1st official lesson
(this is from a couple of weeks ago....posting it now...!)
Today i gave my first official, top to bottom lesson. I felt nervous - last night, a little bit all weekend, and of course this morning. But once I got into it, everything seemed to flow fairly well.
The lesson was on writing a thesis. I think some 9th graders know what this means, but may not have a good grip on what exactly a thesis is, or what a good thesis is. They might also not know how to write one. This is a skill that should stick with the students for the rest of their academic careers - and beyond. I feel it's a really, really important lesson.
one thing i want to work on is finding really good, solid examples that are relatable and relevant to my kids. the examples i had were ok, but most of them were a little too heady for 9th graders. more importantly, i want to be able to have examples sort of in the forefront of my mind that i can spit out for them to make my points clearer. My coordinating teacher is a champ at this - she spits out really relevant, detailed, beautiful examples on the spot.
Not only was this my first official lesson, I was also observed by my clinical supervisor! I think this added to my nervousness a bit, but she is very approachable and nice, and despite my worries I was fairly confident about my lesson. The observation went well and she had very positive feedback for me, and said I am doing a great job. She did observe a few things that I'm really glad she mentioned:
- Acknowledgement/positive feedback: When students participated, I didn't always acknowledge their contributions. For example, one student gave an answer to my question, "what are the 3 parts of an essay?" He gave them, but I went very quickly to the next thing or person. Be sure to give specific acknowledgement so that students feel positive feedback from participation.
- When students asked questions, I repeated their questions for the rest of the class. Instead, I should have students turn to the rest of the class and pose their questions so that everyone can hear. This fosters community. My clinical supervisor described this as a sort of game - the ball easily volleys between student and teacher, but it doesn't often or always volley between students.
- Use more objective language so that students don't get mislead or confused. One example was "a thesis proves your point" as opposed to "a point".
- Don't feed the kids answers: instead of "why isn't this a good thesis?" say "is this a good thesis?" Again, more objective.
- Walk around more, look at what the kids are writing. Make sure it's making sense; highlight good notes or observations for the rest of the class.
