First Time's a Charm....

PHEW!! Woo am I glad that my first taught lesson plan went good! At first of course it was a bit nerve racking, but after we got going, I already felt like a professional. Although there are some aspects to work on, overall I think Katelyn and I did REALLY well! Oh and the 2nd graders LOVED it!! They loved it so much they couldn't wait to get back from recess!

I have known that lesson planning would be an extremely important part of teaching and this experience confirmed my beliefs. Lesson planning is CRUCIAL in teaching, as it really does prepare you. I could not imagine walking into a classroom and trying to just "wing it;" you really need a set out guideline for the lesson and for the day. However, lesson plans CAN alter throughout the lesson, as Katelyn and I experienced. For the most part we followed our lesson plan, but of course questions and other sorts of things come up that just become part of the lesson as well. Katelyn and I altered our lesson plan as the day went; for example we changed our reflection questions, because we realized last minute that maybe this wasn't the right type of question to ask 2nd graders. The lesson worked out great and all of the students really enjoyed it! They all got little spider rings at the end of the lesson for being such great scientists! =)

The safety aspect of the lesson also went really well. Our 2nd grade class is really big on science, as it is their favorite subject along with the teachers, so they have been taught a lot about safety. One safety aspect they have never heard of was the "wafting." This was a brand new word and concept to them, but they really seemed to understand the importance of it. It was also funny having all the students try it all at once after we demonstrated! They had fun with it. Science is the one subject you really have to strive on the importance of safety. Although students may learn the safety rules for science on the first day, as a teacher you really have to remind the students just how important it is; refresh their memories!

Now for teamwork... the teamwork was amazing! Katelyn and I did a great job working together (we even said we should go into interviews together saying we come in a co-package)... now wouldn't that be awesome. Throughout the whole lesson we communicated and worked together. However preparation is key when co-teaching, you really need to some what know who's going to say and do what, so you're not talking over each other. Preparation is something we did, so the lesson went really smooth. There was one instance when Katelyn forgot to talk about the safety guidelines, so I just chimed in and kept the conversation going. That is why co-teaching is a great thing, if one teacher by accident forgets to mention something, the other teacher is there to back them up. Katelyn and I have great teamwork! =)

Now we can't wait to teach our little 2nd graders about life cycles.... I know they are all counting down the days as well!