Hello All!
I can't believe the second week of student teaching is already over. I think that this is going to go a lot faster than even I imagined. The best part of my second week was that I was able to start teaching the Myths and Folktales class. So far its been going well. It's an elective so most of the students who are in it actually want to be there and have an interest in what we're learning. Right now we're working on creation myths from Greece and soon we'll move on to Egypt and then the Mayans and perhaps an Asian one as well. Next week I'm going to be taking over the college prep class and I'll be working with them on a speech unit. They will have to research and prepare and deliver an information speech on an aspect of world culture. The honors classes are currently delivering their speeches and after they are done I'll start working with them on Julius Caesar.
I think that things have been going well during Myths and Folktales. This week some of the things that I did with them were a little boring so I'm currently trying to find some more unique ways to present some of this information. Luckily my students are well behaved and they've been good sports even when they had worksheets to fill out and stories to read aloud. Next week I have them doing some more creative work like drawing and stations so I hope that they gets them a little more excited. Mr. Massara has been very helpful with writing comments of things he observes. Overall the comments are fairly postive and constructive. I enjoy getting the feedback so I know what to correct.
Today I had an interesting experience in study hall. Mr. Massara was at a meeting so I went to study hall and another teacher covered. The students wanted to move around and talk a lot since it was a Friday and their regular teacher wasn't there. I'm sure that they didn't like hearing that they had to move back to their seats but they know the rules for study hall.
All in all my week has been very positive. I haven't had any real problems yet and I hope that it continues to go smoothly. I'm looking forward to next week and starting to teach more classes. I've even come up with some new ideas for Julius Caesar than I orginially had so I'm really excited to try to work those into my lessons.
I'm starting to get to know more of the students names. I have abput 110/120 students so learning all their names when I'm not the one teaching them right now is a little difficult. They really interest me though. Their conversations, questions, and comments crack me up sometimes. Most of them are very friendly and I try to say hi to them in the hallway as well so that I can put names to the faces.
I think that's all for now. I'll let you know how the start of speeches and Caesar goes next week. I hope everyone's second week was just as good as their first.
peace
Ellen
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Ellen, I am glad you don't have student issues with chattiness like my students. Also, I do realize why though because I know Mr. Massara and have sat in his class several times last year. I am glad you love your unit and I hope things work out in your lesson plans. I know I shouldn't laugh, but I had to chuckle at the memorizing students names part, because I too am facing that problem. I glad the week was positive and I hope your right that the semester does sail by!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I have somewhere between 130-150 students so it is really tough to get their names. Then I feel bad for knowing half the names in a class, but not the other names.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree, it's tough when the students try to push their luck just because the teacher has stepped out for a while, and my kids tried that in their homeroom, study hall, and a little bit in class. Though it's hard, I think all we have to do is remind them that we are in charge, and we can still be well-liked teachers but also get their respect for the duration of our time there.
I hope things continue to go well for you as you assume more of the responsibility and take over more of the classes!
Ellen,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear that you've had the opportunity to put some of your lessons forward already. I'm curious what you are planning in your approach for teaching Julius Caesar in an "appealing" way to your students. In my experience, this is one of the most difficult texts to make "relevant" to students! I have confidence in your creativity, and I'm looking forward to my classroom observation!