Today, I was actually able to lead the whole morning circle time. With the help of Daneal, I received some strategies and tips on how to lead the read-aloud activity. I really like the idea of having a resource book as my teacher where it has the full step by step parts of the lesson. I think the questions were so strong. I think that my lesson went fairly well. I thought that it was really nice of my teacher to even give me the opportunity to do something solo. I appreciated being able to practice teaching in front of a whole classroom instead of small groups.
For Monday, I am going to receive an email or text from my teacher with materials to prepare for the week. I am so excited to plan out any more lesson plans!! Today was such a phenomenal day. The kids have all warmed up to me. I actually got the students on my own and had them go through the whole morning routine since my co-operating teacher was in a meeting. I led the morning circle and introduced the idea of positivity and taught them the firework clap.
My small group went very well. I think I just need to come up with more strategies to keep them from sharing stories instead of answers. Overall, they were so excited to share their work with me (and receive stickers for their hardworking)! Today, I actually worked with small groups for the first time. Unfortunately (or fortunately actually), I am working with five of the students who really need a lot of assistance, as well as attention. Thankfully, I am starting to find resources for group management. I think it will be better and improve from here on out since it was only the first day.
Today I actually reviewed the main idea and detail concept with the whole class. The teacher had actually printed out two additional worksheets. I did the first one with them and then she helped me go through the second longer worksheet with all of them. I think that all of the students grasp the concept of main ideas and details, for the most part. Tomorrow, we will start working on questions-who, what, where, when, why, and how. My teacher was supposed to introduce this today before I left, however we ran out of time. My goal for tomorrow is to bring in some videos, worksheets, example posters, etc., in order to help explain the topic. Overall, today was a pretty good day in the kindergarten room. It was great to build these relationships with the students. I walked in on this second day and everyone greeted me with waves and hugs. It was such a great feeling to be so remembered and appreciated. However, in terms of my role as a student teacher, there is only so much I can do in such a small classroom, where we have another scholar. It will be interesting to be in a third grade class starting tomorrow since it will certainly be much older students with a different teacher.
Day 1 of onsite. It is overall a great program and I am thankful for the opportunity to be in a classroom in general. Unfortunately, I feel as though I will not be able to really teach in this classroom itself, or at least teach any mini lessons. I would love to continue coming in with my growth mindset. It will still be a wonderful learning experience.
Developing a sense of safety and security can be tricky in a classroom setting. I think that too many students struggle with being able to trust their teachers and school environment. Sometimes, it can even be really difficult to connect with your teacher if you feel as though they differ in any way from you.
As scholars, we will be around a lot of lower-income students. Making sure these students feel welcomed can be crucial. It is so important to make your classroom a safe and welcome spot, almost as an escape from whatever issues students may be dealing with outside of school. Also, I feel as though showing students love and compassion is also so beneficial for them. They need to be able to feel safe and comfortable. Sometimes, students do not receive enough love or compassion, if any at all. It is our job to make sure they know of their importance, because self-worth is critical for these little humans. I am excited to come up with great ways for my classroom to flow with love and a community+home+family setting! Looking back at all that we have discussed in preparation for on-sites, I have an idea as to how I would like my experience to go this year. Ideally, I want to walk into that classroom on the first day with confidence in my true, authentic self. I plan on finding out what my collaborating teacher expects of me, and how I can be the best student teacher for their specific needs.
My personal teacher voice is pretty true to who I am as a person. After previous work experiences in a classroom setting, I find that children react really well to my positive and kind energy. I do not believe I will be altering that at all since it has worked very well for me so far. However, I do find myself in situations where I am not quite assertive enough or do not know how to approach an issue because I worry that the students will not like me as much if I reprimand them in any way. After today's discussion, I have a few strategies on how to interact with students while making them feel respected/not really in trouble. I know how to approach students with the idea of helping them fix something without blaming them for doing it in the first place. I will use my "teacher's voice" to enter my classroom as a passionate, respectful, energetic person who has a "kind but firm" aura. I cannot wait to see how it goes! |
Hi there!Welcome to my journal! These are a few of the reflective posts from my Golden Apple on-site experience. Enjoy! |