Our Last Lesson (for now).

When it came to teaching my lesson about calmness, I was worried about my students actually participating in the lesson.  When I sent my Co-op my lesson plan they were worried about the lengths of the yoga videos I wanted to use and had me reconsider how much of the video I wanted to use.

When it came to teaching both groups of students  I asked them what calm was, and a few students could describe having good feelings or being happy. I used a water analogy, “When you are calm does you stomach feel like it has a lot of waves in it, or is it calm?”. This helped the students visual what they are feeling, and when i asked if they know what this felt like, my students were able to answer yes.

The students had the ability to choose between Minecraft yoga, and Moana Yoga, this gave them the opportunity to choose a session they were more inter rested in. I explained that I would be observing them as they participated in the yoga lesson. Unknown to me the phys ed teacher in the school has also used these videos in class, and so they know what they were doing. I believe their prior knowledge helped the students know how to act, and what they were going to be participating in. The way my students behaved during the lesson made me very proud, almost everyone was constantly participating as well! I am very thankful to have the resources available tat my students were able to have the opportunity to do yoga, but if I ever had the chance to bring a yoga instructor into the classroom that would also be a good experience for the students.

Week Six: Experiencing Agribition.

Field trips are an important part of learning for students because they are able to have hands on experiences and also they receive a different type of learning. These types of experiences show there can be a better understanding of the topic they are learning about, it is one thing to read a book about cows, but to have your students go out and see a cow can be an entirely different type of learning, this could be the first time they have seen a cow, and this can change their understanding.

I wasn’t sure what to expect walking into Agribition with my Kindergarten students, I knew it was going to be loud and they were going to be excited, but I also had a responsibility to make sure they are learning as well as having fun. I had an entire lesson planned, I had created all these questions I wanted to ask while we were exploring the Agribition grounds. While I was attempting to ask questions I wasn’t getting the feedback I was expecting, I decided f I asked what they liked and what they learned at each display. This helped me to assess their learning, and I could also share some extra knowledge with them when they asked what I liked!

This was an eye-opening experience, and it wasn’t necessarily an easy one, we have two half day classes, which meant we were only at Agribition for two hours in the morning and afternoon, personally I felt like this was good for everyone. By the time we were leaving all the kids, and teachers were exhausted, and I’m not sure if the kids would have been able to handle being in that space for the entire day. This experience was great for me to have in my pre-internship, it made me realize the work and planning that goes into taking students on a field trip!

Week 5

Funny enough this week my co-intern and I both planned our lessons around Seasons, and this was interesting because we were using two different subject outcomes. This was interesting for how we taught the class, but it went well!

Something I got to experience today that was slightly different from my other classroom experiences, was that my co-op had myself and my co-intern lead the circle time at the begin of the school day. This is something we have witnessed before, but there was a slight pressure to start the student’s day off on a fun and positive note. Starting off I was a little bit shaky and wasn’t quite sure where I was going to go with  the circle time… Once I got past the calendar and had the student’s pick the song y anted to sing, all of the kids started singing along, and gave me their full attention. This was such an important moment for me, it was a positive affirmation that I needed, and this made circle time, and m entire lesson go a lot smoother!

My lesson included reading a book and having the students complete a drawing sheet t show understanding. Because I didn’t have an opportunity to teach my lesson a second time, I am not sure how the the changes would have positively or negatively affected the lesson. One addition I should have made was to give the students a body break, and then begin my lesson, however while reading my story I didn’t see students getting to the point of being distracting, but next time that break would till be helpful. When it came to having my students draw of their sheets I made a split second change and decided to seat everyone at the large table and work on my example sheet alongside the students so they knew exactly what to do (to a point anyway). By doing this I could make sure most of the students understood the point of the exercise. I had them offer ideas of what you do and see in each season, by having these ideas offered I could gauge where the students were, and was able to identify some students who were struggling to understand the lesson. Had I had more time or another lesson I could teach another lesson, and hopefully get each student to a point where they can contribute to the lesson, and be confident in the topic.

Week 4: Halloween Dancing.

Do the lesson plan backwards… Outcome first. We have been told this so many times, but we were also told that we would be expected to create lesson plans, when our cooperating teacher has a theme in mind. I figured I would be able to create this impressive Halloween lesson, and I wouldn’t struggle. This wasn’t the case…

I created a lesson that I thought would be interesting and exciting for my students to participate in. I had music, spooky sounds, and to top it off a “Just Dance” video to finish off the lesson! I figured it would be fun, and the kids would love it. The kids were excited when I asked the kids who liked to dance, and how they liked to dance. Most answered to the television or the radio, and this started the lesson out on a positive note. I continued to bring up the word “beat” and ask if anyone knew what a beat was… The blank faces should have been my note to stop there, and change my lesson on the fly, unfortunately  I didn’t, and I lost the kids. I wanted to have the kids dancing to the spooky Halloween music, but it doesn’t have words, and that made it hard for the kids to move their bodies without a sort of auditory ques. When I turned on the “Just Dance” almost all my students were enthusiastic, and participating in the activity.

This was a difficult thing to have happen. I was enthusiastic, and wanted the kids to enjoy it as well… There was a sense of failure and disappointment when they didn’t enjoy it as much as I intended. I get the opportunity to teach the lesson twice, and that means I can make some necessary edits, and try again! I decide to make “Just Dance” the development of my lesson, and then I would play “This is Halloween” and allow the students to move their bodies after they have some guided movement with the video. This was a lot easier for the students to follow, and they had a lot of fun! I was glad to hear their opinions about which was easier, and the majority of the class said that being guided was easier.

I am hoping that I could teach another lesson and bring a drum so that the students can move their body to a beat, and  understand what that means. This was also mentioned by my cooperating teacher which I really appreciated!

Week Three: Promises.

This is my third week in the Kindergarten classroom, and while I am still trying my best to learn my students names, each student has made a mark in my teaching, and taught me a lot about teaching and reading your students, in a small amount of time.

This week I taught a lesson about keeping promises. I started with asking the students who knew what a promise was, about three-quarters of the class raised their hands, but when asked to explain to, they could explain how it was done or when you keep a promise. When I gave them a definition they still were not entirely clear, and so I used and example and then I could see the light bulb moment! It was a wonderful moment to see, and the example had them engaged in the lesson I was about to teach.

Something that did not go as well as planned was the length of the book that I had chosen for the class. While the book had a good message and the kids enjoyed it, it was too long for the students to be able to pay attention too. When I taught the lesson the second time (the Kindergarten class I am in has two classes for half days) I tried to see if there were parts of the story that I could skip in order to cut down my teaching time, but I was unable to do so without losing the context. I have made a note to make sure my books are not too long, and that the plot line will keep them interested.

This lesson actually had me worried and I did not believe that my students would enjoy the lesson I was teaching. Thankfully the students did enjoy and my co-op was also able to add some important teachings to my lesson as well! And I am glad I decided to follow through with the lesson.

The Pressures of Teaching.

After having time to reflect on my first two field placement days. This experience thus far has been eye opening, completely changed my ideas about teaching, and have made me realize what I would have missed had I not been given this opportunity. What I mean by this I was not sure if I would want to teach Kindergarten right away, but know I know it is not as scary as I once thought. One of the biggest pressures I feel is having an appropriate lesson, that my students will actually enjoy. This week I made a lesson about feelings, and my Kindergarten students were completely engaged, and enjoying the book I used as a resource. This gave me a sense of pride because I knew that what I planned for my students that day was educational, and also personal.

Something else that I struggled with during my lesson was using non-standard English while teaching my students their lesson. I know of a fact that in my everyday life I will use terms like “gonna” and “guys” quite frequently, and to stop that behavior is difficult. When I sat down to teach my lesson, I was so focused on the language I was using, and how I was addressing the class, that I don’t actually remember what I was saying to the students while we talked about the lesson. Something else I struggled with was forms of classroom management. While I did alright with keeping the students attention while we were on the carpet having a discussion and reading, but as soon as we moved to the tables that is where I struggled. The way the classroom is designed the tables are distant away from each other, and so I could not ensure both tables were on task. That is when the E.A and my co-intern stepped in to help keep the students on task.

One thing I learned about myself is that the students who I have known for only a week or two have already had an impact on my life. While at my placement we were informed that some of our students have moved and will not be attending our school anymore. And that made me a little sad, I had began to create relationships with the students, and I felt like they enjoyed my teaching, and enjoyed going to school there. This was also an important lesson for me because nothing is consistent, and while the reason I am in the school is to teach and too learn, it is also to make a difference in the lives of every child I meet.