What happened this week? What did you learn about yourself, your students, and the teaching life?
You can write about the energy level of different classes (or yourself!) at different times, things that surprised you, and/or things you look forward to.
What will require most of your time and attention, do you think, at least as you begin?
Be honest and be thoughtful.
This week proved to be a lot more tiring than I expected. I knew that teaching was going to be tough, but I didn’t expect to be this tired! Come Friday afternoon I was completely drained and in desperate need of a nap. Despite being tired, I have to say I really enjoyed this week. I love that I have been given the opportunity to build the classroom community right from the first day. I really enjoy the classes and have enjoyed doing the ice breaker activities. I can notice a huge difference with the students attitude and openness to my being there from day one, as opposed to doing the three weeks of practicum last semester at the end of the year.
ReplyDeleteI am really looking forward to teaching these classes this semester! I am equal parts nervous and excited. I am nervous of lessons not going as planned, and of student reactions. However, I am more nervous of student interactions and building positive relationships than I am of my lessons. I view the classroom community as top priority. I feel that if I can build and foster a positive classroom community then everything else will fall into place.
I have spent a lot of time this week brainstorming and planning lessons that fit into the English IV quarterly curriculum. I have tried to build lessons that are engaging and creative and I feel this will be the most time consuming throughout the semester. The curriculum is based on analyzing and writing personal narratives, and I went into the classes assuming students would be less than thrilled with a quarter spent mostly on writing. I was completely wrong, and it was the best feeling. I taught a class for my college prep students that introduced them to their writer’s notebooks. I had the students create heart maps as their first entry. I brought colored pencils and played music giving students the license to have fun with the assignment. I then required students to share out at least one item from their maps via popcorn style participation with a beach ball I brought in. Every student shared more than one item, and some students shared several times. The students were having a great time and it was obvious they were enjoying not only writing, but sharing their heart maps.
Love the idea of a "heart map!" Something for them to come back to, over and over. I agree that classroom community is the top priority:) Take the time to rest when you need to, too. Being "on" all the time, even if it's not direct instruction, is utterly exhausting.
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ReplyDeleteThe first thing I noticed when entering CF (my high school placement) was the incredible heat it generated. CF is an old building, one I’ve taken to calling “The Brick Castle”, and one I’m not accustomed to. The other teachers complained about it as well, but hey the show must go on right? I rolled up my sleeves and got to introducing myself to the four classes I encountered that day. CF runs on a block schedule so I see all four classes every day. The heat wasn’t too much of an issue once I got used to it, but then the pre AP (or honors class) came in.
My CT informed me that the problem with pre AP classes at CF is that often times students with good behavior are put in them even if their reading levels don’t match the requirements. The result was an impossibly large class that contained more students than desks. The classroom became an obstacle course of trying to maneuver around the pushed together desks and the students who were forced to sit on the outskirts of the classroom (computer desks pushed all the way to the back). The amount of body heat turned the room into an oven and boiled the air for the rest of the day. My CT told me the only solution was to unfortunately remove some (five) students from the class. They would be placed in one of our other classes and hopefully the problem would be mended. I left that day sticky with sweat, exhausted, but also excited.
Despite the heat the students had a certain energy to them. I won’t lie, I was faced with some attitude from a few students the first few days, but the majority appeared eager to learn and incredibly respectful. Maybe spending so much time in CF during 407 had something to do with it, but I didn’t feel all that uncomfortable approaching students the first day. By the second day I was already doing a few mini lessons and making sure my presence and voice was something the students could get used to. That being said I’ve already noticed one significant problem. I am too quiet. I’ve tried yelling, it feels weird. They are a loud group these kids, which is fine, I love the energy they have, but I am by no means confident enough to shout over them yet. It’s been taking me a few tries, but hopefully I will get there.
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DeleteTo shift abruptly I’d like to talk about two particular classes. I mentioned the first one, a pre AP class with 30 students, and a regular English 10 class. Of the four classes (3 English 10, and one English 10 pre AP) these two are the most distinctly different. Pre AP has 30 students, but the other has at most 15. It’s a small class, but I’ve noticed that managing them is so much more difficult. Maybe it has something to do with Pre AP being essentially handpicked for students with good behavior, but it’s so crazy to see the difference in them. The regular English class has a few kids who group together and talk over each other, one student in particular seems like an over good kid, but talks over other students constantly, and is not shy with pointing out the mistakes I make. On Friday, for instance, I was handling a group assignment with them and we were tallying up the classes choices. Sure enough this same student would point out if I missed a tally, or wrote it twice, every time. Don’t get me wrong I’m all for it, if I make a mistake then by all means say something, but I think it is worth noting that it does distract from the general flow of the sharing time when he talks over other students who are sharing to point out something else.
This class seems like it’s going to be the toughest honestly. There’s that student that I’ve mentioned, one who likes to cling to the back, even when there are plenty of desks available, and a few groups of boys who like to talk to each other instead of work. My CT and I have both agreed that it is probably for the best that we make a seating chart for this class, which is the only class that we are making one for, for next week. Hopefully this will help.
I don’t want to sound too negative, though, I actually love my placement. Like I said there is a great energy here, the faculty is incredibly warm and inviting, the students are respectful and energetic. I look forward to next week.
Wow, so much going on here, Joey! What are some other solutions to getting and keeping students' attention than shouting? Sure, you need to cultivate a teaching presence and teacher voice, but is it volume that carries authority? If not, what might it be?
DeleteAs for your student, it sounds like he might be trying to engage in a power struggle with you. What happens if you step away from the struggle? Hmm...
The first three days of teaching have been both exhausting and fantastic. The school does not have AC, so keeping myself alert and focused was difficult in the heat, as I am sure it was as well for the students.
ReplyDeleteDuring these past few days I have been helping out with attendance, organization, and helping create our early lessons. There are four tenth grade classes (one being honors) and one eleventh grade class. At the beginning of the day is an advisory, or homeroom, period about 20 minutes long with eleventh grade. Many of the students in that advisory are also in the eleventh grade class.
Tenth grade English is World Literature. The unit is going to start off with introducing Krik? Krack! amongst other similar short stories. Eleventh grade is American Literature. The first book for that unit is The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian.
On the first day of classes, I was a little nervous, shy, even a little scared. As the day progressed, I found myself able to speak clearly and easily to the students. By day three, I was feeling great and the nervousness was pretty much gone. Building the community with these students is something I found to be challenging but fun.
I did notice that I seem to have the most energy at the end of the day with the last two classes. Perhaps this may be because it is after lunch?
I think the most challenging part of this semester is creating lessons that are unique and creative but also fit into the curriculum. There is little deviation I can use when creating my lessons; however, that does not mean I cannot be creative. I am sure that after some brainstorming and seeing where each class stands, I should be able to come up with plenty of lessons.
Already, I have been able to put some creative input. On the first day of classes, I asked students to write the name of a fictional character they feel they relate to or have something in common with. On Friday, the school required that all 9-11th grade classes write as practice for PARCC assessment. For their writing prompt, we asked students to write five paragraphs in which they compare themselves to that character. The students seemed to like the assignment and were pleased to see that I knew most of the characters they picked! There were moments where students were unsure what character they wanted to use. To alleviate some stress about the character they were going to write about, I helped scaffold their thinking: What are some TV shows they like? Video games? Which ones? Who is the main character? Etc. After that, the cooperating teacher and I gave them time to create a graphic organizer where they would list the characteristics both they and the character share. Overall, it seemed like a successful ‘lesson’ and I cannot wait to see what the students wrote.
Ahhh...very interesting, Danielle! I'm glad that you have energy at the end of the day, especially when dealing with the adverse condition of heat :) It sounds like you and your cooperating teacher are working well together. I also like that you are waiting to see "where each class stands" before making any big decisions about curriculum. It's important to know the class and individual personalities.
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