Fieldwork Experience

Monday was the final day that my partner Melissa and I taught the 5th grade class. We did a direct instruction lesson where the children were given created assignments to create with their groups. It was really awesome to see the children enjoying the experience of working in groups and each group made their specific project their own. I really enjoy seeing children enjoy learning which is why I know that I have picked the right career for me. Teaching these 3 lessons was so much fun! I really enjoyed every minute of it and although it was stressful, I'd love to do it again. I can't even imagine what it will be like in the future where I get to do this everyday. It felt amazing to be up in front of the classroom and to see the students learning the information that we were teaching. I know that a lot of mistakes were made during our 3 lessons but that's all part of the process. You must make mistakes in order to learned. I learned so much from watching the other groups and then from the feedback of my professor as well as my fellow classmates. One of my classmates told me that I had a "teacher personality" which was a great compliment. I can't wait until I can be up in front of the classroom again, I am so happy I had this experience.

First Day!

Today was day one of three for teaching this 5th grade class. It was my first experience teaching a whole class. Today's lesson was a direct instruction lesson on Samuel De Champlain, Henry Hudson, The Pilgrims and the Puritans. I thought that the lesson went really well and that my partner and I did a great job. I was very proud of the both of us and I felt the children learned some new things. Speaking with Dr. Smirnova after our lesson was a little discouraging because I thought we did great, when in reality we made tons of mistakes. It's okay! We are learning and this is the best way to learn. Overall I loved it! It was so much fun being in front of a class and teaching them. I've always wanted to be a teacher and it is an amazing feeling when I teach young minds. Day two is on Friday. We will be teaching an inquiry lesson on the Pilgrims. I'm super excited to teach again!

Observations

The first 2 groups have done amazing jobs teaching their 3 types of lessons: Direct Instruction, Inquiry, and Cooperative Learning. I have learned so much from them and gotten to see what really works with this class and some things that I would like to change up a bit when it is my turn. I've found that this 5th grade class has trouble when asked to write a lot of information in a short amount of time. I have also noticed that they work really well in groups and like to do hands on activities. The children are very respectful to the new teachers in their classroom. They are so smart! They know many current events that are going on in our world (for example Ebola). They are very eager to share their answers to the questions that are asked of them and they learn new information very quickly. They also retain the information into the next class which is great. I can tell that we are really teaching them new topics which is great. I loved watching them share their Cooperative Learning activities with the group yesterday. They really did an amazing job and the other students enjoyed watching each group.

Tomorrow it is my turn! I am very nervous and very excited to teach these amazing 5th graders. I think that we have everything ready and are going to give a great Direct Instruction lesson to this 5th grade class!

Algonquin Visitor

We had the pleasure of having a man who in an Algonquin tribe member come to our class and talk to us about being an Algonquin. I found it very interesting because he brought in handmade maps that he had made himself. He told us he used a number of maps and connected them together and then colored them in. He told us that they take about a day to complete but they are added to for several years.

He told us that the Hudson river is called "Mohikitook" which means the greatest of all/arm of the sea/flows both ways

He gave a great history of the Hudson River and knew a lot about it. 

He went around to ask each student where they were from and told me about a lake near my house that has a history with Native American tribes. 

My favorite part was his singing and playing instruments because it was awesome to see the culture expressed through music.