Teach, Learn, Kinder!

Follow me on my education journey.

[mselm]

1st Year | Kindergarten

I accepted my first teaching job on Monday, June 28th. I’m working in my dream school district at a public school. This year, I’ve been teaching and learning from Kindergarteners!

Kindergarten has been a huge adjustment from teaching older grades (2nd/3rd/4th) in graduate school. Many of the tasks/activities that I learned about from my mentor teacher weren’t accessible to my Kindergarteners yet. I had to find ways to adapt these tasks/activities to meet the needs of my Kindergarteners or altogether scrap them. 

The Biggest Adjustment: Most of my students entered Kindergarten with little to no previous school experience and couldn’t read or write yet. 

Big Question: How do I adapt the tasks/activities that I’ve grown to love in graduate school to meet my Kindergarteners where they are at as learners?

Overall, I’ve loved every minute spent with my class this year. I’m so thankful for the opportunity to learn more about early childhood development and literacy. I’m also grateful to have had a class full of enthusiastic, joyful, and silly Kindergarteners. I’m looking forward to another year in Kindergarten!

Successes:

 “_____ or ______” Community Circle Questions

Songs:

We Are Gathering

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom

I Had A Little Turtle, His Name Was Tiny Tim

Itsy Bitsy Spider

I’m A Little Teapot

Line Up - 1, 2, 3

Problem Solving Anchor Chart

Whole Body Listening Anchor Chart

Zones of Regulation (Green, Yellow, Blue, Red)

Classroom Jobs:

Firefighter

Electrician

Director

Teacher

Principal

Assistant

Principal

Scientist

Doctor

Challenges:

Classroom Jobs: Finding A Job For Every Student

Compliment Circle

Growth Mindsets

Science/Social Studies

Calming Corner

Interrupting/Shouting Out

Turn-and-Talks

One-on-One Conferring

Small Groups

Playful inquiry/Explore

Clean-Up

Next Year Wishes:

End of Day | Compliment Circle

Systematic/Structured Approach to Teaching Growth Mindsets

System for Using Calming Corner

NO Carpet Spots

More Songs! Campfire?

System for “Reflect/Take a Break”

System for Student Reflection of Actions

Practice Turn-and-Talks EARLY

Use iPads to Help You Pull Small Groups?

Playful Inquiry/Explore

Choice Time (bring it back)

Different Clean-Up Song (not Upside Down)

MORE VISUALS:

Quiet

Sit down

Line Up

Red Paper (Too Loud)/Green Paper (Just Right/Quiet)?

System for Using The Bathroom

Attendance: Students put their name/picture into drawing on the whiteboard.

[mselm]

[mselm]

[mselm]

3rd Week of School

9/19 - Thursday

Community Circle - Morning

My peer (another grad student) led the community circle this morning

His approach failed - he asked each student an individual “Would You Rather.”

EX: Would you rather read all the books in the classroom library or none at all? - ANSWER: None at all

EX: Would you rather play Fortnite endlessly or never go to school again? - ANSWER: Play Fortnite

The class got too excited about all the different questions and had a difficult time focusing

My peer asked questions that undermined the importance of school and learning

I was asked to help a 2nd grade student enter our 3rd/4th grade classroom because he was having a difficult time in his own room (teacher had been absent all week)

This student has a difficult home life and wouldn’t make eye contact with any of the staff (including me)

I sat outside my classroom with this student for 15 minutes - encouraging him to enter the classroom and attempting to get to know him better

Eventually he was escorted back to the front office because he wouldn’t join our community

LESSON: After a while you need to stop giving students extra attention. Leave the students alone and hope they join the community on their own - don’t reward negative behavior

Read-To-Self

Students were asked to read alone at their desks

The role of the teacher is to start by observing the class and student behavior (no note taking yet)

You can silently encourage appropriate behavior when needed

Bring the students back to the carpet for reflection as soon as they start to get antsy/chatty

Reflection topic: Success & Failure

Community Circle - End of Day

My mentor teacher was absent for the majority of the closing community circle

Students are asked to share compliments with their classmates

I attempted to correct poor listening behaviors but many students don’t listen to me - they continued to talk over me and other students despite my efforts

HIGHLIGHT: A student mocked me on the way to the buses and told me that I have a mustache (LOVE IT)

[mselm]

[thegoodvybe]

[mselm]

[thegoodvybe]

[mselm]

I had my first read out-loud with students last week. We read “Under My Hijab.” The best part was when one of our Muslim students let her classmates try on her hijab. Kids have so much to teach us about love, tolerance, acceptance, and respect.

[mselm]

2nd Week of School

I’ve completed my second week as a 3rd/4th grade student teacher! Here are some highlights from last week.

Thursday - 9/12:

Students completed a rough draft for their “Before I Die...” project. Students were asked to complete the sentence by writing down a life goal. See the standout student goals below:

Profit of God

Worker at Nike

LOTS of YouTubers and gamers

Doctor to help people with cancer

Veterinarian

Students decorated their writing notebooks by cutting out images, words, and letters from magazines.

A student said that Trump will be re-elected because it’s “God’s Will” (YIKES)

Friday - 9/13

My first read out-loud with the class - “Under My Hijab”

Muslim students shared their cultural traditions with the class

A Muslim student let classmates try on her hijab

We talked about what makes us similar & unique and how we are responsible for each other - made connections to the book

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Help for kids the education system ignores

Define students by what they contribute, not what they lack -- especially those with difficult upbringings, says educator Victor Rios. Interweaved with his personal tale of perseverance as an inner-city youth, Rios identifies three straightforward strategies to shift attitudes in education and calls for fellow educators to see "at-risk" students as "at-promise" individuals brimming with resilience, character and grit.

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Why we need gender-neutral bathrooms

There are a few things that we all need: fresh air, water, food, shelter, love ... and a safe place to pee. For trans people who don't fit neatly into the gender binary, public restrooms are a major source of anxiety and the place where they are most likely to be questioned or harassed. In this poetically rhythmic talk, Ivan Coyote grapples with complex and intensely personal issues of gender identity and highlights the need for gender-neutral bathrooms in all public places.

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This guide provides basic information for families of English learners and helps you talk with your child’s school, ask the right questions, and support your child on their journey as an English learner. English and Spanish versions are available.

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Every kid needs a champion

Rita Pierson, a teacher for 40 years, once heard a colleague say, "They don't pay me to like the kids." Her response: "Kids don't learn from people they don't like.'" A rousing call to educators to believe in their students and actually connect with them on a real, human, personal level.

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What are their characteristics?

My favorite course this summer was Foundations of ESOL Education. I learned about the educational disparities that language minorities face in the United States today. This article is a great way to gain an overview of the emergent bilingual student population.

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First Week of School - Highlights

The first week of school and my first week as a student teacher! I’ve already learned so much from my clinical teacher and the students themselves. Here are some highlights from my first week.

Tuesday - 9/3:

Student said his favorite part of the day was talking to me

Building a block fort with students and destroying it as a team

Student invited me to his house to play Twilight Princess

Student holding my hand on the way to the bus

Wednesday - 9/4:

My first hug from a student

Student asking if they could go to a concert with me 

Thursday - 9/5:

Learning about the interests, passions, and hobbies of students through a fun classroom activity

Friday - 9/6:

Student confiding in me about bullying at a previous school

A shy student opening up to me about her interests and hobbies

More hugs!

[thegoodvybe]

[mselm]

My journey as an elementary teacher is just beginning!

Year 1 (2019-2020): 

Online/hybrid teacher preparation courses

Student teacher in a 3rd/4th grade blend classroom

Year 2 (2020-2021):

Online/hybrid teacher preparation courses

Teacher residency with a stipend from the school district (TBD)