Week 1/16-1/20 :Every Day is a Learning Day

This week I had complete control of the classroom Thursday and Friday while my CT was out of town. I used an activity that my CT has done in the past and tweaked it to make it my own. In my lesson plan I had some front loading (something that my CT hasn’t done before) which is what day one consisted of. It was my first time leading a full 37 minute class—early dismissal day—in which I had to provide content and lots of instructions.

There are many things that I learned from being in charge all day. One of them, is that getting the hang of classroom management takes time! There are many many attention getters that can be used and are effective. The substitute teacher in the classroom with me was really helpful in helping me find something that worked for my students and I. He asked the kids to recall the Red Robin slogan to which they all said, “Yummm” from then on we established that whenever he or I said, “Red Robin” they  were to say “Yummm”, stop talking  and pay their full attention to the teacher in charge (me). During lunch hour other teachers also told me about the little things that they do in their classrooms. It is definitely something that I have to practice and find a groove that works with me and my students. --I will continue to use the “Yummm” thing while I am here, they seem to get it, and it worked.

Second, timing is important. I need to get used to checking the time to see when the period is over to figure out how much time I have left and what absolutely needs to get done during the period. --I ran out of time 3rd and 4th hour and didn’t get to make groups so by 5th and 6th hour I decided to ask myself “what do I want them to get from this?” by doing that I was able to make the information more concise and to the point. By making that small change I gained enough minutes to be able to assign groups at the end of the period.

Third, I have to remember to go step by step and structure is important! (I think it is essential especially in younger grades) When I asked my two questions during first period there was confusion as to what they were answering/doing. I realized that it would be more effective and clear if I ask one question at a time and give them time to process. It worked so much better once I did that!

 Furthermore, I knew modeling for students was important, I truly realized that modeling is not only helpful to the student but to me as well. By modeling I avoided confusion, and the million questions that follow. Things flow much smoother.

Overall, I think it went well! The students were responsive and I was able to maintain their attention. My goal for next time is to keep what I experienced in mind and to remember to do those things that we often overlook. I realized that sometimes it those little things that make a difference in the lesson’s flow.

(what my lesson plan looked like by the end of the day)

P.S.

The activity went great! Students remained on task, and I was able to go from station to station to check on their progress and allowed me to bond with them more (one of them said that I was her favorite student teacher!  J). Big thing I have experienced myself is that every class is different. Some class periods the students needed more of my guidance, while other class periods students were moving from point A to B with little assistance from me. We will be debriefing on Monday.  I really enjoyed doing this activity with them!