Teaching the unplanned lesson...

Today proved to be a special kind of day; I had to teach without any preparation! My mentor teacher had to attend a meeting during 7th period and she needed someone to cover her class. Who better to cover it than me? Not like I was doing anything anyway. I would have been simply observing her teach. So, I took the job and I think it went well. I had already sat through this class several times so I knew most of the students and the ones I didn't know I could sort of guess their faces.

I began class by doing the bell ringer, which is the same thing that my mentor teacher does each day. I then took attendance and told the students that I'd be teaching today because Mrs. Adams had a meeting to go to. They were a bit talkative at first and I guess they thought that because she wasn't there that I was going to be more laid back. Well, I tried to maintain the same authority that she does in the room by following all of her same rules. I told the students to begin working on their bell ringer and to stop talking. They did as I said and then we started to review for the vocabulary quiz that they'll take tomorrow. I called on students to read through the definitions and I talked about examples.

Then we moved on to the story. We were in the middle of The Most Dangerous Game and we were listening to it on a cd. I played through the story and stopped several times to ask questions. I think it went pretty well. I just realized that the students don't really want to do a lot of talking to me, so I'm going to have to figure out how to make them talk and feel like they are safe to do so.

The only issue that I really had was with 2 boys who were talking while I was talking. I simply asked them if they had a problem. They said no and I told them to just stop talking and they did so. The rest of the class went pretty well after that. I feel that I did a pretty good job for having no time to plan! I do see some places where my practice is lacking, however. I need to gain my confidence with these students. I remember feeling the same way last year, but it went away after teaching for a few days. I feel that the same thing will happen this year, at least I hope. Another area is trying to remember to call on students rather than having them shout answers. I'm so used to less structured classes that this one will take some getting used to. I do think there's room for improvement and I intend to improve whole heartedly!

Starting the year!

Today was my first day with students at FSHS. It was pretty hectic all day and I got to see how teachers really cope with all of those "first day firsts." I am with a new mentor teacher this year so I've got a bit of learning to do before I can begin teaching in her classroom. Today I basically observed her doing her first day routine, but I feel that it was a good experience because I've never been a teacher on the first day of school until now! We've decided that I'll observe her teaching for the first couple of weeks so that I can get a grasp on how she does things. The fact that I have a new mentor teacher only adds to my nervousness and anxiety about the internship, but I'm sure that it will work out in the end. In fact, my new mentor has already given me some great advice and I think working with her will prove to be a great experience that will surely follow me in my teaching for the rest of my career.
This is also my first time working with freshman and so far it seems okay. The students were pretty timid today and quite shy. Who can blame them on their very first day of high school?! I'm going to work with my mentor to bring these students out of their shells and into the classroom by showing them that they're safe in our room. I've got some really great ideas for the semester and I'm really looking forward to implementing them into the classroom!
Here's to a great year!