Today went by very quick, but it also felt like such a long day! Today went by quick because I almost never had any down time. During all of my preps I was constantly busy getting ready for my lessons, I even left lunch a little early to prep (and take cold medicine). YES I am still sick :( Today I felt worse than my usual sore throat, I was congested and felt sluggish all day! It also felt like a longer day because of feeling sick. I love the students but I just wanted to nap during the day and wear sweatpants!
Today for math the students were learning how to use "quarter past" and "half past" to tell time. Like previous lessons, most students understood the concept. Today I was more strict with staying with me instead of moving on, because it helped them understand the concept more clearly. While checking answers, Mrs. Palmer said that most of the students got the whole packet correct. During math, I teach and circulate to help, and Mrs. Palmer looks over answers in the back and hands out extension work.
I taught my first whole class literacy lesson today. I taught the students subject/verb agreement. We went through a flipchart (PowerPoint for Promethean Boards), and I had the students work on a worksheet with a partner on identifying the subject and verb in each sentence of a short story. We didn't get to everything I wanted in the lesson, so I will continue the lesson tomorrow. Tomorrow's a half day, so it will be a shorter lesson!
For Social Studies I taught the students about technology and how it has changed over time. Again, for this lesson I did not get to everything I wanted. I need to work on my time management and over planning. But I guess it is better to over plan than under plan! I tried to keep the students engaged for the whole lesson, but it can be hard to keep students' attention, especially at the end of the day!
Throughout the day I notice Mrs. Palmer letting me take control and trusting me in the classroom more often. She is also stepping back on management and it makes me realize how much management a teacher really does on their own! Sometimes when I'm teaching I don't even realize she has left the room until one of my students asks, "Where's Mrs. Palmer?" I'm really making this experience my own, and I love it!
Thing I am currently working on: Patience!! I love my students, but sometime I just want to tell them the answer to everything! But I know that I need to be patient for them to figure it out on their own, because that is how they learn! So it is something that I am definitely working on (and hopefully improving on!)