Last lesson before long practicum

Today I taught my last official lesson before long practicum begins. I would be lying if I didn’t say I was a bit nervous. Especially when doing a lesson that is being observed, it is a nerve wracking experience. However, I was very happy with how my lesson went. I felt my teacher presence come through and with every lesson that I do, I build more confidence. The objective of my lesson was to teach my class about character traits and how to associate characteristics with a particular character. I read a short story about a bus and together we created a list of all of the character traits of a bus driver. Then the students made a help wanted ad for a bus driver using those characteristics. It was a quirky, fun lesson and I was very pleased with the students final product. They were great and so fun to read! During my lesson, I applied many strategies to prevent calls out from the students and to manage the class. I tried to connect my lesson to the students real life so they could make those connections. I believe this is very important because it helps students learn better especially when they can connect their learning to outside of the classroom. I also realize the importance of always having extra things for early finishers to work on. Within my class I notice that some of the students finish very quickly, for others it takes a very long time to finish and for some they don’t even finish at all. Its important to have extra activities for  early finishers to work on that are still educational and interesting. It’s also so important to state clear expectations before a lesson which will help guide student behaviour in a positive direction. Overall, I feel very grateful to be given this opportunity to learn from so many amazing educators.  I am very nervous for long practicum and I know it will take my out of my comfort zone X 100 but I look forward to trying new things and continuing to learn. I hope to gain more experience and although I will be put in situations that I don’t have much experience with, I believe that is the best way to actually grow. My goal for long practicum is to continue to grow and to have a great experience!