Week 5 September 17-21, 2012

This week I took over my mentor teacher’s collaborative math class. We both felt like this was a good idea because our collaborative class is one day behind our first math class. This allowed me to watch her teach the first math class and then the next day I would teach that same lesson. I felt really comfortable doing this which made me more comfortable to take over BOTH math classes the following week!  Teaching the collaborative class wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be! My mentor teacher was in the room along with the collaborative teacher. This really helped me keep the lesson moving while they helped out around the room.

This week there was also a sub in my class. She was a lot more helpful than the previous subs I have had in this class. But, I did all the teaching! I was so nervous once collaborative math rolled around because the collaborative teacher also had a sub! We did a 5 minute check quiz to see if the students retained the information from the lesson the day before. I learned from this quiz, that they did not retain as much as I would have liked them too. This was a great opportunity for me to assess and act on what I saw. So, I decided on my own that I would reteach the lesson from the day before. When I talked about this with my mentor teacher she said it was a great decision. I noticed that the students had a lot more respect for me as their teacher this day with the sub than the previous days with the subs. They came to me with all their questions and followed all the classroom rules. I only had to hand out SRs to students who didn’t complete their homework.

In my English class, we are moving forward with the novel Walk Two Moons. I have really enjoyed this class and my lessons because I am a BIG literature person! I am looking forward to my lessons this week because we are discussing metaphors and similes. We did literature groups for the first time and they worked out great! This group of students can work independently, with a partner, or in a group wonderfully! They discussed the book with one anther without being told to and they looked out for their vocabulary words that they will be quizzed on soon. This class really wants to do well in school and this means they ask questions and participate in class.

One thing that I have really been utilizing while I am full time teaching is the SmartBoard with Microsoft word. Before each class I put a list of things the students need to have out on their desk that way once everyone is seated, we can start the lesson and there is not confusion on what needs to be out and what we are doing. It avoids a lot of questions and gets the students focused as soon as they walk in the class. This is definitely something I will be doing when I have my own classroom. Another thing I tried this week was playing music during my English class. I played some classical music while the students worked independently and silently. Many of the students commented on how it was really relaxing and it kept the room from being completely silent