Describe your teaching day:
We go in right as the second group of students come for the day, they start with morning math problem and figure out individually and then the teacher goes over it with them as a class. After that they have math time, they are finishing up the unit for long division, it is quite amazing to me how much they pick up on and all the little tricks they remember to go along with each step they use. Then some days they have specialty which is an art class, this was so fun to go to and see how creative these 4th graders get. They all have such diverse personalities. Then they go to lunch and recess. Recess has definitely been one of my favorite parts this past week. It is so fun to see the children interact with one another and their choice of activities to play.
Describe your favorite part of the day:
I have loved having those one on one conversations with the students. Whether it is during math and we are figuring out a problem together, or throwing the football at recess. To me that is what being a teacher is about. I like having a relationship with the students so I feel like they trust me and I can trust them.
What went well, what didn't work, what did you change?
This week has been a lot of observing, but I think it has been a good eye opener. Our teacher has been such a good role model and been so good to help us understand why she does certain things and how to handle certain situations. This upcoming week we are planning to be more involved in the class and hopefully start teaching. I want to change and be more involved and be able to answer students questions with more confidence. I have found that I am not completely comfortable yet with questions and I hope with more experience I will become more comfortable and not second guess myself.
To help students you will:
Be more confident and help guide them to answers and not give them answers to things. By fourth grade they seem to want to have some independence so I will be there for support but help them figure out things all on their own.
I really like that you said that being confident will help the students! It can be hard sometimes teaching subjects that are not your favorite. I also like that you said its important to guide the students and not give them the answers all of the time. This has been something that I need to work on as well. It is hard for me to let the students share what they know when I have prepared so much for the lesson I'm teaching. But I have learned that the students might be able to teach each other better than I could. It's cool that you get to hang out with them during recess! We have been in the teachers lounge, getting to know the teachers which is a really fun thing as well!
ReplyDelete