Morgan Elementary

I completed my student teaching at Morgan Elementary in a 5th Grade classroom. Throughout this time, Mrs. Laber was my mentor who I worked alongside with from the beginning of the school year to the beginning of December. In 5th grade at Morgan Elementary, there are three teachers who teach a specific subject: math, social studies, and science. Every 5th grade teacher is responsible to teach english language arts, but the students switch classrooms for the other subjects. 

Experience

• Learned alongside my mentor teacher about a new science curriculum the district adopted the summer prior.

• Sat in on IEP and 504 meetings.

• Collaborated with the literacy coach, other 5th grade teachers, and learning center teacher. 

• Worked with mentor teacher and literacy coach to develop a plan to assess the literacy needs of each student. 

  • Administered Words Their Way Elementary Spelling Inventory and Informal Decoding Inventory to each student.

  • Used data from the assessments to determine small groups.

  • Used Walpole lessons and program 95% to systematically teach short vowels to students in need.

• Help lead the Kindness Club from the beginning of the school year.

  • Main person in charge for the canned food and toiletries drive.

  • Meetings during lunch and after school

  • Help the students to figure out ways to advertise in the school: create posters and a commercial for the Morgan Minute which is the school's morning announcements led by students

  • Managed collection 2-3 times a week during lunch

  • Created a bulletin board to display the school's achievement

  • Overall, the students collected over 4,000 goods!

• Went to a seminar at the MISD about teaching literacy in upper elementary. I was unable to go the same week as my mentor teacher and the other 5th grade teachers, but I still wanted the extra professional development.

  • My mentor and I used the information we accumulated from the seminar to design our lessons.

• I created notes that were comprised from information from the seminar and anchor charts to create a comprehension strategies reading notebook for the students. My mentor teacher wanted the students to start writing down in a notebook about what they are reading. I offered that we could use the "Questions to Reveal Thinking" packet that we received from the seminar. I worked with the students weekly, whole group and small group, to set their reading journals up while also demonstrating and practicing what to do for each comprehension strategy.

Lesson Plans and Observation Notes

Observation #1

Observation #3