Engdahl 1

Alaina Engdahl

Dr. Estrello

EDUC 4361

24 August 2020

Weekly Reflections

Week of 11/16/2020-11/20/2020

This was my second week of total teaching and I triumphed with many of the small

details that I was struggling with during my first week. I set an alarm so that I remembered to

take attendance every day, made lists of what I needed to do during my planning period in order

to maximize my time, and made sure to focus on my communication with parents. I was

answering parent emails and sending out messages using Konstella, and making sure to include

announcements and reminders, like making sure to tell them that we had library on Friday, since

last Friday that was a detail that I forgot.

I also felt more confident making decisions this week. Ms. Mays really encouraged me to

take ownership of my teaching and let me know that she fully trusted my judgement on teaching

related decisions. This led to me being brave enough to stray from our usual routine and swap

out one of our math Seesaw lessons for a math game that the students really loved. They got a

ton of good math practice and even asked to play it again on another day when we had some free

time. It was a great boost for my confidence.

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Week of 11/9/2020-11/13/2020

This was the first week of my total teach. Since we did not do Saxon phonics this week

(because we were a week ahead of the other classes) I had some extra time to work on a bigger

unit and writing project with the students. I feel like it went really well, and I had some time to

do guided writing with the students and help them with their own writing. I felt the unit was well

paced and the students were genuinely excited about their writing. Even the online students were

engaged in the lessons and excited about their writing.

My biggest hurdle of the week (besides remembering to take attendance every day!) was

teaching small reading groups. Ms. Mays and I had previously split the reading groups, and this

was the first week that I had to teach all of them myself. Besides making sure I was moving

quickly with each group in order to keep up with my schedule, I also struggled with answering

questions from the rest of the class and keeping them all working and quiet while trying to keep

the students that were in small group engaged. I feel like this is something that would be easier to

do with the normal (aka non COVID) schedule of having students at centers. It also probably

gets easier with practice and with more consistent routines than our students have had this year.
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Week of 11/2/2020-11/6/2020

This was my last week before I begin my total teach. I took over Saxon Phonics during

the last half of the week, which was a bit bumpy at first. Saxon is a very well written and detailed

curriculum that teaches students letter names and sounds, handwriting, spelling and coding

words, digraphs, blends, and more. It is a great curriculum that I was looking forward to learning

and be able to work with. However, because it is so great and detailed it can also be a bit tricky

to get into the flow of it because there are so many moving parts. I jumped in and gave it my best

shot and I was able to quickly get the hang of it.

I also began thinking about all of the details that I will need to plan for before I begin my

total teach. Even though I have taken over teaching all of the subjects and feel confident in those

abilities, I also had to start thinking about all of the things that I wasn’t used to doing. Because

the world has gone virtual, we ran into a few logistical challenges. Ms. Mays and I discussed

how I would be doing things like taking attendance and entering grades into the system since I

do not have access to Teams. We decided that for me to get the full experience of doing those

things, I would grade the assignments and take attendance and communicate them to her to

submit. In the case of things that I do have access to such as Seesaw and Konstella, I would take

over sending our weekly messages and assigning class Seesaws. I am feeling nervous as I get

closer to my total teach but my strategy going in is to over prepare so that I feel confident.
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Week of 10/26/2020-10/30/2020

This past week felt the closest to “normal” that it probably could have while teaching in a

global pandemic. Ms. Mays and I dressed up in matching outfits all week for Red Ribbon week

and our students loved it! Tuesday was workout day and we dressed in 80’s workout gear and

had several 80’s dance parties throughout the day. This past Friday was also the Friday before

Halloween, and students got to wear their costumes all day. Ms. Mays also allowed me to plan

the whole days schedule and curriculum! This was great practice for when I will be planning full

days during my total teach.

While I was thinking of what I should plan for that day, Ms. Mays read me an email from

a parent that was asking that we not mention the Fall Carnival on the whole class zoom, because

their child was already feeling left out and upset that they were not allowed to go. It made me

realize how, despite our best efforts, students at home have probably at some point or another

during this school year felt a bit left out of our in-person classroom. I took my time while

planning to make sure that the majority of the activities we did that day we were able to do as a

whole class together, and the activities we did separately (online vs in person) were equally fun

and accessible. I wanted to make sure that the students who were at home did not feel left out,

and that it felt as close to a holiday in the classroom as I could make it.
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Week of 10/19/2020-10/23/2020

This past week was a few big leaps towards my total teach. I took over more of our math

block, and completely took over our ELA block. This including showing the seesaw lessons and

beginning and ending the meeting.

Teaching math is something that I have always been nervous about because it is the

subject that I have always struggled with the most. However, I surprised myself while teaching

addition and subtraction strategies and remembered a lot of what I learned during my teaching

math courses. I do think things will feel different when I am choosing and scheduling curriculum

rather than just teaching what my cooperating teacher has selected, but this week has definitely

built my confidence.

As for the ELA block, I was able to learn more about the “behind the scenes” aspects like

selecting curriculum and working with more technology. I became much more comfortable with

the TV screen, document camera, and shuffling many tabs around while on a zoom meeting.

We also began planning for Red Ribbon week, and Ms. Mays agreed to allow me to plan

some Halloween activities! I began looking on Seesaw and through past lessons I’ve done for

some ideas on Halloween activities that are equitable and will be as fun for our virtual learners as

they will be for our in-person ones. I was also able to send my first Konstella message to parents

making sure it was okay that we do Halloween activities!

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Week of 10/12/2020-10/16/2020

This week was simultaneously easier and more difficult than last. It was our second week

of in person learning and while I was more familiar with the routine, I also took over a lot of the

behind the scenes prep work such as printing labels, preparing supplies, printing, laminating,

copying, and more. It was good to get to know how it feels to juggle teaching and prep work so

that I can begin to plan what strategies work best for me as a teacher. I also took more steps

towards prepping for my total teach.

To prep for my total teach, I got together a list of what I wanted to print and gather to be

able to put on a clipboard and reference during my total teach if I need to. This list included our

daily schedule, essential areas schedule, pick up lists so that I know which students walk and ride

home, and more. Ms. Mays and I also decided that weeks 10 and 11 (November 9th- 13th and

16th- 22nd) will be my total teach weeks. We have also decided that since phonics is what I am

most nervous to take over, I will do that soon so that I have some practice with it before my total

teach weeks. I also began writing my lesson plans for my total teach weeks in order to make sure

that I am well prepared.

I am feeling good about school overall. I am a little bit overwhelmed and nervous for my

total teach, but I am having fun. I am really getting to know the students and beginning to

understand their individual skill levels, which makes it easier to differentiate.

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Week of 10/5/2020-10-9-2020

This was our first week of in person learning and wow, so much has changed. I got home

Friday and fell asleep as soon as I walked into my house. Not only did we start learning in person

this week (with 7 students in our in-person class and 11 online), but I also took over the morning

phonics lesson (Heggerty) and the afternoon math spiral review. Between being back in person,

taking over phonics and math, and continuing read alouds and closing circle, I was exhausted at

the end of the week.

I knew that the teaching aspect would be difficult, but it is something I have been

preparing for. Something I was not prepared for and didn’t expect to be so difficult was keeping

track of the student’s schedule and making sure to always have them where they need to be

going and making sure they are on time. Between running around to lunch, recess, essential areas

and more, I felt like I did not stop moving once all day. I am beginning to get the hang of it but it

feels so overwhelming. Like it’s another thing tacked on to the long list of things teachers have

to be responsible for all at once.

However, the week was more fun than I have ever had in a classroom. My cooperating

teacher encouraged me to jump right in and I began helping students, answering questions, and

taking on responsibilities. I am looking forward to next week! (Only after a long weekend of

sleeping in!)
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Week of 09/28/2020-10/2/2020

This past week was our last week doing online only school via zoom. We really started

putting the classroom together and doing things like labeling desks, setting up sanitization

stations, and going over procedures for lunch and recess. I was also finally able to get into more

of the learning platforms like Konstella and Seesaw. Because I was finally able to access

Seesaw, I was given the opportunity to begin grading assignments.

Each student submits 4-5 assignments on seesaw each day and our class has 18 students.

This means that I was able to see 400-500 assignments just this week. Seeing the sheer volume

of information coming in from students really put into perspective how much teachers oversee.

They are in charge of tracking growth, strengths, weaknesses, and special needs and

accommodations for 15-25 students at a time.

However, it was also a really unique look into our student’s progression and how they are

managing virtual learning. Students are using a wide variety of online tools (that were virtually

unknown to them only a few months ago) to be creative, solve problems, practice art, and

participate with friends. I also was able to really gauge where each of our students are with

reading and writing, math, and SEL. I genuinely enjoyed the process and look forward to

continuing next week as we shift into in person learning.

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Week of 09/21/2020-09/25/2020

This past week in student teaching was a bit calmer than the last. We went through our

normal weekly routine and I continued doing read alouds and led a few of the closing circles. On

Friday we had a guest speaker in the closing circle. Ms. Brackmeyer, the counselor, joined our

closing circle and read a book called “Have You Filled A Bucket Today?” She did an SEL lesson

surrounding this story discussing being kind to each other and filling each other’s buckets. She

also opened this lesson with a breathing exercise.

Watching the students focusing on the breathing exercise and during the read aloud really

reinforced the importance of SEL lessons. It also showed me that they don’t necessarily have to

be very long or complicated in order to have a big impact on students. The students seemed

calmer after and were able to focus on the read aloud. The students were also very interested in

the book and gave good examples.

This session also gave me a few ideas on incorporating daily SEL checks and lessons into

my own future classroom. I think that using the bucket book with an activity where students

write words for each other’s buckets would be an awesome first week of school idea to set the

expectation of kindness in the classroom.

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Week of 09/14/2020-09/18/2020

This week was the second week of online learning. We continued our schedule of daily

group meetings and small group meetings. During small group meetings this week we conducted

some beginning of the year assessments to see where our students stood academically and what

we needed to prioritize working on. We also wanted to gauge their abilities in order to begin

grouping the students academically.

It was difficult trying to figure out how we could conduct these assessments over zoom.

There has never been a time where teachers have had to do anything like this, so we had nothing

to reference or get any ideas from. We ended up having to just skip things like handwriting

words or having students read books. We came up with a system of putting our assessments in a

PowerPoint format and sharing our screens with the students. This worked well and we ended up

being able to get some good information and began setting goals for each student and setting up

our first round of small groups.

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Week of 09/07/2020-09/11/2020

This was our first week of online learning! I was able to be on zoom all day everyday

with all of our students and get to know their names and faces, and more about who they are. We

did read alouds, ice breaker games, math and English lessons, and small groups with the

students. Mrs. Mays already allowed me to take the lead on a few sections towards the end of the

week and I was able to do a read aloud and lead a closing circle.

An interesting learning moment I had this week was when Mrs. Mays was teaching a

mini lesson. She was sharing her screen with the students, so I was tasked for watching for

students who had questions and making sure the students stayed muted. We have a few students

who continuously unmute, and we must constantly remind them. I suggested to Mrs. Mays that

we should just make it to where the students are not able to unmute themselves. She explained

that while that may temporarily solve our problem with keeping the zoom meeting quiet enough

for everyone to hear her, we would also be losing out on an opportunity to encourage the

students to develop strong self-control and independence. This was an influential moment that

taught me to always thoroughly think through the decisions I make as an educator to make sure

that they really are in the best interest of the students, and not just to make our lives as teachers

easier.
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Week of 08/31/2020-09/04/2020

This was our last prep week before the beginning of school. This week was spent in our

last few zoom meetings and in the classroom preparing for the student’s arrival in October. We

discussed seating arrangements and cleaning procedures, where and how students would be

eating, and began removing items we were not allowed to have in the room.

I also got to meet many of the students in person for the first time during the meet the

teacher parade when we stood in the rain smiling, waving, and handing out take home kits. This

was unexpectedly one of my favorite moments so far. The actual day itself was sheer chaos.

Everyone was standing under tents and leaping over puddles, scrambling to find the right bags

and textbooks all while waving to students through foggy glasses and breathing through wet

masks. But looking back, this was one of the moments that shows how far teachers will go for

their students. Despite all the stress and anxiety teachers were feeling, they never showed any of

that in front of the students. They took something that could have been a new, weird, and strange

moment for students and turned it into something fun. It reminded me why I love this profession,

and why I am working so hard to become a teacher.

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Week of 08/24/2020-08/28/2020

This week, much like last week, was mainly focused on professional development. Most

of the days this week were spent on zoom calls discussing safe opening procedures, lesson plans,

schedules, and students accessing blend. I was also able to sit in on grade level meetings and get

to know more about the first-grade team and was able to listen to their decision-making process

when developing developmentally appropriate schedules for our first graders.

We also met in the classroom and I spent some time organizing closets and taking

inventory of supplies, so we knew what we needed to order for our take home kits. We made

some copies, so I was able to see the teachers lounge and work rooms, as well as the copiers and

laminator.

Overall, I feel like I got a better sense of the school, the first-grade team, and what the

prep and planning days will look like. I am excited moving into the next week and feel prepared

and confident.
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Week of 08/17/2020-08/21/2020

This first week meeting my teacher and getting to sit in on professional development has

been as exciting as it has been nerve wracking. I got to meet my cooperating teacher in person as

well as the rest of the first-grade team and I feel like I got placed with the best team possible. I

was able to see her classroom and tour the other teachers’ rooms as well. We made plans to meet

and set everything up and took an inventory of what we already had and what we still needed for

the take home kits for the students.

Something that was interesting and that surprised me this week was our grade level

meeting with the principle. I felt more intimidated and nervous in the meeting than I originally

thought I would, but I was also able to observe some effective communication skills between the

teachers and principle. The teachers stood up for themselves and voiced their concerns, and the

principle explained her reasoning. They were able to figure everything out and the teachers left

with more confidence in what they were doing. I felt like I learned a lot just by sitting in on this

short meeting.