reflection

This week I have started a new unit in science. The unit is on weather, which is a fun topic, but I had a lot to learn about weather before I could teach it. I have to say I have learned a lot about teaching this week. The one thing I keep trying to master is that I have to be very specific. I need to tell the students exactly what I expect of them. I need to model even the little things. I need to tell them where I want them to put their papers when they are finished. Does this go in the homework folder or the science journal? I have definitely improved...but it still needs work.

The other thing that has been clear to me this week is that the goal is to teach until the children master the concept...not until the material is covered. I am working on time management and it seems like I'm always running out of time before I run out of lesson. Toward the end of the lesson today I found myself rushing through the plans just to get through.  BIG MISTAKE! It was clear how ineffective this was when I started reviewing the exit slips.  So, now I will need to go back and teach the stuff I rushed through today. Thank heavens I did an exit slip as a formative assessment. What an injustice to the kids if I had not done this and waited until the end of the unit to find out that the students hadn't got the concept. Now I can go back and re-teach the information they need to know in order to understand the stuff that's coming up.