Field Experience Week 2

What? I really enjoyed this week, I got to teach every day. It was fun but it was physically exhausting. I got to teach about the water cycle, transcontinental railroad, and the mountain men that travelled through Utah. I’m exhausted because I spent some long nights preparing my lessons so I would be prepared for the next day. In every lesson I tried to implement everything we have been learning in theory. Such as drama, community learning, technology, physical activity, I tried to make sure all the students were receiving meaningful learning. So it definitely made for a busy week.

So What? Well, this week I learned that no matter how great your lesson plans are there is room for errors and mistakes. Some of my lessons took longer than I had planned. One of my water cycle lessons flopped I kept the kids busy but it was not meaningful. So I came home and reflected on how I could re-do my lesson so the students could really understand the water cycle. The next day, I did my lesson over again and it turned out ten times better. I also learned that you need to be very flexible, students are constantly being taken out of the classroom. Some have to go to"power hour", math tutoring, special ed, other classes taught by specialist. It can really throw you off and you need to make sure that when the student return they get caught up. In some cases is the whole class so you have to start off were you left. It can get tricky when you have thirty one students. I really like the fourth grade class I’m assigned, I would like to come back and follow-up to see how they are doing after field.

Now What? I ‘m glad I’ve had the opportunity to teach this week it’s been a pleasure teaching these fourth graders. I’ve learned that kids all have potential and they are all unique and want to learn, you just have to find what works best for them. A teacher’s job is never done and you have to be constantly re-evaluating what you’re a doing and be willing to make changes. I’m learning that one the most important concepts is that you need to maintain good classroom management so all students can learn. I’m looking forward to teaching in the future.