Lyndsy_Journal1_2309

=Journal Entry 1= =2 - 3 -09= Today I visited Washington Oak Elementary School for the first time. I have been assigned to do my field practicum in Mrs. Nadrowski’s 2nd grade classroom. The classroom consists of twenty-four students, five of which have an IEP. As far as the set up of the classroom goes, it contains six tables that are arranged in two rows of three and there are four students that sit at each table. When I first arrived today, the students were spread out around the classroom in groups of two. They were practicing their spelling words for the week by doing activity called “Blind Sort”. For this assignment the students had to take turns reading off the list of words to one another and write down which column they thought each word belong in. Mrs. Nadrowski uses this assignment to assess students’ ability to not only spell given words but also to recognize the different vowel sounds in each word and to sort them appropriately. After students had completed their spelling assignment they broke up into four groups of six for guided reading. I was lucky enough to be given a group of students to work with. The teacher gave me a stack of books which students had been reading, a packet of worksheets for each student and a record sheet for me to write down the students’ progress. Mrs. Nadrowski uses the guided reading groups to assess students on their reading skills. As students take turns reading and discussing the book, Mrs. Nadrowski takes mental notes on how each student does with word pronunciation and comprehension. She late writes everything down on little sticky notes and adds them to the students portfolios (another assessment technique that I will have to discuss with the teacher another day). Being my first time visiting Mrs. Nadrowski’s classroom I would have to say that things went extremely well. I was able to talk briefly with Mrs. Nadrowski when the students went to lunch. I asked her why she made those sticky notes and put them in the students’ portfolios. She told me that when students finish reading the book she collects their worksheet packets. While she looking over their worksheets she takes out their portfolios and compares the work they did on the worksheets with the mental notes she made while doing the reading. She said by doing this she is able to make a better assessment of the students’ reading comprehension skills. Although many of Mrs. Nadrowski’s assessments were not visually noticeable it is apparent after speaking with her that she is constantly assessing the students in everything they do. I look forward to spending time with Mrs. Nadrowski and her 2nd grade class this semester. I think there is a lot more to Mrs. Nadrowski’s teaching style that I haven’t quite figured out yet. For instance, why doesn’t she keep a grade book? What kinds of things does she put in students’ portfolios? I have many more questions so it will be interesting to sit down and talk with Mrs. Nadrowski about the different ways she assesses her students.

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