So many of the questions and concerns I had prior to student
teaching have already been answered in just the short month I have been in 6th
Grade. Of all the lessons I have gained
thus far, I am realizing more and more how adaptive I must be to the ever
changing environment of the classroom.
Although I previously spoke of this in a past post, I understand this
reality more than ever! For example, I began
a close reading activity with my students last Thursday, anticipating that it
would take about three days to complete.
However, what I assumed would take three days has actually stretched into
four and half.
Although I taught preschool for over two years prior to
student teaching, the environment is completely different, and I am learning
some strategies that I could not necessarily use on my younger kiddos. I am asking questions constantly. Throughout my teaching I practice using the
CFU (check for understanding) method through prompting and questioning to
assess student understanding of the material.
After each lesson ends, I ask myself two very important questions:
1.
Did I
word my questions in such a way that the students understood what I was asking
of them?
2.
Did I prompt thinking among the class without giving
away the answers?
One of my biggest
struggles is watching my students struggle.
Often when I see they are fumbling over an answer, my instinct is to
quickly explain the why’s or how’s of a situation. However, one crucial element I must keep in
mind is that students need to learn through discovery. I cannot ALWAYS be providing them with the answers. I want to always clearly state learning
objectives for the children, but I must encourage them to think independently
and strengthen their critical thinking and inferential skills.
While scanning through the Internet I discovered what appears
to be a wonderful book titled, First Year
Teacher Wit and Wisdom from Teachers Who’ve Been There edited by Randy
Howe. Just skimming through the first
pages, I already see how some of my questions and concerns will be addressed
through teacher veterans in the field! I
cannot wait for this book to arrive! Click here to take a sneak peak…
Best,
Ms. Vince
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