Ladies and Gentlemen..Here is Mr. MIranda

Week four began with a quick lesson in the importance of a teacher’s ability to think on their feet. Due to a family emergency, Elizabeth was unable to get back to us about what she would like us to plan for the week. When Lexi and I arrived on Monday, Elizabeth approached me and asked if I would teach her class, so she could go home with her very sick child. Sensing the trust Elizabeth had for me, I stepped up to the plate and came up with an activity for the Monday and began to plan the Wednesday activity.

           We began the week with another exploration of ten vocabulary words. This time, however, students were asked to find their own words. To do this, I ripped a few sheets of scrap paper and handed a few “bookmarks” to each student. As we read in our semi-circle, students were asked to mark words that they did not know or words they thought everyone should know. This activity actually worked much better than I had predicted. Students enjoyed being able to bookmark words they did not know and were eager to go to the board and write them down once the reading was finished. All the words were then defined and a list was generated for all students to study for the impending Friday assessment.

           Wednesday brought forth one of my first opportunities to truly shine in the classroom. Students were given a worksheet that I had created based on an activity that I did with students during my first student teaching experience in Rhode Island. Each worksheet had a blank outline of a human head. Using the reading that had been completed over the past two weeks, students were asked to illustrate using words or images what they believe had been going on in the mind of Carley the main character. Students thought they were given an entire class to draw and color, but actually they were reflecting on what they had heard and summarizing using visuals. After they were finished, each student was more than excited to share using the Elmo what they had created. It was very interesting to see how each student interpreted the assignment differently.

           Week three provided me the opportunity to fully jump to the front of the classroom with both feet, of course with the assistance of my co-teacher Lexi. Nothing is better than witnessing students really become engaged and excited about what they are learning and completing in class. I hope to, over the coming weeks, to continue to tap into this energy that has begun to be fostered. I am curious to see what strategies work with different students and how I can use what I am learning in both my inclusive class and my literacy class in my classroom – only time will tell.