Student Teaching Shenanigans!

So I’m awful at keeping this blog updated….

 1 full year of student teaching, and honestly, it’s been such a wonderful year. I love it, and I love the kids! 

 But I graduate THIS Friday! So crazy how quickly it’s been! I’ll get to finish out the year at my school though so I’ll be there until the end of May.

 Have a couple of interviews already so we’ll see!

 Here’s me!

I told a 7th grade boy to keep track of students talking during a debate. He handed me a paper at the end of all the debates and titled the paper, “The List of Shame.

Today a 6th grader asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I told him I wanted either a puppy or kitten. He said, “OKAY! I’ll get you one!” Should I be worried….?!

Sixth Graders

 Today I was giving an example in class of one of my goals, which is to lose weight, and they were all, “MS. LE YOU DON’T NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT! YOU’RE PERFECT!”

 Sixth grade, brown nosing the right way. 

Taking over!

 My mentor teacher is about to have a baby boy, so I will be taking charge (with a substitute) until January! I am a bundle of emotions! I’m really nervous and anxious and I’m a worrier, so my biggest concern is how the students will respond to me.

  I know all 180ish of them now and feel like I’ve connected with them, but I’m afraid that since I am “young” they won’t take me as seriously. For the most part, I feel like I can handle all my classes, there’s just this one class that makes me nervous. They’re not bad students, they just talk a lot! ALL THE TIME! And it’s usually having to do with the class, but since it is such a large class, it’s hard to control them all! There’s a lot of time spent trying to get the class under control, on task, and quiet. Should be interesting! 

  I recently had a breakdown because I didn’t pass my subject area test. It’s the third time I’ve taken it. It really brings me down because I know my subject and I know that I can teach it well, but for some reason I can’t seem to pass this exam! I definitely think it’s test anxiety. I’ve never done well when it comes to these big exams. The pressure of them weighs really heavily and I think I just blank when it’s in front of my face. I cried for about thirty minutes in my car after I found out. It just makes my self-esteem plummet and it makes me doubt my knowledge. I just feel like I’ve let not only myself down, but my university down too. One of my professors is going to tutor me though, so hopefully I will pass this next time!

  We’re on Fall Break now for 2 weeks, so I have a good amount of time to get myself together and prepared to teach and fly solo for awhile! I just have to make sure I’m completely prepared, and I know I will be! Creating some Prezi’s to keep them more engaged and I’m trying to figure out fun ways to teach some subjects, but it’s hard! 

 Anyway, update later! Gonna go read some!

Taught the whole day!

 I literally taught the whole day today! It went well for the most part.  The biggest “trouble” classes are the last class in both A and B day (block schedule). I know they’re tired and ready to leave, but they go CRAZY!

 It takes so much to just simmer them down to get them to listen! Explaining things takes a century because someone is always talking so then they’re always asking me a question about something I literally had just gone over 30 sec. ago. I have no idea how to get them to sit, stay quiet, and listen. It really is just the last class, too! 

 How do you handle loud and rowdy classes? What advice can you give me? 

I don’t know they blocked it at the school!

veronicanicolefennell answered your question: Lesson Plans for Mock Trial

Why isn’t youtube available?

Omg these are awesome thank you!

mrempey answered your question: Lesson Plans for Mock Trial

keepvid.com to rip youtube videos, xtranormal.com to make the writing assignment engaging.

THANK YOU

mpalms answered your question: Lesson Plans for Mock Trial

use keepvid.com! you can download and save any youtube vid to your computer desktop!

Lesson Plans for Mock Trial

 I will be teaching 7th and 8th graders how to write an opening statement for a trial soon! It’s so hard to find a “fun” and engaging way to come up with this lesson! The hardest part is that the students don’t like to write! Getting them to write in complete sentences can be difficult and now they have to write a three minute speech! 

 I have a couple of ideas of things I could do. I definitely do not want to just stand there and lecture and give them the structure of the speech and things that should be in their speeches, because that would be boring and they would become disengaged so quickly.  I wanted to show them a movie clip example of an opening statement but I keep forgetting Youtube isn’t available to us and I have no clue how to download and burn a clip from a movie…. 

 I wonder if me memorizing and giving an example of an opening statement would be okay. 

 It’s so hard! I want to make this a fun experience for them and I want it to be interesting and something they really get into!

 Back to the drawing board! Any suggestions or ideas you’d care to share?