A.Reflection

A. 45 hours of field-based classroom participation

 * **Date** || **Hours** || **Description of my activities/participation in the classroom....** ||
 * 9/17/09 || 1 hr. || Introduction meeting with field base supervisor (FBS). We discussed the fact that Vermillion High School has a modified block schedule and therefore I would observe AP Literature, Practical Communication, World Literature, and British Literature on Tuesdays but only AP Literature and World Literature on Thursdays. We also discussed what I might teach as a lesson. ||
 * 9/22/09 || 3.5 hrs. || I observed a lot today. The first class, AP Literature discussed their scholarly research articles that were due later in the week and did Daily Oral Language (DOL). A unique discussion journal was given. "If you became an English teacher, what five novels would you teach and why?" Then "What book have you read that you would be embarrassed of admitting?" and "What book have you not read but would say you did?" were asked. The rest of the class was used to discuss this journal, tying back to critical thinking used in each of the novels.

The next class, Practical Communication, also had an interesting journal and discussion. "What interests you?" The discussion came back to talk about listening and how it was important in the workplace. They also did a DOL.

The next class was World Literature. They also did a journal and DOL. Then they spent the rest of the class reviewing for the test on Thursday.

The final class of the day was British Literature. The discussed and read the Canterbury tales. They discussed the prologue and the different characters. He also reviewed the a project due the next class period Friday. ||
 * 9/24/09 || 3.5 hrs. || Today is a Thursday. Therefore with Vermillion's modified block, I could only observe AP and World Literature. In AP Literature, the class discussed an upcoming book assignment. They would each have to read two different novels by the same author but not in the same series. They would be writing a paper on it later in the year but needed to start reading now. Also the students had to check if the author would have enough scholarly information behind it. I got to participate in helping the students come up with ideas. I thought it was unique that the students could read the same author. My teachers only allowed one student per class to have the author. This why cheating was harder to accomplish.

In World Literature, the class took their test after journals and grammar where completed. To correct grammar each week, the students exchange papers and then have two classmates go up to the board and correct the same sentence. Then my FBS checks the answers and says the different correct ways that the sentence could be grammatically correct. The entire process takes about 20-25 minutes of the class. ||
 * 9/29/09 || 2.5 hrs. || This week is homecoming. Therefore the students did not start classes until 12:30. I did not come in until 12:30 also. The unique thing about today is that I got to sit in on all 7 class periods. The first was Freshman English. The students got to grammar and a short journal on how the volunteer work went that morning. Then my FBS and the students discussed what happened during the day. The bell rang and students were reminded of a paper due later in the week. My FBS does not have classes at the high school second and third period because he goes to the middle school during this time. He let me correct a couple of district mandated tests. The questions were very difficult. I doubt I would do well on the questions of terminology and forms. The students did not do the best either. But by correcting these tests I realized that I will never create bubble tests with more than 5 answers to chose from. The latter half of the test was matching and had choices A-V.

After this I went to AP Literature with my FBS and found the students had given me the nickname "Laura Ingalls Wilder." I do not know if he was making fun of me or simply trying to bring me into the class. He would not elaborate when he told me this.

The AP Literature all the way through to the British Liturature class went by very fast as the students only had twenty minutes with us. Therefore each class ran in the same way as Freshman English, but each class had their own story and perspective on how "Volunteer Day" went. ||
 * 10/1/09 || 3.5 hrs. || This week is homecoming. Because of this many students were restless today. Today the AP Literature had to write for 20 minutes on a topic that would likely be on the AP Exam. This was a practice test and took much of the class.

In World Literature, my FBS had the students write a journal on the definition of light to introduce the section Asian poetry where one author does not use opposites to describe the abstract concept of many different things, including light. The students came up with many great ideas.this lead into discussion and finally into the Asian philosopher and poet. ||
 * 10/6/09 || 3.5 hrs. || I taught my lesson today. But before this I realized there would be teacher interruptions during the class period. For a description of my lesson and my reflection, scroll down. But below are the other observations I had:

In AP Literature, students were spoken to by the councilor for twenty-five minutes, about the upcoming opportunity to visit USD and see over 60 colleges. She encouraged them to go to this and other college / technical school visits soon. Afterward the students did grammar and discussed the perception of Literary Criticism in the short stories they were reading.

In Practical Communication, the students again listened to the councilor talk and then worked on their resumes and cover letters. My FBS and I looked over their work and helped them with correcting mistakes and formatting problems. I also set up my lesson

In World Literature, the councilor did not come in but there were many disciplinary problems has the students did not wish to focus on the task at hand. So my FBS did not talk over them but waited for the trouble makers to be reprimanded by their classmates. Even though this was frustrating for my FBS, he still listened to everyone willing to participate in discussion.

And again, in British Literature I taught my lesson. ||
 * 10/8/09 || 0.5 hrs. || My FBS was not there today. I did not have a chance to check my email before hand. I therefore walked in and found that there was a sub. I put the grammar on the board and did not realize that I could have corrected the grammar and vocabulary quizzes while the students did silent work today. Therefore when the AP Literature class left for lunch I decided to go also. ||
 * 10/13/09 || 3.5 hrs. || Today, I corrected papers, the ones that were turned in while my FBS was out with a sick child. The thing I found interesting is that I caught a set of cheaters quickly as they had the same misspelling and answer one after the other. It was easy to recall the same mistake because it was the word "saddness." I pointed this out to my FBS and he was going to take care of the actual grading so I do not know what happened after I left with these two students grade.

Besides doing this I observed students' discussion on the prompts for scholarships and college admissions in the AP Literature class. Afterward the class discussed the humor and satire in stories. "Carnal Knowledge," and "55 Miles to the Gas Stop" were discussed.

In Practical Communication, the students again had a work day and I got to help again correct resumes and cover letters.

In World Literature, we covered more Asian poetry discussing as we went. Mr. Dimock also introduced a project where the students were to create a book of poems and quotes for each of the sections. This was due in November but he would be checking periodically. Also an extra credit opportunity was explained. If a person were to keep a journal of the improvement of him or herself until the end of the semester (much like Ben Franklin or Confucius did) then he or she could receive 10% extra credit on one section of their grade. So if quiz scores were at 60% then that student could move the quiz score up to 70%. *well Mr. Dimock would do the actual moving.

In British Literature, the class continued read Chaucer's tales. This time the Pardoner's tale. ||
 * 10/15/09 || 3.5 hrs. || Today, I corrected the vocabulary quizzes the students take during modified block scheduling. Each week the students in every class have the same vocabulary words, usually between eight and ten words. After the quizzes were handed in I corrected them. The students had Open lunch after the quiz and excitedly went off to buy fast food. Only 3 of the 18 made it back when the bell rang. My FBS was nice and did not give tardy slips. After lunch the students discussed Literary criticism and the differences between historical perspective verse new formal criticism. The students and my FBS covered the advantages and disadvantages of each. Before class was over my FBS handed out the collection of short stories in novel form the //Dubliners.// Then he explained how he would like journals done. The journal would be split into three sections, one for questions, one for summary and quotes, and the final for a stream of consciousness so that students could think about what they wanted to know. This would be a completion grade as everyone reads the story differently but there was also a handout where the students would have to write key events and information on.

In World Literature, my FBS decided that the students would get more out of //Oedipus Rex// and Greek Traditions than the Asian poetry. Therefore, the class would be having a test to recall what they learned about Asian poetry and begin ancient Greece next week. ||
 * 10/17/09 || 3.5 hrs. || Today, I worked in small groups in Practical Communication. But before this I observed AP Literature where they discussed a journal they wrote reflection on the fact that women make .77 to the $1 and only 33% of women make more in a man / woman household. The discussion was tied back to the gender perspectives in literature. This lead into the discussion of some people being more emotionally suited and the nature vs. nurture debate.

In Practical Communication the class was split into two groups, four people per group, and tried to untie four knots without ever letting go of the ropes. To add an extra twist the each person had one knot between each of their two hands. To see reflection on helping with group work, scroll down. After the group work, the class discussed and reflected on how group work can work out. How you choose the tone of the group and group members.

In World Literature the class discussed the last exam, then began //Oedipus Rex//. They did a journal at the end of class on "Who did the killing of the last king? and Why do you think so?

In British Literature, the class discussed and read the story //Sir Gawain and the Green Knight//. Towards the end of class Mr. Dimock assigned a project due Friday where each student will create their own coat of arms much like Sir Gawain's coat of arms. He then explained Sir Gawain's coat of arms. ||  In World Literature, the class took care of their grammar and a vocabulary quiz. I should say that each week the vocabulary quiz is in a different assessment format. One week it will be a quiz on synonyms, a crossword puzzle, antonyms, definitions, matching, and multiple chose have all been forms of assessment I have observed. The class then continued their reading of //Oedipus Rex//. My FBS is having trouble with this class as the students find it funny that some of them failed the last exam and enjoyed sticking objects in each other's noses. I will remind you this is a group of seniors in high school. But my FBS preserves and the class continues the discussion and assigns another journal on who committed the murder in //Oedipus Rex// and if your opinion changed why or why didn't it change. ||
 * 10/20/09 || 3.5 hrs. || Today, I observed a very relaxed and open atmosphere in AP Liturature. This is often the case in Mr. Dimock's classroom. The students are open to their own openings. The class discussed "The Sisters" from James Joyce's //Dubliners//. My FBS pointed out things that the students did not catch and the class discussed the things that the students did catch. The students also brought in their insights from the story, including the fact it was not plot driven. My FBS brought in the history of Joyce to explain why it was not plot driven. Also he brought in Ireland history and the many other facts. He explained that Joyce wrote another tale completely based on a round (song) that about how life is a circle.
 * 10/27/09 || 3.5 hrs. || Today when I came in, my FBS was finishing up his lesson plan for James Joyce's //Dumbliners// for the day. They would be going over "Eveline" and "After the Race." In the discussion of "After the Race" my FBS wanted to look at the allegoric nature of the story. To make this a discussion instead of a hinted fact, my FBS was going to introduce the idea by saying it was actually his brother Jim's idea. This way discussion would not be hindered by the idea the students may have about bashing the teachers idea. Fortunately, there was a student who had the same idea and brought it up before my FBS used his brother Jim.

In Practical Communication the students were again working in groups. This time to create a new game from the parts of old games. So one game with the piece of Memory the students could either recreate the rules for Memory or new rules for a new game with Memory cards. The students then had to type up the notes and evaluate the group, their partners, the projects and themselves. I again got to help out in a few groups.

In World Literature, the reading of //Oedipus Rex// continued. I noticed that the class was quiet today. I could not figure out why, but discussion went well and the students were involved. The journal "either-or" is introduced, "Would you rather be king or the number two guy?"

In British Literature, a student asks how my FBS is doing and he honestly answers that it is an off week. The reason I mention this is because I think it is important to be honest with students. If you are having a day or seek that is difficult, what is wrong with simply saying so if you are asked? During the rest of the class period my FBS read the story "Cumtal Macart." While he did the students drew pictures to show they were paying attention. The reason my FBS read the story was because did not want to give each student his or her own copy. The reason we looked at this story is it is a Irish tale that would be comparable to British Literature. ||
 * 10/29/09 || 3.5 hrs total || Today, classes go until two because parent teacher conferences are today. Therefore, there was no blocked schedule and a few other modifications were made. They moved fifth period between third and forth because they did not want to mess with the lunch schedule. So I did not see practical communication today; and all of the classes were shorter. \

In AP Communication, the students and my FBS went over key terms from a list of over 200 that are commonly referenced in Literature. So items such as Cain, Eve, Queen Elizabeth, the Romans, Norse gods, Greek gods and much more. Each student has about 20 terms to look up over the course of the semester and be familiarized with.

In World Literature, the reading of //Oedipus Rex// continues and the students enjoy the conversation about having a suspension of disbelief when reading these stories and how it is like the suspension of disbelief when watching movies and television.

In British Literature the students take a few minutes with my FBS to review what all has been covered over the semester. They also do grammar. This class lost the most class time and does not have much time to do more than these couple of things.

Classes were let out ten minutes early as a free flu shot and H1N1 clinic was occurring and the administration decided it would be a good idea for the students to get out of the way before people started flooding in. Because parent teacher conferences started at 2:30 my FBS and I had a few minutes to spare. We talked about the differences between the school dynamics and the way schools were built. We also talked about how grading policies were different. He did not expect many parents to show up but hoped I would be able to see one.

We were lucky; about 3:10 a student's parents showed up. She had been doing well in school but had fallen behind in my FBS's class due to illness. She was working hard to bring her grade up and my FBS assured her parents that she could bring this class up to her usual grades. I was surprised that my FBS said only a handful of parents would show up all night. My parents went to all of my parent teacher conferences. I wish more parents felt the same way. My FBS planned on working on updating grades while he sat at his table the rest of the night. ||
 * 11/3/09 || 3.5 hrs || After grammar the AP Literature class reading //Dubliners// this week. My FBS asks the students to find one important quote from each story. He also asked for thirteen characters from the fifteen stories. This shows the students understand how to pick out important points of the story and the important characters. The class then discussed "A Painful case" and "Counterparts." He also makes a case for an unsympathetic character to continue discussion and make the discussion deeper than surface level.

In Practical Communication, students went over the final projects. Each group will create a certain number of projects that will equal 2,000 points. The student groups can create as many projects as it wants. Therefore if the group decides to go for 2,500 points, it may. The projects include creating DVDs, commercials, pamphlets, campaigns, brochures, posters, web pages, and podcasts. The students will be able to work on these projects every Friday in class through the end of the semester. The students will also work on written communication in this project by sending memos about important changes in the group to my FBS. After the class went over this project in more detail, the class continued its discussion on different types of commercials. I noticed my FBS's PowerPoint was very plain-Jane, but this worked well because it didn't detract from the discussion. Although I enjoy color in creating my own PowerPoint presentations, I now appreciate the fact that it isn't required in the classroom.

In World Literature, the class started with a quiz. If a student was paying attention, he or she would not have trouble with this assessment. Unfortunately this class did not do great. The class however did do well as my FBS has worked hard to cover all the information multiple times. My FBS had the students correct each other quizzes to go over the information another time, in another format (lecture and discussion of incorrect answers). The class then spent the rest of the class time for the last fifteen minutes.

The British Literature, students brought in their own stories about Arthurian legend and knights. The students then read their stories aloud and the class discussed the knight and what the knight accomplished. This will be incorporated into my lesson (see my lesson to see how I incorporated the stories). ||
 * 11/5/09 || 3.5 hrs || Today in AP Literature, the students did their grammar review and took their vocabulary quiz before lunch. During lunch my FBS reviewed all his notes on the two stories they would be discussing from //Dubliners//. "After the Fall" and "The Mother" were discussed. The ideas of structural criticism and "magisterministrist," which is the idea of becoming such a master that you have your name in it's stylist idea (Joycean=Joyce, Shakespearean= Shakespeare, and Victorian= Victoria).

In World Literature, students stole pencils and did crosswords. My FBS runs into a lot of discipline problems in this classroom. I believe that my FBS works hard to keep this under control while still trying to impart information, learning and interest in the classroom. There was a discussion on the grammar worksheets from last week. It seems the students were not paying attention to correcting the DOL after the switch of papers. The students had negative grades because of their inattentiveness with the lesson. This is one of the problems with teaching upper class-man high school students. Towards senior year, students may "catch" the newly coined term "senioritist." This is a time when students are disengaged in learning because they believe that they will not need any of the information that is taught in the class. This is one of my fears as a high school teacher, I do not enjoy running into apathy. I have experienced the sensation, but I don't like it. I hope that when I run into this in the classroom I can work with students to spark interest back into learning, especially when students are only in my classroom because "they have to be." After grammar was corrected, the students read from the //Illiad//, specifically "The Rage of Achilles." ||
 * 11/10/09 || 3.5 hrs || In AP Literature, the class began its discussion of //The Long Ranger and Tanto Fist Fight in Heaven//. It is a modern tale about life on a reservation. It was an interesting tale. Today the students discussed the first story but I missed the name of it. They were excited to read these stories as each story has more plot and action than the //Dubliners.//

In Practical Communication, the students asked to write a "Get Well Soon" card for another student in the class. Because of the nature of the class, my FBS used the student input and allowed the students to create the card. After the card was written, revised and created, the students began work on Mr. Dimock's original lesson plan which was to create minutes for a meeting and send them to Mr. Dimock via email. The students continued work on the final semester projects.

In World Literature,my FBS had reached his limit of patience with some of the students, one in particular. This is the same student who I have mentioned a number of times. He has constantly tried to sway the topic, argue with my FBS's authority, and planning. He also is under the belief that my FBS is "singling him out." From what I have observed, he singles himself out for attention.

Today I taught my second lesson in British Literature. To see my reflection, scroll down to this section. ||
 * 11/12/09 || 3.5 hrs || Today after grammar was corrected, the AP Literature class discussed "A Drug called Tradition" and "My father always said he was the only Indian who heard Jimmy Hienriches play the 'Star Spangled Banner,'" both from //The Lone Ranger and Tanto Fistfight in Heaven.// The discussion was well thought out and very interesting but the students were excited about Math Days and the HS football playoffs being in town so at the end of the class period my FBS had the students do a "free write" journal.

In World Literature, the class was so rambunctious that it took over almost an hour to correct the grammar, hand it in, and take the vocabulary quiz. The students only had forty minutes to read "The Rage of Achilles" after this. After the story was finished the class did a quick journal and then stood by the door waiting for the bell to ring. This was probably due to the HS football playoffs occurring. This is the first time that the class has done this so I believe that it was just due to the day and not a common problem with this particular class. || Note: Some hours may be completed outside of your placement by the SEED 394 class as a whole.
 * Fall 2009 || 48 hrs total || This experience has taught me a lot about my ideas on teaching. I found that I could easily incorporate technology because I am so adapted to using it, but I still believe that a teacher need to be careful how much he or she uses and depends on it. I also found that class interruptions do take up much of a teacher's time. Not only do announcements, speakers, and other distractions take up time, but students minds refusing to engage takes up so much of a teacher's time in a classroom. I believe this is important to take into account when teaching. I want students to be engaged every day in my classroom. But if there is a day when students are not engaged, I must find new ways to bring their minds into my classroom. Overall I enjoyed this experience and look forward to more hours in the classroom. ||
 * Fall 2009 || 48 hrs total || This experience has taught me a lot about my ideas on teaching. I found that I could easily incorporate technology because I am so adapted to using it, but I still believe that a teacher need to be careful how much he or she uses and depends on it. I also found that class interruptions do take up much of a teacher's time. Not only do announcements, speakers, and other distractions take up time, but students minds refusing to engage takes up so much of a teacher's time in a classroom. I believe this is important to take into account when teaching. I want students to be engaged every day in my classroom. But if there is a day when students are not engaged, I must find new ways to bring their minds into my classroom. Overall I enjoyed this experience and look forward to more hours in the classroom. ||