October 10, 2013
Week Two
Tuesday
Tuesday was a hectic day right from the start. The students were getting out from lunch and they went to the bathroom, which I was supposed to keep an eye on the boys in the class. They really did not listen to me very well, so I think I need to be stricter with them and set my boundaries as a teacher, rather than just a helper. After we got back to the room, we started the math lesson and the students began working on some math problems. As they were working, one of the students did not feel good and ended up vomiting. Manny handled it quite well, having the students work on their problems while he took her down to the nurse. When he got back, he mentioned that they should not make a big deal, and said that everyone feels sick sometimes and they would not want to make her feel bad.
While Manny was gone, one of the students asked me if they could go to the bathroom, and I said that we had just gone. I asked him if it was an emergency, and he replied that he really needed to go. I was put in an awkward situation because on one hand I did not want to be mean and say that he could not, but I did not want to let the students do whatever they wanted while he was gone. I ended up saying that if it was not an emergency that he would have to wait. A while later, when Manny had returned and we were moving onto another section in the lesson, I noticed that the student was in an awkward position and had a troubled look on his face. I went over to him and asked him if he needed to go again, however he had already had an accident. Manny had noticed it at the same time, and asked what the problem was and he just sent him off to take care of it. I felt horrible because I basically told him he could not go to the bathroom. I walked him down to the bathroom and we got him some clean clothes to change in to. He mentioned that Manny had told him he was not allowed to go as well, so I felt a little better, yet when we were walking, he told me that it was one of his biggest fears. When we left the room, he was nearly crying and I got him to stop almost instantly, explaining that accidents happen and he should worry about it, so I think I handled the situation well.
Although it was quite unfortunate to have these two incidents happen on the same day, it was a great learning experience. I saw how Manny acted under intense pressure, and the things he said during and after the situations. I just felt horrible for the students, not to mention the janitor! It is definitely something I will never forget.
Besides the chaos, the students were learning about arrays, rows, and columns. Manny had a creative way of planting this knowledge into their brains. He explained them as “no-rows” and “yes-columns”. As they said these phrases, they shook their heads. I thought it was a creative ways to scaffold these new terms into their vocabulary. Every third grader would know yes and no as well as the head shakes that go along with them. The fact that no and row rhyme make it easy to connect the two, and since column is the only other option, the students would be able to connect that information as well.
As they moved into the arrays, he explained that an array has equal rows and equal columns. To practice, they created story problems. I thought this was an excellent way to incorporate language arts into math. Manny’s example was, “there are 4 flowers in a row. My flowers are in 3 columns. How many flowers in all?” The students were to then draw their own array of whatever they wanted, and create a story problem to illustrate their picture. I thought this was also a great way to incorporate art as well, however Manny said the unthinkable. He sadly said, “This isn’t art, so it doesn’t matter”. To that, I let out a gasp and blurted out, “Excuse me?” He then (somewhat) corrected himself stating, “This isn’t art, so it doesn’t matter right now”. Overall, I thought this was a great way to integrate all these subjects in to one simple lesson that was even personally engaging.
While Manny was gone, one of the students asked me if they could go to the bathroom, and I said that we had just gone. I asked him if it was an emergency, and he replied that he really needed to go. I was put in an awkward situation because on one hand I did not want to be mean and say that he could not, but I did not want to let the students do whatever they wanted while he was gone. I ended up saying that if it was not an emergency that he would have to wait. A while later, when Manny had returned and we were moving onto another section in the lesson, I noticed that the student was in an awkward position and had a troubled look on his face. I went over to him and asked him if he needed to go again, however he had already had an accident. Manny had noticed it at the same time, and asked what the problem was and he just sent him off to take care of it. I felt horrible because I basically told him he could not go to the bathroom. I walked him down to the bathroom and we got him some clean clothes to change in to. He mentioned that Manny had told him he was not allowed to go as well, so I felt a little better, yet when we were walking, he told me that it was one of his biggest fears. When we left the room, he was nearly crying and I got him to stop almost instantly, explaining that accidents happen and he should worry about it, so I think I handled the situation well.
Although it was quite unfortunate to have these two incidents happen on the same day, it was a great learning experience. I saw how Manny acted under intense pressure, and the things he said during and after the situations. I just felt horrible for the students, not to mention the janitor! It is definitely something I will never forget.
Besides the chaos, the students were learning about arrays, rows, and columns. Manny had a creative way of planting this knowledge into their brains. He explained them as “no-rows” and “yes-columns”. As they said these phrases, they shook their heads. I thought it was a creative ways to scaffold these new terms into their vocabulary. Every third grader would know yes and no as well as the head shakes that go along with them. The fact that no and row rhyme make it easy to connect the two, and since column is the only other option, the students would be able to connect that information as well.
As they moved into the arrays, he explained that an array has equal rows and equal columns. To practice, they created story problems. I thought this was an excellent way to incorporate language arts into math. Manny’s example was, “there are 4 flowers in a row. My flowers are in 3 columns. How many flowers in all?” The students were to then draw their own array of whatever they wanted, and create a story problem to illustrate their picture. I thought this was also a great way to incorporate art as well, however Manny said the unthinkable. He sadly said, “This isn’t art, so it doesn’t matter”. To that, I let out a gasp and blurted out, “Excuse me?” He then (somewhat) corrected himself stating, “This isn’t art, so it doesn’t matter right now”. Overall, I thought this was a great way to integrate all these subjects in to one simple lesson that was even personally engaging.
Thursday
The hardest part of the day for me is when Manny presents his lessons in Spanish. I am barely able to pick up on what he is saying, so I am extremely impressed, and jealous, when the students are able to respond to his questions. Some of the students are more advanced than others. Some families speak Spanish at home and other speak English, yet all of the students are able to at least get an answer out when they are asked to reply to an answer. He never pressures any of the students and when they try, even if it is very choppy and broken, he encourages them and compliments their effort when they are done. Thinking back to my educational psychology course, promoting effort is the key to teaching. Students will pick up on what a teacher values, so if they see that you promote good grades, they will know that they cannot get good grades, and therefore they will not try.
As they moved onto reading, the students learned about story plots. They learned that there was a setting, or escenario, a problem, or problema, and a solution, or solución. It got me thinking about my lesson plan because an artwork can embody some of these concepts. I was focusing on setting, thinking about the environment in which you choose to depict your subject matter. I was thinking that you have to keep in mind things like place and even time in which you decide to select.
As they went to the carpet to read the book and even as they went back, Manny had only one student model what they should be doing and how they should be doing it. As they did what they were supposed to, he had the rest of the students quietly watch the students and explained everything that student was doing nicely as they did it. It was an organized way of getting kids to follow directions, and they were able to see that if one of their peers could do it, so could they.
As they moved onto reading, the students learned about story plots. They learned that there was a setting, or escenario, a problem, or problema, and a solution, or solución. It got me thinking about my lesson plan because an artwork can embody some of these concepts. I was focusing on setting, thinking about the environment in which you choose to depict your subject matter. I was thinking that you have to keep in mind things like place and even time in which you decide to select.
As they went to the carpet to read the book and even as they went back, Manny had only one student model what they should be doing and how they should be doing it. As they did what they were supposed to, he had the rest of the students quietly watch the students and explained everything that student was doing nicely as they did it. It was an organized way of getting kids to follow directions, and they were able to see that if one of their peers could do it, so could they.