My Experience in the Classroom and the Planning Process

My guided lead teaching planning is going well so far. It is interesting because our teachers have to follow “Genre Units” given to them. These documents have very strict guidelines of what to teach (different genres of literature) and how to teach it.  I think the entire process of planning though has been made much easier and more powerful by team planning. Since my CT and Shayna’s CT team teach and plan together we were lucky enough to be able to follow the same format. 

Planning has been interesting because we have quite a different philosophy of teaching than the genre unit that our school follows seems to have. Shayna and I both feel that teaching needs to be done using the arts, group work, and overall innovative and engaging means that get students up, moving, and in turn thinking and internalizing the concepts that we are teaching. The genre unit does give some useful suggestions for ways to teach in this way but the majority of it is taught in a way much differently than we would otherwise choose. Therefore, Shayna and I have been working to take the concepts that the genre unit wants us to teach, and the way they suggest for teaching it and try to “spice it up” and add our own input and ideas to each lesson. Although the genre unit has been a great starting place it is difficult to make sure we don’t stray too far from the genre unit.

As many of the other interns have discussed and some of you in your blog postings that I briefly skimmed for this week, you are feeling so excited but nervous to begin GLT and I feel the same! Lots of mixed emotions because I know I am ready to begin GLT and the learning experience that it will provide me but I really cannot believe that I will be in charge of teaching literacy and math for the rest of the year! And in turn, obviously I am responsible for the students learning the content for these two subjects. I know that once I begin teaching it will take time before I am comfortable in front of the class but I am eager for this to happen. Also, I am struggling with thinking about how to develop my own personal teaching style without stepping on my CT’s toes....For example, I would like to have my own attention grabber. Is anyone else struggling with this? At times I feel restricted and overly influenced by the manner in which my CT teaches, not that she isn’t wonderful but I want to be able to develop a style of my own. I think although the time in the classroom at times has felt weird simply because we take an odd backseat role...I am thankful for it because I have had time to observe and get to know the students. By observing I see what gets students engaged, how they learn, what they don’t seem interested by, who requires special attention. etc. I know that I am very qualified, as all the interns are, but the comfort will have to come with being in front of the class and being enthusiastic about what I am teaching and learning about what I works for the students and for me as their teacher (intern).