Eighth and Final Week at Cornerstone

It’s hard to believe that field is over already!

This past week was fairly abbreviated and more than a little frustrating.

On Monday and Tuesday the class spent the duration of our time there browsing the internet for information about a city of their choosing. Miss Dillon started them on a geography project, for which they were to go on a “virtual vacation.”  They were to research their city and eventually put together a report including information such as what food you would eat or activities you would participate in that location.  While this activity was creative and allowed the students to have a great deal of accountability for their learning process, the logistics of working with the computers are a nightmare.  To begin with, a number of the computers, which are shared by all classes in the school, are broken or dead.  For those who are lucky enough to find a computer that turns on, access to the internet is often denied without a password.  This problem had  Miss Dillion running around the classroom for the first fifteen minutes,  just to get the kids online.  Once they were online, the school’s firewall blocked many of the sights, including Google.  Many students in the class lacked a general understanding of how the internet worked at all.  One girl commented “it don’t tell me nothing about Paris” as though the internet were a single source of information and not a vast network of media.  Others didn’t understand what I meant when I used words such as “cursor” and “search bar.”  These are concepts I feel third graders should understand. Even if there is not a computer available at home, it is imparitive in today’s technology-driven culture that computer literacy be taught in schools. I didn’t have the chance to ask Miss Dillion if there was a computer lab or specific computer classes taught at Cornerstone.

On Wednesday Vicki and I arrived at 1:00 per usual.  The classroom was empty, but we figured that the class was either out for recess or at an assembly. We looked on the  board and on Miss Dillion’s desk but there wasn’t a note indicating their whereabouts.  After about twenty minutes we decided to walk up to the office and ask the secretary if she knew where the class was. She informed us that the ENTIRE school was at the high school for a field trip, and wouldn’t be returning until later that afternoon. Feeling disrespected, we left.

Vicki and I left campus early on Thursday so we could stop at Buehler’s to pick up some treats for the class.  We showed up at 1:00 with cookies and a plant, just to find Miss Dillion missing.  In her palce was a substitute teacher reading the class a story. Of course, “reading” is a relative term, as she seemed to have trouble getting through the complex plot involved in Wild Wild Sunflower Child Anna. It was obvious that the class wasn’t paying attention to the story.  The day proceded as usual until about 2:00 when two of the boys had an altercation in the bathroom.  They both came back with different stories, both involving shoving.  I had them each pull a card in an attempt to maintain order in the classroom.  One student took particular issue with this action, and stormed around the room for a few minutes. I took him into the hall to try to talk to him about why he was so upset, and he proceded to tell me that he was leaving the school, and that I ruined his life. He went on to say that school was stupid, I was stupid, I was evil, and he wished I had never come. I spent the remaining 20 minutes trying to explain that he had to face the consequences for his actions, and that pulling a card wasn’t, in fact, the end of his life.  I eventually got him to stop crying and sent him back in the room, wrote a brief note to Miss Dillon explaining the situation, and bid good riddence to Cornerstone Elementary.

Overall, my eight weeks at Cornerstone were somewhat disappointing. While I had a great group of kids, my teaching experience was extremely limited.  I’m glad to have had the time I did with the kids, and I know the experience will serve me well in the future.

Week Seven at Cornerstone

This week was by far the best week yet! I had the opportunity to lead the class in a unit about maps.

On Monday, we started with an introduction to maps. We discussed the part of a map and how to use them. We started by reading out of the textbook to help us answer worksheet questions.  We passed around the microphone so they could be heard as they read. Then, as a class, we filled out the pages in the pack I made them. I had transparency copies made for the overhead so they could follow along with me as they went. I let the students volunteer to come up and write the answer on the overhead, which they seemed to enjoy.  I was feeling sick that day and had trouble giving the class a lot of energy. They seemed to pick up on this and give me little in return.  In addition, they had already done with worksheet with their cooperating teacher, of which I was not aware. I only heard a few “we’ve already done this” comments, for the most party they played a long. This was rather upsetting, as the week before I double checked with my teacher to make sure the lesson was appropriate and not something they had already done.

On Tuesday, we continued with the same format, this time discussing landform maps and product maps. I was feeling much better and was able to put more energy into the lesson. They definitely picked up on this, and gave me way more in return. Participation was much higher and they were very cooperative.  This just goes to show that when you’re sick as a teacher, you’re not the only one who suffers.

Wednesday started off our fun culminating activity.  The students were given the task of creating a map of their own.  The map was to be of an imaginary place, but include all of the components we discussed the previous two days. We began by creating a list of essential elements, which I put up on the overhead for the duration of the work period. That way, they could refer back to it if they forgot what they needed to include. I had a lot of “can we?” type questions at first, but once they realized they were allowed to be as creative as they wanted, they got straight to work. I gave them each a piece of printer paper at first where they could draw a sketch of their map and gather their ideas. Once they were finished, they has to show me their map and point out all of the elements we had talked about. They then received a large piece of tag board paper on which to create their final product.

On Thursday we jumped right back into work on the maps. My original plan was to stop them 15-20 minutes before the end of the period to give them the opportunity to share their work. However, they all seemed to be wrapped up in their work, so Miss Dillion and I decided to let them work for the rest of the class, and push the sharing time until Monday.

Overall, I’m very pleased with the way my unit went this week.  While power point lectures aren’t the most exciting form of instruction, by allowing them to fill in the answers I was able to maintain engagement. In addition, the culminating activity allowed the students to demonstrate what they had learned in a hands on manner. I think they took a lot away from the unity, and I will definitely implement this project in my classroom in the future.

Week Six at Cornerstone

This week taught me a lot about the day to day routine of teaching.

Vicki led the class in a unit about the history of Ohio, Wayne County, and Wooster.  The class seemed extremely receptive to her lessons and especially enjoyed the use of the power point.   I’m sure the unit was interesting to them since it pertains to their hometown.

While she taught, I worked on my lesson plans for next week. Planning at school during downtime is a great strategy.  In addition to saving time in the evenings, I think that planning in a school setting puts your brain into the right mode for teaching!

On Thursday I used the teachers’ work room to make copies and overhead transparencies for my unit next week.  When I first got to the room there were already teachers there struggling with the copier. They were attempting to print their report cards on 11×16 paper which the printer apparently doesn’t like. I waited for a few minutes before I decided to come back a later time. This is a good example of Murphy’s law, in which I firmly believe.  It is important to have a backup plan in case what can go wrong, actually does.

I look forward to teaching my unit on maps next week! I think the class will really enjoy the culminating activity I have planned.