handwritten on December 18, 2012
My first semester teaching flute at The Falk School couldn't have gone better. I am still amazed at how wonderful the music program is at The Falk School. The chorus, the band and the jazz band are absolutely phenomenol and so are the students! In attempt to write about this semester, I found it would be fitting to briefly write about the small lessons I learned throughout my teaching experience.
Lesson #1: Differentiating instruction is the key to any successful educator. As I began this semester, I immedietely realized that I had ten students and not a single student was on the same level as the other student. Thus, switching from advanced to intermediate to elementary level music became...
handwritten on October 20, 2012
As a pre-professional student in Math Methods I have gleaned insightful knowledge and wisdom on the strategies and theories that build the foundation of Elementary Mathematics. Through various class articles, research projects, peer evaluations and discussions I have successfully compiled facts, case studies and tested theories into my own mathematical philosophy. I consider this included information valuable due to its versatility and flexibility in various grade levels, its ability to reach unique learners and its positive impact on all classroom environments. Thus, I believe the dominant themes of early number sense, mathematical proficiency and the use of differentiated instruction are...
handwritten on November 8, 2011
The Speech and Language room was probably one of the most colorful, exciting rooms that I have been to in this particular building. Mrs. Hudson had various charts on the wall to aide in students learning. One of the charts hanging in the back cupboard was the “part of speech” chart. She also had posters with different speech and language skills listed such as fluency, using voices correctly, language skills and using sounds correctly. One of the posters that were hanging on the chalkboard that I found to be extremely creative was a chart that had a boy and the title was “my speech machine.” At the bottom of this poster it listed all the different parts of the body that aid in speech and...
handwritten on October 12, 2011
Unfortunately, I was unable to attend an official IEP meeting due to the fact that I started my observation hours so late in the school year. Thus, I decided to attend one of the parent/teacher conferences with Mrs. Klinglerer and a third grade teacher at Hillview Elementary School. This particular student went to Mrs. Klingler for reading and writing in the afternoon but was in the general education classroom for all other subjects. According to the third grade teacher, this student is a very hard worker and has a positive attitude about any challenging tasks he is given. He is doing exceptionally well in all of his classes except spelling. His mother expressed concern that although he...
handwritten on September 16, 2011
Today I had the privileged opportunity to observe Mrs. Verba who is the Reading Specialist at Hillview Elementary School. Although I did not observe her working one-on-one with a particular student, I was able to watch her interact with a group of fourth graders as part of her once a week team-teaching lesson. Generally, this team teaching is part of the tier one intervention that she provides for all students. Many of the students who she works with are included within these groups, but many of the students who she does not work with on a regular basis are included as well.
Generally, Mrs. Verba travels down to the regular classroom once a week and facilitates various reading center...
