Kuna Middle School
Fact Sheet
Type - Public, rural, middle (7th and 8th only)
# of teachers - 55
# of students - 700
Avg. student/teacher ratio - 28:1
Brief
During the 2010-2011 scholastic year, I student taught in an eighth-grade language arts classroom. I began with observation and progressed towards taking over the class as the lead teacher. I taught for over 120 days as the lead teacher; some days were supervised, others were not. I often took over the class as a substitute and benefited grately from the independence. I was responsible for designing lessons, which were used throughout the year, and also a six-week unit on Science Fiction, which I taught independently.
Daily Expectations
- Encouraging students to reach their potential
- Listening to students...really listening
- Lesson and unit planning
- Lesson instruction
- Conferencing with students
- Recommending great books!
- Grading papers
- Recording grades
- Writing or calling parents
- Helping students with higher needs (extrememly low or high ability) to succeed
- Attending and participating in IEP meetings
- Parent-teacher conferences
- Preparing for staff and team meetings
I had the priveledge of working with a mentor teacher that did not mind delegating responsibilities to me from the beginning. I began as a classroom aide of sorts, working with small groups in reading circles or brainstorming sessions, and soon took on guiding the entire class through lessons. I was expected to prepare and write my own lessons, sometimes with the help of my mentor teacher, other times unaided, and to help the students reach the clearly outlined goals of each lesson. I also took on the responsibility of preparing for team meetings, planning sessions with teachers and staff, and monitoring students outside of class time. By February of 2011, I had taken on all responsibilities of a lead teacher, such as grading papers, recording grades, writing or calling parents, attending and participating in IEP meeting and parent-teacher conferences.
Example Units and Lessons
To demonstrate my work at KMS, below are a few example assignments.
Projects and assignments
Research Paper
Literary Terms
Misc.
- Example substitute teacher lesson plan .docx
