Phase 2- Integrated Reflection Writing this reflection on my second semester in practicum, this time around at a local junior high

school, finds me in a much different place than I was a few months back. I started my placement fairly nervous and unsettled with the idea of spending 15 hours a week in a school level that I had particularly struggled with growing up. I as pleasantly surprised at how much I came to adore my placement, as I was taught quickly by my cooperating teacher how to manage, teach but more importantly, appreciate, the rowdy group of 6th graders who came to class everyday exploding in energy and personality. Previous to starting the LBS 1 program here at the University of Illinois, I had only done my volunteering experience with students with multiple and severe disabilities. Because most of the students in my current placement received services for learning disabilities, this field was another new one for me and I learned so much about best practice, assessment and class management from a variety of different models throughout the school. During math resource, I was responsible for the Rocketmath portion of the period, in which I tracked the students progress throughout the semester and provided one on one intervention for one student for 10 minutes at the end of the day each day. I also began a five week CBA grammar unit based on assessments I gave the students on their knowledge of word use (there/their/theyre, where/wear/ware, etc.), double negatives, modifiers and correct pronoun use. I then designed a unit, complete with assessments, and presented the students with a short lesson each day during their 8th period FLEX hour. I utilized the Smartboard almost daily, as the students loved having the opportunity to come to the board to show what they knew and work with their classmates on grammar quizzes or games that I found online or designed myself. I really struggled in the beginning to engage the students in the lessons, as grammar is a tedious and fairly uninteresting thing to most people. I had to adjust my presentations to be colorful and enthusiastic (see

Course/Featured work page for some examples of our classroom grammar decoration additions) and to continually emphasize the importance of the skills to the students and that their ability to learn and master them was within sight of the short daily lesson. It was an opportunity for me to progress monitor each of the students and take daily note of how their individual participation styles, how they worked as a class during class activities, and what things hindered them from engaging. In addition to progress monitoring for the grammar CBA, I was also able to learn how instructional decisions were made based on assessment results from Aimsweb during the math period of our day. Having more of an understanding of how interventions were put in placed based on baseline data and data collected throughout the year gave me a better grasp on how one goes about ensuring that each and every student is receiving the accommodations and modifications that they need to be successful. The students were given weekly math Aimsweb monitoring assessments, as well as MAZE and writing prompt assessments. In addition to daily Rocketmath, I did a few reading and writing CBMs as well as a spelling one, discovering the value of breaking down each students progress and identifying their strengths and areas of need. I was also given the opportunity this semester through an ACCESS grant (given to University students to further their understanding and experience of working with people with more low-incidence disabilities) to take an 8 week service learning course and implement an inclusive service learning project in a local high school once a week for 6 weeks. The project, Bens Bells (http://bensbells.org/), had us in an art classroom designing ceramic wind chimes, each of which was worked on by several different people to complete, that would be hung around town to spread a message of kindness and self-less care to those in great need as well of those in need of a little pick-me-up. The coolest thing about this project was that it was designed to be all inclusive

to students with disabilities in an art class that usually only consisted of students without or with very mild disabilities. Pictures of the distribution of Bens Bells around Champaign coming soon! This semester has been one of learning to think on my feet, be creative with tedious activities, and present myself with positivity and empty of judgment as well as experiencing new ways to make classrooms and communities more inclusive and conscious of people with disabilities. I am so excited for another semester of practicum before full student teaching take over, as I learn more about curriculum development and facilitating a positive and inclusive environment for students of all ages and abilities.