October 4th

Leading the Whole Class for the First Time



馃煩 General description

These classes were really challenging. I planned engaging activities and used several class management strategies to keep students focused and motivated. I presented the topics as clearly as possible, used timers to organize the time, and gave prizes as motivation. Additionally, I let students choose the music for the activities to make the environment more enjoyable.


馃煢 Challenges of each group

  • First group:
    Students were active and participated, but they didn’t stay focused on the tasks. When it was time to make groups, they got distracted with each other. Some specific students didn’t want to work, so I had to call their attention and ask them for the answers when we checked the activities. They got a bit upset but later became more attentive. I also used an attention grabber (“Eyes on me… eyes on you”) because they didn’t pay attention when sharing answers after pair discussions.

  • Second group:
    Students didn’t want to do anything. They were exhausted, started talking in Spanish, and didn’t pay attention. I had to raise my voice several times. I gave them small colored balls to form groups and told them they were not candies; however, some of them put them in their mouths. During one activity, students had to convince each other that their choice of event was the best, but two students didn’t want to choose. I assigned them an event, and they argued that they hadn’t had an option. At the end, they complained about the homework because the following week was vacation, and they wanted to rest.


馃煥 Things that I did well

  • Presented the topics clearly and confidently.

  • Used timers ⏱️ to manage the activities efficiently.

  • Offered small prizes 馃巵 to motivate students.

  • Applied class management strategies such as attention grabbers and clear instructions.

  • Created a positive atmosphere by allowing students to choose the music 馃幍 (effective with the first group).



Reflected on improvements for next time, such as:

  • Including more energizing activities to keep students active.

  • Forming groups strategically to reduce distractions and encourage new social connections.

  • Using fun consequences (e.g., losing points in a quiz or saying a tongue twister 馃憛) when students get distracted or break the rule



Comentarios

Publicar un comentario

Entradas populares de este blog

First Saturday!

 My experience was pretty interesting. It all started with the meeting with the team teacher the previous Friday. She talked about the class methodology and asked me about my expectations. Initially, I was really nervous. I thought the students would be older, but when I arrived at the classroom, I found out that they were aged between 11 and 13. I didn't know what to do, but the team teacher introduced me to the students and I became more relaxed and went with the flow of the activities. During the lesson, I observed the teacher demonstrating some class management techniques, such as turning the lights on and off to get the students' attention. I interacted with some students and tried to remember their names by associating them with their likes and dislikes. It was also great to see the structure of the class and how willing the students were to learn. I really enjoyed it.
Leer m谩s

August 9th Class

Classroom Management ☝General The team teacher employed the following classroom management strategies: 馃憠Set the rules at the beginning of the lesson and remind students of them each time one breaks them. Try to make learning the rules memorable. 馃憠 Give clear and concise instructions that are written on the slides, which one of the students reads. 馃憠 Monitor students by asking them questions about the activities to check their understanding. 馃憠 Monitor students during individual and group activities. 馃憠Explain the corrections and verify understanding of them. 馃憠 Pair students with complementary personalities (e.g., active and calm, extroverted and introverted). 馃憠Use mimics to convey ideas and use an steady tone of voice. 馃憠 Create connections between the presented topics with examples, not introducing them as isolated concepts. 馃憠Use timers or do an activity until a song ends to keep track of time. 馃憠Praise participation and correct answers with expressions such as "Good job!...
Leer m谩s