Tuesday, 25 October 2011

Crash and Burn


After the success of my first lesson and using Ms. B's advice, I was really excited to present my next lesson, which I felt was a really fun and interesting lesson.  Students had come up to me during the day and told me that they really enjoyed the lesson from yesterday and were excited for class.  I was happy to hear this but also nervous that I would be letting them down the first time class wasn't fun.  

I did not teach till fourth period and I spent most of the day fine-tuning my slideshow.  Again my slideshow was going to be interactive and included check-ins where the students answer questions or perform an activity. I entered the class and handed each of the students a word search I had made on the Great Depression to keep them busy while I setup the projector.  However, somehow I had deleted my slideshow.  I am so happy I had given them that word search because it gave me time to both freak out and then to relax.  When they were done their word search I went over their Exit Cards from the day before and addressed some of the issues they had brought up.  One of the students had asked to know more about “buying on margin” so I created an example for them and had students come and help me on the board.  After the example was finished I gave the students time to work on their 1920s skits, which are being presented tomorrow.
            
Having something go wrong, especially with technology has taught me some valuable lessons.   I had a similar problem during my microteaching and because of that, this time I was ready for it.  I can’t say I handled it perfectly, as I definitely stumbled a bit.  However, in the end I feel that I managed to review something from the day before to solidify the concept.    

  

My First Teaching Experience

Yesterday was my first day teaching at North Park.  North Park is an amazing school and all the faculty and students have been so welcoming.  My associate teacher Ms. B is awesome.  Her relaxed style and humour have made me feel so comfortable, but not too comfortable.  After my first lesson, Ms. B gave me some really excellent advice and I appreciated how she can be both fun and serious.  As for my lesson, I think it went pretty well.  The students really enjoyed my use of technology and the interactive presentation.  They responded well in their Exit Cards and some even gave me some great feedback on things they want to know more about.  Its really amazing how curious they are about me and who I am.  I hope they are reading this blog to find out.

This past Saturday I earned my SMART board level One and cannot wait to use it in the classroom.  I am not sure how I am going to develop a lesson on WWII yet but I hope that it can be something the students are really wowed by.  Any suggestions?