I think that the way we interact with the students is the most important thing that needs to be evaluated this semester. I have taught a lesson and it went rather well although I did have some hiccups. I believe that punctuality is a very important thing, because when you get a job as a teacher your expected to show up on time. However, the dress code for practicum should be a little more relaxed. The reason I say this is because, when I shadow teachers they are wearing jeans loose fitting tops and t-shirts while practicum students are adhering to a very rigid and strict dress code. It seems like a double standard. Now, I’m not saying we all should walk around in our pajamas or in very revealing clothing but I think we need to lighten up a bit on the dress code. Maybe have a casual Thursdays where we can wear dress shorts or something more comfortable other than khaki pants and polo’s. But I know for ladies it’s much harder to wear something more comfortable without it being revealing. Now, I’m not saying that to be a sexist it’s just a fact of life. These are my personal feelings about the dress code.  

I have noticed that my cooperating teacher is combining real life experiences into her curriculum. When my teacher is teaching she is always looking for ways to integrate real world experiences into her curriculum. I haven’t seen a lot of math or science based evidence in her literature class. She mainly focuses on the content areas. On Thursday we did a lesson on the five senses it was a really detailed and cool lesson plan about recognizing the five senses. My cooperating teacher incorporated a lot of English and literature strategies when doing this lesson. I have yet to see evidence of science or math based principles.

I have not seen any Math manipulatives being used in my classroom. I am in an English classroom and that is probably the reason i haven't seen any math manipulatives. I think because its an english class students are focused more on reading and writing than on math. I would use math manipulatives in my future classroom because they are a very helpful  for when kids count and add. Manipulatives also allow for fun activities and cool stuff that you can play with. 

Today in Practicum the kids were learning more about the book they were reading (The Giver). The English teacher had them ask questions about the book. She had them write about what they were confused about in the book and what they enjoyed most about the book. She had them discuss in groups what questions they had and then as a group decide what question they were going to ask. The Teacher then asked each group what there question was and each group spent time talking about there question from the book. It has been a good practicum overall however, I feel like i am overusing more than interacting with the kids. Its a lot different in Middle School as opposed to Elementary School. Its also difficult because most of the lesson consists of lectures where the teacher teaches the whole group of students. At these times, it becomes difficult for me to interact with students. So, I am not sure at this point how much interaction i will have with the kids. I did email my teacher and ask if i could take more initiative. She has yet to respond to this email. I am excited to teach my lesson next Thursday!