Today, at long last, I received my student-teaching placement. My assignment is in Grade 6 English at Northeast Middle School (NEMS) in Minneapolis! Although I was hoping for a high school placement, I have previously been associated with NEMS and know that the school has a very solid program.
Practicum Schedule of 12 Weeks
October Weeks:
1, 8, 15, 22, 29
November Weeks:
5, 12, 19, 26
December Weeks:
3, 10, 17
Key Dates
Tuesday, Oct 16, 2012: 6th Grade Field Trip to Fort Snelling & Veterans Home
Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012: No school, Parent-teacher conferences
Thursday, Oct 18, 2012: No school, State Fall Conference Day
Friday, Oct 19, 2012: No school, Conference Conversion Day
Friday, Nov 2, 2012: No school - Record keeping day
Thursday, Nov 1, 2012: First Quarter Ends
Monday, Nov 5 – 7, 2012: Scholastic Book Fair
Thursday, Nov 15, 2012: National Native American Family Involvement Day
Thursday, Nov 22, 2012: No school
Friday, Nov 23, 2012: No school
Wednesday, Dec 12, 13: School Play
Thursday, Dec 13: NEMS Family Night
Developmental Milestones
Early Adolescence (10 – 12 years old)
Early Adolescence (10 – 12 years old)
Center for Development of Human Services. Child Development Guide.
Physical
• Have increased coordination and strength
• Are developing body proportions similar to those of an adult
• May begin puberty—evident sexual development, voice
changes, and increased body odor are common.
Emotional/Social
• Increased ability to interact with peers
• Increased ability to engage in competition
• Developing and testing values and beliefs that will guide present and future behaviors
• Has a strong group identity; increasingly defines self through peers
• Acquiring a sense of accomplishment based upon the achievement of greater physical strength and self-control
• Defines self-concept in part by success in school
Intellectual/Cognitive
• Early adolescents have an increased ability to learn and apply skills.
• The early adolescent years mark the beginning of abstract thinking but revert to concrete thought under stress.
• Even though abstract thinking generally starts during this age period, preteens are still developing this method of reasoning and are not able to make all intellectual leaps, such as inferring a motive or reasoning hypothetically.
• Youth in this age range learn to extend their way of thinking beyond their personal experiences and knowledge and start to view the world outside of an absolute black-white/right-wrong perspective.
• Interpretative ability develops during the years of early adolescence, as does the ability to recognize cause and affect sequences
• Early adolescents are able to answer who, what, where, and when questions, but still may have problems with why questions.
NEMS
