I am halfway through my second student teaching placement . . . meaning I am about 75% done with my FINAL semester of college. This is completely mind-boggling. I don't think my education is complete, but it is nice to know I am almost done with the first major part.
I had to miss school on Monday because I felt pretty sick. Actually, basically all week I felt sick. Despite this, I had a terrific week teaching. I LOVE teaching the Greek Mythology unit, and the students are really engaged with it too. I will definitely include this in my curriculum in the future. I have the most fun working with my Level 2 students. The growth they have in their language is huge everyday. I'm able to teach the things I learned in my Phonology class, which I find absolutely fascinating.
I guess this is a pretty short post this week, but all that matters is that I am so happy where I am!
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Lots and lots of news
What. A. Week.
I don't even know where to start! On Wednesday I found out I got a 3 on my TWS - the highest score you can get. Not only did I get a 3, I received full points on every goal from the rubric. Go me!
On Wednesday I also was able to interview with a school in Ruili, China. This wasn't exactly planned - earlier in the night I sent an email saying the times I thought would work for both of us (since there is a 13 hour difference) and about an hour later I get a response asking if we could interview right then. So I had to get out of my sweatpants and make myself look presentable . . . but I got the job! The school year starts around August 20th, so I think I'll get there around the 1st of the month.
Ruili is right on the Myanmar border, and is a good size for me(140,000, compared to another "small" Chinese school with a population of 6 MILLION!!). I have never been so excited for something. I can not wait to start my first teaching job!
I taught 3 levels this week. I taught my level 2 students the concept of prefixes and suffixes. When we went to their social studies class the next day, the word "reunite" was brought up. When the teacher asked what "re-" means, one boy said the answer and then pointed at me, "Ms. Sturgeon taught me that!" Such a little thing but it made me smile!
I went grocery shopping earlier today and saw a 2nd grade student from my last placement. She looked at me and said, I know you! And then asked me how I was doing. What a sweetie! It's the small things.
I don't even know where to start! On Wednesday I found out I got a 3 on my TWS - the highest score you can get. Not only did I get a 3, I received full points on every goal from the rubric. Go me!
On Wednesday I also was able to interview with a school in Ruili, China. This wasn't exactly planned - earlier in the night I sent an email saying the times I thought would work for both of us (since there is a 13 hour difference) and about an hour later I get a response asking if we could interview right then. So I had to get out of my sweatpants and make myself look presentable . . . but I got the job! The school year starts around August 20th, so I think I'll get there around the 1st of the month.
I taught 3 levels this week. I taught my level 2 students the concept of prefixes and suffixes. When we went to their social studies class the next day, the word "reunite" was brought up. When the teacher asked what "re-" means, one boy said the answer and then pointed at me, "Ms. Sturgeon taught me that!" Such a little thing but it made me smile!
I went grocery shopping earlier today and saw a 2nd grade student from my last placement. She looked at me and said, I know you! And then asked me how I was doing. What a sweetie! It's the small things.
Friday, April 5, 2013
So Far, So Good
This is my third week at North Middle, and I am loving it. Middle schoolers aren't as terrifying as I first thought they would be. Actually, I don't know why I was so nervous to begin with. Before I started at the elementary school, I thought I wanted to work with middle schoolers. I think I'm back to that point now. This is the age I really learned how to teach while at UNI, but more importantly, I think this is the real reason I got into ESL in the first place.
I'm now teaching two groups of students, level 2 and level 3. I started working with level 3 on Monday. Because they just finished reading a novel (Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli), we're doing a short unit on reading strategies. While my unit is definitely not as motivating as reading a novel, the students have been very engaged and definitely have shown growth.
Today I started doing a unit on the book Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith with the level 2 kids. I'm with that class twice in the day, once in ESL reading (what I teach), and once in an ESL social studies class. This has really allowed me to get to know the students more. They seemed pretty excited for me to be teaching, and worked really hard on the activities we started today.
Next week I'll start teaching my third prep, level 4. We're going to do a unit on Greek Mythology. I'm mostly excited for the end of the unit, where they will write their own version of a mythological story. We'll see how it goes!
I'm still waiting for an interview with the possible job . . . I'm so excited to see where this will take me! Ready for the weekend and plenty of sleep. Getting to school at 7:30 is not my definition of fun!
I'm now teaching two groups of students, level 2 and level 3. I started working with level 3 on Monday. Because they just finished reading a novel (Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli), we're doing a short unit on reading strategies. While my unit is definitely not as motivating as reading a novel, the students have been very engaged and definitely have shown growth.
Today I started doing a unit on the book Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith with the level 2 kids. I'm with that class twice in the day, once in ESL reading (what I teach), and once in an ESL social studies class. This has really allowed me to get to know the students more. They seemed pretty excited for me to be teaching, and worked really hard on the activities we started today.
Next week I'll start teaching my third prep, level 4. We're going to do a unit on Greek Mythology. I'm mostly excited for the end of the unit, where they will write their own version of a mythological story. We'll see how it goes!
I'm still waiting for an interview with the possible job . . . I'm so excited to see where this will take me! Ready for the weekend and plenty of sleep. Getting to school at 7:30 is not my definition of fun!
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