes to organize all of the paper into different groups. This was probably the biggest project I have done so far, I didn't want to screw it up because it was an important packet for testing. The testing that would be done is called RTI. I am not sure what RTI stands for. I should probably ask.
I am aloud to go off campus for lunch, so today I went to dunkin donuts and got a bagel. That's just something else I did today I guess.
The kids took a math test today and have a spelling test tomorrow. The spelling test will be on the 15 words learned on Monday.
The kids are a lot more comfortable with me around and they love to tell me stories about after school activities and things they do at home. Sometimes I have to tell them not to do something or tell them to stop being rude, but they all know what they should be doing. I am really enjoying helping out in the second grade. These kids are at such a fun age. Some of them are too smart for their own good, but show great potential to be great kids in the future. I am really impressed with one student who is an amazing artist. He is only 8, so his work is not Picasso status, but he adds great detail to his drawings and always uses great colors as well. I look forward to seeing more of his and the other students art work. They are also really good at writing poems, and I get to type them up and let them color all over them.
So far, I am really enjoying SCORE!

Week 1 Blog 2

I started off my day pulling apart News magazines, which didn't take too long. It was a good, relaxing way to start off a busy day. The kids came into the room at 8:20 and then it all began. We start the day with morning work, and then the "Special Person" of the day gets to lead the class in a song about the days, months, and continents. Then we talk about what day it is and what the weather will look like for today. Every morning, the kids split up into groups and read either by themselves or with a teacher. I have been meeting with the best 6 readers in the class. They are very capable of sounding out big words and reading at a level that is above a second grade level. It's really fun to listen to these super smart 8 year olds.

At the moment, one of the students is sharing his favorite toy ninja for show and tell. They are all really excited about it. There are 2x as many boys than girls in the class, which isn't as bad as it may seem because the boys and girls both get along really well. I don't remember getting along with boys when I was 8. They still had cooties. 

I love it when they call me "Miss Ivy". In the morning they all say "Hi Miss Ivy" in that cute slow way kids greet people. It is only the third day and I already know all of their names and where they sit. I also know what to expect with each student. Some are really quiet and won't disturb the class during certain activities throughout the day. I feel bad telling them to clean their desks and sit quietly, but they all how they should behave. 

I learned how to use the copying machine today which I felt was a big step. I haven't mastered it, but I'm getting close. 

Week 1 Blog 1

Today was my second day working with Mrs. Gould's second grade class. There are 20 kids in the class, which may seem like a lot but they are so small, it doesn't feel like 20. For the last 2 days, I have worked on a few projects. Yesterday I typed up poems that the kids wrote then spent the last hour of my day glueing them onto pink paper. I am also going to be making all 3 second grade classes little booklets for them to do rain forest projects. This project requires 240 sheets of paper, but all of the paper has to be square in order for the booklets to be made. Today, I finished slicing the 240 pieces of paper into 11x11 sheets. I'm going to be honest when I say that finishing all of that cutting made me feel proud of myself.
In the last 2 days, I have really gotten to know each kids personality. Some are very quiet so I have tried to have conversations with them to make them more comfortable for them to have me around. Others are always looking for attention and have no problem talking to me. These second graders are mostly 8 years old, which is such a great age to be around. They are funny and smart, but also need a little push every once in a while to stay on task, or remember to do the simple things.
Going back to second grade is really interesting to me. Watching the children get excited to learn about different continents and even new vocabulary is fascinating. I can't remember the last time I was excited to learn. I have actually learned a lot too. The class moves at a fast pace, from reading to math, then to science. I have learned some new simple skills, and also learned that there are penguins in Australia! This internship has so far been a very rewarding experience. I am actually learning with the students, but also helping them in any way I can.

Ivy Outline

Thesis: Elementary education has changed drastically over the last decade due to the use of technology both in and out of the classroom by both teachers and students.

I. What role does technology play in the change in education?

-New resources

-More hands-on learning

-Communication benefits

-Increase in student independence

II. How has technology been incorporated into the curriculum?

-Technology in the K-12 classroom

-Online games

-Online research and quizzes

-Technology as teaching aid

III. How has government – state and federal – become more             involved in decision making for schools?

-Increased funding for schools

-Common Core Standards

IV. NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT

-Legislation of NCLB by Bush

-Annual Assessments in Math, Reading and Science

-Academic Progress

-Teacher qualifications and evaluation

-Competitive grant programs

-Changes in funding

V. How is technology used by teachers?

-More technology, less teaching?

-Online tools - games, quizzes, etc.

-Collaboration among teachers

VI. Communication

-Parent/Teacher Communication

-Student/Teacher Communication

-Teacher/Teacher Communication

VII.  PowerPoint Presentations

            -As end-product

            -Uses by teachers/students

VIII. Eboards

            - From chalkboard to e-boards

            - Teachers’ aid

VIIII. Meeting needs to of all learners

            - Differentiated instruction defined

            - Verbal learners

            - Visual learners

            - Kinesthetic learners

Interviews:

Mrs. Gould (3rd Grade Teacher)

Mrs. Seymore (Technology Teacher)

Periodicals:

Ash, Katie. "Virtual Courses Feature Gaming to Raise Interactivity; Virtual ed. providers want to build greater interactivity." Digital Directions 6 Feb. 2013: 16. Educators Reference Complete. Web. 18 Mar. 2013.

Klein, Alyson. "Crush of Education Laws Awaits Renewal in Congress." Education Week 16 Jan. 2013: 18. Educators Reference Complete. Web. 18 Mar. 2013.

Books: 

LeBaron, John, and Catherine Collier. Technology in Its Place: Successful Technology Infusion in Schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001. Print.

Wells, Amy Tracy., Susan Calcari, and Travis Koplow. The Amazing Internet Challenge: How Leading Projects Use Library Skills to Organize the Web. Chicago: American Library Association, 1999. Print.

Lewin, Larry. Using the Internet to Strengthen Curriculum. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2001. Print.

Berger, Pam. Internet for Active Learners: Curriculum-based Strategies for K.12. Chicago: American Library Association, 1998. Print

New Labels

New Labels