This week has been so crazy, I almost forgot to write my blog! Luckily, I just remembered! It has been yet another whirlwind of a week where I am left feeling like my head has been spun around. I taught my lesson in the classroom this week and I feel like it went well. There are already a few things that I thought about on my way home though that I would change if I were to do it over. It is just minor things but I think I have become so accustomed to reflecting that I pick apart every little thing looking for ways to improve my practice. That brings to mind the Professional Teaching Standard: Teachers reflect on their practice. I know that practicing teachers reflect on their lessons all of the time and they make adjustments and refine their practice. This reflection is a skill that I am working on and I find myself reflecting more and more as we get more opportunities to actually teach.

The major focus in my mind right now is MY UNIT! Right now, I am making sure everything is age appropriate and that I have enough assessment and modification. So, that is where all of my brain power is going and I am using the NCSCOS a whole lot to make sure that my unit is grade level appropriate. I am excited to see the finished product and hopefully all of you are having a very productive and great week! The light at the end of the tunnel is SO close so hang in there!

Wow, wow, wow! The end is approaching so quickly! It seems that it was no time ago that I was writing my first blog at a complete loss of what to say for the fear of sounding silly. Now, the words just flow effortlessly and I know you all are going to not only understand what I am saying in my blog but embrace it. I have always been intimidated by blogging thinking that I didn't have anything interesting to say. I am proud to say that I have embraced blogging and I have grown to love it. I look forward to this so much more than discussion boards and so this has been one of my favorite things about this semester!

On another note, can you guys believe our units are due in TEN DAYS? AAAHHH! I am nervous but excited about the end outcome but this week ahead holds a lot of work for me. I just do not feel 100% about my performance task yet but I am getting there. I am so glad Parker is willing to go back and forth with us and answer our ridiculous questions (well at least mine are) all the time because that has literally saved me. Also, the feedback and encouragement I get from all of you has saved me as well!

I also finally have my lesson planned for my clinical experience and I am really excited about it! I approached it with much more confidence than I have ever had in lesson planning and I know that is because of what I have learned this semester. I would stop and think, how can I make this more engaging? What is going to really hook these students? How can I integrate technology in a more meaningful way? These are questions I never would I have asked myself before but that's because I simply didn't know to ask them. So, I feel particular grateful for the new skills I have acquired as a future teacher and for the new outlook in lesson planning. I have a whole new appreciation for how far student engagement can take you. That has really tied into the standard of Teacher Facilitate Learning because student engagement and the way we teach is a huge part of that.

I am looking forward to a productive week of tying up loose ends and I will let you know how my lesson goes in the classroom! Have a great week and try not to lose steam, we are SO CLOSE!

Another week down and another week wiser. Tonight, we had our traditional learning lesson presentations and I was SO NERVOUS. I haven't been that nervous in a long time but I feel that it went smoothly and everyone did such a good job. I get new ideas from you guys as you teach so I actually love hearing your lessons. As silly as it sounds, I also like to get to be a part of your lessons and watch you all do what you love. It makes me so proud of all of us and how far we have come. There are some things I need to work on but I am thankful for the constructive criticism because it makes me very aware of what I can do to be better. Once again, I find myself going back to the professional teaching standard: "Teacher reflect on their practice." What better way for us to better our teaching than to literally practice together and then reflect on it. The practice and reflection is helping us to become better professionals. I am really working on being more comfortable with being observed because in student teaching, there is going to be ALOT of observation. Even as professional teachers, we are going to be observed quite often so I know I have to just get over my nerves and be confident in what I am doing.

Now, it is officially time to get our units to where we want them to be and I am excited about that. I am fascinated by the unit planning process and I cannot wait to see it finally come together. I am hoping that my first concept-based unit will be strong and will be something I can be really proud of. I think the main thing is once again, reflecting on what I am doing and thinking of ways that I can make it even better. This week, I am working to make sure that I am strongly connected my standards in the unit with me learning experiences and performance tasks so I am working closely with the NCSCOS to tie everything together.

I cannot believe this semester is coming to a close! So, let's enjoy our last few weeks together, work hard, and like Parker said, finish the semester out strong!