Week Three at Cornerstone

This week marked the change of the afternoon time slot from Social Studies to Science.  Miss Dillon explained to me that there is only a one hour block open for both subjects in the afternoon. Rather than have half an hour of each, she opts to have a full hour every day for four to six weeks, then switch to the other subject. This method has some benefits and some drawbacks.  While the students are getting longer and more comprehensive lessons, they walk away from a subject entirely for long periods of time.  The class spent about fifteen minutes at the beginning of the period on Tuesday reviewing what they had learned in December in preparation for a new unit.  They are beginning a new “top secret” project to design an object that will travel the furthest distance when a force is added to it.  They seem to really enjoy the competitive and secretive nature of the project, and have come up with some really interesting ideas!

On Wednesday the class spent time working on publishing original pieces of writing. While the students seem to really like working on laptops, there are inevitably problems with technology. This is especially true of shared computers. Students seemed to be having trouble locating the documents they had started a few days before on the computers. We later broke into reading groups and I was left to supervise one of the groups for a few minutes while Miss Dillon went to get something from another teacher. A few students in the group, typically very well behaved, were out of control.  They refused to listen to me when I asked them to be quiet and finish their work; one even questioned  my authority by saying “you’re not a teacher, why do I have to listen to you?”  The other students in the group were getting frustrated because they couldn’t concentrate, so I gave them permission to move down the hall away from the group and split up the trouble makers near me.  When Miss Dillon came back, I told her there were four cards that I thought needed to be flipped and she gave me permission to act on that. I appreciate Miss Dillon giving me that ability, as it’s the only way to prove to the students that they do, in fact, have to listen to me. It also shows that she trusts my judgment.

I once worked with a cooperating teacher who told me that unusually boisterous behavior from students was connected to a full moon.  While this seems ridiculous, it always seems to hold true. I checked the calendar on Wednesday when I got home, and that night there was to be a lunar eclipse, followed by a full moon the following night.

Luckily, Thursday presented fewer behavioral issues. While the class was still talkative and energetic, we managed to get by without major issue.  I think that is is mostly because Thursdays are writer’s  notebook days, where students get twenty minutes of quiet time to work on  a reading response.  They have freedom to work wherever they please in the room. Being away from their desks and the structure associated with them must have been enough for them to get over their urges to act out, allowing them to do their work.

I’m looking forward to seeing their projects come along in the following days, and cant’ wait for the competition!

Week Two at Cornerstone

This week was shortened by two days due to inclement weather.

On Wednesday kids worked on new “publications” to be on display for parent-teacher conferences.  They were each given illustrations of comic strips and wrote words to go along with them.  It was interesting to see how each of the students interpreted the pictures and came up with different story lines.  I had the opportunity to observe Miss Dillon’s reading group. They’re reading a book about immigrants coming to Ellis Island.  The students seemed really engaged in the book and asked a lot of questions regarding the topic.   It was nice to see students actively participating in their education.

Thursday was Valentine’s day.  The class did a citizenship type activity.  Each student had a heart with his or her name on it.  The hearts were then randomly distributed to the rest of the class. Students then wrote one nice things about the person whose valentine they had, and then passed it to the person next to them.  This continued until each student had written something nice about everyone else in the class.  I thought this was a nice way to promote healthy relationships within the class and show individuals what nice things their classmates saw in them.

Vicki, Miss Dillon, and I discussed dates for our units.  I will be teaching my lesson the week of April 7.

Although the week was shortened, it was a good example of how the class runs under very realistic circumstances. There is no way to predict or control the weather, and it can be hard to keep students on task when they know a holiday celebration is coming.  Miss Dillon seemed to acknowledge this challenge and engage them in a holiday-related activity that wasn’t just a waste of time.  These are the types of things that cannot be taught in a classroom, and that must be learned from experience.

Week One at Cornerstone

This week was my first at Cornerstone Elementary. Vicki and I are both in Miss Dillon’s third grade class. We are there for writing, reading groups, and social studies, depending on the day.

Miss Dillon has asked me to create a four lesson unit on Geography. I spent some time on Wednesday looking through her notebook getting some ideas of what I am to teach. I’m planning to do a series of mini lessons regarding mapping, and end with a culminating activity where each student creates his or her own country and creates a map of it.

The first few days I mostly spent making observations and getting to know the students. There are 23 students in the class, so it’s a good thing the classroom is large. The room lacks a word wall. Miss Dillon explained that she chose to omit this from her room to give her students more accountability for their spelling abilities. Each student has a dictionary which they use quite often.

There are only three rules posted in the classroom. They are:

1) Be kind

2) Be safe

3) Be an active learner

There are many visiting teachers in and out of the classroom. The students seem to like the visitors. Reading groups are divided between Miss Dillon and two visiting teachers. There are three groups. One is a group of student who are all below grade level. They get intensive instruction to help them develop. The other two groups are mixed ability.

The discipline system used in the classroom is the same as was used at both Kean and Apple Creek. A four card system of different colors shows the students status that day.

On Miss Dillon’s desk is a wooden apple that says “The teacher is busy, take a number” and has small apples on it numbered 1-4. Although I get the feeling this is only for decoration, it is not a bad idea to have a system in place for students to indicate they need help when the teacher is doing something else.

She uses a “countdown to quite” method to get her classes quiet and ready for the next activity. She starts and five and by the time she gets to one, the students are waiting quietly in their seats.

Miss Dillon’s class does an activity called “reader’s notebook.” Miss Dillon reads the class a story, and then they each write a response to it. They are free to respond in any way they wish, whether it be poetry, a critique, or related fiction. For twenty minutes the lights are dimmed, music is played, and students are allowed to sit wherever they please about the room. They really seem to enjoy this freedom and get quite creative with their writing.

I expect that at least five students in the class have IEP’s. For the most part the students seem pretty bight, but perhaps not highly motivated. Many of them still write poorly with large or backwards letters, often not on the lines. This fine motor skill, however, develops differently for everybody.

So far I’m happy with my experience with third graders. Their prior knowledge makes communicating with them easy. For example, when you ask them “What needs to go at the end of the sentence?” they can answer you confidently. I like being able to speak to my students like young adults.

I look very much forward to further time at Cornerstone.