Monday. 10.17.11

As soon as I got to the classroom, my cooperating teacher was elated two practicum students would be in today.  Today she is getting ready for parent-teacher conferences!  Everything was quite hectic.  The other practicum student there goes to MSUM.  We got to make packets for the students, and cut out a billion flashcards for math.  I think tonight I will dream about cutting out flashcards.  We, the other practicum student and I, cut out sooo many flashcards our hands were cramping and our arms were starting to get tired.  After doing that for what felt like all morning, the students were split into their reading books based on what book they had been assigned to read earlier.  I was given the opportunity to read the fourth grade's favorite book.  There was six of us in the group that I was in.  Like every group, the reading levels of each student varied significantly.  My group was able to get through ten pages or about one chapter.  The students reading the book are kept on edge because they always leave off on bad spots.  The spots that leave you in suspense and all you can do is read on because it is that good.  After the reading the fourth grade had art.
During art, I went to the third grade.  In third grade, the teacher was reading stories that described specific objects or items and the kids had to guess what the item was based on the clues.  This activity helped the kids use their knowledge of the specific item to think about the clues listed to guess.  The students also had to pick out specific lines in the story that helped them figure out what the object was.  This was a difficult concept for the students to grasp.  This third grade classroom is all over.  It is extremely difficult, nearly impossible, to keep them on task.  They even got their snack taken away because they could not be responsible during snack time. 
Once the third grade's language art block was done, they went to P.E. and I went back to the fourth grade.  At this time, all the fourth grade students went to their assigned reading teacher.  The first task was to think about a statement by Dr. Seuess.  "A person is a person no matter how small."  The kids enjoyed this because they had read or seen Horton Hears a Who.  The answers that the students came up with were deep.  It was neat to hear their opinions on this subject.  Once they finished that we split the room, girls on one side boys on the other.  I got the half with all the girls.  We got to do a baseball crossword puzzle.  We were only able to complete about eight clues on the puzzle.  Then the teacher said it was time for lunch!  When the students had left the teacher and I talked about the day and how crazy this week will be since it is a short week.  Then I was done for the day.