The home stretch...

Hello everyone! This is my last week of student teaching in Ireland and I can not believe it is coming to an end! On Friday I listened to more readers and worked again with sound and letter recognition. The students each have their own white board that uses erasable markers, and I have found this to be a really great tool to use when teaching spelling or penmanship. It is also a great way for the teacher to do a quick check to see if the student is succeeding at the task. I also taught a short math lesson. It was a basic review and the students did very well responding to the questions. I have found myself almost speaking now with a little Irish accent! I have been told this by some of the teachers but when I really think about it, it is very easy to pick up on the popular phrases and words used here. I have also found myself needing to clarify my directions less often. I am very pleased with this realization because that means that I have improved my language usage and am now able to be comprehended in a way that reaches the children's understanding. This was one of my main goals while being here and it is great to see that I have improved! I stayed in Listowel for the weekend and was able to spend some time with some of the teachers from school. I can not express how kind and caring the they have all been and it was great to be able to all get together and have a sort of goodbye gathering. It was very informal and laid back but I was able to really see how many people I have gotten to know and developed relationships with. It has truly been a blessing!
There has been talk about taxes, pensions, and leavies throughout my entire stay here in Ireland with the recession at hand. This past Monday the teachers were supposed to be on strike with their union because of the unfair taxing that is going on affecting the many types of jobs throughout the country of Ireland. There was a vote cast in order to see if the strike would take place and in the end it did not go through. Many of the teachers were glad to continue with school because there is so much to get done this week before the Easter holdiay break which consists of 2 weeks off. Every teacher is creating wonderful art projects to celebrate Easter. There is also another Friday mass this week for the first Friday in April. Due to this there is a lot of preparation going on in Fourth class since they are the class that will be performing the mass. Religion studies about Easter are also in full swing due to the holiday being 2 weeks away. Every class is learning and reviewing about Easter Sunday and the reasoning behind it. It is very interesting to see how religion is taught in a public school system. I have recently discovered that 97% of all schools in Ireland are Catholic schools including the specific Gealic schools. Participation at Convent Primary School in religious sacraments are optional however there are weekly assignments given in the religion workbook that all students receive. I am continuing my teaching of science and will teach a lesson tomorrow on animal homes and habitats. I am very interested to see how the students respond to the information because there are some hard vocabulary terms that not only the students are learning but myself as well that Ireland specifically uses. This has been an adjustment that I have had to make in teaching several different subjects here in Ireland. Phrases and words that I use are obviously not going to be standard here in Ireland as compared to the United States. I have had to quickly learn the new terminology and use it correctly so that the students are learning the appropriate material. I have made a point to add in what is used in the United States as well so that I am always making the subject matter relevant and practical. My power point for the Student Teaching Abroad presentation is coming along nicely and I am putting all the pieces together to give a great perspective of what I have learned and come away with from teaching and living in Ireland. I must now get back to my lessons and preparations, I will write again soon Slan!

Sunshine on a cloudy day

Hello everyone! School is going very well this week considering all the teachers have so much they want to get in before Easter holiday which is next Friday. For the past two days I have been working again with the food pyramid and machine handouts I created. I have been very pleased with how much the student's have retained about the food groups and healthy food choices. I went ahead and taught the linkage lesson for the food pyramid and through that activity was able to again review with the students about their knowledge of the food groups. It impressed me to hear the students using the new terminology and vocabulary in the correct form while talking about the food groups. I now have a clear understanding that they have successfuly learned about the food groups. I think another lesson I could do would be to talk further about sub categories of the food groups for instance starches and fats. I wanted to keep my original food pyramid basic and general so that I could build a strong foundation for all of their knowledge about the food groups. Taking the original food pyramid a step further would really allow the students to have a basis for healthy food education and choices. The other lesson I taught as a linkage lesson was the lesson on machines that corresponded with the book the class was reading. This was a great lesson because it allowed the students to make connections to what they read in the story to their own lives. The students were able to visualize with their imagination what their new machine would look like having all of the components of the machine and having to create the picture. I think this was a good lesson on gradual release of responsibility because even though there was a guide sheet, it allowed the students to still make choices within the choices already given. There was still room for creativity and imagination. Students were writing and illustrating so that aspect covered additional multiple intelligences. In addition the students were able to present their new machine at the end. Students were then focusing on speaking clearly and confidently in front of their peers. Yet again another multiple intelligence was used. I could see that the students do not normally get a chance to present their work to the entire class by the reaction I received when informing the students. I was thrilled with their enthusiasim and will try my best to incorporate more presentation and public speaking in the class.
Today was a good day as well. With Easter coming up there is a lot of preparation for the first Friday mass next week as well as teaching about Christ after lent. So needless to say religion is a big factor in the next coming week. I am not sure If I commented before on the school's resources and technology because it is not much at all. I just wanted to add that I have noticed how creative the teachers are with what they have. In no way does this prohibit learning and experiences. The teacher's have found great alternatives for everyday simple items. For the maths lessons that I teach the students each have a bag of popsicle stick with rubber bands that they use for their tables of adding units and sums. This is not a fancy learning tool but it is neccessary to use manipulatives when teaching students how to add using a table. IT is very effective in the classroom as well as cost effective. I have discovered many ways that I can incorporate more everyday simple materials into my lessons so that students also need a purpose for materials and a use for them.
The weekend is soon approaching and being it my last one I am trying to make the most of it! I hope that everyone finds enjoyment and relaxation in the weekend and I will write again soon, Slan!

So much to do so little time...

Hello! As always Friday went very well last week. I had a busy week and was very glad for some time to relax and regroup during the weekend. On Friday I was able to finish my food pyramid lesson that I worked on with my class on Thursday for the observation. I was very happy after I reviewed with the students because they were able to tell me a lot about what they had learned during the previous session. This made me realize that the way I presented the lesson and the activities I did worked for them and they really learned something! The students were able to tell me a lot about the information they had gained through the lesson as well as add some connections they had made when leaving school and talking with their families. I was very happy to hear their stories! In addition to review of the food pyramid I started the second half of the lesson which involved creating a food menu. The students were to use the knowledge they gained about healthy food choices and amounts and apply it to a restaurant menu. This activity involved working in groups of 2 and coming up with healthy food combinations. Not only did I want the students to experience more group work, I also wanted to work on their presentation skills and talking in front of their peers. After the menus were made, the students were to present their healthy food choices to the class and explain why they choose the particular food items that they did. In doing this I was able to assess the knowledge gained through the food pyramid because if the students could not easily explain their reasoning, I knew they did not successfully learn about the food groups. Overall I was very happy with this lesson and will definitely keep it for the future.
Friday evening I went to a community games competition in Tralee which is a town located just 30 minutes outside of Listowel. I have mentioned in my previous blogs that I had been working on a games around the world project with some students. Friday was when the competition for this project was held and the students were able to show and display all of the work and new knowledge they had gained from research. The girls were very excited and nervous to go to the competition but knew they had tried their best. The group of girls that were picked to attend had presented to the class and could easily talk fluently about their information. The group included two girls who have come from Poland to live in Ireland, so it was interesting to watch them adapt to school in Ireland and the different learning and teaching styles that they are used to. The students were in the under 11 age group and competed against three other teams. In the end the girls got 4Th out of 4 teams and were very disappointed. They had given it their all and that is all we could ask for. All we can do is take what we learned from this experience and move forward for next year's competition.
This week has started out great and is my second to last week. There is so much I still would love to do in the classroom at Convent Primary. My time here has gone very fast and I will miss it very much! I was able to teach my English lesson today. It involved a piece of writing that the students had been working through. Today we were only able to get through some of the lesson and I will continue with it tomorrow. The students have been great and very enthusiastic while participating in the lessons lately. This is great to see. As usual I am listening to readers everyday and constantly switching books. I also taught a history and geography lesson on tourism. This was a fun lesson to teach because the students and I could learn together. We both learned new things about Ireland that we did not know before. This was also a fun lesson to make connections to. Whether you have traveled somewhere else or not it is always nice to talk about where you would one day like to visit. I have had a great week so far and hope everyone at home feels the same! I will write again soon, until then Slan!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Hello everyone! I have not written in a week so I have a lot to catch you up on. Last Friday was a very nice day at school. I was able to teach a maths lesson on measurement. I found this lesson a little bit challenging because I had to try to connect with the students and adapt to the standard unit of measurement here in Ireland which is of course millimetres, centimetres, metres, and kilometres. I was always making sure to remind myself of the units before I spoke so that I did not confuse the students and give wrong information. The lesson went fairly well and was quite simple. I wish I would have had more time for the lesson because I would have liked to bring a more hands on experience to the students. I wanted them to use measurement in the lesson in the more practical sense so that they could connect the importance of measurement to their everyday lives and understand how crucial it is to have a standard unit of measure. Hopefully I will have a chance to do a follow up lesson on this unit and incorporate some uses of measurement that I think the students will find useful and interesting. I was also able to incorporate some spring time activities into the day by creating origami art. Some of the students had never heard of the art of origami before and I had a lot of fun sharing with them where origami originates and all the things that could be made from paper folding. I was also very pleased with this lesson because there was a visual way to assess my teaching as well as the success of the students' participation in the activity by viewing their final product. I was clearly able to see which students were able to follow oral instructions and able to complete the paper folding exercise. Both the students and myself had a great time creating origami!
I had a great weekend. I headed off to London for two days and had an amazing time sightseeing. I got some great pictures which I will hopefully be able to upload and post. The weather was absolutely amazing and great for the open top bus tours. I have always wanted to ride on one and got to fulfill my dream this past weekend! It also happened to be my birthday on Sunday so it was great to be out and about enjoying the scenery and making wonderful memories I will cherish forever! As you know, Tuesday was St. Patrick's Day and I was fortunate enough to travel to Dublin for the festivities. It was amazing to be in Dublin for the parade and see all of the different floats. There were people everywhere and from as far away as you could see. This was actually quite overwhelming at times but great all the same to be able to be in the atmosphere and take it all in. The streets remained crowded hours after the parade was finished so you can imagine I did a lot of people watching. There were tons of vendors selling everything green including hats, scarves, beads, whistles, and feathers. It was great! I am extremely lucky and proud to say I was able to experience St. Patrick's Day in Dublin Ireland and I will always remember this unique opportunity!
Since there was a break in the week due to having Tuesday off for St. Patrick's Day, the students have been a bit more energetic and wild. This could also be due to the fantastic weather we have had. I have never seen the sky so blue and the sun shinning so brightly as I have this past week. It was amazing to see and I hope it continues! The flowers are in full bloom and everywhere you look it is like tiny yellow smiles glowing back at you as you see all of the daffodils line the streets and gardens!
In addition to the craziness this week has entailed, I was formally observed for the second time today. I think the lesson went great and the students were outstanding. I taught a science lesson on the food pyramid. I was very pleased with all of the enthusiasm and participation given by the students. They had some great ideas and were great listeners throughout my description of the food pyramid. I was able to get the students involved by helping me fill in the blank food pyramid that I had created in the front of the classroom. The students found the content material very interesting and as I was able to create opportunities for the students to make connections from what they knew about healthy foods to the new information they were receiving about the various food groups. I was also able to assess the student knowledge gained by viewing the individual food pyramids that each student created. It was plain to see if the students grasped the concept behind my lesson by observing throughout the several discussions as well as through their individual food pyramids. I was given very helpful areas of improvement that I will strive to meet as I complete my last few weeks of teaching practice in Ireland. I am very happy with the progression I have seen in myself as well as in my teaching ability. I feel that I have been able to make the most of my teaching experiences at Convent Primary and will continue to do so as I finish out my placement. I have been very blessed to have had this opportunity to grow and learn in not only teaching but in life experiences as well! Until next time Slan!

You will never know unless you try

Hello to all!! I am happy to report tomorrow is Friday and the weekend is near! This week has been especially hectic because I have been getting a lot of things prepared for lessons I have been asked to teach. Yesterday there was an inservice at school so the students were able to go home at 12:30. There was a sports presentation for the staff of the school where we learned about ways to incorporate new methods as well as ways to teach sports. The school receive new equipment in addition to the presentation. This was a great opportunity that the school could not pass up. Each class does receive a physical education session on Wednesdays, however, I have observed that many teachers take it upon themselves to teach the students physical education on other days of the week as well. I think if the teacher can fit it in and also apply it to the other areas of study it is a great opportunity for the children to get up and move around. The students at Convent Primary do receive Irish dancing on Mondays as well. This has been great to watch and participate in. I have picked up a few steps and enjoy the laughs and cheers I get when I do join in with the girls.
For the past couple of days I have been working with the students on letter recognition and sounds. This has helped the students with not only reading but writing as well. They are really picking up on this concept and I am very pleased with their progress. I have also noticed that I am really concentrating on how I say things before I say them when instructing a class or small group. This has also helped my lessons to go more smoothly. I am noticing that if I am able to relate to students by using terminology they understand and give connections to what they know, they are more interested in the material. Each student has so much potential! I feel very confident now to let the children know when I think they can do better. I want them to know I care about their success and by pushing them to do better, they are making themselves better learners. I am not only learning what my students are capable of, but what I am capable of as a teacher as well!
Today I taught a lesson on the American Revolution because the student's will be learning about the French Revolution next week. I did a lot of preparation for this lesson this week because I wanted to make sure that I had all of my facts correct and could give a proper overview and summary of this important event in our nation's history. I found it particularly difficult because there was no textbook as a guideline for information and specific topics to cover. So I decided for myself what the best aspects and most important concepts were from the American Revolution and how I might best convey this to my class. I will admit after reflecting on my teaching, that there were a few rough spots during the hour. I was not very clear and stumbled in my thoughts during various spots. Instead of getting very nervous and changing what I was trying to say, I stopped and collected my thoughts while also thinking of how I could better phrase what I was trying to explain. There were also a lot of facts and dates to incorporate so instead of lecturing the full period, I tried to incorporate posters and symbols to post on the board while I was talking so that the students could follow along and make sense of the time period I was trying to cover. Some of the girls were particularly interested in the information because they had relatives from America while others have actually been there. After I had completed the lesson I was proud of the way I handled myself while teaching. Before coming to Ireland or student teaching at all I would have been extremely nervous to teach a concept without a textbook or guideline. When I agreed to take on this lesson I knew that I had to do plenty of research and review the topic. I did my very best and was very happy with the way the lesson turned out. I think that being in Ireland has not only taught me to be flexible, but to really put my whole self into all that I do so that I have no regrets in the end. I really think that my teaching is evolving and that I am finding myself more level headed in high pressure situations. I am learning the real "Irish" way of life which is to go with the flow and that everything will work out. I can not tell you how many times I have repeated this to myself in and out of the classroom! Tomorrow is another day and I have many more activities planned. Until next time, Slan!

We must learn from our mistakes

Hello! Last Friday was a bit of a mix up day. We had the Friday mass as usual in the hall. It was done by third class and they did a great job. It is always so great to watch the hard work and preparation from the classes pay off. Everything went as planned. The mass is usually about 45 minutes by the time everyone is finally settled in the hall and by the time everyone leaves. This Friday was particularly different because on Saturday there was an Irish speaking competition at the local community college where the local primary age children could come and participate. Most children picked a poem or a short skit to perform. These performances were practiced in the hall on Friday in front of the whole school. Not everyone had to participate in the competition, but each class performed something in Irish for the school to see. This Irish speaking competition was created as a way to celebrate the Irish culture and the unique language that is still spoken and taught in school. The students performed beautifully and as you might of imagined I did not know much of what was being said, though I still enjoyed it very much! The remainder of the morning the classes picked up where they left off.
Friday I was able to help some students with their presentation skills, particularly the groups that were working on the games around the world project. The girls have worked so hard on their projects and the class has decided as a whole who will be going to the competition next Friday in Tralee. It was a very hard decision to make but I picked the students who could talk most freely about their country and what they had researched. Each of the groups were to present their projects to the rest of the class. I was the interviewer and the students had to respond to my questions the best they could. It was from these interviews that I based my decision for picking who would compete next Friday. Once the final group was chosen, I took the small group aside and helped them prepare their speeches and go through the parts of their presentation that they needed to work on. While I was helping this group I really tried to focus on the real life application of what it was they were doing. They seemed very interested in what I had to say about applying public speaking to their lives and how much they will use in the future. I will continue to work with this group a few more times this week in order to help them get ready for the competition.
I also taught a lesson about positive and negative space in art. I noticed during this lesson I had a hard time trying to simplify these terms in addition to showing examples. I think I could have done a better job explaining the terms by using a variety of materials. Once I displayed what the students would be making, they seemed to catch on quite well. This lesson utilized mathematics as well because the students needed to create a grid in order to begin the activity. It was very interesting to see what students responded to oral directions and what students needed a visual to comprehend the directions. I was very happy with the lesson I chose to teach because I could see that it was challenging for most students in the class and used a lot of independent thinking as well.
Today I came up with a comprehension activity or game based on a story the students had just finished reading. I picked out the difficult vocabulary and had the students practice their dictionary skills. We discussed the words and I had them use the words in a sentence to ensure that they understood the meanings. The students read in pairs the assigned number of pages. There are review questions at the end of the reading and I wanted to try to make them more interesting. I decided to go through the first bunch with the girls so that I made sure they were understanding the questions. I had created a puzzle to go along with the theme of the story. I cut up the puzzle into 5 pieces for the 5 different questions the pairs had to answer. The students were to read the question, write down the answer, and check it with me before they would receive a puzzle piece. The first group to create their puzzle correctly would win the competition. I realized not even half way through the competition that I had been giving the students the wrong pieces of the puzzle. The puzzles were not labeled and each puzzle had different shapes however each puzzle had the same final image. I was so upset that I had made this mistake. I had to stop the game and get each group to hand up their puzzle pieces because none of them would have fit properly anyways. In the end we went through the questions as planned orally and I will have to find another way to make up of the puzzle pieces later this week. I learned that I must be more organized when doing any sort of game or activity so that this will not happen again. It was enough to see their sad and disappointed faces when I had to call up all of the puzzle pieces. I do know that by seeing how upset they were, I had captured all of their attention and each student was very motivated and interested in getting the correct answers to the chapter review questions. I will use this information for some of my future lessons. In the case of the mixed up puzzle pieces, I have learned from my planning mistake! Until Thursday, Slan!

Observation Went Well!

Hello Everyone! Wednesday's school day went fairly well. I began the morning by continuing my mini unit on light. I tried to focus my lesson on large group activity rather than small centers because after reflecting on the student's learning needs I noticed that giving instructions and examples in front of the class gives those that are confused additional reinforcement and those that are understanding can move at their own pace. I have noticed through all of my lessons that light was a very hard topic for this particular group to grasp. In realizing this fact, I would like to come up with type of game or review that covers all of the main points from each lesson and combines them into one fun and interactive learning experience. This way the children get to work in pairs or groups and use the knowledge they have gained collectively rather than separately. I am hoping that this game or review will give them a chance to show me what they have absorbed from my lessons and also give me a chance to further reflect upon my teaching to see what I could have done differently with the concepts that were not understood. I noticed that the girls were a lot more receptive when I was doing the little experiments in front of the class. They really learn well from hands on experiences.
I worked with some small groups that were having trouble with their maths problems. I found that when attempting to help these particular students with their questions I was in fact causing more confusion because there are a few different math sequences and problem solving methods that I have learned differently than what they are used to. In fact, this math session was not solely myself teaching the students. There was a lot of teacher teaching students and students teaching teacher which is something that I want to always promote in my classroom. I saw this experience as a great learning tool and found that I can not always assume the students have been taught the same methods as myself. I also found that in teaching math it is always important to show many examples in order to reach each learning style. For instance demonstrate a problem through words, visually, and numerically if possible. I will make sure to always ask questions each step along the way. From my experiences in school I have found that even though students may not ask questions there may still be confusion.
The games around the world project has wrapped up nicely. I have conferenced with each group and given them an interview based assessment on what they have learned throughout their research process. Based on the interviews with each group I have picked a few groups to present to the rest of the class on their findings. Throughout the school I have noticed how incredibly encouraging and uplifting the students are to one another based on school work. The girls give wonderful compliments to each other and have the nicest remarks to add about the work their peers have done. This I have found to be very encouraging as a teacher as well. It is wonderful to look around and see the students in your class building each other's confidence. This allows for the full potential of each students to be attained.
For my observation session I taught an English lesson on rhyming. This lesson was not out of the girl's workbook but more of a culmination of the material they have covered so far. I began the lesson with a basic review of rhyming words giving me a chance to assess the student's prior knowledge. I found through the next activity that most of the students had a firm grasp on rhyming words. I listed several rhyming word pairs and asked the children to put their thumb up if the two words rhymed. The children enjoyed this and it was a great way for myself to tell if they knew if the word pair rhymed or not. I continued with practicing rhyming words by giving each child their own word that was to be read a loud in the Dr. Seus book I was reading. When they heard their word they were to come up and place it on the board. After each student heard their word they were to look at all of the words on the board and find rhyming pairs. After this activity I connected rhyming words to poetry. We read together a spring poem that I had found. This poem not only contained rhyming words but used vivid vocabulary as well. We had a great time reading through the poem and finding all of the rhyming words. Lastly the girls were able to illustrate the poem in their English notebook copies. I felt very confident throughout my lesson and had a wonderful time with the girls. They did great! I also had good feedback from my supervisor as well. I was very grateful for this! I will now get back to my lesson planning. Until next time Slan!

Observation Tomorrow

Hello everyone! The school day on Friday went well. I took girls individually to work on their sounds and breaking up words. I found this practice was extremely helpful to them and in addition I found it helpful for my own experience in teaching phonics to children. This skill is necessary for all children to learn because it is so important for not only reading but spelling as well. I did science as well on Friday and we planted spring flowers. We are learning about the parts of the flower and the cycle of a plant as well as all of the right conditions for a plant to grow. The children are also learning about responsibility by needing to remember to water their plants. I called the children over one by one to plant their seeds because the planting tray was too small for more children. The girls were very excited to see they had their very own spot in tray to plant their flower. We will see how they turn out. I taught art Friday as well. This was very fun and went very smoothly. I decided to add in a little math to my lesson. The girls were to draw an animal of their choice. They were to separate the animal into 6 sections and draw a different line pattern in each section. Then they were to cut out their line patterned animal that was on white paper and glue it to colored paper where they had drawn several contrasting line patterns. This created a wonderful visual effect and used repetition and pattern as well. I was very happy with how this lesson turned out and I think the girls really enjoyed it as well.
As for Friday evening I went with some teachers from school to a birthday party. It was very nice to go out and see a little bit more of Listowel as well and meet more interesting people! The teachers were so nice and thoughtful to include me and i had a great time. Saturday I went to Kilarney which is a town about an hour away from Listowel to meet up with my host sisters and their church group. We were going to hike up a mountain. I was thrilled at this idea and very excited to see more of the landscape of Ireland. Unfortunately the weather was not cooperating and we got about 30 minutes into our hike before we had to turn around. The weather was awful the rain had everyone soaked and it was freezing! I did manage to take a few pictures and from what I could see through the fog, it was beautiful scenery! The rest of the weekend I spent relaxing and getting a start on lesson plans for the week. All in all it was a nice relaxing weekend.
This week marks 5 weeks left of teaching! It has gone so fast already! This also means that I am about half way done with my teaching placement and will be getting observed tomorrow. I have prepared a lesson for English teaching the girls about rhyming words through a series of fun activities. I have given my lesson plan to my cooperating teacher as well as my supervisor and am all set to teach tomorrow. So far this week I have taught Science on the topic of light. My lessons have gone well and have just been about the general concept. Light can be a confusing concept to grasp for younger children and my main goal is to give the children many opportunities for learning and new knowledge to be gained. I feel that through my series of short lessons this will be attained. I am also continuing my help with a St. Patrick's Day decoration. This is also turning out beautifully and will be great to see displayed at the Irish festivities and parades. I will continue to prepare for my lesson that will be observed tomorrow and will give my feedback on Thursday. Until then Slan!