5th Grade Scaries

As a part of my teacher training at East Carolina University, I am required to go into schools each semester and either observe or teach for a certain amount of hours. This semester is my first semester being at an Elementary School for an entire day, but not just Elementary School but being in a class that is above the Second grade!

When I was first assigned to a Fifth grade classroom, I was not happy at all and honestly, a little scared. I really want to teach Kindergarten or First grade once I graduate and the thought of anything other than that made me terribly angry. After a few days of huffing and puffing about my situation, I turned it around and made it a positive one. I have no experience AT ALL in the older grades and this was my opportunity to gain some experiences. I started my first day with a very positive outlook.

My first full day in Fifth grade was on September 13, 2016. It was an early morning and I could see that everyone around me was feeling it too, from my classmates to even my Fifth grade teacher! The morning started off slow as the students eat breakfast when they first enter the class; it also happened to be picture day so that took up most of the morning. But the rest of the day picked up and actually flew by; it was two o'clock before I even knew it!

I will be at this Elementary School until the end of November and I will have the opportunity to teacher Social Studies, Math, and Science. In Fifth grade they switch classrooms for subjects; my main teacher taught ELA and Social Studies and the other taught Math and Science. I was excited that right away my main teacher let me go over their Social Studies homework with the students. This school uses a program called Studies Weekly to assist in teach Social Studies. The teachers receive booklets for every child weekly that they can use and fill in and all the activities are also online. My teacher told me that each student has their own account so they can go on and do the activities online as well.

Going over the Social Studies homework with my students was definitely the most exciting part of my first day. Since we are not yet teaching lessons, our teachers used this time to basically get to know us but also have us help them with busy work they had to get done around the classroom. In between making charts and cutting out paper, I was able to observe a Math and Science Lesson but that was about it.

Although I did not do much actual "teaching" on my first day, I did learn a lot. Fifth graders are a lot more self-sufficient than Kindergarten or First grader. This was a big difference for me because I am used to having to do almost everything for my students since I am mainly comfortable with grade K-2. Even though they are more self-sufficient this is when they start to act up more. With this being said I began to think about the fact that my classroom management skills that I have for the lower grades may need to be adjusted for these Fifth graders and specifically to the students I have.

I am really excited to have this experience in this new place and in a new grade! I hope that my Fifth grade students and I grow and learn together through this journey we will take together this fall.