As I look at this week, I am going to give it a 4. My students were still very talkative, however with the reward system that I implemented, when I reminded them, they got their selves together. I only had 2 students who did not reach the goal of 10 tickets. Hopefully, next week will be a better one for them. I had a new old student return on Tuesday. This student was in my class until January and my class and I were very excited to see him return. He has quickly settled back into the routine. 

This week saw the end of our unit on compare and contrast of two characters. I gave the class a formal assessment today and from the ones that I have looked at so far, they did a great job with the Venn Diagram. I gave informal assessments in math and social studies through out the week. I was excited today during the math lesson, as several of my students who have been struggling with the concept of adding 2 digit and 1 digit numbers that carry over, finally started to really catch on. They were excited too. One of my girls loved swiping the ten ones off the mat and swapping them with one ten, that she would shut out each time. I love to see them so excited about learning!

Tomorrow, I plan to finalize lesson plans for the next couple of weeks. The end of the year is approaching very fast. Soon, my team and I will start end of the year assessments. We just received notification that the last iStation assessment will be on May 3 and the distract math assessment will be in the middle of the month. I can't believe that my first year of teaching is almost here. 

As I look forward to the next few weeks, I plan to include more math review in morning work. I am also planning on doing running records on my students. I feel as if several of them have moved up in reading levels. They have been working so hard on their reading and it is starting to show. 

"One day at a time" is my motto as I move forward toward the end of the year. 

Standard 1a: Teachers lead in their classrooms. During the math lessons this week, I have had students working together on carry over from ones to the tens. Today, Thursday, showed that some of my struggling students started to really catch on. By making a game out the the mat that they used to show tens and ones, these students got so excited when they had ten ones and had to scope the one's cubes up and replace with a ten rod, that I think that they forgot they were learning. 

Standard 2a: Teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults. I continue to strive to insure that my classroom is both inviting and inclusive for all students.  I work hard to treat all students fairly and not to show favorites. Each day I tell them that I care for them and when they head home for the day, I tell them that I love them and for them to be safe.

Standard 3a: Teachers align their instruction with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. I continue to plan lessons that align with the standards. I also often relate the lessons and what we are learning and make them relevant to everyday life. 

Standard 4b: Teachers plan instruction that is appropriate for their students. I use assessments to determine what my students are struggling with. I also notice if something is not working and I switch how I am teaching to insure that my students are understanding the concepts.

Standards 5a: Teachers analyze student learning. I continue to look at student data and talk with my fellow teachers to insure that what I am planning and teaching helps with their growth.