So my last day, I went a full day and was able to get into a Spanish class. Before that, I observed Tina, third period, and they basically were going over a reading project. I liked this reading project, because it provided a lot of options. After Tina explained the reading project, they read out loud Kite Runner. It seems that they get really excited about this book! Afterwards, they started to prepare for the fourth Socratic seminar. Like last time, they always prepare open-ended questions and try to defend their pov by using textual evidence.
Then came advisory and lunch. I asked Tina if she could get me into a another class other than English. I was able to observe the person in charge of the Spanish department. She is so much different from Tina. Tina is very sweet and friendly towards her students, but this Spanish teacher was very sarcastic and at times intimidating. That day, they were going over verb forms. She called on every single student and demanded an answer. She has both regular and honor classes, specifically juniors and seniors. She is also a guidance counselor. She is the one that reviews everyone's lesson plans for the Spanish dept. She has 30 years of teaching and really integrates culture and the art of language in her curriculum. Overall, her students know when she is playing around, and they work her way. She is all about holding meaningful discussions as well. Great teacher to observe. It permitted me to view another form of teaching.
The rest of my day was with Tina, and it pretty much was the same process as third period. The last period, I was able to go up there and explain the reading project. I feel uneasy because the students don't know me that well, but Tina was there to help me be at ease. Overall, I had a wonderful time at IHSCA!. I wouldn't mind teaching there! :)
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Monday, March 24, 2014
Day 2/28/2014
It was on a beautiful Friday morning when I went to observe at IHSCA, again. I forgot that Friday was a different schedule so I ended up going for advisory and lunch. I really like advisory because I get to know the students a little bit more. For one, the three same girls that I talked to about IHSCA before ended up again in a conversation about our favorite type of music. Tina allowed them to play Pandora, and they put my favorite type of Latin music. They asked me if I liked that type of music, and I said yes. I even went to his concert and bought his new latest album! (Romeo Santos) This connection was beautiful because we all could relate and understand the music. It was a cultural connection. As I walked around the class during advisory, I also noticed several students working on a cell project for science class. I asked several of them about their amazing project. I was impressed by the explanation that they gave me about their project, and the creativity of the project itself was wonderful. Above all this, there was a young boy who asked me about college and what he should do to achieve his goals. I was impressed! We had a very long and interesting conversation. By the end of the period, he left saying bye with a smile on his face! :)
Now the real deal is during sixth and seventh period (Literature/Composition). The activity that launched the period was a parts of speech quiz. They answered 5 questions individually about verb tense for a couple of minutes. Tina went over the quiz and explained why certain questions were tricky. Students had questions which was great because they learn more. Tina assigned them an ACT handout for homework which was filled with questions about parts of speech. After this grammar lesson, they read out loud Kite Runner. As always, Tina stops to assess their comprehension and even asked, "what adjectives describe how Baba feels?" I love this integration of what they learned before in connection with the text itself. Students were easily able to respond to the teacher's questions about parts of speech and reading comprehension questions. They finished the chapter, and they gathered with their intellectual partner to discuss their answers to the questions for the Socratic seminar. Tina and I walked around. Seventh period came in, and they did the same thing. I really like how the students at ISHCA allow me to enter their zone of learning!
Now the real deal is during sixth and seventh period (Literature/Composition). The activity that launched the period was a parts of speech quiz. They answered 5 questions individually about verb tense for a couple of minutes. Tina went over the quiz and explained why certain questions were tricky. Students had questions which was great because they learn more. Tina assigned them an ACT handout for homework which was filled with questions about parts of speech. After this grammar lesson, they read out loud Kite Runner. As always, Tina stops to assess their comprehension and even asked, "what adjectives describe how Baba feels?" I love this integration of what they learned before in connection with the text itself. Students were easily able to respond to the teacher's questions about parts of speech and reading comprehension questions. They finished the chapter, and they gathered with their intellectual partner to discuss their answers to the questions for the Socratic seminar. Tina and I walked around. Seventh period came in, and they did the same thing. I really like how the students at ISHCA allow me to enter their zone of learning!
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
First day 2/18/2014 at IHSCA
My first day at ISHCA was great! I love the school because it has a very soothing environment. Students seem to like being there as well as the staff. My day started at 9:56 a.m which is Tina's first class (third period). Her first class is a Literature Honors class. At the beginning of class, they went over a bell ringer which consisted of grammar examples. All of them responded with correct answers so I can tell that there is understanding of grammar rules. Later, Tina passed out a handout that was meant for homework, but she permitted them to work on it in class. They have intellectual partners so they were allowed to work with them on this assignment. That took roughly 15 minutes. After the grammar lesson, Tina started reading out loud chapter seven of the Kite Runner. I remember her telling them that a very important and major event was coming up and that they needed to be mature about it. The bell rang, and it was time for their lunch time. I was with Tina during her prep and advisory. I got a tour of the school, and we talked about how it is to teach at a Charter school rather than at CPS. There were various things I liked about ISHCA such as the classroom sizes, offices inside the classroom for the teachers that share the classroom, and the resources they have such as the smart board.
During her advisory period, I was able to approach and talk to three girls. They are freshmen, and they told me that they liked the school very much. All of them told me that they like that the school is small because the staff gets to know them better. They think the teachers are cool, and they have high expectations for themselves which is rare to hear from high school students. They all want to be in the field of Medicine which I think is great because ISCHA permits them to obtain their CNA certificate if they wished to. Her same third period class came, but it was now Composition class (6th period/ 11:47 am). They continued on with reading the book out loud, but once we were approaching the rape scene, Tina let the audio play so she wouldn't have to read it or any other student. There were several giggles, and a comment such as " Assef is gay." Tina paused the audio and asked them what had just happened. The whole class was thrilled and stalled by what had just happened. I was glad that most of them were able to handle it maturely. After they finished the chapter, they practiced being in their Socratic seminar groups. The groups had about 4 students. Tina handed each group a question and they had a leader that read the question out loud to the group. After that, they had about 2 minutes to discuss the question. Tina had a timer set on the smart board and it rang when time was up. I thought it was a rather short amount of time to discuss questions about the Kite Runner such as on the rape scene. They rotated questions about three times and the same process was repeated. I looked around and everyone was engaged. Tina walked around and dropped in on several discussions. Tina was very pleased with this practice round of the Socratic seminar. It was time for 7th period (12:35 pm) which was exactly like third period. This period was a Literature class. They went through the same steps as third period. They did their grammar lesson and then started reading the book. I noticed that in this class there was more diversity. I saw African American students. There was a different type of environment because these students were more vocal than her third period. Also, since it is 7th period, students seem to be more tired, but Tina kept the same enthusiasm just as she had it in the morning. These students walked in saying, " I know what happens to Amir!" Tina had to tell them to not spoil it for everyone else. They seemed very excited! Overall, I really enjoyed my first day, and I thought about whether I would want to teach there or not. :)
During her advisory period, I was able to approach and talk to three girls. They are freshmen, and they told me that they liked the school very much. All of them told me that they like that the school is small because the staff gets to know them better. They think the teachers are cool, and they have high expectations for themselves which is rare to hear from high school students. They all want to be in the field of Medicine which I think is great because ISCHA permits them to obtain their CNA certificate if they wished to. Her same third period class came, but it was now Composition class (6th period/ 11:47 am). They continued on with reading the book out loud, but once we were approaching the rape scene, Tina let the audio play so she wouldn't have to read it or any other student. There were several giggles, and a comment such as " Assef is gay." Tina paused the audio and asked them what had just happened. The whole class was thrilled and stalled by what had just happened. I was glad that most of them were able to handle it maturely. After they finished the chapter, they practiced being in their Socratic seminar groups. The groups had about 4 students. Tina handed each group a question and they had a leader that read the question out loud to the group. After that, they had about 2 minutes to discuss the question. Tina had a timer set on the smart board and it rang when time was up. I thought it was a rather short amount of time to discuss questions about the Kite Runner such as on the rape scene. They rotated questions about three times and the same process was repeated. I looked around and everyone was engaged. Tina walked around and dropped in on several discussions. Tina was very pleased with this practice round of the Socratic seminar. It was time for 7th period (12:35 pm) which was exactly like third period. This period was a Literature class. They went through the same steps as third period. They did their grammar lesson and then started reading the book. I noticed that in this class there was more diversity. I saw African American students. There was a different type of environment because these students were more vocal than her third period. Also, since it is 7th period, students seem to be more tired, but Tina kept the same enthusiasm just as she had it in the morning. These students walked in saying, " I know what happens to Amir!" Tina had to tell them to not spoil it for everyone else. They seemed very excited! Overall, I really enjoyed my first day, and I thought about whether I would want to teach there or not. :)
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