Pre-Student Teaching
Going into my first student teaching experience I was extremely nervous yet excited. I had no idea what to expect. I had only heard wonderful things about my co-operating teacher Ms. White. As I walked into the classroom I was anxious and nervous about what the students would think of me and whether I would click with them and get along with them. Once the whole class arrived and was settled of course they were all staring at me and were asking if I was the new student teacher. They were so excited to have a new teacher in the classroom. They were very intrigued by me and were curious.
On Monday the class started out doing a math word problem after attendance was taken. They were given a few minutes to complete the problem, as they slowly started finishing I walked around to check their answers and whether they showed the correct work and also showed how they checked their answers. Depending on what work they showed and if they got the question right they could receive as high as a 4 or as low as a 1. After this they went into their silent reading groups and I sat and graded their different homework assignments while Ms. White read with students on the rug quietly. After this the class moved onto math where they were working on bar graphs and how to correctly do a graph. They went over everything from labeling the graph, the two axis, how to correctly space each section. While Ms. White was discussing this with the class I was working individually with a student who was truly struggling and was not keeping up with Ms. Whites instructions to correct his work. It was nice working with a student one on one it gave me a chance to form a relationship and gave me some confidence at the same time.
On Tuesday the morning was the same, they started out doing a math problem after taking attendance to get the students thinking. After this the students then went to the library and while the students were gone Ms. White and I started discussing different lesson topics and coming up with a few different things she suggest I cover. During this time I became extremely overwhelmed and anxious. I didn’t know what to cover in such a short amount of time, I started thinking of possible activities and I did not feel I was ready to start teaching lessons yet. We decided my first lesson would be this Thursday. Once the students came back into the classroom they started to work on test prep with reading a passage and going back to their seats and answers three different questions in-depth. Once they finished this assignment we moved on to math and continues working on graphs and how to properly draw and label a graph. During this time I was walking around helping the struggling students. The students then had lunch and during this time Ms. White and have the chance to discuss many different things and I am able to ask her any questions I have and she is very helpful and open-minded. I feel very comfortable asking her questions. After lunch the students were able to finish whatever work they had to complete from the morning and once they did they had the opportunity for some silent reading. They then moved onto science where they took observations on their “pond in a jar” experiment and they discussed all the things they have seen change. After this Ms. White ended the day reading the class the book Number the Stars.
The school is very welcoming, the security guard at the front entrance is so friendly is gives you a good sense of community right away. Going through the halls there are different things hanging on the wall which lets you know that the teachers are proud of their students and it also allows the students to feel like their work means something. Within the classroom there is a sense of community, all of the students respect Ms. White and Ms. White is extremely patient with the students and never raises her voice, which is great. There are pictures and writings all of the walls separated by different subjects. The students’ work is also hanging on the wall. They have different closet spaces and cubbies to hold their belongings. The students desk are grouped together to three to five students which is great so it a friendlier atmosphere. Overall I am enjoying this placement, at times it is overwhelming but that is expected. I cannot wait to continue to keep learning.
On Monday the class started out doing a math word problem after attendance was taken. They were given a few minutes to complete the problem, as they slowly started finishing I walked around to check their answers and whether they showed the correct work and also showed how they checked their answers. Depending on what work they showed and if they got the question right they could receive as high as a 4 or as low as a 1. After this they went into their silent reading groups and I sat and graded their different homework assignments while Ms. White read with students on the rug quietly. After this the class moved onto math where they were working on bar graphs and how to correctly do a graph. They went over everything from labeling the graph, the two axis, how to correctly space each section. While Ms. White was discussing this with the class I was working individually with a student who was truly struggling and was not keeping up with Ms. Whites instructions to correct his work. It was nice working with a student one on one it gave me a chance to form a relationship and gave me some confidence at the same time.
On Tuesday the morning was the same, they started out doing a math problem after taking attendance to get the students thinking. After this the students then went to the library and while the students were gone Ms. White and I started discussing different lesson topics and coming up with a few different things she suggest I cover. During this time I became extremely overwhelmed and anxious. I didn’t know what to cover in such a short amount of time, I started thinking of possible activities and I did not feel I was ready to start teaching lessons yet. We decided my first lesson would be this Thursday. Once the students came back into the classroom they started to work on test prep with reading a passage and going back to their seats and answers three different questions in-depth. Once they finished this assignment we moved on to math and continues working on graphs and how to properly draw and label a graph. During this time I was walking around helping the struggling students. The students then had lunch and during this time Ms. White and have the chance to discuss many different things and I am able to ask her any questions I have and she is very helpful and open-minded. I feel very comfortable asking her questions. After lunch the students were able to finish whatever work they had to complete from the morning and once they did they had the opportunity for some silent reading. They then moved onto science where they took observations on their “pond in a jar” experiment and they discussed all the things they have seen change. After this Ms. White ended the day reading the class the book Number the Stars.
The school is very welcoming, the security guard at the front entrance is so friendly is gives you a good sense of community right away. Going through the halls there are different things hanging on the wall which lets you know that the teachers are proud of their students and it also allows the students to feel like their work means something. Within the classroom there is a sense of community, all of the students respect Ms. White and Ms. White is extremely patient with the students and never raises her voice, which is great. There are pictures and writings all of the walls separated by different subjects. The students’ work is also hanging on the wall. They have different closet spaces and cubbies to hold their belongings. The students desk are grouped together to three to five students which is great so it a friendlier atmosphere. Overall I am enjoying this placement, at times it is overwhelming but that is expected. I cannot wait to continue to keep learning.