Madison Elementary School- 2nd Grade (4 hours) Fall 2023
During my K-3 Reading course with Katie Anderson I had the opportunity to go into a 2nd Grade classroom and observe as well as do 2 activities. Those activities included: Conferencing with 2 students and leading a small group. When conferencing, I helped students during instruction where I saw fit or if the students had questions. During my time there, the class does a program called WIN; "What I need" where students part ways into their academic level for reading interventions. When I took over this small group, I played a game with them that worked on the "r-controlled" vowels in a word. When completing these activities, I learned a lot about myself. I learned that planning and preparation go a long way. I was able to feel confident going into these activities because of my planning.
Madison Elementary School- 2nd Grade Writing (1 hour) Fall 2023
I was able to go into a 2nd grade writing class in my K-8 Writing Methods course with Kindra Schneider. During this field experience, I was provided a piece of writing from one of the students in this class and I found a writing strategy I thought my chosen student could use to enhance their writing. This class was very helpful to learn strategies in which I can bring to my future classroom to help my students progress in writing but also the experience within was an eye opener to how much variety is in a classroom when it comes to students writing.
Madison Middle School- 6th Grade Reading (5 hours) Spring 2023
During my Reading class for my Professor Katie Anderson, who taught Reading for grades 4-8, I got the opportunity to go into a 6th grade classroom and observe as well as two activities. The two activities I did was; Confering with students about the book they are currently reading and listen to them read a couple of pages and then provide them with helpful tips and tricks on how to become better readers, and I did a book talk to the class regarding a book I thought the class would love. As this experience was in a Reading classroom, I observed how the teacher got the students motivated to pick up a book and begin reading. This experience was helpful for my future of becoming a teacher as I picked up on some fun and exciting ways to teach reading.
Madison Middle School- 8th Grade Reading and Science (14 hours) Fall 2022
During my Sophomore year, I went into an 8th grade Reading and Science classroom and observed. When I was at the school I was watching how the students were engaged, what the teacher was doing/how they were teaching, and what a typical classroom looks like. During my observation I got to see how the teachers managed their classroom, how the teacher got the students talking and working, and I was able to see what students liked and disliked when it came to the type of instruction and assignment. This experience, although I just watched and observed was very insightful and I feel it was a great start to my Elementary Education experience at DSU.
Madison St. Thomas- 2nd Grade ( 3 hours) Spring 2024
I spent time in the 2nd Grade St. Thomas Christian School here in Madison starting in March into April. During this time, I was given a student to work with on his reading skills. This experience was stretched out into 3 different visits. The first visit was a DIBELS test which tested this student on all reading abilities know for a second grader. After that visit, I took the data on how he did and put him in a category that fit his ability level amongst his peers. The second visit was to test this same child more specifically in areas that he may need more work in to become a more successful reader. Using the data from this visit, the last step was to find his most important area of struggle. I then created a lesson plan to teach this child the skill he needs to become a great reader.
Madison Elementary - Level 3s (2 weeks) Spring 2024
I kept a daily log of what I did during my two weeks at Madison Elementary during my level 3 experience. Feel free to click on the link below to view my experience.
Watertown School District Subbing
Over DSU breaks, I was hired to be a sub at the Watertown School District. This was a very impactful experience for me because it was the first time I was set free independently in a classroom. Subbing sealed the deal for me with the decision to become a teacher because I loved it! I learned so much, I was able to see how teachers in the field wrote lesson plans and sub plans, and I was able to apply the teaching strategies I have learned along the way at DSU. Such as: classroom management, time management, student engagement, routines, transitions, etc. I subbed for grades K-6th.
In March 2025, I was asked to sub long-term for a teacher leaving on Maternity Leave! This has been the best experience, and I have learned so much!