...gone by. It's amazing how quickly it's flying now. Some days quicker than others. Some lessons quicker than others!
Today I taught a lovely RE lessons, talking to my yr 4s about Sikhism - they're so interested and full of questions (which I can't always answer!) and enthusiastic to learn.
An hour later I was coviering the Yr 2 class from hell and crowd control was definitely the correct term for it!
For a while we sat on the mat and talked about transport and they were pretty good (low level disruption but nothing too awful) but as soon as they had to go off to their tables and do some work it was horrible!
The 'good' kids were desperately trying to get on while I constantly stamped on (not literally, though I felt like it) the horrors who at best were wasting time, and at worst were walking round the class bothering each other and waving scissors about.
Even that wasn't so bad, but when they had to change for PE..aargh!
Thank God someone else was taking them for PE - I ended up tidying the room for about 20 mins and then just really trying to recover before picking them up again to get them changed for hometime.
Getting changed again was better - lots of stickers and stars given out!
I was knackered at the end of it. More knackered than a whole day of teaching the yr 4s!
Thankfully my mentor has promised me I won't have to return to that class - if I had been in there all the time I would probably have decided teaching wasn't for me (if I hadn't had a nervous breakdown already!)
I had to talk to me DRB and my mentor very honestly about not wanting to go back into the class and why (which was a bit worrying) but it was worth it.
If you have trouble on your placement make sure you tell someone - something good might actually come of it!
Thursday, 31 January 2008
Sunday, 13 January 2008
New term, new class, new me
Well, I've been back to school for just over a week now and I can't believe how much more confident and relaxed I feel!
I can't work out if it was just the christmas break, being in a different class (away from the troublesome child who drives us all up the wall!) or because I'm finally in the year group I always thought I'd want to be in.
Somehow I feel like all the things I've been struggling to put together over the last term have slipped into place when I wasn't looking over christmas, and now I am able to relax and teach!
Weird.
I feel quite confident.
And now they want me to plan and put together a class assembly - parents invited! Arggghh.
'Think of the standards you'll meet' my mentor keeps saying!
I feel the pressure of the paperwork now. Making sure I am covering any standards which look a little bare - making ticksheets for observers to use to say I hit certain standards, and then making sure I do it well on the day!
I had the best observation done of my teaching the other day. Everything went so well!
And the best thing, is that my mentor, when she realised how much happier I am in yr4, is looking into me doing at least part of my final teaching practise in yr 4, rather than all of it in yr2.
Woohoo!
Loving it.
I can't work out if it was just the christmas break, being in a different class (away from the troublesome child who drives us all up the wall!) or because I'm finally in the year group I always thought I'd want to be in.
Somehow I feel like all the things I've been struggling to put together over the last term have slipped into place when I wasn't looking over christmas, and now I am able to relax and teach!
Weird.
I feel quite confident.
And now they want me to plan and put together a class assembly - parents invited! Arggghh.
'Think of the standards you'll meet' my mentor keeps saying!
I feel the pressure of the paperwork now. Making sure I am covering any standards which look a little bare - making ticksheets for observers to use to say I hit certain standards, and then making sure I do it well on the day!
I had the best observation done of my teaching the other day. Everything went so well!
And the best thing, is that my mentor, when she realised how much happier I am in yr4, is looking into me doing at least part of my final teaching practise in yr 4, rather than all of it in yr2.
Woohoo!
Loving it.
Thursday, 20 December 2007
Christmas!!!!!!!!!
Well, I've been through a few weeks of doubting myself and come out the other side as happy as I can be! Christmas at school has helped - I'm in my element - and the lack of a proper timetiable for the last week and a half means I haven't been planning anywhere near as much. I feel confident and happy and excited again now. Thank God!
It was last day of school today, and over christmas I have to do a medium term plan for yr 4 history and I'll be teaching the first 2 weeks of literacy so I need to roughly plan those - and detail plan the first week, but that'll be fine.
It's a bit worrying changing class - just as you get used to one class I have to move up to another - 2 year groups above. I look forward to it, since I think I'd rather teach yr 4 or 5 anyway, and there are less than 20 children with no SEN, which will be lovely. I think I'll enjoy the level of work more, and the fact they need fewer concrete resources - yr 2 maths is all multicubes, number grids, number cards, rulers - and that's just one lesson! It takes ages to organise just the resources. And last term I was differentiating 4 ways - this yr it's just the main class and some extension work for the G&T's! Heaven.
Yep, pretty happy.
I even got to go to my own son's school play - I asked at the beginning of the course and my lovely mentor said she'd see what she could do - and in the end our TA covered for me while I went off early for the afternoon. It's always worth asking (in a deferential, 'I know it might not be possible' kind of way!)
It was last day of school today, and over christmas I have to do a medium term plan for yr 4 history and I'll be teaching the first 2 weeks of literacy so I need to roughly plan those - and detail plan the first week, but that'll be fine.
It's a bit worrying changing class - just as you get used to one class I have to move up to another - 2 year groups above. I look forward to it, since I think I'd rather teach yr 4 or 5 anyway, and there are less than 20 children with no SEN, which will be lovely. I think I'll enjoy the level of work more, and the fact they need fewer concrete resources - yr 2 maths is all multicubes, number grids, number cards, rulers - and that's just one lesson! It takes ages to organise just the resources. And last term I was differentiating 4 ways - this yr it's just the main class and some extension work for the G&T's! Heaven.
Yep, pretty happy.
I even got to go to my own son's school play - I asked at the beginning of the course and my lovely mentor said she'd see what she could do - and in the end our TA covered for me while I went off early for the afternoon. It's always worth asking (in a deferential, 'I know it might not be possible' kind of way!)
Monday, 26 November 2007
Time flies...
...when you're incredibly busy.
Well, last week was good.
By the end of the week of my last post I was knackered! I was also doubting myself quite a bit. The kids had been restless and generally not very well behaved and I spent ages being convinced it was my fault but I've since learnt that they were hellish for everyone!
I told my tutor of my ingrained terror of maths and she observed me and reckoned I was actually fine...it's all in my mind! Also found I am getting over sensitive to behaviour and noise levels - I told my mentor that at one point I stood there thinking 'too much noise' and I suddenly realised that there was barely any noise, and the chatter was about work anyway!
So, I taught about 50% last week - a full day on monday, then 2 lessons a day for the rest of the week - no teaching friday: it was planned but had to change.
This week I'm back at lectures 2 days a week.
Today I did Literacy and Numeracy skills tests - I PASSED!!! I PASSED!!! I failed the online Numeracy skills test every single time and was convinced I would fail - I went into a massive panic and tbh, the mental maths bit was just awful - I barely answered any questions and some I had no idea how to do and I was absolutely depressed as anything. Then I got onto the second bit and the questions were almost so easy I was thinking I must have missed something. Still I passed (still can't believe it!)
Just ICT to do now.
Anyway - teaching most of tomorrow - Literacy, Numeracy and Geography. IWB went crazy last week and couldn't use it at all, it was hellish. Don't know if it's fixed or not, and not sure how to teach what I'm going to teach without it :o(
Planning's taken forever. Folders/portfolio taking even longer...now I;ve got assignments to think about too...not enough hours in the day.
Well, last week was good.
By the end of the week of my last post I was knackered! I was also doubting myself quite a bit. The kids had been restless and generally not very well behaved and I spent ages being convinced it was my fault but I've since learnt that they were hellish for everyone!
I told my tutor of my ingrained terror of maths and she observed me and reckoned I was actually fine...it's all in my mind! Also found I am getting over sensitive to behaviour and noise levels - I told my mentor that at one point I stood there thinking 'too much noise' and I suddenly realised that there was barely any noise, and the chatter was about work anyway!
So, I taught about 50% last week - a full day on monday, then 2 lessons a day for the rest of the week - no teaching friday: it was planned but had to change.
This week I'm back at lectures 2 days a week.
Today I did Literacy and Numeracy skills tests - I PASSED!!! I PASSED!!! I failed the online Numeracy skills test every single time and was convinced I would fail - I went into a massive panic and tbh, the mental maths bit was just awful - I barely answered any questions and some I had no idea how to do and I was absolutely depressed as anything. Then I got onto the second bit and the questions were almost so easy I was thinking I must have missed something. Still I passed (still can't believe it!)
Just ICT to do now.
Anyway - teaching most of tomorrow - Literacy, Numeracy and Geography. IWB went crazy last week and couldn't use it at all, it was hellish. Don't know if it's fixed or not, and not sure how to teach what I'm going to teach without it :o(
Planning's taken forever. Folders/portfolio taking even longer...now I;ve got assignments to think about too...not enough hours in the day.
Thursday, 15 November 2007
I thought last week was hard work.......
...well, this week has been harder!
I was meant to be teaching Maths on tuesday (monday I was on a behaviour management course by Harry Pearce - if you get a chance make sure you see him!), but last minute my teacher asked me to do Literacy instead (I wrote the MTP so sort of knew what I was doing). Normally I spend some time thinking about what to say and how to do it, but this time I couldn't but it still went well.
Wed my teacher was on a course and I was supposed to teach Maths first session, supporting the head for the second lesson (literacy) and then teaching yr 3 (history) for the third session after lunch. I got in in the morning to have the head say she didn't realise she was supposed to be teaching literacy and wouldn't be in school...so I volunteered to teach that too! And then it was lunch and straight into yr 3 history. That went well but they got really excitable during the millionaire powerpoint and took the roof off with their shouts!! They loved it and got loads out of it, but I'll have to warn them to keep their voices down if I'm to use it again!
So, my first day with three lessons in a row! Wow.
Coped surprisingly well, and the head commented on how well I managed and how their weren't many people who could do what I did at such an early stage - woohoo! Knackered though.
Just taught maths today, and supprted science. Problem is, I planned for tuesday's maths and today's science and didn't teach them, and didn't plan for 2 literacy lessons and did teach them. So thats loads of time wasted on maths and science, and two plans to write in retrospect for my file!!
Still, I'm attempting to plan for the whole week again this week as it has been less stressful to just know it's there.
Better got on then....
I was meant to be teaching Maths on tuesday (monday I was on a behaviour management course by Harry Pearce - if you get a chance make sure you see him!), but last minute my teacher asked me to do Literacy instead (I wrote the MTP so sort of knew what I was doing). Normally I spend some time thinking about what to say and how to do it, but this time I couldn't but it still went well.
Wed my teacher was on a course and I was supposed to teach Maths first session, supporting the head for the second lesson (literacy) and then teaching yr 3 (history) for the third session after lunch. I got in in the morning to have the head say she didn't realise she was supposed to be teaching literacy and wouldn't be in school...so I volunteered to teach that too! And then it was lunch and straight into yr 3 history. That went well but they got really excitable during the millionaire powerpoint and took the roof off with their shouts!! They loved it and got loads out of it, but I'll have to warn them to keep their voices down if I'm to use it again!
So, my first day with three lessons in a row! Wow.
Coped surprisingly well, and the head commented on how well I managed and how their weren't many people who could do what I did at such an early stage - woohoo! Knackered though.
Just taught maths today, and supprted science. Problem is, I planned for tuesday's maths and today's science and didn't teach them, and didn't plan for 2 literacy lessons and did teach them. So thats loads of time wasted on maths and science, and two plans to write in retrospect for my file!!
Still, I'm attempting to plan for the whole week again this week as it has been less stressful to just know it's there.
Better got on then....
Saturday, 10 November 2007
Hurrah!
Phew - what a week. My most teaching yet (3 literacy, 2 numeracy, 1 history) and I was observed by the course manager...and she said the words 'excellent' and 'impressed'!! Hurrah!!!
And I cried - how embarrassing! I didn't feel particularly stressed but as soon as she started saying nice stuff (and a couple of niggley bits which my mentor thought were *very* nit picky) my eyes just welled up and I blubbed!
LOL!
It was a very good lesson.
I put up my very first display and my mentor told me that she was a little nervous when she first met me and found out I had very little classroom experience but now she trusts me with her class and is happy to leave me to it. What a compliment!
I'm on a high and feeling like I can cope with anything!
I have just spent all day planning and gathering/making resources for 3 maths lessons next week. Arggghh. I really need to get to know the worksheets and books we have in class so I'm not remaking the wheel -which I'm sure I've been doing. It would make the whole planning thing so much quicker.
Literacy and numeracy take sooo long to plan, and involve soooo many resources.
I've just got 1 numeracy lesson, a double science and a history lesson (covering a class I've never met in a year I've never taught!) for next week and then I'm done.
I have a clear plastic folder (with popper fastening, which I put all my plans and resources for the week in, each day separated by those cardboard file separator thingies, so they are all together and ready for me. My timetable of teaching for the week is in the front (clear plastic so I can see it easily) and assessments and evaluations for the lessons once their done just slot in there ready for filing.
You really need to be organised!
Still loving it - it's hard work and stressful, and my shoulders ache from bending over a lot, but it's great!
And I cried - how embarrassing! I didn't feel particularly stressed but as soon as she started saying nice stuff (and a couple of niggley bits which my mentor thought were *very* nit picky) my eyes just welled up and I blubbed!
LOL!
It was a very good lesson.
I put up my very first display and my mentor told me that she was a little nervous when she first met me and found out I had very little classroom experience but now she trusts me with her class and is happy to leave me to it. What a compliment!
I'm on a high and feeling like I can cope with anything!
I have just spent all day planning and gathering/making resources for 3 maths lessons next week. Arggghh. I really need to get to know the worksheets and books we have in class so I'm not remaking the wheel -which I'm sure I've been doing. It would make the whole planning thing so much quicker.
Literacy and numeracy take sooo long to plan, and involve soooo many resources.
I've just got 1 numeracy lesson, a double science and a history lesson (covering a class I've never met in a year I've never taught!) for next week and then I'm done.
I have a clear plastic folder (with popper fastening, which I put all my plans and resources for the week in, each day separated by those cardboard file separator thingies, so they are all together and ready for me. My timetable of teaching for the week is in the front (clear plastic so I can see it easily) and assessments and evaluations for the lessons once their done just slot in there ready for filing.
You really need to be organised!
Still loving it - it's hard work and stressful, and my shoulders ache from bending over a lot, but it's great!
Saturday, 27 October 2007
Paperwork!!!
Well, thankfully my mentor approved happily of my literacy medium term plans. Hurrah. She says that, all going well, she'll keep them to teach from next year, which is a weird feeling!
I've been playing around with them for ages, but I reckon in the future I won't get much chance to just happily mess around with plans, because I'll be too busy!
I'm also spending loads of time finding resources for children's self assessment (traffic light fans etc) and I'm finding exciting words to go around my 'Poet-Tree' display, to inspire my budding poets.
Monday is Inset day and I'll be setting up for tuesday (lots of photocopying, putting up display etc) and I have to take my folders in for my mentor to look at and sign off...I left my paperwork for the last couple of weeks while I was in school more. What a mistake! I keep thinking I've got it all filed when I find another piece, or something else that I need to do!
Lesson learnt: file paperwork at LEAST once a week, if not every night!!
Next week I'm teaching 2 literacy lessons, the week after, three literacy and three or four numeracy, week after - about the same and also double science (and possibly covering for my teacher when she's on a course), and the week after that - same as above and a foundation subject. It's all getting serious now!
I've been playing around with them for ages, but I reckon in the future I won't get much chance to just happily mess around with plans, because I'll be too busy!
I'm also spending loads of time finding resources for children's self assessment (traffic light fans etc) and I'm finding exciting words to go around my 'Poet-Tree' display, to inspire my budding poets.
Monday is Inset day and I'll be setting up for tuesday (lots of photocopying, putting up display etc) and I have to take my folders in for my mentor to look at and sign off...I left my paperwork for the last couple of weeks while I was in school more. What a mistake! I keep thinking I've got it all filed when I find another piece, or something else that I need to do!
Lesson learnt: file paperwork at LEAST once a week, if not every night!!
Next week I'm teaching 2 literacy lessons, the week after, three literacy and three or four numeracy, week after - about the same and also double science (and possibly covering for my teacher when she's on a course), and the week after that - same as above and a foundation subject. It's all getting serious now!
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