Tuesday, September 1, 2009

"The best-laid plans of mice and men often go astray"

That quote perfectly describes my day today. I came to school with plans for a great, interactive reading group discussion, a fun social studies activity, and excitement for a really fun math activity. The actual scene that took place:
Reading--paired students unable to stay on task while I worked with some struggling readers (our ending discussion was quiet, to say the least).
Social Studies--My college football themed worksheet (seriously, it was AWESOME!) was followed by a mumbo-jumbo of confusing directions coming out of my mouth and into my students ears... there was definitely a disconnect in there somewhere today!
Math--Actually went fairly smoothly, except that I am finding more and more skills that my students lack than I expected. I feel like I have so much ground to cover and I keep finding more! I spent 3 hours after school today re-doing my lesson plans for the rest of the week after today's fiascos. Lesson learned--flexibility! Figure out what works, right?

I also had some discipline issues today, but managed to hold my ground (a constant worry of mine). One of my kiddos was in tears, but I talked to him calmly and we managed to make it (struggling) through the morning. This afternoon saw my first use of the "buddy room" in which I sent that same student across the hall to "chill out." By the end of the day, he seemed to be his cheery self, so I count that as a success.

I have been replaying my day over and over, trying to figure out whether it was me or the students that were off today, and I am deciding it was a little of both. Though I felt prepared for my lessons today, I was not prepared for the classroom management aspect of them. I believe I could have been much more clear with my directions, while my students could have put in a bit more effort and attention. I have noticed that clear direction-giving is something with which I really struggle. My directions seem to make sense to me, but do not come out as clear and concise with my students. I hope that is something I improve upon throughout this year.

Tomorrow, we will be doing our first science experiment. I was really looking forward to it, until today, when I struggled so much with keeping the kids on task. My goal for tomorrow is to clearly state my directions ALONG with my expectations for their behavior during this activity. I am praying that all goes well! :)

From the mixed-up files of,
Miss Allison D. Davis

No comments:

Post a Comment