Reflection: If I Could Do It All Over

Coming into this class and learning everything there is about teaching was overwhelming. My first day at my field site I was nervous and I didn't know what to expect. 

    Being placed in the right classroom with the right mentor will make the experience that much greater!  If you are lucky enough like me and end up with an amazing mentor with great kids you will be wanting to spend every waking moment with them. You will learn the in's and out's about teaching and you should be able to know whether or not you want to pursue in becoming a teacher at the end of the year.
   Being the type of person I am I believe everything happens for a reason. I believe with my first lesson I presented to my field site and it ending up going south I believe that that happened for a reason. If it wasn't for me having the worse experience of my life I would have not told myself that I would never let that happen again. From that day forward I wanted a new mentor, and to have a fresh start, and I prepared my lessons more thoroughly which turned out to be a great success!

I know that I will become a teacher. I will do whatever it takes to become what I want to be, which is a math teacher. Being in this class for two straight years has only made me even more eager for the future and what is to come. I can't wait till I have my own classroom with my own set of rules and arranged the way I want it. When that day comes I will thank the people who have helped me get to this place. I walked into this class being a shy young girl, and I will be leaving a confident young woman.

I wouldn't change a single thing that has happened in my past. 

In Reference: Mrs. Kallas's Blog

Part 2: Classroom Management

Transportation

Once enrolled in the Education & Training class each student will have to read and sign the guidelines that pertain to this class. For transportation the guidelines will be precise and clear, such as:

Students who want to drive:

Transportation Rules

• May only drive if their parents allow them to.
• Must arrive at their field site 5 minutes prior.
• You cannot drive during bad weather.
• Must text instructor once you arrived at field site.
• NO TEXTING.

Students who ride the bus:

Transportation Rules

• Bus monitor must take attendance to who is all there. 

Students who ride with a friend:

Transportation Rules

• Must sign a paper that states the parent is fine with their child riding with a friend.
• Must not distract the driver.

If any of the "Transportation Rules" are to be broken they will have to deal with the instructor and however he/she feels on how serious the situation was they will determine the students punishment.


Discipline Rules

1. Warning
2. One week suspension
3. Lose privileges till instructor says.

DRIVE SAFELY!!!! BE SAFE!!!!

In Reference: Mrs. Kallas's Blog

Part 1: Select a TEKS and Corresponding Activity

The TEKS for this activity: 

(9)  Organisms and environments. The student knows and understands that living organisms within an ecosystem interact with one another and with their environment. The student is expected to:

(A)  investigate that most producers need sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to make their own food, while consumers are dependent on other organisms for food; and

(B)  describe the flow of energy through food webs, beginning with the Sun, and predict how changes in the ecosystem affect the food web such as a fire in a forest.

The URL for this activity :

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/explorer/ecosystems/be_an_explorer/map/form_wildcats.htm

In this activity the students can learn how to build a food web. They will understand which animals are predators and which are prey. Once they develop that skill they will build their own food web which will help determine if they understand the concept. 

     Once everyone has had a chance to build their own  food web, I would get the classroom together and discuss why everyone did what they did. And as a class we would create the correct food web that will show which animal eats what.

In Reference: Mrs. Kallas's Blog

In My Opinion - The Best Virtual Field Trip

 Arctic Adventure!

If I had to pick a virtual field trip I would choose the "Arctic Adventure." I like the format of the website and the way that it is. It has blown up pictures of different things going on and a little paw print at the bottom right corner so you can click on and it will tell you all about the picture.
      I believe this virtual field trip would suit 4th graders that are in science class. You could learn all about the climate and type of weather that goes on in the Arctic, and how the animals have to adapt to that certain life style. You could give the students an assignment to read up on the virtual field trip and at the end the students have to write on what the animals and humans had to do to adapt to their surroundings.

  In Reference: The Best Virtual Field Trips