Matt Sabatowski

Period 7 Cadet Teaching

Weekly Summaries November 13th

October 12 October 16:

Describe a way that you were able to participate in the classroom On Wednesday of
this week, the class went on a field trip involving collecting rocks and studying geology
(exact location is unknown to me, but I know that it involved the kids getting to hunt for
their own rocks). Because of this field trip, the class has been enamored with rocks this
past week, showing off their personal collections each day in addition to studying
different types of rocks. One way that I got to capitalize on this obsession was with
presenting a kit filled with rocks, a streak plate to test the rocks, and an accompanying
booklet that describes the rocks in the kit. I got to show the kids how streak plates worked
in addition to helping them learn how to identify rocks that are the same type, even if
they do not have the same physical appearance.
Describe a situation that was difficult to deal with During the week, one student who I
had not known had any previous issues or symptoms was placed on suicide watch and
could not be out of sight of a teacher at any time. This was a shock to me, as I had no idea
that children this young could deal with problems like that, and other than her intense
attachment to me, nothing really seemed out of the ordinary. To keep her in sight while
not letting the class know that she was on suicide watch, we stopped letting groups into
the hallway well before she returned to the classroom (she was gone for 2 or 3 days this
week) in order to hide the fact that she was the reason that we werent allowed to
anymore.
Describe your favorite part of the week with students My favorite part of the week has
definitely been seeing everybodys personal rock collection from home. I had no idea, but
tons of the children in my class have been collecting rocks from all over the world for
years! For example, one student brought in an enormous chunk of rose quartz that had to
weigh at least 10 pounds! It was very exciting to see the kids get excited and passionate
about something that they care about, as they were scrambling in excitement to show me
all of their rocks.
Describe a disruption in the class routine Like previously stated, the field trip was an
obvious disruption that happened on Wednesday. First of all, they did not have time for
the normal activities that happened during the day before I arrived, as they got back
around 130 or so, and proceeded to go immediately to go to their specials. Second, at 230
was a convocation about bullying, so they only had 20 minutes or so to perform a special
activity which involved sorting the rocks they collected on the trip into groups and
deciding what kind of rock they were. Overall, the entire day was a mess, and the
children didnt have enough time to learn about the things that were planned for the day,
but Mrs. Schermerhorn and I made it work.

Matt Sabatowski
Period 7 Cadet Teaching
Weekly Summaries November 13th

October 26 October 30:

Describe a way that you were able to participate in the classroom This week was the
week that I performed my lesson plan that concerned creating story problems for
multiplication equations. The test was the next day, so my lesson consisted of a
competitive review game which pitted half of the class against the other half. Each
student got a chance to answer a question that either involved answering/comprehending
a story problem or creating their own using a certain theme specified in the PowerPoint.
This was an overwhelming success, as it caused the students to think critically and
understand how these problems worked for the test the next day (also, Mrs.
Schermerhorn and the students absolutely loved it!).
Tell me about behavior issues in the classroom One student that is in my class has been
acting out in extreme ways during class time. Over the past couple of weeks, he has been
caught swearing in the lunchroom and stealing random items from the teachers desk and
placing them into his backpack. This resulted in Mrs. Schermerhorn getting extremely
angry and personally accompanying him to the principals office, along with a letter
written home and a plan in order to get him back on track.
Favorite part of the week with students My favorite part of the week by far has been
playing my review game with the children. Before the game was played, I had simply no
idea how the game would play out. I was worried that there wouldnt be enough
questions, it would go too fast, etc., but when we played it, it went perfectly! The activity
lasted for about 40 minutes which was my optimal goal. Watching all of the kids get
extremely excited to show what they know in an unorthodox, fun way was satisfying, and
hearing their love for their game reassured me that I could definitely make it as a teacher
for this age group someday.
Describe a disruption in the class routine Friday of this week was absolutely destroyed
as far as a normal schedule went. At 2:10, 10 minutes after I am supposed to arrive, they
went out into a mock bedroom in a trailer and learned how to safely escape a fire/practice
fire safety. After this, they went to Fishy Friday, which consists of an extra recess for
the children at the end of the day. Because of this schedule, I had no use to show up, so I
did not attend class that day as per Mrs. Schermerhorns request. The childrens learning
was stunted that day, as they did not have the proper time to cover math like they
normally do.

Matt Sabatowski
Period 7 Cadet Teaching
Weekly Summaries November 13th

November 2 November 6:

Describe a way that you participated in the classroom During this week, we resumed
the normal schedule of math centers every day. With this, I was either the leader of the
station involving a reteaching worksheet which was review from days prior, or I was in
charge of whiteboards, where I would make up a 3 digit subtraction problem with a 0 as
the tens place in order to teach them the concept of borrowing with a 0.
Describe behavior issues in the classroom For whatever reason, these kids have been
absolutely ridiculous in terms of energy. Whenever I am on whiteboards, I cannot get the
groups to stay on task and at a reasonable volume (we are in the hallway for this activitythe girl is no longer on suicide watch). It has gotten to the point where I have had to send
multiple kids back into the class to get in trouble and tell the class that we wont go in the
hall anymore.
Describe a positive impact During the whiteboard activity, most of the kids were
understanding it pretty well, as it was mainly a review of sorts. However, some students
were just not understanding what they were doing wrong. In order to help them, I would
go through every problem step by step, using one-on-one interaction with the student in
question in order to make sure they understood. Because I explained it to them in a new
way that Mrs. Schermerhorn either didnt do or had done a long time ago, they had that
a-ha moment that is always so satisfying to see and were able to get every problem I
threw at them right after that.
One idea that Id like to introduce to my classroom One thing that Ive noticed in my
time in the classroom is that I like the idea of math centers rotating throughout certain
activities as opposed to a large lesson (although we do large lessons to introduce a topic).
It is good for the kids, as it keeps them energetic due to the traveling and getting to do a
variety of different activities that help teach all kinds of learners. For example, a learner
that does best with the classic approach of teacher-and-worksheet has a station where you
work directly with Mrs. Schermerhorn, but for a more visual crowd, there are review
games and activities that take advantage of those learning types too. I think that its a
great way to organize math time for a younger audience that can get bored very easily.

Matt Sabatowski
Period 7 Cadet Teaching
Weekly Summaries November 13th

November 9th November 13

Describe a way you participated in the classroom this week During this week, I have
taken more of a passive role in the classroom. Instead of directly teaching or leading a
group, I have been helping them put together a foldable, which is a small folder that
has tons of little activities and things to research on it. Because it can be confusing to put
together at times and just looking at the example doesnt always help, I have been helping
kids put together their foldable, along with helping them learn to research the topic (it is
about the Midwestern United States).
One idea that you would like to bring into the classroom The idea of these foldables is a
great way of organizing and performing a lesson plan in an unorthodox way. Instead of
just doing normal lessons on this topic, the children have lots of different things to fill out
on a folder that has every topic from the unit organized in a unique way. It is fun to put
together, and researching all of the topics boosts independent study habits and critical
thinking as well.
Behavior issues in the classroom Much like last week, the students have had a huge
problem with staying quiet throughout the day when they are supposed to. According to
Mrs. Schermerhorn, the getting distracted was getting out of hand throughout the day on
Wednesday. When I got to the classroom, they spoke while she was trying to talk, and she
put an end to it by making everybody go back to their desks and write 5 ways that they
could be a better student. They were much better behaved after this incident!
Favorite part of the week My favorite part of the week was doing the second round of
my review game, this time involving division word problems instead of multiplication.
The entire class along with Mrs. Schermerhorn loved the activity, so she asked if I could
do another one on my own time. Because this was a privilege for the class, they loved it
and got extremely excited about getting to do it again. Also, because it helps them learn
for the test, I like to feel like I am helping them learn in some way, so doing this activity
makes me happy.