TUESDAY
Today I taught my first lesson! I taught a Maths (yes it’s spelled mathS with an S) lesson on choosing the right sign for different algebra problems. I thought it went very smoothly! I was really worried about my accent (or what I consider my lack-of-Australian accent) but the students seemed to be able to understand me just fine. My weak spot, which I am well aware of already, is going over the time allowed. Yes, I said it. I go OVER the time allowed. I guess I plan too much? So much for worrying about under-planning. Amanda went home early today with a headache and said she was going to stay home the next day. I could choose to go experience another Year Four classroom or stay in the room and “watch the children turn into little ferals.” I think I chose wrong.

WEDNESDAY
Any other clinical day has been a piece of cake compared to this one. There are 2 boys in the class who absolutely do not follow the rules. They are pretty tame when Amanda is in the room, and they sometimes actually put an effort into learning (who would have thought with these two?!), but today they were another story. One boy refused to put his glasses on during the lessons, even though there is a note taped to his desk that says “ARE YOU WEARING THESE!!” with a picture of his glasses. Nope. Won’t wear them. Even after 4 warnings (which was 3 too many on my error). Then you have another boy who likes to throw rulers, erasers (which are called rubbers here… not to confuse you with another meaning), and cuss whenever he feels like it. The same two boys decided to pick on another boy during morning tea and made him cry. The first boy mentioned got a detention in the room and he decided to kick chairs around. Whew. What a day. Thank goodness there will be normalcy tomorrow. My lesson itself went well much to my surprise though. I taught a lesson on the different “ur” sounds in spelling. They were perfect angels for me. Who would have thought?

THURSDAY
Today. Was. Fabulous. After Amanda had a nice chat with the misbehaving boys, the day was a breeze. I worked more with the research group (like every morning actually) but I had more of a relationship with the kids since they actually know a bit about me through my lessons. I try to use humor and light-heartedness, as I think it gets students to realize that learning can be fun and doesn’t have to be so rigid all the time. After that, I was stressing the rest of the morning as my full-hour lesson would be after morning tea. I figured I would do a 30 minute lesson and give the kids about another 30 minutes to do some fun activities. I taught my lesson on probability with spinners and had them split up into 5 groups for the games afterward. The lesson was AWESOME and they really got the concept. The games on the other hand were tough when planning, as I came up with them on my own (applause here). There was one in particular that seemed like it would work, but I never tried it. Using “pie” pieces that were sliced into different fractions, I had the students come up with a spinner that had one big chance, one medium chance, and one impossible chance of landing on it (if it were an actual spinner). I didn’t know if the pieces would end up fitting together but told them to try their best. BUT holy cow. They did it. It was such a highlight in my day that they actually thought outside the box and made it work. I wish I had my camera. The hour positively FLEW by. I think I’m going to like this teaching thing :)

FRIDAY
Today was a bit of a relaxer. I didn’t teach anything but did give the spelling test. All I can say is that my MN accent is way more prominent than I had thought. Amanda had to re-say about 3-4 words because the kids couldn’t understand me. That made me giggle a bit. We also got to plan my teaching for the next week. A couple more hour lessons!

I know I’m really only updating what goes on in the school, but I have absolutely enjoyed my time spent at the Kerber household. The boys are a hoot. Ken and Karen are so amazing and entertaining. Dinner is always a fun time and it’s a guarantee that I will laugh.

written by  Sara Sickels on August 27, 2010 from Morayfield, Australia
from the travel blog: Australia!!
Send a Compliment

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I am so happy for you that you are enjoying the whole teacher thing! Can't wait until you are a teacher here! :)

written by  Steph Doyle on August 31, 2010

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"Good Morning, Ms. Sickels!" Sure can tell you are loving what you are doing Sara....Keep up the great work and also keep having fun. And don't forget your blogs because you know we are all here waiting for more!!!

written by  Carol Kvenvold on September 1, 2010

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