Love it or Leave it

Rate
I would rate this week a 3 out of 5.  This week has not been too bad, but it hasn't bee great either.  I have had some interesting situations happen this week and have had to figure out how to make it through the day anyway! Example: I nearly lost my voice while teaching and have sounded like a man for 2 days! (:  

Observe: What pleasant surprises/ accomplishments did I achieve this week? 
This week I did my EdTPA ELA learning progression.  For the end of my progression, I am having my students film an infomercial about Levi Strauss, which is who we read about.  I made an example video with some of my friends to show my students the expectations they need to meet when making their's.  They totally bought into it!!! They are so excited to watch the infomercials they made and really tried their best when researching and recording.  I was very impressed with their reaction to a project like this.   

Reflect: What lessons did my work/experiences teach me that I will build upon next week?
I had came in one morning very tired and very stressed.  It was the start of my EdTPA learning progrssion and I wanted it to be perfect.  Having this mentality hurt me more than helped me.  My lesson seemed choppy the students could sense my insecurities and took advantage of it. The students were talkative and not willing to give their attention and effort to my lesson.  I am having to learn to fake it so I make it.  Even if I don't feel all that confident, I have to present the material in a way that makes it seem like I am.  

Focus: How are my short term efforts and long term goals still aligned?
My short term goals are going to be to immediately reflect on my lesson plans and rearrange them as need be when changes occur.  This will help me reach my long term goal of reflecting on my practice on a consistent basis.  I also am continuing to familiarize myself with the content so my confidence continually is building as I am teaching the material. This week, I have been a lot better with this.  I reflect during planning and after school on Social Studies or Science after my planning.   
  
Have Courage:  How did apprehension and indecision impact what I did and didn’t do?
I have been apprehensive about making my resume.  I have been looking up some tips on how to create one, and researching some great things to put on there in order for me to stand out.   


Be Productive
I am finishing up my Classroom website!!! I have revised my Philosophy of Education, but still need to send it in for approval, I plan to do that this weekend.  Also, I need to create my resume and schedule an appointment with Career Development soon!!! 


Begin Anew: What is the first logical step(s) for next week? What mental clutter can I clear?
I have completed my EdTPA ELA learning progression!  I am teaching poetry this week and am pretty excited to see how my students react to some of the activities I have planned for them.   

Data
This week I have been rotating students on Lyrics 2 Learn, which is a reading fluency program that my students are new to, but are loving it!  I have been looking to see if their comprehension scores are at mastery level each day they log on.  If the students score below an 80%, they have to retake the comprehension quiz at the end of the story that is set to a beat.  My struggling students seem to like this and their scores have been improving throughout the week!      

Advice
In the end, it will get done.  I am a kind of person that if I do not have something completed, it consumes me until I get it done.  However, my CE has been saying to me each day as I am stressing "it is okay because it will all be here tomorrow".  She understands my stress because she said she was the exact same way when she began teaching.  

NCTCS
1a. Teachers lead in their classrooms - I have taken it upon me that all 24 of my students are relying on me to plan my instruction so they can learn and succeed in order to move onto the next level.  I use data collected from assessments to determine what kind of activities and my delivery of instruction for particular lessons. 
2b. Teachers treat students as individuals- I try to seek out every student and ask questions like "how was your weekend?", or state to them "I am excited I get to see you again tomorrow" as they are leaving for dismissal.  I want them to know I care about each and every one of them outside of their performance in my classroom.
3a Teachers align their instruction with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study.- I am becoming more and more familiar with where to find certain concepts within the Common Core and Essential Standards.
4d. Teachers integrate and utilize technology in their instruction. I feel as if my students have earned the privilege to use technology in their center time and will use this resource to enhance their learning experience by providing them with content that is relevant to the standards they are learning.  
5a. Teachers analyze student learning.- I am continuing to assess students constantly, but whenever a student does well on something, I make sure to give them a shout out or call them aside and tell them how proud I am of them.  This ties into standard 2 as well.  

Support from Supervisor- I am having trouble coming up with differentiation for morning work.  I understand that this is needed in every lesson, but their morning work packets have cumulative concepts that ALL students are expected to know for the standardized test (EOG) at the end of the year.  This is also just mainly for routine practice which ALL students need the same practice.