Week Seven: Last Week of Placement

 These past seven weeks have flown by so quickly! It feels like I went into Sherman High School for the first time just last week. I must admit, I was sad to leave the classroom for the last time on Thursday. I had gotten to know so many of the students and became invested in their lives outside of school. When they found out it was my last day, I was pleasantly surprised to hear their groans that I wouldn't be back. It's hard to tell if high schoolers like you so I was was unsure of where I stood with them, but their reaction to my last day made me feel validated that they enjoyed my presence in their classroom.

Tuesday I taught my last lesson, a review over the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of the Byzantines. They were all engaged, which was a win, and they seemed to enjoy the interactive aspects of the lesson. Before that, Mr. Thornhill divided the class into groups and had them answer questions on the boards around the classrooms. Mr. Thornhill told me he was taking a note from my book and after watching my lessons wanted to find ways to get the class more involved. I was very flattered.

Thursday was a little more relaxed. The class filled out their new vocabulary sheet for the next lesson and watched a video about the history of Halloween. I'm not sure how much they enjoyed the video, but I sure learned a lot! I told the class goodbye and they told me I will be a great teacher in the future, which made me smile. I wish them a wonderful rest of the semester and year!

Week Six

 This was a busy week at placement!

Monday I was feeling under the weather with a cold, but I was still feeling well enough to go to the high school. There was a sub again, so the class worked on their projects that were due Friday. They were much better behaved this time than with the previous sub. It was fascinating to see first hand how one teacher can really change the behavior of the class. I walked around answering questions about the projects and helped a couple students get started all together. I asked the band kids how their competition went over the weekend and learned about everyone's weekend.

Wednesday Dr. Shahid came to observe me teach a lesson about the fall of the Roman Empire. I was prepared and confident with my lesson, but I was still nervous to hear her feedback. Things went well overall and I was happy with how everyone went. Dr. Shahid gave me some helpful feedback about my lesson and I am excited to incorporate the things she told me into future plans.

There was a pep rally on Friday so the class time was different than usual. The football game that night was pink-out themed and it was fun to see how people dressed up. The class turned in their projects and I was surprised that so many students didn't have theirs since I had seen them working the past two class periods. Mr. Thornhill arranged a gallery walk for the projects and everyone picked their top three to win a candy bar. I was very impressed with some of the projects, there are some artists in that class! After lunch they started a new unit about the Byzantine Empire. Mr. Thornhill introduced some key terms and then the class filled out their notes individually. 

It's hard to believe I only have two observations left! While I'll be glad to have that time back to myself during the day, it will be odd not to see everyone any more. 

Week Five

 This was an interesting week at Sherman High School. There was a substitute teacher on Tuesday, which I was not expecting. As the students walked in they immediately recognized the sub and a devious smile slowly crept across their faces. I led my third lesson at the beginning of class, or tried to at least. The students were chatty and were more focused on getting under the sub's skin than paying attention to my activity. After lunch the students were supposed to take a test on Canvas. I let some go out into the collaboration space in order to separate students from the sub as he was already started to raise his voice. Everything was fine until the last 20 minutes of class. Some students called the sub over to their table with the purpose of watching him get angry, and it worked. I didn't know what to do as I watched the sub scream at a young man about how he was stupid and will never get a job at this rate. Interestingly, the student didn't seem to mind and instead was taking sneaky Snapchats of the conversation to send back to his groupmates. I have never an adult yell at a teenager like that before and I hope I never do again.

Thursday Mr. Thornhill was back and things returned to normalcy. He introduced a project about Rome that will be due next week, and the students loved getting to choose their topic. They had Thursday and will have Monday to work on the project, and already I saw some great work. I'm excited to see the finished products next week.

Week Four

 This week the students started a new unit on Rome. Monday I watched Mr. Thornhill teach a lesson. He started with a hook asking students what they knew about ancient Rome. Surprisingly, not very many had pre-existing knowledge. Mr. Thornhill tried a new way to increase engagement, allowing each group to roll a die after they answered a question. Whichever team had the most points at the end of class won candy. They students had a seating chart change last week so this was a good way to help them get to know each other a little better. 

Tuesday I taught my first full lesson! For whatever reason I was under the impression that our five lessons had to be full class periods, so I taught for the full hour and a half. I went off of Mr. Thornhill's lesson and I was happy that the students paid attention the whole time. They were mellow because of the arrests on campus the day before, and I tried to be sensitive to that by taking things a little easier. At one point, I posed a question and the student who I've never seen participate answered! I was so proud of him. 

Friday was fall break so I didn't go into school. Hopefully everyone will be well rested going into next week.

Week Three

 This was my third week in Mr. Thornhill's class and I went on Tuesday and Thursday. The students had a test over Ancient Greece on Thursday, so Tuesday was a review day. The class went over their notes and then I led a review game for the last 45 minutes of class. I was nervous to start as I was concerned I wouldn't be able to hold 32 sophomores attention. Fortunately, it went well. I made a powerpoint with review questions from the notes sheets and some from the test. We played trashketball and most everyone was engaged with the game. Most of the questions were answered correctly, and I felt good about my first time leading the class in an activity. Mr. Thornhill said he might steal my idea for his next periods, which made me very proud.

Thursday was relaxed as most students finished the exam before lunch. The test was on Canvas and if they got a low score with the first attempt, they could use their notes for a second attempt with a maximum score of 70. Not many students used this option and most made an A or B. They had the rest of the class period to work on their vocabulary terms for Rome next week.

I am leading my first class period next week! I will use Mr. Thornhill's lesson which is nice, and I'll be able to watch him on Monday and pick up some of his techniques. He told me I can add videos, writing prompts, and discussion questions to what he has planned so far. I'm looking forward to the opportunity!

Week Two: Subs and Catch Up

 This week was an A Week, so I went to Sherman High on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Mr. Thornhill was out of town until Thursday, so the students had a sub the first two days. The subs let me be in charge of the class which was unexpected, but a welcomed surprise. This week the class started a new unit, so the students had a vocabulary sheet to work on Monday and a guided reading for Wednesday. This unit focuses on Classical Greece and the Roman Republic, which works out well for me as my history class at AC just went over those topics. I mostly helped students access things on Canvas and answered general questions about the assignments.

Because there was a relatively light work load, I was able to get to know more students on Monday and Wednesday. I learned who played football and basketball, who likes art, and who takes music lessons. Some students shared that they didn't care for history and others said it was their favorite subject. I am very fortunate to work with such polite and engaged class.

Mr. Thornhill was back on Friday and he led the class in a review over the work they had done earlier. Many of the students were chatty, which is to be expected on a Friday, and I observed classroom management in action. Mr. Thornhill decided to move some students around and said he was not going to argue with them when they talked back. Later while doing independent work, Mr. Thornhill pulled students individually into the hall. I didn't hear what they talked about, but the students came back into the classroom with a lighter energy.

Next week I will teach my first lesson! My plan is to go over their notes from Friday and then lead the class in a review game for their test on Thursday. I'm very appreciative to Mr. Thornhill for trusting me with his class so early, but I'm a little nervous to have full control. He will still be in the room to help keep me and the students on track, which will be a great way for me to start this experience.

First Week at Sherman High

 This week I began my placement in a 10th grade world history class at Sherman High School. The school operates on a block schedule, so this week I only went on Tuesday and Thursday. Honestly I was quite nervous on the first day, I didn't know what to expect and was anxious about getting there on time as I only have 20 minutes between my psychology class on campus and the beginning of the class period at the high school.

The class I'm observing has 35 students and only 28 chairs, so it's been interesting to see how Mr. Thornhill uses the space. The class took a test on Thursday so I got to watch a review game on Tuesday. The students were engaged in the lesson and got a little competitive towards the end. Who knew that jolly ranchers have such a hold on 15 year olds?

My placement is during the lunch period, so Mr. Thornhill gave me a tour of the new building on Thursday. It's a beautiful facility with lots of space, but the most impressive section is the CTE area. They have a mechanic shop, dog groomer, cooking class, engineering, florists, nursing, metal shop and more. I thought those only existed in movies!

I was able to get to know some of the students on this week and learned about some of their interests. Some are cheerleaders, some like to play on the Nintendo Switch, some like to play sports, others were making mums for Homecoming on Friday. I'm excited to learn more about them, they are an awesome group of students.