In this course, all the work we did helped me to prepare for
my future classroom. As I prepared a book talk, I reflected on the classroom
that I am placed in and made a decision on what book would hold the most
interest for them and how could I incorporate the book into lessons my students
would enjoy. I also gained a better understanding of preteens and the struggles
they face as they try to establish themselves in society in the book, 13 Reasons Why.
My mini-lesson was on the book, Night. I chose this book because I will be teaching the Holocaust
unit when I student teach. I gained a greater knowledge of the Holocaust from
the book and realized after teaching my mini-lesson that there is still a lot
more for me to learn about the tragic event, before I can teach it effectively.
I realized that the lesson I prepared did not fully prepare me to answer all
the questions that were asked. This experienced influenced me to check out
books from the library on the Holocaust. And going back to the book talks, I am
reading Mous, the graphic novel, to
see if I can use it in my classroom!
The unit plan was a hard project for me, but it really
helped me to think about what I am teaching, how I will teach it and what
standards the students will reach in each lesson. There is a lot more that goes
into a lesson than the activities. I realized how hard it is to map out three
weeks of lessons, include a fair grading rubric and what are the over all goals
of the project. When we presented our projects, I stole a few lesson activities
from my peers that I wish to use in my classroom.
The articles and books we read and discussed at the
beginning of the quarter held a lot of interest for me. The readings that stuck
out to me was the one on the dispositions of discussion. I want to teach my 8th
graders the nine dispositions when we get to our unit on effective speaking and
listening. The concepts taught in, I Read
it, but I don’t get It, were very helpful to me. The information helped me
to address problems my classroom. I will always remember to question when I am
reading, relate it to my own life and use the reading exercises in the back of
the book. The last article I enjoyed,
was the one on pop culture and the importance of using it with literature. I
can use film in my classroom as an effective teaching tool, using the techniques
from the article.
As I have echoed throughout this reflection, everything I
have done in this class has forced me to think of myself as a teacher. I have
ideas for lessons that I could not come up with on my own, I have heard others
input of their experience in the classroom and used it to avoid conflict.
Insight from my peers has helped me feel more confident in myself as a teacher.
I will continue to lean on my peers for help in my teaching career!
Sincerely,
Whitney Leavitt
