Classes went very well. I think the students were more or less impressed with themselves when as a class we won 1st place in the science project.
It is rewarding to do work at __.
The children need extra help and I feel like my services and time are
well placed. This can never be
over-stated! I also want to express my support for manipulative materials in
the classroom!
I truly enjoyed the opportunity to find science to mesh with social studies.
Sometimes when teaching it is really helpful to allow the students to tell the teacher what they already know about the topic in question. Also, in teaching it is very beneficial to the student if the teacher explains other topics in terms of things that the students understand and have made mentions of in other instances. Teaching is fun when the students participate fully.
These students like class discussions. The students I was with last semester never seemed to get very involved in class discussions. Often they would just start telling stories, that weren’t related to what we were discussing. This class, however, was very involved in the class discussion we had about ways to conserve natural resources, reduce pollution, etc.
These students use complex words and are able to formulate questions better when they don’t understand a concept. They also reason through problems.
I can’t wait to do some activities with them so that I can show them that science and math is not just worksheets!!
I observed that it was hard to keep them on task in the library. I know that if I hadn’t been there that they would not have gotten anything done.
I have found some really good resources in the science lab that are not being used by anyone. I am going to try to get it organized so that other teachers can take advantage if it.
Learning on Valentine’s Day is awfully difficult with all the distractions.
Some of the students are becoming accustomed to my word problems, and they have generated a renewed interest in math. One parent commented that her daughter never enjoyed math until recently. I think word problems do a great job demonstrating the integration of language skill with mathematics, and the combination seems to reach a new group of students.
The children, like everyone, get bored with lectures and discussions. I will get away from talking too much in the future and do more hands experimentation. I can’t wait for them to get their hands dirty with the solar system project.
The students do not enjoy reading from the social studies book and answering questions....I realized that personal motivation and interest makes a big difference in what the student learns.
March 20, 2002