Being the second week of practicum I have been in front of the class more often. However, there have been a few challenging moments. I have built a positive report with students on a personal level, but I feel I am struggling to build my presence as a teacher.  I have been working on simply getting their attention.

I have implemented two new strategies for better classroom management. In my previous time in the class I used the same techniques as my SA, but they were starting to become ineffective when I use them. My first strategy was “5 on ME”, which required students to: put their hands on the desk, keep their feet still, eyes on me and mouths closed. My second strategy was for the students to respond to my class. Meaning, I would say “Are we ready?” and the students would reply “We are born ready!” (a reference from KungFu Panda movie).

I feel my first strategy is strict and not fun, therefore to lighten the classroom environment I am using a reference that majority of kids are familiar with. I have a feeling using the movie reference might cause the students to react with an outburst versus calming them down. Lets see how it goes. My main focus this and next few weeks is classroom management.