Nikki Romano - Field Placement

I am at Henry North Elementary School. I go to my placement every Tuesday from 12:30-1:30PM and every Thursday from 11:45-1:00PM. I really enjoy working with my mentor teacher because she gives me ample opportunity to get involved and interact with the students. She has taught for many years and has had MSU seniors in her class before she knows how to divide responsibility and feels comfortable with me in the classroom. I am in the same classroom as last semester and love the students. I am in a fourth grade classroom with about 25 students. We have a very diverse class from ethnic backgrounds from Iraq, Nepal, Berma, Thailand, Turkey and Africa. We have a handful of students that are English Language Learners of a couple different levels. I get the chance to work with small reading groups that include the ELLs and sometimes one on one reading and literacy work with one particular ELL student. I really enjoy working with a wide range of students because my minor is TESOL and it allows me to get experience and I find it really interesting and rewarding. 

On Tuesdays I get to see my teacher do a math lesson. Right now they are working on fractions, improper fractions and word problems. They also do times tests that range in levels. Some students are on division, multiplication and even mixed tests. I work with one ELL with his subtraction and other math skills during this time. As well I circulate and answer students' questions. In the future I will become more involved but for right now I am observing my teacher during this time. On Thursday I am there during Read Aloud where the teacher is currently reading Harry Potter to the class as well as Read to Self where the students silently read or look at books silently. The next section is writing and they are concentrating on creating a adventure fiction. The last part is dedicated to literacy centers. During this time, I work with the ELL student with literacy skills such as phonics and reading assessments for comprehension and fluency. I am excited to continue my time with my fourth grade class and hope to get more involved during math time.