Pre-Student Teaching (EDUC 362: Teaching Experience I) serves as the initial field experience for prospective student teachers and is completed the semester prior to student teaching.
So i accidentally posted this in next weeks blog. Oops! Sorry for the confusion:)
This week went by really well. Mr. Ericksen and I went over my 10 day unit and came up with multiple ideas for what he would like me to teach. WE have decided that I will teach science and the two of us are going to work together tomorrow on the final plan. I am really excited to start my teaching next week. I will start Monday afternoon which will be both exciting and nerve racking. I am very much looking forward to whatever happens.
This week I started my teaching and it has been an amazing roller coaster. I am teaching a thematic unit of poetry; allowing my kindergartners to experience and write a variety of different types of poetry.
On Tuesday we began by looking at several different poems about the seasons and discussing the different qualities of the seasons. We talked about rhyme and the variety of poetry formats found in the poems looked at. Students were then split into four groups, one for each season, and asked to write a line of a poem about that season. The results were amazingly varied; some groups stuck to a theme, others focussed on activities and some reverted back to the qualities previously discussed. Once the whole group reconvened each student read their own line from the collaborative poem which added so much character to the poetry. The last line to be shared, and one that had everone in the class laughing, was "The Elphant is playing in the mud." So much fun! The lesson went well but I was still thunderstcuk when I came back the next day and saw the poems that I had lead hanging out in the hallway for the world to see. What a compliment!
The next day students worked in committees, which is normal for this class, and I taught my lesson in one of those committees. Students were to create a poem describing themselves using the letters of their name. I was not anticipating the degree of difficulty this activity created. Students had a really hard time thinking of descriptive words and often wanted to use the words they have learned to associate with those letters through the year. Kathleen, ever the amazing cooperating teacher, told me the lesson went well and offered advice for the next time that I teach it. We discussed how adjectives are just a shy advanced for kindergartners but a poem using their known words, such as animal names, could be used to create equally interesting poetry.
Thursday went much better and I once again worked with a whole group. Before we sat down to write we looked at different poems that are written in the shape of the subject and had students anticipate what sort of poem we would be writing based on the readings. Students were asked to write a two line, rhyming poem about their chosen shape and were given six options: a skateboard, a flower, a cat, a dog, a star and a shoe. The skateboard and dog were major hits, the star and flowers were picked by a couple students and no one picked the cat or the shoe; much to mine and Kathleen's surprise. Once students had their shape they wrote a rough draft on scratch paper before putting their poem to their shape and coloring the final draft neatly. The lesson was going quite well when I recieved a surprise lesson of teaching: going with the flow when a lesosn is interupted. My interuption came in the form of a mother bringing cupcakes and punch for her son's birthday. It was a "sweet" surprise.
Overall I think tings are going well and I'm making adjustments and finetuning future lessons based on what I'm experiencing thus far. Next week Mrs. Benally's room is going to get messy with their poetry, yay!
Last week I finished my teaching practicum! The beginning of the week got off to an emotional start, as before school on Monday morning it was announced that a junior had passed away that morning. As I was teaching U.S. history, nearly all of my students were juniors who knew the student who died. My lesson for that day was designed to be very interactive and discussion-oriented, so I adapted and told the students that I was just going to go through the information briefly and that they could engage as much as they felt comfortable doing. Attendance was very low that day, so I didn't want to penalize the students who had actually stayed in school by forcing them to discuss when they had so much on their minds.
Knowing that the mood would still be somber on Tuesday, I taught about the atomic bomb by having students report what they remembered from New Mexico History and then doing a creative activity of painting/drawing an image that represented the devastation of the atomic bomb and writing a brief poem that went along with it.
Wednesday and Thursday were dedicated to reviewing for and taking the WWII unit test, which was a good way to wrap up a short week.
Overall, I was very impressed with how the students participated in the lessons I taught and were respectful of sampling new activities. I know it was a huge change of pace for them, but most of them were really good about trying out new things.
This week Mrs. Lyautey and I went over what I will be teaching when I start next week. Because there is no school on Monday the 25th, I will actually start on Tuesday, the 26th. I will teach a five day unit on telling time and then do an assesment. I will then teach a five day unit on measurement.
Mrs. Lyautey gave me the teachers book and has given me some ideas. She showed me how to use the smart board and access the chapter from it so that the interactive sections can be utilized during whole group instruction.
Getting nervous, but also excited that the time is now...this is it. I am fast approaching the end of my time as student and the beginning of my time as teacher.
Please ignore an identical post I made on the week of April 4.
I started teaching this week and it was a learning experience; a massive, intense learning experience. I’m in a 6th grade class, a place I have not often been before. Initially, I was overwhelmed as I tried to teach my first lesson on geometry. I knew the subject matter well enough to teach it, but I began to worry when no one responded to any question I asked. I was pleased with the silence initially, but soon realized that there was very little attention being paid to me. That was all in the back of my mind, however, for I had tunnel vision. The only thing I could think about was whether or not I was doing the lesson right.
My goal going into these lessons was to make connections. The class I’m teaching for two weeks is what Heights will soon be calling Knight School, a class where students get extra help in a subject their struggling at the cost of an elective. I figured, the more connections these students can make, the more they’ll start catching on and catching up. My lessons early this week involved discussion about where we see this shape and that shape in the world, and then more discussion about how to use this and that formula. It didn’t take me long to realize that I was missing the mark and teaching too much, too fast, too soon with too few opportunities for experience. I’ve slowed down since then as I try to scaffold more, and build them up to the challenges.
Management is my greatest adversary in all of this. With my tunnel vision, I often miss the crucial moment to address a problem as it arises. My tactic of dealing with it at some random time during the lesson isn’t successful. Mr. Trujillo and Frances have helped tremendously as I’ve tried to approach management in new ways. On Thursday I began the day by discussing my expectations with regard to behavior and I noticed a difference right away. I have a long way to go, but I’ve been enjoying all of my new experiences.
So i accidentally posted this in next weeks blog. Oops! Sorry for the confusion:)
ReplyDeleteThis week went by really well. Mr. Ericksen and I went over my 10 day unit and came up with multiple ideas for what he would like me to teach. WE have decided that I will teach science and the two of us are going to work together tomorrow on the final plan. I am really excited to start my teaching next week. I will start Monday afternoon which will be both exciting and nerve racking. I am very much looking forward to whatever happens.
This week I started my teaching and it has been an amazing roller coaster. I am teaching a thematic unit of poetry; allowing my kindergartners to experience and write a variety of different types of poetry.
ReplyDeleteOn Tuesday we began by looking at several different poems about the seasons and discussing the different qualities of the seasons. We talked about rhyme and the variety of poetry formats found in the poems looked at. Students were then split into four groups, one for each season, and asked to write a line of a poem about that season. The results were amazingly varied; some groups stuck to a theme, others focussed on activities and some reverted back to the qualities previously discussed. Once the whole group reconvened each student read their own line from the collaborative poem which added so much character to the poetry. The last line to be shared, and one that had everone in the class laughing, was "The Elphant is playing in the mud." So much fun! The lesson went well but I was still thunderstcuk when I came back the next day and saw the poems that I had lead hanging out in the hallway for the world to see. What a compliment!
The next day students worked in committees, which is normal for this class, and I taught my lesson in one of those committees. Students were to create a poem describing themselves using the letters of their name. I was not anticipating the degree of difficulty this activity created. Students had a really hard time thinking of descriptive words and often wanted to use the words they have learned to associate with those letters through the year. Kathleen, ever the amazing cooperating teacher, told me the lesson went well and offered advice for the next time that I teach it. We discussed how adjectives are just a shy advanced for kindergartners but a poem using their known words, such as animal names, could be used to create equally interesting poetry.
Thursday went much better and I once again worked with a whole group. Before we sat down to write we looked at different poems that are written in the shape of the subject and had students anticipate what sort of poem we would be writing based on the readings. Students were asked to write a two line, rhyming poem about their chosen shape and were given six options: a skateboard, a flower, a cat, a dog, a star and a shoe. The skateboard and dog were major hits, the star and flowers were picked by a couple students and no one picked the cat or the shoe; much to mine and Kathleen's surprise. Once students had their shape they wrote a rough draft on scratch paper before putting their poem to their shape and coloring the final draft neatly. The lesson was going quite well when I recieved a surprise lesson of teaching: going with the flow when a lesosn is interupted. My interuption came in the form of a mother bringing cupcakes and punch for her son's birthday. It was a "sweet" surprise.
Overall I think tings are going well and I'm making adjustments and finetuning future lessons based on what I'm experiencing thus far. Next week Mrs. Benally's room is going to get messy with their poetry, yay!
Last week I finished my teaching practicum! The beginning of the week got off to an emotional start, as before school on Monday morning it was announced that a junior had passed away that morning. As I was teaching U.S. history, nearly all of my students were juniors who knew the student who died. My lesson for that day was designed to be very interactive and discussion-oriented, so I adapted and told the students that I was just going to go through the information briefly and that they could engage as much as they felt comfortable doing. Attendance was very low that day, so I didn't want to penalize the students who had actually stayed in school by forcing them to discuss when they had so much on their minds.
ReplyDeleteKnowing that the mood would still be somber on Tuesday, I taught about the atomic bomb by having students report what they remembered from New Mexico History and then doing a creative activity of painting/drawing an image that represented the devastation of the atomic bomb and writing a brief poem that went along with it.
Wednesday and Thursday were dedicated to reviewing for and taking the WWII unit test, which was a good way to wrap up a short week.
Overall, I was very impressed with how the students participated in the lessons I taught and were respectful of sampling new activities. I know it was a huge change of pace for them, but most of them were really good about trying out new things.
This week Mrs. Lyautey and I went over what I will be teaching when I start next week. Because there is no school on Monday the 25th, I will actually start on Tuesday, the 26th. I will teach a five day unit on telling time and then do an assesment. I will then teach a five day unit on measurement.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Lyautey gave me the teachers book and has given me some ideas. She showed me how to use the smart board and access the chapter from it so that the interactive sections can be utilized during whole group instruction.
Getting nervous, but also excited that the time is now...this is it. I am fast approaching the end of my time as student and the beginning of my time as teacher.
Please ignore an identical post I made on the week of April 4.
ReplyDeleteI started teaching this week and it was a learning experience; a massive, intense learning experience. I’m in a 6th grade class, a place I have not often been before. Initially, I was overwhelmed as I tried to teach my first lesson on geometry. I knew the subject matter well enough to teach it, but I began to worry when no one responded to any question I asked. I was pleased with the silence initially, but soon realized that there was very little attention being paid to me. That was all in the back of my mind, however, for I had tunnel vision. The only thing I could think about was whether or not I was doing the lesson right.
My goal going into these lessons was to make connections. The class I’m teaching for two weeks is what Heights will soon be calling Knight School, a class where students get extra help in a subject their struggling at the cost of an elective. I figured, the more connections these students can make, the more they’ll start catching on and catching up. My lessons early this week involved discussion about where we see this shape and that shape in the world, and then more discussion about how to use this and that formula. It didn’t take me long to realize that I was missing the mark and teaching too much, too fast, too soon with too few opportunities for experience. I’ve slowed down since then as I try to scaffold more, and build them up to the challenges.
Management is my greatest adversary in all of this. With my tunnel vision, I often miss the crucial moment to address a problem as it arises. My tactic of dealing with it at some random time during the lesson isn’t successful. Mr. Trujillo and Frances have helped tremendously as I’ve tried to approach management in new ways. On Thursday I began the day by discussing my expectations with regard to behavior and I noticed a difference right away. I have a long way to go, but I’ve been enjoying all of my new experiences.