On Friday I spent my last time in the second grade classroom at Bishop Dunn Memorial School, and while I am going to miss the overall fieldwork experience, I am going to miss the students even more. I hope that we left students with a lasting impression, just as they have all left a lasting and memorable experience on me. Teaching the students made me fully understand and realize that I am in the right field and this is what I want to do. Even though I struggled, was nervous and made mistakes, this is how we grow as teachers. As I mentioned in my last blog, being the teacher I want to be and being the teacher I am are two different things, and realizing that and improving myself by gaining more experience and gaining confidence is a step in the right direction.
This week the fourth and final group taught their lesson on the topic "Our Country Grows". The group members consisted of Brian, Julie, Rachel, and Jessica. The great thing about being the final group is that they could take the mistakes that previous groups have made, and improve or build off of them. One of the many things I liked about their teaching, besides the actual lesson itself, is how well all four of the members worked with one another. It was evident that all four group members knew what they were going to say, and all of them sounded confident and built off of one another. I feel like the most effective teachers can work well with one another. Besides working together, the amount of effort and creativity that was used in creating the lessons was also apparent. I have pictures of the lesson saved in my files, but the blog will not allow me to upload them. Among the materials included in the lesson was a handmade map and timeline of Lewis and Clark's expedition, construction paper to make scrapbooks, pictures, maps, and ect. In addition, the lesson activities themselves were very engaging. I especially enjoyed the lesson when students had to make their own hypothesis and then work in groups to make a hypothesis in order to decide which mode of transportation was the best on Lewis and Clark's journey.
Students seemed to really get into this lesson because they got to work in groups, read articles on the different types of transportation, look at pictures, and then decide out of the three which one they thought was the most efficient to use on Lewis and Clark's expedition . For the cooperative lesson, if there was more time, than I feel like this lesson could have went a little better, but overall students had an interactive and engaging time creating scrapbooks. In addition, all of the roles provided students an opportunity to get involved in the activity in various ways! Great job group 4!
Back to reflecting on the fieldwork experience, most of the groups made certificates for the students based on the topics that they taught. For my group, we made certificates that read "Thirteen Colonies, One Country" and the borders were red, white, and blue. It also congratulated each student for completing the lesson. Whoever came up with the idea of making certificates of achievement is great because it made students feel proud of themselves and it gave them a lasting impression to remember us by. I was upset that all of the groups could not stay long enough to pass out their certificates, but I am glad I got too. I loved seeing the students impressions after passing out the certificates. Again, this is why I want to be a teacher. The small things, like seeing students smile, make all of the difference.
For these past few weeks I have looked forward to fieldwork, for the teaching aspect and just to watch the students grow each lesson. I am sad that Friday was my last day. Sitting in a classroom in Hudson will not be nearly as rewarding as fieldwork for this class was, but there is one thing to remember:
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