Day 5: Filling in the Roles

Today, I taught another class of first-graders, reading Roses are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink. They LOVE this story! Not only do the students respond to the moments of the story, but they also relate to the message of being kind to one another and the consequences of writing mean things. The biggest curve I will need to learn is timing. I did go a little over the teacher's allotted time which potentially sets his/her own plans back. From teaching for six years, I know that timing is something that comes with practice: practice with the student groups, with the materials, with the environment, with teachers' expectations. I have a few more times with this story with different classes, so will try to focus on appropriate timing and interaction.

I also had my first experience with adding books to the catalog. These books were ordered from Bound to Stay Bound, and Cindy pays for them to be prepped for shelving. They came already with call numbers and barcodes, though we added some information within the pages. We stamped the Ravenel ownership "watermark," wrote the AR reading level/points, and put the spare barcode on the first end page. Cindy also writes the vendor and the fiscal year on the inside spine to keep easy track of inventory sourcing. She then puts the packing list or invoice in a binder organized by date. This way, she says, if the bookkeeper requires any additional information for review, Cindy can pull up the form easily. Though much information is now digitized, Cindy says that this "ledger" has saved her spending lots of time searching for information. This way, it is tangible and brief to record and retrieve information for orders and inventory.

After the instructional day, today was a faculty meeting. Our first presenter was for additional insurance. He was goofy and adorable. All the while, the glaring ''CODE RED'' was staring at us all from the projection behind. This meant this presentation was not as well received. The second presentation felt terrifyingly tense for this collection of sensitive and caring elementary teachers. The Sheriff outlined so many scenarios and horrific potential realities that the ''training'' felt like a scare tactic rather than an educational system of protection. Even the officer and the district trainer both said the reality vs. the plan will change. One of the teachers also reflected that the students are often traumatized after their undercover intruder drills, including nightmares, tears, and general terror. Obviously safety training and drills are important, especially with recent events locally and nationally, but there must be a method that is both effective and empowering to the teachers. I don't know what the right answer is for this, but these are my observations from today's training. Two valuable points from the presentation were: (1) do not keep id with a key on it: if left, immediate access and knowledge from where the keys belong; and (2) prepare ''outs'' for each room including cafeteria, recess, etc

Day 4: Pulling Lesson Books and Stepping Up!

Today, my first goal was to observe the Cindy's lessons so that I could replicate them later with the repeat grade-levels. The kindergarten class read Dear Bunny, one of the books I was looking at teaching (!!! Yay! I'm on the right track!), and Cindy focused largely on plot and the elements on each page. A little later, the first grade class came through, and, again, Cindy was reading another book I was planning, Roses are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink! (This is super encouraging!) When Cindy sat down with the book, a visitor came to the library that needed Cindy, so Toni began to walk toward the reading center. Instead, Cindy called ME up to read! Even though I hadn't read the entirety of this book, I knew that I should use voices, point out key plot/thematic ideas, and perhaps any images or details on the pages themselves. The kids were seemingly unaffected at changing teachers to someone they didn't know, and, thankfully, stories have pages that you read until you reach the next one. I thought, if nothing else, you just read the next page and discuss at the end! But, the students' reactions and engagement (or lack thereof) made it clear what we should talk about as we read or what we could continue past. This group of students was a bit unsettled and eager to share personal stories (I think in part due to a sub for the day and from Cindy's assessment that the homeroom is typically less structured), but stayed on topic and on theme with comments and questions. I think the two goals I have for the next lesson I teach are: (1) practice and execute proper timing; and (2) to maintain more awareness of student behavior while leading the lesson. The lesson was comfortable, if spontaneous!

The second goal for today was to pull books for leading my own lessons for the remainder of this week and for next week. I wanted to focus on the two major celebrations in February before the Book Fair comes next Thursday: Black History Month and Valentine's Day. I was looking for stories that show love in diverse ways and how diverse ethnic groups (specifically African-Americans) show those elements of love (acceptance, friendship, supporting one another). I first found a great resource through Scholastic that recommends books based on age level and topics. This is where I found both of the books that Cindy read with the classes today. The lists for Black History Month on Scholastic were excellent for understanding slavery and Civil Rights in America, but lacked the connection I hoped to make with Valentine's being more than just for romantic love.

I had seen an NCTE article pop up on my Facebook feed last night for an initiative/program from NCTE called the National African American Read-In. This seems to be a program that you can really build to a school-wide, month-long initiative within school communities to create a focus and culture of learning about Black History Month. While my own time at Ravenel is not suited for this sort of event, especially as any more sensitive, political, or otherwise specialized topic would need a thorough understanding of unwritten rules and cultural negotiations of a community, the AARI seems like an initiative backed with thorough resources, research, and councils to suggest reasonable and acceptable plans of action. That being said, I did look to the resources to find a booklist of committee favorites and young children's recommendations to add to my list of potential books.

From both topics, I have narrowed down my choices to the following books. I did not include some of the great books on this list because I am only teaching K4, K, and 1st grades. There seem to be many books of more depth and message, but are above the understanding level of the younger children. This is my working list (in no order) to potentially teach this/next week, with citations at the end.

Black History Month

Two Friends--Dean Robbins

Henry’s Freedom Box--Kadir Nelson (3.6)

Of Thee I Sing--Barack Obama

Martin’s Big Words--Doreen Rappaport (3.4)

Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom--Carole Boston Weatherford (4.0)

Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down--Andrea Davis Pinkney (5.2)

More Than Anything Else--Marie Bradby (3.3)

Something Beautiful--Sharon Dennis Wyeth

Momma, Where Are You From?--Marie Bradby

Both/Sorta

In Daddy’s Arms I am Tall--Folami Abiade, Dinah Johnson, et. al.

Just the Two of Us--Will Smith (2.0)

Valentine’s Day

Roses are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink --Diane De Groat

The Biggest Valentine Ever--Steven Kroll

Dear Bunny--Michaela Morgan
What is Love? --Etan Boritzer

Black Caucus Members. (N.D.) National African American Read-In: Supplemental List for Young Children (18th ed.). Retrieved from http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Involved/Action/AARI/Young_Children.pdf

Book Lists & Recommendations for Ages 6-7. (2017). Scholastic Parents: Raising readers & learners. Retrieved from www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/book-lists-and-recommendations/ages-6-7

National African American Read-In [PDF]. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Involved/Action/AARI/FrequentlyReadBooks2013.pdf

Student Learning Objectives

Using the SC Department of Education Job Description, I have reflected on my strengths and weaknesses entering this internship. From that analysis, I have written a brief detail on my current understandings and goals for this term. Please click on this link to view these goals.