March 5, 2015

So Mrs. Lebeau and I had somewhat of a miscommunication. I was under the impression that I had the rest of the month to work with the kids, but it turns out this was their last week. I guess they are one track? I didn't even know they did year round school in Utah! I also didn't know what track meant, which explains why their was miscommunication. So the kids were nowhere near finishing their project, so I had to improvise. I took the pictures they had finished and made a big huge collaborative piece, and related it to Kandinsky instead of Chuck Close. Luckily the art looked similar to both.
So I spent the day showing this powerpoint to the kids. They seemed to really enjoy it. Then the rest of the day we went over distributive property using the area of the picture the students had created. It was a really good feeling helping them better understand math through art.

February 26, 2015

Today was a good lesson for myself; inclement weather schedule is very stressful for teachers. It was snowing outside, so the kids hadn't left the classroom all day, and they were stir crazy. I have never seen them act so wild before. It was very hard for me to keep the noise level to a minimum, and I had a hard time keeping the kids focused. It seemed like I wasn't giving good enough directions. It was pretty stressful, but it was a good experience, because I know as a teacher I will be having multiple days such as that one. I'll need to learn a few tricks to keep the kids engaged at times like those.

February 19, 2015

Today went a little bit better. I created THIS powerpoint for the kids to teach them about Chuck Close, which is the artist their lesson is based on. It went really well, and I think the kids really enjoyed it. I had the day more structured and had more direction for the kids. I even went on an elmo and filmed myself doing the project so the kids could get a visual of what they should be doing. It went a lot more smoothly and I was a lot more calm, which was great. The kids seem to really enjoy what they're doing too.

February 12, 2015

Well, unfortunately I was unable to visit the class on February 5. One of my classes required that I went and taught a high school class. But I was able to visit the following week.
I was able to introduce the second part of the lesson. I gave each kid a 2x2 inch piece of paper, a mini square that had an image on it, and markers. I showed the kids how they would take the mini square and enlarge/ replicate what they saw onto their blank piece of paper. The kids had somewhat of a hard time, although they enjoyed it. Things got a little crazy and I realized I should have given more direction, so that's exactly what I did next class. 
It was a good experience. I learned what to do versus what not to do. 

January 29, 2015

Today we finished up the first half of the lesson plan. The kids went over what they learned the week before. After they did that we had the kids break up into groups and try to create a picture using their combined m&ms. They had a lot of fun doing it and they got to eat whatever was left over. I left before they were able to finish so next week I will get to see what they created. Below is the example I did for them.

January 22, 2015

Today was fun! We started a part of the lesson plan. Unfortunately we haven't developed the whole lesson, so I haven't been able to make a lesson plan. We are running by ideas with each other, so when we decide on the best one I will fill out a lesson plan form and post it. Today we tried to teach the kids distributive property the common core way using m&ms. The kids had a great time using the m&ms, and I think it might have actually helped them understand the material better. Below are examples of what they did.

January 15, 2015

Today was pretty simple. It was the first time I visited the school. Mrs. LeBeau and I went over ideas for future lesson plans. She tried to teach me common core math that the 3rd graders were teaching; it was interesting. We decided we were gonna integrate math with art for the first lesson. After that I just stuck around and introduced myself to the class and watched them do their daily activities. It was great!