As part of the Teaching as a Profession 3 course, I get to gain hands on experience in the classroom setting. I started my practicum Wednesday morning at Jere Whitson Elementary School where I have been placed with a first grade teacher. I came into the process with high expectations and an open mind due to the fact that I had previously visited for my field experience last school year. Although I was placed with a different teacher, I was beyond excited to be back at this school. I didn’t participate in much, considering that the first day is more of a job shadowing. I observed my mentor’s classroom setting, lesson, and interaction with students. The classroom environment was a typical first grade classroom with a huge rug for learning, tables as desks, cubbies, a multitude of games/enrichment activities, and centers. It was slightly messy, but I attribute that to my teacher moving from kindergarten to first grade over summer. Next, I focused in on the lesson and content that was being taught. We started the day with Flowcabulary which was a math video with a song about inequalities. After splitting into RTI groups, the lesson was about grammar, nouns, and consonant sounds. Basically, my mentor presented a slideshow with activities and had the students participate. Her interaction with the students was my favorite part! She helped when necessary with morning work, gave each student the opportunity to answer questions, and allowed students to participate in everything. Hopefully next week I will be able to dive in and get started helping my teacher. I can’t wait to see what happens!
Positively Primary 