Another successful week has come to an end! I was excited about this week because I got to teach my first two lessons. On Thursday morning, I did calendar time with the students. I must say I was a little nervous about doing it. I was afraid the students would not respond to me or respect me since it was my first time actually being in front of them. However, I found that they were just as enthusiastic, respectful, and willing with me as they are with Mrs. VanHorn. Doing calendar really showed me how important it is to be aware of all the students and what is going on around me. For instance, during calendar, several students come to the front of the group to fill in the weekly graph. I found it hard to split my attention between those students and those who were still on the floor. There were times when I was so focused on the students filling in the graph that I did not see a few students move from their spots on the floor or notice that some were turned around talking to their neighbors. But being aware of my surroundings will get better as I gain more experience being in front of the students.
After lunch on Thursday, I taught my second lesson. The lesson was on stars/constellations and required the students to interact with an online planetarium on the Whiteboard. I was still a little nervous when it came time for this lesson. I was afraid the content would be too complicated for the students to understand. But again, they blew me away. When I held up a picture of the Big Dipper, several students knew its name and also that it is a constellation. And when it came time to look at the planetarium, some of the students were able to find and name not only the Big Dipper, but other familiar constellations, such as the Little Dipper and Crux. Overall, the lesson went really well. I was especially excited to see how creative, imaginative, and engaged the students were when they were trying to figure out the shapes of some of the constellations on the planetarium. Also during this lesson, I tried to be more aware of what was going on around me. While students were at the Whiteboard, I noticed myself scanning the rest of the class and correcting off-task behaviors. Another observation I noted with this lesson was that the boys seemed more interested in the scientific aspect of the lesson. Throughout the majority of the lesson, the boys were the ones answering my questions. So today I read a book about stars that was told by a female character. While I was reading the book, I noticed that the girls seemed to respond better to the concept of the lesson. I think it is important to dispel the idea that science is for boys. Overall, my lessons went well. I just need to be confident in my ability to teach. I think students can sense my nervousness and may not respond as well to me as a teacher.
In relation to my last blog, we changed the seating arrangement on the floor. We moved the boys that were in the back closer to the front, but now they are violating the teacher’s walking space. Perhaps the next time we change the arrangement, these students could be placed in the middle rows. There they would be more likely to sit with their legs crossed because space is so limited.
I look forward to another great week in kindergarten!
I thought you had a great first week as well. I think your quiet manner is a good complement to my loud manner! They seem to be responding to both styles, which is important. Don't feel like you have to see every behavior--I'm vary anal about that and should probably be less control-oriented and let some things slide to keep focus on the lesson.
Another successful week has come to an end! I was excited about this week because I got to teach my first two lessons. On Thursday morning, I did calendar time with the students. I must say I was a little nervous about doing it. I was afraid the students would not respond to me or respect me since it was my first time actually being in front of them. However, I found that they were just as enthusiastic, respectful, and willing with me as they are with Mrs. VanHorn. Doing calendar really showed me how important it is to be aware of all the students and what is going on around me. For instance, during calendar, several students come to the front of the group to fill in the weekly graph. I found it hard to split my attention between those students and those who were still on the floor. There were times when I was so focused on the students filling in the graph that I did not see a few students move from their spots on the floor or notice that some were turned around talking to their neighbors. But being aware of my surroundings will get better as I gain more experience being in front of the students.
ReplyDeleteAfter lunch on Thursday, I taught my second lesson. The lesson was on stars/constellations and required the students to interact with an online planetarium on the Whiteboard. I was still a little nervous when it came time for this lesson. I was afraid the content would be too complicated for the students to understand. But again, they blew me away. When I held up a picture of the Big Dipper, several students knew its name and also that it is a constellation. And when it came time to look at the planetarium, some of the students were able to find and name not only the Big Dipper, but other familiar constellations, such as the Little Dipper and Crux. Overall, the lesson went really well. I was especially excited to see how creative, imaginative, and engaged the students were when they were trying to figure out the shapes of some of the constellations on the planetarium. Also during this lesson, I tried to be more aware of what was going on around me. While students were at the Whiteboard, I noticed myself scanning the rest of the class and correcting off-task behaviors. Another observation I noted with this lesson was that the boys seemed more interested in the scientific aspect of the lesson. Throughout the majority of the lesson, the boys were the ones answering my questions. So today I read a book about stars that was told by a female character. While I was reading the book, I noticed that the girls seemed to respond better to the concept of the lesson. I think it is important to dispel the idea that science is for boys. Overall, my lessons went well. I just need to be confident in my ability to teach. I think students can sense my nervousness and may not respond as well to me as a teacher.
In relation to my last blog, we changed the seating arrangement on the floor. We moved the boys that were in the back closer to the front, but now they are violating the teacher’s walking space. Perhaps the next time we change the arrangement, these students could be placed in the middle rows. There they would be more likely to sit with their legs crossed because space is so limited.
I look forward to another great week in kindergarten!
I thought you had a great first week as well. I think your quiet manner is a good complement to my loud manner! They seem to be responding to both styles, which is important. Don't feel like you have to see every behavior--I'm vary anal about that and should probably be less control-oriented and let some things slide to keep focus on the lesson.
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