My first field placement was at Northeast Middle School. I was assigned to an 8^th grade literature course for at-risk students. The class was small and conducted in a literature circle in which students would read and discuss various young adult novels. My experience at Northeast allowed me to learn about the importance of student-teacher relationships. I was also able to learn various techniques for working with at-risk students.

    My second field placement was at Lincoln Elementary School. I partook in a true hands-on experience in the 5^th grade language arts class. I was responsible for reading various short stories aloud to the class as well as conducting warm-up lessons involving grammar and punctuation. On several occasions I was able to teach short segments of lessons that involved the correct usage of words. I gained the confidence necessary to conduct a classroom during this experience.

    My final field placement, at Nitschmann Middle School, was in a 7^th grade PSSA language arts class. The purpose of this class was to increase PSSA scores in both the reading and writing sections. The students’ progress was monitored closely to ensure that they were achieving optimally. Practice exercises in workbooks as well as on the computers, independent reading, and group reinforcement lessons were keys to the functioning of the classroom.
    During this field study I was responsible for developing and teaching two lessons. I was also assigned to tutor three individual students that were severely struggling. I documented the students’ strengths and weaknesses and worked with each individually over a period of 10 weeks. I was able to utilize formative assessment strategies to assess the way that each student learned best and then implement a plan.
    Throughout my field experience at Nitschmann I noticed improvement in the students’ ability to read and retain information. It was a rewarding experience, to say the least. I also learned a lot about classroom management from this particular class. By observing the students’ behaviors I was able to create a classroom management plan for my own use in a future classroom.