Today was the last day that I will see my kids for the next week or two. I am getting surgery on my tailbone, so I am going to be out for awhile. My kids were all excited to see me for my last day. They actually behaved very well for my last gift for a couple of weeks.
What other way to start the new year than with some DRAs! DRAs are tests that test each child's individual ability to read and comprehend what they are reading. The children have actually calmed down and are willing to surrender themselves to Mrs. Anderson and I. What I noticed that was very neat at Alanton this month was specific clues set up around the school. It is reading month so each of the clues are about certain childrens books. The child who guesses the most correct answers, will get a prize of some sort.
Although the children are back from vacation and break, they are not back mentally. Their minds are racing about their new toys and games that they got for Christmas, and they are not paying attention to Mrs. Anderson and what she has to teach them.
My students are so excited to not have to go to school for the rest of the year! This week, there are a lot of crafts going on in the classroom. The students made ornaments out of their finger prints (they were supposed to be snowmen), drew a santa clause with their handprints, and many more! On Friday, the very last day of school for the year, we are having a hot chocolate social where the kids bring in a holiday mug and we fill them up with marshmellows and hot chocolate packets and the kids trade their cups with each other! One of my students even gave me an ornament that was a silver snowflake that had a rustic feel to it that was so beautiful! My students, Mrs. Anderson, and I cannot wait for the holiday break!
I have never met anymore rambunctious, off task children in my life! This past week they have been nothing but hyper-active students! They were so bad on Thursday that Mrs. Anderson had to yell at them, and my kids are never that bad. They got a total of 5 moany groans this past week and I just hope that they are a little bit more focused next week!
This week I had the pleasure of being with my kids 3 times! This week I taught a group of students how to edit their sentences while they were doing their Journal Center. I have noticed a change in some students. Alex, for example, is begining to behave and follow directions, while Parker always seems to be in la-la-land. Cash is still the same rambunctious little boy, doing air guitar whenever he has the chance, but I've noticed that if you are helping him 95% of the time, that he behaves correctly and doesn't feel the urge to act out.
Since this week we only had one A day and I had a dentist appointment that day, I didn't get to see my kids before the holiday break. Although I didn't get to see them, I am positive that they were all energetic and couldn't wait to get out of school.
On Wednesday, something relaly cool happend. All the teachers in the first grade had subs cover their classes while they had a "planning day." This was a time set up to plan their lessons up until Christmas Break. This was a very valuable time because as we all know, elementary teachers don't get much time to plan. The teachers were very thankful for this opportunity to get work done and not be interupted. I thought that this time was very useful and needed. Although I wasn't with my kids, I still had a learning experience because I learned how to make lesson plans and accomidate if something was happening too quick in the schedule.
It seems like first graders find it difficult to dissifer between what is true and what is false. Mrs. Anderson and I both decided that we would work on this skill together with the whole class. I noticed that Alex, the student who never wants to do anything and is constantly off task, is actually very intelligent when it comes to math. The other students couldn't do equations such as 11-4 = 6+7 and see if the equation was in fact true. Alex could though. I asked him what 11-4 was off of the top of his head and he replied almost simultaniously 7. Then I would ask what 6+7 is and he would say 13. Then i would follow up and ask him if 7 is equal to 13. He said, "No. 7 is not equal to 13 because 7 is not the same number as 13. They are 6 apart."
Suprisingly, the kids were more rambunctious after Halloween than they were before it! I have never in my life seen children as off topic as they were comming back to school after Halloween weekend. Every one of my students wanted to tell me about how their Halloween was and what they were dressed as. I love my kids! They are too cute!
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Ms. KingIntern for First Grade at Alanton Elementary School. Archives
June 2014
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