As I Think About: April 21-25, 2014 4/28/2014 9:22 PM (Agnes Stryker)

4/25/2014 9:29 PM (Julie Estes)

So this is it, my last journal as a resident at TAMU Commerce. I cannot believe I will be graduating very
soon! When I look back at the past five years, I reflect on my journey of reaching this point. I think
about all the classes I observed at different elementary schools during my pre-service hours of
internship and residence. I think about all the lessons I prepped and delivered. I think about all the
people who have helped me along the way, including you (: through my journey which I will forever be
grateful to I think about the first lesson I did for you and the transition to my last. I also think about my
future. Where will I teach? Who will be my students? And as I think about this, I think about what all I
have accomplished and what I have learned, and I think I will be just fine, sure there will be bumps and
things to work on with students to help them achieve their best and lessons I could improve on, and
classroom management issues, but I think, I am ready. I am ready for my own classroom, no matter
where it may be , I will try my best and keep trying and trying, because in the end that is what we tell
children, don't we? Never give up and try, try again.
So as I sign off, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you have done for us Sigler
girls, and wish you the very best!
For now,
Julie Estes
TAMU Commerce Graduate-Class of Spring 2014
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Happy Easter: April 14-18, 2014 4/20/2014 12:21 PM (Agnes Stryker)
4/18/2014 1:16 PM (Julie Estes)
Good Afternoon!

I hope you are getting to also have a three-day weekend. I think Plano is about the only district off
today. (:
In reading, we talked about alliterations this week! The kids enjoyed reading various tongue twisters
displayed on the Elmo. They also wrote their own alliteration. I gave them a sentence stem: My name is
_________ and I like _____________. Some of the students wrote their own without the stem. They
turned out really cute!
In Math, we are discovering AB, ABC, and other patterns through making and breaking trains using
cubes. I have the kids think about what they would put on their train to make it more engaging for
them! They really like that. I am enjoying 1st grade so much because of all the students imagination
with things .One student said he would have a train of gorillas while another kittens, and yet another
candy.
In Language Arts we also read a book about what were living and not living things. When I asked the
students what things were not living, I really liked one child's response. She said, we may be living, but if
we are not doing something and just setting there looking bored then we are really not living. These
kids really think deep some times, and it is quite a nice surprise!
In Integrated, we discussed clouds and the different types of clouds. We went outside and observed the
cirrus clouds in the sky, and I had the students guess which cloud it was. They also made the different
cloud types on a piece of blue paper with cotton balls.
The days go by so fast with all the teaching. I am still needing to practice classroom management
though, with students speaking out of turn, constantly wanting to go to the bathroom, drink of water, or
talking to the other students at inappropriate times. Other than that, I feel pretty confident in being
ready to find a job for the next school year. (:


Talk to you later,

Julie Estes
.....................................
What Time Is It? : April 7th-14th, 2014 4/17/2014 2:49 PM (Agnes Stryker)
4/11/2014 9:11 PM (Julie Estes)
Wow! Time is flying by, especially with Mrs. Wells letting me increase my teach time each week. This
week I added guided reading to my teaching. Basically, now I am teaching everything except Integrated-
which begins next week. Mrs. Wells has been stepping out of the room more, to let me experience a
"real classroom" without another teacher for support. It has been quite the learning experience. I have
learned this week, that although I thought I had good time management skills, there has been a couple
of days where I have ran over with time in both guided reading and whole group Language Arts. One
day, I believe you were there on Tuesday afternoon, I was finishing up one of my small guided reading
groups, which should usually be completed in the morning prior to lunch. The thing that threw me off ,
was Mrs. Wells had left the class, so I was having to manage students in the group, as well as stop
periodically and answer questions presented from other students at stations and at the computers.
Then when I was answering questions from the other students, my small guided reading group would
start talking amongst themselves and I would have to redirect them to begin again. But, as the week
progressed, it all "ironed out", and ran a little smoother. I started assigning "group leaders', which I
might add is a big hit for first graders. If anybody in their group has a question about directions, they
must ask their group leader, before coming to me. I know we had group leaders during our lessons at
college, so I was anxious to see if this strategy worked. It went well, and everyone wants to work hard
and be the group leader!

Mrs. Wells did my second evaluation in Language Arts whole group with me teaching the students about
antonyms. I taught them a song where I would say one antonym, then they would have to say the
opposite. The students enjoyed singing and seemed to pick up the concept pretty fluently. Students
also participated in a partner activity, where they had to find the antonym to the word they had in their
hand, then they shared their antonyms with the class. We also made a class list of antonyms, with each
student contributing a pair of antonyms. I wrote each student's name on a piece of white large tablet
paper, and then beside their name wrote the antonyms they came up with. Then at the end of the
lesson we sang the antonym song again, we used each person's antonym.

Both Thursday and Friday was the lovely annual Spring pictures for the staff and children. Staff had to
be there at 7:15 a.m. on Thursday in the gym for a group photo. I watched the kids that had come in the
gym from all grades, while the teachers took their picture on the stage. The kids acted pretty good I
must say. Mrs. Wells let me be in the class photo with her 1st grade students. She said she usually lets
her student-teachers be in it! I was thrilled she asked. (;

See you soon and have a great weekend!

The end is approaching soon...

Julie Estes

And the Teach Goes On...: March 31st- April 4th, 2014 4/9/2014 2:02 PM (Agnes Stryker)
4/6/2014 6:06 PM (Julie Estes)
This week I taught Math and Language Arts. The students seemed to enjoy Go Fish on Monday, with
combinations of ten. It is interesting to see how students either work really well with their partners or
are always raising their hands to tattle on them. We began the week in Language Arts talking about
weather and comparing harmful weather to helpful weather. The students throughout the week
worked on this assignment writing a sentence about how weather is both helpful and harmful, along
with an illustration to go with it. The students started sharing their work on this subject Friday, which
we will finish on Monday. Most of the students love sharing their work with their classmates, and it is
enjoyable to hear their thoughts on different subject material we cover.

Mrs. Wells thought I did real well on a Math lesson I taught on Friday, dealing with True or False
statements with equations. We talked about the actual terms true and false, followed by a chart the
students helped fill out with me showing them equations and them deciding if it was true or false and
why. Then they got to actually put the equation paper on the side it belonged on: either true or false.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, you probably could hear a straight pin drop on the floor in the hallways of
Sigler Elementary. The 4th and 5th graders were taking the STAAR test and all the grade levels had to
basically stay in their hallway the whole day. Students got their lunch from the cafeteria and quietly ate
in the first grade hallways. We laid down bulletin board paper for the kids to set their lunch on to eat. It
was quite the mess! The students still got to play outside, but not on the playground part. I am glad
they did not get to miss out on their recess. Then on both afternoons for our scheduled specials time,
we had the students pick from three movies and go into the designated teachers classroom to watch
the show. First grade actually adapted well to the two days of different scheduling, even though they
asked questions about it (which is only natural).

I went ahead and signed up for my ESL test, which will be later this month on Tuesday, April 22nd. I
hope to pass, because then I will apply for my license.

Talk to you soon!

Julie Estes
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A Little Bit of Teaching, Penicillin, and a Test: Week of March 24-28th 2014 3/31/2014 3:44 PM (Agnes
Stryker)
3/28/2014 9:24 PM (Julie Estes)

On Monday and Tuesday I got to teach Math to Mrs. Wells class. I got to start off each day with doing
the calendar, followed by the Math lesson. The students had fun playing Go Fish! , using combinations of
ten with partners on Monday. Then on Tuesday, we dove into word problems with missing addends. I
had introduced the concept by referring to a story having a beginning, middle, and end. In our word
problems we have either the beginning of our story or middle of our story missing. I believed it helped
some of the kids understand the concept better. We worked some problems together in whole group,
and then they did some at their desk with manipulatives. Then they shared their strategies with the
class, with of course no other than a showcase.
Mrs. Wells was absent both days. She was sick on Monday, and then had a meeting to attend regarding
the new TEKS that are going to be implemented, I believe with the coming year. Mrs. Flor (Shannon)
subbed both days. I started feeling ill on Tuesday and Mrs. Wells text me that night saying to stay home
on Wednesday if I wasnt feeling better. Well, unfortunately the over-the-counter meds did nothing for
me, and I ended going to the minute clinic in CVS on Wednesday, which diagnosed me with strep throat.
): I received some penicillin, which has helped a bit.
I felt so bad that I missed Wednesday since my Generalist was scheduled Thursday. But honestly there
was nothing I could because I couldnt get Mrs. Wells sick or the kids.):
Anyways, sick and all I trudged into the Dallas testing center on Thursday. I walked out of the test feeling
like I had failed. History seemed to be the hardest part.
Anyways, I got my results in this morning, and I PASSED! Barely, with a 246, but I passed! Now I can
start applying for jobs and finish my testing with the ESL test.
Anyways, I am learning to take more deep breaths in life, and not sweat the small stuff- such as not
being able to access Myleo tonight. I called the help line and they paged somebody. He called me pretty
swiftly( hope he wasnt too busy ), and I had to change my password. There are always alternatives, and
things still get done!
I will continue teaching next week with two subjects: Math and Language Arts. I will talk to Tiffany more
this coming week to find out when I could schedule a visit from you to do my final evaluation. I would
like to do Integrated for you because you have not seen me teach that yet, even though hit takes place
in the afternoon!

Talk to you soon!

Julie Estes

First Grade, Part 2:Scene1: March 17th-21st, 2014 3/23/2014 12:52 PM (Agnes Stryker)
3/22/2014 2:51 PM (Julie Estes)
Good Saturday Afternoon!
I hope you enjoyed your spring break. I certainly did! I was excited to begin my final chapter of my
residency in Mrs. Wells 1st grade class this past Monday. This first week, Mrs. Wells wanted me to
observe a whole week of what first grade is like before starting to teach next week. I did help the
students with their individual work during language arts time though and started planning for my
teaching next week in Math. I asked her about how she handles residents during their two-week teach,
and she said that for one week, I would teach one subject, then the next week two subjects, and finally
three subjects for my two-week teach. I am excited because this actually means I will get to teach for
four weeks!!!
The students stayed busy this week, with learning about controlling rs, (which I remember you
teaching us about in Reading 360), combinations of ten in Math, and weather in Integrated. Speaking of
weather, the students had two bonus recesses in the afternoon this week because of the gorgeous
weather!!! Mrs. Wells also took her class as well as Mrs. Napuronos class out one day to observe the
weather to tie back into our Integrated unit.
We also had two special assemblies this week. The kids were treated on Tuesday to the Dallas
Mavericks mascots coming and gearing, pepping, and motivating the students on the upcoming STAAR.
The students were deeply engaged as the head mascot talked to the students about ways to prepare for
the test and the mascots also did many cheers and dances for the students!!! On Friday, we had our 9-
week assembly with the school band of Wilson Middle come play for the students. Various students
were recognized for honor rolls, perfect attendance, and citizenship. It was a lot of fun and a great way
to wrap up the end of the week!
Mrs. Wells went to the doctor on Thursday and found out she is having a girl!!! The other teachers in
first grade decorating the first grade hall and her room for her!
She is going to name her baby Landry. Before she left for her appointment that day the students took
a vote for what she was having, with a majority saying girl. When she got back with the news, the
students took another vote for what to name the baby. They came up with some pretty names. Then
she revealed her babys name.

I am having a lot of fun in first grade although I have to admit I have come home on many a day
and have taken a nap.
This weekend I am finishing up studying for the TEXES exam and will be testing this Thursday! I
will let you know what my results are (either good or bad), but hopefully good.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Julie Estes

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The Beginning of the End: March 3-7, 2014 3/8/2014 2:43 PM (Agnes Stryker)
3/7/2014 6:02 PM (Julie Estes)
Dear Aggie,
I have to admit I did enjoy the ice day on Monday. I was able to stay up and watch the entire Oscars on
Sunday night,and to catch up on some sleep and rest on Monday. By, Tuesday morning I was ready to
get back to school and see my kids in third grade and enjoy the last few days I had with them.

On Tuesday and Wednesday mornings I had the privilege of reading the practice STAAR test to three
students from Mrs. Tolle's class. We were in the room right off the library. I actually enjoyed being in
the small room with the door, so I could read the test without worrying about my voice level being too
loud. It took the boys almost the whole four hours for the Math section on Tuesday. On Wednesday,
two of them got done in a little over three hours, and the last student the whole four hours. They were
pretty exhausted, but I just kept encouraging them to keep going and I gave them periodic stretch and
restroom breaks. I have to admit I was pretty tired myself after reading each question to the three, and
at times repeating the questions as many times as each student needed it. But, the reward was seeing
them through it, and them feeling proud of themselves, no matter what the score, that they finished it.
Then with each afternoon, the students had switched with kindergarten for lunch and specials.

On my last day in the third grade class, Mrs. Das let me teach a lesson on Haikus. The students then
wrote their own Haikus and we displayed them for open house that evening. In the afternoon, we
prepared for Open House by finishing up an ABC Science book which the students had to come up with a
Science term for each letter of the alphabet, write a sentence with the letter, and draw/color a picture
to go with it. The students helped us also by cleaning out their desks, and top of tables, putting some
samples of their work in portfolios, and displaying some of their Science Fair projects a few of the
students had done.

The students also had made me going away cards where they wrote about how much they were going
to miss me and they did not want me to leave. They made me both happy and sad at the same time.
Happy that they thought that much of me, but also sad that I was leaving. One student even started
crying. That just felt so amazing to realize how much you really are liked and how much you impact
children's lives.
I am excited about being with my first graders soon in Mrs. Wells class. (:
Have a great spring break!
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Friendship Week: February 10-14, 2014 2/16/2014 8:29 PM (Agnes Stryker)
2/15/2014 12:48 PM (Julie Estes)
Greetings!

I hope you had a great Valentine's Day! I didn't see you come through this week, so maybe you were a
little more sneaky this time.(: Anyways, this week at Sigler was all about friendships. Everyday the staff
and students had fun participating in "Friendship Week", by dressing up in western gear, pajamas, shirts
with numbers, twins, and of course, on Friday, red and pink.

On Tuesday, Mrs. Das did my second evaluation in Language Arts. I taught on sequencing and had the
students first sequence a story that they had read the previous week in groups, then I talked about
sequencing and had students come up with ways we use or would use sequencing in everyday life. I
really like making connections to the real world. Then, we began reading our story for the week, "Nacho
and Lolita" and worked on sequencing the story. This story tied in perfectly with the theme of
friendships for the week as the two birds find each other , and help each other out. The students
connected well with the story. Ms. Das gave me all '3''s and one '2' in management. She was very
pleased at how deep I went into the lesson on the vocabulary and pre-reading strategies.

On Thursday, Ms. Das was gone for the day, and Mrs. Beck was the sub. I like Mrs. Beck because she has
taught for fifty years and has a lot of insights to teaching. The children really love her and she is one of
the favorite substitutes for the school ,especially because she has worked there in the past.(: She told
me she is very unconventional and it seems to work with the students because they listen to her, but
still enjoy her presence. We did have a couple of children act up in class, but we made it through the
day.

On Friday, the party was on the students mind, and I know it was hard for them to concentrate on any
work that morning. The students enjoyed the party that afternoon, as many parents came, pizza was
provided from Cici's by the PTA, and many valentine's cards and candy were given. I even got a few
from the students.(: After I passed out my valentine's cards to my third graders, I got to go down to first
grade and pass out some valentines I had bought for the first graders. It was great visiting with them for
a bit!

Have a great weekend and I will see you next week!

Julie Estes
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2nd Week of Two-Week Teach: February 3-7, 2014 2/9/2014 12:22 PM (Agnes Stryker)
2/7/2014 7:39 PM (Julie Estes)
Dear Aggie,

This week brought another week of my 2-week teach. During my teaching this week, the students
explored Greek mythology through my read aloud of, "Arachne". The students enjoyed hearing the
story of Arachne and how she thought she was the best at weaving. They had a lot of insight into the
kind of person Arachne was and how too much pride became her downfall, and she was turned into a
spider by Minerva, her competition. I am glad to see students enjoying read alouds in the class, and
learning about different types of literature, which they can apply to everyday living.
My most exciting event for the week was when you came and did my evaluation for Language Arts. I
love the fact the students were engaged in the story of , 'One Green Apple'. I am glad that one of the
students made a connection to the text by stating that she felt kind of like the girl Farrah from the story
because she came from Africa and entered our school in kindergarten. I felt like she felt safe enough in
the classroom to share that information and it gave a lot of insight into our diverse culture within our
own classroom. Teaching is so much fun! I hope to have a very diverse group of students in my future
classrooms.
I am finding as I teach that I like Language Arts the most. I feel guided reading is my strongest subject,
followed by Math, then Integrated. I think it is because I enjoy poetry and the theatre, so I hope to
incorporate some reader's theatre in my future class.
In Math this week, the third grade students learned about area. The students had a lot of fun working
in groups outside in the hall counting the area of different shapes and designs that had been taped
along the third grade hallway tiles. Mr. Arend had come by on Wednesday afternoon and had told Mrs.
Tolle how he liked the idea as well! Mrs. Tolle. along with the other third grade teachers work really
diligently on creating interesting and hands-on activities for students to learn new concepts. I have
thoroughly enjoyed this team!
I am feeling a litle bit more confident about the TEXES as you prepped us today on some key pointers. I
appreciate how you broke the test down and told us what to key in on. I think this will help me as I
study.

Until next week,
Julie Estes
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Ms. Estes plus 19: Week of January 27-31, 2014 2/4/2014 9:20 AM (Agnes Stryker)
1/31/2014 9:38 PM (Julie Estes)
Good Evening,

I am sitting here in my mom's kitchen writing to you about my first week of my two- week teach. What
an adventure it has been! I am finally realizing how much time and energy is put into being a full-time
teacher, but honestly at the end of the week I am loving the field more!

When Monday morning came, I had a little anxiety not only because this was my first full week of
teaching. It actually turned out quite nice, with the exception she did have a substitute on Thursday.
This week I taught both whole group and small group in the various subjects. When you saw me, I
believe on Wednesday or so, we were working on free verse poetry. Mrs. Das liked the similes the
students were coming up with to use in their poems. The children also explored the water cycle this
week, and made terrariums. This particular Science lesson, Mrs. Das critiqued, and she said that I did a
beautiful job on it. I received mostly three's and a couple of 2's for not redirecting a couple of times.
She did though , comment just today, how I have improved on my discipline enforcement. This made
me feel proud, because she is a very structured and "no nonsense" type of teacher.
I also conducted several Language Arts lessons which included a teach on homophones, the students
made homophone books(which they will probably have to finish this coming week), and taught this
week's vocabulary through a whole group lesson. I also got to teach a guided reading group, which was
probably one of my more favorite things to teach.

Although I did have a lot of lesson plan "hits", having the students outline their name on centimeter grid
paper was not such a great success. It actually ended up with me and Mrs. Das helping, no honestly,
basically outlining the letters for them, and them counting and adding the perimeter. Reflecting on this
activity, I should have drawn each letter on grid paper and displayed it for the children to copy. With
doing these lessons, I feel this is going to help me learn what is good, what may not be so good, or may
need improving.
On a lighter note, Sigler Elementary welcomed Cynthia Izagarra from Channel 8 News daybreak, to speak
to the girls this past Tuesday, on "Future's Day." The girls all seemed really engaged in listening to
Cynthia share her story of growing up in a single parent household and pursuing her dreams of
becoming a news anchor for Channel 8 news. She encouraged the young ladies to never give up on their
dreams, or let other people try to discourage you from pursuing those dreams. The girls also had fun
playing like they were on a live newscast. Cynthia would call up four volunteers at a time, and have
them play like they were newscasters, and a weatherwoman. Some of teachers, the vice principal, and
even the principal got in on the action!

So I end this week, with great reflection and insight into the full-time world as a teacher. I look forward
to you coming to our class on Thursday, and hope it goes well! I will be preparing this weekend for my
second week of teaching! Have a great weekend!

January 22-24th, 2014: Short but Sweet Week 1/27/2014 8:11 PM (Agnes Stryker)
1/24/2014 8:44 AM (Julie Estes)
Aggie

This week went by very quickly at Sigler Elementary due to the holiday on Monday. When I saw you on
Tuesday, I was conducting indoor recess duty. Mrs. Das had gone to Mr. Ss class in fourth grade for a
meeting about an upcoming community learning group that will emphasize culture. The students were
actively engaged in making things out of construction paper, coloring, and finishing homework that had
not been turned in. The students do not seem to mind indoor recess too much, and I honestly do not
mind them socializing with their friends. It is though, a little tricky to get them to talk at an appropriate
noise level during this free time. I had them clean up about five minutes to lunch, which helped with
the transition to lunch a bit easier.



My main duties this week included the recess duty I mentioned, and assisting with small groups in Math.
Next week I will begin my two-week teach. I will be doing both whole group teaching as well as small
group instruction with Mrs. Das. One of Mrs. Dass mentor evaluations of me will be in Science. I am
going to lead the class on Monday exploring the water cycle while I pair up students to create miniature
terrariums. This is my first time to teach hands-on science, so I am staying positive it goes well. I also
showed her an activity I wanted to do with the students in Math which involved creating their name on
grid paper and finding out their total perimeter for each letter and whole name. I actually showed an
example of this Math activity today during our 3rd grade planning, and the other teachers loved the idea
and wanted me to copy my example for them. I feel I am getting braver in sharing my ideas with other
teachers at Sigler. I am trying to come up with more hands-on, fun activities for the students to do
these two weeks. I do know, however, we will still have to do a few of the STAAR math problems. I
know there is probably going to be some things that she is wanting to do herself with the class as well.
I know she is probably going to want to go over a Math test that they are taking tomorrow in class. They
review the test as a whole group after they take it the following day or following week. I am also not
sure about administering the Spelling test or any other test that week. What are your thoughts? Mrs.
Das will also be having a sub on Thursday, so I am not sure if that will count for my two-week teach or
not. I would like to get accumulated to teaching each subject this coming week, before I have you come
evaluate me the following week. I hope you do not mind. (: This weekend I will be busy finishing up all
my prep work for next week. Wish me luck! I hope to see you tomorrow.

January 13-17, 2014: Welcome Back Ms. Estes! 1/20/2014 7:29 PM (Agnes Stryker)
1/18/2014 12:19 PM (Julie Estes)
Being at Sigler for a whole week really opened my eyes to what being a real teacher was going to be
all about. I arrived each day at about 7:10 a.m. and didnt get to slow down until I actually left the
building later in the afternoon. Mrs. Das gave me a lot more responsibilities this semester such as giving
Spelling pre-test, leading small groups in Math, and teaching a Science lesson on the solar system. She
gave me a choice the day I did the Science lesson: either teach the Science lesson or help a couple of the
kids in small group on regrouping in Math. I chose to challenge myself by teaching Science. My science
lesson consisted of her handing me the Science book and telling me to lead the kids in reading sections
of the text. I played a game with the kids during this lesson asking them questions from the text and
giving points out to the tables that answered them correctly. I know it may sound like a simple lesson,
but the students enjoyed the game and were engaged in the content.
Tutoring has also begun in the upper grades. We have tutoring for around 45 minutes on
Monday afternoon with a few of our students. Mrs. Das has them do various things such as read a
magazine from TIME KIDS and asks different questions related to the main idea, supporting details and
math information found on various graphs.
I had gathered books on Wednesday from the Haggard library about different planets. On
Friday, one of the stations Mrs. Das let me do with the students was having them research a certain
planet and writing down interesting information from the supporting book. The kids at the end of the
day shared their information with the class. The students seemed to be engaged in the activity and
found many things they wanted to share with the others. This group really loves sharing with their
fellow classmates.
Speaking of sharing, Mrs. Das lets her students have show and tell every Friday afternoon for
the last fifteen minutes of class. Today, it seemed like a miniature American Idol with one student
singing, Amazing Grace, and several rappers. The kids really had a blast and it was a great way to end
the week!
I have to be honest and say that I am very exhausted after my first week back, but it is a good
exhaustion. I believe my body will adjust over time to the new schedule and I am getting real excited
about conducting my two-week teach. Mrs. Das wants me to start it the week after next, but I will let
you know for sure the exact days after I talk to her more. I hope you have a great three-day weekend,
and I look forward to seeing you next week at Sigler!