Karen Sanchez

Student Teaching Reflections

1.
Throughout my first few weeks of student teaching, I got to observe my
cooperating teacher, Mrs. Cordell. She incorporates social studies, reading, and
writing, which is something I really like. Students get to learn social studies
almost daily, which is great because not all teachers teach this subject. I think
this is an important subject that should be taught regularly throughout the school
year. I realize that this goal may be hard to accomplish since school days are so
compact with all of the other subjects already. So incorporating subjects like
social studies and science into writing, reading, and math is such a great idea.
Im excited that the first subject I will get to teach this semester is social studies
and I will make sure to follow my cooperating teachers guidelines. This is also
something that will benefit my future students and it is something that I will try to
implement throughout the year.

2.
Today I attended my first professional development meeting at Lulu
Walker. I really like that the staff meets once a week to have these meetings or to
meet with colleagues of the same grade level. At this professional development,
we discussed writing and the importance of collaboration between the grade
levels. Teachers discussed that for writing instruction to be more successful, that
it must be relevant, needed vs. assigned, we must have examples of what works,
their must be collaboration between multiple grade levels, and we should share

resources. Once the group discussion was over, each grade level brainstormed
the different ways that students in their class write. When I met with the fifth
grade group, they came up with the following list: goal setting, journal writing,
partner/trio write, rubrics, pen pals, self-evaluation, extended response, literature,
grammar, expository, personal narratives, graphic organizers, students choice,
writing prompts, the six traits, and research. Once each grade level came up with
their list then they met with the grade level above them and below them. So fifth
grade met with only 4th grade because we dont have a 6th grade. We shahred our
lists and discussed how we could work together to make writing instruction better.

3.
I attended a professional development meeting today at another Amphi
school, Rio Vista. All of the fifth grade teacher from Amphi met at this school for
the meeting and it was really cool to meet all of these teachers! At this
professional development, each teacher was supposed to bring their writing
program or methods that work for them to share with other teachers. Once
teacher said she used a program called Excellence in Writing, which focuses on
style and structure. She showed me a couple of strategies from this program.
One was called Taking three words, where students start with a sentence and
then change the sentence as many times as they can to make it into their own
words. There was another strategy called Dress Ups where students used
who/which clauses, -ly words, stronger verbs, and then a because clause. They
would add each of these elements onto their sentence to make it better and in
the end they had a very detailed sentence. At this meeting, we also discussed

and analyzed the AZ Merit rubrics. We discussed how they test was going to be
reading passages and then students would have to write essays based on what
they read.

4.
Today I observed one of my cooperating teachers reading lessons. The
lesson was about interpreting the authors purpose for writing a text. To begin,
Mrs. Cordell had students write the objective I can interpret the authors
purpose, I like that she writes her objectives as I can statements. The test was
about astronauts and their lifestyles. She built her students background
knowledge by having them write on a graffiti board. Graffiti boards are when
students write or draw everything they know about a specific topic on a big piece
of paper. Its a great way of having students collaborate with group members and
to find out what they all know. Students had a lot of fun drawing on these boards
so this is something I will definitely use in the future. Once they were done with
that, the teacher read the text aloud and let students read at times. She would
stop at important parts to check for understanding too. Once the guided practice
was done, then students moved on the comprehension questions which they got
to do independently. Then Mrs.s Cordell went over the questions as a class and
students were able to ask question about answers they didnt know. Overall I
thought this was a successful lesson because students got to collaborate, work
independently, have guided practice, and feedback.

5.

Today I had a writing lesson and my main focus for this lesson was writing
a persuasive letter. I liked that I gave students examples of persuasive letters
and that they were able to analyze them. It really helped students understand the
different components of a persuasive letter. They were actually really familiar with
the components of the letter but writing one was another story. They struggled
with getting started and it seemed like the writing prompt was not that interesting
to them. I would like to work on making my writing lessons only fifteen or twenty
minutes so that I do give students enough time to write independently. Some
ideas for next weeks writing lesson: go over the six traits of writing because
students seem to need a review. Also I would like to start to set up my writing
instruction like: 15 minutes of writing instruction, 20 minutes of independent
writing, and 5 or 10 minutes of sharing each others work. The most important
thing I got from this lesson is that it is important to find writing prompts that are
meaningful and relevant to students because then they will be able to write about
it more.

6.
Today, I had a social studies lesson about the Pueblo Revolt. I first
showed students a few pictures of this event and had them write about each
picture. Students were very engaged and liked writing about what they saw or
any predictions that they make about the picture. I set up a timer for how much
time they had to write about each picture with the students really liked. After the
first part of the lesson, we took AVID two column notes about the reading that
was assigned for homework about the Pueblo Revolt. We discussed the 5 Ws,

who, what, when, where, and why. Students would go back to their books to be
able to answer the questions I asked and then they took notes with me. One
thing I would like to work on is my pacing and making sure I am dedicating
sufficient time to each activity. Also, making sure I am not adding too many
focuses to the lesson, especially a short 30-minute lesson. I should only have
one focus per lesson. Ideas for my next lesson: Incorporate more interactive
activities and include more outside sources instead of using their textbook as the
only source. My cooperating teacher also mentioned that I should have students
directly quoting from the book so that they have evidence to support their claims.

7.
Today I had a reading lesson, which was an introduction to the book
Number the Stars. The students were not familiar with the Holocaust so we
briefly went over it by watching a video that was age appropriate and answering
comprehension questions about it. The students seemed to really enjoy the video
because the story of the character was told through pictures. Once we watched
the video, we answered the comprehension questions as a class. I also gave
them articles to read about the Holocaust and activities for those articles, which
they did independently. I liked that my content was age appropriate and that it
really did build their knowledge about the topic. I thought that going over this was
important for them to be able to understand the novel we were going to read.
One thing I would like to work on is giving clearer directions before everyone
starts working independently, so I dont have to repeat myself multiple times and
so that there is no confusion.

8.
This week I have taken over almost all subjects except math. My lessons
are going well, I am learning more each day. I think that the main thing I have
learned this week is that as a teacher you must ne very flexible. There have been
a few times where I have had my week completely planned and I have had to
cancel a lesson due to a school assembly, fire drills, or to meet with a buddy
class. It can be kind of frustrating to plan a lesson and then have to cancel it or
change it but I have also learned to accommodate. This will be valuable in my
career because all schools will have spontaneous reasons for stopping a lesson
and it is important to be able to apply these changes the best you can. Overall
making different accommodations has made me better teacher.

9.
This week I got to experience going to a program called Starbase with my
class. This program is on an air force base and is STEM based. I thing I loved
about this experience is observing the teachers who run the program and their
classroom management. They have great classroom management skills, which
allow for the class to have smooth transitions. I learned a lot of ways to make
sure students are paying attention or are stopped while you are giving directions.
For example, telling students to freeze and they cant more until you unfreeze
them. Students will then make silly faces or freeze in a funny position but still pay
attention to what you are saying. I also liked the group roles they used, this made
group activities flow smoothly. Each student knew their role name and would
know exactly what they needed to do at all times. The students love coming here

because they have materials they wouldnt have in a regular classroom like
rockets, chemistry equipment, laptops, and much more. It is a great opportunity
for them and for me as well since I am learning so much about classroom
management and STEM based lesson/activities.

10.
This has been my first week of full takeover. It has been nice to teach all of
the subjects and it is definitely giving me a lot of experience. Planning for each
lesson has been a lot of hard work but ultimately worth it. One thing that I would
like to work on is my teacher talk and making sure my pacing and tone flows. I
think that working on this will make me more confident when teaching. I know
that this is something that will come with practice but it is a good to be aware of.
Another goal of mine is to make a hands on unit plan for the rest of my take over.
I think that unit plans will help my lessons flow better and will be a good
sequence to connect all of my lessons to one another.

11.
For a social studies lesson, I had my 5th graders read a current events
article and focus on the 5W questions (who, what, when, where, why). I also
allowed our students to have a choice in what they read by allowing them to pick
from 5 different articles. Once they read their articles they fill out a fun graphic
organizer that they made themselves. I tried to incorporate, reading, writing,
speaking, and listening in many different ways by having students work
individually, with a partner, and some were able to present their work to the class.

A few things that went really well with the lesson was that the students did
get the main concepts. Although their responses varied (from one word answers
to full sentences) they all understood how to find the 5Ws of their article. I was
very content with the article choices because the students were engaged and
actually interested. Many of them finished writing their 5Ws and were excited to
draw a picture and then present to the class. I would say that they did learn what
I was trying to teach them, which was how to find the important parts (5Ws) in an
article and why current events are important.
From this lesson, I also saw some things I personally need to work on
regarding classroom management. I realize that I need to find ways of getting
them to quiet down and pay attention when someone is speaking by coming up
with a signal for them. Finding a signal for this class is one task our mentor
teacher asked of us. Another thing we can work on is making sure to model every
single thing we expect of our students. It is so easy to think that a concept is
common sense or that everyone will know how to do it but you cant think that
way as a teacher. I need to make sure that I model everything I expect of my
students so that they wont be confused. For example we could have read them
an article and modeled how to find the 5Ws before asking that of them so that
there would be no confusion.

12.
From my science lesson, I learned that as a new teacher it is important to
bring notes and refer back to them as you teach. I thought I covered the learning
goals as well as made sure students went through the appropriate science

practices. I learned that it is important to have student talk throughout the lesson
so that students can bring in their prior knowledge and so that they can make
connections to the new content. For the most part I thought the lesson went very
well, students learned what we wanted them to learn and they were able to
answer our driving question in the end. I learned that making a list of predictions
and a list of actual evidence can be very helpful.
My mentor teacher mentioned that I did a good job of modeling how to fill
out the worksheet and how to handle materials, modeling is also something we
worked on from previous lessons. She said that this is something she has used
before and that it really helped students know what they each had to do which
eliminated arguing over materials and sharing. I also learned from her that
procedures on how the materials were to be distributed could have been clearer
before we did the experiment. I gained some great constructive criticism from my
mentor teacher and she also gave me valuable advice that I will take with me for
future lessons.

13.
Today, I attended a professional development meeting about professional
learning communities. The purpose of this meeting was to build up teams in
grade levels but also the all of the teachers as a team. When we have
professional learning communities, we share roles, workloads, support growth as
professionals, and impact students learning (positively). Then all of the teacher
discussed what we are doing for our students when we participate in professional
learning communities. Some ideas that were discussed were leveling, sharing

responsibilities, having group meetings, having achieve or extended programs,

intervention, having high expectations, reach, getting the community involved,
and consistency. What I learned from this meeting is that it is important to
collaborate with your colleagues because when you work together you can bring
in more resources, strategies, and just help one another. By working together you
are helping your students also. My favorite thing about Lulu Walker is that the
fifth grade team always collaborated and they would value my opinion. I always
felt comfortable asking questions and getting their opinion on lessons I was
doing. It was also great to share students by leveling because all of the teacher
knew all of the students so we had shred responsibilities. I hope that wherever I
end up at has this same sense of community among the teachers.

14.
One thing that I would like to work in is incorporating more technology into
my lessons. Even if it is just showing a video or any other online resource. Today,
I had an order of operations lesson and I showed a catchy song/video. The kids
loved it and remembered PEMDAS a lot better. Throughout their independent
practice, students were singing the jingle and remembering the order of
operations. We also had a new student today and it was good to experience that.
We were able to review class procedures and play fun get to know me games.
There was one game where everyone had to remember as many facts as
possible about other students. It was a good introduction for our new student.
This order of operations review lesson was one of my more successful
lessons. I think what really helped was the organization. I had a PowerPoint to

organize all of the information that I wanted to present. This included the
materials needed, the rules of the game, and the problems we would work on.
Students were able to refer back to the PowerPoint if something was forgotten.
Also, it helped me remember what information I was going to go over next which
helped the lesson slow smoothly. During the game, students were all working
together to find the answer to the problem. Using Lego bucks made the game
more fun for students and made it competitive. Another strategy that I liked about
the lesson was the closure. I like using exit tickets because it holds students
accountable and it is a good way to review what was learned.
One thing I would like to work on is pacing during board work. I do like that
students come up to the board and solve the problems but sometimes it takes a
long time. Next time Im going to try to let students solve half of the problems on
the board and then I can solve the other half with their help. I think this will help
board work go faster.

15.
This week we are finishing up our novel study for the book Number the
Stars. This was a really good book and appropriate for fifth grade level. I learned
a lot about incorporating writing, vocabulary, discussion, art projects, and more
into reading. I will definitely implement novel studies into my reading blocks. They
are fun and you can get so much out of them by incorporating other subjects.
Number the Stars was set during the Holocaust so we learned history,
geography, and about a different culture. I would have liked to maybe bring more
outside sources into this unit.

16.
Overall student teaching has taught me a lot and I have grown a lot as a
person and a teacher through these experiences. I have also taken a lot of good
strategies that I will use in my future practices. For example for language arts I
would incorporate reading and writing. Ideally I would have novel studies where
groups of students read different books within their interest and level. I would
also have different roles that each student would take turn completing like the
discussion leader, the vocabulary person, the illustrator, the summarizer, the
compare and contrast person, and etc. Each person would have a new role each
chapter but the groups would work together to practice these skills. This would
also allow me to work one on one with students.
For math, I have learned that it is important to have a balance between
curriculum and resources you bring in yourself. Math should be relevant and
interesting. Students love when you incorporate real world problems and when
you have hands on activities. I also loved when students were able to teach one
another their strategies for solving a problem, so having collaboration in math is
very important to me.
The most important thing I have learned while student teaching is how to
be successful by using classroom management. I think it is important to have a
safe, positive, and stimulating environment where students can learn and to do
this you must create this environment with your students. I believe in allowing
students to have a voice in our class rules. I also believe their needs to be
consistency for it to be successful. I like having class roles because it is

important to have a student centered classroom. I also believe that the classroom
should be a community where everyone is respected and valued. I think great
classroom management comes with time but having a foundation and a plan is
an important start.
I have learned so much about the kind of teacher I want to be. My
cooperating teacher has been amazing and has taught me so much. I will
definitely take a lot of what I have learned from her. I am very grateful for the
school I was placed at and I am excited to start my career as a teacher!