Weekly reflection for week 1.

As I entered this exciting experience unsure of what to expect I began to feel the butterflies in
my stomach driving the unfortunate, cold, lengthy drive to Altoona. Although the drive may not be
exciting my heart leaped when I entered the school. From the moment I walked in the school was filled
with an overwhelming amount of joy and generosity.

My cooperating teacher Mrs. Berkheimer had no doubts and I began the first day. I would say I
am the type of person who enjoys being thrown into things so I was pleased she trusted me to work
with her students from the get go. Juniata Elementary works with a guided reading program currently
and is working to transition to reading workshop. It is nice because my classroom does a mixed program
and has a little bit of both. Personally I think that is a great strategy anyways no matter what program
you have. So I hopped in and took my first group back. I was astounded at the information these
students were able to produce without my questioning. Sometimes I felt as if I wasn’t even sure how to
answer the questions they were asking. I realized quickly with this group I would need to come
prepared. So I now pre-read the book taking notes on questions I think they may ask and writing down
areas I feel are important to discuss. This helps me no matter the level of the group because I have time
to process the questions I want to ask and why I feel it is significant to ask them.

Reading remained my main section of the week. Although I did take on small things like helping
Mrs. Berkheimer grade papers, pass out worksheets and read tests, most of my time was spent
observing the way she ran her classroom. I did work on the math board with the students. This is simply
a way for students to practice numbers and working with math in everyday uses, such as the date and
money. I also did an introductory lesson with the students. We passed a ball with numbers around a
circle, the student who caught the ball would pick a number, I had a list of pre-generated questions in
which I would then read the number question to the student. After every student answered they filled
out a worksheet. On the front was a heart and they wrote what was in their heart (or what they loved).
On the back was a brain, in the brain they wrote what was on their mind (or what they thought about
often). This gave me a little insight into some of the things the students go through day to day, who was
in their lives and activities they like to do. The students enjoyed the activity and I enjoyed reading what
they had to write.

I have found that I have gotten to know my students rapidly. Usually I would not consider myself
to be swift at learning names, but I have found it is easier with students than adults because each
student has their own little quirk about them, maybe it’s a story they told me about their umbilical cord
being wrapped around their neck (true life), or maybe it’s a little lisp they have, or maybe they are a wiz
at math, each student is special and I learned their names within a day or two. Not only was I surprised
at how quickly I got attached to them, but also how quickly they got attached to me. I was in awe at the
amount of students who felt they wanted to share a personal story with me or simply give me a speedy
hug at the end of the day. I have noticed a lot of these students don’t have a lot of consistency or
stability in their lives, I hope that throughout my time here I can provide them with that. I feel as though
students learn better if they know they can trust their teacher and surroundings. I believe I have
established a good rapport with every student and I ensure each day that I talk to most students about
something non- school related.