FieldBlogPost1-GESU

For my first day field experience, I sat in on Mrs. Nemeth's fourth grade class at Gesu Middle School. Gesu is right across the street from JCU, so it is very convenient. The classroom reminded me a lot of Mayfield Middle School. It was a very decorative classroom with a lot of visual aids. She had an assignment board, a big projector, and a lot of motivation posters. One thing that Mrs. Nemeth brought into the classroom that day that was very intriguing was fake animals from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. The animals were a good visual aid for the kids to look at. One of the first things that happened was that she gave a couple kids candy for holding doors for her. This is good because it can help the kids understand to be more helpful and maybe they will get a reward. In the classroom, they had just finished a lesson on geology. The kids are currently finishing up their "rock" reports. They have to pick a rock and write about it and say what it is used for. They also have to include a bibliography. Today, they started their lesson on anatomy. Mrs. Nemeth showed them a video about the human body and then after it she asked what the kids learned from it. This is good because it can help with their comprehension. In Science, she had the kids read the text about the lesson they were starting. It was about all the bones in the human body. After the kids were reading, she would have a group of kids stand up and do something to test their comprehension. For example, she had a row of boys stand up and tell the class one thing they learned. They then read the pages aloud. I really liked one specific thing the teacher said. Some people may not have noticed it, but I did. She was talking about the human body and she mentioned that that's how God made us. It is very important to incorporate God in the lessons too if they can. Mrs. Nemeth also does a great job of incorporating other subjects into reading. The class has accelerated reading and then they take tests after. I actually got the opportunity to help a little girl with her test. I read her the test and the answer options. The kids kept a log of their AR, and then the parents signed off on it to show they read. The thing that I thought was the most interesting was the Learning A-Z website. It allowed you to go on and search a topic and book options would come up. You could adjust the reading level and everything. Overall, my first day was good because I got to get my feet wet. I learned you have to be flexible and be able to interact with students well. I am super excited for my next day!