EDUC 2300 Field Placement Journals

Journal Entry 1

First Agency Visit- Friday: (Overview of Events)

My first day of Service Learning was the first day that I met the principal of Hancock
Elementary, Mrs. Kinsler, and my mentor teacher, Mrs. Sherry Hunt. I explained to them what
Service Learning was, and I was led to believe that they had never had a student come to their
school for Service Learning.

ABCs of Reflections

Affect: I was very anxious about meeting the principal and mentor teacher for the first
time. Since they had never had a Service Learning students, I was concerned about being a
bother to them. I was also nervous since I had never met either of the ladies before.

Behavior: I started my Service Learning hours on the same day I met the principal and
mentor teacher. I was able to jump right in and meet Mrs. Sherrys first class of the day. I was
surprised at how quickly the class welcomed me and felt comfortable with me. Mrs. Sherry
immediately put me to use by having me check the students work as they finished and allowed
me to help them when needed. I could not have felt more welcomed in class!

Cognition/Content: The first class of the day was math. Mrs. Sherry asked my input on
the lesson because I had recently had a class on teaching the math concepts that she was going
over. She was using fraction blocks which enabled the students a more hands-on learning
experience.
 Journal Entry 2

Second Agency Visit- Friday: (Overview of Events)

Today I was more comfortable with the class and was really able to observe the
control that Mrs. Sherry had with her classes. I was very impressed with how she respected her
students and obtained control without raising her voice or talking down to them.

ABCs of Reflections

Affect: Today I was very excited to be able to go back to Mrs. Sherrys class. I was no
longer concerned about how the students would react to me since the first day went so well.

Behavior: On my second day, I prepared materials for RTI by cutting out and organizing
the materials. I also checked students work and was able to help them with assignments when
needed. I was glad that she trusted me to help her students, and I was pleased with how much I
was able to do to help her with her classroom.

Cognition/ Content: Mrs. Sherry utilized several forms of technology in her classroom
instruction. She used a program called Go Noodle which allowed students to move and be
active while they were also answering questions throughout the game. She had them answering
English questions, and they seemed to enjoy answering questions and getting to move. This ties
in with the technology that we have learned about in class; I could see myself using this in a
future classroom.
 Journal Entry 3

Third Agency Visit- Monday/ Friday: (Overview of Events)

As my time of Service Learning came to an end, my goal was to get the most out
of the time I had left. I feel like I did that by working very closely with the students during my
last days in Mrs. Sherrys classroom.

ABCs of Reflections

Affect: I was sad that my final days of Service Learning was her. I had grown attached to
the students and the teachers who had helped me so much and shared their knowledge with me.
The students were all so sweet and I will miss them all very much.

Behavior: Today during my Service Learning, I graded math tests that the students had
completed. After they had completed their tests, I was able to help them on their science
assignments. At one point in the day, the students were split into groups, and Mrs. Sherry took
the lower ability group, and the higher ability group was able to come to me to ask questions.

Cognition/ Content: Each student has a folder that contains a weeks worth of Bell
Ringer assignments. On Friday, each student puts his or her folder in a hanging folder organizer
(each student has his or her assigned pocket). Mrs. Sherry takes all the folders home for the
weekend and checks the assignments and leaves notes on their work. She also puts in a memo to
parents on any upcoming events in order to keep parents involved. I love that she takes the time
to leave notes on her students work and sends home the assignments and memos to keep parents
involved in their childrens education.
 SPED 2010

Field Placement Journals

Service Learning Journal

Today on my first day of service learning I met the Hancock Elementary School
Principal, Dr. Angela Kinsler. She took me to Ms. Sherry Hunt's fifth-grade classroom. Ms.
Sherry teaches two classes of math and two classes of science. When I walked into her
classroom, I noticed that there was a group of tables in the center of the room, but there were
also other seating areas in the room that were used for smaller groups where Ms. Sherry would
offer more help to students who needed it. I noticed that the class size was small which allowed
the students more one-on-one time.

In the first period class, two students were pulled out for a special education class, but
they were included in the majority of the general education class time. While they were in the
general education class, they were included and asked questions just like the other students.
During the math portion of the class, all students were given a set of manipulative blocks to use
for adding fractions which helped all students, not only the special needs students.

During the second math class, two students were significantly lower academically than
the other students in the room at that time. The teacher had Chromebooks that those two students
used for the first part of the class that had a program that explained content on a lower level.

At the end of the day, students broke into their RTI groups. This day was different than
most RTI periods due to it being Dr. Seuss week at the school. Ms. Sherry read "Oh, the Thinks
You Can Think" and then showed an episode of "The Cat in the Hat".

The most interesting idea I saw was during the class time, Ms. Sherry had all of the
students stand up and walk around the tables in a circle a few times. I thought this was an
excellent idea because it kept the students from sitting still for such a long amount of time, and
also kept the students from getting bored during the lesson. The students seemed to enjoy this
and refocused quickly after they sat back down.
 During the day, I helped Ms. Sherry by checking the students work and helping them
when needed while she had a smaller group of students helping them understand the new content
they were learning. I immediately felt very comfortable in the classroom interacting with the
students and the teacher. She included me in the lesson which led to the students interacting with
me. Although I was very nervous initially, those nerves quickly went away, and I thoroughly
enjoyed my day.
Service Learning Journal

Today on my second day of service learning, I went to Ms. Sherry's

room, and the first thing that I noticed was that the layout of the room was
different than it was the first time that I was in her class. Instead of the
tables being connected in a line, they were set up in stations with four chairs
per station. When I walked in, Ms. Sherry was using her smart board to go
over the bell ringer activity to begin class.

Just like the first day I was there, two students were pulled out of the
general education class to go to the special education classroom during the
second part of the class. Before they left the room, they were participating
with the rest of the students. However, they were given an accommodation
of a multiplication chart to assist with the factoring that they were learning.

During the second math class, just like the first day, the two students
who are at a significantly lower academic level than many the students had
the Chrome books that helped them understand a simpler version of the
lesson.

Due to the school being on an activity schedule because of an in-

school basketball game, Ms. Sherry only taught her two math classes instead
of the science classes. RTI was also canceled due to the revised schedule.

The most interesting thing that I saw today was when Ms. Sherry
brought in a snack and made a green punch for her students because they
would be out for spring break on St. Patrick's Day. What stuck out to me the
most as she did this was when she said, "I feel like it is important to show the
students that I appreciate them. Doing nice things for them shows that they
are appreciated, and I know that a lot of my students don't receive much
appreciation and love at home." Hearing this made me think more about
what it means to be a teacher, especially in a title one school. All students
have a desire to feel appreciated, and today I saw that it takes something as
simple as bringing them a snack to make them feel appreciated.

During the day, I helped Ms. Sherry by making an answer key for the
questions that the students were working on during the math class, and
checked their work as they finished. After that, I cut out supplemental
supplies for an RTI lesson that will be utilized when they come back from
spring break. I have thoroughly enjoyed being in Ms. Sherry's classroom, and
feel that I am learning so much from her. The students seem to be very
comfortable with me being there, and even feel comfortable enough to ask
me questions.
Service Learning Journal

Today when I showed up for my second day of service learning, the first thing I noticed

was that the teacher had put in areas of flexible seating. At one table the seats were crates that

had cushions on top of them, another table was lowered with cushions on the floor, another table

had stools for the students, and the last one had exercise balls for the students, and there were

two tables with regular chairs. The kids seemed to really enjoy this, and they stayed on task

much more than I had expected.

When I came in, the students were coming to the smart board at the front of the class to

work on problems that were on their homework during the week. When they were having

trouble, Ms. Sherry would help them through the problem. After they completed this part of the

class, the students who go to the Special Education classroom were pulled out before the second

part of class. The remaining students were given task cards at their tables; 4 per table, and each

student has a task card to begin with. The students were give 5 minutes to complete the for tasks

at their table, and then they rotated tables. They ended up with 20 problems all together. The

students stayed quiet and worked diligently on their tasks. I thought this was a really good idea

and worked well.

On this visit, I spent most of my time observing because there was little for me to assist

with due to the students working at stations. I was able to observe a program that I thought was
extremely interesting. It was a program called Go Noodle it got the students up and moving

while answering questions. The teacher was able to pick the activity (there were many to choose

from) and the students voted on which answers they thought were right for each question in order

to finish the game. The students loved this program and were so excited when Ms. Sherry

brought up the program. I could definitely see myself using this in my classroom in the future.

This was my last day of service learning for this class. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at

Hancock Elementary, and loved being in a fifth-grade classroom. Ms. Sherry was so helpful and

made sure to explain to me what she was doing and why. I do not think that I could have been

put in a better classroom for the purpose I was there for. It made me very aware that I belong

with the upper elementary school age. I am very thankful that I was able to have this experience.