First Year Teaching: Meriwether Lewis Elementary
As my first year of teaching draws to a close and I look to revise my resume and portfolio, I am blown away by just how much I have learned and grown in my first year. I was fortunate to get a position as a Kindergarten teacher for 13 five and six year olds. Coming from student teaching 5th grade, this year challenged me in ways I never expected. Witnessing and building the foundation of education in my students has given me a new respect for the process and spectrum of teaching. I feel that this experience has made me more reflective of the methods that I use to bring information to the students' levels. Teaching students who had little to no experience with school afforded me the opportunity to take a step back and see just how many different aspects of a school day need to be modeled and taught...along with the curriculum. In any situation or grade level, it is important to look at every aspect of my students' day that may be affecting them, not just their performance in the curriculum.
The joy and fresh perspectives that my Kindergarteners bring to school every day inspires me. All too often I see older students who have lost that spark. I hope that I can continue to create engaging lessons focused on exploration and student interest so that any student of mine, regardless of age, loves learning as much as I do.
The joy and fresh perspectives that my Kindergarteners bring to school every day inspires me. All too often I see older students who have lost that spark. I hope that I can continue to create engaging lessons focused on exploration and student interest so that any student of mine, regardless of age, loves learning as much as I do.
My Internship Experience: Richneck Elementary
My student teaching experience was at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, VA in a 5th grade collaborative class. It was a valuable experience getting to see a large range of learners, with 13 students out of 21 in the class having IEPs. I taught Reading, Writing, and Math with the special education teacher and was responsible for lesson planning with her as well. While I taught Science independently, she provided ample support in meeting IEP accommodations, such as read-aloud testing, for our students. This situation required flexibility to accommodate changing schedules within the special education department, and high levels of collaboration with both my cooperative teacher and the special education teacher. Each day, I planned and shared resources with my 5th grade team to find effective ways of teaching our students. While I was able to adapt these resources for my specific students, sharing resources with my team was invaluable and allowed me to gather multiple perspectives on the same content.