Blog #2

When referring to the success of my students, I am going to refer to my World History course. At the beginning of the year, I did not know what I was doing. I have heard many veteran teachers say that the first year of teaching is the best on the job training that you can receive. They are so right. My most successful lessons came when we studied ancient Egypt and the Slave Trade. What made it so successful was the use of engaging sets and giving the students a way to effectively take notes. The times not spent on Egypt and the Slave Trade is just one big blur. For some reason I continued to do the same tired, non-effective activities over and over again, writing definitions, reading and answering questions, doing worksheets. I am almost ashamed at my performance to be honest. When I did not engage them or give them information in an easy to organize manner I lost the kids. It was not until I attended a technology training at the end of the year that I realized how I should teach. Develop your objectives around what the student should be able to do at the end of the period. Make a set that involves the learning and leads into the objectives. Describe or demonstrate what the skill is for the day, give notes using a graphic organizer, let the students practice independently, check for understanding, close the class. What a simple process! For some reason this did not soak in as I sat in Guyton. I received this nugget of knowledge too late into the year to apply it in my room. August cannot come soon enough.

I know what differentiated instruction is but I do not know what it is. I think you know what I mean.

Now that I know the material that I am teaching I am going to be more effective.

I now understand that for students to effectively obtain an idea you need to give them the information in a way that they could put it into order: a graphic organizer.

The most important instructional strategy that I have learned is that I need to learn how to laugh at some behavior instead of giving a warning.