Teaching Our First Lessons

      Today I had the wonderful experience of teaching my first lesson North Carolina has a requirement to teach 3rd graders. I did not realize how much work goes into a simple thirty minute lesson plan. I practiced and revised my lesson so many times I can not even count the number of times I changed everything around. I even paced the study rooms in our student center trying to figure out the best explanation. People walking by slowed down and stared at me while I was pacing, the room being filled with technology in every corner so I could look at them for pointers.
      When it came time for the lesson I must have talked very fast because when I was practicing I was perfectly on time. During the game when students acted out or fought during the game I was not completely sure how to handle it, so that is something I need to look into and figure out how I want to address these problems in the classroom.
      During all the madness I was able to pick up on who was struggling and where. Even though I did not call them out, pull them aside, etc. I was making a mental note who was struggling and where. I liked feeling in control during the class period. Things went pretty well for this being my first lesson ever. Even when I had time I needed to fill during the end of lesson time I quickly came up with something to further their knowledge of the topic.
       Another thing we are continuing on is diversity in the classroom. First of all, we must realize that being diverse is made up of so many differences in a student that there are no ordinary children. Each student has a factor in their life being the reason they act or learn the way they do.
        As a teacher, our biggest job is keep the children safe. They need to be able to come in the classroom and feel comfortable with being open and safe to express themselves in the class.