Week 2

Week 2

Day one:

 So the first day of this week I went in not exactly looking forward to it honestly. This was the first week where we’d start to interact with the students a lot more but unfortunately all her students were taking their tests that day so I went in with the assumption that I wouldn’t get much out of this day. I was wrong. Me and Danielle got to be teacher’s assistants and help moderate the testing and answer questions for students. It felt good because I could tell we were actually helping our teacher out, a lot of the students had questions and then continued to have them, so it was definitely in helpful to have us there. That was nice because this teacher was nice enough to open her class to us so I’m happy that there are a few times where we can actually make her job easier.

                When I got to the 7^th grade class we quickly started the same protocol but I found myself helping the same student the entire class. Me and Danielle both noticed that these students really struggle with forming context clues to show they really understand the meaning of their vocab words. This student was no exception but he really didn’t make it far into the initial definition portion of the test. I felt bad but I spent the most time with him trying to guide him through it. He didn’t get very far but I did manage to show him a few techniques like process of elimination and grammar checking for appropriate answers that seemed to help him a bit. I’m a bit curious to see how he managed on that test. I wonder if maybe he just needed more time and some better studying techniques. He seemed like an articulate kid but judging from what he was saying it was almost like he’d never seen these words before in his life.

Day two:

                Day 2 we got into some serious teaching. We had both our 6^th grade classes and we were present for half of one 7^th. Both of which we started their respective units. So 6^th we did “Tutankhamen lost worlds” which is a mostly historical piece on excavating tombs. We didn’t get into the text at all this day. For both classes we started with their preliminary vocabulary.

                Something I’ve realized about myself is that I’m not a particular authoritative presence. I’m very good at getting students to behave. This was something that I noticed Danielle was particularly skilled at.  Right away she seemed to be able to cease loud talking, which there was a lot of since this was our first real day up in front of the board and that definitely had an impact on their energy. I did okay at keeping them from losing focus but I always felt a little awkward doing it. It is something I’ve always wanted to get better at.

                That being said I did pretty good interacting with the students and I think, both me and Danielle were engaging. The kids were really funny at times and made a point to ask each of us individually if we were married. It was this day that I realized I could actually see myself working with this age group. I don’t intend to get my middle school endorsement any time soon but I think some time down the road I might actually find myself wanting it.

                It was during the 7^th grade class that I was actually able to be a bit more authoritative. We had them do some research at the library on immigration as they were to start their unity on immigration which would end in a formal debate. We only stayed through half of it but I actually seemed to be able to quell their loud talking a lot. Right before we left me, Danielle, and the teacher were discussing a few things and I noticed the kids were getting very loud (this is a library, manners!). I shouted over their noise that they had to quiet down and they actually listened and I didn’t feel awkward about it. It was most impressive.

Day three:

                Day three we started reading the king tut story with them (the 6^th graders) and posing a question for them that they will later have to do a formal debate on. The question was whether or not we should excavate tombs for artifacts. We only saw the one class that day and it went well I thought. We did a circle read where we had each of them read a small portion of the text. The only negative I saw was that we didn’t get very far as we had to stop and keep having them sift through what we read for pros and cons for their argument. This isn’t bad at all as they needed that but it would have been nice to get a bit further. The one really cool thing is that I’ve noticed I’m starting to remember their names which is awesome but sad because I realized I only have 2 weeks left with them and I’m already starting to get attached! This isn’t fair! I didn’t want to go into a middle school at all, now I don’t want to leave!