The Student Teaching Chronicles: Day Two

Day two...

Well, this morning I was really looking forward to today. Ann was going to be gone from GL and that meant that I would really be in control of the classroom. I was looking forward to stretching my arms out a bit and establishing my place in the classroom community. I also created a solid lesson for teaching my AW class to write attention-grabbing introductions with solid thesis statements--with the powerpoint to back it up.

GL: I walked into GL and thought it was going to be a good day. Ronnie was in the classroom first and when he saw that we were going to the library in order to get books to read in class, he immediately asked if he could go get his book that he is reading from his locker and bring that. He was so excited to read! Awesome! Everyone filtered into the classroom. Some students were late which caused some disturbances among the other students, but nothing we couldn't get past.

As the lead teacher for the day, I welcomed the class into the room and asked them to get their notebooks from the class crate. Once that was accomplished, I reminded them that from today on their job when they enter the classroom is to get their notebooks, write down the date and agenda, copy the journal prompt (or other activity), and answer the prompt or complete the activity. And that's when it began...after I went over my expectations, I read the agenda on the board out loud. Then I moved on to the journal prompt and began reading that out loud too. Britney then piped in, "Could you be quiet for one minute so I can write this down? I can't write with you talking up there." Now, this startled me a bit but I quickly replied, "Sure thing, I 'll give you a minute to copy the agenda first." I feel like I could have handled that a bit better, but I also know that I need to pick any battles I want to face any of the students in. After a minute I read the prompt out loud--completely--and asked them to write 3-5 sentences in response to the prompt. There were some groans for this entire process, but eventually they all got to work. We discussed the prompt, which went better than I thought. Next we moved to the library to get choice books. This was difficult because most students found books right away and wanted to go back to the room. A few did not and that forced the rest of the class to sit in a section of the library and read--which they didn't want to do. Most ended up reading a few pages and then chatting.

In retrospect, I would have made it clear that once students had found a book they were to sit at a table--no more than two to a table--and read until the class was ready to return to the room. I also would have double-checked with the media center staff who were supposed to set out books for us on tables but forgot...not helpful.

Once we got back in the class, the students didn't want to read anymore. Power struggle with Britney again about reading her book.

Next I handed out a questionnaire and the students really took to it which was great. They got really into the questions and I think they began to see just how many humans are in the world and how the American experience is not the "norm."

Things to do better:

• Establish greater structure when moving from room to room.
• More detailed agenda.
• Move class at a faster pace in order to accommodate the dynamics of the class--different from years past. They need the class to move faster in order to keep their interest.

AW: I thought this class would also go better than it did. We went over some grammar rules...I need to quit rambling during my explanation of these. Then we went over some of the interesting trends from their "20 Question" surveys of the day before. This was fun and it showed the students that I had read through their stuff and made note of common patterns.

Next I introduced the introduction, or how to write an attention-grabber and thesis statement. We started with the thesis. It was during this time that two things happened: one, I got something wrong in front of my students, and two, one of the students mentioned how another teacher had taught them to do something. They had to happen sometime, and I am relieved that they are over now, but I was a bit flustered when it happened. I kept my cool though, told them they were right, I was wrong, and moved on from there. It was not a pleasant feeling, but I don't believe they smelled any of my brief blast fear/embarrassment.

The attention-grabber section was a bit dry--something to improve for later--but the practice thesis writing and introduction writing were good. After lunch, I introduced their introduction assignment and modeled my own examples of the assignment for them. We have been told how it can help to let students know that we are writing and participating too, and they were pleasantly surprised by my introductions--both that I had written them and the information they told about me. For me, this saved a somewhat dry class...whew!

Things to improve:

• More student, less me--this will be easier to do as they enter into the world of writing more and more.
• Be even more prepared for discussion and questions.
• Make sure my oral instructions are clear, repeat myself even more, continue to model, and make sure they are following procedures.
  

Highlights:

1. Talking with Jose about the book he was getting. He was telling me about a show he had seen on the History Channel about a guy who gets his family in trouble and they all get killed. Turns out is was the Russian Royal Family--the Romanov's. He was impressed that I knew about them. the fact that he was looking me in the eye and talking to me was awesome!
2. Blake looking me in the eye and telling me about the book he chose--about a boy whose girlfriend at another school suddenly goes missing.
3. Ronnie getting so excited about reading his book--he stayed in the classroom with Natalia while we went to the library so he could just read. :)
4. Sharing some of my background and swimming experience with my AW students. It helped them get to know me better and hopefully loosen up a bit.