Entry #36

Entry #36

School Placement:  Forest Hills Elementary

Cooperating Teacher:  Crystal Boyd

Grades/Subjects:  K-5 PE

Date:  10-30-14

Summary of Today's Activities

Today we had all grade levels except for 3rd grade.  The kindergarten and 1st grade classes I had first thing in the morning.  They went through the haunted house only once, because I had to take my time while explaining each station.  We have several students throughout today's classes that had autistic children in them so I had to adapt some of the activites and stations and explain a little more in detail on what I expected from them.  The second, fourth, and fifth graders all had a scavenger hunt when they completed the haunted house.  The fifth graders did a great job with their scavenger hunt although I had one group that went to one wrong clue that messed up the entire hunt for them.  It actually ended up being the group that was extremely excited to play the activity and was not listening when I was speaking.

Reflection

My overall experience at Forest Hills has been excellent so far.  The other teachers have been very welcoming.  My host teacher is awesome and I am learning a lot from her each and every day.  Mostly what I have learned from her is that you have to be stern with these kids.  They seem all cute and innocent when they walk into class, but they will go haywire if you do not have control of the classroom.  The demographics at this school are a lot different than many other schools in which the parent involvement at Forest Hills is great.  It really shows with how the students respect their teachers and their classmates.  

Entry #35

Entry #35

School Placement:  Forest Hills Elementary

Cooperating Teacher:  Crystal Boyd

Grades/Subjects:  K-5 PE

Date:  10-29-14

Summary of Today's Activities

The first and second graders had a pumpkin patch field trip to go to so we did not get a chance to see them today.  Today we had 4th graders and 3rd graders.  We continued playing through the haunted house and the scavenger hunt.  The day started off with doing bus duty and ended with car duty.  Everything has been pretty repetitive this week with the games and scavenger hunt, but I have to think that the students only get to do these activities once a week.  

Reflection

We had two students in our fourth grade class that were touching each other a little too much during class.  When I told the students to choose a partner a girl and boy chose each other and I did not think anything of it.  I found out later that the both of them have a crush on each other.  Anyways, when they were going through the bat cave in the haunted house I saw the boy put his hand on the girl's rear end.  I stopped them immediately and addressed the issue.  I told them that it was not appropriate for them to do that and I told the girl that it is not appropriate for a boy to do that to her.  When this occurred, she was not upset at all that the boy had done that to her.  These are things that you don't think you have to deal with at the elementary level, but you can not give these kids the benefit of the doubt.  I learn every day, while student teaching, on how to handle all of these different situations that you are not taught to handle in the classroom.

Entry #34

Entry #34

School Placement:  Forest Hills Elementary

Cooperating Teacher:  Crystal Boyd

Grades/Subjects:  K-5 Physical Education

Date:  10-28-14

Summary of Today's Activities

Throughout the entire week, all of the grade levels will be participating in the same activities.  For example, today we had the students go through the haunted house in the gym and work on the scavenger hunt outside on the playground.  I had the students walk in quietly and explain to them what they would be doing through each station in the obstacle course (haunted house).  They then walked back outside of the gym and they separated into groups of two.  They were allowed to be in the haunted house twice and each partner would be allowed to lead their partner and hold the flashlihgt.  Some of the contraptions in the gym were falling apart, so Ms. Boyd and I had to find ways to keep the activity going without stalling the students.  The scavenger hunt was set up in the morning before the classes entered.  Students were set up into groups of four and they had to read the clues to get them to the next clue.  At the end, each student received a piece of candy for participating and working hard within their group to figure out the clues.  

Reflection

As a teacher, I sometimes wonder if the students are enjoying the activities and the games.  I have learned to look at smiles and look at how the students interact with others.  It is an accomplishment wihen I see students working together to figure out a clue or help each other with an activity.  I feel great about a lesson when I see smiles on the kids faces and they are clapping when they see another student win in a game.  It isn't always what the students will say or how well they do on a test that will determine the effectiviness of a lesson.  Life is about learning, working with others, and having fun all simultaneously.  With my time at Dan River High and at Forest Hills elementary so far, I have seen a lot of smiles and I have seen many students working together.  I am proud of what I am accomplishing.  

Entry #33

Entry #33

School Placement:  Forest Hills Elementary

Cooperating Teacher:  Crystal Boyd

Grades/Subjects:  K-5 PE                    

Date:  10-27-14

Summary of Today’s Activities

                The day started off with bus duty.  Ms. Boyd and I then immediately got started on setting up the gym for our haunted house activity and Halloween scavenger hunt.  We spent pretty much all morning assembling the haunted house.  The students would come in with a partner and the person leading would have a flash light.  They would start off by crawling through a tunnel or wall pads covered with table cloth.  They then would get on a balance beam and try to not fall in the goo or green construction paper.  The students would then crawl through another tunnel and end up near the pumpkin roll or an incline pad that they had to do a complete body roll.  The stepping stones would be next.  If they fell they would fall in a snake pit.  The next station was a set up hula hoops that they had to jump through.  If they fell outside of the hula hoops then they would be bit by spiders.  Once they completed that activity they had to sit on a scooter and go through a bat cave that was constructed with black table cloth and PVC piping and cones.  The students would finish up at “Ghost Jump”, which they had to jump over hurdles that had ghosts taped to the sides of it.  The objective was to jump and not hit the ghosts. 

Reflection

                The haunted house was a ton of fun.  We played Halloween music and turned the lights off while two students were in the gym going through the obstacle course.  I had to explain to them that they were playing pretend and nothing in the gym was to be taken seriously.  I also explained that since they were in a haunted house they must stay quiet.  I basically did this so that they wouldn’t scream the entire time.  I made the students go through it twice so that each partner had a chance to hold the flash light.  Now the scavenger hunt wasn’t as successful and I have yet to understand why it didn’t go as planned.  Ms. Boyd and I set up the Halloween scavenger hunt outside.  We placed clues all around the playground.  The groups were given different clues to start off with and then they went from there to find the next clue.  At some point, the students were going to the same place twice to find a clue.  Anyways, it didn’t go as planned, but the students had a lot of fun and they received a piece of candy at the end of game.

Entry #32

Entry #32

School Placement:  Forest Hills Elementary

Cooperating Teacher:  Crystal Boyd

Grades/Subjects:  K-5 PE                    

Date:  10-24-14

Summary of Today’s Activities

                Today we had all of the grade levels except for 4^th grade.  I had the 3^rd graders all by myself.  Ms. Boyd had to leave in order to take care of some things at home.  The kindergarten and 1^st graders started the day off with “Monster Mash” and then played “Ghost Tag” and “Bats in the Trees”.  The second graders played the same games and then played Ghostbusters at the end of class since we had some extra time.  The 5^th graders came to the gym next and we played “Monster Mash”, “Haunted House” and “Ghostbusters”.  The 3^rd graders only played “Monster Mash” and “Haunted House” since their teacher brought them to class a little late.

Reflection

                Having a class on my own today was great!  It was good to see how it would be if I had my own gym and my own classes.  I thought that since Ms. Boyd was out of class they would be asking a million questions about where Ms. Boyd was and they would have misbehaved more if she was not there.  That was not the case.  I had total control of the classroom and the students enjoyed the games and most importantly stayed safe.  Thankfully we had the time to plan for next week yesterday, because we didn’t have much time today to do so.  The day ended with working car duty, which actually helped with learning the student’s names.

Entry #31

Entry #31

School Placement:  Forest Hills Elementary

Cooperating Teacher:  Crystal Boyd

Grades/Subjects:  K-5 PE

Date:  10-23-14

Summary of Today’s Activities

Since today was a half day for the students, we did not have any classes.  The principal felt like the students did not need to go to their “special” classes today since it was a half day.  She believed they needed to stay and learn in their main classes.  Needless to say, it was a pretty boring day for me and Ms. Boyd.  We did spend the day working on the “Haunted House” or obstacle course for next week’s lessons with all of the grade levels.  We are going to turn off all of the lights in the gym and have a few students go at one time through the gym’s obstacle course.  After each student has had a few chances to go through the haunted house, they will work in teams to work on a Halloween scavenger hunt outside.

Reflection

               

                Although today was a half day, it still seemed like an extremely long day.  When the students are in the gym and we are having fun the day flies.  Ms. Boyd and I did get a lot done for the plans for next week.  Although it was a half day, we the teachers, had to stay behind and see if any parents wanted to have a parent and teacher conference.  Ms. Boyd told me that normally no one wants to, but we have to stay in school in case a parent decides to want to have a talk.  I am really enjoying elementary physical education so far.  The planning for each grade level is a little challenging, but it is worth it in the end to see the students smiling and enjoying their time in my class.  

Entry #30

Entry #30

School Placement:  Forest Hills Elementary

Cooperating Teacher:  Crystal Boyd

Grades/Subjects:  K-5 PE

Date:  10-22-14

Summary of Today’s Activities

                Today I had first, second, and 4^th graders.  The first and second graders played Monster Mash for the warm up, Bats in the Trees, and Ghost tag.  We had a little extra time with the second graders so they played Ghostbusters.  The 4^th graders played Spider Tag, Haunted House, and Ghostbusters.  I found out today that the students have a half day tomorrow and they have no special classes during their day, so we will not have any students in the gym.  Today, Ms. Boyd and I had car duty.  In the mornings we have to stand outside and make sure they students are getting into the building safely and make sure they are walking to the correct classroom.  Ms. Boyd was there to help me since I didn’t really know where the students were supposed to go.

Reflection

                I feel like Ms. Boyd has done a good job with helping me with ideas for games and letting me have the classroom when the students arrive.  There are times when I am preparing to address a student for bad behavior or not understanding the rules of a game and she yells out to the student before I get an opportunity to explain to the student what they were doing wrong.  It has gradually gotten better, but it is still an issue.  She gave me some feedback today about my instruction.  She said I had good control of the class and I was very enthusiastic with the students.  The only thing she saw today that she said will be improved through time with elementary students is hearing all of their side comments and addressing them.  Evidently, while I was teaching a game, one of the students made a comment to where she could hear it, but I couldn’t.  I continued to instruct and never addressed the comment the student made in front of the class.