Internship #1 Journal

Day 1: 9/17/18

7:20 – 10:18

Mr. Meyer started off both classes with a lesson in driving etiquette because there was an accident just
in front of him as he came into the school parking lot. It was a nice way to start off the day without just
jumping into a lesson. Next I got to introduce myself to everyone, which I apparently know a lot of the
kids in his class through my afterschool activities, like band, cross country, etc. Then they went over
their homework from last Thursday and Friday where the students asked questions about problems they
didn’t understand or concepts they found confusing. After this they started a math lesson about
switching from radians to degrees and using this to find arc length, area of a sector, etc. During this time
period I went and printed/copied a bunch of papers for their upcoming quizzes and homework
assignments. Mr. Meyer did a great job of keeping everyone interested and engaged during the lesson
by using examples and “dad humor.” Math is not the most interesting subject, but he kept their
attention. Towards the end of first block I started to help him by grading their tests from last week he
was unable to grade because of his baby. I spent most of second block grading papers, but I was able to
introduce myself to them too. I was also positioned so that I could still see Mr. Meyer give the lesson, so
seeing the way he kept his lesson the same and the things he changed helped me to see how much you
actually need to prepare. He had his 60% of the lesson ready, but kept the rest open to go with the class
and move with their needs. I’m excited for the next 8 days and I can’t wait to go tomorrow.

Day 2: 9/18/18

7:20 – 10:52

Today was another great day. Mr. Meyer started off with a hello and a quick anecdote about getting an
award from the softball team. He then went to pass back all of their graded tests. I graded a few of them
yesterday, so I knew somewhat what the test was about. They talked about it and he said that since he
has been gone for a few days because of his baby he would allow students to do test corrections and
gain back up to half of the points they missed. He dedicated a few minutes for the regular class for test
corrections, but the accelerated trig class had to do it in their free time and return it Thursday. After that
we continued by doing another starter. I’m starting to remember what they are learning about, which is
great because I can actually provide help now. After going over the starter, we gave the lesson about the
unit circle! I definitely remember that, so I was able to help Mr. Meyer teach it. I also gave the class the
“hand trick” in order to remember the coordinates, which has helped me ever since I learned it 2 years
ago from none other than Mr. Meyer himself. So I was able to do a little bit of teaching today, which was
great. Tomorrow Mr. Meyer is gone because of his children, so the students are taking a quiz and doing
a starter. I get to go over the starter with them, so I printed it off ahead of time and I completed it to
make sure I could do it well enough to explain it to everyone. Both classes were then given a worksheet
to complete and they had to recreate the unit circle on their own. I am excited to be in charge tomorrow
with the sub, and I hope I gain more confidence enough to teach a lesson later during this internship.

Day 3: 9/19/18
 7:15 – 10:30

Today went well. Mr. Meyer was gone so I was with a sub, who I am actually very close friends with, so
she told me I could take the lead, as I had planned. After taking attendance, the class was basically mine,
so I helped them with the starter and explained one of the answers that would later be on the quiz, so I
helped them prepare. Next they were given a worksheet to practice for the quiz. During second block,
the class of regular trig, I sat at the desk and several students came up to me for questions, which was
awesome that they felt comfortable enough to ask me, and also because it was a real teacher moment.
Being able to help students out felt great. Eventually we had them clear their desks except for a pencil
and their calculator. They had approximately 25 minutes to complete the quiz. I used that time to help
the sub prepare for third block because I wasn’t going to be there, so I explained what was going to
happen and wrote down the answers to the starter. I’m starting to feel confident in my abilities to stand
in front of a class and teach something, so hopefully I will be able to teach a whole lesson next week.

Day 4: 9/20/18

7:25 – 10:18

Today was a really easy day for both the teachers and the students. Mr. Meyer started off by asking the
class how the quiz was, although they were not graded yet. Then the students began their starter.
Meanwhile I helped Mr. Meyer organize his NHS stuff since he wasn’t here yesterday for the meeting.
After they went over the starter, they continued with a lesson on the unit circle and the other trig
functions. They learned how to use sine and cosine to find tangent, cotangent, cosecant, and secant.
They did a lot of examples to help their understanding of the topic. As they were doing the lesson, I
graded all of the quizzes from yesterday. Grading, as Mr. Meyer said, is probably the most boring or at
least the least favorite part of being a teacher, only because of how long it takes. I was able to grade all
of the quizzes, which helps him out a lot. Both classes were given a worksheet they had to complete that
was just a long list of trig values they needed to find by only using the unit circle. Today was a simple
lesson, so long as they remembered the unit circle from Tuesday. I was glad to see some of the kids
using the hand trick that I taught them, which made me feel like I did something well on Tuesday. I hope
to teach a lesson next week, or at least start doing the starters. It’s easy to take initiative when the
teacher isn’t there. It’s harder to ask to teach a lesson than just doing it. I need to be more confident
and just ask.

Day 5: 9/21/18

7:29 – 9:53

Friday was a hectic day because of all the homecoming festivities, including the assembly and the
parade, so kids were a bit antsy today, however Mr. Meyer was able to keep control of the classroom
and bring them back to focus each time they strayed. Me personally, I did a lot of other tasks that he
needed to get done that day. I did a lot of NHS tasks including collection of dues from individuals or
reminding them to bring their money next week. I spent a lot of time doing that and walking around the
school to their classrooms. The students however were learning an important lesson on Linear and
Angular speed. Mr. Meyer was prepared for this lesson, but took into account questions and confusion,
so he had plenty of time to finish his presentation in first block. For second, block they spent extra time
going over the homework from the night before to make sure they understood the unit circle and how
to find all six trig functions. Because of the assembly and people having to leave early for it, there wasn’t
going to be enough time to do the entire lesson, so Mr. Meyer compromised. He gave them the rest of
the block to work on previous homework that he was going to check for a grade before the test and
push back the lesson to Monday. This gave them a little freedom on a crazy Friday and in return Mr.
Meyer would be able to ensure students were doing their work, and understanding the unit concepts.
Although I didn’t do much of the teacher experience, I was able to see how to handle situations that are
hectic and how to make decisions on the fly.

Day 6: 9/24/18

7:21 – 10:18

Monday was a pretty chill day, there wasn’t much agenda for the day. First block had a unit circle quiz
they needed to take. Then they were given a worksheet to finish that had angular and linear speed
problems since they learned that on Friday. Second block needed to do the lesson they moved from
Friday, so they did that. Mr. Meyer is having me take charge of a word problem thing on Thursday. It’s
called Mission Possible, and it’s a complex word problem with multiple steps. In order to prepare for
that I completed the worksheet yesterday while first block was taking their quiz. I missed it the first
time, so I went back and did it again and got it right, which might actually be better because now I know
of a mistake that could happen on Thursday and help them through it. Mr. Meyer was supposed to do a
homework check for the chapter, but because of time he only got to a few people. We talked about the
rest of the week and asked any questions about the test. Mr. Meyer and I are both in young life, which
meets on Wednesdays, so we might do our interview then since he doesn’t have a plan block, nor do
either of us have after school or get up early enough to do it before.

Day 7: 9/25/18

7:19 – 10:52

Today went really smooth for everyone. Since their test is tomorrow, today was mostly a review day.
Both classes started by going over the homework/worksheet they were given yesterday. Both classes
took a couple of minutes asking questions about things they didn’t understand. They Mr. Meyer went
over exactly what was going to be on the test. He was able to describe a general concept, and then state
how many questions will be on the test for each one. Afterwards, I led the class through a Kahoot
review. First block is accelerated trig, so we just kind of went through it, most of the time mistakes were
just accidents. In second block, we had to stop several times to describe the problem, so I got to do a
little bit of “teaching” today, even though it was more like reteaching something to help them
remember. Either way it gave me time up in front of a class, which was fun. Second block was then given
the choice to take the Unit Circle quiz in exchange for extra credit, or work on the review packet and old
homework assignments that were due. Today Mr. Meyer finished his homework checks for everyone in
both classes. First block was given the review after the Kahoot, and for both blocks I got to walk around
 and help with confusion just like Mr. Meyer was doing. Today went pretty well, and I’m starting to get
more comfortable in front of people. I just need to make sure I constantly project my voice, face the
class a lot, and change my tone, rather than just keeping a low, monotone voice.

Day 8: 9/26/18

7:20 – 10:30

Today was kind of boring because all of the classes were testing, so I didn’t get to do much. However,
Mr. Meyer and I snuck out and did our interview while everyone was testing. The big thing that I took
away from today was all about the interview and talking with him. I don’t want to go too far in depth
because that’s what the interview response is, but we talked about how to create a positive learning
environment and creating a safe space for people to learn and be able to feel safe and comfortable. We
also talked about different classroom diversity, and advice that I may need going into college and as a
first year teacher. It was a great conversation we had and I enjoyed his advice. I think what he had to say
was important and very valuable to me for the future.

Day 9: 9/27/18

7:21 – 10:18

Today was the last day, which was a little sad, but I still enjoyed it. Since it was the day after the test and
we have a three day weekend coming up, we didn’t learn anything new. Instead we did that bike
problem activity I was talking about and practicing earlier in the week. Mr. Meyer was at his desk
grading the tests, and he let me take charge and lead the class. I think today I felt comfortable in front of
the class, and as I walked around the room, groups were asking me for help and being able to answer
their questions was mostly my teaching experience for the day. I was glad to see that I was now an
approachable teacher and that they were able to ask me for help, rather than going to Mr. Meyer. The
accelerated class was more into the math, only because they are in the higher level, but the regular trig
class still enjoyed the problem, and liked the fun activity rather than starting a new chapter. It was sad
to see that everyone was starting to open up to me on the last day, but it was still fun. I had a great two
weeks with Mr. Meyer and his two classes, and I think I’ve learned my strengths and more importantly
I’ve learned my weaknesses are I’m not bold enough and I’m not willing to take charge without anyone
else doing or saying anything.