This week my TOC skills were put to test as my SA was absent and the TOC for my class was very new to an elementary class environment. This TOC had only worked in high school classrooms so I got the opportunity to show off my teaching skills. For the most part we worked together to make the day go by as smoothly as possible.
There were a few lessons that I lead such as the calendar, gym and art. However there was a math lesson on area that the TOC was trying to teach the students and as I walked around to help I could tell that they were not understanding the instructions and there was a lot of confusion. So I stopped the lesson and asked everyone to meet me at the carpet. I demonstrated with manipulatives what the objective of the lesson was. The students were to guess how many of the manipulatives were needed to fit on the big hand, after the guess they were to actually add the manipulative to the hand and count out how many fit. After I cleared this up I sent the students back to work on it. It went a little smoother after that but I would do this lesson again just to drive the point home after the spring break.
Overall I had a great learning experience this week. I felt that I was a lot more confident in my teaching when my SA was not there, it felt like I was in charge of my own classroom. The EA in the class also noticed this and thanked me for taking control throughout the day, telling me that I did a fabulous job with the kids. I am glad I ended the month off on a good note and I am really looking forward to long practicum!
Yay for this experience!! The more lessons you take on in your ten week, the more your confidence will grow. This day was a good lead in to what will be coming!