This week bought forth excitement, nerves and anticipation as I entered my first full week of practicum. Although it was only 5 days of work I feel as though I have already learn’t much more than I expected. Reflecting back onto the week I feel as though I am now comfortable in leading a few lessons in the classroom. I taught a literacy lesson on Tuesday, which went well. My SA gave me some good feedback to keep in mind. During the lesson I felt as though I really was not doing as well as I could, I was nervous and forgot a few details. But it must have been all in my head because my SA reassured me that it went very well. I will be doing 4 lessons next week that I must prepare for, but I am not too nervous about them because I feel like I can really do this! A great learning experience for me this week was when my SA was absent on Wednesday and there was a TOC in the class. The TOC was very experienced but she got me to take the lead on some classroom activities which was great. I felt so comfortable leading the K’s through calendar, reading them stories and helping with classroom management. The students are really getting use to me being around in the classroom but I want to work on getting the students to see me as a teacher and respect me for that. I know it is hard for K’s and some grade 1’s to understand that I am learning to become a teacher but I feel as though I need to re assure them that I am not just someone that is helping in the class. My SA has told me that there are times that we need to be firm with the students and I will have to work on that next week with some students that like to push limits. Overall, a great week. The school is so welcoming and the staff is just great to be around! Looking forward to the new adventures next week.
It sounds like it was a very successful week for you, getting involved and leading some of the daily routines and teaching a lesson that went well. You will develop management strategies as you continue this journey, finding a balance between what is and isn’t acceptable behaviour. It is good to model your SA’s strategies at first and evolve your own as you teach more and the students become more comfortable with you as teacher in the classroom. This week will allow you four more lessons to practice!