The end of the road

Today is my last day student teaching and I am writing this to sum up my documentation of student learning. I think that the most important thing I learned at Augsburg and at Crosswinds is to take my time when thinking things out. I see teaching as more of a management position rather then a boss position. By letting the kids make their own decisions as teammates rather then me telling them what to do we build a relationship faster. I also have learned that different schools have different rules for staff and what they can and can't talk about. Crosswinds was very free with no fear of repraisal for anything said. I liked that we could be vocal and that it was listened to rather then shot down and frowned upon. Through my time at Augsburg and Crosswinds I have learned that student behavior is usually a result of a lot of things and that you can't blame just one person for the way a kid might act. I have also learned that parents expect you to cater to them if they do not want to do something. But then again there were parents that went out of the way to make it an easy transition for their child. The open school environment was a great way to learn and the kids were great. I loved working as a team and having team meetings all the time. All in all my experience was positive and I took a lot away from it. It helps to get outside of your previous experiences and really learn new stuff.

Congratulations Dana!

Today is your last day at Crosswinds. I'm sure it will be like a whirlwind with it being the last day for the students and Kristin until Sept. You have made your mark at the school, and certainly established yourself with the students. They will miss you.

This blog has helped me to read about your experiences, and it will be a great way for you to reflect upon your time at Crosswinds. I have certainly learned a lot from the school about how they set up a school and district, the curriculum that they bring to the students etc.

Enjoy your future making a difference in the lives of your students.
Gretchen

Just another Manic Monday!

With the last two weeks of school closing in the kids have been getting a little wacky- and so have I. Class today was a little crazy and a lot of fun. I planned a Jeopardy with the facts the kids had learned about the 40s and 50s with each group having a barnyard sound instead of buzzers- I don't have any of that stuff. The kids seemed to think that louder meant they would get the answer first even after Kristin and I said that being loud was going to get them lots of nothing. The game lasted 40 minutes and they all had a great time and I could tell who had done the webquests and who had just messed around. The rest of the class was a reading assignment, a choose your own reading adventure that Siskow put together. We are back to team teaching so she and I are splitting the classes. Wednesday and Thursday will be about the 70s and we are going to look for a movie about the 70s to show the kids. On Friday there will be a 70s costume day for the whole house. I allready have the coolest hat!

Feed My Starving Children

Today was a great day. We went to Feed My Starving Children and volunteered. We made 34 boxes of food which will feed 7344 kids for a day or 20 kids for a year. The process was interesting with the adults running the sealing machines and the kids scooping the nutrients into the bags. Each bag got rice, chicken flavoring, veggies, and soy that will make six meals. This food goes to Africa and all over the world. The only bad thing was that they mentioned God in every other sentence- with our public school and then they invited us to pray over the food- so a little awkward for some of the kids. The program was in Brooklyn Park and it took us an hour to get out there, an hour to prep and 25 minutes to make food, and then an hour and half to clean up and get back. We also had Dairy Queen, yum, before coming back to finish the day with the webquests that the kids who had stayed behind created about the 40s and 50s. The day was good and the field trip ran relatively smoothly. We are going to have a Jeopardy game as a review on Monday of the 1940s and 50s and then have the kids read and summarize the sixties for an assignment.

Thursday the 19th

Today went well for the last two core classes to do the webquest for the 1940s. The students did a ton of work today and every kid, and I mean every kid did the work without complaint or making snotty comments. Today in E-Core I helped with Tennis and it was great. The kids were having a good time and they all were really good sports. Class met in the library and they even cleaned up when I asked them to. I have noticed that the kids are on my side now, they seem to genuinely like me and want to listen. My teaching hasn't changed all that much but the way I relate to the kids has loosened and I am more of an older sibling then a teacher- they like me but respect me too. I joke and they joke back- the kids are doing well and I am doing well with them. Here is a picture of the kids working on the 1940s webquest with their partners.

The day of the sick people

Today was a day for the record book. Out of the six team members from Earth House three were absent. Maggie is on bed rest, Dunlap is on maternity leave and then Siskow had to leave before Core becuase her daughter got sick. The day was a little crazy becuase of the high temperatures and the kids getting excited for the end of the year. I ran our class in the library and had the kids do a webquest on the 1940s with half the class doing one part and half doing the other. On Friday they will meet and go over the answers. The rest of the class was work time for their projects which most kids did not work on very hard- so I am not crazy about giving them an extra week without any consequences. Tomorrow is progress report day and we do not have any new grades to add so it should be easy. Today one of the kids said that I should get a job at Crosswinds because I was a good teacher, and then another kid agreed and it was nice to hear. Over the past three weeks I have noticed that my relationships with the kids have grown and I have taken on more of an older sibling roll then a teacher roll. We are getting along better and I haven't had to write up any of my problem kids in a while. Today I also planned a field trip to go and see Hairspray on August 2nd. We will be walking the two miles to the theater and back. They were only showing the movie during hours we couldn't go but I talked the manager into showing it at a time convenient to us so that we could come. I made the permission slips and Siskow copied and got them out to the other teachers but forgot to get them to me so our first class will have to get them tomorrow. Not much else is happening right now, I am writing the Friday lesson plan that Siskow will follow while I am on the field trip and I am thinking of murals, maybe.

Monday/Tuesday Work Days

Yesterday and today were the last two days of work time in the library and I am very glad. The kids cannot sustain the attention necessary to get the work done without going completely bonkers every time someone walks in. It is summer and it becomes more and more obvious with every day that they are barely holding it together. I had to write a kid up yesterday for sheer defiance and throwing stuff and he wasn't even fazed. The rest of them are doing okay, but it seems as if there is a constant struggle in all the classes. Tomorrow we start the new Ecore and I will be helping Lindquist to do the exercise class instead of Tennis with Heidi because Bruecken had to go on bedrest, I hope she's okay. We had the science fair both yesterday and today with the kids walking around looking at each others displays, even though they weren't interested at all. Tomorrow Siskow and I will be having the kids do an internet scavenger hunt to learn about the 40s and then each pair will pick an event or person from that time period and make one of their own.

Friday the 13th

Today was Friday the 13th and it was actually not as crazy as I thought it was going to be. Kristin was not here today and I had Ms. Good as my substitue teacher- she was great, she let me lead and backed me up when I needed it. The Science Fair was still in the gym so we went outside and there was a fight- a student was about to get into it with another so they were broken apart but no one went home so there were undercurrents the whole day. During study hall the kids worked relatively silently and didn't try to dance around anything. The E-Core was very chill, we showed a movie that I brought in on How things are made and I went with the kids that wanted to practice their science fair speeches. We are having the first session of the science fair on Monday with our kids and Lindquists kids going and then the other two will go on Tuesday. We are going to make up certificates and ribbons for them since only two of ours got to go to the school science fair since it was during Core. Core classes were fine- they all met in the library and I gave a ton of tardies since all of them professed to not have a clue that they had to go upstairs- despite the morning announcements and three, count them, three signs in the room- two on the boards and one on the small board in the middle of the doorway. On Monday and Tuesday we will be going over bibliographies again and giving more work time. Wednesday and Thursday will be the 40s and 50s. On Friday I am going on a field trip. More later.

The Ides of July

Wednesday and Thursday were work days for the Decades Project. We spent the whole class time in the library with the kids working on their informational paragraphs. They all wrote and looked up pictures for their projects. Suprisingly most of them got the paragraph format but were unsure as to how to use their notecards to make those paragraphs. I had a lot of one on one time with a number of students getting them to look at their cards and put them into categories so they could write about a certain aspect of the decade. Yesterday all the kids worked and it went well- today the last class decided to mess around alot so we told them that they obviously didn't need the extra time on Monday and Tuesday so they would spend their time in an ISS like environment doing silent work. The thing is that the kids that aren't working there is no recourse, they don't care what you do becuase their parents don't care what they do. You can't make them show up for detentions or do any work because they just do not care and that makes it hard. Siskow says that with only three weeks of school left to go there are going to be casualties but they will just spend their time in ISS if they can't get it together. For the Warm Up I had them get into groups of four and talk about their reading and questions and then as a group decide on three important facts about the 1930s and write it on the board- this was done rather quickly and without a lot of fuss- makes me think that they might actually start to tolerate me. ECore yesterday was taken up by the kids trying their best to get out of the room and me playing goalie and telling them to go back. We are going to have our own science fair since the one that the school organized was a mess, they wanted to pull kids during core time and that just doesn't work for us. Tomorrow we are showing a video that I am bringing in to the kids. They need a down day so I am bringing in the "How Its Made" series on Food and Health- usually very interesting. I will also be pulling kids with Igo that want to practice what to say for their Science Fair presentation on Monday and Tuesday- we are going to do a gallery walk with half and half. Siskow won't be here tomorrow so I will be running the show. The sub's name is Ms. Good and the last time she was here with Lindquist the kids hated her and took her stuff and basically tortured her. Siskow made it very clear that I was in charge on the sub plans and I think that it will work out okay. I am going to plan Monday and Tuesdays lesson plans this weekend. We are going to give them work time but also explain bibliographies. We are also going to cover the 1940s and 50s next week.

Tuesday went well. The stress of the fourth quarter and the absolute beautiful weather are causing the kids to act crazy. We won our kickball game today and are now in second place and will play Lindquist next week for the semi-finals. The house meeting today was long we talked about what we are going to do when the Science Fair E core ends. We planned three activities that the kids could choose from- tennis, book group, and exercise videos. I am going to teach Tennis with Igo even though I haven't played since I was eleven. The science fair is this Thursday and I am super glad that this part of E Core is almost over- we didn't plan it and the person in charge had a vision that they didn't share with anyone so there is no rubric, no format, and very little guidance about what is supposed to be happening. The kids are done witht the research though and now are just working on their posters as seen in the photo. We also talked about Field Trips- the kids are going to Feed My Starving Children next week and I will be going too as a chaperone. I also called the Woodbury 10 to see if and when HAIRSPRAY was coming and it is so we are going to make permission forms to go and see it. Class today was fine. The kids are all doing the work but they are a little confused about their Decades Project so I met with all the kids and had them ask questions after I did a brief overview of what was expected by next friday- the due date. We had one student who I will call Z who doesn't do anything in any of the classes, which sucks in general, but if he was a quiet lazy kid that would be different then the fact that he is loud and disruptive and pulls the easily distracted kids right in there with him. He had to be taken out and met with the behavior specialist to figure out a plan- he came back for the last fifteen minutes of the class AND STILL DID NOTHING! and calling mom is pointless- basically he has given up and there is nothing that we do that makes a difference. It is really frustrating and Kristen says that we have done all we can and giving it over to the office and calling 2600 to have him taken out is the only way to deal with it.
Questions for Gretchen:
1. I have the midway progress report- what should I do with it?
2. I have to do an Application of Prior Learning to get credit for my three years of teaching and was told to make sure that my evidence is in direct relation to the reflection. Do you have any advise?

The crazy contiued today with the kids coming back hopped up on whatever they did this past week. This morning we had a decent morning meeting with a share on Mortal Fears that ran the gammut from jellyfish to time- some of the kids professed to be afraid of nothing but I think they just were tired or wanted to get on with the game. We talked a long time and then did the morning announcements- we will be going to Feed My Starving Children next week and the Science Fair is this week. We then played SPUD! and most of the kids loved the game- alot of them liked to get pegged with the ball for some reason. Tomorrow we play kickball and hope to come in second so that we can be triumphant once again. The study hall was crazy but the kids did eventually calm down enough for me to grade the 40 notecard assignment and Kristin to run the room. E-Core is getting more and more useless. The Science Fair is this week but we didn't get a format for the posters or even supplies to do the posters so the kids are lacking motivation and without the stuff I am telling them to do the work on lined paper that we will transfer when we get the supplies. Class was interesting. We had to institute assigned seats and give about a gagilion breaks and they were still crazy bad- however I found out that the whole house was off the wall and not just our class- makes you feel a little better. I taught informational paragraph format and then the kids had time to do their reading on the 1930s. They also met in their project groups to ask questions about what would be happening for the next few days of work time. They will have work time starting Wednesday and extending through next Tuesday. They will then do the 1940s and 1950s and present their projects.

Gretchen in Namibia, July 7

Dana
I think you have the week off. Please email me a reflection from your time so far since the beginning. Do you think that your teaching strategies and practices have improved with your students? Do you feel more confident now with your class? Have there been any changes?
Thanks and continue to enjoy your students
Gretchen

Today is friday and it is the end of my first half here. I have the midway review from Kristen and it looks as if I am doing well. Today we had to take away gym because the kids were torturing the math sub- they took her notes and erased the board yesterday. They are definitely ready for a break and so are we. So we had them all sit down in the gathering space and went through what they right way to treat a visitor was in the house. The kids all had to write a letter of apology and our class was especially mad because none of them had math on Thursday. For the Friday schedule we had all four classes and they had their last day of research to complete in the library. Most of the kids got done and we will be doing a 40 notecard check on the Monday we come back. I have all week off next week and plan to do some lesson planning.

Tuesday Review and Wednesday Morning

Barbara West came to observe me yesterday and it went very well. Since I am mostly running the classes now the kids have gotten used to me and seem to be behaving better. West did not want to meet with Kristin or see my binder- which I spent a ton of time making look pretty, but I was okay with that. Barbara saw me run a circle meeting and then the library research team. Today I finished grading all of the Political Cartoons and the 20 note card check. I ran progress reports, which go out tomorrow and now I am ahead- Go Dana. This morning we went out for the Spot Journal assignment and it was beautiful- I walked the whole cirlce with a bunch of kids and took their pictures for the end of the year slideshow that I am helping Siskow put together. The rest of the week will be research time and when we come back from break they will begin putting their projects together. I am psyched to see their music videos and their newspaper projects- the scrapbooks should be cool too. Here is a picture of the kids working on their Spot Journals in the grass. We are also working on scheduling which has turned out to be a giant mess- it makes Kristin mad and it seems like a lot of talk for what seems relatively simple for one person to do. What this school has done is break it up into Houses so it is confusing everyone.

Monday- a pretty cool day.

Today there was a play and we got to see it twice- it fit in with the curriculum perfectly- it was about the speakeasies of the 1920s and the gangs that ran the streets. Today started out well, I ran Morning Meeting and we played Tick Tick Boom and Hot Potato with our class and with the class next door. In study hall we decided to put up a check off chart and it actually made the kids work today instead of making excuses. In E-Core I ran the class while Siskow took the kids who were doing nothing to the seminar room to complete packet work. I let some of the kids go up to the Media Center to do research and they were sent back ten minutes later because they were on YouTube- so now they are all off the internet for the rest of the quarter. For class today Igo figured out how all the kids could see the play so our class was a little crazy with the extra kids in it. They all had to hand in their Political Cartoons today and we only got 8 out of 80 turned in- they think that they can hand stuff in late and still get credit even though I said on Friday that it was classwork that needed to be completed by the end of class on Monday. Big Ha.

Sunday eve, June 24..Gretchen in Namibia

Hi Dana
I had been thinking about you since I last wrote and wanted to say right away that you have been doing a great job! Yes, there are ups and downs, but you took a lot of responsibility for the teaching very early, and you have established yourself with the students. Yes, you will have really frustrating times/days, however you have done the most difficult work of starting out with a class in the end of the year. You are obviously very interested in the content, you have students experience it in multi-dimensional ways, you use technology is a very impressive way..all of that is very good.

You identified getting your 3 ring notebook prepared for Barbara's visit, and you are right. It is a very important part of the expectations for student teachers. Any planning, any reflecting- you may want to copy some of the blogs, and way to describe your teaching situation..eg names of students, schedule, daily plans, weekly plans, long range planning, content etc etc..staff meeting agenda's, family info, school info...anything and everything that shows that you have a broad understanding of your placement. A calendar with your teaching days...on and on.
Usually, we want student notes: anecdotal records of behaviors/learning/etc about individual students. You always need to document what is happening with a student who is "out of the ordinary" in some way, and you may need to present info in an IEP meeting, parent meeting etc.

Attach your plan to Barbara the day before her visit.
Let me know how it goes.
And I will lookat this when I have a decent connection, which will be sporadic.
All the best
Gretchen

Political Cartoons and More

Friday went decently. We had a schedule where you have all the kids that day in short forty minute classes- it is usually hectic and today you could really tell that they were ready for the weekend.
Agenda:
1. Planners
2. Examples of Decade Project Options and then telling me your choice.
3. Political Cartoons

This seems rather simple but it took the whole time with only five minutes for work time and I am pretty sure that we are going to do it again next Friday. Kristin stood back today and let me take the lead which was fine. I was getting frustrated with the kids today because they couldn't seem to calm down and get to work but looking back on the day we did get a lot accomplished and the most important aspects were addressed. I am including a picture of me teaching the lesson and all the kids were laughing at me asking Kristin to take a picture- it was quite funny. On Monday we are seeing a play called Bugsy Malone Jr which is about gangster life in the 192os and 30s- it fits our curriculum perfectly. Next week is another week of research and I am pretty sure that we are going to have to give the kids time to do a little research when they come back too- we are missing Monday for research and last Thursday had an internet failure so we lost that day too. When we get back from break we will be introducing the 1940s and 1950s. There might even be a field trip to see the movie Hairspray.

Ideas for Responsive Design

Today is Wednesday and the start of a whole new set of lesson plans. We are still researching and will for the next two weeks, maybe more if the kids need it. Today was staff meeting day and Kristen gave a talk on how to break up block classes so that they flow and are interesting. She had an example about a board relay- which I decided to use as our Warm Up for today- see picture. Each team of six had to race to the board and put one part of what a note card SHOULD look like in their group's box. It was fun and entertaining and the kids asked me if we were going to do more and sat in the lines relatively enthralled. I was in the library again today and watching them research and helping decide what was which theme (government, the arts, social life, or innovation) was challenging to me too. I see them getting more and more interested in their decades. I think we are going to have to make clear that they need to focus on US HISTORY and not events around the world- unless they directly effect the US or had people from the US in it. On Friday I am going to lead a class on Political Cartoons, we have decided to focus on the thirties for the examples but the kids are going to use their notes to make their own cartoons. On Tuesday Barbara West is coming to view my teaching- we will still be researching but their will at least be an interactive warm up and directions given. I have to get my notebook in order this weekend.

from gretchen

It is frustrating when kids challenge and will not comply.
Especially when Kristen was gone, so that your back-up was not available.
It will be helpful to discuss this entire episode with Kristen. Do you have time to do that?
If the consequence does not make a difference, something needs to change. Have you talked 1-1 with any of these students to see what they have to say about it?

You do need an outlet. It is a very challenging position if you have not found a way to get students with you. And that is very difficult with some classes and students. Knowing them as individuals so that you can make that connection and your word means something to them can help.

Can you do a role play with them of the class, or can you video a real class session and ask them to reflect on it?

Monday and Tuesday Wrap Up

Yesterday and today went well with the research kids. We spent practically the whole class in the library with Ms. Lee and the kids actually worked hard and got the cards done. For the next classes we will be changing the kids out and having them circulate through the process. Teaching the fine art of skimming is on tap for this week as well as a board relay for showing the outline of what a notecard looks like. On Friday we will be doing Political Cartoons and maybe some 1930s stuff.

Starting the Research

Today is the first day of research for the Decades Projects and we have split the kids up in sections of four so they can go to different spots to do their notecards. I will be up in the library with the kids doing the computer stuff and the library books.

Okay- except for the first class

Well, today could have gone better. The substitute I got was great, he was here yesterday for Jahna so I already knew him. Homeroom was fine- we went right to the gym and the kids played for a half an hour. Study hall was okay too, they seemed to settle down pretty fast, even though they didn't do a lot of work- we handed out the worksheets and some kids seemed to like those. ECore was a lot of testing, so we had kids in a out of the room doing blind and double blind tests. It was hectic because they all wanted the soda and food- I don't think that letting the kids test soda in school was such a hot idea-- it got them so hopped up on sugar that they began bouncing off the walls- so I kicked all the kids that weren't in our class out to their own rooms. This is when the madness started- the beginning of the first class was okay- slightly chaotic but that time always is. Then J asked to go and change his shorts and I let him, Ms. Lee started talking and the kids were so rude it was unbearable, but nothing I said or did from breaks to moving them stopped the comments. Then J comes back in 20 minutes into class- I called him over and told him that it was unacceptable to be gone for 20 minutes and that he needed to sit down and do his work- well he started flipping out and shouting that I wasn't his mom and I couldn't tell him- he would tell me- so I asked him to follow me outside so we could process- more negative comments- in a class where there are kids who are feeding off of this- so I can't back down and he is being extremely rude to me and to Ms. Lee- so I called 2600 and they sent down Ms. T- she took him and my write up and then she brought him back and said for him to sit in the corner- he wanders over somewhere and then tries to play innocent- so I tell him to go to where Ms. T put him and he back talks so I say that he has three seconds to move or he could leave. He sneered and said he didn't care- so I called 2600 again and he was taken out. At this point I was so frustrated I wanted to cry, there was blurting and so I did the 321 thing and got all of their attention and said that Ms. Lee had been kind enough to come and that they needed to listen to show her and me respect- so D says 'you need to give respect to get respect' and I sent her to a break for blurting again. AHHHHHH- This is my hardest class, they do not care about conseqences, well I shouldn't say all of them- but there are about 4 kids in that class that make everything super difficult for me on a daily basis. I am going to talk to Siskow about this Monday and see if it is okay to call their parents when this happens- that I what I do at my school and it usually nips it right in the bud- the kid will be mouthing off and talking about not respecting me and I would say 'Oh, yeah, lets see what your mom has to say about that' and then I would go over to the phone and call them.
So we got through with that class and I didn't break down. The next three classes went very well and both Ms. Lee and I were treated fine. They all seem to be connecting with me better then the first class- I just can't seem to shut them down when they begin to become obnoxious- it usually is one or two kids who get them all riled. Monday starts the work time and we still have to go over the notecards- we ran out of time in every class today. I did manage to get all the grades updated and the attendance done though. I need to find a way to unwind that doesn't involve a punching bag though- gym memberships are expensive.

Harlem Renaissance Day 2

Today went alot better, the longer I taught the HR lesson the shorter it got and the more the kids put things in. They seem okay with silence which is great. Siskow will be gone tomorrow, so there will be a substitute, but I will be running the show. The only thing I am worried about is E-Core, today we laid down the law but I think they will try to get away with stuff simply because Siskow is not going to be here. It seems like I have been here a long time- even though this is only the end of my second week. Tomorrow we have Ms. Lee coming in to talk to all four classes about bibliographies and how to access the databases for their Decades Project.

Observed during the Meltdown

Today Gretchen came to see me teach the Harlem Renaissance lesson. Two minutes before she got here I had an incident with a student yelling at me as well as the drama of an E-Core where all the kids are wild and not doing what they are supposed to do- and they could care less about their grades or what will happen. The HR lesson went okay- I felt like the kids were testing me again and they were blurting alot- told them to Take Breaks every 2 seconds. Gretchen felt that the kids were relatively on task. The second class went better with lots of interaction and it always feels like the first class is more challenging- they are the hardest class.

The Roaring 20s

Today I taught a lesson on the Roaring 20s- this is my first week of full time planning and teaching. The first class went decently- there was a ton of behavior and Siskow was observing me for behavior that day. The second class went a lot better with me giving breaks out like they were on sale. The presentation was a good idea but I think that the KKK stuff could have been left out or maybe handled as a discussion instead of a powerpoint. The kids made radio commercials for popular products of the day - 20 second jingles with lots of rhyming that focused on the popular aspects of the 1920s. I will not be here tomorrow and Siskow will use my lesson plan to teach the Roaring 20s. On Wednesday I am being observed and Gretchen will be here for my Harlem Renaissance Lesson.

Gretchen, Friday, June 8

It has been very enjoyable to read about your teaching experiences at Crosswinds. The instruction methods respond so well to the age group! You and Kristin are working out be co-teachers for the benefit of your students, and I think they will benefit immensely. Your experience has put you on solid footing to really learn and enjoy this experience. Your child psychology major is important foundational knowledge for you in understanding this age level, and of course human behavior. The images help set the context which is really fun.

Continue on..this is just what you hoped for. Thank you Kristen!

My First Meeting w/ the Behavior Specialist

Today is Thursday, June 7th and I taught both sections today. There was a student who decided that they did not want to listen to me and Siskow called him out of class. The Behavior Specialist showed up and we had a twenty minute meeting with the student who had thought that he didn't have to listen to me- it was very similar to the processing that we do at New Visions. I will not be here tomorrow to hear the Jungle which is our book of choice for 1900 to 1920.

The Spot Journal, Study Hall, and Reading

Today we started the day with the science Spot journals, each student had picked a spot on the property to observe while filling out a journal. It looks like a neat project and it turned out to be a nice day to stand outside. The kids were a little antsy with some just messing around- next time I am going to wear sneakers and jeans and sit down by the lake so that they work more. During prep we picked out readings for the students to do in class today, there are about 1o pages total with three questions to answer. In Study Hall- which is like being a ring master in a circus the students actually started to settle down today and do their work. Its hard because some of the kids really do not have anything to do or don't have the work so they start to wander around causing mischief. Starting tomorrow the E Core kids will be split up and we will have our Blind and Double Blind study kids to work with- go psychology! Kristen taught the first SS class today and I taught the second one. We seem to play off of one another relatively well. Now that I am not 'new' the kids are starting to challenge me with passive aggressive stuff- like ignoring me when I give them a direction. Good thing I have had experience in this stuff or I would be a little put off, right now I am just amused to see them flexing their muscles- basically I just say it louder and again and then tell them that this is their warning and the next step is OUT! and I say it like an umpire- they think I'm corny. Tomorrow I will teach both sections and we will see how those classes do at working together- both of today's classes couldn't handle it.

Era Vocab and Century Themes

Today I taught both sections. We went over the themes of the 20th century and then the students took notes on the vocabulary words Kristen and I decided on- Progressive, Industrialism, and Era. We also did a timeline and discussed the term decade, century, and millenium. Then the students got into groups of four and illustrated what innovation, government, social life, and the arts were on a worksheet. This went very well and I enjoyed seeing the kids participate in the discussions using their prior knowledge.

Morning Meeting June 4th Wrap Up

Yesterday I led the morning meeting for our homeroom and it turned out relatively well. I am still working on my timing, but the board went well and the game. I forgot the announcements but Siskow did them at the end of the meeting. I think that the kids are getting more used to me, a student that had been sitting outside the circle and not participating so far decided that she liked me yesterday and we have since started to bond. Here are pictures of my morning message and the kids answer to the moral question.

Homeroom Lesson Plan for Monday, June 4th

Greeting: Shaking Hands- Buon Giorno or Ciao NAME
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Activity: Cocktail Murder- there is a murderer on the loose, everyone closes their eyes and the tehacer picks someone to be the murderer. Then we all stand up and start milling around shaking each others' hands. The murderer kills people by shaking their hand with their pointer finger extneded to tickle the wrist. The person that has been murdered falls to the ground dramatically. The murderer wins by killing everyone in the group without getting caught. The way to accuse the murderer is to get another person and go to the sheriff and accuse someone. If they are right they win, if they are wrong they die. The point of the game is to be sneaky and not get caught and to be vigilant and watch how people are shaking hands. If you are murdered you cannot accuse- you must mill around for 10 seconds and then die.
Message: Buon Giorno Ragazzi, Today is Monday, June 4th and we are allready in our second week of the quarter. Remember to think about your science fair project and start formulating ideas on which type of project you want to do.
Sign In Question: You are walking down the street and you find a bag with a prescription medication in it. What do you do?

Teaching RC Style

For the last two rotations of the science experiment talk I got to do the introduction and the discussion with the kids. They have to choose one of four ways to do a science fair project within one of the E-Core classes, Siskow has Blind and Double Blind Studies which is super cool since my degree is in Child Psychology and I spent three years doing psychology studies. The kids responded well to me during this time and when I forgot stuff Kristin supplied it and we played off of one another so it seemed natural. I am not used to giving the same lesson again and again in a row but it seems that is what middle school is like- you want them all to get the same message with the same examples. Since this was a Friday schedule we had forty minute classes. During Social Studies time the kids finished their CARES posters, presented them, and then we played Blog Tag- which I introduced. Since they were super psyched to go outside it was easy enough to get them to participate- keeping their attention was hard however and the first class didn't seem as interested as the second and third. The fourth was rained out so we played 'A my name is Abe' inside. I led the last Social Studies section and they were more rowdy then the other three groups. It's Friday though, so I think they did okay for not really wanting to be in school at 3:30 on a Friday. They did manage to get through the presentations of their posters but I don't think they got out of it what the other classes had- too much use of the word 'boredom' in every poster. I really like how Kristin says what she 'notices' in every class. The RC stuff seems very natural coming from her and the kids are very used to the language and actions that accompany it. Only one kid tested me when Kristin was out of the room, I asked him to take a break and he played like he didn't know what for and then asked where the break chair was, but I just pointed and his moment of power was over. The pictures that are attached are of the kids playing Blob Tag on the grass.

Getting in the Groove

I think I am getting it down a little. It is really wierd to hear teachers talking so openly about the school. Where I came from there was a hush-hush atmosphere about talking about the school and here they can say what they want within their houses and they do not get in trouble with administration, in fact I haven't seen any administration around the school at all since I have got here. It is a little insular but nice, almost like they are a family unit. We are on Friday schedule again today and we are going to go over the Science Fair stuff in Study Hall/E-Core. Yesterday we blew up Diet Coke and Mentos but today I think we are doing a round robin on each of the four sections of the science fair. I am going to start taking pictures soon and they will be up. I got a list of the kids for each section to write asssignments on it and will probably start that at the end of next week. There will be a CultureFest here next Saturday, the day I get back from the Invention Fair, but I am going to try to make it for at least an hour that day. I think some of the kids will be making booths and presenting stuff. Kristin and I sat down today to go over lesson plans for next week. We are introducing the beginning decades of the 20th century using vocab and their prior knowledge of what the decades were called. We were interuptted by parents coming to see the school but it was nice to have some time to look at the calendar and make some notes about what each decade would cover. It seems like a lot to combine into 8 weeks, but I like how Siskow says that it is a survey course- a little info about a lot of stuff. Here is a shot of my work space, with my cool fire truck lunchbox. More later. :)

The End of the First Day

Well, my first day is over. It was great, the kids were awesome and Kristin is going to be a blast to work with. The whole process was laid back and I really liked how we were in the circle for the directions. There were a ton of new things to learn and do and I plan to look through the History book tonight to familiarize myself with the 1920s which I will be introducing starting on the 13th of June. Today I helped out and observed- the kids seemed to be interested in me and it seemed like a good start. Tomorrow we are doing community building stuff and the kids will present their CARES posters- have an RC background has really helped me. Okay, I will write more tomorrow, and probably have some pictures to go with it.

Gretchen -May 31

Today is a good day all around for Dana, for Kristin, for Crosswinds and of course for Augsburg..we take great pride in the work our student teachers do with students and in their schools. My wish for each of us is for continued learning and collaboration. This communication is a first for me, and I look forward to seeing its impact.

Enjoy getting to know your students, Dana!

First Morning- First Impressions

This seems really laid back, I guess being nervous was stupid, because I was more nervous about meeting the adults then the kids. I have been here for thirty minutes and everyone is very cool. I have already written a blurb for the weekly newsletter and I am researching ideas for the Decades Project that we will be starting soon. Both Kristin and Gretchen have my blog address and the ability to add things as authors now. The pictures I have attached are of the school from the driveway- it is in the middle of nowhere, but very pretty. The second photo is the house teacher workspace which includes a big room with about 7 desks, 8 people and a table that I have been assigned to. This is where we all eat lunch but it is nice to have a space to put my things down and to go to during prep time. I also noticed that it faces Kristin's desk, so we can talk across the space without it being awkward. I will update later today.

Preparing for My First Day

Today is May 30th and it was my last full day at NVS. It was exciting but scary to end my teaching there for the year. I will miss the kids but I will be there for their last day of school so today was not goodbye forever. We are such a small school that I know all of them personally and I am excited to see what they become in the coming years. The kids that were Kindergartners when I started are now going to be third graders- they are growing and changing so much, so fast.

Tomorrow is my first day at Crosswinds- I feel a little nervous. I want to learn all that I can and think that this is the place to do it. I've never worked at a school with block scheduling before and I am very interested in seeing how it works. I also haven't ever worked in an open school, but when I visited I was amazed by the coolness of the layout and the way that the rooms seemed so learner centered. There were no decorations really, but the kids had added their own touches to their desks and lockers. I also heard from a colleague that there is waiting list to get into the school- I am excited to hear that. I hope that means that all the kids that are there want to be there and are excited about learning.

To prepare for my first day I started this blog and searched the internet for information on each of the decades of the 20th century. I still have lots of questions and hope that I have time to talk to Kristin about them tomorrow.