Student Teaching Weekly Log

Directions: Answer these questions each week and email them to your student teaching
supervisor by Sunday evening.
Name: Rachel Charlow Lenz

Week: 2/1/16-2/5/16 (second week)

1. How did you spend your time this week? What responsibilities did you have?
The vast majority of my time this week was spent teaching all four levels and all seven sections
of Japanese. My mentor teacher was absent on Monday and expected to be absent on Tuesday,
thus although a substitute teacher was present to provide backup if needed, the week began with
me fully in charge of the classroom. When we returned on Wednesday, I remained the primary
instructor for most of the classes with Sachiko-Sensei stepping in for a few new activities I
hadnt yet been present for. My first observation was on Thursday, for which I taught the first
section of second-year Japanese. Sachiko-Sensei taught the first year class while I had my
debriefing before I took over again for the second Japanese II section. Fridays classes were split
50/50 between the two of us so that I could observe her TPRS performances and take notes for
the coming week when I will be performing my own stories. Beyond the classroom, I was able to
nurture a few professional connections with other teachers, including with an English teacher
who recognized me from a partnership through which my ELA methods class had mentored her
AP students last semester.
2. What were your most satisfying experiences? What were your most challenging experiences?
My three most satisfying experiences this week were being able to get through to students and
teach new, relatively challenging grammar by using Star Wars characters; finally feeling like I
was getting a handle on vocabulary introduction on Monday; and walking into the first-year class
after my debriefing on Thursday and immediately being swarmed by a group of students
demanding to know where Id been and clamoring for a chance to show me their Setsubun
masks.
My most challenging experience was introducing the kanji quiz to the B6 Japanese I section on
Friday. It was their first kanji quiz, and Id learned from the B5 section that both an explanation
and demonstration (via diagram drawn on the board) were necessary to convey expectations to
students. However, this was insufficient for the B6 section. What should have been very simple
became very complicated, very quickly when one by one vocal members of the large, boisterous
class began to assert that 1. They did not understand and 2. I was Really bad at explaining. It
was hard not to react to the second, particularly when it was equally difficult for me to
understand what was so impossible to grasp about the concept of numbering 1-12 on a piece of
paper and writing the kanji for the word with the corresponding number. I wound up explaining
three or four times to the whole class before asking anyone who still didnt understand to raise
their hands so I could explain to each individually. Im still not sure what went wrong, but I
intend to be extremely explicit on Monday with the remaining first year class.
3. What are the plans for the upcoming week?
We tend to revise our plans as the week progresses; however, the current plan is for me to teach
every day but Wednesday. On Wednesday, Sachiko-Sensei will be observed by someone from the
district and so will take sole control of the classroom. I have my second observation on Tuesday,

this time during one of the first-year classes during which I will be introducing a new TPRS
story of my own composition. I will be doing the same in the third-year class later that day. The
A-day classes (Japanese II x2, Japanese I x1) are slightly behind schedule due to last weeks
snow day. Consequently, the second-years still have two new grammar points to cover while the
A2 first-year section has yet to take their kanji quiz or participate in Setsubun. Years 1-3 will be
preparing for a vocab quiz and moving from the recognition/comprehension stage
(listening/reading) to the production stage (speaking/writing) in advance of the lesson written
and oral exams. Year 4 will be taking their unit test on Tuesday before unwinding with cultural
activities on Thursday.

Student Teaching Weekly Log

Week: 2/8/16-2/12/16 (third week)

1. How did you spend your time this week? What responsibilities did you have?
My third week was once again predominantly spent teaching (with the exception of the A1 block
on Wednesday, during which my mentor teacher had her 3-year observation by the director of
Central). The 1st-3rd year classes are approaching the written and oral exams for their current
units so the majority of the week was devoted to various types of review. To prepare for the
speaking tests, I had the opportunity to create my own variations of the two TPRS stories used
earlier in the unit. I also used a combination of pop culture and my own artwork to teach two
new grammar paradigms to the second year students. Finally, with years 1-3 taking vocabulary
quizzes and the 4th-year students sitting their unit test, I began proctoring and grading formal
assessments. While grading vocabulary quizzes is straightforward (and something Ive done for
12 years), grading the 4th-years unit test using the AP exam-scoring rubric was a novel and
edifying experience. The exam is divided into four sections: listening, reading, speaking, and
writing. The listening and reading comprehension sections were selected response and thus
simple to grade; however, the speaking section required students to record a two minute cultural
presentation on milestone events in Japan, while the writing section involved completing a
virtual text-chat with a Japanese student on the subject of American high school graduation
ceremonies and college plans. For these two sections, both my mentor teacher and I
independently reviewed and scored each students submissions. Remarkably, we found we were
in accord on almost every score. For those where we differed, we opted to award students the
higher of the two scores. After AP scale scores had been determined, we decided what the
appropriate corresponding percentile and letter grade scores best fit the results.
2. What were your most satisfying experiences? What were your most challenging experiences?
I think my most satisfying experience this week was teaching new grammar to the 2nd-years
using pop culture and my artwork. I felt like I really connected with the students and that they
were more engaged than theyve been in previous attempts to introduce grammar. They were also
able to move more quickly from comprehension to production and have shown earlier signs of
retaining the new material. The lesson was so successful that, when students grew bored
practicing for their speaking test using the Japanese geography handout theyve been using for
three weeks, I let them do a few pop culture rounds (super heroes, video games, andupon
request that overrode my objectionsDisney princesses). This rejuvenated the class and allowed

them the opportunity to voice their own opinions in Japanese as opposed to stating objective fact
based on the information in their geography charts.
My two biggest challenges of the week were my continued efforts to balance my own ideas,
innovations, and teaching style with the pedagogical and curricular expectations of my mentor
teacher, and trying to master TPRS. Despite certain curricular staples like the worksheets
students use to review for the unit exam, I was able to try a few of my ideas, including the
aforementioned grammar introduction and practice, as well as a new vocabulary review game
called Ninja Strike that seemed to go over well with students. However, while the former was
a hit with both students and mentor teacher, the latter caused me to be corrected back to my
mentor teachers preferred review game. Her review game was highly effective and has been
added to my arsenal, but I also wanted to introduce variety into the class structure and it is
frustrating not to be able to branch out. TPRS is another staple of Centrals Japanese classes and
appears to be highly effectivewhen conducted by Sachiko-Sensei. I, on the other hand, cannot
seem to get a handle on it. Ill think Ive remembered to do everything Im supposed to do, but
inevitably Ive left something out. I am told ordinarily people attend workshops to receive
training to perform TPRS properly and that while I should continue to strive to improve, I also
shouldnt devote too much time to obsessing over my failures. Nonetheless, I feel moderately
demoralized every time I conclude a TPRS activity, even as I am determined to get it right the
next time. If I use this method in the future, I think I will either need to adapt it or get proper
training to truly use it effectively.
3. What are the plans for the upcoming week?
This week I will continue to teach bell to bell save for my observation debrief and a class later in
the week during which someone from the district needs to observe Sachiko-Sensei. Years 1-3
will be preparing for their oral exams by creating their own versions of the units TPRS story
which will serve as an assessment of both their written and spoken presentational skills, as well
as interpersonal communication (they will be asked questions). I would like to suggest
incorporating technology into this particular project by having students scan their illustrations
and record their story presentations using Voicethread to create a class archive that could be used
for current and future students seeking additional listening/reading practice. The 4th-year students
will be starting a new chapter and are scheduled to practice their conversational skills, so I
should be able to try some of my own activities/pedagogical methods this week. Finally,
Sachiko-Sensei has to attend a friends funeral on Wednesday and the substitute will most likely
not speak Japanese, so I will be in charge of all four classes. I am not sure what the protocol is
for attending the weekly professional development meetings without my mentor teacher, but I
will find out before Wednesday.

Student Teaching Weekly Log

Week: 4/4/16-4/8/16 (3rd week)

1. How did you spend your time this week? What responsibilities did you have?
I continued to teach full-time this week. In English III we finished The Great Gatsby and
introduced the last quiz for the novel through an activity designed to demonstrate what a 3 or 4

response looks like (students hadnt understood what they were missing) and give students an
opportunity to discuss the questions in small groups before they took the quiz. I was also able to
finally execute the first activity I created for the class upon my arrival at Roosevelt (static vs.
dynamic characters) as a means of introducing their capstone project for the unit, a character
analysis paper. I was also responsible for grading half of the quizzes (Blocks 6 & 7). In English I,
students were finishing their research projects, so my main job was to keep them on task and
provide the feedback they needed to challenge themselves and push for higher scores.
2. What were your most satisfying experiences? What were your most challenging experiences?
My most satisfying experiences this week were executing the static vs. dynamic character
activity and watching students begin to dig deeper into the novel and get into thoughtful debates
over some of the characters, and helping four ninth-grade girls really challenge themselves to dig
deeper into their issue and push their writing skills. They were immensely capable and just
needed some differentiation and individual attention to really achieve and expand their potential.
With a little encouragement and prompting, one of them produced a mock newspaper article for
her topic that was better written than anything some of my college students have submitted for
my courses.
My most challenging experience continues to be finding the right balance in classroom
management. Most of the time it isnt a problem, but I still think I could do better, especially
now the English III classes have free work time and are more inclined to be off-task. It helps that
Im getting to know the students better the more time I spend in their classroom, but Im still
learning when to put my foot down. Their last student teacher was very authoritarian and they
reacted badly to it, so Ive been worried Ill lose their respect if I clamp down too hard. But on
Friday I had a chat with a particularly rowdy table within hearing of the whole class and told
them that they were old enough to take responsibility for their behavior and their time and if they
wanted to waste the class time they were given to work and write their papers at home, that was
their business, but if their actions interfered with their classmates who were trying to work then it
becomes my business. Instead of talking back to me or lashing out, they immediately apologized,
told me that I was their favorite student teacher, and settled down. Given this encounter, I think I
could be much firmer when the situation calls for it without earning their resentment. This is
something I intend to work on in the coming weeks.
3. What are the plans for the upcoming week?
This week English III will be working on their papers and preparing for the ACTs using a Kahoot
that I made for them. English I will be presenting their research projects, taking a CFA on
adaptation/interpretation, and beginning their novel study of Speak.

Student Teaching Weekly Log

Week: 4/11/16-4/15/16 (4th week)

1. How did you spend your time this week? What responsibilities did you have?

English III spent the entire week working on their papers, so my primary job was to work oneon-one with the students and offer feedback on their writing. I also conducted break-out sessions
on finding quotes and writing commentary for quotes while Joan took the break-out session for
students who needed help connecting their character to Fitzgerald. I also graded students Daily
News activities for their theme/inference topic score and conducted an ACT prep session using
Kahoot. English I finished, presented, and turned in their research projects, took an SRI, and took
a CFA on interpretation using The Cask of Amontillado.
2. What were your most satisfying experiences? What were your most challenging experiences?
My most satisfying experience this week was working with students one-on-one with their
papers. I love helping people with their writing and watching them grow, and I think Im most
effective as a teacher when I work with students one-on-one. I also had an unexpected, but
touching, surprise on Friday. One of the English III students who had previously always come to
class was missing all week. I asked her friend (also in the class) where she was and if she was
okay, and was told that she would be out of school for a while for health reasons. I asked her to
tell her friend that we missed her and I hoped she would feel better soon (I did not at that point
and still do not know whether she is out for physical or mental health reasons). I continued to ask
how she was doing whenever her friend came to class. On Friday, her friend, who did not have
class that day, turned up during 4th block to hand me a thank-you card from the girl. In it, she
confessed that shed always felt invisible at school and it meant the world to her that someone
had actually noticed she was gone and thought to ask after her. Making even a small difference to
students like her is the reason I want to teach: To be for others what my teachers were for me.
My most challenging experience this week was trying to make ACT prep engaging. The Kahoot
helped, but one of the problems with using technology that requires students to use their phones
to participate is that you can never be sure they wont be using that phone to, say, watch episodes
of Game of Thrones instead (which is exactly what happened with one student in first block). I
learned from my mistakes with first block, and for fourth gave students a choice: They could
either work on their paper, or play the ACT prep Kahoot. We took a vote, and they were split
50/50, so the ACT prep crew came to sit at the front of the room to work with me while the rest
of the class worked on their papers. Im not sure how well this will play with Mondays classes,
since they are larger and classroom management might be more difficult, but Im going to offer
them the choice so that they feel like they have some say in their destiny and how their time will
be best used and see how it goes.
3. What are the plans for the upcoming week?
This week English III will be handing in their papers, taking the ACT and doing a hook activity
for their lit circles. English I will be taking a CFA on adaptation/interpretation, and beginning
their novel study of Speak with a hook activity of my own devise.