March 20th-24th

Weekly Rating: 5!  EDTPA IS OVER + JUST AN AMAZING WEEK IN GENERAL!

• Observe: This week was so great. My lesson plans were solid. My activities were solid. EdTPA was turned in, and hopefully it is solid. I worked very hard on it this weekend and I AM SO RELIEVED. My abilities to get things done is surprising to me. It's a great feeling to feel responsible and capable of getting your stuff done + doing it well.
• Reflect: My kids LOVED making a craft together. My activity featuring the Japanese Star Festival and having students create wishes to put on our tree was great. I think that I learned just how much time certain tasks can take. I worked all week (literally) to get my tree completed. However I learned two very important lessons: 1) I can be very creative. I took brown lunch-bags and cut them, crinkled them, and laid them on my tree as a bark texture. 2) Students LOVE seeing their work displayed. It gave me a great focus at the beginning of our lessons (2nd grade). I could manage their behavior by reminding them the more they talked, the less time we had to create our craft. I had a GREAT time reading their wishes! Some are pretty dark: "I wish I didn't have annoying brothers and sisters"-after which I reminded students this was their one wish, so make it a good, happy one. Some where hilarious:"I wish my dog would get rid of it's fleas." My 1sts sang a song and created their own movements to demonstrate "working in a rice field." That was fun and it helped them learn the song as we went along. Correlating movements and work triggers their memories a lot faster I have found. I'm beginning to look forward and realize just how much I will miss Fallston Elementary. It has become my home.

• Focus: I am almost finished with Student Teaching. My goals are to finish up my paper/project work. I definitely need to get work on some of those things-but thankfully(!!!) Easter break is on it's way. I can definitely crank out some great work while on Vacay in the beautiful MA. ALSO: just because edTPA is over doesn't mean I am done. I must remember this. I have a lot of work to do yet.
• Be productive: Because edTPA is off my shoulders, I can breathe. I am going to create a calendar for myself with my expectations of when things must be done. This will help me gauge what to do/when. I had one created before I began full-time teaching, but that one is gone with the wind! My major tasks are the classroom management, SIP, and the EE6 work.

• Have courage: Looking back over my time at Fallston I have begun to think: have I accomplished what I wanted to accomplish. Yes, I have taught music. I have become comfortable in front of my amazing students, guiding them through their exploration of music. But have I had as much fun as I could? Have I engaged them enough? Have I played games, made up dances, and laughed enough? Not in my opinion. So next week, we are PLAYING SOME GAMES! We are going to dance and sing and hopefully laugh. I'm excited!

• Begin anew: Well, I completed edTPA all weekend.. so Sunday night I wrote lesson plan after lesson plan. So I need to rest and catch up on sleep. 

• Data analysis: My 3rds are still learning about Dynamics, Tempo, and Articulation. Each week we review what we did the last. I ask them to show me the "level" for forte, pianissimo, etc. I analyze how well they demonstrate the movement and then continue the lesson from there.
• Advice: KICK edTPA's butt. 

NCTCS: 

Standard 1: Teachers demonstrate leadership

1a. Draws on appropriate data to develop classroom and instructional plans.

This goes along with what I said about assessing 3rd grades' understanding of the different levels of dynamics and the different speeds with tempo.

Standard 2: Teachers establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of

students

2b. Understands the influence of diversity and plans instruction accordingly.

This week my younger grades have been singing songs from around the globe. 1st: China; 2nd: Japan. 3rd: Alabama. We have discussed the contextual settings of these songs along with the relevance of these songs to us today.

Standard 3: Teachers know the content they teach 3a. Encourages students to investigate the content area to expand their knowledge and satisfy their natural curiosity.

It seems that each of my lower grades have TONS of questions about the composers of the week. I have begun to send a sticky note back with each class with specific questions for the teacher/students to look up! It has been a great project and my students seem thrilled to do their own "research."

Standard 4: Teachers facilitate learning for their students

4a. Organizes student learning teams for the purpose of developing cooperation, collaboration, and student leadership. To develop and demonstrate student leadership, I have begun to ask for volunteers to begin our class periods in 4th and 5th grades. These students come to the front of the classroom and lead us through the ASL music vocabulary! It has been amazing to see some students step out of their shell and give it a try! They are so inspirational to me! The courage it takes to get up in front of everyone and be a leader is great. I give all my leaders positive DoJos. After they are done leading the activity I let them write their name on the board so I can give them a +Dojo, (also so I can remember their names!). I also let a student lead us through the rhythm bone. I would like to continue this practice until I have one student leading the entire process.

Standard 5: Teachers reflect on their practice 5c. Uses a variety of research-verified approaches to improve teaching and learning. In 4th we have been comparing/contrasting the sounds of instruments in the same family. Marzano says this will boost their ability to differentiate between the instruments when seen independently.

• Management Question of the week: 
• Portfolio: EE7: Website, Technological Evidences, Professional Development Plan and Resume. I started looking at the SIP and trying to figure out how to incorporate implementing those goals into my lessons and demeanor throughout the school day + NCTCS, started looking at PBIS more in depth. 
• Support: :D 

March 6th-10th 

Weekly Rating: 4! 

• Observe: I know this isn't a huge accomplishment, but I really enjoyed creating my first bulletin board. It was exciting, though tedious. I found out it was a lot more challenging than I thought to come up with an interesting concept, gather the materials, remove the old materials, and put up the new! It was fun and my students love seeing "George Washington," I mean Mozart. I used my resources (my Art-Major apartment-mate) to paint a beautiful bust of Mozart which I outlined last Friday using the projector. 
• Reflect: I think that I should pay more attention to detail when preparing for my week. It seems that my Monday classes always get the short end of the stick when it comes to my lesson. I guess this is natural, but I wish I felt more prepared and confident in my lesson plans on Monday. I have gotten to the point that I just glance at my lesson plans on the way to pick up the class and can remember what we are doing pretty well. This is a very nice feeling! I just want to get better about giving my best to my first class-not just "testing it out" on them. 

• Focus: I am working hard on edTPA. I'm glad that it is due pretty soon: March 20. I can get it out of the way and focus on my ST portfolio and end of the semester work. 

• Be productive: Going into this coming week, I feel well prepared and less stressed than on normal weekend nights. I think I did a great job getting things started earlier last week-so I don't think I would change too much. 

• Have courage: This hasn't happened yet, but it is coming. My 5th graders were assigned partners according to who "got it" and who "is yet to get it" in regards to the Grand Staff. I knew this could potentially be lethal if students were chatting too much or what have you. So I tried my best to assign students with people who would be a good pair but not talk too much. I told the classes to walk through every step of the way. I wanted them to help one another do the problems, not just give the answers. I got a pair of students' papers back and they had answered ONE question. I gave them probably close to 20. I know these two boys are usually hard workers- their exit papers from last week showed me that they could do the concept-or at least attempt to. So I told Mrs. F last week that I may just have to let them sit out and finish their work while the rest of the class moves on to Ukuleles. I don't mean for it to be a punishment, but the rest of the class- even my very-low, EC students, worked harder than them and were able to finish at least 2 lines of the papers. So when they decide they will give an honest effort to an assignment I have asked them to complete, they may participate in the new, fun thing we are doing in class.  

• Begin anew: This week holds my last recording of edTPA! That is exciting. I will be working my tail off to get my commentaries done and all of my videos to the exactly correct link, but after this it will be over! I have really enjoyed reading the books I've borrowed about Learning processes and Music & Special Ed! 

• Data analysis: More exit tickets! I have seen great growth over the last few weeks with regards to the Grand Staff. I think now that we have made it to a certain point, I would like to start using music on the staff-maybe for recorders-so it actually has a purpose. 
• Advice: Enjoy your students. On Friday we had an assembly where a special musician, Mrs. Lawrence, came and played violin for all of our classes. I made an effort to sit with some of my students (especially if there were a gaggle of chatters). It was nice. I feel like all of my advice is the same-be present, take it in, love your kids, love your job, have fun. 

NCTCS: 

Standard 1: Teachers demonstrate leadership

1a. Draws on appropriate data to develop classroom and instructional plans. I have been collecting a great amount of data on my students. I have been taking this information that I have been collecting to create my lesson plans for each class. Some classes have students who understand the concepts greatly and we can continue working forward, but some classes need extra help with the concept and we must reteach and relearn the concepts.

Standard 2: Teachers establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of

students 2b. Incorporates different points of view in instruction. While we are listening and learning about the different instruments of the orchestra, we have been describing the various sounds instruments make-giving them adjectives and characteristics. I have been recording their responses of what they think the instrument sounds like. We have discussed how everyone may think different things, but that doesn't mean they are wrong. We all have our interpretation of the sound. 

Standard 3: Teachers know the content they teach 3a. Integrates effective literacy instruction throughout the curriculum and across content areas to enhance students’ learning. Our fifth grade classes have been learning the concept of ordering notes on lines and spaces called staves. Musical literacy contains reading the notes on a staff.

Standard 4: Teachers facilitate learning for their students

4a. Identifies developmental levels of individual students and plans instruction accordingly. We have been learning about the grand staff in 5th grade. I took the evidence from exit tickets I collected last week and paired students up with differing understanding levels of grasping the concept. This helps those who don't understand it well get the one-on-one attention that I can't supply to everyone during a class period.

Standard 5: Teachers reflect on their practice 5c. Uses a variety of research-verified approaches to improve teaching and learning. To best complete my edTPA unit, I have been reading textbooks about Special Education in Music and about different ways to approach musical learning. This has helped me learn about varying my input and output modes for students with special needs and also made me more aware about the way that I teach concepts-trying to provide multiple learning styles during the lesson to accommodate many differing learners.

• Management Question of the week: The grand question that everyone asks but not many people have the answer to: what do you do to discipline students who are (seemingly) purposefully being disruptive? It makes you want to stomp watermelons you get so angry... I just am unsure of how to handle it.. I've separated them from the group, given negative DoJos... then what? 
• Portfolio: EE7: Website, Technological Evidences, Professional Development Plan and Resume. I started looking at the SIP and trying to figure out how to incorporate implementing those goals into my lessons and demeanor throughout the school day + NCTCS, started looking at PBIS more in depth. Am getting very close to narrowing down my focus student.
• Support: 

February 27th-March 3rd

Weekly Rating: 4! 

• Observe: Where did this week go? Literally I think I winked and it was gone... I think my biggest achievement for this week was understanding and creating my own way of assessing my students. Exit tickets are tedious and time consuming... but I now know what my students know pretty well. Also, I think that sometimes if we put things down on paper we may remember it better...
• Reflect: I gave DoJos and had to back myself up on them.. my students KNOW that I HATE giving negative DoJos... I had a Kinder who wanted to repetitively get out of her seat and sit on the top row. I reminded her twice that she should be seated in her assigned seat... After the third time I gave her a negative and we went on our way. The next day at lunch I noticed on our iPad that there was a message from the Kinder's parent asking why her daughter had a negative in our class... I was unsure what her tone was (as is expected through digital communication), so I made sure to be as thorough as possible when explaining 1. who I was, 2. the situation that occurred and the decision she made that warranted a negative DoJo. I made sure Mrs.F read it before I sent it, and we didn't hear anything back from the parent so I am guessing she accepted my response..

• Focus: I need to get better about doing musical things. It seems that we have been talking a whole lot, and I want to get back to playing games and singing songs/playing instruments.. That's my new short term goal. I am also getting edTPA out of the way here soon.. so that is exciting. I need to be sure my lessons line up and are what scorers would want to see..

• Be productive: I got to Friday this week and realized that I had barely planned at all for this coming week.. Yippeee. Therefore, I will be spending the majority of my weekend creating LPs and SMARTnotebooks. Yay. I await the day that I have a stock pile of LPs created and ready to reuse. 

• Have courage: *Here come a couple of stories...

1. I am searching for jobs like crazy. It has become my nightly routine to search for job openings in NC and SC. It's terrifying to think about moving to the middle of nowhere where I know no one, just for a job. But I am more than willing to do it and kind of excited about the adventure of it. I know that my personality will help me make friends easily wherever I go.. but it can be a bit discouraging when I don't hear anything back from a school after sending in my resume and application..

2. Everyday after school I see the after-school program students playing basketball and what not in the gym. I always think- one day I am going to get out there and shoot some hoops with those kids (I am not very good at basketball, but love to hang out with kiddos). On Friday I stayed a little later at school (until 5) getting some things started for this coming week. I was walking to the copier to print out some things and one of the boys asked me if I wanted to shoot basketball with them.. I said "yes, let me go get my papers real quick.." So I came back and played around with a few of the kids. One of the kids is a new student in 1st grade. I've made it a point to make him feel welcome, greeting him in the hallway and asking him about his old school. I was glad he was there so I could make him feel cared for and accepted at Fallston. Another student told me he had a basketball game on Saturday and I got to ask him about his likes/dislikes... It was just an awesome experience. All of the girls (sitting on the side-lines talking to one another) as well as the boys went crazy when I made my first three shots that I took when I started playing. It's just awesome. I love it. 

• Begin anew: Well... I have to create everything... so I can't really clear clutter... I need to get to work...
• Data analysis: EXIT TICKETS FOR ALL! I have exit ticket assessments from 3, 4, and 5 grades! I love reading over their answers. I always tell them to do things on the back and they love being creative and silly on the back. I am using them ALL to help me move forward with this next week. Tempo words that most often get mixed up in 3rd: accelerando, andante, and allegro... I will use this to reteach next week.
• Advice: Let your students know you are a real human being. Go out of your comfort zone and be willing to look like a fool (most of my shots after the first three were air balls, but my kiddos did not care at all). 

NCTCS: 

Standard 1: Teachers demonstrate leadership

1d: Implements and adheres to policies and practices positively affecting students’ learning.

This may be a stretch, but I am assessing (a practice) my students' learning and reteaching/rethinking my methods of engagement. I think this could be applicable because it will directly support their learning in the next week.

Standard 2: Teachers establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of

students
2a: Teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults

• Maintains a positive and nurturing learning environment.

I think my basketball experience covers this nicely, as well as talking to my new 1st about his interest and hobbies.

2d: Teachers adapt their teaching for the benefit of students with special needs

• Cooperates with specialists and uses resources to support the special learning needs of all students.
  
• Uses research-verified strategies to provide effective learning activities for students with special needs.

My exit tickets had modified version which I let struggling readers and developmentally delayed students use. This helped them focus more on the content of the exit ticket and less on the procedure of reading/writing/spelling on it.

2e: Teachers work collaboratively with the families and significant adults in the lives of their students

• Communicates and collaborates with the home and community for the benefit of students.

My interaction with the parent of my Kinder (from above) is communicating with home for the benefit of the student. This will help her manage her decisions more wisely (hopefully).

Standard 3: Teachers know the content they teach

3c: Teachers recognize the interconnectedness of content area/specialties

• Demonstrates knowledge of links between grade/subject and the NCSCS by relating content to other disciplines. In first grade we have be repetitively talking about math and music correlations.

Standard 4: Teachers facilitate learning for their students
4e: Teachers help students develop critical-thinking and problem-solving skills

• Integrates specific instruction that helps students develop the ability to apply processes and strategies for critical thinking and problem solving.

My first edTPA lesson was full of this (in my opinion). We used strategies for remembering and identifying different instruments and how they are made. They thought critically to separate the instruments into the "family" they belong in. The whole learning segment is a "problem" that we are trying to solve!

-while I am here, my sister pointed out how nervous I seemed in my video-but I wasn't nervous at all. She said my hands in front of my chest put together made it seem that I am wringing them, and she also said it took me a while to get to the meat of the lesson... So I definitely sent her that video with hopes of happiness but rather got criticism.. but she explained that she was just trying to help--but still.. They don't seem as excited as I am that I am actually in front of a class-teaching..

Standard 5: Teachers reflect on their practice 5a: Teachers analyze student learning

• Uses data to provide ideas about what can be done to improve students’ learning.

Exit tickets, my friends.

• Management Question of the week:
• Portfolio: EE7: Website, Technological Evidences, Professional Development Plan and Resume. I started looking at the SIP and trying to figure out how to incorporate implementing those goals into my lessons and demeanor throughout the school day + NCTCS, started looking at PBIS more in depth. Am getting very close to narrowing down my focus student.
• Support: Just need to remember that a job will not come easily. Going to job fairs in the near future to market myself.. woohoo! I would also like to go home in the near future.. I miss my fam! haha! 

February 20th-24th

Weekly Rating: 4! 

• Observe: I assessed in a formal way. I used exit tickets to find out exactly what my students could tell me at that moment. Though their responses weren't always what I would hoped for them to be, I have now officially assessed via response on paper.
  ALSO: I taught MUSIC a la CARTE. haha! Wednesday & Thursday I had to take music to the students' classrooms because of Variety Show auditions being held in the music room. This experience was a great one. It taught me a lot about being prepared and having my resources/materials exactly where I needed them. Flexibility and I became real close this week.
• Reflect: There are going to be times when I feel that I am talking to myself and there will be 100x the distractions that I do not need going on. I also learned that I can really clam up when a student directly defies what I tell them to do.. 

This was my first major incident during my student teaching experience. A 3rd came into class very distraught and disgruntled. She has had issues in the past and has been known to lash out/shut down. She complained that the people around her were not the people she wanted to be seated with. I offered her to move places, but she said she would be okay. Then she directly lashed out by not participating/making fun of the activity that we do every day in class (ASL). This was the last straw for me because she was beginning to distract the entire class. I told her to go sit in our "take a breath" chair and she said "no." That is when I turned to Mrs. F (who had just taken a phone call) and asked for her help. Though I should have handled this situation directly (because I am the "full-time" teacher now), I did not do so hot of a job. Mrs. F briefed me with her action of handling it after class, but I think I may have dropped the ball on that one. I was honestly just stunned that she would blatantly say no to me like that. However, once Mrs. F talked to her outside, she re-entered the classroom and did a great job the rest of class, as though nothing happened. 

• Focus: Assessment is becoming a normal in my class this week. I fully acknowledge that assessment doesn't have to be pencil to paper-exit tickets. I accept that. However, since my students are not used to that form of assessment, we are almost all going to be doing it-just to get them acclimated. 

• Be productive: This week was a lot better for me as far as preparing for the week ahead. I began thinking about my lesson plans and materials I would need last Tuesday, so today (Sunday) I haven't had to spend as much time preparing for the upcoming week. That means that I had time to relax and enjoy the weekend (thank goodness). It was much needed.

• Have courage: I would say that the 3rd grade conflict as stated above was my biggest apprehensive, "help! I don't know what I'm doing" moment. I have started to be more direct about my expectations for my students. Mrs. F had to speak up twice (once during 3rd and once during 4th) to tell the class that they were being very "disrespectful" towards me. I do not disagree. I just know that I am a bit more lenient to talking or speaking to me during class. However, I did try the next day to keep a tighter ship and it was much more productive, so I understand her reasoning. I have now given 3 negative DoJos (two of which happened this week). It has become easier to give DoJos (though I wait until absolutely necessary --probably past necessary-- to give them). I really just like grace and try my best to help the student make the right choice. I had to tell one of my 3rd classes that I really, really don't want to give negatives. 

Also, on a different note: I am searching for jobs. I have found a few that I am PUMPED about-but I have started to feel the hopelessness of the whole process. I feel that I am under-qualified for any job that I see posted, or that it is way too early to begin the process, or that I will never find a job and yada, yada until I'm in a big spiral of despair. I know I'll find one eventually, I am just easily wound up. 

• Begin anew: I have some cool lessons coming up this week. I am really excited about starting Ukes with 4/5. However, we have to bust our tails tomorrow morning to get them tuned. So that will be fun. I also start my edTPA unit this Wednesday!!! I'm excited to get it started (and over with). 
• Data analysis: 5th grade exit tickets (treble staff). This was a great experience and the students were not shocked at the concept of an exit ticket. I know they have them in their classes on the regular- just not with music class. The majority of my classes understand treble staff. I honestly am at a bit of a loss with what to do with the ones who do not. I've thought about pairing students up to work through problems together. I would instruct them to talk through every step of the process together, so that they know without a doubt at least 2 methods of figuring out the treble staff notes... We will see.
• Advice: Relieve stress. Play some video games. PLAY YOUR INSTRUMENT. Go see amazing musicals like Little Shop of Horrors. Go see Lang Lang at the Peace Center when he comes to town (tomorrow night!!!). Get ready for Lent & Ash Wednesday. Have friend-time that you are going to miss like crazy when you graduate. Have a life. Be great at what you do throughout the week-do what you have to in order to be prepared for that-but also enjoy this thing called College.

NCTCS: 

Standard 1: Teachers demonstrate leadership

1b: Teachers demonstrate leadership in the school.
I have attended professional development as well as committee meetings along with Mrs. F. This has helped me be informed with the procedures and events that are happening around school. A leading teacher is an informed teacher.

Standard 2: Teachers establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of

students

2b. Teachers embrace diversity in the school community and in the world.

This week in my 2nd grade I taught one of my favorite lessons. We talked about what might be different about the music from different countries. We then listened to an excerpt from my phone that came directly from the place we were studying (Ghana). I had pictures of the instruments that they use in Ghana for traditional music and then we compared/contrasted them to the instruments we use here in America. We then learned about Call/response singing and sang a song in the same style. It rocked, and it allowed my students the experience of thinking about music in other parts of the world.

Standard 3: Teachers know the content they teach

3b. Teachers know the content appropriate to their teaching specialty.

Standard 4: Teachers facilitate learning for their students

4a. Teachers know the ways in which learning takes place, and they know the appropriate levels of intellectual, physical, social, and emotional development for their students.

I am no expert, by any means. However, I am learning about different ways specific grades need to be engaged in lessons. I am also reading supplemental materials to learn more about how to best engage my students in the content of music. Wiggins' book is AMAZING. I love it! It's a great insight into how students think about music and how we can take that and make it into a great lesson where they are engaged and eager to learn.

Standard 5: Teachers reflect on their practice

5c. Teachers function effectively in a complex, dynamic environment.

Fire alarms, PLCs, grade-level testings, awards ceremonies, picture days, students telling you "no"... I'm not sure what a "normal" week would look like here at FES. We always have something cool going on.

• Management Question of the week: I feel that I am more lenient about talking than some people would be. I am 'okay' with students talking to one another for a few second before we settle down... and I put up with a little chatter between events.. But it works.. so I guess that is okay. 
• Portfolio: EE7: Website, Technological Evidences, Professional Development Plan and Resume. I started looking at the SIP and trying to figure out how to incorporate implementing those goals into my lessons and demeanor throughout the school day + NCTCS. 
• Support: I start edTPA this next week! I'm excited. 

February 13th-17th, 2017

Weekly Rating: 4! 

• Observe: This week I was reminded of how excited students are to learn and be engaged. When my children are singing and learning new facts about music, they are well behaved and seem so happy. There is no bitterness or harsh feelings. We are all just learning and living. It's so fun. 
• Reflect: Reaching down and getting on students' levels changes their perception of me and my understanding of them. I learned this mannerism at camp, that if I am talking personally, one-on-one with a child, I should get on their level. Eye contact and a sincere heart goes a long way. There were two specific instances where I was able to employ this tactic, and I am wary to call it a "tactic," it's more of a respectful gesture. I will lower myself to you, sad/frustrated child, because I want to better understand you and I want to become more accessible to you. 

The first incident happened when one of my Ks walked into my classroom already crying and upset. He is often distraught and thinks he must cry over every perceivable issue. Kindergarteners have assigned seats, so they already know exactly where they are supposed to go when they enter my room (rather than me assigning them from their spot in line). Well my K friend walked in crying and said "someone told me to sit on red." Well... his seat is on yellow. I am absolutely uncertain why this was such a big deal to him-my best guess being that he thought he was going to get in trouble. But I didn't get angry. I got on his level and listened to what he had to say, though he didn't say much more than "someone told me to sit on red." So I told him that as long as he is doing what he's supposed to do, there's nothing to worry about... and class went on! 

My second incident was not quite as sweet or happy. I have a 1st-er who is notorious for bothering anyone he sits beside. This held true on the day that he was in music. I know he probably isn't doing it on purpose, but after several attempts to encourage good decisions and not making excess noise, I asked him to sit in our chair that let's students take a breather away from the group. In 1st this week we were using clothespins on hearts to create our own rhythm patterns. I gave my 1ster in the chair his bag and explained the rules to the whole class. After a few rounds of people tapping their rhythms with claves, I told the class to rearrange their clothespins and went over to speak with 1ster. I asked him why he was sitting over there.. I then asked him if he thought he could rejoin the group and make better choices for the rest of class. This was all while bent over speaking directly to him. I just think this is more respectful and yields better results than just gleaming down on them.

• Focus: It is very nice to erase what my answer was to this prompt last week. I feel much better about personally assessing my students this week. I took the time, especially in 1st (this is most prevalent in my mind) to hear everyone's rhythm they created. I was on the floor with them, moving around and looking at what they had created. I would ask them if they knew how to tap the rhythms or if they needed help with any of the words we say with them. This was a great way for me to feel out how my students were doing with creating simple rhythms.
  I also figured out a great way to connect with my 4 & 5s. Competition DRIVES them. They LOVE it! It's wonderful. We played a Jeopardy game which served as a review (and assessment) over things we had discussed in the previous weeks. This was so fun for everyone in the room! 

• Be productive: I have worked on FINALLY figuring out exactly where I want to take my edTPA. It is coming together. I have it written down in it seems like 400 different places. So I definitely need to spend more time writing down official documents and lesson plans! 

• Have courage: I decided to try something new with my 4/5th graders. We played Jeopardy. Honestly, that took courage. They can be challenging to gauge... They usually make me feel like I am wasting my time and not interesting and as boring as watching paint dry. This week, however, they were energetic, participating, and pleasant (haha). 

• Begin anew: Well.. I am writing this blog on Monday night, already having completed my weekend preparations for this week. I am so tired. I spent 6 hours on Sunday alone creating lesson plans and SMARTnotebook for each grade. I didn't count how many hours I worked on Saturday, but I know I did. I have now felt the overwhelming feeling of having so much work to do on a weekend while all of your friends are off having fun. It's okay though, I did have moments of fun at a church youth night and at a local fun-hip place downtown! I just understand now what it feels like to have a full-time job. The work never seems to end. 
• Data analysis: I analyzed student's understanding of terms and vocabulary through Jeopardy. I analyzed students' understanding of simple rhythm compositions as they played the rhythms. With 3rd grade I heard them play simple rhythms and saw people analyzing their own simple rhythm heart to find the match. I heard second graders hear a simple rhythm and be able to tell me exactly what notes they heard (so awesome). 
• Advice: Don't procrastinate. From this Monday-night Student teacher to the future student teachers: Begin the week before. I am starting my lesson plans for next week TONIGHT! Also, smile. SOAK IN those beautiful moments when your students surprise you with how talented they are. Get on their level. LOVE IT!

NCTCS: 

Standard 1: Teachers demonstrate leadership

1a: Teachers lead in their classrooms

I am going with this one this week. I love how my students are expected to behave and make good decisions for themselves. I love that I can help guide my students in their exploration of music.

Standard 2: Teachers establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of

students

2a: Teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults

I would say that my experiences with my 1st and Kindergartener show a positive, nurturing relationship with caring [big-children] (adults). I love my kiddos.

Standard 3: Teachers know the content they teach

3d: Teachers make instruction relevant to students.

I'm lookin' at you, 4/5thers. Say 'hello' to Jeopardy.

Standard 4: Teachers facilitate learning for their students

4h: Teachers use a variety of methods to assess what each student has learned

I'm thinking specifically about my 4/5 graders when we reviewed before our game, and then played the Jeopardy game. I also assessed my 1/2 students when we talked about rhythms before we made our own. Then, not only did they create their own and perform them, but they also moved to another rhythm heart (musical rhythms) and performed theirs as well. This checked for understanding of the person who created and the person who performed. My 3rds had to hear and understand rhythms in their heads (and were wonderful at it!)

Standard 5: Teachers reflect on their practice

5a. Teachers analyze student learning.

With my answers from #4 I add that I have since curved my lessons for this week to cover our weak spots and continue with what we do well!

• Management Question of the week: 
• Portfolio: EE7: Website, Technological Evidences, Professional Development Plan and Resume. I started looking at the SIP and trying to figure out how to incorporate implementing those goals into my lessons and demeanor throughout the school day. I desperately need to get my NCTCS notebook together as well as edTPA planning commentary and context for learning! 
• Support: