Final Week!!! Bittersweet...

Well, it is nice to know that I survived my first "real" field experience. But it is also sad to be leaving the school and the teacher and all of the students that I came to know and adore! Shauntelle and I got to know an awful lot of students, too. We worked with about six classes during this time! It would have been nice to have had one class to get to know really well, but having six classes allowed us to observe A LOT of students and see many different kinds of interaction between the children and their peers/teacher. I have enjoyed working with Shauntelle, too. She is so organized and enthusiastic. She is going to make a great teacher! I also enjoyed working with our cooperating teacher, Mrs. Ellsworth. You can tell she loves what she is doing and that she cares about her students. I am excited to hear about all of the experiences you have had in the schools! See you soon!

Second Week of Field!

Field has truly gone by so quickly. I can't believe we just finished our second week! And I also can't believe I have survived this long! :) Actually, things are going well. The teacher is a great example and she is very friendly and helpful. The students are always a delight and keep me continuously on my toes.

During the second week, Shauntelle and I taught three lessons- One on the different branches of government (we taught small groups by ourselves), one on the recent presidential election, and one on the flag/Pledge of Allegiance. I was so nervous teaching the first lesson, but by the end of the week when we were teaching our third lesson, I became much more at ease.

I am looking forward to the third week! We will be teaching sixth graders about Mesopotamia. I hope I know enough about Mesopotamia so I can at least sound smart... We'll see!

First Week of Field

The first week of field has been a little bit unusual... Mostly due to the fact that Shauntelle and I were switched to a new classroom and teacher on Wednesday. There had been a bit of a mix up with where we were assigned to go, so for the first part of the week, we were in the same classroom with Kara and Christy! Everything has been sorted out now and things are starting to run smoothly.

On Monday we teach our first lesson. We each teach separate lessons to a small group of sixth graders (even though we were assigned to fourth graders, which we will still maybe teach... never mind, long story...). I am teaching about the Judicial Branch. I am a bit nervous/overwhelmed, but I think it should be fine.

This week I have come away with the feeling that these fourth graders are much smarter than I am! And I think they just might be! They definitely keep me entertained.