Week 14- Time is flying by!

So it's officially the last week that I am full-time teaching. I've overwhelmed not by the lesson planning, but instead all of the other work that's left to the in the semester. Sometimes I feel like I'm not sure what I should be focusing on. Full-time teaching is one whole job in and of itself. However, we're supposed to split our time and resources into everything that our PDS asks us to do plus additional work for class.

It's so frustrating to have three students who "triggers" that cause emotional disturbances that lead up to students oftentimes leaving the classroom. At least two to three times per week, one of the students is either removed or students are removed so the crisis can be contained. It ended up being a situation where a student was suspended for two days due to behavior and verbal assault on a teacher. However, the parents continue to stand up for the student. It was even to the point where we felt unsafe for ourselves and, more importantly, the other students. How can we ensure that we maintain a safe environment when some students don't trust the school institution itself?

As the full time teaching continues, I notice that it becomes easier and easier to fall into the routine of a teachers' manual for everything, even when we know that is not how our students learn best. I have tried to spend time researching fun and creative ways to teach the content without relying so much on the teachers' manuals. I have found that although they are not as structured oftentimes, the are more interesting and engaging for students to explore. Also, when assessment does occur, students are more likely to write about their experiences than from reading a textbook. I would like to further research game-based learning and hands-on exploration in the future and implement some new strategies in my classroom.

My action research is going well, and as it comes to a close, I am beginning to ask myself more questions that I would like to explore in my contract hours if I get the opportunity to return to the 5th grade, or even to compare other grades with comprehension of text. Students are collaborating more and I see more confidence within their answers. However, these last two tests students are struggling. I began to question whether this was because the strategies or the type of text the students are reading. For example, I noticed that students did really well on fictional texts, however they struggle more on nonfiction texts even though they are engaging in deeper meaning of text. I also began to question the assessment that was provided by the basal and the types of questions that they give. Students can discuss the main ideas and the text to self, text, and world connections, but students often are missing the questions that were detailed oriented.