September 7, 2021

Today is the first day of school. We had nineteen students in attendance. One student will be
joining us once his immunizations are updated. Hopefully, we will meet him tomorrow. The day was
spent learning many classroom and school rules. Lining up, sitting at our seats, walking in a line, and
using the bathroom were at the top of the list to review and teach. The students learned how to
appropriately use playground equipment and how to eat lunch independently in the cafeteria. Most of
the students have many kindergarten skills and understand rules with ease. Fifteen were able to
independently print their name with no prompting. All students showed the ability to color using
appropriate colors and stayed in the lines. We have two students that needed constant reminders to
follow rules and social skills. I feel that with structure and boundaries the students will learn
kindergarten skills quickly. One student also is severely diabetic and needed to be checked at the nurse
frequently throughout the day. Overall, it was a wonderful first day for the students and me. I am
looking forward to a wonderful year!

September 8, 2021

Today was Day 2. We had a great second day. We continued to review our school and
classroom rules at school. The children colored a picture and we kept it for their portfolio. We also did
a beginning of the name writing assessment to keep for student portfolios. In addition, we taught a
lesson on scissor use and scissor safety. The children practiced proper scissor grasp and use. They cut
on various shaped lines. All, but two children had appropriate scissor grasp and knew how to use it
appropriately. My mentor teacher and I each worked with the two students struggling with scissor
grasp and cutting skills. After a quick mini lesson, the children showed significant improvement. We
plan to continue practicing cutting skills and do a quick assessment at the beginning of next week.

During prep today we had a 504 meeting for a student that is diabetic. The meeting included my
mentor teacher, school nurse, principal, the student’s father, and myself. We reviewed his
endocrinology report and how to best meet his needs while in school. The student must visit the nurse
before eating lunch and snack to have his blood sugar checked. Additionally, the child wears a monitor
that is linked to a phone he always has on him. We reviewed where his blood sugar numbers should be
and when the child should be sent to the nurse. The principal will review his notes with the guidance
counselor who will write the 504. It will be written, reviewed with everyone, and then the parent will
sign. A new 504 will be written yearly for the student.

September 9, 2021

Today is Thursday, and a Day 3. We have multiple assemblies going on throughout the school
today to review cafeteria, bus, playground, hallway, and bathroom procedures. These school
procedures are reviewed by other staff from the building-including the principal. We will rotate every
15 minutes amongst various areas of the school. Our students have gym today. We learned how to
walk to gym class, as well. We introduced playdough procedures in the classroom. We talked about
where playdough goes and how to use it. The students made playdough balls, snakes, and the letters in
their name. Many students were able to spell out their entire first name correctly using playdough.
Overall, we had a wonderful day.

September 10, 2021

Today was our fourth day of school. We made it through the first week. It has been overly exciting to
watch the students learn and grow during this first week. Many began with minimal kindergarten social
skills but have really blossomed over the past few days. Today we did our first craft in the classroom. It
was a tree that the students colored green and brown. They then colored apples that had the letters in
their name on them. The students practiced arranging the letters in the correct order to spell their
name. More than half the class could complete this task with ease. Those that struggled were
instructed to use their name tag as a guide. In addition to coloring, the students practiced their cutting
skills by cutting out their trees. We introduced and taught glue stick skills. All the students did a
wonderful job and correctly used their glue stick. We continued to follow our daily schedule to include
calendar, songs, story time, lunch, recess, special subject, and more. It has been a great, rewarding
week.

Before school we had a 504 meeting today for a student with OT needs. We met with both parents, the
OT who evaluated, the OT who will be providing services, the speech therapist, and the guidance
counselor. The child’s assessment was reviewed, and it was found that there is a delay in numerous OT
skills. The OT and classroom teacher will be working together to utilize strategies to help the students.
In addition, the student will receive OT services for one half hour/week. It was a great meeting with all
in attendance working together to best meet the needs of the child.

September 13, 2021

Today starts our first full week of school. This week begins center rotations for our students from all the
classrooms. I will be working with small groups in the same classroom while my mentor teacher works
with groups. We will have three rotations of students from a high group, middle group or on-level, and
remediation group. Some students will be working independently on a center while we work with
specific groups of children. Today will be mostly reviewing routines and behaviors during our center
groups.

This week is also spirit week. Each day students and staff may dress in a certain way. Today is red,
white, and blue day. Tomorrow is fall colors day. The special days continue throughout the week. On
Friday it is school spirit day, and all grades have a pep rally at the end of the day.

Today has been very hectic. We began center rotations today. The goal was to review groups, rules,
and routines. The children did an excellent job learning and remembering their groups. We reviewed
how to work in small groups and independently, as needed. I led a lesson on the letter A and B for
alphabet book camp. Each day students will learn new letters. Today we created a large chart to go
with each letter. Students brainstormed words that began with A, and I drew the pictures. Then we did
B. The charts are hung in the classroom. Students may refer to the throughout the school year when
writing or practicing letter sounds.

September 14, 2021

This morning is a kindergarten team meeting. We will be meeting with the seven other kindergarten
teachers, the team leader and reading specialist for kindergarten, the building principal, emotional
support teacher, and ELL teacher to discuss scheduling and other concerns. Diebels testing will begin
soon to collect data on students. The testing dates will be discussed at the meeting.

Today we have a new student joining our class. He is coming to us with an IEP and emotional support
needs. He appeared a bit overwhelmed upon arrival but was very compliant with requests. We learned
that there are speech needs, as well. He has trouble expressing needs/feelings. I led calendar time
today, along with an alphabet review leading up to our ECRI lesson. The classroom teacher sat with the
student on the carpet while I led the lesson with the other students. After that we flip flopped. I sat
with the student and walked him through our daily routine while she led a lesson. We were also able to
assign him a peer buddy to help him walk into the bathroom, wash hands, and return to class.

As the day progressed, we did have a few hiccups in behaviors throughout the day. We noticed
a bit of apprehension to trying new tasks. Immediate prompting/and positive praise went a long way.
He was able to comply with most requests with a bit of help.

This afternoon I read the story, “The Rainbow Fish” to the class. We discussed feelings and how
others may feel when someone shares with them. The students followed directions and drew a picture
of the rainbow fish with lots of scales and another of the rainbow fish with one scale. We discussed how
the rainbow fish would be feeling in each picture. I modeled how to draw a fish using a circle for the
body and a triangle for his tail fin. Overall, they did a wonderful job with the entire activity.

September 15, 2021

Today we begin the lesson C and number 3. I am looking forward to working with the students.
We will continue working with the book, “The Rainbow Fish” and will focus on certain vocabulary words
from the story.

During prep today Megan and I have a meeting with my site director, David Price. I have started
a list of questions and things to review to ensure I am completing my student teaching the correct way.
The meeting was informative and helpful for Megan and me.

We introduced the magic “C” during the ELL block today. I modeled how to write the letter and
say the sound. We brainstormed items that begin with the /k/. We created a poster of those items.
Children gave me the things and I drew the picture, wrote the word, and underlined the c. We reviewed
/c/ during handwriting time today, too. We talked about how it is a magic c that can be found in other
letters in the alphabet. The children that were amazed by this. They all tried extremely hard to write a
c. Many are still struggling with a pencil grasp. Some did fantastic, others needed additional supports,
such as a highlight written letter c that could be traced. This seem to ease some anxiety students that
were struggling were feeling.

September 16, 2021

Today we move on to the number 4 and letter /d/. We hope to continue reading “Rainbow Fish.”
Megan and I continue to conference daily about the upcoming day’s schedule to ensure we are both on
the same page of how the day should flow. We just got word that a new student is joining our
classroom but have not been given any start date as of now.

We have begun discussing how to break up students into small groups during our center rotations. We
have formed a high, middle, and low group. Based on observation, we have decided to have groups in
handwriting/fine motor practice, name/letter rec., phonics work, and a math review group.
Additionally, we have been told that paras are available to run groups focusing on read aloud books with
vocabulary, following directions, dramatic play, and one other TBA. We are awaiting a schedule to
follow. There are eight classrooms, so the reading specialists are hard at work configuring a plan to
work for each room. We were later told that rotations will not be starting until after benchmark testing.
Diebels testing is to begin on Monday. Testing is set to beginning with grade 2 and work down to
kindergarten.

Our new student began showing some defiant behaviors. He needed a bit of prompting to complete
tasks. By the afternoon he was much more compliant. He raised his hand to take part in class
discussions and sharing of ideas. Positive reinforcement has been extremely helpful with this student.
He responds well to verbal praise and moving his clip up on the clip chart.

September 17, 2021

Today is Friday. We have officially made it through two weeks of kindergarten. This afternoon we have
a pep rally (weather permitting). We must report to the outdoor stadium area across from the school
for the pep rally. Students will sit in the stands while the band and senior athletes do a short
presentation of their sports on the field.

We have a full schedule today of activities planned. We must complete the reading and comprehension
of “The Rainbow Fish.” Each Friday is craft day, so students will be creating a craft that goes along with
the story. This will be a great following directions and fine motor activity. This will also help review
characters from the story and one of our vocabulary words “shimmering.”

Our schedule is still changing and evolving, as the center rotations may be changing. I am trying to wrap
my head around it all but am finding it a bit overwhelming. As soon as I know the schedule something
pops up or is moved. I hope within the next week that we have a workable schedule that fits our day.

September 20, 2021

Today marks the start of our third week of school. My mentor teacher, Megan is out today for a sick
day. There is a retired kindergarten teacher in as her substitute, Mrs. Hlavaty. I had the privilege of
collaborating with her in years past. I am looking forward to observing and collaborating with her again
today. We have a new student beginning this week in our classroom. I was able to review the lesson
plans with the sub, Mrs. Hlavaty. Students are bringing the homework back for the first time today for
this school year. We plan to tag team checking folders, morning message, etc.

The day went wonderful! I taught the morning lessons, and the sub taught the afternoon lessons. We
made a talented team and worked well together.

September 21, 2021

Today has been a wonderful day. Some of the behaviors seen in the first few weeks have curved quite
a bit. Today many clips were moved up for good behavior. A few reminders were needed, but positive
reinforcement has really helped. Today I taught the calendar lesson. I taught the Heggerty lesson, the
letter F, and number 6. My mentor teacher remediated with lower students that were struggling with
OT issues to help them grasp top, middle, and bottom lines, strokes, and how to write. While she was
reviewing those skills in a small group, I was teaching it in a whole group.

September 22, 2021

Today is our first rainy school day. I believe we may have indoor recess. I am just learning the ins and
outs of how that works. It is also picture day for our students this afternoon.

This morning I led our Heggerty lesson, calendar, and math. We used playdough counters to show
seven on a ten frame. We also made a number 7 with playdough and practiced writing a seven by going
across the sky and slide down the slide to reflect a seven using top, middle, and bottom lines. I worked
with individual students as I walked around the room to observe the progress. The students were
intrigued with how well they wrote the number 7, counted using one-to-one correspondence, and
represented on a 10-frame.

This afternoon I led our lesson in the sound and recognition of letter G. We began with a Jack
Hartman letter /g/ song to gather ideas for letter /g/ words. Afterwards we talked about the sound of
letter /g/ and brainstormed words that began with that letter. I drew pictures to go with the words and
the poster will hang in our room. Under reach picture is the letter /g/ word that the students can use
throughout the year as they begin the writing process. From there we transitioned into handwriting and
practiced making and upper and lowercase /g/.

We had a wonderful day-many clips moved up today. We had one incident with a boy being silly
in the bathroom. He had to move his clip down.

September 23, 2021

Today we are continuing through our alphabet book camp and moving on to the letter H. We are
gearing up to begin ECRI on Monday. I am new to this and still learning this program. My mentor
teacher is going to model for a few days and then I am going to jump into instruction after viewing it
next week.

We are still trying to work out a finalized schedule but are finding it tricky to fit everything into the day.
Today we have a team of reading specialists and paras that will be beginning the DIEBELS process of
assessment with kindergarten. I am anxious to see the data from our students. Many are going to be
high, and a few will be lower. I love seeing the data to help drive instruction for the students.
Today we doubled up on letters to make our way through to ensure we were at J prior to the start of
ECRI on Monday b/c that is where it begins. Then we move to a letter a week, add alphafriends, and do
much more in depth letter activities

September 24, 2021

Today is the last day of the week. We are squeezing in a fire drill practice this morning. It is our first
time practicing with this classroom. I am going to observe the mentor teacher to see her procedure.
We are then moving right into calendar, letter, and handwriting to give way for plenty of time to
complete a season’s art activity. Students will be creating a tree to depict each season of the year.
Inside they will draw a picture of something they like to do during that season. This activity is to
culminate our week of seasons exploration that coincides with our journey’s curriculum and Tara West
materials that provide additional resources.

We got our Diebels results back today. Many of our students did well. We used the data to drive how
to place in three groups. We have them color coded and will be targeting the missing pockets of
information during center time using the data.

As students completed their seasons cutting/painting activity, they joined me on the carpet for a short
video/song about the seasons of the year by Jack Hartman.

September 27, 2021

Today we began an ECRI slides and introduced the letter “I” to students. I observed this lesson, as I have
never seen ECRI in action before. My mentor teacher explained to me the need to continue each lesson
with fidelity to ensure proficiency. I plan to keep observing to ensure I know exactly how to teach the
lessons.

We continued through our Heggerty lessons today, taught the letter “K” and number 9. We taught how
to use a whiteboard and marker to practice writing numbers and utilized a ten frame and domino for
each student to show certain numbers that we called out. We are going to begin reviewing numbers as
we gear up for our first test on Thursday.

We have begun an apple unit this week and will be focusing on vocabulary words from the story. We
are planning to add some fun apple activities throughout the week to celebrate Johnny Appleseed.

September 28, 2021

Today I taught most of the day, including the ECRI slides. The students responded wonderfully to
learning their new sight word. They were involved and shared many ways to use the sight word in a
sentence. We introduced a new letter and number today. My mentor teacher began doing letter and
sound recognition assessments on students while I taught the class. It is remarkably interesting to look
at the data she gathered. We are going to use the information in planning for small group reteach
lessons.
We had a team meeting this morning to review student concerns. Many of our concerns are shared by
the other kindergarten teachers, too. We brainstormed ways to create center rotations and procedures.
Centers are set to begin next week.

September 29, 2021

Today continues another day of school. The students have really fallen into a wonderful routine. They
know their expectations and behavior goals. They can unpack to start their day independently. This
really helps set a calm tone for the day and gets the students settled in with ease.

We had a new student begin today in our classroom. The students did an excellent job helping the child
feel welcome. He needed many reminders and prompts as he learns our routine. Upon observation, the
student has never held a pencil or crayon before, could not recognize name, or unzip coat.

Our math review lesson today was tricky and upon reflection, it was too hard for the students. They
were to count pictures and write the corresponding number. Though easily completed by some, there
were too many for others. There were too many on a page. I would modify it by only adding half the
number of pictures and by placing a letter or shape by each one to ensure everyone knows exactly what
group they should be on. Though we completed all, but one task together the children struggled with
staying on the correct one. I had them point as we went, but they easily lost their place. By having a
visual reminder, I think the children could have stayed on task easily. Some were discouraged by too
many tasks. We need to work up to that many. Tomorrow is a test day; this activity was a review.
Instead, we pulled out whiteboards and wrote numbers as I called out one or represented it with
pictures.

September 30, 2021

Today is a math test day. We have been prepping to get the students ready for their first test. I am
anxious to see how the students do. Many have mastered the skills, as per my observations. There are
some that struggling with writing the numbers correctly. Megan is going to give the test while I observe.
I would like to see how much support she gives throughout the assessment.

We will continue throughout alphabet book camp by introducing the letter N sound and writing. We will
also be making connections to our apple unit during our ELA time by linking apples as a fruit. Students
will be drawing their favorite fruit to make connections.

October 1, 2021

My mentor teacher is out today. There is a sub, but I will be running the classroom procedures. We
have an ELA assessment and a fun apple life cycle activity for the afternoon. This morning we will be
following our regular schedule with calendar, Heggerty, ECRI, etc... Then we will move right into
alphabet book camp and letter O handwriting. I am meeting with a K team member today to learn how
to use SWIVL tech to begin recording lessons.

The day went wonderfully! We even survived a bumblebee in the classroom this afternoon.

October 4, 2021

Today begins a new week. My mentor teacher is out again, but the sub that is in is wonderful. She is a
retired kindergarten teacher and a wealth of knowledge. She has given me so many tricks of the trade.

Today was an extremely busy day. We added center rotations into our schedule for the afternoon. We
ran out of time to focus on handwriting, so I added it to my center. This allowed me to work in small
group on handwriting and ELA skills.

October 5, 2021

My mentor teacher is back today. We spent time first thing in the morning discussing how the days
went while she was out. Today was another indoor recess day due to rainy weather. The OT came in
toady to review handwriting and how to begin writing letters at top, middle, or bottom. She reviewed
magic c and how it is used to start many letters. I observed my mentor teacher teaching our ECRI slides
to ensure when I took over teaching it I did it correctly. It is a sign word, word/phoneme segmenting
program. Today during center time, I taught our ELA lesson on fire safety. We focused on reading a
book and learning new vocabulary words. To finish out the lesson, students illustrated pictures to depict
two vocabulary words and two tools firefighters use to help.

October 6, 2021

Today we introduced another sight word during our ECRI slides. I am in the midst of learning the
program and ins and outs of teaching it. I am excited to begin the decodable texts and white board sight
word practice slides as we begin making our way through the slides. I recorded my first lesson for my
site director to review. The lesson went well and the SWIVL technology was easy to use. I am looking
forward to my meeting with him on Friday to review.

October 11, 2021

Today we had an ECRI in-service training in the morning and a Drug and Alcohol abuse training in the
afternoon. The ECRI training was informative, and I learned a lot. However, I am still observing mentor
teacher complete the ECRI slides.

October 13, 2021

Recorded patterning math lesson today. Overall, the lesson went well. It was extremely scaffolded to
ensure students knew how to complete the final assessment. The trickiest part was the use of SWIVL to
record the lessons. The students were distracted when it moved to follow me around the room. Next
time, place it to the back corner of the room to ensure there are less distractions. Tomorrow we are
introducing math centers during math instruction. Students will be completing a math activity, working
on iPads through Seesaw activities, and completing a pattern project.

October 14, 2021

My mentor teacher and I discussed beginning our math rotations today. We are incorporating iPads into
the rotations, along with a hands-on activity, and worksheet or assessment. We were in contact
regarding ELA center rotations today to plan accordingly, and we discussed how to tweak our schedule
to maximize instruction time. Today we did not have a para for afternoon centers. We doubled up our
groups which posed a tricky issue because we had much larger groups.

October 18, 2021

We have a lot to do today. My mentor and I was in contact regarding the packed day. We are
beginning a new theme. Starting the letter /M/ to coincide with our ECRI slides, finishing y and z, and
trying to start up math centers-time permitting. We are dealing with students being out on quarantine,
and sick due to colds/covid. Today I had my meeting with my site director. Things went well. I am going
to set a goal to become more confident in ECRI, add more centers, and become more confident in
behavior management techniques.

October 19, 2021

Today our OT will be visiting the classroom to work on writing skills with our students. I intend to
observe her teachings, as she uses handwriting without tears to guide her instruction. I have a
handwriting without tears workbook to be used with the alphabet. I am going to keep this with my
student teaching supplies to ensure I have it, if needed in my future classroom. Each day I am becoming
more confident in my teaching and feel I am becoming more powerful in my delivery of instruction.

October 20, 2021

Today we continue with our ECRI slides and introducing the new sight words ‘and’ and ‘the.’ I am
learning a lot by observing my mentor teacher during these slides. I have been teaching increased
lessons. ELA centers are up and running. Today I will be recording a small group ELA lesson on spiders.
Students will be listening to a story about having a bat as a pet. We will be using a chart to decide if a
spider would or would not make a good pet and using post-it notes to choose our opinion. From there I
will lead a group discussion on why spiders may or may not make a good pet. Students will support
their opinion during the assessment where they will create a drawing to show how a spider would or
would not make a good pet. They will share their opinion with our group. I am excited to see how our
lesson unfolds. We are reviewing for our math test tomorrow and introducing boom cards. We are
continuing to incorporate iPads during our math rotations by assigning Seesaw assignments that allow
students to practice concepts to reinforce lessons.

October 21, 2021

Today started off terribly busy. We are pulling and prepping supplies for our end of unit spider craftivity.
Students will be creating a spider and adding the spider life cycle to the body. There is a lot of prep to
get this craft to ensure it runs smoothly. We will be giving a math assessment during our math block
today. Students have been working on writing numbers 1-10, grouping like items, and making patterns.
Yesterday we did a whole group review using boom cards on our smartboard. I thought the activity was
a wonderful way to review all concepts but will take some practice for student to become used to using
the smartboard pen. Additionally, we utilized iPads to reinforce math concepts such as patterning and
sorting. Students also practice counting using a ten frame and adding the correct number. This evening
I have a zoom conference with my site director to discuss my third recorded lesson.

October 22, 2021

Today went wonderfully. The classroom behavior was fabulous. The students were on-task and
engaged during all lessons and enjoyed our end of theme craftivity. We learned a lot about spiders this
week and the children used those skills to create a spider with fangs, eight legs, and the life cycle on
their abdomen. It was also a following directions activity, as the craft had many components and
students had to pay close attention to complete. I am so proud of their progress and the work they
completed. I have been very vigilant to observe and follow along while my mentor teacher complete
ECRI. One goal is for me to become more confident in using the program. The observation and feedback
have been extremely helpful.

October 25, 2021

Today begins math center rotations for students in the morning. Additionally, we begin a new thematic
unit for ELA on bats. There is a fiction and non-fiction book to go with the unit, as well as new
vocabulary and comprehension skills. Tomorrow we are getting a new student. We have been prepped
that he is coming with some behavioral and emotional needs. He is going into our emotional support
program. We are producing a game plan to best meet his needs, such as where he will be sitting, who
could be a peer buddy in the room, behavior management techniques, etc.

October 26, 2021

Today has been an uphill battle with our new student. He is coming from quite a rough background and
appears to struggle with boundaries, structure, and following directions. He needed modeling,
reinforcement, and consequences for behavior-negative and/or positive. He needed short, concise
directions with immediate feedback. He responded well to earning a sticker for good behavior. He also
responded to counting to three when given a choice. Warnings prior to transition, transitioning with
one step directions, and giving reminders for the desired behavior helped tremendously.

October 27, 2021

Today we will continue to make our way through our unit on bats. Today’s focus is on the story
Stellaluna and problem/solution. In math we continue counting. The focus is counting using one-to-one
correspondence. I will be modeling how to count and cross out as you go to ensure every number has
been counted and nothing is missed. The focus will be counting correctly and writing the number.
Yesterday’s ECRI lesson went well. I must remember to wait for at least two seconds prior to sliding my
finger for students to read the word or spell the word. The wait time is important for children to look
and process the word prior to saying it.

October 28, 2021

Yesterday our new student had a much better attitude and behaviors. He complied much more and was
willing to participate. However, when leaving the room to work with the reading specialist and for
special he misbehaved. After working with the reading specialist, we spoke to him about how he should
act when out of the room. We discussed ways he could interact with the teacher and other students.
We even practiced raising a quiet hand, walking in the hallway, etc. At special, which was computers, he
hit another student for trying to help. When he arrived back at class, we spoke to him about helping
hands and hurting hands. We discussed ways to use words instead of hands and had him apologize to
the student he hit. He then moved his clip down and a note was sent home to talk about the
inappropriate behavior. He grasped the concept of using words and having helping hands, as he was
able to discuss other ways to handle situations. I know he is coming from a rough situation and has
recently been put into grandmother’s custody. There are several emotional components going into his
behaviors, though he must learn that hitting is never ok and his actions have consequences-both good
and bad. We have been using positive reinforcement throughout the day with him and he responds
very well to verbal praise, and rewards. This helped him have a good day in the classroom yesterday.
Now we must get over the hurdle of misbehaving when leaving the room and going with other teachers.

October 29, 2021

We are ready for the day, and it is going to be a busy one. We have an early dismissal schedule followed
by a Halloween parade and party in the afternoon. We will be giving our ELA assessment. I feel positive
for this assessment, as I feel the students have grasped the concepts and are ready to show what they
have learned. The vocabulary words we have discussed, combined with movement to depict the
definition has been interactive for the students and has helped them master the concept.
Understanding story structure through discussion, partner, and small group activities, online read aloud,
and teacher read aloud have all gone a long way into helping the students understand the story,
“Stellaluna.”

November 1, 2021

Our day started out wonderfully. My mentor teacher was out today with a sub in for her. I took over
ethe classroom with the substitute teacher co-teaching and assisting throughout the day. The children
were on task and responded extremely well to positive reinforcement throughout the day. Our newest
student that has struggled with behavioral issues the week prior, did very well all day long. He
responded very well to positive words of encouragement, reinforcers, and help from his peers. He was
able to remain on task with just a few reminders. I modeled how I would like lessons and procedures to
go, paying close attention to him and he was able to follow through with simple, one step, directional
tasks. It was announced at the end of the day that the district would be going virtual for the rest of the
week due to no bus drivers because of covid.

November 2, 2021

Today is our first day of virtual zoom school. Yesterday I created math, letter, and morning work packets
for students to take home. These packets will serve as their work to do, as they normally would if in the
school building. Our focus this week is on the sounds and letter rec of “Aa” and new sight word “see.”
There are ECRI slides that introduce and reinforce these concepts. All morning work is a review of letter
A. The math packets consist of all skills for the week-counting backwards from 10 to 0, counting using 1-
to-1 correspondence, counting in groups, and a review. Additionally, my mentor teacher has taught me
how to upload activities on Seesaw and has made me a co-teacher so that I am able to add activities for
the students to do at home. The zoom session was tricky, as it was the first time all students were on a
live zoom.
November 3, 2021

Today was a challenging online day. The internet shut down as we were getting ready to begin our live
zoom. Many students were on and waiting for us to begin. The internet froze and would not respond to
troubleshooting tricks we tried to fix it. Our administrative technology person had to come down to our
room to fix the issue. They ended up having to put our wifi on administrative strength to ensure that we
would have internet access the entire time we were on zoom. Thankfully, it is fixed and hopefully the
issue is resolved. While the issue was being fixed, I sent out an email to all families about the technical
issues. I also sent out an alert on Seesaw for all families. Luckily, we had the issue fixed in under ten
minutes and were able to be back on our zoom session. The students responded well to a review of our
morning work, math concept video, Heggerty lesson, and ECRI online lesson. Additionally, we
completed calendar, weather, and counting our days of school. We found a way to upload all these
materials on our computer and were able to share our screen via zoom for the students. It made it very
interactive for the entire class.

November 4, 2021

Today our online day got a bit easier. The students knew what to do, how to log on, and expectations.
The trickiest thing was the parents. We sent our our zoom link daily to ensure families knew how to get
on, but for some reason two families forgot how to get on today. Troubleshooting that issue was
challenging and required many emails and Seesaw posts back and forth. Luckily we were able to get
everyone on zoom-even if late-to ensure all students got their core online instruction. The students
enjoyed online brain breaks and online stories. We will keep that in mind should we go out on a virtual
platform again.

November 5, 2021

Today the students completed their math work online on Seesaw. All children enjoyed this activity, as
we have been using Seesaw daily in the classroom during math center rotations. We listened to the
story “How Dinosaurs Count to Ten” as an end of the week culmination of counting skills. The students
loved the story. We continued our ECRI slides all week, though we will be reteaching them once we
return to in person learning on Monday. Overall, I learned a lot about virtual learning for our students.
It is best to not post encore zoom links until after we meet each morning to ensure students end up on
my zoom, not their special teacher’s zoom. Students need a bathroom and drink break even when
having online instruction. Communication is key when having virtual days. Families need lots of positive
feedback and reinforcement that they are doing the right thing when on Zoom. For many, this is the
first time they’ve done anything like this with their students and are still learning, just as the child is. I
helped my mentor teacher work on her SLO for this school year. It was interesting to see how the
percentages and objectives are created for a classroom. I have a copy of her SLO that I helped create to
keep as a reference should I ever need to do one for myself and my classroom.

November 8, 2021
Today is our first day back after four days on virtual learning. We must also begin and finish report card
testing by tomorrow afternoon. We have many activities planned for the students, including
independent work that will allow up to do report card assessments while the students work to reinforce
skills taught in the classroom. On Wednesday we have parent-teacher conferences, so we are gearing
up for that, as well. We have information and resources pulled for each family to reinforce the need to
review letter names and sounds, sight words, and math concepts at home. All conferences are virtual,
but we have packets created that we will be sending home with each students to review with families
during conference time.

November 9, 2021

Today we had our team meeting to discuss data, center rotations, and the ECRI literacy program. We
discussed ways to address student needs, such as more differentiation amongst the classrooms and
ways to create much smaller groups for more in depth differentiation. We created a common short a
assessment to be utilized amongst the classrooms. It will assess student ability to read and write short a
words independently and it will coincide with the ECRI slides that are used daily. We discussed the SLO’s
that are due. We also discussed the need to record an ECRI lesson to be viewed by the reading specialist
and principal to aide in the instruction. My principal offered for me to record a lesson, too that they
would utilize to provide feedback.

November 10, 2021

Today we had a full day of parent conferences from 10am to 8pm. My mentor teacher did a wonderful
job of discussing positive aspects of each student, then moving right into needs or concerns. The
parents were receptive and appreciative. We created assessment packets that were sent home with
each student due to all conferences being virtual. We were able to discuss student growth and needs by
referring back to the packet with the families. At the end of the conference, we discussed ways for
families to continue practicing letter name, sound, and sight words at home. We created two
documents that explain various games and activities families can do at home. Those will be sent home
with students on Thursday for families to utilize as more and more sight words begin to be introduced to
students. We had two team meetings with the principal, guidance counselor, and school psychologist to
discuss two grave student concerns. We have two students who are very low, not grasping new
concepts or retaining information being taught over and over in many different ways. Both students
have outside stress and triggers which may be leading to their struggles at school. The team asked for
us to continue documenting academic and behavioral issues. The guidance counselor will be reaching
out to families and children and youth agency for one student. We will reconvene in a few weeks to
discuss these students.

November 11, 2021

Today we will continue kindergarten assessments. We have one last student to assess due to being out
on quarantine for the past week. We will be utilizing math review games during math instruction to
review math concepts that will be on tomorrow’s end of unit math assessment. Students will be using
games and their white boards. Megan will be working with one game that focusing on counting using
one-to-one correspondence while writing numbers 1-10. Another game focuses on counting backwards
from 10-1. Students will count backwards and then write the numbers 10-1. Megan and I will provide
supports to students struggling and do quick mini lessons to reteach, as needed.
November 12, 2021

Today was assessment day for ELA and math. Overall, the students did well. We have two students who
are struggling with all concepts. They arrived to school late with no prior school, no home support, and
no background knowledge of skills-even how to hold a pencil. They are showing growth, but the current
kindergarten content is well beyond what they are developmentally ready for. I modify as much as I
can, but without an IEP my mentor teacher told me that we must still give them the same assessment as
the other students. We give it in a smaller group setting and chunk it down to not overwhelm the
students. They still struggled with the math assessment. They were unable to write the number 1-10.
Though, they could verbally count for me correctly from 1 to 10. I made a note of this and put it on their
test to keep record.

November 15, 2021

Today we kick of a new ELA unit and new math skills. I will be introducing new math centers to
students, along with new vocabulary words during our center rotations. We are also gearing up for
thanksgiving activities next week. We will be changing our math groups a bit. Our high group will be
working independently during math centers and then moving right onto iPads. Our on-level group will
be working with a teacher and our two below level groups will be working with a teacher with lots of
scaffolding and support.

November 16, 2021

The students did a wonderful job deciphering sound pictures to determine which began with the “T”
sound this morning. Many were able to complete the activity independently. Those that needed extra
support were given it one-on-one at their desks while the rest of the students worked independently.
We had a team meeting this morning where we discussed ECRI. I seem to not be the only one struggling
with the program, protocols, and routines. It takes a bit of time to get it all ironed out, but I am going to
keep working my ways through it. My mentor teacher has been a wealth of knowledge when discussing
ECRI, though there were some changes made today, that she did not know about either. We are
working our way through our ELA unit on the 5 senses. Today I fostered a discussion about our senses
and both of my small groups were able to tell me each of our five senses and what the senses do. The
students were also able to show me the motions for each of our vocabulary words, which has been a
great help when it comes assessment time.

November 18, 2021

Today we will be continuing our work with sets and the five senses. The children loved hearing our ELA
story on the smartboard at the end of the day, therefore, I intend to project it again today while they are
eating a snack prior to dismissal. It is a great time to project a story, as they are all sitting while eating
and eager to listen contently. I will keep this in mind as the year continues, as it has become something
the students look forward to.

We have a student with some severe behavioral issues that seem to worsen when he spends time with
his mother and father. He currently is in foster care under the care of his grandmother. We have been
directed to log every incident. Guidance is involved, along with the principal. He has been harming the
other students impulsively. We have been able to “catch” him behavior and utilize positive
reinforcement, but just as quickly will turn his behavior negatively. We utilize a clip chart which he
responds to. We have been in contact with his grandmother who sees the same behaviors at home.
She would like to take him to the pediatrician because she things he has ADHD. He is very low
academically and receives title 1 services, along with small group math instruction and ELA instruction.
My mentor teacher works with him and 3 other students during our afternoon rotations and remediates
in phonics/phonemic awareness. While she does that, I am working on ELA with larger groups.

We have been brainstorming new ways to help him with his behavior. I believe our emotional support
teacher may need to get involved and pull the student for social skills groups to help him learn how to
appropriately work with his peers. I think this may also help him deal with some of the anger and
impulsivity that he is feeling.

Our principal is going to speak with the student today about his behavior in hopes it may help him
understand the gravity of his harming of other students.

November 19, 2021

Today is an assessment day. Overall, the students did well. All, but one student earned a 5/5 on the
assessment. As we were taking the assessment, I had students use the movements to go along with
each vocabulary word as the assessment was given as I read the word. I walked students through the
test, one question at a time. I am planning to retest the student who struggled one-on-one. He has
speech delays and I want to ensure he understood each question. I intend to take notes as he takes the
test to keep record of what seemed to be his struggle.

November 22, 2021

Today begins a short week leading up to Thanksgiving. We are continuing with our ECRI slides and then
will review next week when we return by adding a review day in on next Tuesday. We are adding in
math review activities with a Thanksgiving theme to them. I have also found a wonderful thanksgiving
reader that includes many of the sight words we have learned to this point. I am excited for the
students to have the opportunity to read it.

Additionally, today I had the opportunity to observe another classroom during an ECRI lesson because I
was recording the teacher via swivl. It was eye opening to see how other classrooms run and watch the
teacher’s teaching methods. Tomorrow I will be visiting another kindergarten room to do the same. I
intend to take the opportunity to observe classroom behavior management strategies, along with the
positive reinforcement the teacher utilizing during her lessons.

November 29, 2021

Today marks our first day back after thanksgiving break. The children were filled with stories to share
about their holiday with family. I allowed for 5 minutes at the start of our day for students to share with
their group information about their holiday. I modeled how to interact to create a discussion with a
peer. We began with telling a friend it was great to see them back at school, followed by asking, “How
was your Thanksgiving?” The children practiced conversing with each other to promote positive
interactions amongst our class. The children took turns discussing their holiday while I walked around
the room listening and observing. I took care to make sure I got a chance to touch base with each group
while they talked to ensure they had appropriate interactions with one another. After we finished we
reinforced how nice their conversations were and how wonderful it is to ask others about their day,
vacation, etc.

We had our Elf on the Shelf arrive today, as well. We discussed elf procedures and how important it was
to be role model students for the elf. We worked cooperatively as a group to decide on a name for our
elf. Each student got the opportunity to vote to ensure that every student had a say in what they felt
the name should be.

We started back up with our math, ELA, and ECRI slides. Though we were off from school for 5 days, the
students transitioned back to school and our classroom with ease.

December 1, 2021

Today we spent some time introducing our “Elf Kindness Challenge” activities. Each day our elf on the
shelf, Frosty will be leaving us a kindness challenge to complete as a class. Today’s challenge was to turn
to someone next to you and tell them something nice. I modeled how to say something nice, such as
complimenting someone’s shirt or shoes, or even telling someone they are a good friend, or that you
loved their smile. After I modeled, the children took a few minutes to take part in the kindness
challenge with the person sitting to their right. I love this idea and feel like it really generates positivity
and kindness in our classroom first thing in the morning. I cannot wait to introduce a new kindness
challenge to the students each day for the month of December.

I am determined to master ECRI for my students. I continue to make my way through each slide and feel
that I become more and more confident with the program each time I do it. I am making a conscience
effort to use the right terminology, slide and tap when necessary, and continue to give students
individual turns when appropriate. I feel more confident each day I do it.

December 3, 2021

Today was a craft day afternoon. We spent many the afternoon creating Peter the main character from
“The Snowy Day.” Not only did the students make the character out of special pieces, but they had a
writing prompt where they could write and draw a picture about what Peter did in the snow and then
what they could do in the snow to link the book to their life. I really enjoyed this activity, as it gave the
students an opportunity to use their imagination to create Peter, plus it was a following directions and
cutting activity that really helped the students work on these imperative kindergarten skills.

December 6, 2021

Today we introduce a new sight word and letter to the students. I also introduced a new color word.
Combining the color word with a song really helps the students retain the letters and spelling while
singing. We then put the word on our word wall and vowel valley. I introduced making a roller coaster
with the word by starting at the bottom with our hands, moving our hand towards the top for the
middle (vowel sound) and then back down for the ending sound. We did that a few times with the
word, “white” to listen for the middle sound. This was a great introduction because during our Heggerty
lesson that concept was introduced and the students already mastered it.
December 7, 2021

Today I had the opportunity to observe another classroom during ECRI to see how a first grade
classroom completes the ECRI slides. It was interesting to see the progression and how the program
builds on itself in first grade. The students worked on consonant blends, along with building a sentence
using sight words. I loved how when it was time for dictation the teacher had the students write their
sentence on their whiteboards and then also pulled sticks to call students to the board to write one
word in the sentence. It was a great way to have students involved while modeling the correct way to
write a sentence and be able to check their own work on their whiteboards.

December 8, 2021

Today we are continuing to introduce the sight word, too. We have introduced the letter /P/ and
continue to practice. The students are making strides with our ECRI slides as we progress through the
content each day. The children love our elf kindness challenges each morning and strive to complete
them daily. Today’s challenge is to tell someone how beautiful or handsome they are. The challenges
are created to promote positive SEL in the classroom and interactions amongst peers and staff in our
building. It is something I will definitely want to continue each Christmas season.

December 10, 2021

Today my mentor teacher was out. There is a substitute shortage in our district and the reading
specialist ended up having to cover the class with me today. She assisted, as I ran the class for the day.
This was helpful while I was doing my ECRI lesson, as she was able to provide me immediate feedback
into my lesson delivery. There were three parts of my lesson that I must tweak to ensure I follow the
regimen exactly. I do not need to model the part where the students say the word, spell the word, then
say the word again. It is a quick portion of the lesson where students complete as a group without
teacher model or input. Another part is where we use the sound cards. The students state the card,
then the sound, and lastly the spelling. I had been asking for the letter instead of spelling. The reading
specialist explained to me that the sound of letters is built upon as the students transition to higher
grades. Therefore, vowel and/or consonant blends may be added as the children move through grades.
It is referred to as a spelling, instead of just naming the letter because once more than one letter are
introduced, the spelling is different.

December 14, 2021

Today I had an observation by my building principal. He observed a small group, ELA lesson that was
based on, “The Gingerbread Boy.” I set up the lesson to review our vocabulary words, traits of fiction
books-fairy tales or folk tales, lastly, the students worked to use pictures to retell main events in the
story. I utilized my iPad for an online read aloud of the story. This gave me the opportunity to stop and
ask questions as the story progressed. As we heard vocabulary words, the students and I acted out the
word meaning. We held up a finger for each character that tried to catch the gingerbread boy as the
story was read to us. This review seemed to really help when it became time to do a story retell. The
students cut out pictures from the story and utilized the pictures to sequence the events. I was hoping
that there would be time for students to use iPads to complete a seesaw sequencing activity of, “The
Gingerbread Boy,” but we ran out of time. I plan to move that part of the lesson to tomorrow so that
students have an opportunity to review all components of the lesson. Tomorrow’s lesson will be a
reread of the story. Then we will identify the main character, setting, problem/solution. I have a seesaw
activity that students can use to work on this skill.

December 15, 2021

We have no rotations today during our ELA block. We will be creating paper bag gingerbread houses for
students to house their Christmas ornament gifts for their families. I noticed that there are way too
many pages to go with this craft. The students were overwhelmed with the amount of coloring and
cutting that needed to be done. I think that lessening the “workload” and giving fewer items may help
the craft run more smoothly. I loved the ornaments we made for families. One was a ribbon inside a
plastic ball. The ribbon was the height of the student with a tag attached. It will serve as a keepsake for
their size while in kindergarten.

January 3, 2022

Today was our first day back from Christmas break. I was prepared to have a trying day, as we have
been out for 10 days, but the students did a wonderful job picking up right where we left off. They
followed all classroom rules and our routines as though we never missed a day. It really made
introducing a new sight word (come) and new letter (Nn) go seamlessly. I did a lot of scaffolding with all
lessons to ensure all students understood tasks. Moreso then I normally would, but I wanted to make a
point to set all students up for success after being out for so long from school. We began a new unit in
ELA on penguins. As I introduced the concepts, the students were intrigued by penguin pictures and
facts we were learning as I read our nonfiction text. I was able to find some additional resources for our
class on penguins from teacher pay teacher. This included information and pictures of many different
types of penguins, the penguin life cycle, and parts of a penguin. We are not having our normal ELA
rotations for the next few weeks while support staff begin benchmark Dibels testing, so this time will
serve as a great opportunity to really dive into our learning about penguins and next week about polar
bears. Not only will the students be learning new vocabulary words, text features of nonfiction books,
and inferring, but I am linking our current math concepts to penguins for a cross curricular opportunity
to learn. At the end of the week, we will have a culminating activity where students will create a
penguin directed drawing and then an open-ended penguin habitat craft. We will be placing all projects
together to make a large mural that will show a “colony” of penguins to refer to one of our week’s
vocabulary words.

January 4, 2022

Combining the holiday excitement, return of students, and the transition back to school; I would say this
week I have been extremely flexible and responsive in the classroom. 

              Some students need extra reassurance that they are following the correct routine, as they have
likely been out of a routine at home.  A simple, non-verbal cue such as a thumbs-up goes far for these
students.  On Monday, I did a quick review of our classroom rules prior to beginning our morning
meeting to ensure everyone remembered our basic procedures, such as raising a hand, not calling out,
waiting for a turn, etc.  Though this helped with some students, I found myself giving some gentle
reminders to others who are quick to call out instead of raising their hand to share an answer or need. 

              On the academic side of things, I was able to jump back into our math and ELA concepts easily
and quickly, though I did take time to offer explicit instructions prior to beginning activities to ensure
everyone knew and remembered basic procedures.  This seemed to help a great deal in setting the
students up for success and building their confidence after returning from our break.  I chose a high
interest ELA concept for this week with a unit on penguins.  The children are being introduced to new
vocabulary words, non-fiction text features, and the concept of building inferences.  In only two short
days we have completed many hands-on activities about penguins, such as learning about the physical
characteristics, habitats, and size.  I was able to link our math concept of measurement to penguins by
measuring out string to represent the height of several types of penguins.  We then compared the
lengths and used the words small, smaller, smallest, and large, larger, largest to describe the penguins. 

              In addition to needing to be flexible for the students, I also needed to be flexible with fellow
staff members.  The district where I am placed is having a shortage of substitute teachers, which seems
to be the issue in many districts.  This means that there are times that our reading specialists and
support staff are pulled to cover other classrooms.  Therefore, they may not be available to come to
take their groups of students to work with.  We usually have an hour and a half block of rotations set
each afternoon, but this week this is not possible.  Therefore, it is especially important that I have
additional activities planned and ready to implement at the drop of a hat in case they are pulled to go
elsewhere.  This means my small group instruction time of eight students every half hour is turned into
an hour and a half of full group instruction.  This has turned into a blessing, as it has given me the
opportunity to teach about penguins much more in depth then I may have been able to otherwise.  I
have also been able to do small group instruction differentiation while the other students work
independently on an activity.  Though it was not what I was expecting, I am flexible and meeting the
needs of not only my students, but the other staff and school district. 

1-5-22

The children are enjoying our week of penguin learning and the incorporation of math into our ELA
unit through the comparing of penguin heights. The children are drawn to both the macaroni penguin
and the emperor penguin. They seem to enjoy the fact that the emperor penguin father carries the egg
and the crest of feathers found on the top of a macaroni penguins’s head. I also think they like the idea
of a penguin having the same name as one of their favorite foods-mac and cheese. The addition of
seesaw activities to go along with our penguin unit has been a wonderful addition to the learning. I kept
this in mind as I plan out next week’s unit on polar bears. I’ve uploaded polar bear activities into the
seesaw app to allow the children enrichment activities at their fingertips when using the iPads and
seesaw.

1-6-22

Due to the impending snowstorm being forecasted, I moved up our culminating penguin craft by one
day to ensure we got it in for the week. The children followed a directed drawing to create their own
penguin illustrations. Theis following directions activity was broken down into one step directives to
ensure every learner could participate with ease. Once completed the students could add physical
characteristics of their favorite penguin. Many chose to add yellow feathers and make a macaroni
penguin-a class favorite. The next part of our activity was to create a penguin habitat where the
students used various art supplies such as tissue paper, glue, and cotton to create a habitat for their
penguin. Their creativity really shined, as many added water for the penguins to swim and ice around
the water to show the coast. I loved listening to the creative process and how the students described
what they were adding and why.
1-10-22

Today was our first two-hour delay day due to inclement weather. It really made for a fast and busy
morning. The students arrived, we had to take lunch count during morning announcements due to
having to directly report lunch. After lunch we tweaked our schedule so that we could include a quick
morning meeting to review the day. From there we went right to special. After special is when we were
finally able to begin instruction with a focus on ELA and ECRI slides. I began our polar bear unit. The
students were very interested in learning about polar bears. They did phenomenal at creating a whole
group KWL chart. I will use it to guide instruction this week and we will revisit it throughout our unit.

1-13-22

Today I had the opportunity to discuss yesterday’s recorded lesson with my site director. I feel the
lesson went wonderfully and the students did the most amazing job following directions and staying on
task for the duration of the lesson. The children are gaining so much knowledge of our ELA unit on polar
bears and using the new vocabulary words in many ways. I’ve added numerous posters of polar bears to
our classroom for the students to utilize when writing sentences each morning. Additionally, I wrote our
vocabulary words on the whiteboard at the front of the classroom for students to read and see daily.
The children are enjoying using all the resources we learn in our unit in the classroom to write
sentences. They are using so many learned sight words, color words, and unit words.

Additionally, we received our Dibels testing results from the winter benchmark testing. I am so happy
about the growth all the students have shown. Everyone by leaps and bounds. Many that were below
benchmark are now at benchmark. Only 1 student remains below benchmark. We have interventions in
place for this student to ensure he continues to grow academically. This student has shown growth in
his behavioral skills, as well.

1-14-22

I am so excited for the day to begin. Today we have a math and reading assessment. The students have
been hard at work learning and growing and I know they are going to do fabulous. As I give
assessments, I break each task down into 1 question steps to ensure the entire class is with me and on
task. I walk around the room to ensure everyone is completing the right questions, as well. Brain breaks
are incorporated prior to any type of assessment to ensure all students have an opportunity to move
before being asked to sit and attend. This truly helps in their assessment performance.

This afternoon we will be completing our first STEM activity. I have routines and procedures ready to
teach to ensure the students know the classroom expectations. I have all steps broken down to one task
at a time. I will be modeling the entire time to ensure all students have a visual aid in understanding the
tasks. I will be taking pictures to post to my PLP as the activity progresses.

1-17-21

Today was an asynchronous virtual learning for all students due to inclement weather. The forecasted
weather report was available far in advance; therefore we were notified to send home devices and
practice signing onto Seesaw with all students last Thursday and Friday. We were told to add three
assignments to seesaw for students and to be available for “office” hours for students. All students
were given a practice activity to complete on Thursday night to make sure they could get on
independently.

1-21-22

Today was a delay day which meant that we were very busy trying to catch up with everything that
needed to be completed. I was able to teach and record my math lesson for the day which went
extremely well. I implemented TPT within the lesson which was well received by the students. I
implemented the hold up and exit ticket procedures for students. It gave a great insight into how
students are grasping the materials. I enjoyed incorporating a PowerPoint introduction to my lesson to
review all the skills. It was able to be interactive for the students while reviewing in a whole group
setting.

1-24-22

Today we begin a new ELA unit and wrap up the remainder of our report card assessments. We are also
running on a two-hour delay, which makes for a very busy day. We will not be completing center
rotations today due to limited time in the school day, but I will be beginning our ELA concept of dental
health. I’m incorporating an anchor chart into my instruction, along with partner work, and an exit
ticket. I am trying my best to find new and innovative ways to add TPT opportunities into our day.

Today the students worked on independently writing a sentence using our five-star writing rubric to
include capital letter, finger spaces, neat handwriting, sounding out words, and adding punctuation.
These sentences will be used as a grade on our second marking period report card. We modeled how to
use a meatball space (popsicle stick with pompom on it to serve as a spacing guide). After careful
modeling we allowed the students to utilize their spacers on their own.

1-25-22

Today we have a grade level planning meeting where we will be looking at the Dibels data and grouping
our students according to the data. We will begin rotations each afternoon. Our classroom is grouped
into three groups. High, average, and title. Out of the title students only 4 will go with the reading
specialist for intense remediation. All students will be working in the classroom. I will see each group
for explicit ELA instruction with a focus on vocabulary and text structure. We will test each Friday on our
unit.

I will begin our warmup each rotation with a quick CVC reading to review blending and segmenting
words. I will also be adding a quick letter naming and sound to the warmup.

1-27-21

As I reflect on this week, I can say that adding the CVC warm up to rotations has been extremely
beneficial for the students. I have been writing one letter on a whiteboard at a time for students to give
sound. Then I add a second letter and ask them to blend the first two sounds. Lastly, I add one more
letter and have them blend all three sounds. At the end I slide my finger completely under the word and
the students blend all of the sounds together to read the word. This has been a wonderful tool to not
only review, but also practice blending strategies. It has also given me an inside glimpse at which
students may need additional letter sound review. The groups are differentiated based on our Dibels
testing, therefore, I know exactly what skills are still tricky for students. I add the warmup to meet their
needs, then scaffold the ELA lesson accordingly. I modify the lesson for my lowest group to ensure they
are reviewing the reading skills without being overwhelmed. I enrich the lesson for my highest group to
ensure they are being challenged during our lessons.

1-31-22

Today started off on a great note. The students arrived this Monday very happy and ready to begin their
day. Their morning work was a bit tricky, as they needed to figure out the ending sound of a word
pictured and write it. This was many steps for students to complete at once, though they worked very
hard to complete the activity. We reviewed each picture prior to starting and we finger spelled the
words to make sure all students understood the task. From there students worked independently on
the task. Some required additional support via modeling how to finger spell and listen for the final
sound, or how to listen for the final sound and write it on the lines. Others knew which letter belonged
but struggled to write the letter correctly. Overall, the students worked hard and needed some
supports to ensure they could complete the task. This was the first time completing a morning work
activity like this. I think once we complete more, they will understand the procedure and can complete
with more independence.

The students did an amazing job on our math lesson which was recognizing and writing the number 18
and showing the correct number on a ten frame. We went directly into ECRI where the students really
surprised me with just how much information they are retaining and learning. We are kicking off a
Dental Health week where I have many ELA and science activities prepped and read to teach this week.
I think the students are really going to enjoy the lessons I have planned, as they are interactive and high
interest.

2-3-22

It has been a whirlwind of a day. Yesterday I was able to cover ground hog’s day and do a dental health
science experiment. Today we completed the experiment and began working on our Valentine’s day
card holder. Tomorrow bad weather is expected, and in a effort to be prepared for next week’s
valentines celebration, we needed to have our bags ready.

The science experiment started yesterday and finished today looked at the effects of not brushing teeth
after drinking soda, water, milk, and acidic foods (we used vinegar).

2-7-22

Today was a busy day. I introduced the students to our kindness challenge today. We will be working
on doing 100 random acts of kindness within the school. Each time a student is “caught” doing a kind
deed we will fill out a card with the student’s name on it and what they did. Our goal is to fill in our
entire pocket chart in 2 weeks. This idea is to coincide with our kindness week at school next week. We
have also decorated our door with a kindness theme for our kindness door decorating challenge. I am
so excited to see the week progress and how many kindness challenge cards the students complete.

2-8-22

Today is the 100th day of school. What a world wind of a day. We began with 100-day shirt show and
tell. The students were invited to decorate a shirt with 100 items to share. Many students took part,
and it was so neat to see the creativity of the children and families. From there we went on a 100 day
hunt in the hallway because a student vomited in our classroom. We had to leave while the custodian
cleaned up. Luckily, I had pen and paper nearby and was able to take the students out in the hallway to
look for numbers that make up 100. As they found an item I wrote it down. We compiled a large list
and read it when returning to our classroom. We read about 100 days of school in a guided reading
downloadable book that I printed. I also did a quick read aloud about 100 days. We danced to 2 100
days of school songs. I planned a 100-day poster for the students to decorate and share with a partner.
The students played a game where they rolled a dice and colored in that number of boxes. They took
turns playing with a partner. The goal was to see who would make it to 100 first. The students really
enjoyed that game. The last activity we did was a 100 th day snack. The students all had papers with 10,
10-frames. They filled in each ten-frame with fruit loops to count out 100. Students were then able to
eat the fruit loops or put them in a bag to take home.

2-9-22

Today I continued small group centers during our math block to review the concepts of writing, showing,
and identifying teen numbers. This is the second day of math centers to review the concepts to ensure
mastery of skills prior to our assessment tomorrow. While the students worked in their groups, I pulled
students to work with me on properly writing the numbers. By collecting data based on exit tickets,
hold ups, and teacher observations; I was able to pinpoint exactly what students were struggling with
and home in on those specific skills prior to the assessment.

During our ELA rotations we had to tweak our schedule due to not having a reading specialist available
to take groups. My mentor teacher and I tag teamed the rotation block for instruction. I taught our ELA
theme based on “A Bad Case of Stripes.” I projected the story for a read aloud. From there we worked
on retelling main details from the story. We discussed characters, setting, problem, and solution. After
that I introduced our story retell activity where students placed pictures to tell the main parts of the
story. I projected the various parts on the smartboard give students a visual of how these parts looked,
as students were to color in the pictures accordingly. At the beginning of the story the character,
Camilla looked like a regular little girl. As the story progressed, Camilla developed a bad case of stripes
and turned rainbow. This was an important part of the story, and it was important that students colored
it correctly. The visual aid helped all students visualize how to color Camilla properly.