One thing I have noticed is that it does help me a bit to have an outline, or some kind of cuing system, to keep me on track. It doesn't always work, and some times I get dry mouth and start with the "like"s and "um"s, but it does do some good during presentations. Lesson plans are no different, at least for now. For example, I was teach a lesson plan that I developed to the kid I "tutor". It went well overall, except I never quite know what to do with myself in the moments of silence (something that, I'm sure, will not happen often in a classroom - so I don't have much to worry about there). Well, I was so excited to do the lesson that I forgot to look over my lesson plan while I was doing it. Guess what happened? I completely forgot an activity. How does that even happen? I spend hours planning these lessons, reviewing them, even a small amount (very small amount) practicing them, and I still forget some activities! I deduced that this was because I did not have my lesson plan to guide me, potentially causing this blunder.
However, I have another theory as to why this happens when I teach. It could be because I'm so excited and have so much I want to teach students, I tend to get ahead of myself and lose track of what I'm supposed to be doing. Instead, I do what I want to be doing, which is not always the best idea, at least not if I want to complete a lesson in a timely fashion. I've got to figure out a better way to keep myself on track for when I get placed in the classrooms and actually teach a room full of students. If I don't, I'm never going to get anything done! I know it's not really practical to think that I'll always stay on track, given the school atmosphere, numerous interruptions (from students and the rest of the school), teachable moments, etc. But there has to be something that can help me as a teacher stay focused. I'll do some research and get back to everyone on that.
In the meantime I could sure use some tips. What helps keep you on track when you teach? I'm all ears, seriously.
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I'm going to try out something. I have a list of blogs on the right hand bar that are super awesome and helpful and I encourage everyone to read them. Sometimes I also stumble onto websites that are truly helpful for me, but I don't want this blog to be overrun with links on the side bar. So, I am going to feature the really awesome websites on here and call it, "Sight the Site" - get it? Because I want you to look at the site? Clever, right?
Well, I thought it was funny! :)
Sight the Site: "Getting Organized"
A fabulous site I found via Pinterest to help teachers get organized before and during school. This is definitely a tool I will utilize once I get my classroom. I may even create a binder specially for this information.
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