Teaching Day 2

I just finished my 2nd day of teaching, and it went SO MUCH better than the first. I still have so many questions, and I'm still so nervous that I can't eat, but I left all three of my classes today smiling. I think that's a good sign.

Let me back up a little. Here is my schedule:

Monday:
11:00-11:40 (Grade 4, Class 3)
1:05 - 1:45 (Grade 4, Class1)
2:00 - 2:40 (Grade 4, Class 2)
Tuesday:
11:00-11:40 (Grade 4, Class 5)
2:00 - 2:40 (Grade 4, Class 4)
2:55 - 3:35 (Grade 2, Class 4)
Wednesday:
8:50 - 9:30 (Grade 2, Class 3)
10:00 - 10:40 (Grade 2, Class 4)
1:30 - 2:10 (Grades 2-5 - "English Activity")
Thursday:
1:05 - 1:45 (Grade 6, Class 1)
2:00 - 2:40 (Grade 6, Class 4)
Friday:
8:50 - 9:30 (Grade 6, Class 2)
11:00-11:40 (Grade 6, Class 5)
1:05 - 1:45 (Grade 6, Class 3)

So, as you can see, I teach 3 grades, plus a multi-level class, making a total of 13 classes! I was really overwhelmed when I first learned about this, especially since I haven't had any training on how to teach 4th or 6th grade. But I made it through two 4th grade classes ok (that was my first day) and the rest I have next Monday.

The second graders were great! They loved Goober (this is what I renamed Vandy for China because the "v" sound is too hard) and learning about his family as well as learning about my family. It was a little harder to get those students to come up and talk about their own families, so to add to the time, I reviewed the vocabulary that I had used when talking about my house. I made a house for Goober as well.

For the multi-level class, I decided to do another lesson because some of the students would be the same. I choose to do a lesson on opposites. I introduced opposites by demonstrating a few (they got a kick out of me running around the room fast then going in slow motion). Then I handed out cards I made with opposite pairs and groups of students had to work together to find the pairs. They liked this a lot too. I realized that manipulatives are the way to go! Then they used two of the words to write sentences. This was the best class :)

6th graders, here I come....