Week two Reflection: First Lesson Plan
Whew! What a day. I was so nervous going into it. I wanted my first ever lesson plan to be perfect. I had done the planning, but I was worried about how the students would react to it. I really do not know them that well or their level of learning. I was unaware of where to go with the lesson. I was not sure if they would listen or not. So many uncertainties! But the lesson really exceeded my expectations.
I have been really lucky with the class Miss McGregor and I get to pre-intern with. They are eager learners. I did a lesson on decision making and although it did not go perfectly, I was happy with it. One thing that was negative was time management. I felt rushed meaning I could not get to everything I wanted to and I was so worried about the time I was forgetting about what I wanted to say. I also said too many “umms and ahhs”. Next time I would also explain the instructions of our activity better. I do not feel as though the groups fully understood what they were supposed to do. However, I was really proud that the kids were engaged and they made me feel good about the lesson as they did not want to go onto the next subject. I am really lucky to get to teach them.
The rest of the day went smoothly. My favorite parts were some of my student interactions. During math class, our cooperating teacher allows us to take one student from the class and work with them individually. I worked with the sweetest little girl who I left feeling like she understood what was going on. At recess, we talked with a couple of our students. The conversation was funny, but they were happy to share their stories of their home life, and more importantly Halloween. This conversation made me sad as one student voiced he was scared to wear a costume he had because he thought other kids might make fun of him because it was too childish. It was sad to know that he did not feel like he could be what he wanted. I was not sure how to react to this. I told him he should be whatever he wants. However, it did not go further than that. I am unsure if I should have done something more. I would say this was the worst part of my day. It really makes me sad that kids have to feel this way. However, I am happy he shared this with me.
Overall, the day was wonderful. I learned I need to be even more organized. I need to work on time management and I learned teaching is exhausting. I am so tired that I can hardly write this. While the first lesson jitters are out, I am still so nervous to create the perfect plan for next week. I cannot wait for next week.