Real Time Lesson Planning

Tuesday’s class was very exciting for me. It was reassuring and energizing to see lesson planning in real time. One of my biggest anxieties is creating a great lesson plans that drive a class and guide students to think and thrive. While watching the lesson planning I tried to be critical and question what I was seeing before me. One thing I found cool about that is as I would question parts of the lesson plan, Kim or the other teacher would address my question.  For example, I was concerned that students would start to give up or get frustrated with the Do Now exercise because they were being asked to categorize types of conflicts before they had even gone over the topic in class. Almost immediately after I wrote that in my notes Kim or the other male teacher said that it would be a good idea to walk around and reassure students that the point was not to try to be one hundred percent correct, but just to try. That was big for me because not only did it show that they were thinking about how their students may feel with the task, but they were taking the focus away from being correct, but rather, what the content was.

 

Before watching the co-teaching lesson plan I didn’t really think much of co-teaching. Now I am completely sold on the concept. I feel like team teaching is powerful and effective because it helps to create a more solid lesson plan. One of the things I’ve always been told is to try to not get too lost in my head as I plan, to keep checking that the plan is cohesive and step by step. Like with writing, it can be easy to move at too quickly of a pace and think that students will be able to follow along because as the teacher, you already know the content at hand.  Being able to talk out the plan and bounce ideas off of each other helps to create a plan that is fluid and compelling. You also can brainstorm how your students are going to act and what questions they may have.

 

Knowing your students has been a constant theme in this class. We all keep hearing that students want you to get to know them, that it’s your job to get to know them, and it’s like you’re a second parent to them while they are in your classroom. More so than ever do I see how crucial it is. Kim displayed that knowing is the key to guiding your students to effectively learn. Creating differentiated planning, and spicing things up with elements that not only aid audio learners but visual and kinesthetic learners helps for everyone to learn. From interest inventories to lesson plans, to just establishing a positive relationship with students, keeping their needs and strengths in mind is something that every teacher must do.  I’ve always known that to be at my core, but more so than ever I feel pumped up and energized to get to teaching.  I want more classes like that one.