This week we had a practice Teacher-on-call day.  I was surprised at how nervous I actually was.  It was difficult going into a class with virtually no knowledge of what the day would look like and what I was supposed to do.  I think what made me most nervous was functioning within a different school’s schedule and community.  Dealing with students is one thing, but looking like a fool because you do not have a clue about when anything is happening is a lot more difficult.  The day actually went very well.  There was an assembly in the morning that made things a little tough because I did not know where to go, but the students were great.  Following the assembly, I took the opportunity to continue the topic it raised, diversity, and talk about it.  I think it helped me build rapport with the students and develop a clear atmosphere of how I wanted the class to work.  PE class was also difficult to begin with.  There were three classes all with TOC’s for the day and so we had to figure out who was teaching whom.  I was really impressed with how my fellow teacher candidate had worked with his class to set up self-regulation within the PE class.  Finally, I also realized that in order to TOC you really need to be prepared for an entire day on your own.  If a teacher has not left the best plans or if technology does not work, I need to be prepared to last the day.

The rest of my week was pretty crazy.  I had to teach Wednesday, Thursday was a strike day, and the teach Friday.  It made it difficult to keep the students focus, but we all made it through.

This week was a great week and full of all kinds of experiences.

I started the week with a sharing circle.  Every Monday morning I am going to try to start the week giving everyone a chance to share one experience from their weekend.  There is a sharing time each day that the students are used to, but it often ends up being similar students sharing each day and I am hoping to get everyone sharing a little more.  I am not too concerned with what they share, it can even be what they ate or something very simple, but my goal is to increase inclusiveness and get more people sharing.

Following the sharing circle, I threw a bit of a curve ball at the students.  The class has been in rows all year long, but in order to try something new in math, I had them put their tables in four groups.  I had ten different worksheets of increasing difficulty prepared and I allowed the students to choose which level they felt they were at when selecting a worksheet to work on.  Prior to selecting the worksheet, students had to set a goal on a sticky note and place it at the top of their desk.  To improve this, I would make sure to demonstrate what each worksheet looks like and how many questions were on each one.  This exercise actually went quite well and I would like to try using this system regularly.  It increased the students peer to peer learning quite a bit.  I learned a lot about different seating situations and the pros and cons of each.

Other moments from the week:

I moved the desk configuration for math class into groups and gave students the choice of what level worksheet to try. I actually think it went well and would try it more often, but it definitely needs some more structure and refinement.

In science, the students started their body system presentations. I was pleasantly surprised by quality.  There were some very personal presentations.  One student did a fantastic presentation of post traumatic stress disorder which his father suffers from and his highlight was speaking with his dad about it.  Another student did an amazing job on the immune system while one group did fecal matter and melted chocolate bars to demonstrate consistency.  It got a great reaction from the class.

I did have to deal with an explorations teacher coming to give my class a lecture about their behavior in her class.  I had to manage her expectations with the reality of my class.  Added to this, dealing with any grade 8’s near the end of the year can be a challenge.

I had a couple of new students join the class and it was an adjustment.  It changes the dynamic of the classroom quite a bit and I had to try to figure out where they are with curriculum and what I need to do to work with them.

Finally, due to a number of students missing one day, I had the chance to joining in with them during open PE class.  It was so much fun to have a manageable class size.

Another great week.

This week was an interesting one.  For the most part it was fairly smooth.  I learned a lot about how self-regulated my students are.  Doing an inquiry project and giving them time to work on it in class has given me a greater understanding of which students are able to handle working on their own and which ones need a little more accountability.  In addition, it becomes clear which students can socialize and work while there are others who take the time to socialize and end up with nothing completed.  One student in particular has had trouble even getting started and so I have tried to break down the assignment and simply have him complete one piece at a time.  I then have him show me each piece as he completes it.

I had the opportunity to spend a day helping with a bike safety trip to one of the feeder elementary schools.  It was a lot of fun and a nice change.

I have discovered that I have begun to struggle with talking too much in math class.  I need to give the students more time to practice and I need to reduce and simplify my instruction time.