Kassie Vaughn

Journal Entries

Week of Feb. 3rd-7th

February 4, 2014
This week I am picking up half-day routine instruction, which includes Handwriting, Spelling, Grammar, th nd and Reading. Today was also the 100 day of school ! In order to celebrate (2 grade does not make it an all st day celebration like 1 grade), first of all, I, along with my sisters help, created a banner with streamers and hung it above the classroom door for the children to walk under. The banner read, Its time to party! Your e a 100 day th old Smarty! Most of the kids didnt remember it was the 100 day until they read the banner. We also did a few activities in order to celebrate. For morning work, the students completed a Counting to 100 Heart worksheet, and for early finishers, they were given 100 paper glasses to make. What s more, the children made snack mix bags to take to lunch by taking 10 pieces of 10 different snacks to total 100 different little pieces. My class seemed to really enjoy all of the fun activities! Regarding instruction, I tried to teach the kids a new study strategy by having them make flashcards of their eight vocabulary words. However, even though I already had the cards ready for them, some had a hard time understanding the concept of looking up a definition. Therefore, I have decided to split up the task next week to where they will make four cards on Tuesday and four on Wednesday.

February 6, 2014
Today I had my most difficult and challenging day of teaching so far in my Student Teaching experience. During my instruction of Handwriting, Spelling, and Grammar in the morning, the children were very inattentive and disrespectful, so I was forced to move two sticks in order to discipline. However, it did not seem to phase the two boys to have their sticks moved. After I took them to Related Arts, I confessed to Mrs. Hall that I felt as if I was not picking my battles very well and was losing my students. She pleaded for me to not become discouraged, because every teacher, no matter how long they have been teaching, has days like today. I thought about it, and once I brought them back from Art, I gathered the class on the carpet for a serious talk. I informed them that, even though I know transition is difficult, they must give me the same respect as they do Mrs. Hall by listening to directions and doing their work.

February 7, 2014
I had a much better day today than yesterday; we had multiple tests and my students appeared to listen and follow directions as we transitioned from thing to thing. To begin the day, I had my class participate in a fun activity, called Musical Letters, to practice writing their two cursive letters for the week, g and o. The activity was extremely similar to Musical Chairs. In the activity, the children wou ld sit down in a chair when the music stopped and proceed to write down the letter on their chair in cursive. I walked around and observed the students written letters each time to assess. If a child did not have a chair once the music stopped, they wer e considered out and had to sit on the carpet. My students seemed to really enjoy this review game! Regarding their Reading tests, most of the class did well, but I had two (the 2 who are being referred) who made fairly low grades. I have been trying to evaluate my teaching strategies this afternoon, but I hope for those two children, that they are considered for resource assistance.