This week, one of the teachers I work with gave me and a fellow
classmate a big vote of confidence when we were allowed an entire hour
on Wednesday to co-teach a lesson. The lesson was in Native Studies 30
and we were given very little guidance on how to teach the lesson. The
freedom to do whatever we wanted was both exciting and daunting.
We
decided that we would do our lesson on the various levels of government
that exist and allude back to self-government for First Nations people
as well as the existing governing structures that exist in the
Aboriginal population. In order to formulate our lesson we met up at
Tim's and spent a few hours relearning/perfecting our own knowledge on
levels of government so we did not get up in front of the class the
following day and be unable to answer any questions. We ended up
formulating a Prezi, and outlined all the notes that the students were
to take on that program. Me prerogative is that students have to take
notes in class, Prezi makes taking them about as much fun as is ever
going to be possible!!
Our lesson was not entirely
notes based however, both my partner and I fed off each other and shared
personal accounts and experiences related to the levels of government
that exist in Canada. I feel that by sharing personal stories, the
information to be studied is more easily put into perspective for the
students and they can better understand how what they are learning can
be applied to their own lives. At the end of our lesson we opened up
some discussion questions to the class and quizzed them a bit on their
knowledge of the government, especially pertaining to the most recent
civic election. The activity proved to be pretty engaging for some, not
so much for others. All-in-all it was an OK first lesson. Could have
been better, but could have definitely been worse. As well, having the
opportunity to co-teach with a fellow student teacher helped put both of
us at ease in front of the classroom.
That is really awesome that you got to teach a lesson and it sounded like it went really well! That is also great that you got to work with someone else and both teach the class to ease some of the tension. I think it was a good idea to share some personal stories to the class because I know I always liked those teachers who were very open and real with their students. I applaud those teachers who can put hard topics into the perceptive of teenagers. One of the teachers I observe is phenomenal in rewording Shakespearean language into the words and thoughts of a teenager. I know that he tries very hard to keep in touch with the movies, music, pastimes, and technological world that his students participate in. This is a definite skill that I will have to develop over time and reinforce because I want to have that connection with my students. It sounds like you two did I good job and I can only hope that my first time goes this well.
ReplyDelete