First week of our second
placement is almost over and it has definitely been an interesting transition
for me. For starters, I have transitioned from seventh grade social studies to
high school Spanish. Class goes at a
much different pace. It goes faster when it comes to directions, and we are
always changing from one activity to the next. It is not unusual if we do four
or more activities in on class period. I am also getting used to the size of
the school—just in the Spanish department there are eight Spanish teachers! Another
difference from 7th grade to high school has been the level of
energy. In 7th grade I was constantly trying to meet their energy,
in high school energy gets focused on getting them to be energetic and not just
sit there.
I’ve started taking attendance
(hopefully this helps me learn ALL the names) and I am also getting the “power school
101 crash course”. Entering grades and figuring out all the tricks has been
very useful, but I have seen how time consuming it is—definitely not one of the
fun things to do in teaching. I been able to get involved here and there with
some vocab practice and today with introducing a new grammar concept. I am looking
forward to next week when I start doing a bit more in the class.
I am also still amazed how the energy level in high school is so different from middle school! Honestly I really miss the energy level of my middle school classroom. I felt so useful there. I don't quite feel as needed yet with my high school students. Good luck next week and enjoy your spring break!
ReplyDeleteThat is so exciting that you are in a totally new content class! I have a few amount of students whom I have observed kind of have that "Too cool for school" behavior. I am looking forward to brainstorming with you ideas that I could use in my classroom because it seems like I am going to have to incorporate different activities to make learning fun! Good luck next week when you begin teaching!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like your two placements are completely different from each other. Mine are also completely different. It is going to be interesting how things turn out! I'm trying to be optimistic! Good luck with your new set of kids!
ReplyDeleteSounds like its off and running for you! Good to try and get the names down- I find thats the trickiest part of it all is remembering the names of not only students but the faculty you meet too! Glad to hear the 1st week is going well!
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