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Field Placement at Thurmont Middle School - November Observation #5

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* For confidentiality purposes, a pseudonym will be provided for the observed student  and mentor teacher *      As the month of November was coming to a close, so was my field experience at Thurmont Middle School. My last visit of November took place on  Thursday, November 17th from 1:30-2:30PM in a 7th-grade social studies class , and it was undoubtedly one of my most memorable visits of the entire semester.      On this day, Ms. G planned one of the more creative and advanced activities I had seen up until this point. As mentioned in the previous post, students were studying African kingdoms, and in the days leading up to this lesson, students were learning about the gold and salt trade that took place between African kingdoms during the 7th-14th centuries. For this lesson, students would have the opportunity to be the tax collectors/merchants and pretend as if they were trading gold and salt. To set this activity up, Ms. G split the class into 5 groups with 4-5 students in each gro
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Field Placement at Thurmont Middle School - November Observation #4

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* For confidentiality purposes, a pseudonym will be provided for the observed student  and mentor teacher *     Reflecting back on the final full month of my field experience at Thurmont Middle School, I can confidently say that the month of November was the most enriching in terms of the classroom experiences. Not only did I perform my first lesson plan for students, but I also had the opportunity to observe some interesting classroom behaviors. The observation I am going to describe took place  on Thursday, November 10th from 1:30-2:30PM in a 7th-grade social studies class.        On this day, students were tasked with completing a graphic organizer on the African kingdoms of Mali, Ghana, and Songhai. There were readings on Ducksters (https://www.ducksters.com/history/africa/) that students read which provided them the information needed to complete the graphic organizer. While nearly the entire class finished the assignment during class, there was one group of students that seemed t
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Post #5: Cris Tovani "Why Do I Have to Read This?" Chapter 6 Analysis

     In Chapter 6 - The Mask of Invisibility, Tovani describes her fascination with introverted students,  exclaiming how talking is not the only way students can display their thinking. She also presents several intriguing activities to use with students who wear the mask of invisibility, particularly thinksheets, to help provoke higher-order thinking and disciplinary literacy.      Out of all the different masks Tovani has discussed throughout this text, in my experience, the mask of invisibility is one of the more challenging masks to combat. Unlike the other masks, the mask of invisibility can often go undetected, which can be dangerous as certain students can fly under the radar and not receive the appropriate attention they need to develop literacy. The good news, however, is that there are nonverbal forms of communication and assessment that we as teachers can utilize to monitor what students know and need. Throughout this chapter, Tovani repeatedly references a specific tool kn
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Field Placement at Thurmont Middle School - October Observation #3

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* For confidentiality purposes, a pseudonym will be provided for the observed student  and mentor teacher *      My final visit of the month on Thursday, October 27th from 1:30-2:30PM in a 7th-grade social studies class at Thurmont Middle School was arguably my most eventful visit of the month.      On this day, students were working on a study guide in preparation for their test on the Middle East in the next couple of days. As for me, I spent my time circulating around the class, conversing with students, and answering any questions they had. During this class, there was a particular student who was causing a bit of trouble - I will call him Leo.     Now, while this is the first time I am writing about Leo, I have been observing him closely since beginning my field experience at Thurmont Middle School, and to be quite honest, Leo is a hard person to not observe. When I first arrived in Ms. G's class in September, Leo was the first person to introduce himself to me and ask me who
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Field Placement at Thurmont Middle School - October Observation #2

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* For confidentiality purposes, a pseudonym will be provided for the observed student  and mentor teacher *      The month of October was certainly an interesting experience for me in terms of what I observed and encountered in the classroom. This observation took place on Thursday, October 20th from 1:30-2:30PM in a 7th-grade social studies class at Thurmont Middle School.      On this day, my mentor teacher Ms. G, was explaining a project students would be completing on Islamic achievements. For this project, students had a choice, either to complete a PowerPoint presentation on three different Islamic achievements or write a story/comic about these achievements. After Ms. G explained the directions, she sent students off to begin working, and that is where my "story" begins.      After a few minutes of walking around and helping students get started, I noticed a girl in the back corner of the room - I will call her Ava. Ava was as quiet as a mouse, and if it were not for m
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Post #4: Cris Tovani "Why Do I Have to Read This?" Chapter 5 Analysis

     In Chapter 5 - The Mask of Minimal Effort , Tovani describes the characteristics of the minimal effort mask, why some students resort to this mask, and the importance of authenticity in order to enhance students' focus and urgency to learn and produce quality work.      After reading Chapter 5, there was one consistent theme that resonated throughout - the importance of authenticity. Tovani mentions in previous chapters that students often establish these masks (either class clown, apathy, or minimal effort) for a few distinct reasons. However, most of the time, the reason is that students do not feel a connection/purpose to their learning and their overall learning experience is not "authentic." This sentiment is represented in great detail in this chapter, specifically on page 127, in which Tovani states, "If you really want to ramp up students' urgency to revise and produce quality work, you need an authentic audience. Providing an audience for students t
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Post #3: Cris Tovani "Why Do I Have to Read This?" Chapter 4 Analysis

 In Chapter 4 - The Mask of the Class Clown , Tovani details exactly what the mask of the class clown is, the learning and behavioral challenges that come with students who resort to the class clown mask, and strategies she has used to engage this distinct type of students.      On page 79, Tovani made a remark that really stood out to me. She states that "Students who wear the class clown mask aren't doing it to be bad. They want to be successful and taken seriously, but when they struggle, they would rather be perceived as funny than as stupid" (Tovani, pg. 79). This quote from Tovani really resonated with me because this is something I have experienced and seen first-hand in my short time in the classroom. I have seen a number of students who turn to the class clown mask, and unrightfully so on my part, I typically chalk it up to the student seeking attention from their classmates and wanting to provoke a reaction out of the teacher. However, when I work one-on-one wit
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