I am going to have to give this week a 4 out of 5. I found out that one of my students who had moved was going to be coming back. I am so excited about that. However, just as I found out he was returning, I learned that I am loosing one of my girls. She has moved out of district. This breaks my heart for her. I had my 2nd COVID vaccine this past Saturday. Everything went well. I did experience a headache that evening and a sore arm but that was the extent of it. I am so happy about being vaccinated. I feel as if a weight has been lifted.

My lessons went very well this week. We are learning about Earth's materials in science and did an experiment with soil. My kids loved that. Since we are learning about Earth materials, we did a nature walk to talk about what we see. They were so excited to see all the changes in the outdoor classroom. I did have one of my students take off running because he saw a bee. He ran all the way across the playground to where the 5th graders were playing. My other students just stood there with a look of disbelief. It was quite amusing. The reading lesson was very good. The lesson was on poetic language in books. We continued to with place value in math by learning ten more and ten less. My students are starting to catch on to the concept. This is a hard concept to understand. 

On Thursday, my team had CTM. It was a very productive afternoon. We got a lot accomplished. We are returning to Plan A four days a week on April 12 and during our CTM time we revised our small group instruction for our Tier II students. We are also gaining an additional Instructional Assistant and she will be able to pull small groups in both reading and math. This will be a great benefit for our students.

I gave my students an assessment on place value. It showed that most of my kiddos are beginning to understand the tens and ones place. There are still confusions and we will continue to work on this skill into next week. 

As I look ahead to next week, I feel that I am well prepared. It is the last week of our hybrid schedule. Cohort A students will be in the classroom for Monday and Tuesday. Cohort B students will only be here for Wednesday. Thursday will be a remote learning day for all students to allow staff to prepare for the return of all students to four days a week after spring break. There is no school on Good Friday.

Standard 1a: Teachers lead in their classrooms. Through well planned lessons and small class sizes, I am able to meet with all my students each day that they are in the classroom. I listen to each student read daily. Therefore, I am able to see who is struggling and the areas that they need my support in. 

Standard 2a: Teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults. The relationship that I have with my students continues to grow. I strive to provide an environment whereas each student feels loved and cared for. 

Standard 3a: Teachers align their instruction with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. Each lesson that is planned aligns with what standard course of study. In science, my class is learning about Earth materials which is part of the standards for 4th quarter. I have utilized the outdoor classroom to instruct my students on Earth materials. I am able to show them materials in their natural environment.

Standard 4b: Teachers plan instruction that is appropriate for their students. As with above, the instruction that I have planned is appropriate for 1st grade students. In math this week, I challenged students who understand place value of tens and ones by introducing hundred place value. We also learned about 10 more and 10 less. With those students that understand this concept I then introduce 20 more and less. 

Standard 5a: Teachers analyze student learning. I used the math assessment this week to decide which students need extra instruction on place value. I have then used this data to plan groups for next week.