Skip to main content

Into the Jungle We Go!

 In to the jungle I go as I began my first week of teaching at Athens Area High School, and like any jungle, it was full of challenges, new experiences, and so many opportunities to learn! I started my week with my Horticulture first period, as we investigated greenhouse and pesticide safety! We discussed safety symbols and identify the 10 important components of a pesticide label. 

Third period I began my public speaking unit with my FFA/SAE course as we discussed speech topics, citations, and reliable sources. Students also worked to create a T-shirt design, plan the Sophomore and Junior Lock In, and began to fundraise with their annual Strawberry Sale.  


Although my week was briefly interrupted by a snow day, it gave me a chance to collect my thoughts and reflect on how excited I was to continue my semester at Athens. 

 One pivotal moment of my first week of student teaching was the moment when I realized I was now in charge of 15 students and the nerves that filled my body. Thankfully, I have some pretty awesome students who always made sure to flash a smile my way when my nerves might have gotten the best of me or were always willing to answer questions and engage with my lessons. 

Next week I am hoping for 2 things, first to be more confident in front of the classroom. I feel that there were many times were I was more nervous than I should have been about being in front of the classroom and by the end of the lesson I would think to myself why was I so nervous for that! I would also like to find ways to encourage engagement with my students especially so early in the morning. I recognize that not only am I new but I am also teaching at 8:00 am so the excitement level is not always at an all time high. I plan to get my students up and moving more next week through our crime scene investigation and let their creative juices flow as they each create a safety poster. 

Some successes for this week would be first and foremost, I have a pretty good handle on most of my students names! Like many of my cohort members, I have made it my goal to say each student's name once throughout the period and if I can't remember a students name I make it a point to have a one on one conversation with that student. This is so I can one privately ask them their name and two get to know them better so that I can recall that information later when teaching.  I also have experienced some the challenges faced in the jungle of teaching both in person and online as I navigate teaching students virtually that could hear me but I unfortunately could not hear them. Thankfully, with some quick thinking, awesome CTs, support from the center and some very understanding students I have been able to navigate and mitigate most of that issue. 

To round out my week I helped a student successfully complete her wiring project in Agricultural Mechanics 2. As we wired an outlet, lightbulb, and switch series I helped problem solve, reinforce electrical theory, and get to know my students better. 


Questions: 

1. How do I motivate/wake up my students at 8:00 am and get them as excited about the lesson as I am?

2. What is the best way to motivate students to complete work outside of class time?

Comments

  1. elise laudenslagerJanuary 30, 2021 at 7:40 PM

    Megan,

    It looks like you had a great week! Im glad to see that you are getting things figured out and are doing a great job at delivering your lessons. I am also running into some issues getting student engagement early in the morning. I am currently trying to wake my students up by playing some upbeat music before homeroom or when they are working on an activity. I also think once I develop more of a rapport with them it will be easier to get that level of engagement we are looking for. As for motivating students to do their work online, please let me know if you find something that works. So far I have just been trying to pull each student aside briefly while they are working on activities or after class to tell them that I saw they didn't do something and let them know the importance of getting it done.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Michaela SmithJanuary 30, 2021 at 7:44 PM

    HI Megan!

    I am so happy that your week 2 experience has been going well! Another great tip to help you remember names, is that I created a "seating chart" in my notebook with the names of each student so I can look at them while I am observing my. ct. I am hoping that by the time I take over some of the other classes in the weeks to come, I will already know most, if not all, of their names. As far as. your questions... I am trying to figure those out for myself. It seems that almost none of my students complete their work. I understand that COVID is really hard on many students, so I am trying hard to give enough time that students can complete their work in class. I feel like that is the best way to make sure students understand the material and that I can be there to answer questions. Maybe a way to motivate or wake up your students is to have a bellwork that requires them to find answers around the room! Half way through the lesson you could try the same thing and make students get out of their seats to complete a task or activity!

    I am so excited to hear from you next week!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nicole GuiseFebruary 1, 2021 at 5:44 AM

    Hi Megan! 1) Don't be so hard on yourself! 2) I also have some less than enthusiastic students at 8:00am. Something my CT and I did this morning since we are on Zoom for a "snow day" was sitting yoga! It got the kids moving and awake and I also think they enjoyed not just diving right into the content ten minutes after rolling out of bed. If you get to try this, I would love to hear how it went for you!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My First Day of School... Lab Edition!

  This week I had my first day of school, though it wasn't with my students at Athens Area High School, I did have the opportunity to share it with my cohort members. The excitement of a new year with new adventures awaiting still filled the room, the difference you ask? Well this year all eight of us girls were the teachers this time, making our first day experience a little different.  Every student remembers the excitement of reuniting with your friends after a long summer away, seeing who you have lunch or study hall with, and finally seeing your favorite teacher you have missed all summer. For teachers, your first day of school sets the tone for the rest of the school year. Not only are you sharing what content students will be learning throughout the year, but what expectations you have for them while in your classroom. For my student's I used the framework "The 3 R's in Miss. Royer's Room", this idea came from my elementary school principal Mrs. Zmyslo....
4 comments
Read more

Week 12: Was one for the Sharks!

  Week 12, though it was only 4 days, was packed with many opportunities to showcase learning! I also wrapped up my time in two courses as we transition to the end of my student teaching experience and finalized grades for a marking period.  It's slowly becoming real that in 2 short weeks I will be completing my student teaching experience. This week as I wrapped up two courses we worked to prepare ourselves for life beyond high school, creating cover letters and resumes! Students had the opportunity to reflect on many of the skills, experiences, and certifications they have acquired during their time in high school. After determining these skills we highlighted the aspects that best demonstrated how qualified each student was for the position they were "applying" for. Seeing the diversity of career interests, experiences, and skills was amazing and a very proud moment. I cannot wait to see what amazing things these students accomplish beyond high school hopefully with s...
2 comments
Read more

Playing with Blocks!

      This week we created interest approaches to help our students get their feet wet at the beginning of our lessons. My interest approach was created for a SAE/FFA Leadership course introducing communication and the different forms we frequently use. The students partnered up and used legos to build the actions written on their chosen note card. One student was the "speaker" and used the legos to communicate the task that they wanted their partner to complete. The "speaker" was not able to talk, motion, draw, or give any hints to their partner who was acting as the "listener".  Once all of the students had the chance to play each role we discussed who was successful, who wasn't, and why they believed that was the case. We also discussed how they communicated with partners making the transition into the content for the day which was exploring verbal and nonverbal communication. I chose this lesson for two reasons. First, I thoug ht it would be a fun...
4 comments
Read more