Goodbye Ipoly

It's the end of May. Meaning almost the end of the school year, the end of senior year and the end of Ipoly. I've spend four years of my life in a really weird and not normal school, (we went to school in a parking lot for crying out loud) with a bunch of pretty weird people; and I have enjoyed almost every minute of it. 

High school was nothing like I expected it to be and I have made so many memories. I also feel like I've been doing this for too long so I'm super ready to graduate. But as much as I can't wait to leave, I would also want some more time because it feels like everything is going by way too fast. High School is ending and there's nothing I can do but enjoy these last few good days and hope I'm ready for what's coming.

I've met some pretty great people and I don't think I'm ready to stop seeing them five times a week and go our separate ways. How do I stay friends with people that are going to be really far away from me and we probably won't see each other for a good couple of months. Am I suppose to get a new squad in San Fran?

With four years of projects, presentations, groups and stress, I think it's safe to say I've done my time.  I guess now it's time to move on and let the underclassmen suffer for a while longer. IPoly was great, but it's time. 

Up next: Graduation. 

Lets do this.

Blog 23: Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement
What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or your senior project? Why?

I'm most proud of myself and how I was able to handle everything that senior year had to offer. I handled myself well and I was able to get all of my work and hours and research done. I'm also really proud of how well my whole senior project came out because it all worked really well and I learned a lot this year.


(2) Questions to Consider
a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation (self-assessment)?

I would give myself an AE because I met all the requirements for a P; I had all my research and I had a lot of information, I made time and I feel like my presentation went really well. I also had decorations for the classroom and made sure I had a good classroom environment so it would give a good impression of a kindergarten classroom. I also provided snacks and I just feel like all that really tied everything together, I didn't just teach them about kindergarten, I kind of gave them a feel of it.

b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

For my overall Senior Project I think I would give myself a P or P+ simply because I know how Ipoly works and I know that even though I had all of my assignments and everything turned in on time, that really only counts for a P. For my senior project in general I didn't do a lot of "above and beyond" things. 

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

Something that worked for me was that I really enjoyed my mentorship and my topic in general so it wasn't like a drag having to do all of the work.  Having a fun and enjoyable topic and mentorship really made everything easier.

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?

What I would mostly want to change is the end of my senior presentation. I got confused with how much time I was suppose to reach so I thought I was running out of time so the last couple of slides I was rushing them and I didn't go into as much detail and then I ended up having like 15 minutes extra and I used them with Q&A's.

(5) Finding Value
How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?   Be specific and use examples.

The senior project has been helpful mostly because I now have all this information about my topic and I'm able to say I have experience in the classroom. I sent my whole senior year with kids so now I'm able to work with kids better as well. I also gave me the chance to see how much patience I have which is always helpful in the outside world.

Blog 22: Mentorship

  Literal

·     Log of specific hours with a total and a description of your duties updated on the right hand side of your blog

   Under Senior Project Hours

·     Contact Name and Mentorship Place

   Mrs. Dahline, San Jose Elementary School

 Interpretive

     What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

I would have to say everything that I learned throughout the year and the experience I now have with kindergarteners. I feel like I learned a lot about my topic but I also learned a lot about myself and how much I enjoy listening to what they have to say. 

 Applied

     How has what you’ve done helped you to answer your EQ?  Please explain

My essential question, "What is the most effective way a kindergarten teacher ensure a successful school year?" was answered mostly through mentorship. A lot of what I did was observe my mentor while she taught the class then go around to help the kids when they were working on their own. Through mentorship is how I got most of the ideas for my answers and how I realized how important my answers are. My mentorship really did have a big part in answering my essential question.

Exit Interview

Content:

(1) What is your essential question, and what are your answers?  What is your best answer and why?

My essential question is "What is the most effective way a kindergarten teacher can ensure a successful school year?" My answers are: The teacher's attitude, classroom environment and classroom management. My best answer is classroom management because even though the other two are very important, you won't get anywhere if there is no proper classroom management. 

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

I read a lot about classroom management and about the kids' behavior online and I have a lot of articles on it so that mostly gave me the idea of what my second answer should be but I didn't officially make it my answer until I saw how important it is while I was at mentorship. 

(3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

I had a lot of trouble trying to figure out my third answer because I kind of felt like a lot of the answers were either not good enough and I had a lot to pick from. I wanted to really get that kindergarten aspect on my third answer. It wasn't until my  third interview with Mrs. Hansen and she brought up classroom environment and how important it is.

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

The most significant source was definitely my mentorship because I wanted to know how to have a good school year so I just had to observe the classroom and my mentor and the kids. I was always able to ask my mentor any questions that I had so that was very helpful to me. Another source was a book by Ellen Junn called "Child Growth and Development". I got this book at the beginning of the year and it helped me most at the beginning of the year because it taught me the beginning parts of how kids are.

April extra blog

Today I saw one of the funniest and cutest things ever. Just so you know, the kindergarteners always have this huge basket that is usually filled with crayons. It's always in the middle of the class so that everyone can get any crayon if they need to. Today while they were working on a worksheet, they wrote sentences and once they were done, my mentor then told them "okay you can color the pictures now." All the kids went to the basket of crayons in the middle of the table like they always do except for one girl that went straight to her backpack. She then pulled out a box of 36 brand new crayons and put them on her desk. Right then I heard all the other kids drop their crayons and run to her with all the "oh my god!" "New crayons?!" "How cool!!" "I want crayons!" "36??????". 

I just thought it was funny how they have a basket with at least 100 crayons there but they were more amazed with the new box of 36.

It makes me wonder the things that go on in their minds.

Independent Component 2 Blog

LITERAL

(a) I, Daniela Diaz, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.

(b) Cite your source: Mentorship at San Jose Elementary School with Mrs. Dalhine.

(c) Log updated.

(d) In those 30 hours for my independent component, I mostly focused on the arts and crafts and all that "fun" stuff kindergarten is all about. I go to mentorship two days a week; Thursdays and Fridays. I would focus on Independent component on Fridays because that is when the kids to paint and make things which lets them be creative. That's what I wanted to focus on more because of the kindergarten mindset they still have and what I believe we should all keep as well. I got to see more clearly how they see certain situations and how they're not afraid of things like their painting or drawing looking bad. On Fridays where they would paint or create things, I would mostly just supervise and made sure nothing got out of hand. 

INTERPRETIVE 

Provide evidence:

APPLIED

How did the component help you answer your EQ? 

This component helped me answer my EQ because it helped me figure out my answer 3. With all the drawing and paintings from the students, all the work had to go up in the walls for display which made me realize that the classroom environment like the actual classroom in general is very important because the work and the colors is what makes a kindergarten classroom.

March extra blog

One of the most important things about kindergarten is the classroom and the kind of vibe it gives off as soon as you walk throught the door. As soon as you walk in a kindergarten classroom, you should see many bright colors all around the room and plenty room for the children to sit and work or play. Something that is very important is the children's work up on the walls. If it's worksheets or paintings, the work should be displayed on the walls. It adds character to the room and it gives the children a reason to always do their best and neatest. It also makes the children feel comfortable in the classroom because it makes it feel like their own when they see their work all around. Classroom environment is always important.

Fourth Interview Questions

 What is the most effective way a kindergarten teacher can ensure a successful school year?

Questions: 

1.)What would you say is the best way to keep all the kids on task at all times?

2.)Do you always have to have a plan ready for the day?

3.)How much work does this job come with?

4.)What would you say is the most important thing a child looks for in their kindergarten year?

5.)What is your goal for the students as a teacher?

6.)What are the different teaching methods that you use?

7.)How did you come across those methods?

8.)What has been your most reliable source since you started teaching?

9.)How important are the arts and crafts in kindergarten?

10.)How important are the parents when it comes to their kids education?

11.)How involved should a parent be?

12.)Out of classroom management, classroom environment, and teachers attitude, what would you say is the most important when it comes to having a good school year?

13.)Is there anything else that would also be a good answer?

14.)Is there any teaching methods you know of that don't work? Why?

15.)What kind of problems can I expect in the classroom?

16.)What are some ways to get the students excited about learning?

17.)What are some ways to make teaching enjoyable for you?

18.)Would you say being a kindergarten teacher is rewarding? Why?

19.)What has been one of the hardest thing about this school year alone?

20.)Is there anything at all that you feel I should know or any other information about teaching kindergarten that we have not talked about and could be important to my topic, question or answer?

Blog 17: Answer 3

Content: 

What is the most effective way a kindergarten teacher can ensure a successful school year?

One way a kindergarten teacher can ensure a successful school year is by the classroom environment.

Having a lot of bright colors is always visually pleasing and it's what you expect in a kindergarten class. Also it's very fun and gets the students excited and entertained in what is going on. Having their work up displayed on the walls is also important because it makes the classroom feel like their own and they can feel a part of something. It also encourages them to do a good and neat job because they know that everyone will be able to see it. 

I was considering this answer when I was doing some research but the source that really helped me in getting the full answer was the interview with a kindergarten teacher I sometimes work with, Mrs. Hanson.

As students get older, the classroom get more and more plain to the point where the walls are just blank. The best part of kindergarten was the colorful walls and the fun feel environment.

February extra blog

This worksheet was done by my mentor Ms. Dahline when she was teaching the kids about monkeys. She drew a picture and then wrote two sentences. As you can see, not everything is spelled right and I was surprised to see that that is how she was teaching the kids. That was the example that the kids had to follow. When I asked her why she wasn't spelling the words correctly, she said that at this age they should mostly have to worry about sounding out the words instead of spelling. She said that sounding them out was more important so that's what she focuses on. I thought that was very interesting and it's actually a bit of a challenge. I'm not allowed to tell the kids how to spell a word, I'm just suppose to sound it out for them. For example, if they asked me how to spell "they" I would sound it out and they would say "t-h-a-y?" And I would just say "yea sure". 

Blog 16: Answer 2

1.) What is your EQ?

What is the most effective way a kindergarten teacher can ensure a successful school year?

2.)What is your first answer?

As a kindergarten teacher, you have to love what you do and love being a kindergarten teacher.

3.)What is your second answer?

Classroom management is a big deal and  knowing how to control the class plays an important part in having a good year

4.)List three reasons your answer is true with a real-world application for each.

When the classroom is managed and everything is under control, the class flows better then when everything and everyone is unorganized. 

5.)What printed source best supports your answer?

An article I printed about classroom management. Sharon Taylor, a kindergarten teacher explains how to keep your classroom controlled and the benefits of it.

6.)What other source best supports your answer?

I have many other articles that I have researched that are about classroom management and how to keep the classroom and the students under your control since the beginning.

7.)Tie this together with a concluding thought.

I think that in order to have a great school year, both of my answers are really important. Loving what you do will let the kids have fun and enjoy themselves and having good classroom management is important so you can get done what needs to get done.

Blog 15: Independent Component 2 Approval

1.) Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

     For my 30 hours, I'm planning on doing more mentorship in the classroom. What I did with my independent component 1, was I would go to on Thursdays for mentorship and on Fridays for Independent Component. That helped me because Fridays are the arts and crafts days so it gave me a chance to observe how creative the kids get and a better idea of what Kindergarten really is.

2.) Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

    To meet the expectations of evidence, I will take pictures of the work the kids do and maybe some of myself when I'm helping the kids out, (making sure to not show any students face.) And I could also bring some of their art work.

3.)Explain how this component will help you explore your topic in more depth.

    This component will help me explore my topic more because it will show me both parts of kindergarten, the teaching and learning of actual curricular material and the creative arts and crafts part.

4.)Post a log in your Senior Project Hours link and label it "Independent Component 2" log.

Independent Component 1

Literal: 
I, Daniela Diaz, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
The sources that helped me with my independent component was mostly more mentorship. I just did more hours in the classroom.
I completed 30 extra hours of mentorship which I did mostly Fridays because those are the arts and crafts days out of the whole week; which are also very important in kindergarten.

Interpretive:
I used to go to mentorship on Tuesdays and Thursdays and that's when the kids would just do the normal learning the alphabet and writing and spelling. For my independent component, I decided to change it and start going on Fridays because that is when the kids get to paint and create things and really show their creativity. I took pictures of my mentorship and the classroom.


Applied:
This independent component really helped me a lot because it made me realize how important all the crafts are to the kindergarteners and the cassroom

Lesson 2 reflection

1.) What are you most proud of in your lesson 2 presentation?

I am proud of the fact that I had a lot of research and information, and from the recommendations that I got, I was very enthusiastic and presented well.

2a.) what assessment would you give yourself?

I would give myself a P+ 

2b.) Why do you deserve that grade?

I think I deserve that grade because I completed all of the P requirements and I feel like I did a good job with presenting and kept people engaged.

3.) What worked for you in your lesson 2?

What worked for me was that while I was presenting, people seemed to be interested in my presentation so it made it easier to present and it gave me more confidence.

4.) What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your lesson 2?

What didn't work was that I didn't really practice at home so that's what I would have done differently. And I would have worked on my "like" and "um".

5.) What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?

I think it's going to be that a teacher has to have good classroom management and be aware of the classroom.

Blog 12: Mentorship 10 hours check

1.) Where are you doing your mentorship?

San Jose Elementary School. Ms. Dahline's kindergarten class.

2.) Who is your contact?

My mentor Ms. Dahline.

3.)How many total hours have you done?

I have done 50 hours at the school not counting the 10 hours for summer I did at the Red Cross before changing topics. All together I have done 60 hours.

4.)Summarize 10 hours of service you did.

In my mentorship, while Ms. Dahline is teaching I usually watch her and sit in the back. Once she's done and passes out the worksheets for the kids, I go around the classroom and help any kid that's having trouble. I spend time with them individually and re-explain what to do and how to do it. I also supervise the kids when they have activities like painting or arts and crafts.

Holiday project update

 1.  It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you do over the break with your senior project?

During winter break, I couldn't do much with my mentorship because I work in a classroom; so they went on break at the same time we went on break. I did do some extra research to make up for not being able to be in the classroom. With the holidays around, I decided to research about how the holidays were presented to all the kids without it being against anything someone believes in. 

2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why?  What was the source of what you learned?

The most important thing I learned was that it is important to know what each child and their families celebrate and what they don't celebrate. It's important to talk to the parents at the beginning of the year to know what's going on and also make sure that whatever is done in the classroom, it has to be meaningful to the children and everyone should always feel comfortable. 

I got this from articles mostly from pbs.org and diversity in the classrooms.

3.  If you were going to do a 10 question interview on questions related to answers for your EQ, who would you talk to and why?

I would like to interview my mentor, Ms. Dahline but I have already interviewed her twice so I don't think I would be able to interview her anymore so I would probably interview one of the two other kindergarten teachers that my mentor likes to combine the classes with. They have their own classroom and many other kindergarteners to interact with so they can really help me answer my EQ.