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Final Reflection

Wow, last lesson observation! I honestly cannot believe how fast it went by. I am shocked that tomorrow is our last day. This lesson was difficult, and I honestly wish I had picked something a little simpler for my observation, but overall I think it went okay. Factors and multiples are a complex topic, but we know since we have been working on skip counting and multiplication, this was appropriate to do next.  I think the factor rainbows went well once the students understood the concept and knew what we were doing. I think working one on one with J really helped him to see what we were doing. I believe that if I were to have done more small group instruction, the lesson might have gone smoother. I also think that breaking it up and doing just factors one day and multiples another would have been helpful.  Goal Reflection:  -I want to differentiate my math instruction more. I think I have a solid plan for those at the elementary level but need to create some more difficult content wit
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Week 3 Blog - Lesson Reflection

This week has been great! I really feel like Katie, and I have gotten into a grove with the kiddos. We have gotten to know them enough to tell what will set them off and help them thrive. It is hard to believe that next week is the last week.  I believe my lesson went well this week. I think the smaller groups were significant. My group did exceptionally well with proper vs. common nouns. They seemed to grasp the concept when I reinforced that proper nouns need a capital letter. I was really impressed with how well Sam did with identifying them. I also think breaking them into partners was a good idea as well. They seem to work well as partners.  I want to work on my ability to let Sam work independently. I think my lesson this week was really good, but I would have loved to float to the other group too to see how they were doing with prepositions. I want to find an activity that he can do independently and feel confident in doing. I also discussed wanting to get to know Keria better l
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Week 2 Blog

 Wow! I cannot believe week 2 is already finished!  This week went by so fast. We had a BLAST, literally. This week we decided to make the theme space. We thought it would be fun to make paper rockets at the end of the week for our "Terrific Thursday!" I feel like this week, we began to get into a groove with the students. We know what to expect and how to prepare. I know which students take a little longer to warm up and which are ready to go at the beginning of the day.  My comfort level with the class is increasing as well. I still have a lot to learn, but the differentiation part is becoming easier for me. I am starting to think outside of the box and incorporate a little more of my style into the classroom. At first, I wanted to set norms and try to stick to what I knew, but knowing that we are allowed to try new things in this space, makes me feel better. I am going to allow for more autonomy for the students this week. Our lessons will start to build on the foundations
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Lesson Reflection 1

  When reflecting upon my lesson, there is a lot I would do differently. I am my most prominent critic. I find that even when a lesson is excellent…I find ways to poke holes in it. This was my first observation teaching in a particular education class, so it is arguably more nerve-wracking. I am still learning. Differentiation with this many levels is something I am taking on with pride. I know I need to get better at it, period, but I feel that I have a soft place to land if I mess it up.  I wish we would have chosen to do reading later in the day. I think doing it first is hard for the kids. They are barely awake and are not ready to jump in. This morning they were all disengaged despite my best efforts. I didn’t feel like they were really grasping what I was saying. When we went into small groups, I thought I was able to make some headway with my group. It took a lot to get J to participate. He is not excited to begin working, but he is typically a rockstar once he starts. For San,
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Week 1 Blog

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     I think this week went really well. I honestly had no idea what to expect coming in, but feel really good about how things are going. I think all of the kids are wonderful and have great personalities. I think J.R. and S.B. will be my biggest challenge. J, is a sweet student, but you can tell he lacks self-confidence. He gives up before he even starts. He is constantly asking when it is time to leave, I want to find a better way to reach him and incorporate his likes into the classroom. S.B. is also a sweet student, but I am having a hard time integrating his learning into our other groups. We have a lot of trouble getting a few students to work independently, so we feel like we need to be right next to them. The differentiation is going to be one of my biggest hurdles since they are all on vastly different levels. I will have to make sure my attention to detail is spot on. They really seemed to enjoy partner reading today. I am hoping to get more books at the Furman Library for t
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