Teaching Advice According to Second Graders

For my last lesson as a student teacher a couple weeks ago, I prompted the kids to come up with some advice for me or for new teachers in general. The goal was for them to practice logging into their own Google Drive accounts, creating and sharing documents, and word processing.  I projected my own computer onto the screen for them to follow along as a guide. Once the students had answered their questions, they shared their documents to me using Google Drive. I have compiled their responses to create my last blog post as a student teacher! (Note: My plan was to conference with each child to edit before posting, but I decided that they were almost too good not to share in their original states. Enjoy!)

A good teacher is...

Having lots of Fun, being Smart, Helpful, Kind.          

My advice for you is...

Have Fun every Day

P. S. I am sure you will be a great teacher.

A  teacher  needs  to  be  smart  and  go  to  a  school  so  he  or  she can help another  teacher.  Teach  the  stoodins.  Make  shor  they  have  fun  some  days.  And  you  too.

A good teacher makes every day a foodfite day! My advice is GO teach your class!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A good teacher is a teacher who is not mean and has some fun.

Some advice to a new teacher is to have some fun and not do everything weird.

A good teacher should always  read poems sarcastickly!

My advice for a new teacher is  she or he should do a food fights, musical spelling tests, and tresure  hunts!

A good teacher  is to be funny and cool. I have some advice for teachers to do what kids say.

A  good  teacher  is  being   little  funny  and  serious. Some advice   for  a  new  teacher   is  don't   have  a   food   fiat. 

What makes a good teacher? Being smart and to go to school.

And being yourself. And to have so much fun.

What is some advice for a new teacher?  Spelling tests and more doing math a lot. And to have fun. And be a asome teacher. And to be cool. THE END.

A good teacher is fun. Some advice for a teacher is to join a food fight.

A teacher is kind  and helpful. A teacher has music and spelling. 

A good teacher is ...

serious

friendly

Some advice from a new teacher is ...

be apropreit!

listen to directions!

We  go out  to  play    every  day  after  lunch and we have fun .  She will smile  the first day and she will want to stay ALL DAY.

 

A  good teacher is...kind, helpful and fun.

Some advice for a new teacher is...have fun teaching!

 

A good teacher is fun but a little bit serious.

Some advice for a new teacher is always have a good balence  between fun and serious because if you are to serious nobody will want to learn but if you are to fun then nobody will learn. There are some exseptions to this rule, for example on sombodys birthday you could be all fun.

Check Out My New Online Portfolio!

Hello!
As my job search process begins, I've created a new page (connected to this blog) to post my resume and other documents.  My goal is to build it up to become an online portfolio for future employers to view instead of flipping through my hard-copy portfolio. This will be a work-in-progress and I am so open to suggestions! You can access this portfolio in the top bar by clicking "My Online Portfolio" or by going directly to http://missalyssaoportfolio.blogspot.com/ I've obviously been having a very busy week off! As always, you can reach me at alyssaouellette@gmail.com.  Thanks!

iAbsent

Miss Ouellette Update:
My poor, poor blog has been very neglected as of late, and I apologize! Last week I contracted strep throat and while my immune system was down caught a nasty cold which kept me out of the classroom Thursday and Friday of last week. While home sick, I decided to use all of the free time to replace the broken screen on my iPhone. Unfortunately, when purchasing the replacement screen, I had no idea of the differences between CDMA and GSM iPhones. Long story short, I bought the wrong one....and realized this after I disassembled my phone into a million tiny pieces. Literally. The moral of the story is, there will be no photos posted to my blog until my phone is alive and well again. (Hopefully by the end of the week!)

Room 8 Update:
We are working away on our fractions math unit! They are doing amazingly well with some very complicated concepts. Today they finished with the posters that showed what they have learned about fractions so far. For literacy, they are working on their nonfiction unit. Last week they learned that even poetry can be nonfiction and they wrote their own biography poems. This is the last week before April break! The sun is shining and the kids definitely have Spring Fever, I think I do too. :)

Quote of the Day 4⁄ 8

“‘Inappropriate’ is just a fun word to say.”

It's Friday!

In Room 8, we are REALLY excited that it is Friday.

Quote of the Day 3/29

"Where do ants go to the bathroom?"

Surprise Science: POLYMERS!

As I've mentioned before, every Friday morning the first and second grades split into groups and rotate around to every first and second grade teacher to do a different science experiment every Friday morning for five weeks. Last rotation, we did "Glowing Germs", this rotation is "Bouncing Balls"! With an introductory knowledge of matter and polymers, along with warm water, Elmer's glue, Borax, cornstarch, and food coloring (for fun), the first and second graders each made their own bouncing ball! Here are some of our kiddos and their creations:

Quote of the Day 3/27

Student 1: "It smells like tuna fish. Is someone eating tuna fish?"
Student 2: "I think it might be me."
Me: "Are you having a sandwich for your snack?"
Student 2: "No, a rice cake."
Me: "A tuna flavored rice cake?"
Student 2: "Nope. Cinnamon."

Wrapping Up Our Dr. Seuss Unit!

I must say that I was definitely not expecting two snow days in a row this week! It was a nice little midweek break, but it definitely shortened our last week of the Dr. Seuss unit.
Our last book that we studied was "Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!" We learned about how this book would never have been published without the help of Jack Prelutsky and Lane Smith. Before Dr. Seuss passed away in 1991, he had only some rough sketches and outlines. These sketches are actually published in the back of the book! It was really interesting to see how Lane Smith, the illustrator, and Jack Prelutsky, the poet, elaborated on Dr. Seuss's original ideas.
To celebrate the ideas in "Diffendoofer Day", we discussed what makes a school special and different. A lot of the students agreed that it was the teachers and staff in the school that makes it special!! Using this, we created our own teachers and staff for our own school. We used a combination of collage and art supplies to create our own illustrations in the style of Dr. Seuss and Lane Smith.
It was a lot of fun and we were able to listen to the audio book of "The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories" while we worked.

Kiddos using magazine clippings for their collage!

We Love Visitors in Room 8!

Yesterday afternoon, Room 8 had some visitors all way from Fort Kent, Maine! My parents, along with my five year old brother, came to see our classroom and read to us. My mom chose to read "Daisy Head Mayzie", her favorite Dr. Seuss book, and I was surprised to see how many kiddos had never read it before. It was so nice to have my parents see for themselves where I spend most of my time every week! :)

Inside Recess in Room 8

Since today was pretty rainy and glum, we are staying in for lunch recess. A popular recess activity is building what they like to call, "The Cheese Tower" made with base ten blocks. Today was a momentous occasion because they have made it the tallest it has ever been! They are still in the building process as we speak!

Dr. Seuss Treasure Hunt

Here are the clues and trivia questions from the Dr. Seuss Treasure Hunt.  They needed to answer the Dr. Seuss trivia question before getting their next clue.

Given before they leave:

For your first question you must go

To the place where you did show

Off your Meet Me’s and your hats

Morning Meeting’s where it’s at

(Open area)

Question #1:

What is Dr. Seuss’s real name?

(Theodor Seuss Geisel or Ted)

In clue #1:

If you want the next clue

You should know just what to do

Find the place where you get books

And gave China quite the look

(Library)

Question #2:

When is his birthday?

March 2, 1904

In clue #2:

Twice a week and most times more

You come here, it’s quite a chore

Move your bodies round and round

Work your muscles up and down

(Gym)

Question #3:

Where did he grow up?

Springfield, Massachusetts or Fairfield Street

In clue #3:

In room 8 you like to blog

But the computers there are sometimes hogged

Here’s a place where there’s many more

Computers for you to explore

(Computer Lab)

Question #4:

How old would he be if he were still alive?

109

In clue #4:

I know you all like to make noise

And be loud, you girls and boys

Here’s the place that you can sing

And learn songs and other things

(Music Room)

Question #5:

What languages did he speak?

English and German

In clue #5:

Sometimes things get lost, I know

And there’s a place that these things go

Mittens and hats and gloves and pants

Go to the place near the room with plants

(Lost and Found)

Question #6:
What does being an immigrant mean?

It means moving to America from another country to live and work.

In clue #6:

This lady is cool and you can tell

And some of you know her really well

She teaches us about zones and speaking

At the start of every morning meeting

(Mrs. Mellor’s room)

Question #7:

True or false - Dr. Seuss was a boy scout.

True!

In clue #7:

Congrats, kids! You’re halfway done!

And I hope you’re having fun

Now go somewhere you can start

To learn about many kinds of art

(Art Room)

Question #8:

What is a pen name?

A pen name is a name some authors use instead of their own name.

In clue #8:

Now, this lady is the boss

But you’ll see she’s hardly cross

She helps us to follow rules

You will learn she’s pretty cool

(Mrs. Fournier’s office)

Question #9:

Who encouraged Dr. Seuss’s nonsense?

His mom Henrietta Seuss Geisel!

In clue #9:

I heard that this place is the best

A place some took a certain test

A musical one, it wasn’t teeny

With the lovely Miss Marchini

(Greenhouse)

Question #10:

Where did Dr. Seuss get his interest in animals?

His dad Theodor Geisel!

In clue #10:

Let us see if I can trick ya

Another place where you can pick a

Couple different books for groups

On a wall. Stumped now? Oops.

(Book wall)

Question #11:

What are some things Dr. Seuss really liked as a kid?

Animals, reading, sledding, doodling, trying on costumes, singing around the piano with his family, and exploring.

In clue #11:

You stop here if you are late

To grab a note with the date

And give it to Mrs. White to know

That you are here now, we missed you so!

(Office)

Question #12:

True or false - He didn’t like sports and wasn’t very athletic.

True!

 

In clue #12:

Here’s a secret you might know

Where all the teachers go

To copy work and tests, a lot

Tiptoe there and you won’t get caught

(Copy room)

Question #13:

True or false - Before Dr. Seuss became famous, a lot of people loved his work.

False! A lot of people hated it. Even his friends and teachers.

In clue #13:

You can talk to her if you are sad

Happy, excited, confused, or mad

She has lots of games you can bet

And snacks for snack time if you forget

(Mrs. Erhardt’s room)

Question #14:

What was his best friend’s name?

Bill

 

In clue #14:

You’re getting close! The end is near!

Your prize is pretty sweet, I hear.

To get your next clue you must do

20 jumping jacks, woo hoo!

(Do jumping jacks)

Question #15:

What colors were used in “The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins”?

White, black, and red

In clue #15:

Each day you bring in lots of stuff

As if your backpack was not enough

Here’s the place you hang your coat

On the hook where your name was wrote

(Coat hooks)

Question #16:

What was the big message from “Horton Hears a Who”?

“A person’s a person no matter how small.”

 

In clue #16:

You are done! Congratulations!

I can sense all your elation!

Your prize is red and white and blue

Sticky, sweet, and yummy, too!

(Cupcakes)

Dr. Seuss on YouTube!

Green Eggs and Ham, The Sneetches, and the Zax - 24 minutes

 

 The Cat in the Hat - 25 minutes

 

The Lorax - 25 minutes

 

Dr. Seuss's Birthday Celebration!

Yertle the Turtle and Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose

What a day Friday was!  Not only did we celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday in the afternoon, but we also had a birthday party and a going-away party for two students in the morning. As you'll see by our pictures, we all dressed up as our favorite Dr. Seuss characters, had some guest readers, a rhyming Dr. Seuss treasure hunt, and some fun Dr. Seuss themed snacks. It made for a great midway point of the Dr. Seuss unit and reviewed what we've learned about Dr. Seuss and his style so far.

The Star Belly Sneetches, plus Mrs. Fournier, our principal!

The Onceler and the Lorax

Some Sneetches and "Things" decided they wanted to be the Lorax, too!

The "Things"

Cindy Lou Who and Sally

Cat in the Hat!

Layered Dr. Seuss cupcakes!

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish on top!